85 posts tagged “church”
Last night after an amazing message from Pastor Dan on temptation, we broke up into our small groups as usual. I have an amazing co-leader Laurie and a great group of about ten girls. We had a deep discussion on temptation and what it means to be pure. I was surprise when i saw Dan telling me to wrap it up. We almost always go over, but it's never a problem. So we finished the discussion and headed back to the youth room. Which was dark and quite, not normal at all. I open the door and hear 50+ teens and volunteers scream "Surprise!". I was shocked, i couldn't believe that the whole youth room was decorated and set up to be a Baby Shower! Gifts, cupcakes, balloons, drinks and games all to welcome Daniel and I into the Canvas Family. I tried not to cry or pee in my pants, i really needed to use the bathroom. hehe :)
I was overwhelmed by the love that this church showed to us. I just couldn't wrap my mind around the whole thing. We have been volunteering for a little over three months there, and love it. However i just couldn't believe they would go to so much trouble to make me feel loved. It was so sweet. The pastors and staff here at Discovery work so hard to make sure everyone feels loved and appreciated, which many churches forget to do. It is my hope and prayer to be able to show them all my deepest gratitude and repay them in love for their love.
Love you all!
Tonight was awesome, there was just something special happening tonight. I was standing in this room full of teenagers and we were singing songs of praise to God. When all of a sudden i stopped singing and just sat down and listened. I lost my breath, because as i just sat and listened I could hear ALL and i really mean all of the teens singing. It wasn't a group of teens mouthing the words, it was a group of believes pouring their hearts out to their Savior. I was in awe! Truly in awe of the Lord and what He was doing in this place. I have been in large groups of teens singing praises, but i had never seen so many hearts open to the Lord singing with every fiber of their being. It was truly an amazing moment. I only wish you could have been there to see and feel it. Almost indescribable.
After our Christ centered worship time we continued in our study on doubt. Here is what Dan taught on:
Bottom Line: Faith grows when you learn how to view doubt through both what you know and what you’ve been through.
So what do you do when a doubt is too big? How do you handle a doubt that you just can’t seem to move past? You look back. You draw on the things you do know, the things that God has shown you. The things you have learned about Him in the past, both through information and experience. And you hang on to those things you do know, even when you’re left with questions about the things you don’t. Once we are able to see what God has done and is doing through both our experience and our knowledge, we are better equipped to manage the doubt.
Scripture:
Psalms 13:1-2 & 5-6
Psalms 71:16-17
It was an amazing night and I had a great time with my small group we went about a half an hour of time while discussing this topic. It really hit home to my girls and they had a lot to say and ask. They are awesome. Each and every week I have just grown deeper and deeper in love with these teens and this awesome ministry!
Raise your hand if you’ve ever doubted God. Everyone got their hands up? That’s because it’s human nature to doubt. It’s just in us to ask questions and to reevaluate. A lot of times doubt gets a bad wrap because of its ability to make us negative, and because we think once we start to entertain it our entire system of belief will collapse. But doubt, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. When used in the proper way, doubt helps us formulate an authentic and personal faith. That’s why it’s important to learn to express our doubts to others and to deal with them in the context of Christian community, so that God can work with our doubts to help strengthen our faith.
Tonight we started a new series on Doubt. Who among us don't have doubt? And i know that it's something most teenagers deal with. I am super excited to see what Pastor Dan will be teaching and how this will effect the teens. We started out the night with a fun game of "Human Knots" The kids loved it and all the teams except for one was able to undo their knot. In the end everyone had a great time, even if it was hard.
Our church has been going through the book of Ephesians each Sunday and the series has been called "Life Rocks". Learning how to take a life that is on the rocks and turning it into a life that ROCKS! Pastor Todd Clark has been doing an amazing job over the past few weeks, but this morning Pastor Scot Irwin preached and man was it powerful and convicting! We went verse by verse through Ephesians 4, learning about having friendships/relationships that Rock!
Scot gave us five "rocks" to build on:
1. Live Authentically (Eph. 4:25)
2. Respond Patiently (Eph. 4:26-27)
3. Act Selflessly (Eph. 4:28)
4. Speak Positively (Eph. 4:29-31)
5. Live Graciously (Eph. 4:31-32)
I need a lot of work in each of these areas!
He stressed living a life of GIVING not TAKING from others. And one big thing that hit home to me was that we need to build a new strong foundation on Christ to be able to put these "rocks" to good use. Because if you put these "rocks" on a weak and weathered foundation, it will only crumble. But if these "rocks" are put on the firm foundation of Christ you will be living the life God meant for you to live. A life that truly ROCKS! Thanks Scot for letting the Lord speak through you in such a powerful way. I needed to hear this sermon!
Love Jesus and worship Him with your Life!
From the days of John the
Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing,
and forceful men lay hold of it.
Matthew 11:12
It’s easy for all of us to unconsciously slip into
the mentality that our words, thoughts and actions only affect us.
That it is only our
world and our kingdom
that is affected. But there is a much bigger picture! Whenever we
make decisions in our lives to live in the kingdom of God, we are
participating in God’s ultimate plan to bring the kingdom of God
permanently to this world. Every time we make “upside down”
decisions, we are demonstrating to a watching world what it will be
like one day when God makes everything right once again. Every
decision matters and affects a much larger picture.
