Who Went Where?

Have you ever been so involved with an activity or event that people move in and out of your realm without much notice? Even with my ADD, if I get focused on something, I can become completely oblivious to the real world happening around me. But are there times in our lives when we are "working" for the Lord and we get so focused on the "working" we completely miss that God has moved out of that realm. Don't misunderstand what I am saying. There is nowhere we can go outside of the presence of God. I am a firm believer in God's omnipresence. But what about God's blessings? Is it possible we get so wrapped up in ourselves, what we are doing, who we are doing it for, that we miss the fact that God isn't with us? In Judges 16, Samson experienced this. Judges 16:20 says, "But he didn't realize the Lord had left him." Wow. I think it is our first inclination to feel sadness for him. Samson was in a bad place and he didn't even realize it. I think we also feel confused for him. After all, how could God leave him and he not realize it? But are there times in our own lives that we are going about our merry way, completely oblivious to the position of God in our lives? And in our churches and ministries, how many things are going on that God has left a long time ago, but we hang on with white knuckles, refusing to let go because we've always done it this way? May we take time today to examine our lives and make sure that we are with the Lord in every of life. Is the Lord still with you in your job? Is the Lord still with you in how you are raising your family? Is the Lord still with you in your ministry? “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished." --Jesus Christ (in John 5:19-20 NLT)

Wednesday Night Recap - If Today Was Your Last Day

For our discussion last night, we discussed the Nickelback song, "If Today Was Your Last Day." I found this discussion on the website www.thesource4ym.com. This site has been a great resource for me in the past. For details on last night's discussion, click here.

Final Mission Trip Video - Friday and the Drive Home

More Mission Trip Videos

From Thursday.

It's All In How You Say It

In reading through Judges, a particular passage stood out to me this morning. In Judges 12:5-6, we read: Jephthah captured the shallow crossings of the Jordan River, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim tried to go back across, the men of Gilead would challenge him. “Are you a member of the tribe of Ephraim?” they would ask. If the man said, “No, I’m not,” 6 they would tell him to say “Shibboleth.” If he was from Ephraim, he would say “Sibboleth,” because people from Ephraim cannot pronounce the word correctly. Then they would take him and kill him at the shallow crossings of the Jordan. In all, 42,000 Ephraimites were killed at that time. (NLT) Jephthah, the judge of Israel, was able to distinguish his people from outsiders simply by the way they spoke. I can’t help but wonder if there is some application in this passage for us today. What does the way we talk say about us? Who does our language say we belong to?

ARSM Mission Trip - Wednesday Videos

Mission Trip Update

Sorry this is late. Finding time to edit and post videos in the busy schedule here is a little difficult. One more day to work on Thursday. It's been a good week. Enjoy these 2 videos form the past couple of days.

ARSM Mission Trip Day 1

Wednesday Night Recap - Heart to Heart

In the final talk in our Heart Check series, tonight we looked at the topic “Heart to Heart.” Have you ever had a heart to heart talk with someone? What was the conversation about? Today, many youth don’t understand what a heart to heart talk is. Why? Many parents have stopped having those conversations with their children. So what is a heart to heart talk? I would define a heart to heart talk as a conversation between two or more people dealing with a serious topic. Topics discussed could include career choices, college choices, relationships, sexual activity before marriage and so on. A heart to heart allows someone to share their deepest feelings and beliefs about that topic. Let’s look at a heart to heart talk we need to have with our friends and family. If we are going to have a heart to heart talk, what would our topic of conversation be? We listed a few options above. For our subject matter, look at Matthew 7:13-14: “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell[a] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” (NLT) Many people in life subscribe to the AC/DC theology. What is the AC/DC theology? It is also known as the “Highway to Hell” theology. “Living easy, living free…going down, party time, my friends are gonna be there too…” (Lyrics from Highway to Hell by AC/DC) Many people want to live their life their way with no one interfering or infringing on their freedom. But why would people do this? Why would people put themselves on a path to hell? I believe it is because most people no longer believe in a literal place called hell. And if hell doesn’t exist, then I don’t have to worry about every getting there. I can party my life away with no thought for the future. The passage in Matthew tells us some important things. 1. Hell is a very real place. We don’t like to discuss hell because it is such an unpleasant topic. I must admit that from the scare tactics used to frighten people into salvation I have seen, I shy away from the topic some. But our discomfort doesn’t take away from the fact that hell is a very real place for those that do not enter the “narrow gate.” Hell is also a place of great torment. In Luke 16, Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Here we get a glimpse of what hell is like and it is not a pleasant place. 2. There is only one way to heaven and eternal life. As I was reading the paper the other morning, I noticed an ad for a church in the DSM area that said, “There are many paths to God.” WRONG!!! If this Scripture teaches us anything it is that there is one path. And that path is through Jesus Christ. 3. Few will find life. As Christians, we will now and forever be in the minority. Life isn’t found by following the crowd but by following Christ through the narrow gate and along the narrow road. So if we believe the things we’ve said so far, how important is this topic? It is VERY important. Why? Because we are talking about people’s lives, eternity and their souls. So what are we to do about it? Romans 10:13-15 gives us some guidance on how to begin this important heart to heart with those God has placed in our lives: For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” (NLT) If our goal is to see others come to know Christ in the same life-changing way we have, there is something that first must happen…WE MUST GO AND TELL THEM! Notice the progression of this passage. How can they ever call on the name of Jesus if first they don’t believe? They will only come to believe if they hear the good news of Jesus Christ. They are not able to hear unless someone cares enough to tell them. We will never tell them unless we go. It all begins with us going and telling. That’s how this heart to heart talk must begin. Notice the content of this conversation isn’t about useless information. Heart to heart talks are never about questions you might find on Jeopardy, sports stats, celebrity news. We must realize that we possess the most important life-changing information. We have a responsibility to tell others! We have a responsibility to have some heart to heart talks with others about it. So who have you told recently? More importantly, who will you tell today, tomorrow, this week? Go and tell someone the incredible good news of Jesus Christ.