Hey guys! Today's services were awesome! I love when the Word of the Lord is preached with such anointing and power. The Word of God is able to transform our lives and we need to be reading it daily so that God can speak to us through His Word. James 1:25 speaks of someone who "is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts--that person will be blessed in what he does." I don't know about you, but I do not want to be a forgetful hearer. I want to take God's instruction and apply it to my life so that it can change my life, attitude and character. Tonight's message is so vitally important to our relationship with Jesus that I wanted to post the main points here so that we can remember them all throughout this week. The main theme is that Jesus must be Prophet, Priest and King of our lives.
As Prophet:
He convicts us of sin in our lives and calls us to repentance.
As Priest:
He provided our atonement for sin on the cross and is now the mediator of our covenent with God. Because He is our priest, we are able to approach a holy God through the blood of Jesus.
As King:
He is master and Lord over our lives. We must be completely surrendered to Jesus in every area of our lives. We are no longer in control, but we must invite Him to take control and work His will for our lives.
Have a great week!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Recap 8/24/08
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Challenge
Tonight we were issued a challenge: Make the sacrifices necessary to go deeper with God so that we will see His promises fulfilled in our own lives and in the youth group. As I was reflecting back on tonight's service, it really got me thinking about what we make sacrifices for. I am reading a book right now by Kelly Minter called No Other Gods. In the book, she talks about how an idol is anything that you make sacrifices to/for, something that controls your life or determines your decisions. By that definition, idolatry can be anything that becomes more important in our life than God. I believe that it also means that worship requires sacrifice, whether it is to a false god or to the True God. We can choose to sacrifice our emotions and purity in a bad relationship, or our time to an unhealthy hobby. Sometimes the object of our worship isn't even a sinful thing, but if it becomes more important in our lives than God, it has just moved into idolatry. Friends, God is the only source of life. He is the only thing that will bring true fulfillment and satisfaction. If we are to worship Him, we will be required to make sacrifices. It may cost us relationships or popularity. We may have to fast some meals or miss hanging out on the weekends so that we can spend time in prayer, but the rewards are worth it. Any other god that we sacrifice to will leave us empty and broken, but our God gives life and joy and eternity in heaven. Tomorrow you will all be going back to school. Know that all of the staff will be praying for you. I hope have a great week.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Teen Talent 2008
Yay!!! I am so excited about our students that are going to International Teen Talent to represent our church as well as the state of Alabama this year. The bus will be leaving out at 5:00am Saturday morning with a bus full of students and their parents headed for San Antonio, Texas. Our drama team is competing in the human video category in the drama division. They will be performing a drama to "I Want it All Back". It is awesome. I have seen it so many times, but it is still powerful everytime I see it. Also, Jessica H. will be competing in the female solo vocalist category, singing "The Love of the Lord Endures" and Kyle W. will be singing "Gentle Savior" in the male solo vocalist category as well as competing in the brass category in trombone. Kyle H. will be competing in the art division. We are so proud of the talent that God has blessed these students with and pray they will continue to further the kingdom of God. Those of us who are not traveling to San Antonio will still be able to watch the drama team and Kyle and Jessica perform via the internet.
Click here to watch.
The times are as follows:
Monday, August 4th
10:00 am: Kyle W. singing "Gentle Savior"
7:00 pm: Jessica H. singing "The Love of the Lord Endures"
Tuesday, August 5th
9:00 am: Drama team performing "I Want it All Back"
8:30-12:30 am(?) Kyle W. on trombone (we do not know the exact time he will perform)
Also, look for an article in the Times Journal tomorrow about our students!
Have a blessed day.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
We love you, Pastor Wayne and Sister Ginger!!!
Today is Staff Appreciation Day at our church and we will be honoring our student pastor and music pastor. Truly, Pastor Wayne and Sister Ginger love students. From praying for you and encouraging you in your spiritual walk, to planning activities and having TWO fundraisers in one weekend, they show how much they care for you all. After working alongside these two amazing people for the past several months, I am confident that they are people of integrity who love God with all their hearts, and who have a passion for seeing souls won for the kingdom of God. Let them know how much we love them today. Also, you can leave a comment on this post and it will be emailed automatically to them. Have a blessed day today.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
F7 Yard Sale: part deux
We had another yard sale today to finish raising our money for International Teen Talent. We prayed off the rain for most of the day and thanks to our wise leader, Sista G, we moved all of the stuff under the breezeway just before the rain came. I didn't hear the final count, but I think we made around $900.00 (thank you, Lord). Several students had a little fun "modeling" some of the more interesting items for sale today.
I think Jen and Jessica actually purchased these outfits to wear for 80s day this year.
Okay, so Katie isn't modeling, but I had to put this picture on the blog. She turned our yard sale racks and tables into her very own skate park.
Caitlyn looking fabulous in the $2.00 prom dress.
Somebody call the fire department, we've got some hotties here.:)
Check out Abby's "make offer" sticker.
Oh my....what can I say about Josh in this picture...wow.
They look good to have biked an hour and fifteen minutes to the yard sale, don't they?
Every girl wants a guy who looks this great in a pleather skirt. Eww.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Announcements
July 31st the junior high students will be going to Spring Valley Beach water park. We will be leaving from the student center at 10:00am that Thursday.
August 14th we will kick off our college and career Bible study. We will be meeting the second and fourth Thursday night of each month to discuss relevant topics and really dig into God's word.
We are having a yard sale this Saturday, July 26th. Friday night we would like for anyone who can to come out and help us set up and price items. We will be starting early Saturday morning at 5:00am.
Last, but not least, this Sunday is Staff Appreciation Day. We will be honoring Pastor Wayne and Sister Ginger and Pastor Brandon and Sister Autumn. Let our awesome staff know how much we love and appreciate all that they do for us. We are having a dinner immediately following service for these amazing couples.
Have a GREAT week!
