Mousetrap #4 -- Guilt -- 022311

Tonight we finished our mousetrap series, things that stop us from pursuing God and the destiny he has for us. Tonight we talked about guilt being a mouse trap. There are two types of guilt: objective and subjective.

Objective guilt is the state of being guilty for breaking a law, either man's law or God's law. It doesn't necessarily mean we will feel guilty about breaking the law, but we still are in a state of guilt, thus a need for punishment. Hebrews 10:22 tells us that in order to deal with this guilt we must go to God, be sincere, have faith in God's love and forgiveness, and be cleansed because of our repentance. This type of guilt leads us to repentance, forgiveness, freedom, and connection with others and God. At times we also have to make amends to those we have hurt. This guilt is good because it causes us to see that we have done wrong, see that we need forgiveness, rpeent from the bad we have done,a nd be restored to a position of innocence and freedom.

Subjective guilt is the feeling of guilt caused by us causing something bad to happen or even when we feel guilt over something we think is our fault but isn't. Thigns we have done wrong in the past that have hurt others or ourselves (like lying, cheating, backstabbing, lusting, etc...) should be taken care of first of all like we deal with objective guilt (repentance and making amends). But if you still ahve those feelings after you have repented and made amends it is time to be reminded that what God has forgiven has been forgiven, and now it is just our enemy trying to make us feel condemned for something God has condemmed. Check it out in Romans 8:1-2. There are also times when we bleame ourselves or others blame us for things that weren't our fault (like divorce, rape, abuse, death of friends and family, etc...). We need to know it wasn't our fault and we can let go fo that guilt. Subjective guilt leads us into depression and disconnection. This guilt is bad because it casues us to dwell and not move on from that guilt, it causes su to run from those who could help us, and often time it doesn't show us the truth that some thigns were not even our fault.

You can be freed from guilt and purse God and the destiny he has for you. The first step is to take care of your state of guilt (repent and make amends). The next step is to realize that once you are forgiven you are no longer condemned by God, you can move on because He has. Finally, you need to realize that some things happen but they aren't your fault, other people make bad decisions and bad things happen but you aren't at fault and your feeligns of guilt won't fix the past. Be freed today!

I give tonight: B
Favorite Moment: Burping Contests

Mousetrap #3 -- Apathy -- 021611

Tonight we continued our series on mousetraps, things that keep us from pursuing God and the destiny He has for us. So far we have talked about addictions and ferocious friends. The third mousetrap is apathy. Apathy is a lack fo feeling, interest, or concern for something or someone. We can be apathetic about a lot of different things. Revelation 3:14-22 tells us that God views apathy as being lukewarm water, thus stagnant and unusable. There are two areas that we can be apathetic in that acts as a mousetrap. #1 -- Apathy toward others. We stop caring for others and their needs. Why? Sometimes we have been hurt, taken advantage of, being tired, being wrapped up in our own problems, being wrapped up in too much stuff, or even prejudice. Since we have apathy towards others we become useless to God and the plans that he has for us. #2 -- Apathy toward our relationship with God. We stop caring about our relationship with God and become satisifed with our level of righteousness. We don't care to grow closer to God or to live a holier life. Why? We get stuck in a rut with church, worship, prayer, and reading our bible, it is too difficult to make changes in certain areas, or sometimes because it is easier and safer not to change. We finished with a week long challenge of figuring out how we can break free from apathy toward others and toward your relationship with God. Do you have any good ideas?

I give tonight: B+
Favorite moment: Tacos! Corn!

Mousetrap #2 -- Ferocious Friends -- 020911

Tonight we continued our series on moustraps: things that stop usf rom pursuing God and the destiny he has for us. Tonight's trap was the trap of Ferocious friends which are friends that are friends in name only but their actions show they aren't. Here is a clearer defintion.

