Tonight at Contagious

Tonight started off with our "pre-game meeting" with our family group leaders.  The leaders now have a binder with their students' info sheets which gives the leaders contact info, family info and also a glimpse at the student's story of how they have trusted Jesus as Savior.  I reminded our leaders that they are their family groups youth minister, their shepherd.  This week I'll dig up some good articles the emphasize this approach and e-mail them to the team.  I think we will ruminate on this for a while.

Students were spread all out in the big lobby hanging out.  I saw youth leaders investing in the lives of students by building relationships.  Some were playing Apples to Apples, Boggle, Ping Pong and Farkle.  I was up on the balcony chilling on the sofa with some of the high school students and then I joined in a game of Farkle.  The snack line up: nachos, chips, oreos.

Tonight we talked about our mission, to share the good news of Christ.  Students were encouraged to share:

1.  With their life

2.  With an invitation 

3.  With their story

We also gave the students time to share their story with each other in their family groups. Hopefully giving them an opportunity to build up some courage to share their faith.

I hear that some of the high school students went and hung out at McD's after youth group tonight.  I think that's cool.  The more relationships they build in the church the more likely they are to stick around.  

Today is Sunday

All across this great land of ours it is Sunday.  This means thousands of families will be getting up and getting dressed and heading to their church.  Some will go to truly worship and some will go out of a need to fill their religious duty for the week for various reasons.

In beds, all across this great land of ours, there are teenagers who don't want to get out of bed and go to church with the family.  Stayed up too late, friends won't be there, just want to sleep in, want the house to themselves while the rest of the family is gone for various reasons.

In homes, all across this great land of ours, there will be parents who throw their hands up in surrender to their teen's demand to stay in bed.  Tired of the fight, don't want to force "religion" on their teen, "don't want to drive their teen away", just don't feel like dealing with it for various reasons.

Today, all acros this great land of ours, there will be senior pastors who wonder to themselves, "Where are the teenagers today?".  The senior pastors will question the youth pastors later this week in staff meeting, "how come you can have 50 kids on Wednesday night but we don't have 10 on Sunday morning?"  The youth pastors will feel  pressure, some will even lose their jobs.

Why don't they come to church?  Some parents have given up on parenting and shepherding their child's heart.   I think that the problem lies in the church service.  Most students aren't spiritually mature enough to get the "it's not about me" attitude, mostly because they aren't seeing this lived out by the adults in their lives and in their church.  Who is the church service geared towards?  In most churches the service is definitely not geared towards students.  Students don't listen to organ music on their iPods.  Many sermons aren't even designed to be applied by students.  Forty-five minutes is a long time to sit and listen to a "lecture".  

These are my thoughts on teens and Sunday church attendance.  What are yours?

The Cry of the Orphan

I'm Thankful

I'm thankful to God for:

• making it possible for me to know Him through faith in Jesus Christ
  
• my beautiful, awesome wife
  
• my incredibly cute son, my squooshy boy, a gift from God
  
• my parents
  
• my family, even my brothers, all of them
  
• that we have Tricia and Gwyneth with us, you go girls!
• my home, it's nice to have a roof and a warm house
  
• my dog, she's a loyal friend and likes me no matter what
  
• living in America
  
• our men and women in uniform defending our freedom
  
• my church family, Nags Head Church rocks!
  
• the ministry God has placed me in
  
• the pastors at NHC
  
• the nursery team
  
• the children's team
  
• the youth team
  
• Maui, Maui No Ka Oi
  
• Outer Banks
  
• friends, both new and old, by old I mean known them a long time, which makes them old
  
• food and clean water (many people today won't have either)
  
• only one class to go to get my graduate degree
  
• ice cream, let's not forget ice cream, especially coconut macadamia nut
  
• great Mexican food, especially rice and beans, can't eat one without the other
  
• Hawaiian food, local grinds are some onolicious brah
• the ocean
  
• Did I mention my wife and son?

The Grace of God

Often I’m blown away by the grace of God because he has given me what I do not deserve.  Then I stop and think about my life and I wonder how He can love me and see me as blameless.  I know I have sinned but God views me, Andy, His child, as blameless.  When God looks at me he doesn’t see my sin, He sees His Son and God knows that my sin debt has been paid. 

King David stated in Psalm 26 that he leads a blameless life.  Huh?  David committed adultery, murder and a few other sins I’m sure but he was a “man after God’s own heart”.  I think David grasped the grace and forgiveness of God.  David gives us some great things to teach our children in Psalm 26. 

• Trust God without wavering (v 1)
  
• God search my heart and my mind (v 2)
  
• Walk always in God’s truth keeping His love in mind (v 3)
  
• Be careful whom you hang out with (v 4, 5)
  
• Give God praise and talk about the great things God has done (v 7)
  
• Love the place where God dwells.  For us today as believers that would be our very lives. (v 8)
  
• God has redeemed us and shown us Mercy (v 11)
  

 

 

Gobble Gobble!

That’s right, it’s about God.  Yet another holiday with God as the basis of the holiday, much like Christmas.  Watch TV during Thanksgiving and we will see lots of people dressed like pilgrims and Native Americans.  Watching the news this morning I saw that there are parents protesting their children’s school because of the making of the paper pilgrim hats and bonnets as well as headbands with feathers. 

