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Winter Jam 2008

Winter Jam 2008 is coming soon (Feb. 15 for us to be exact). This year's concert will feature: Group 1 Crew, Mandisa, NewSong, Barlow Girl, Skillet and MercyMe. Here's a video to get you ready.

Mission: Possible

This weekend, will be Mission: Possible. We are going to look at some amazing plans that God has for you and how you can avoid three pitfalls that can prevent you from accomplishing the awesome mission God designed for you.

You can come after school or up until supper. We will be hanging out until around 6, when we will eat supper. After that will be games, a movie and the Bible study. Bring your Bible, some note paper, something to sleep in (clothes and a sleeping bag/covers) and a good attitude.

See you Friday. I can't wait for you to grasp the astounding potential that God has placed in your life!

UPDATE: Some of you are more excited than I knew. We had originally talked about a Saturday outreach, but I was just going to cancel it because of a scheduling conflict at church and because I just didn't think we could get it to work. It turns out that some of you have already invited people - you rock! So with that Saturday is back on! We will probably meet at the softball field and play football and hang out for an hour or so, then I will do a short devotion. If I can work it out to do a movie and a meal somehow we will do that, too.

Spiderman

I just finished up the superheroes of the faith last night. We talked about the biggest superhero in pop culture today - Spiderman. The three movies have broken box office records, while affirming positive values and quality character.

Uncle Ben's words to Peter Parker echo through each movie: "With great power comes great responsibility." To Spiderman that meant because he had been given great powers, he had a responsibility to use those powers in a great way - to do good and protect the innocent. He shouldn't use them to make money (as he tried to do in the first film), give up on using his powers completely (the second film) or use them to gain personal popularity and enact vengeance (the most recent movie). He was always reminded of the message that Uncle Ben gave him and it guided his life as he tried to life up to that standard.

As a Christian, we have an even greater power than Peter Parker - the power that raised Christ from the dead. God has called us through that power to be His people on earth. 1 Peter 2:9:

But you are a chosen people, royal priests, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. You were chosen to tell about the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

The second part of the verse alludes to the fact that our calling has a purpose, which Peter more explicitly explains in verse 12:

People who do not believe are living all around you and might say that you are doing wrong. Live such good lives that they will see the good things you do and will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again.

Our God-given responsibility is to live our lives in such a way that non-Christians around us see the good things we do and they glorify God over them. In fact some people will glorify God on the day when Christ comes again because they have received Him after seeing our good works.

God has saved us for service. Our great power and blessings that God has given us are not for us to simply grab for ourselves and sit inside the church doing nothing with them. We are to use them to live God-honoring lives and see others come to know Him because of our lifestyle. That is a huge responsibility, but God has given us a huge power to accomplish it.

Anytime you see Spiderman, remember the directive that Uncle Ben gave him, but even more remember the mission that God has given you. Remember that while you have great power from God, you also have a great responsibility to live a life that causes unbelievers to recognize Christ in you and glorify God.

Flash

My first introduction to Flash was the early 90's TV show "The Flash." None of you youth are going to remember the show because it was on before most of you were born (Man, I'm old!). But anyway, I always loved seeing The Flash use his super speed to defeat bad guys and protect the city.

Did you know that God gave super speed to one of his Old Testament prophets? The Bible is better and cooler than any comic book because the characters and plot are better, plus it's real.

After God used Elijah to defeat the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18, the prophet of the Lord was waiting for the rain to come that God had promised.

There had been a drought in the land for three years because of the disobedience of the people. Elijah had told them that God would withhold rain because of their rejection of Him. Before Elijah went to challenge the false gods, he told the king that God was going to send rain.

Elijah after seeing God consume his offering with fire, told King Ahab to get ready because heard the sound of heavy rain coming. It was going to be such a downpour that the king would not be able to travel.

As soon as the king went to eat and drink, Elijah hit his knees and begin to pray - there was no rain yet, not even a cloud. He sent his servant six times to look for any indication of the impending rain. Six times, he came back with nothing.

How many times has God told us He was going to do something, but we gave up on Him after praying just a couple of times. "God, I've prayed two or three times about this. You promised You would do it, but apparently not. Maybe I just heard wrong."

Elijah was confident in God's direction. He sent his servant back a seventh time and he came back with a report of "a cloud the size of a man's hand." All Elijah needed was this small indication that God was working. He told the king to hitch up the chariot and go before he got flooded out.

How often do we see God moving in small ways and downplay it? It may be an indication of the big work God is about to do. Never ignore even a small sign from God, especially if it is in keeping with a promise he has already made.

