Trek games...

We played some fun games at Trek the other night (thanks to Mr. DeVries) that got everyone moving and shaking.

One was "tails". Each person is given a tail and the person still standing with their tail at the end of the game is the winner. So basically you have to run around and try to pull everyone else's tail off.

The other game was "steal the bacon". The bacon (not real bacon, just a piece of cloth) is set in the middle of the floor. Each person on each team is given a number. When their number is called they run out towards the bacon with the people from the other teams that had their same number. So like if 2 is called, a 2 from each team comes out. The point is to get the bacon and get out of the circle before you get tagged by your opponent. This game takes quickness and smarts and maybe a little craftiness as well.

All to say, we had a good time playing games and since I got a few good pictures of the action, I thought I would share it with you. Notice the quick moves by Jenn and Bryan.

Birthday Parties for Jesus...

Thanks to all who helped with the Birthday Party for Jesus at LifeSpring on December 2nd. We had a fun time with the kids and adults there whether it was singing songs, playing games, learning our memory verse, listening to the lesson or eating pizza.

I hope everyone had a great time sharing about Jesus Christ.

Be in prayer for the next two parties. December 16th at CBC and December 20th at Elssy Febela. Thanks also to Mrs. Ward for training us and being there at LifeSpring to help us out. We appreciate her!

J.O.Y.

Everyone is invited to CBC this Wednesday night, November 22nd for a FREE Bluegrass Gospel Concert by J.O.Y. (Just Over Yonder). We will not be having Trek, instead we will be having this great concert. By the way, this concert does involve some of our very own Trek members - Kathleen and Johnny DeVries. And their dad and one of our Trek leaders, Mr. DeVries is part of the band. See if you can pick him out in this picture.

So we really hope to see you there. The concert starts at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary at CBC.

And, in addition, just want to tell you all Happy Thanksgiving. Don't get so caught up in all the food, football, family, and fun that you forget to focus on the Lord and give Him thanks - not just for all the stuff we have but even just for who He is. Thankfulness should be a constant attitude for us as believers. Thankfulness should even extend to trials and tribulations in our lives.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

So enjoy your turkey and all the other food. Watch your football game. Have fun with your family. But don't put the Lord on the back shelf and forget Him. The reason we can be thankful is because of Him!

CEF Ministry Opportunities

Hey Sr. and Jr. Highers, you have some great ministry opportunities upcoming to help with Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) and our favorite CEF Missionary, Jodi Ward.

The first opportunity is one we have been involved with before. It is the Birthday Parties for Jesus. 3 of these events have been scheduled:

1. December 2nd - 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at LifeSpring
2. December 16th - 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. at CBC
3. December 20th - TBD at the Elssy Febela Foundation

If you can't come to all of these that is ok, your involvement in any of these would be great!

If you are going to help with these, however, you must attend the training this Sunday night after our evening service at CBC. This training will be from 7:10 - 8:30 p.m.

Birthday Parties for Jesus are focused on sharing the Gospel with kids as we celebrate the birth of Jesus and remind kids what the real reason is that we celebrate Christmas - Christ's birth. And why was Christ born - to ultimately die for and pay for our sins so that by faith in Him we can have eternal life; salvation.

There are many ways you can participate in this. You don't necessarily have to do a lot of upfront talking. There are games and crafts and all sorts of things you can help with.


The second opportunity that we have to help with CEF is through the Gospel for China Conference. This is an opportunity to help with childcare for a big conference focused on reaching China with the Gospel.

This will take place on Friday, December 29th and will be an all day event. If you can only come part of the day that is fine too. We are glad to have any help at all.

Here are the details:
- We will probably leave CBC around 9am and return to CBC around 9pm
- All meals will be provided (lunch and dinner)
- We will be going to the Crown Plaza Hotel at Ohare
- Transportation can be arranged if necessary
- We will be helping care for 200-250 kids ages 3-7
- CEF will take care of all the planning, we will just help implement these plans
- You need to attend an informational meeting, Sunday, December 10th immediately
following our morning worship service (around 11:35 a.m. - about a 20 minute meeting)
- Please sign up at the CBC information desk for this event
- You will need to fill out CEF's Safe Child Policy

This is a very practical ministry opportunity and through this you have a part in helping spread the gospel in China. You are acting in a support role.

