Life #4 -- Redifine Success -- 012611

Tonight we finished our series on four tips that can help you win at the game of life.

#1 -- Allow God to Rule

#2 -- Change Your Focus

#3 -- Find a Family

#4 -- Redifine Success

What makes a person successful? Is it how much money they have? Their possessions? Popularity? Fame? Their job? Who they have dated? Who they have married? If they had kids? If they are happy? God has a definition of success that he puts forward in 1st John 2:15-17. He tells us that the world goes after four things in order to become successful. #1. Getting what we crave after (power, possessions, etc...), #2. Getting what you lust after (people, money, etc...), #3. What you have, and What you do. But then he turns it over and says that his definition of success is doing the will of God. What is God's will, that we would listen to him (his bible, from other christians, from God directly) and then that we would obey him. If we do this, no matter how rich we are, no matter how famous we are, no matter if we are happy or not, we are successful. Do you want to be successful?

I give tonight: A

Favorite Moment: Signs of Success

Life #3 -- Find a Family -- 011911

Tonight we continued our series of tips on how to win the game of life. Tonight's tip: Find a Family. Families are groups of people that we live our life with. A family is there to encourage growth, teach how to live, protect, provide for needs, and provide stability. We all have a biological family that we can't choose but we can also choose to live our life together with other people and there is one family that really wants you to be part of it so it can help you be successful in life, the family of God. Ephesians 2:19-22 tells us that when we accept Christ we are adopted into his family, we become his children and each other's brothers and sisters. This youth group can be your family if you allow it to be. It can encourage growth in your relationship with God. It can tach you how to live in the way that God wants. It can protect you from spiritual traps, dangerous people, dangerous situatons, etc.... It can provide for your spiritual, emotional, and eve at times physical needs. It can provide stability when everything else is falling apart. Maybe you aren't part of the family yet, today is a good day to join by accepting Christ as your savior and Lord.

I give tonight: A-

Favorite Moment: Awkward Family Photos

Life #2 -- Change Your Focus -- 011211

Tonight we continued our series on winning the game of Life. our first tip was to allow God to have rulership. Tonight we gave you the tip to change your focus. We are often focused on ourselves. We can see this by the things we spend our free time on, what me spend our money on, etc... Mostly we see this as stuff that will benefit us. If you focused just on yourself for your life you would be selfish, egotistical, and lonely. The bible tells us that if we are focusing on ourself we won't be able to win the game of life. Instead it suggests in Philippians 2:3-5 what our focus should be.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility
consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not
only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your
attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus."

The bible is saying our focus shoudln't be on ourself but instead on others. So how can you chang eyour focus from yourself to someone else this week? How can you spend time this week focusing on someone else's needs instead of what you want? How can you spend your money in a way that helps others rather than just yourself?

I give tonight: C

Favorite Moment: Stereogram Deception

Life #1 -- Give Up Control -- 010511

Tonight we started a series talkign about how to win at the game of life. Over the next month we are going to give four tips to winning. The first on is that in order to win you need to allow God to run the game. In Matthew 16:24-26 we learn that we need to give up and take up two things: Rulership and Plans. We need to give up our rulership. Right now you make up what is right and wrong for you and you are in charge of your life. We need to give up our plans. Right now you decide what you are going to do with your life in the future. Instead we need to take up God's rulership, which means that Jesus becomes your Lord, your rulter and thus He sets the rules (what is right and wrong) and you abide by them. We call this salvation. We need to take up God's plans. God knows why you were born and has a plan for your life and it is better than any plan we can make for ourselves, which means it is more satsifying. No matther where God leades, you will follow, no matter what God wants you to do with yoru life, you do it. Are you ready to give up rulership in your life and let God be ruler?

I give tonight: B-
Favorite Moment: New Groups!