Jeopardy -- Question and Answer Night -- April 22nd

Tonight was:

Which was our Question and Answer Night. Over the last month we have had questions submitted by various youth. Here are the questions and the answers for the night!

How are you?
Well

What goes down here?
Stairs

Which has more stripes on a zebra, black or white?
Black

Have you seen a movie called Winn-Dixie?
Nope

Can I have more cookies?
No

300N/1 = 200M+3 = S <- Can You Solve this?
Yes

When are you going to get me a Xbox 360?
Never

When are you going to give or get me a Wii?
Never

Why are you bald?
I’m not, I still have hair on my head

Why are you half bald and half not bald?
My theory is you can only have so much hair in total, so I have gone partially bald because some of it has migrated

What is your favorite cookie that Lacey has made?
Oatmeal Raisin

What is your favorite donut?
Old Fashioned

What’s ur fav drink?
When I drank it, Live Wire

What is in twinkies? And why don’t you like them?
Creamy filling. I was created with an amazing sense of taste, so I am able to judge if something is actually good or not…it is not

If you were writing a question for Q and A night, what would it be?
Why do you hate the Patriots and Cats?

When is the baby due?
July 20th + or - 2 weeks

What’s your kid’s PK Power going to be? If you don’t know, will you make up one for me right now?
PK stands for psychokinetic or Pastor’s Kid, but I don’t know. Joel will have the PK power of quoting your dad’s sermons at awkward moments.

What makes flowers bloom?
I think it was a designed in thing from God to help in keeping plants alive and spreading. The weather plays a big part in it, as it warms up, flowers start to develop and bloom in order to aid in pollenization for the plant. Why warmer weather? Insects and birds come out, more sunshine to aid in chlorophyll production, more rain during that time of year to provide it for plant growth. The pollen was moved from stamen to the pistil, allowing the plant to be fertilized, produce seeds, and grow more plants

How did Lacey get pregnant?
Well I just explained the birds and the bees, now apply it to Lacey and I…no pictures will be provided

What is your baby’s exact name?
Emma Elizabeth Gorrod

How big is the youth group?
By person we have had 588 over 6.5 years. This year we have had 123 different people. By average we have 26.07 a night over 6.5 years. By average we have 39.93 a night this year. By weight, I think about average, we have a good mix of skinny and not so skinny

Why do we have chairs? And why do we set on them?
We have chairs because someone bought them and brought them upstairs. We sit on them because that is what they are their for and youth leaders will tell you to get in a seat of you sit on the floor, you want to please people and not get in trouble so you obey

Are we allowed to put our feet/shoes on the couch?
Yes, if your feet/shoes aren’t dirty, they are on your couch, and they aren’t blocking someone else from sitting down.

Can you give us some specifications on the Amazing race coming in May?
We will over the month of may be doing a series called the amazing race, as a part of that each week we will give you a clue in order to complete a task or find something, if you are able to complete all four things, figure out the clues, you will win the prize

Can Josh and Joel come to your house to game sometime this month?
NO

When are you going to get me my candy bar?
I already did

What’s hi mean?
Hi is a shortened version of hello, which comes from hallo/hollo which came from the German hala/hola which came from holon (to fetch)

Why do people have earrings and holes in their ear?
Because they or someone else has put them in there

-6 x3+57/32+17-213x23 <- What is the answer to this?
-556.6666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666

Do you think it would be cool if there was a “Christian Rock Band”?
Yes, it would be awesome. Though not called it, there is Guitar Praise (pc)

Is Santa Claus really?
Really fat…yes

How big is the largest real bible? (you can turn the pages)
The Waynai: 8,048 pages, 43.5 inches tall x 98 inches wide, 1094 lbs

Why are we asking so many questions?
If we don’t ask questions we will never know the answers

Why are Mormons have nasty food?
No tea, coffee, liquor, eating meat is discouraged, but otherwise it is the same, so if it was nasty it was either because you didn’t like the things cooked, or it was cooked poorly

Why are we here on earth?
You were born here, and haven’t left. God wanted you born, and has a plan for your life. You have things to accomplish, that God wanted you here for. But we are also here to have a relationship with God and worship him and bring others into a relationship with him

Is it okay to pray for your future kids and spouse?
Yes, I did

Is it okay to think of your future kids and spouse often?
It is okay to think about them, but it shouldn’t become your focus, our focus shouldn’t dwell on the future or the past, but on now. Nor should our focus be exclusively on a person or possessions but rather on God