Please strongly consider and pray about these ministry opportunities with CEF that will take place over the next couple of months. Being part of the body of Christ involves service when we know it is what the Lord would have us do. It is very important for me that our youth (you!) be involved in service opportunities.

Your involvement in service opportunities now may also make a difference in future service opportunities that I ask you to be a part of; like maybe missions trips (hint hint). This is not to try and pressure you into anything and I'm not saying that you have to do everything, but I do expect to see some involvement in service opportunities if you are going to be involved with future missions trips.

Many times service involves sacrifice....remember service is not about ME! it is about serving God as we serve others.

Sr. High Game Night...

Sr. Highers (you know who you are), we are having a game night this Saturday, November 11th from 5-9 p.m. at the Anderson's home.

Meet at the Anderson's home at 5 p.m. and come prepared to have a great time together. We will play pool, ping pong, darts, air hockey and board games. We will also have dinner together and a devotion. And if the weather is nice we will head outside for a fire and maybe some smores (sounds a little sticky)

This is a FREE event (always everyone's favorite kind), but please let me know if you plan to be there so I can plan for food. If you have a favorite board game, bring it.

Thanks a ton to Gary and Debbie Anderson for letting us use their home once again.

See ya Saturday night!

Jr. High/Trek Laser Tag

Hey Jr. Highers and Trekers, we will be going to play laser tag at Luigi's on Friday, November 10th.

Here are the details:
- Meet at CBC at 5:15 p.m. sharp - we have to leave CBC at 5:20 to head to Luigi's
- We will go to Luigi's for a 5:30 p.m. check in and laser tag briefing
- We will play a 30 minute laser tag session from 6:00-6:30 p.m.
- We will head back to CBC for pizza and pop
- We will have a devotion after dinner (continuing with your questions about the Bible)
- We will play games the rest of the night until you are picked up at 9:00 p.m. at CBC

Here is all you need to do:
- Let Aaron know you are coming to this event and if you are bringing any friends
- Show up at CBC at 5:15 p.m. sharp
- Bring a medical release form (either download one from the church website or get one from Aaron at church on Wednesday night)
- Bring $5 (your cost for this event)
- Bring your Luigi's laser tag card (if you have one if you have played laser tag at Luigi's before)
- Get ready to have an AWESOME night!!

Hope to see you there!

Have you paid your dues?

No the title of this post is not a metaphor for anything. I really want to know if you have paid your dues - for Trek.

Remember, we are having a contest with the T&T boys to see which club has received more dues by November 8th - which just happens to be this Wednesday night.

The winning club will be served pizza and pop by the losing club. The winner is based on the perecentage of kids in each club who have paid their dues. Soooooo....if you haven't paid them yet, you may want to pay them soon. Remember they are 75 cents per night or $22.50 for the year.

See ya Wednesday night!

Trek Mini Golf and Go Karts...

Hey Trekers or Trekies or whatever you want to be called...you know who you are.

This Friday night, October 20th, we will be having a Mini Golf and Go Karts activity. We will meet at CBC at 5:30 p.m. (please try to be prompt because...) and then leave from there to go to the Sugar Grove Family Fun Center at 5:40 p.m. to play mini golf and ride go karts.

After that we will come back to the church for pizza and pop and a devotion. If there is any time left we will play a few games at the church. The night ends at 9:00 p.m.

The cost is $5/person. This includes 1 game of mini golf and 2 go kart rides as well as pizza and pop...not a bad deal if you ask me. If you want to do anything additionally, you need to bring your own money for that.

By the way, you will need a medical release form for this event. You can get one from me at the church before Friday or print one off the church website from the Youth Page. Please fill one out and have it for me on Friday when you arrive.

Hope to see you there!

Last Chance for Tacos...

Hey Trekers...this week is the last night you have to finish your Trek Check if you have not already. All those who have finished their Trek Check by the end of the night this week will get to have two tacos next week from that fine estbalishment known as Taco Bell.

So get to it if your still not done!! See you on Wednesday night!

Sr. High Laser Tag...

Sr. Highers, don't forget about laser tag this Friday night. We will meet at CBC at 6pm, have a bite to eat, a devotion, and then head over to Luigi's for a 1 hour session of laser tag. After laser tag, we will come back to the church and play games until time to go home at 9:30pm.

