We are all Misfits

As I wrote in my last post, I love Christmas and all that there is about Christmas. I especially love all the Christmas specials. ABC Family has a ton of them every year in the 25 Days of Christmas so I record most of them and watch them over and over again my daughters.

One of my favorite Christmas specials is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Not only is it a classic Christmas special, but it has a great message as well.

Check out this clip and see what I'm talking about.

These "misfit" toys were stranded on the island with no hopes of ever being loved and cared for by someone else. That was until Santa came for them and delivered them on Christmas to the little boys and girls around the world.

In many ways, we are misfits too. We all have things about ourselves that we do not like or are proud of. We feel like misfits that no one could possibly love us for this or that.

BUT, the great news for us is that Christ was born, lived and died for all of us misfits.

John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

He saw our deficiencies and still came and died for us all. How great is that!?! Today and the rest of this holiday season, rejoice in the fact that we have a savior that loved us so much that despite our "misfit" qualities, he came down for us and offered us such hope.

If you have never taken a minute to accept the grace and hope of Christ, all you have to do is:

• Admit you have fallen short (Romans 3:23)
• Believe that Christ died for you (Isaiah 53:6, Romans 5:8 and Romans 6:23)
• Commit to following after Him (Romans 10:9-10)

Christ loves all of us no matter how much we feel like misfits. This Christmas season, rest in the hope and grace of Christ and let his love reign in your life.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Thinking about Christmas

I love Christmas! It is by far my favorite time of the year. As soon as Thanksgiving is over and Black Friday begins, I love decorating the house, putting up the Christmas tree, listening to Christmas music and even SHOPPING! I know, shoot me, but I love the build up to Christmas.

The funny thing about my love for Christmas, though, is that as soon as Dec. 26th rolls around, I'm not so much into Christmas. I don't play Christmas music and I am already mapping out what decorations to take down and when to do them. I know, it's a bit silly.

Yesterday, I was reading a blog from my friend Barry Hill and he highlighted a group that started, I think, last year. It's called Advent Conspiracy. Take a minute and watch this video.

It has gotten me all fired up thinking about Christmas - the real meaning of Christmas. As a believer and active follower of Christ, I know what Christmas is about - the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. I understand that and I make sure our youth at Cedar Run know that and I make sure my own children know that.

Unfortunately for me, I can get so wrapped up in the season, the fun and the craziness of Christmas, I can sometimes forget the it's all about Christ. In fact, when Christmas is officially "over" on Dec. 26th, I need to not forget what it is about either. I don't need to pack up my beliefs of Christ just as I pack up my decorations. I need to use this season as an opportunity to proclaim Christ all the more. What a perfect opportunity to make an impact in the name of Christ!

Watching this video was a great reminder to me and I hope a great reminder for you what Christmas is about and to be sharing the stories of Christ, our great and wonderful savior to all people.

Serving within the Body of Christ

Oftentimes, when we think of serving and ministering to others, it is perceived that we have to go on a missions trip or work camp to serve. Those are great avenues to serve and share the love of Christ. But when we do that, I believe we miss opportunities locally, right in our backyard to serve. In particular, we miss opportunities to serve within our own body of Christ.

This past week, we looked at 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. In it, it talks about the body of Christ and using our spiritual gifts in unison so that we can be a complete, fully functioning unit.

In the same way, we should be using our gifts and abilities to serve each other the body of Christ. Yes, we want to reach out to our unbelieving friends and yes we want to reach the world with the hope and love of Christ. But, we cannot forget our fellow believers. We cannot serve everywhere but our those around us and in the our local Church. There are a ton of needs out there!

It could be a mom who needs a helper (young or old) to fold clothes, watch the kids, or go grocery shopping. It could be volunteering for the children's ministry program as they have needs for childcare during the service.

Regardless of who or what it is, there are plenty of needs right here in your backyard for you to be used by God as a witness and testimony.