What are your proof texts for the belief of the rapture?
The word rapture is never used in the Bible, nor is the word Trinity. Rapture is a Latin word that means to be caught up and is the belief that at a point near the end of the world Jesus will return and bring all current believers up to heaven in a moment’s time, both the living and the dead. The Bible verses used by those who believe there is a rapture are as follows:
1. 1st Thessalonians 4:13-5:11
2. 1st Corinthians 15:51-52
3. Matthew 24:36-44

Is it wrong for us to hold church on Sunday instead of Saturday?
It is hard to hold a church anytime, they are heavy! The short answer is no. Saturday is the Sabbath, which is the day of rest made by God at the beginning of the world. That day was set apart by the Jews as a day of rest, a day of special sacrifices at temple, and a day to celebrate at home a service to God. Later it turned into attending a service at the synagogue. When Christianity started after Jesus rose again, most of the followers were Jewish and attended service on Saturday. But they also started to meet on Sundays in order to celebrate the day that Jesus rose from the dead. Over time the church brought in more non-Jews and they didn’t see why they had to do the rituals from the Jewish religion, and stopped Saturday worship, because they didn’t see a need for it, since they were Christians not Jews. Colossians 2:16-17 tells us, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” Romans 14:5 “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” Hebrews 10:25 “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Is it okay to believe in more than one God?
You can believe in more than one God, but it is important to believe what is true, rather than what we want to believe. More than one God doesn’t make a lot of sense, God by definition is the highest of all beings, if he is one of many he can’t have all power, and is just a more powerful being than you, so why not worship anything that is bigger or stronger than you. Second if you believe in more than one God it excludes you from believing in the God of the Bible, thus Christianity is not right, Jesus is a lie. Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one”

Why is homosexuality labeled as bad when there is nothing in the bible that says it is?…….Does Christianity say anything about homosexuality being right or wrong?
Yes it is talked about in the bible. Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; 1st Corinthians 6:9-10; 1st Timothy 1:10

I don’t know if I want to get married. I still want to be a mom. Is it still okay to have sex?
According to the bible the only place that sex is okay is inside the confines of marriage. We find this in many lists throughout the bible that list fornication as a sin, fornication is sex before marriage, as well as adultery, which is sex with someone other than your spouse. So no it wouldn’t be okay for you to have sex, but adoption is always a possibility, though you should make sure you pray about it and think about whether a one adult home is the best place for that child or not and if you are doing it for the right reasons.

Why do people die?
Death was brought into this world as a punishment for committing sin. Over time the length of life has gotten shorter and shorter because of disease and genetic problems. Most people actually die because of lack of oxygen to the brain, that is why brain dead is the ultimate dead. But take courage, there is more after you die

What happens when a person dies?
The bible isn’t entirely clear on the step by step of after you die. But it does give some intriguing clues. It tells us that when we die our body remains but our spirit departs our body, our spirit is who we really are, our consciousness. Jesus tells one of the men being crucified by him that that day he would see him in paradise (heaven) so you must go where you are going fairly quickly. There is a second place we can go (hell) that is a place of eternal punishment and if we don’t take Jesus as our savior that is where we are headed

I give tonight: A-
Favorite Moment of the Night: My back hair picture

Video From Wednesday, April 22nd

A very different version of Hey There Delilah

A Torn Curtain

Today we continued our series on the book of Mark. We read from Mark 15:21-47. In it we find what happens after Pilate sentenced Jesus to death. Jesus is lead out with the cross, but eventually a man named Simon is recruited to carry the 30-50 pound crossbeam. They lead him up to Golgotha, which means the place of the skull. After rejecting a pain killer, Jesus was nailed to a cross and crucified. This happened at 9am.

As he hung their people mocked him. At Noon the sky darkened for the next 3 hours. At the end of this time he cired out and gave up his spirit. At that very moment the curtain that seperated the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place was ripped in half from top to bottom. A bleiever named Joseph requested and recieved Jesus' body. He took the body and placed it in his own tomb, rolling a rock in front of the tomb.





I love the part of the story that talks about the temple curtain being ripped in half. It is both dramatic and symbolic. As you look at the temple you notice that it was built in a way in order to keep people away from God, because of their sin.

