Losing Your Temper -- Wednesday, April 28th

Tonight we finished our series on How to Be a FOOL. We talked about Numbers 22:23-33 in which Balaam becomes angry when his donkey keeps doing things that he doesn't want it to. He beats the donkey until it has its mouth opened and tells him he was just trying to protect Balaam from death. Anger makes us lose control. It happens when we are frustrated, feel alone, feel hut, don't understand what is happening, feel like something ins't fair, or when we see it demonstrated to us. Anger can hurt hose around us,e ven though they don't deserve it. Ephesians 4:26-27 tells us to not sin when we are angry. Anger is an emotion, it just happens, what is important is how we deal with that emotion. So we spelled out a wise way of dealing with anger:
W ave goodbye to angry people
I nvite God to help
S earch and destroy the root (why you get mad)
E liminate bad responses

I Give Tonight: A+
Favorite Moment: The Play (Cody and Dillion)

Order Your Life Wrongly -- Wednesday, April 21st

Tonight we continued our series on how to be a FOOL. We have said that we can be foolish by Falling for peer pressure, by Offering sin a place in your life, and now tonight we said by Ordering your life wrongly. In our story tonight we found out that Balaam did in fact bless Israel instead of cursing them but afterward gave the king advice to send some women their way to draw them away from God. He ends up dying when Israel takes over the land. Balaam had placed money has the highest thing in his life, even above God and his commands, and his actions proved that this was what he based his life on. We can base our lives on things other than God as well (popularity, money, love, entertainment, career, your dreams, etc...) and your actions will flow from what you ahve based your life on. But the end result is the same as Balaam's, it might start well for you but in the end it will end badly. Or we can center our lives on God. Our actions should flow from this, touching every part of our lives (school, family, friends, homework, relationships, etc...) The end result is like Israel, blessed (not perfect) life and eventually possessing the land (heaven). Have you been ordering your life aruond something other than God? Even as Christians we sometimes do this. Do you want to center your life on God instead? Today is a good day to make that change!

I give tonight: D+
Favorite Moment: Zac and Joel winning the memory verse challenge!

Fool -- Wednesday, April 7th

Tonight we started our new series: How to Be a FOOL. We started by looking at Numbers 22:1-19, which is the story of one fool, Balaam son of Beor. In the story he is asked to curse the Israelites, but after God tells him no he refuses. When the king trying to hiring him sends more money and more men he feels the pressure but tells them no again, but this time tells them to stay and he will ask God again, even though he already knows what the answer is.

What is peer pressure? It is being pushed to do soemthing by those around you. It can be friends, family, students, the media, etc... It can be good or bad and it can be spoken or unspoken.

How do you stand up to peer pressure?
#1 -- Build a solid foundation. Know who you are, who God is is, that you can trust God, what you belive in, what is right and wrong. And then live by all that and make the right choices over time repeatedly.

#2 -- Know you don't stand alone. There are other Christians standing with you and even God is standing with you when you do right.

#3 -- Exert equal or more pressure back. Like the arm wrestling game tonight it is hard not to fall for peer pressure when fight alone, but also when we don't fight at all. We need to stand together and push back as a group, giving equal or more pressure back to those around us to do the right things.

I give tonight: A+
Favorite Moment: Tera vs. Devin and wins!