Application:

Take a minute and think through what your gifts are that the Lord has bless you with. As 1 Corinthians 12 points out, we are all blessed with gifts from the Lord. The question is are you using them for the glory of the Lord?

Once you have thought through your gifting from the Lord, look for avenues you can share them with others. Whether it is that mom at Church who seems overwhelmed (and rightfully so) or that Children's Ministry Director who is desperate for help or someone completely different, go before the Lord and ask Him to open doors. Then, when those doors open, do not hesitate, but pursue and allow God to use you as a witness and testimony of Him.

Pray for God to open opportunities for you to serve and be a witness of Him this week. Then, when they are presented, go and DO!

Teaching all we know

When you hear the word "witnessing", what comes to mind? How do you feel about actually witnessing to others?

It has been my experience that when the word "witnessing" comes up, more people than not will tend to shy away from that as they think, "this is not for me". This often comes about because of some misconceptions that all witnessing is standing on a soap box in the middle of the mall or school proclaiming damnation on people if the do not repent.

Well, on Sunday morning we looked began to address this by looking at these 2 passages:

• Acts 1:8
• Matthew 28:19-20

Based on these passages, here are 2 Quick Questions to think about:

1. What does Christ call us to do?
2. How does he encourage us to share about Him?

In Acts 1:8, Christ gives us a plan of action to be "witnesses" of him. He told his disciples to go to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Christ shared this with them in or around Jerusalem at the time. So, if you look at where he said this, you would understand that Christ's plan for us to be witnesses to others is to first look locally (Jerusalem for the disciples and your local town/city for you).

Then, in Matthew 28:19-20, Christ calls us what to share - teach "them to obey everything I have commanded you". Again, as I said earlier, often times when we think about sharing about Christ, a good amount of us tend to think that we can't do it or we wouldn't have the foggiest idea what to share. Well, Christ gives us all clear direction on what to share - share what He has taught you about life and living. If you profess to have Christ as your Lord and Savior, surely He has taught you something. Therefore, share with your friends and family all that Christ has taught you!

Application:

Pray that the Lord would open up doors and opportunities for you to share locally to others. It could be your friends, family, a parent at your child's school or someone in your class. Pray that God would open those doors.

Then, take a minute and jot down what Christ has taught you during your relationship with Him. I have found that it is always easier to remember those great things Christ has done in your life if you have them written down somewhere.

Finally, be ready to share with others.

May God bless you and give you the courage to take this great step of faith!

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving and so it is appropriate to write about something that I am thankful for. So, here I go.

On Sunday night, at PowerHouse we talked about Jesus's question to his disciples found in Luke 9:18-20. He asked them, "Who do you say that I am"? Peter answered by saying, "The Christ (Messiah) of God". Peter knew this to be true about Jesus because of the many experiences he had with Jesus.

In the same way, my experiences with Christ recently have backed up entirely who I say Christ is. This fall has been a very challenging one for me on a lot of levels and it has caused me to draw closer to Him because of it. So, with that being said, who do I say that Christ is and what am I thankful for is very similar.

I say and I know for sure that Christ is

• MY PROVIDER
• MY SOURCE OF STRENGTH AND COURAGE TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT
• MY PROTECTOR
• MY ANXIETY RELIEVER

Scripture backs up all these characteristics of Christ. But, there is a difference between knowing the Truth and really experiencing the Truth. This fall, I really experienced the TRUTH of Christ.

Because Christ is all these things and so much more, I am extremely thankful today, thankful beyond I have ever been in my life.

THANK YOU JESUS!

What about you? Take a moment and identify who do you say Jesus is and thank Him for it!

The Benefits of Searching the Scriptures

This past week we continued our series on Knowing God as we looked at one of the ways that we can know who God is. We looked at a variety of scripture such as:

• Luke 15:11-32
• Daniel 6
• Genesis 9:1-17
• 1 Samuel 16:1-13
• Exodus 3:1-10

Based on these passage, what do we learn about the character of God and who He is?