Outside the temple was the world, as you went in there was a court for the gentiles, so any believer could go that far. Then there was a women's court, only Jews could go that far. Inside further was the men's court, only Jewish men were allowed that far. Next was the Holy Place, only Jewish men who were priests could go that far in. Finally there was a curtain seperating that from the Most Holy Place. Only one person, the high priest, could enter this room, and that only once a year. That was the place the ark of the covenant was kept and where they believed God would be residing. Yet, when Jesus died that curtain was torn, giving everyone a way in which they could approach God, through Jesus' death.

I give this morning a: A+
Favorite Moment of the Morning: Jared's Ah Ha Moment

Videos from Wednesday, April 15th

Blood...That's Not Funny!

Chimpanzee On A Segway

C.S.I. Jerusalem -- The Resurrection -- Luke 24:1-12 -- April 15th

Tonight we completed our C.S.I. series with the outcome of Jesus' death...Jesus' resurrection. What was the resurrection? It was when Jesus came back to life. He died on 3pm on Friday and was back alive on Sunday morning, very early. Luke 24:1-12 says:

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the
spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled
away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the
Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in
clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the
women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why
do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!
Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son
of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the
third day be raised again.' " Then they remembered his
words.
When they came back from the tomb, they told all these
things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna,
Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the
apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed
to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending
over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away,
wondering to himself what had happened." (NIV)

How do we know the resurrection actually happened? First of all it was predicted early on in scripture. The Bible was inspired by God, who does not lie or make mistakes. Second of all the empty tomb was witnessed by his followers. Thirdly, his disciples and others actually encountered the resurrected Jesus. And finally, the followers being willing to die for this, instead of rejecting it in order to save their lives is proof that the resurrection really did happen.

What does it matter for us? 1st Corinthians 15:4 tells us that it is so important that the rest of our faith hinges on this one issue. It proves that Jesus is God, that Jesus has power over death, that salvation from sins comes through Jesus alone, that we will be resurrected too, and that Jesus will one day return. It is a pretty big deal!

I give tonight: B+
Favorite moment of the night: Chimpanzee Riding on a Segway

Pilate

For out C.I.A. Meeting this morning we continued our journey through the book of Mark. We talked about Mark 15:1-20. Jesus had already had his first trial at the Sanhedrian and we pick up the story with the rulers of the Jews deciding what to do about Jesus and how to get him executed. They handed him over to Pilate, who was governor of Judea from 26-36 ad. The Jews had made his charges that he had claimed to be King. Pilate questioned Jesus but Jesus would not answer. Pilate then gave the crowd an option: he would release a prisoner named Barabbas (a murderer and insurrectionist) or Jesus. The priests stirred up the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released. Pilate did in fact release them as they asked.

After this he asked them what they wanted done with jesus, and they asked for him to allow him to be crucified. Pilate not wanting a riot allowed Jesus to be flogged and turned him over to the soldiers.

When the soliders gathered they placed a robe of purple on him, put a crown of thorns and his head, beating him and mocking him merciously. Then they led him away to be crucified.

During our application time we thought about what Barabbas must have felt. He was sentenced to die, but Jesus took his place. He was probably relieved and joyful. But as we lok at our own lives we see that Jesus took our place as well. When he died he died for our sin, not his own, since he didn't sin. So the question became, what shoudl our response be to his sacrifice? Are we grateful, do we accept his death in our place, do we live for him since died for us?

I give this morning: A

Favorite moment of the morning: Joel being willing to die for Jared the death row inmate

C.S.I. Jerusalem -- Was It Jesus? -- John 10:14-18 -- April 8th

Tonight we continued our series C.S.I. Jerusalem. We finally figured out who was at fault for Jesus' death. Our suspect for the crime was the same one that died: Jesus. Let us look at the evidence for why we might think he was guilty.

#1 -- Jesus is God
#2 -- Jesus is, therefore, all-knowing and all-powerful
#3 -- Jesus chose to come to this earth
#4 -- Jesus knew what would happen to him when he came
#5 -- Jesus had the power to stop what was going to happen and had the knowledge of how to avoid what would happen. Read this passage and you will see what I mean by him knowing ahead of time, this passage took place just before his final week before he died.

They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the
disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took
the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. "We are going up
to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief
priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand
him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill
him. Three days later he will rise." -- Mark 10:32-34 (NIV)

Let's look at one more passage, this was Jesus speaking to his disicples the night before he died.

