What Do You Want? -- Sunday, November 29th

This morning we continued the story of Genesis. We read from Genesis 29:16-30:24. In these verses we find the strange and messed up family of Jacob. He has ran away from home so that his brother won't kill him for stealing his blessing. He goes to his relative's, Laban, house and falls in love with his youngest daughter Rachel. She is very beautiful so he works for her to be his wife for 7 years. But on the wedding night Laban tricks him by having him marry his older, ugly daughter Leah. He then works for another 7 years for Rachel to become his wife. The two sisters fight. Leah wants her husband to love her, but instead just keeps having kids. Rachel wants to have kids but can't for many years. When she does she ends up having two, the second ends up with her dying during childbirth. Leah focused on earthly love and wouldn't settle for a better love, God's. Rachel focused on what she didn't have and thus was discontent. Eventually the thing she watned most that she thought would give her life meaning ended up killing her.

What is it that you want most? You have more going for you than you think. God created you in a unique way and even though you don't see it others do, so if you are discouraged ask others what they think you have going for you. What you want is an important question for you to know the answer to. It will be the thing that drives you, and if it isn't good then you will be headed in a bad direction and need to change it. If your focus is right you can use what you have, you will end up getting what you want. Meaning if your focus is on a relationship with God, and you put what you have into it, you will get it. So put God as yoru focus and you won't be disappointed.

I give this morning: C+
Favorite Moment: Doug's New Glasses

Yoked Up -- Sunday, November 23rd

Today we talked about being yoked unevenly. We read from Genesis 26:34-35 and 27:46-28:9 in which Esau marries some Hittite women who are not liked by the parents. We next jumped to Ezra 9:1-2 in which the Israelites who had just got back from captivity started to marry Canaanites, which had led them to Idolatry. Next we looked at the wisest man that ever lived, Solomon, in 1st Kings 11:1-9. In this section we learn that he married many foreign women who led him into idol worship rather than worshiping God. Finally we read from 2nd Corinthians 6:14-18 in which Paul tells us that we need to avoid being yoked together with unbeleivers, since we don't have anything in common. The phrase has to do with two oxen tethered together with a wooden yoke, the two becoming one. It is a reference to marriage but can be applied to dating, friendships, and business partnerships. So by these verses we see God saying, if you are a Christian don't date/marry a non-christian. Why? You are going two different directions and have two different puproses. You have two sets of morals (waht is right and wrong). Because of this you are most likely goign to lose something in yoru relationship with God. It also is because there is that constant pain waiting for them to come to God. Finally, God tells us no. So you now know what God tells us to not do, the question is: What will you do with that knowledge?

I give this morning: B+
Favorite Moment: Watching teams drag partners around the room

Sexual Purity Night #2 -- Wednesday, November 18th

Tonight was sexual purity night #2. The guys and girls split up and due to confidentiallity we won't discuss what was shared this night.

Video from Sunday School -- November 15th

God Doesn't Waste a Scar

God Doesn't Waste a Scar -- Sunday, November 15th

This morning we continued our story from Genesis in chapter 27. In this story we find Rebekah scheming with her son Jacob to get Isaac's blessing. They lie in order to get it, but by doing so they accomplish God's will. God's will is two fold. 1. That we obey Him by not sinning. 2. That we each have reason for being here and specific things he has for us to do. When we sin we are going against God's will. When we go our own path we are going against God's will. Other people do bad stuff as well and that is going against God's will. Yet, despite all the bad things we do God uses those things to accomplish His will. That doesn't mean he apporves of what is done, or that he likes it. It also doesn't mean that it is the best way, and certainly not the way He intended it, but he still uses it.

Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." God doesn't waste a scar. this verse doesn't mean that everything in life will be great. But it shoudl comfort you that God can take really bad things that others or you have done and change them into something good. It also should remind you that no matter what is happening, God can transform it into something better, as we follow Him. Jesus is the biggest and best example of this. He was killed, yet God used that death to bring about forgiveness for us all.

I give this morning: B+
Favorite Moment: Leah and Laura telling us what Jacob and Esau would be thinking

Hangout Night -- Friday, November 13th

Tonight we focused on superstitions.

Check out our photos at http://thetabyouth.spaces.live.com/

Video from Wednesday, November 11th

T.M.I.

AFV Cats

Praying for Guidance -- Sunday, November 8th

Today we continued our story in Genesis 24:11-22. In this massage Abraham makes a dying request for his son Isaac. He asks his servant to find a wife for Isaac. She has to be from his family, in order to avoid false worship and avoid loss of identity. The servant must find her and keep Isaac from leaving Canaan if he can't. The servant leaves for Ur, 100's of miles away and arrives tired and thristy with his camels. He prays and asks God to help him identify the girl, which God does help him. It is interesting though because he prayed, and God answered his prayer even as he prayed, which means God started to answer this even before he prayed.