Now I grew up my entire elementary school life, which is a year longer than most Americans because I failed K5, making the construction paper hats and headbands.  One year I even dressed in a complete native American costume.  Look at me, it didn’t distort me or cause me any permanent damage. . . OK maybe I’m not the best example.  But I do know that Thanksgiving isn't a negative towards our Native Americans.  The Native Americans played a huge roll in helping the pilgrims survive, a relationship that was great for 50 years.

I hear a lot of “What are you thankful for?”, “I’m thankful for ______.” on TV but I don’t hear “I’m thankful to God for ________.”  Again another holiday moving away from God and becoming consumer centered. 

This year let’s make sure our kids understand that Thanksgiving is about giving thanks to God.  The pilgrims recognized God, so should we:

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

From the most detailed description of the "First Thanksgiving" comes from Edward Winslow from A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, in 1621.

Side Note:  I don’t ever remember being taught that Squanto, the native American who helped the pilgrims, already spoke English.  Taught English by other European settlers and trappers and also was sold into slavery, sent to live in Spain and then was freed by his master and allowed to return to America.  I learned this watching the Peanuts Thanksgiving special last night.  See, cartoons are a great source of education and knowledge.

 

"It's My Life!"

“It’s my life!” How many parents of teens have heard this phrase shouted in their home? Yes, I see that hand. How many of us have been guilty of saying that to our parents? Yes, I see our hands.

It is important to share with our kids that indeed it is not our life. We have been bought with a price. Jesus redeemed our lives when He went to the cross and died for our sins. Jesus paid the purchase price so who owns us? Right. This life I have is not my own, I belong to God.

How do we teach this to our kids?
• Live it out ourselves. They must see in our lives that we recognize that our lives belong to God. Our hypocrisy as parents can cause great spiritual damage.
• Discover together. Show them from God’s Word. Read with them. Note I didn’t say “pound them I the head with the Bible” or “preach” at them.
• Recognize this lived out in the lives of others. Point your teen to someone who is living this fundamental of faith out in his or her life.
• Discuss together God’s right to our lives. How would recognizing this change our decision making process?

Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long
Psalm 25:4

Four Man Farkle tournament

Ready For Christmas?

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Faith of a Child

Matthew 18:3  

3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Yesterday I got a phone call from my 4 year old son.  He asked me, "can we put up the kwismis twee?"  Of course being the man of steel I said, "No way, it's not Christmas Eve yet!"  Actually I said "yes".

I got home and immediately started bringing boxes up from downstairs.  After we ate supper we started to put up the tree and decorate it.  My son said, "If we put up the Christmas tree it will snow."  He was pretty sure of it.

Living on the OBX we rarely see snow, maybe a flurry or two.  One long time resident told me today he had never seen snow in November.  This morning I rolled out of bed and walked into the living room, looked out the window and it was dumping snow!  I ran and woke Mish up and told her it was snowing.  I then went in and scooped up the little man.  Brought him into the living room.  It brought my heart great joy to see him smile and say, "It's snowing!"  Then later he added, "God made it snow."

I must admit that often I don't have that kind of faith, the faith of a child.  My son reminded me about faith and I'm glad he did.  Sometimes we forget that God is a God of miracles.  Did God make it snow because a little 4 year old boy thought it would?  I don't know, I'm not God.  Did God make it snow to remind me about faith?  Quite possible.

I've heard people say that having faith in God is a blind faith.  They mean it in a negative way.  They are exactly right.  If it wasn't blind it wouldn't be faith.  Faith is trust in what you can't see.  I have faith in gravity.  I can't see gravity but I know it is there.  Same goes with my faith in God.

Do you have the faith of a little child?

Great Christmas Gift Idea

LIVE Bible LIVE isn't a book your teens will just read...they'll live it.That's because as teens dive in, they'll come face to face with hundreds of opportunities to do something about what they're reading. To respond. To grow. To roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. Sometimes they'll apply what they're learning alone. Other times they'll find someone to help. But always they'll stretch themselves, finding ways to infuse their faith into life at school, at home, and with friends and family. LIVE delivers easy-to-understand NLT text and hundreds of relevant opportunities to respond to God's Word right on the spot. Illustrations are by teenagers, for teenagers. Brief devotions and challenges peppered through the Bible invite honest, open responses.  This youth Bible takes "interactive" to an entirely new level! Teenagers who use the LIVE Bible will find: Introductions to 16 real-life, remarkable people from around the globe. Room to respond in their Bibles. To question. To think. To express themselves. Jesus sightings. Teens will see the thread that runs throughout the Bible from Genesis straight to Jesus. Straightforward, means-what-it-says NLT text that makes for great devotional reading and solid study. Clear, concise, and accurate. An invitation to join the community. Upload their faith expressions to www.group.com/roughedit--We'll post their photos, poems, sketches, whatever images honestly reflect how God is speaking to them. Think of it as an online gallery showing how God's revealing himself through teens like your and teens, well...not like yours.  $18.99 for a soft cover, $21.99 for a hard cover, $16,99 for soft cover in bulk (10 or more), $19.99 bulk hard covers.

Buy it Here