The cost is $5/person and you need to have a medical release form for this event. You can either download one off the Youth page on the church website, or you can ask me for one on Wednesday night at church. Please let me know if you are planning on attending and let me know if you are bringing any friends. By the way that means for you to INVITE FRIENDS, we would love to have them.

See ya Friday night!!

Parents night at Trek...

Just a reminder that this week at Trek will be parents night. Parents are invited to join us for a regular club night - That's right we will still be having council time, handbook time, and game time - only your parents will be there with you if they come.

So make sure your parents remember to come with you and join us for a great night and an opportunity to find out more about what Trek is about.

See you on Wednesday...and by the way - our taco contest ends on October 18th - you have that long to finish your Trek Check!

Belated Back to School Bash...

Sr. Highers, don't forget we will be meeting and Bill and Connie Schmidt's home in Plano on Saturday evening from 4-8:30 p.m. for the Belated Back to School Bash.

It is Belated because it was originally planned for Sept. 2nd, and you guys have obviously been in school a while now. But no problem anyway, we will still have a great time.

We will be playing some games inside and outside if the weather cooperates. And we will be eating some grub (obviously I mean food and not grubs, the worm like creatures). And, from experience, we all know that Mrs. Schmidt can cook up some good grub!!

We will also have a devotion time and if the weather is good we will have a fire out back and make smo's (also referred to as smores). Hope you can come and bring your friends if you want to. They can have fun with us! By the way, if you have any games you want to bring...GREAT!, bring them.

Hope to see all you Sr. Highers there.

Worldview Night...

Just a reminder that we will have our monthly worldview night TONIGHT!!

It will be, as usual, in the CBC sanctuary from 6-9 p.m. Tonight we will begin a new video series called Mind Siege by Tim LaHaye and David Noebel. This is a 6 session DVD series. We will view the first 3 sessions tonight and discuss them, and then we will view the next 3 sessions in October. And don't forget the big Worldview Weekend in Rockford that we will be attending on November 17-18.

By the way we will probably be finished with the video series about 8 p.m., so after that we will have some snacks and play some games. So if you could please bring a snack to contribute that would be great.

Hope to see you there!!

TREK tonight....

Hope to see you at Trek tonight.

Tonight we will finally be getting into the normal routine of things. Don't forget to bring visitors for BAFTAN and for our own TREK Visitor Contest. We still have a long way to go to reach 30.

And keep working on your Trek Check or Bible Study units!

Luke update...6 1/2 weeks

Just wanted to let you all know that Luke is doing great! He is eating a lot and gaining weight. He is smiling and cooing and even sometimes giggling (or at least it seems that way to his parents).

Thanks for your continued prayers for him as he grows, and thanks for your continued prayers for Brit - she is doing well too.

All right, Luke said to tell you all he hopes to see you soon. And I just can't keep him from wearing his Mississippi State stuff...as you can see in the picture with his MS State hat on.

9/11...

As most of you know, today is the 5 year anniversary of the day when our country was attacked by terrorists using commercial airlines as weapons. The two towers were hit in New York City, the Pentagon was hit in Washington D.C., and another airplane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after the passengers fought back against the terrorists to keep their plane from hitting another target. Thousands of people lost their lives and thousands of others lost loved ones. The effects today continue. All you have to do is watch a news piece on individuals affected by this terrible tragedy.

I can't remember where I was for many things, but I do remember where I was and what I was doing when this took place. I was at my home in Mississippi (actually my parent's home, I still lived with them) and I was eating breakfast and watching the news. I was just about to start my correspondence classes for the day. All of a sudden the news came back from a commercial and was showing the footage of the first tower that was hit. At that point they thought maybe it was just a freak accident. No one knew anything. And then I'll never forget watching live television of the second plane hitting the other tower. And at that point my mind was just inundated with so many thoughts, "This wasn't an accident", "Who is doing this", "I can't believe that just happened". I was shocked as I watched my television. Needless to say, I did not do school that day, I watched the TV and watched as both towers collapsed. And in between to hear that another plane had crashed at the Pentagon and then another in a field in Pennsylvania. I just kept wondering how many more were going to crash.