We learn that Jesus to be a teacher and he loves and cares for all people, that God is powerful – powerful enough to shut the mouths of lions and protect his followers, that God is loving, that He examines our hearts, not our appearances as he cares more about who you are on the inside and that we learn that he listens to us and hear our cries.

Because we know that God is loving, someone who teaches, powerful, and hears our cries and desires to help, we know that we cares for us, wants to help us grow as people, desires to help and is powerful enough to do something about it. That has direct implications in our lives if we allow him to.

There is so much we can learn about God by just searching the scriptures. The question is are you willing to take the time to learn about him?

This week, search the scriptures and get to know who God is so that you can benefit from that knowledge.

Last Week's Capernaum

When I first came to Cedar Run, one of our goals was to find a quarterly service oppotunity for our youth to participate in. We always did a summer mission trip and with the success of those trips, we wanted something to come home and do on a regular basis so our students didn't have to wait to summer to serve. As I was thinking through all that what we could do, the first places I looked at were food banks and other donation groups. Although they were good experiences and we did them a few times, our students never really connected with those groups. I don't know exactly why they weren't connecting other than our teens seem to be more geared towards relational ministry opportunities rather than stocking shelves with food or collecting clothes for the homeless.

So, we tried a Young Life ministry called Capernaum. I wish I could remember why we choose Capernaum (maybe it was because we have a few students with disabilities in our youth program), but it became clear very quickly that not only did our students support this, but they excelled in this format. From our very first time helping Capernaum over 4 years ago, a lot of our students showed up to help and when we buddied up with our Capernaum buddies, they took the initiative and loved these kids the way Christ loves them. It is quite impressive to see our students step up in a big way and take ownership I have rarely had to tell our students what to do or to engage their buddies. They came and they served wholeheartedly.

This past Saturday was our Capernaum Saturday night with this month's theme being a Karaoke and Dance Party night. We got American Idol for the Wii and the fun began! American Idol Karaoke has some classic songs like, "I'm every woman" by Whitney Houston and "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People. But it also has some newer songs like "Apologize" from Timberland and "Who Knew" by Pink. It is very easy to play as you just need the game, a Wii and 2 mics for the Wii.

From the moment the first song came on to to the very end, our students and their buddies sang song after song after song. Sometimes you couldn't understand what was being sung, but that just added to the carefree nature of the whole event. It was great as it seemed that almost every song ended up being an impromptu dance party. It was a lot of fun to see our student and their buddies singing their hearts out with reckless abandonment.

Normally when average high school students do karaoke with each other, it seems a little awkward at first until someone makes a complete fool of themselves which then gives others the freedom to go up and make a fool out of themselves. However, that was never an issue this past weekend as we had some of the coolest people in their high schools stand up and make a complete fool out of themselves. Why? Because they were serving the Lord and because, as a Capernaum Buddy, you have to be prepared for anything and to do anything. It was very rewarding to see the level of engagement our students had with their buddies. I have said this each time we do Capernaum - our students serving as Capernaum Buddies benefit just as much, if not more, as it benefits the buddies they serve. What a blessing!

The Way, the Truth and the Life???

On Sunday we began our 1st week in a 3 week series entitled "Knowing God". How you know God begins in a conversation between Jesus and his disciples in John 14:1-7.

In it, Jesus says that the way to know God is to know him and that he is the only way to know God (v.6-7).

The question I challenged the students with is if Jesus is THE ONLY WAY to know God, are we making him OUR WAY to know God? By that I meant that there are many people and many religions out there that will say that they are the way and that they have the right truth and if they follow them, they will get to God. Or, there are things out there that are tempting like that great party coming up or a hook-up that will make them feel that if they just do that, they will have found their way and that life would be complete because of that.

But, what Jesus is saying is that He is the way, the truth and the life. That if we want to get to know God, we have to go through Jesus. That is the only way.