As this point, you're wondering where the whole "Flash" thing comes in. It's in the last two verses of the chapter, verse 45 and 46:

Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. The power of the LORD came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

I don't know why God wanted Elijah in Jezreel before Ahab, but He did and He gave Elijah the power to accomplish His will. Maybe God wanted Elijah to be the first one to tell the wicked queen Jezebel about God's victory at Mount Carmel and the rain showers coming down the mountain. I don't know, but the story gives me confidence that no matter what God has called me to do, He is going to empower me to accomplish His work.

It's the same for you. If God has called you to do something, just know that He will give you everything you need to complete His task. I don't think he'll make you The Flash, but you'll have power from God and do His will and that's a lot cooler than just being able to run fast.

Robin

When I say Batman, what do you automatically think of? Robin. He is the perpetual sidekick, never the main event or the headline superhero. He's always there to help Batman and do what needs to be done.

A lot of people don't remember the old school TV show (BAM! ZAP! KERPOW!), but in the show and in the cartoons today, when Robin did what Batman told him to do every thing went as planned and they caught the bad guy. When Robin decided to do things his own way and get ahead of Batman, the Caped Crusader had to come in and fix the problems that were created by the sidekick forgetting his place.

In the New Testament, we look at people like Peter and Paul as the superheroes who got it all done. But behind the scenes there were some amazing sidekicks that did not desire the limelight. They just wanted to serve Jesus and others and point people to the cross. One of the men who stand out to me is Silas.

Silas is mentioned 31 times in the New Testament, only three times is his name mentioned by itself. Almost always he is listed as "{Somebody} and Silas." Most often he is seen as Paul's sidekick and is with him on many of his most memorable events.

The first time we see Silas' name, he is called respected. The last time he is referred to as faithful. His Christian walk is characterized by consistently follow Jesus, not caring who gets the credit.

That's what we need more of in Christianity today. We have too many people that want their name listed first and to have someone pat them on the back and tell them how great they are. We need more people who will be sidekicks, who will take a back seat in order to accomplish great things for God.

Robin (and Silas) are like offensive lineman. The running back and quarterback get all the love and all the press, but neither could do anything if not for the offensive lineman. They clear the holes for the running back, so he can turn a big run up the field. They protect the quarterback so he can find the open receiver for a touchdown. Then they trot back to the sideline, ready to do their job again. They only get noticed when they mess up and the quarterback gets sacked or the running back is stopped before the line of scrimmage. We need more offensive lineman in Christianity.

How about you? Do you do the good things just to get noticed by people or do you simply want to see God glorified and you will do whatever it takes - even if it means nobody knows what you did except you and God. Can you be a sidekick for Jesus?

Wolverine

When you think of superheroes that can be used to teach Christian lessons and compared to Biblical people, you probably don't think about Wolverine - the anti-hero of the X-Men.

When I think about Wolverine, I think about someone who attacks firsts and asks questions later. I see a man who has made so many mistakes and sometimes doesn't know how to deal with them. He has untapped leadership potential because too often he just does his own thing with little regard for anyone else. But if there is someone who you want on your team when the situation turns ugly - it's Wolverine. He'll step out and up when nobody else will. I see a lot of the Apostle Peter in the character of Wolverine.

Peter had been known to use his sword when it wasn't the time. He definitely made some mistakes and dealt with them by running back to the things he did before he was called. While Peter got away from his problems by going fishing, Wolverine always ran trying to both hide from and discover his past.

The main difference between Peter and Wolverine is that Peter grew up and became the leader that he was created to be. While Wolverine routinely collapses beneath the weight of his past and goes off on his own, Peter, when confronted by Jesus, eventually responds in the correct manner and sees 3,000 people come to know Christ at his first sermon.

That's the choice we face in our life. Do we respond to failures in our past (we all have them) like Wolverine or Peter? Both have similar personalities, but Wolverine consistently allows his past to drag him into seasons of depression and uselessness to the X-men. Peter, on the other hand, realized his failures but followed Jesus and moved beyond the mistakes.

Your team (your church body) needs you and your unique abilities. You cannot allow the past to dictate your future and the plans that God has for you. Put your mistakes in the rearview mirror and do some "uncanny" things for Christ.

Being the body

Thank you to all of you who showed up last night (regulars and guests). What you witnessed and participated in was Nazareth Baptist Church being the body of Christ. You (and almost the entire church) stepped up and sacrificially served another member - now that's what I'm talking about.

People were using their spiritual gifts. Young and old alike were working together to minister a fellow church member in need. It was fantastic. I almost teared up at a couple points - and that's not counting me being in that small, tight attic with rat droppings all around me. I almost cried then too, but I was truly touched by the servant spirit I saw in a lot of you. It spoke to me to see teenagers and elderly work together hand in hand, sometimes taking a moment in between carrying furniture out to give each other a hug. Man, that's Jesus up and down.