I remember going to work and listening to the radio that afternoon with an empty weird feeling in my stomach. I was always fearful that I would soon hear that another plane had hit another "target". And I remember hearing how other buildings in New York were collapsing and listening to the death count going higher and higher.

As I watched the news over the next couple of days and weeks, I heard stories from individuals who had lost husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, and friends in this horrific attack. It almost seemed a world away as I was in Mississippi, so far from the destruction. Yet at the same time it seemed so very close as I heard friends tell me of their friends who were in New York at the time.

We will always remember this day, a day that changed many things in America; changes that now have turned into ordinary life.

I am thankful that in the midst of just horrific tragedy, I know Who is in control of all things and Who has all things in His hands. And I have a personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ. You don't have answers that work without a relationship with God. And even when you do have a relationship with God, you don't always understand the "why" to everything that happens. But we do know God's character and we do know His Word, and we can have confidence that God is wiser than we are and smarter than we are and is in control of all that is taking place.

Just some thoughts as we remember a tragic day...

TREK is coming...

Hey Jr. Highers, just wanted to remind you that Awana begins this Wednesday night, September 13th, from 6:30-8:00 p.m. in the parlor at CBC. And this year we will be changing from JV to TREK.

We will go over all the new TREK material as well as talk about some upcoming contests for the year. I really hope you can make it, and as always, don't forget to INVITE YOUR FRIENDS!!

HELP ME!!!

These are often the words that believers cry out to God, but they are so often done in a way that sees God as someone we turn to in trouble and ignore when things seem to be going well.

A few weeks ago in our Wednesday night Bible study (yes, I know I have procrastinated in posting again), the title of the chapter from the Green Letters was HELP.

These are the first two sentences of that chapter: "For most of us, it is time to stop asking God for help. He didn't help us to be saved, and He doesn't intend to help us live the Christian life."

Your response may be as many to this: "What!?" "Burn that book!"

However, when we continue to examine this chapter, we realize the point that Dr. Stanford is making. Help implies two people being involved in something. If I ask you to come help me weed my flower beds, I am not expecting you to come do all the work while I sit in a lawn chair sipping sweet tea and watching you work. No, help means you and I are doing it together.

The point that Dr. Stanford is making is that God has done it ALL. We cannot add anything to what he has done. God provided our salvation Himself. He didn't need our help. And God has provided everything we need to live the Christian life. Ephesians 1:3 tells us that we have been blessed with ALL spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Stanford says that immaturity considers the Lord Jesus a Helper. Maturity knows Him to be Life itself.

A.W. Tozer says, "In our private prayers and in our public services we are forever asking God to do things that He either has already done or cannot do because of our unbelief." Stanford says, "Our responsibility is to see in the Word all that is ours in Christ, and then thank and trust Him for that which we need."

We as humans have responsibility. We are to be searching the Scriptures to see all that we have in Christ. But we are to be looking to God by means of the Holy Spirit to produce these things in us. When we simply have the attitude that we just need some help from God, we put too much confidence in ourselves that we have something good to offer. Remember, the flesh never becomes more Christ like. We become more Christ like as we learn what it means to yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit and allow God to produce the life of Christ in us.

Let us stop crying to God for help when He has already provided the victory for us!

Cougars Game...

We had a great time at the Cougars game on this past Monday night. And we had a pretty good group attend.

First, we got there early enough to see Melinda do some flipping and turning with the Turner gymnastics group. They were very impressive...from the little ones to the older ones like Melinda. I think I would break my head if I tried to do a front or back flip...much less those turny things in the air. By the way Melinda is the girl flipping on the right in the picture.

After Melinda's group got done flipping...the game started. The game was a good game but rather uneventful since it was a 1-1 tie going into the bottom of the 11th. And then the Cougars took care of business as the catcher came up and hit a walk off home run to win the game 2-1. And I'm glad he did it, not only because I was pulling for the Cougars, but also because I was leaving to go home if they didn't score in the bottom of the 11th. And just so you know, it was the bottom of the 11th inning that I put on the rally cap. I put it on inside out and the first batter got out. So I changed it up a bit and wore the "shark fin rally cap" and that rally cap brought the rally and the home run. So I will be glad to take credit for that win.