So, the question is - is He YOUR way and YOUR truth? If so, why and if not, why not?

The challenge this week is to go out and discover who Christ is so that:

1. You can get to know who God is and what He is about.
2. You can begin to make him your way so that when that next big event that comes about or when that next person comes up and says he know the way to true happiness, you can say, "That's ok, I know the real way and the real truth that leads to true life".

This week, discover who Christ and God is by opening up the Bible and reading. If you need a place to start, start with Luke 1 and do a chapter a day for the rest of the week. When you are done with that chapter answer these 3 questions:

1. What did Jesus say or do?
2. What does Jesus' words or actions communicate about who God is?
3. How can I apply what happened to my life?

Based on my life, I know that when I follow Jesus' way, His truth, I know God better and my life is more complete. How about yours? This week, let's all go out of our way to search the way and the truth Christ was about so that our way and truth can lead up to a full life that Christ promises to give us by following Him (John 10:10)

A Dance Party at Church???

Yep, that is what we did. During our 5th Quarter event, we transformed our high school room into a cool dance floor.

Now, doing a dance party can be quite controversial as dancing in christian circles is not always encouraged. But, at Cedar Run, we are a non-denominational small-to-medium sized church with not lots of tradition. Because of this, we have done some very impromptu dance parties throughout the years so we thought this would be something we would like to try. But, in order to do this, I felt that there had to be some good benefits to doing this. Here are the benefits we felt we could gain by doing this:

• It was a way to draw students into our Church. As I have posted before, 5th Quarter has been a great bridge event. Because of this, we already have a solid reputation around the area and felt that we could have a big draw.
• The t-shirts are a good promotion tool as the students will likely wear those shirts again, spurring possible questions like, "Where did you get that shirt" or "You had a dance party at a Church"???
• The word about Cedar Run would expand. So far, the excitement that we generated from the dance party was something we haven't generated since the Super Bowl Bash. It gets people talking and hopefully helps the students realize that there is something for them at Cedar Run.
• It was a good opportunity to promote other things we were doing at Cedar Run. Our latest Sunday night series is on "Tough Choices". We figured that if more non-Christians were going to come to 5th Quarter on Friday night, this would be a great series to promote for them to come to. So, as students were leaving, the leaders and I passed out our fliers for Sunday night. Students got to see that we weren't a place in which you just had fun at. We were a place where we talked about tough choices students face.

The one thing I have always loved about Cedar Run is that they give us the freedom to try new things. They allow us to be creative in our efforts to draw students (as long as it is safe). If all we ever did was Sunday School and then Sunday night Youth Group, then I feel that we would have missed opportunities to draw new students into our program. That is the purpose of these "bridge events". A dance party is neither traditional or a new idea. But, it is something we wanted to try and I am glad we did.

For More on the Dance Party, you can check out my other blog - www.notamegachurch.com

Worship: Singing Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs

This past Sunday was the 2nd week of our 3 week series on Worship. What is it exactly and what does it look like?

Worship is praising God's name and glorifying his name in all we do. It can take the form of many different ways, but this week, we actually looked worship through singing and praising God's name. In the Bible, there are many references to worship through song. Some of them are:

• Psalm 29:2 - “Give to the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness or in holy array.”
• Ephesians 5:19-20 – “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
• 1 Chronicles 16:9 – “Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; meditate on and talk of all His wondrous works and devoutly praise them!”
• Psalm 144:9 – “I will sing a new song to You, O God; upon a harp, an instrument of ten
• strings, will I offer praises to You.”
• Psalm 34:3 – “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.”

The challenge this week was to worship God through song, to take out that regular playlist on your iPod and replace it with worship music. So that, when you are in your car or just chilling, you can worship God through song.

But, like anything else, worship can sometimes become stale and mundane. You may know the song and the lyrics by heart so you just sing. Therefore, in addition to the challenge to sing praises to God he deserves, take worship a step further this week. Sing those songs with all your heart to the Lord. Focus on who He is and what He has done in your life. Then give him praise and honor.