That is what we talked about tonight at youth group. It was our last night in the "Upside Down" series. This series has been eye opening and challenging for the students as well as for myself. Truly making me think about how i live my life and what changes i need to make. We didn't have very much small group time tonight, but that was ok, because Pastor Dan had a great message and even an awesome video for us to watch. The night was powerful.
We started out with a giant game of "Guess Who?" and then had a special guest lead us in worship. Ben Kolarcik, our worship pastor lead us in worship tonight. It was awesome, I love to hear him on Sunday mornings, and it was a treat to have him at Canvas tonight. The kids really enjoyed it as well, it was most defiantly a blessing! Thanks Ben for taking time out to be at Canvas tonight!
Tonight was another powerful night at Discovery Church. It is amazing to see God moving in teenagers lives.
Tonight was a special night to honor all those who work in all the different ministries. It was amazing to see a huge room full of 200 volunteers! Can you imagine that many people in one church willing to give up their time and energy to serve others and the Lord? It was amazing to see. The room was beautifully decorated and tables set with cloth table clothes and lovely pastries set up at each table.
The night was spent in worship and then honoring those who had worked so hard in the 2008- 2009 year. We had a great time and loved every minute of it. I have never been to a church who honored and cared for their volunteers as much as Discovery. The staff at Discovery works so hard everyday to encourage, educate and disciple the people who work in their ministries. They come a long side and partner with those who are volunteering. They know how much time, energy and work the volunteers give. It is such a gift to be at a church that has pastors and staff that care and appropriate those that volunteer. I am so honored to be a part of such an amazing group of people. And look forward to many years of service at this wonderful church.
So make sure you recognize and appropriate the people in your church, who aren't paid. And still work and give of their time as if it were their only job. Because if you don't, sadly great people leave and will find a place that does care about them. Don't let amazing workers slip through your fingers, send them a note make them feel special.
"So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." Romans 12:5-8
Tonight was Sienna's first night at AWANA. If you don't know what AWANA is here is a brief description:
Equipping Churches and Parents to Raise Christ-Following Kids for Life
Awana helps churches and parents worldwide raise children and youth to know, love and serve Christ! We do this through:
- Fully integrated programs for ages 2 to 18
- The best evangelism tools to reach unsaved children, youth and families
- Teaching that builds an enduring biblical faith
- Resources bringing churches and parents together to disciple the next generation
- Initial and ongoing volunteer training
- Healthy mentor and peer relationships
- Dynamic fun for children, teens and adults alike!
Daniel took her tonight and stayed to see how she would do. While I got to stay home and rest. Which was a blessing because i needed the rest, however i missed being able to be a part of this very big first in Sienna's life. However when Sienna got home tonight, she came running to me, wanting to tell me all about her night. I am looking forward to seeing what God does with Sienna in AWANA. I am super excited about her memorizing scripture and and digging deeper into knowing Christ as her personal Savior.
If you have a small child you need to check out if there is a AWANA club near you. You and your child will be blessed through it.
Meet my small group, photographed to the left. They are a mix of ages and personalities, however they all get a long and seem to really connect with each other. They go to differnt schools, have different hobbies and would other wise never really associate with each other. This is such a great way to broaden their friend base and learn that God created everyone to be different. I can't wait to get to know them more and build relationships with them.
Tonight I lead games again, i think i might be the official games person! Super excited about that! We played "Musical Chairs" my way! hehe! Which meant that each person wasn't trying to get a chair, but instead trying to get as many people in one chair as possible. This way they work together, instead of against each other. We started out with 30 chairs and 50 kids. We ended with six kids on just one chair. However I'm pretty sure if they did it again they could have gotten 10 kids on one chair. Most defiantly a game we need to play again!
Tonight was Discovery Church's High School Ministries (Canvas) Open House. We had youth group as usual, however the parents got to be included and see how we run our Wednesday Nights. It was beyond awesome to meet the parents and make connections. To both Daniel and I all these kids are new and so are their parents, so i loved the opportunity to meet their parents now and start building relationships not only with the teens but their parents as well. The best surprise of the night was Russell Wood a teen from our old youth group came with his mom and sister to check out our youth group. He wants and needs a place to fellowship with teens and learn more about Jesus. I was so excited to see him there and I am hoping that he will call Canvas home!
Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. Titus 2:3-5
I have so loved being a part of our new church, Discovery Church. and am so pleased to be used by God in their Student Ministries. Daniel and I have dived in and are really loving these kids and the ministry of this church. Well this group is much bigger then our old group. I was used to having about 10 to 15 kids to get to know, care about and disciple. Well now there are about 50. I am excited that we will be starting small groups this week and i will be getting my own little group of high school girls. Instead of trying to connect with each and every kid. So with such a large group and being a new leader it's been a little hard to get to know people. So i decided to invite a few girls to have ice cream and hang out. Well I had hoped and prayed that God would bring at least five girls to Cold Stones tonight. Well God being God he answered my prayer and took my small request and went above and beyond. To my shock and surprise 13 girls showed up just to hang out! I didn't even think that many girls even knew who i was.