We did have a lot of fun though. We watched all the little "in between inning" games that are played with the kids. We listened to all the sound clips played to try to get into the other team's head during the game (when there was no action). And some of our group ran the bases after the game was over. And some of the group did the YMCA and sang a lot (just let me know if you would like to see blackmail video of that).

So thanks to all who came...hope you had a great time.

The First Arrow in the Quiver...

Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them..." Psalm 127:3-5a (NIV)

Well, he is finally here. Brittany gave birth to our firstborn son, Luke Michael, on Saturday night at 11:19 p.m. The lively young man weighed in at 6 lbs. and 14 oz. and was 20 inches long. He is so very beautiful as you can see for yourself. Both Luke and Brit are doing wonderful. Brit did a wonderful job the whole time and I am so very proud of her. Now we are beginning to understand what sleep deprivation really means. :)

Brit and I are so thankful to the Lord for this precious gift He has given us. Children truly are a great blessing from the Lord. We are so thankful to Him that all went well and that mom and son are doing well. What a great responsibility now we have to raise this little one in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Our greatest desire is to see this little one come to Christ at a young age. While he seems so innocent, he is not. God's Word tells us that this little one right now is a sinner, he was born that way. But I already told Luke the other night that someone came to pay for his sin. He paid for all of our sin. Hallelujah, What a Savior.

So Luke is our first arrow in the quiver. Who knows how many arrows we will end up with except the Lord. But our desire is that he is an arrow that can be used for the service of the Lord and will be one that flies after the Lord's path.

Thank all of you for your prayers during this time. It is great to know that many are praying for us as we begin this new phase in our lives. May God receive all the glory.

One important note to mention. Luke is already taken nicely to supporting his favorite college sports teams - the Mississippi State Bulldogs. He is still deciding between the Cubs and Sox. :)

Resting...

Last night we covered a chapter entitled "Rest" during our Wednesday night Bible Study. Rest is no doubt something that many of us like to hear and many of us like to do. However, many times we get so caught up in the grind of life that we do not rest at all.

The focus of resting as we looked at it last night was that of resting in what we have and who we are in Christ. Labor is involved. Labor involves searching out God's Word to know these things, memorizing Scripture, going before the Lord in prayer, going to church to be taught God's Word, and fellowshipping with other believers, just to name a few. While we may not think of these things as labor, the idea is that these are things that we are doing. Labor involves finding the truth from God's Word, but the application of these truths in our lives involves resting in these truths, depending on God.

When I asked the kids what they thought of when they thought of rest, Rick said, "You're not doing anything". Bingo! When we are resting in what God has provided for us, we are looking to Him to produce the life of Christ in us. Resting doesn't mean we don't make decisions, or we don't physically do anything. Resting means we are dependent upon someone else to produce in us what only He can produce. This process takes time, many times this takes many years. But as we are continuing to do our part in the labor process of focusing upon God, He will give us rest as He produces the life of Christ in us.

One day when we stand before the Bema Seat, we will receive rewards for the works we have done that bring glory to God. Unfortunately many Christians are trying really hard to do a whole lot of things for God and they are weary. God desires for us to rest in His provision. The only works or acts that we will receive rewards for are those works or acts that were produced as the believer allowed Christ to do it through him/her. It is the righteousness of Christ not our righteousness that will produce these things. We must yield our wills to Him.

Stanford ends this chapter by saying, "Let us take Him at His Word, and leave the fulfillment of it to Him." Rest in His provision!

Discipleship...

Last week at our Wednesday night Bible study, we talked about Discipleship.

A disciple is a pupil or a follower. We of course are most familiar in the Bible with the 12 disciples of Jesus, many of whom later became apostles. But there were many other disciples or followers of Jesus as well who did not have the depth of intimacy with Jesus and did the 12.

As believers, we are disciples of Jesus Christ. We are followers of Christ. The idea of discipleship involves the process of following after Christ. As a follower of Christ we have an in depth, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father.

We saw that the key to discipleship is understanding and applying the principles that we have looked at the last few weeks concerning Self and The Cross. We have to understand and apply the principles that we have died with Christ and He is now our Master.

In the gospel of Luke, we see Jesus dealing with this subject of discipleship. In Luke 9:23 Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Then in Luke 14:26-27 Jesus again says, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot by my disciple."