So, worship the Lord today and the rest of the week. Sing to him psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and see how He ministers to you through that this week.

Loving Others

This week, we concluded our 3 week series on the Great Commandment by talking about Loving others (Matthew 22:39-40). In the 2 previous weeks in which we talked about how loving God starts with your heart (Luke 6:45) and how, before we could love other, we have to first be comfortable with who God created us to be.

Therefore, the challenge this week was simple - love others. In particular, love 3 people who are the hardest for you to love.

Jesus never gave guidelines for who we should love or how we should love them. He just simply said for us to love others as we love ourselves.

So, how are you doing loving others, especially the 3 you have the hardest time loving? Regardless of how you started off the week, finish this week strong. Love others this week with a passion and determination unlike any other and see how God blesses that commitment.

Loving God

This past week we began a series on the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40). This first week, we focused on Loving God.

To hear the message that Katie Von Kahle gave to the high school students, you can download it here or go to iTunes and search Tom Pounder.

What does it mean to love God? How can you love him with all your heart, mind and soul?

In Luke 6:45, Christ says, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”

Loving God starts with your heart. It starts with a passion and a desire to love him and serve him – not just because he is God, but for all that he has done for you and brought you through.

So, how is your heart towards God? Do you love him with all your heart, mind and soul? If you don’t, why not? What is preventing you from that?

This week, do a gut check. Do you love God with all your heart, mind and soul? Why or why not?

Then, pray that God would give you that passion to love him the way he deserves to be loved.

My 30 Days of Prayer Update - Week 4

The one thing I have been most encouraged by with Cedar Run's 30 Days of Prayer challenge has been the focus to be praying for specific things.

That has caused me to think and rethink through my prayer strategy for our Youth Program. What am I praying for? Who am I praying for? Am I praying for and believing God will work in the lives of our students and our program?

This week's prayer focus for me is to be praying for our youth and our youth program more specifically. I want to be praying for God's movement in their lives and his guidance for our program. It can be very easy at times to just move and lead students by my own power or thought. But, the students don't need to be impacted by my movement. These students need to be impacted by the Lord and I need to be turning to him specifically for them.

These last 30 days of prayer have been a great reminder and refocus for me be actively praying for the youth and giving it all over to the Lord.

My 30 Days of Prayer Update - Week 3

Living in the past can be so easy. It's great to reflect on the glory days or the days of our youth in which we have some pretty fond memories. Bruce Springsteen even sings about the glory days.

But, just as great as those past days can be, it can also be a hinderance to moving forward. Sometimes looking at our past and reflecting on it can cause a lot of pain and suffering. You can see missed opportunities or painful events that will cause you to relive and experience those things.

It is very sad and although I may not be able to understand all that people went through or experienced in their past, I do know that getting out of the past and moving forward is not an easy thing to do.

But, some encouragement can be found in Philippians 3:13-14. In it Paul says, "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Paul had a crazy past before he came into a relationship with Christ. So, he had lots of opportunities to reflect on his past. That could have caused him to not be as impactful for Christ as he could have been. After all, he used to imprison Christians and participated in the deaths of other believers for following Christ. How then, could he be used for Christ's glory? Simple, by focusing on the future and the prize for which God called him heavenward in Christ!

I know it sounds simple but is not. But we have to move forward always striving to draw close to Christ and allowing him to direct us. He can and WILL use us despite our past. We, then, have to consciously decide to move forward and not let Satan distract us or use it against us.

So, that is my prayer for us this week. That we can look past our past and be open to God's leading so we can move forward.

My 30 Days of Prayer Update - Week 2

School has started! What a great time of year, a time of new beginnings and fresh starts.

But, as a parent myself, it is also a stressful time. Who are my children socializing with? Are they safe? Are they nice? How do the other children treat my daughters? Do my girls play well with others or are they selfish? Do they listen to their teachers?