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep
know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my
life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must
bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock
and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my
life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of
my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up
again. This command I received from my Father." -- John 10:14-18 (NIV)

Jesus willingly gave up his life as a sacrifice for YOU! Why? So you could have a relationship with God. You can either reject this or accept it. If you accept it you should start a relationship with him, changing your life to follow him, and thanking him for the sacrfice he made!

I give tonight: A
Favorite moment of the night: The illustration of James Reddick, the mountain climber who sacrificed his own life in order to save the lives of his two kids.

Trials and Betrayals

For our C.I.A. Meeting this morning we continued our journey through the book of Mark. We talked about Mark 14:32-72. Shortly after the last supper Jesus and his discplies arrived in the Garden of Gethsemane. While there, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and had them keep watch while he went further and prayed. He begged God to take the cup for him but ultimately asked that God's will would be done not his. After praying for an hour he found his 3 disciples sound asleep. He did this three times. After the third time a crowed being led by Judas arrived.

Leading the group was Judas, one of his disciples. Judas betrayed him, turning him over to the guards. After a short scuffle, the disciples ran off. Jesus was taken to the Sanhedrian, with Peter following closely behind. The trial took place in the night but no two witnesses agreed with each other. Finally, frustrated, the high priest asked Jesus point blank if he was the Messiah, the Son of God.

Jesus responded by telling them he was. They convicted him of blasphemy and gave him a sentence of death. Afterward they spit on him, blindfolded him, and hit him with their fists. During this Peter, who had been told he would deny Jesus 3 times was standing outside. He was confronted on three occasions by people asking him if he was part of this Jesus' followers. Three times he denied it.

During our application time we talked about denying Jesus. We can deny Him with our words, but also with our actions. Maybe you have denied Jesus, but it is never to late to start living and speaking in ways that show that we are part of His followers.

I give this morning: B-

Favorite moment of the morning: Peter's southern accent

Video From Wednesday, April 1st

I know Kung Fu...Show Me!

C.S.I. Jerusalem -- Was It Pilate? -- John 18:28-39 -- April 1st

Tonight we continued our series called CSI Jerusalem. This week our suspect for the crime of killing Jesus was Pilate. Pilate was the governor of Judea for 10 years. This was both the place and time that Jesus' death took place. Let us look at the evidence that might point them out as the guilty party.

Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By
now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not
enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate
came out to them and asked, "What charges are you bringing against this
man?" "If he were not a criminal," they replied, "we would not have handed
him over to you." Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your
own law." "But we have no right to execute anyone," the Jews
objected. This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the
kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled. Pilate then went
back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the
Jews?" "Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you
about me?" "Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your
chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?" Jesus
said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to
prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
"You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in
saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came
into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens
to me." "What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the
Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your
custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you
want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?" -- John 18:28-39 (NIV)

#1 Pilate did sentence Jesus to die. That is all the evidence that we need.

The evidence is pretty strong that Pilate was guilty of the crime. But he was not guilty. But why? Thought Pilate did sentence Jesus to die he didn't want to do it. He tried to repeat Jesus repeatedly. In fact at the end Pilate is forced by threat from the crowds to do it. It is hard to find someone guilty when they were forced into making the decision.

Let's apply the passage for ourselves now. In this passage Pilate asked Jesus a question, "What is truth?" It is a great question. Is there truth and what is it? We used an illustration using cookies. I set out one cookie. Some people say that there is one cookie, which is true. Some say that there ar no cookies, some say there is more than one cookie, and some might say everything is a cookie. Not all of these statements can be true. Some say there are many truths, some say that there is no truth, some say that there are many truths, and some say that every thing is true. But there is only one of these that can be true.

Truth does not rely on your perspective nor does it change from one peson to the next. Turth is the same for every person through all of time.

With that said, if someone makes a claim that something is true or not true it becomes your responsiblity to decide if it is true or not. What you decide doesn't make that statement true or not, it being true makes it true. It is important to find out to the best of our ability if that statement is actually true or not.

Some claims I gave were: God exists, he wants to be part of your life, you were created for a purpose, Jesus lived, died and rose again, we can have forgiveness only through Jesus' death, God loves you specifically, and without Jesus we are lost and goign to hell. It is each persons job now to decide, are these true statements or not. What you decide won't affect if it is actually true or not, but it makes a big difference for you and the way you will live your life.

Now with all of that said it leaves us with three things to do if those things are true. 1. We need to know the truth. 2. We need to live the truth. 3. We need to share the truth.

I give tonight a: B
Favorite moment of the night: Youth leading worship