So what does this teach us? We are all looking for guidance about what to do with our lives and where to go. When we do, we should pray and ask God for guidance. We should read the Bible and see what God has to say about it. We should get wisdom from wise people. We should trust that God is already working on it. Don't pray unless you are willing to follow through with what God tells you to do. Don't just assume you know what to do, life sometimes seems obvious, but we need to learn to involve God in all stages, even when we think it is obvious. Then wait for the answer.

I give this morning: A+
Favorite Moment: God's plan being like dominos falling

Video from Wednesday, November 4th

Confession of a Woman at a Well

Cold Case: Overcoming Your Past -- Wednesday, November 4th

Tonight we focused on the idea of overcoming our pasts. We read from John 8:2-11, in which a woman is caught committing adultery, dragged in front of Jesus, with the intent of having her executed. The woman was captured and sentanced to die for something she had done, something wrong. Who knows how long she had been going in this circle, her sexual sin trapping her. I once saw a dog tied up to a tree by a chain and it had been running around it until it had become completely wrapped, getting worse and worse until it was completely trapped against the tree. This woman's sins of the past were liked this chain, causing her to circle around and do the same thing over and over again until she too was trapped by her past, with no hope. She was going to die. But then Jesus set her free from that chain, so she no longer had to live with it and could move around freely. He told her to go and sin no more, free from the past, changing how she would act now.

Some of you are TRAPPED, bound up by your sins in the past. Things like drugs, alcohol, sex, porn, lying, stealing, cheating, witchcraft, etc... you are tied and keep circling back to the same thing over and over again, like a person stuck in a whirlpool. You don't have a way to escape, you are full of guilt and feel completely trapped. But there is HOPE, because God looks and sees you as you are, and still loves you, still wants to help you. He is willing to give you FREEDOM but removing those chains of the past, to free you from your past, so that you can start to live in freedom. Do you want freedom from your past? Turn to Jesus!

Favorite Moment: Woman at the Well Poetry
I Give Tonight: A-

Death Starts the Promise -- Sunday, November 1st, 2009

Today we continued our story of Abraham and Sarah in the book of Genesis. We started by reading from 6 passages in which God promises Abraham that he would own the land around him. We reach Genesis 23 (24 years have passed since the last story, nearly 100 since they left Ur) and in two chapters Abraham will die. We read from Genesis 23:1-20. In these verses we find Sarah, at the age of 127, die. Up to this point Abraham had no land, he had servants, possessions, and a son, but no land. But Abraham is able to purchase a small field with a cave to bury sarah in. It wasn't the whole land but it was a start. It wasn't until over 800 years later when David and Solomon were kings that the land was totally taken over. But the death started the fulfullment of the promise. It took many years of complications before it was done but through patience, perseverance, action, and God's miracles the promise was fulfilled.

For you, Jesus' death bought a foothold in overcoming sin. Victory was guaranteed by his death, just like buying the cave guaranteed vicotry. But you will still go through hard times, times of slavery to sin, times of half-victories over it, but you will eventually have complete victory. But it all started with Jesus' death, but won't end until either he returns or you die. We now live in the middle, the place os truggle. And we have to use patience. Patience is knowing you won't be perfect, so not feeling guilty and frustrated. We have to use perseverance which still trying to rid your life of sin even when you fail. We have to use action, which is actually putting Godly things in our lives and removing the sin. And finally we need God's miracles of forgivness and strength. He also provides others to give us strength as we struggle.

I give this morning: A-
Favorite Moment: Being encouraged

Heroes #3 -- Change Your World -- October 28th, 2009

Tonight we finished our series entitled Heroes. We started off by talking about a man named Mordecai Hamm (pictured above). He was born in 1877 and at the age of 8 felt like God had called him to preach but instead ended up in the photo enlargement business until 1900 when he felt God calling him to use his superpower of preaching and became an evangelist in 1901. In 1934 he went to Charlottesville, North Carolina and preached at a revival for 12 weeks. He continued preaching until 1961, the year that he died. He used his superpower. Not really known by him at the time but in the 1934 revival a 16 year old boy that cared nothing about God showed up and got saved. The boy grew up to be voted the #7 most admired person of the 21st Centure, advised 12 presidents, preached to somwhere aruond 2.2 billion people (more than anyone else that has ever lived), and has seen 2.5 million people accept Jesus under his preaching. His name....Billy Graham. One man used his superpower in the middle of nowhere and because he was willing to use the gifting and talent and passion God gave him he was able to change the world.

Every superhero finds out: What their power is; where thier power came from, and what their weaknesses are. The next thing they do is use their superpowers to do something. You have a superpower, the passions and talents God has placed in your life. What will you do with them? You have a chance to make a difference with those powers and God has a plan for them. Are you willing to do something with them?

Matthew 25:14-30 tells us a parable of talents (money) being used or hidden by servants. And we can treat our talents (passion and talents) the same way. We can use it for evil, we can hide it, or we can use it however God wants us to.

No matter what your superpower you have it can be used ot change the world, if you give it to God and use it!

I give tonight: C

Favorite Moment: Worship