There is so much to be stressful about, but alas, it is completely out of my control. That is why all I can do is offer it up in prayer to God. I find hope in:

Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

And, 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

So, my prayer this week is for my children and your children that they will be in safe hands and that the Lord will be with them throughout their time at school each day.

What about you? What are you praying for? How is God working in your life? Post a comment to encourage others.

My 30 Days of Prayer Update

This past Sunday at Cedar Run, we started a 30 days of Prayer Challenge. I referenced Paul's challenge to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to "pray continually" and the reasons why should pray. They were:

• It provides us with a way to confess our sins and accept his forgiveness (1 John 1:9)
• It is a way to hear his will for our lives and gives God a chance to guide and direct us (Proverbs 2:6-8)
• It gives us an opportunity to thank Him for all the blessings in our lives (Psalm 107:1)
• It provides us with a chance to pray for those who are sick or need healing, including ourselves (James 5:14-16)
• It is a way to worship Him and give him praises (Psalm 95:6)

These are great things to be praying through when you spend time with God. If you haven't looked at these verses before, spend some time on them and pray through them.

Well, this week I have been praying for 2 specific things:

1. For a college student I know who was having a challenging start to the semester. I prayed that God would work in this persons life, that they would be able to connect with other believers there and that they could continue to adjust to college life.
2. That God would move me and continue to open doors for me to further his kingdom, that I would not miss out on opportunities he presents.

It has been great to be specifically praying for these things and seeing God begin to work in them.

Are you doing the 30 Day Prayer Challenge? If so, what are you praying for and how are you seeing God work in that? Post a comment.

If not, start today and see how you experience God and how he works in those situations.

Testifying who God is

This morning I read John 5:31-45 and I was struck in particular by verse 36 when Christ said, "I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. "

It struck me for a few reasons:

1. Because Christ was saying that everything he is doing is because of his life purpose.
2. That everything he was doing testifies to God.
3. Christ finished strong! He accomplished his life purpose.

This led me to 2 questions and I challenge you to think about them as well. It caused me to think:

1. Is everything I am doing what God intended me to do?
2. Is everything I am doing a positive testimony to God?

Everyday, Christ was a living testimony to God's plan for his life and was always a positive witness to God and his Kingdom. Because of this, it is safe to say that Christ has brought more people into the Kingdom of Heaven then we will ever be able to know or understand. His impact is beyond comprehension.

Can the same be said of my life? Of your life?

Psalm 42:1-2 says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?"

When we hunger and thirst for the Lord and seek Him first and foremost, he is faithful and will encourage us and take us to that next level so that in everything that we do, we know that we are living according to his intended purpose and being a positive testimony to his greatness and glory.

Missed Opportunities

Just recently, Anne and I lost a good friend of ours, Pete Hill. I knew Pete for over 15 years dating back to when he was a youth group leader and I was in high school. Pete was a great man, husband and father. Please pray for his wife and 2 young children.

For the longest time, Pete and I were very close as we shared a love for the Cowboys and a heart for young people to come to know the Lord. We also did ministry together for years, we were roommates for a few years and he was in my wedding. We had several great times together. But, over the last few years, life happens and while we still talked, we rarely hung out. And that, is probably the one thing that bothers me the most. It is the amount of missed opportunities I had with him over the past few years.

I can make excuse after excuse as to why we both allowed things to prevent us from getting together more often, but that does no good now. Pete is gone and I had missed opportunities to spend time with a great man.