Dr. Stanford stresses the importance of understanding that for us to follow Christ, everything else must take a lower priority including ourself. When Jesus speaks of hating father, mother, borther, and sister...He is not speaking of a physical hate for those family members. The Word of God stresses over and over the need for love. What Jesus is stressing is that everything else must take a lower priority. For the believer, God is to be the first priority in our lives. Many times although we may say that He is, our actions often say different.

Dr. Stanford says, "self cannot and will not follow Him, but taking one's Cross results in death to self, and newness of life in Christ Jesus." He goes on to tell us what the Cross is not. "taking up our Cross does not mean the stoical bearing of some heavy burden, hardship, illness, distasteful situation or relationship. Enduring anything of this nature is not bearing one's Cross. Taking up the Cross may or may not involve such things, but things do not constitute our Cross."

As a believer, we must understand that this is a process that takes time. It involves the believer seeing his/her need and seeing self for what it is. "We will be ready to take up our Cross when self becomes intolerable to us, when we begin to hate our life". We take up our Cross by relying on Him and applying our position in Christ - death to self. We rest in the freedom we have in Christ.

As we are focused on Christ, resting in our position in Him, we will be following after Him rather than self. We will be practicing discipleship. Death brings forth life.

The NOT so Itsy Bitsy Spider...

I remember my pastor in Mississippi using the illustration of a spider and spider web to focus on the problem of sin in a believer's life.

Very often when we see spider webs, we knock them down or clear them away. However, we are often frustrated to see the web back a day or two later. Over the past couple of weeks, I have had a spider weaving a web just outside my back porch door. The spider only weaves the web at night. Often as I take the dog out for his last walk, I see the beautiful web in place to catch a late night snack. And even though I have knocked that web down more than once, the web is back the next night.

The reason for returning spider webs is quite simple. The spider is still alive. Unless the spider is dealt with and killed, the spider web will keep returning. For the spider is the source of the webs. However, it is much harder to kill the spider than it is to knock down the web.

We know that as believers we still sin. And when we do, we can be thankful that if we "confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) However, we can compare sins within our lives to these spider webs. By confessing them, we knock them down. However, it usually is not long before we find ourselves "spinning a web" (sinning) again. Many times we get caught up in a vicious cycle which involves sinning, confessing, sinning, confessing, and so on. The problem is that we are not dealing with the source of sin: the sin nature. In saying this, I am not saying that we will never sin. The focus, however, is that we are not enslaved by our sin and caught in and characterized by the vicious sin cycle.

You see the spider (sin nature) has been dealt with. God has made provision for us to overcome sin. That provision was made at the cross. Yes, the cross was the place of salvation where the penalty of sin was paid for. But the cross was also God's way of making provision for us to live the Christian life without being enslaved by sin. At the cross we were freed from the power of sin. "I have been crucified with Christ..." (Galatians 2:20). "Knowing this that our self was crucified with Him that the body of sin might be rendered inoperative, that we should no longer be slaves to sin." (Romans 6:6). God has provided the way. The sin nature has been dealt with. We must, however, "consider ourselves to be dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus". (Romans 6:11). The sin nature only has power over us as we allow it to. Its position is on the cross.

If you are caught in the cycle of sin and thinking you can't get out of it, rest in the provision of the cross. There the sin nature has been dealt with! The spider has been taken care of. Believe it, and rest in it!

Prayer...A first response or last resort?

I was watching the news the other night and all the news station were covering the story on Cardinal George's health problems with bladder cancer. One thing mentioned consistently was that people were praying for Cardinal George. However, a few comments or responses really drew my attention as parishioners talked about praying for the Cardinal.

One individual said, "All we can do is pray", while another said they were "grateful our prayers are working". As I started thinking about these comments, I was thinking about what prayer is.

By saying, "All we cand do is pray", it almost sounded like prayer was a last resort. We can't do anything else, so I guess we can pray. But for the believer, prayer (dependence upon God) is to be a way of life. Prayer should be our first response when times are tough and when times are great. It is a privilege that we have to converse with God, to cast our cares upon Him; every care.