1. A good friend stand by you, a ferocious friend stands on you.
2. A good friend loves you unconditionally, a ferocious friend's love is based on conditions.
3. A good friend listens, a ferocious friend only talks.
4. A good friend protects and cares for your well being, a ferocious friend harms and only cares for themselves.
5. A good friend pushes you away from harm, a ferocious friend pushes you into harm.
6. A good friend confronts you when you do wrong, a ferocious friend praises you or ignores you when you do wrong.
7. A good friend gives wise advice, a ferocious friend gives bad advice that will hurt you.
8. A good friend leads you toward doing right, a ferocious friend leads you toward doing wrong.
9. A good friend pulls you up to a relationship with God, a ferocious friend pulls you down and away from a relationship with God.

Do you have ferocious friends? If so it is time to stop hanging around with them, before you find yourself not able to pursue God and the destiny He has for you.

Are you being a good friend? if not it is time to aplogize and start changing.

I give tonight: A
Favorite moment: Jesus is a Friend of Mine Video

Mousetrap #1 -- Addictions -- 020211

Tonight we started a new series called mousetrap. Over the next four weeks we are going to explore different traps that stop us from being able to pursue God and the destiny he has for us. The first of the mousetraps is addictions. An addiction is compulsive need for and use of a habit forming substance charactrized by tolerance and by well defined physicolgical symptoms upon withdrawal. There are many bad things we can get addicted to: cutting, porn, sex outside of marriage, texting, facebook, video games, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, popularity, etc...

When thinking about addiction I tend to think of fly paper traps. I was always grossed otu by them, but they appealed to the flys. Fly paper is a strip of paper that has some phermones to draw the flys to it, then it has a long lasting sticky substance on it so that when a fly touches it, it becomes stuck, then a poison so that the fly will eat it and die. Addictions act the same way. at frist the thing seems unattractive. But then we get closer and we become strangely drawn to it (through friends, looks fun, family, famous people, etc...). When we get too close and actually experience that thing we suddenly become struck and no matter how hard we struggle, on our own we can't escape. Finally our relationship with God, with others, and our destiny are swallowed up by this thing instead until we are utterly spiritual and emotionally dead because of it. The big question becomes how do we find freedom when we are trapped so that we can pursue God and our destiny again. Titus 3:3-7 tells us that it starts with turning to God for forgiveness and renewal by the Holy Spirit. So to break through an addiction we need to Look Up (to God for help and forgiveness), Look Over (to others to encourage us and become accountable to), and Run (stay away from people and places that encourage us to go back to that addiction).

I give tonight: A

Favorite Moment: The many who walked into the fly paper

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!

Invasion #3: 121510

Tonight we finished our series about invastion by talking about the current invasion that is going on. Jesus already came and he will come again, but the current invasion is him using us as his ambassadors to this world in order to reconcile himself with sinful humans. In order for us to be Christ's ambassadors we have to accomplish 3 things. #1 We have to live in this world and care for the people here. #2 We have to represent our leader in our words and our actions. #3 We have to actually try to convice others to come to our leader's way of belief. How are you doing as Christ's ambassador?

I give tonight: A+
Favorite Moment: Ice Cream Is Never A Good Idea

Invasion #2 -- 120810

Tonight we continued our series entitled Invasion. This week we talked about a coming invasion, when Jesus will return to this earth. We beleive that Jesus will return and it is somethign we find in the Bible. Acts 1:11 and Luke 21:27 tell us that he will return in the same way he left. mark 13:32 tells us that no one will know when it will happen. Revelation 22:12 tells us that it will happen soon. And Matthew 24:25-27 tells us that when he comes back it will be obvious to all, not a secret, that he has come back. We finished by reading 2nd Peter 3:3-11 which talks about Jesus coming back. In it we ar told that if he is coming back so soon what should our lives look like? Shouldn't we do our best to have a good relationship with God and live holy lives? So what in your life needs to change?

I give tonight: A
Favorite Moment: Jesus making a crater on when he lands back on earth