Christ says, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

I know this scripture is used so much in regards to outreach, but I think this passage reflects exactly what Pete did in his life. He went and made disciples in all that he did. Whether it was how he acted or what he said (or didn't say), he represented Christ and sought to make disciples. Therefore, as fellow believers and followers of Christ, I want to encourage you this week to:

• Make time for those most important to you. Don't miss opportunities and let time pass by without seeing and spending time together. One of the things I loved about Pete was that he was genuinely interested in you and wanted to spend time with you. Life happens and we become busy, but when we allow life to dictate what we do and don't do, we may miss great opportunities to spend time with others who are very important to us.
• Share the love of Christ to others. As I already mentioned, one of the other things I loved about Pete is that he represented and reflected Christ's nature so much that it was impossible for us to be together and not talk about Christ and how we can be growing in Him. When you are with others this week, especially believers, talk about and encourage each other in Christ. It is true that we never know when someone will be taken away from us. Therefore, don't miss opportunities to share Christ and who he is to others. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Pete was saved and knew Christ as his Lord and savior. But, there are others in my life who I am not certain of. Are there others in your life that you may not be certain of? Don't let time go by and miss opportunities to share Christ with them.

It is sad that it takes a very unexpected and tragic event to make you reflect on what matters most. I am going to miss my friend very much. Don't wait for a tragic event to happen in your life. Act now and share Christ with those you care about the most.

Take some time and pray that God opens doors for you to connect with others and share Him this week.

Serving this Summer

This summer has been a great service summer for the youth (and congregation as a whole) of Cedar Run. The Youth went to Coatesville, PA, helped a team to Nicaragua and helped out at Vacation Bible School. Each service opportunity was a great success as many people got to hear about God's love and see it in action.

Why do we serve? What purpose does it meet?

There are many reasons to serve, but I believe a chief reason is to emulate the example of Christ himself.

Read Mark 10:43-45

1. What does Christ say here?
2. How does Christ model servanthood?

Application:

Christ could have simply said, "whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all" and that would have been a great saying. But, as everyone knows, talk is cheap. So, while James and John were asking Jesus to help them hold such a high position in the kingdom of heaven, Christ called them and us to a higher standard. Not only did Christ call us to a higher standard, he modeled it and showed everyone what that meant.

So, again, why do you serve? Do you serve out of the goodness of your heart? Do you serve because you will feel better about yourself or because you want to get recognized?

OR, do you serve because of the example Christ gave to us? Do you serve because the King of Kings viewed service so importantly that he came down from heaven, in obedience to his father (Philippians 2:7-8), to die for our sins?

Remember, Christ didn't have to die. He choose to serve us and die. He gave us his royal throne and all the perks that he had in heaven to die for us. That is sacrificing. That is serving.

Based on Christ's example, how can you serve others this week?

Pray that God opens up opportunities for you to serve others this week.

Mission Trip - Saturday Update and Devotional

Well, we are coming home today! But, it has been an amazing trip. This trip will go down as one of the best mission trips Cedar Run has taken and I pray that we can build upon this and carry the momentum, community and excitement with us into the fall.

Our teams worked so hard yesterday to complete as much work as possible yesterday in their last day. They did such a great job. But, what was even more amazing was to see the looks on our teams faces when they had to leave the families we were ministering to all week. Yes, we did a great work for different families and they were blessed because of it. But, it seemed like we were blessed far more than they were. The memories and stories we have to share are numerous and we will be sharing them all when we return today.

Here is our devotional we will be working on today:

DEVOTIONAL:

Have you ever said something, either blatantly or innocently, that has offended someone? How did that person you offended respond? Were you able to bring resolution to the incident? If so, how?

Read Matthew 5:23-24, 6:14-15, Ephesians 4:25-27

What do these verses say about making a relationship right?


Why should we go and make a relationship right?

Additional Thoughts and Application:

Over the course of a week where you spend 24 hours a day with others, tensions can run high and things can be said to that offend and may even deeply hurt someone else. Whether you intended to do it or now, you may have offended someone over the past week. Because of that offense, a foothold may have been created that could cause friction and ungodly attitudes towards others. Christ calls us to so much more than that. Christ unites, not divides.

Take a minute and think about whether or not you have offended or hurt someone with something you said or did this week. Following the example Christ and Peter talked about, prayerful consider how you can bring reconciliation to a relationship before you leave Coatesville.