Keep that up. God is going to use you to turn Blacksburg and beyond around for His glory. I can't wait to see it!

NGU football game - Sept. 13

Next Thursday (Sept. 13 for those who didn't understand what "next Thursday" meant Sunday), Pam will be taking whoever would like to go up to North Greenville for the football game and Chasen concert. You MUST tell me if you are going by Sunday so I can buy the tickets. You also need to bring $10 to pay for food.

We will be leaving right after school on Thursday and will not be getting back home until around midnight, so let your parents know it will be late. It should be a fun time before the game. The parking yard (not lot, it's all grass) will be crazy with the band, tailgating, football, and a big church party bus with video games. The game should be exciting (Go Crusaders!) and will be televised across the Upstate of SC. The craziest and most fun thing might be the van ride home. (Here's hoping for someone to catch a cramp and yell for mustard - inside joke.)

If you want more information about what is going on that night you can go to CrusaderTailgate.com. If you want more info on Chasen, you can look at their MySpace page.

Extreme Interpretive Movement

This is one of the clearest, most profound illustrations of Jesus' love, grace and forgiveness I have ever seen. It makes me thankful for what He has done in my life.

The Fantastic Four

I just started a new series on Wednesday nights with my RA boys called Superheroes of the Faith, where we are looking at comic superheroes who match up with Biblical examples. Last night we talked about the Fantastic Four. In the comics and the recent movies, the Fantastic Four use their four different abilities to work together to accomplish their set goal - whether its defeating Dr. Doom or stopping the Silver Surfer (thank you Cody for ruining that ending before I saw the movie). They have their mission and they do what it takes to complete it....fantastically (what can I say, I'm corny).

In the Bible, we find another fantastic four who had a goal, a mission that they were passionate about, and they did whatever it took to reach it. Check out Mark 2:1-11, here we see four friends who knew their friend had to reach Jesus and they went to extreme measures to get him there.

I don't think these four guys had superpowers. I'm positive no one yelled "flame on!" and flew to Jesus (besides I'm pretty sure the mat they were carrying the paralyzed guy on would have burned up). They weren't comic book characters. These four were just regular people who had a friend with a need that could only be met by Jesus.

They hauled their friend on his mat for however long it took because they heard Jesus was at home. When they got there, the place was packed (it probably took them longer than most because they are carrying a grown man around). It was an overflow crowd out the doors.

At this point, they had a decision to make. They could have said, "You know Steve (let's pretend his name is Steve), we carried you all the way here, but look we can't even get close to Jesus. Sorry, but we really busy right now. We don't have the time. We tried, but it just won't work out. We'll even carry you back home."

But that's not what they did. These were real friends, they somehow carried up on top of the roof, tore a hole in it and lowered their friend down right in front of Jesus while He was teaching. Jesus, never the one to let teaching get in the way of ministering, healed the guy both physically and spiritually because of the faith he saw in the friends.

Don't miss that - the friends' faith is what Jesus based His healing on. He could see their faith through the extreme actions they took to bring their friend to Him.

How about you? Would you be willing to do whatever it took to bring your friends and family to Jesus? What extreme measures would you take to make sure they find the One that meet every need they have?

Be a part of a Fantastic Four, a Dynamic Duo, a Triumphant Trio (thanks Ted!) or whatever is needed to reach people for Jesus, that's how you can be a superhero of the faith.

I love you and I'll miss you..but enough of that

To all my Nazareth youth: I love you and I will miss you. I want to have as much fun and see you grow as much in Christ as possible before I leave. I know God has an awesome plan for each of you and I am leaving in capable hands - the other leaders and more importantly God's. Take hold of it and never let go. To quote Preacher Joe "Jesus loves you and I do, too!"

Now enough of that until December. We are going to do everything we can to make this an exciting, unforgettable last few months of 2006 - more than anything else I hope it will continue to be life-changing. My prayer is that you will continue (until December and beyond) working to become more like Jesus and allowing Him to be who He wants to be in your life.

Memphis Trip 2006

What its all about - sharing Jesus with others. Here we are with "our kids" at Rosamond Ave. in Memphis, TN. featuring music from our favorite band: High Calling.

Crazy Youth 2006

I promise - we did do some serious things last year.

UPDATE: I, in no way, recommend or endorse anything on YouTube other than the specific videos I have posted on my blog. YouTube, like the internet as a whole, can be fun and useful, but it can also be used in the opposite way. Some of the things that it may pull up as "related" to this or other videos are not part of any of my videos. I encourage everyone to be cautious about clicking on any YouTube link or video if you don't know exactly what is in the video. Thanks for your understanding!

Crazy Youth Leaders 2006

I know some youth leaders are going to hate me for this one.

Napolean's Time Machine

That's the last time we play PlayStation at my house.