The comment concerning being grateful our prayers are working made me think that individuals sometimes think our prayers don't work. Are we trying real hard to convince God to take our side. Prayer is depending upon God. When we depend on God, our attitude should be that God's will is best. God does not always answer our prayers the way we want, but He always answers our prayers. (yes, no, wait). I don't really think of our prayers as working or not working. Our prayers don't tell God anything new. We have the opportunity to depend on God in all aspects of our lives, and we rejoice whether our prayers are answered they way we wanted or not. We realize that we are depending upon God who is far wiser and greater than we are. He is in control of all things.

I don't say these things to bash people praying for Cardinal George. I say these things because I really think people don't even understand what prayer is. Prayer is a privilege for the believer. An access that the child of God has before his/her Father. I guess when I hear comments like these, I wonder if those folks even have a relationship with the Father and if they even have access to the Throne of Grace.

Praise the Lord for prayer!

Denying Self through the Cross...

The last two Wednesday nights we have focused on Self Denial and The Cross.

As we looked at self denial, we saw that man tries many ways to deny self or overcome the sin nature. Some try to get out of the world, but the problem is that the sin nature goes everywhere with us. It dwells within. (It is also interesting that we are told to be a light in the world to others which is kind of hard to do when you are hiding from the world). Others try real hard to take care of self themselves. But self never casts out self. Others try to always be involved in church activities and church education to overcome self. While being involved in these things is not bad...these things will not overcome the sin nature. We cannot make the sin nature better. It is as bad as it can be and does not get better.

What we really need to know and be taught is that the sin nature has already been defeated. The victory came at the cross. The old sin nature was crucified with Christ so that it would no longer have power over us. The power of the sin nature has been rendered inoperative in the life of the believer. While man tries many ways to overcome self, God has but one way...the cross.

We often think of the cross as the means for salvation, and it is. Praise the Lord, we have a relationship with God and the assurance of eternal life because Christ has provided salvation for us by His death on the cross. We must simply believe (faith). But our sanctification was also provided for us at the cross. When we realize that our old self was crucified with Christ and by faith count this as true in our lives, we realize that not only were we freed from the penalty of sin at the cross, but also freed from the power of sin. Sin no longer is our master; sin no longer controls me. But just as we believe by faith that our salvation is provided at the cross, we must believe by faith that our sanctification was provided as well. Colossians 2:6 , "so then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him" We received Christ by faith and we should live by faith.

Oh the freedom we will have when we rest in the victory of the Cross not only for our salvation, but also for our sanctification.

The Amazing Race...

Last Saturday, July 22nd, we had the CBC Amazing Race for the Sr. Highers. The concept was taken from the CBS television show Amazing Race where teams travel all over the world racing against each other as they participate in different challenges. Obviously we did not have the time or money to travel all over the world, but we did travel all over Aurora.

We had two teams of four. Team 1 was made up of Brad, Jakob, Melinda, and Annie. Team 2 was made up of Jess, Jess, Rick, and Alyson. These two teams participated in 11 different challenges and different people's homes from CBC. Each team had a driver and videotaper. Team 1 was driven by Mrs. Arnold and taped by David. Team 2 was driven by Mrs. Mulligan and taped by Ryan. Each team was given an envelope with instructions in it about the event, and when they had finished the event they were given another envelope with further instructions and usually a map to the next place.

Do you want to know what they did? All right here are the details:

1. We started at the church. The first challenge involved solving a giant word search puzzle. One player found the words and circled them. The other 3 players could help but had to stand behind a line in their help. The focus of the word search puzzle was the attributes of God.

2. The next challenge involved driving to the Wick's home where 1 team member was blindfolded and had to reach into a bag with 30 balloons. Each balloon had a message written on it, but most just conveyed the idea that they had to keep going. They were looking for the balloon with the word "Congratulations" on it. The other team members stood at a distance and when the balloon was blown up by the blindfolded team member, they could read the message. There was also "Delay" written on one of the balloons, and team 2 found it. A delay meant that the team had to stop for 5 minutes and wait before continuing the challenge and race.

3. From the Wick's home, the teams went just around the corner to Linda Weddle's home. Here they were given gloves, a shovel, and a trowel with the instructions to fill a box with weeds. When the box was filled to Mrs. Weddle's satisfaction, the kids received their next clue.

4. The clue told them to go to the Scarbrough's house in North Aurora. At this stop 1 team member had to take a Bible quiz of 25 multiple choice questions. What the kids did not know was that the first test they were given was not the real test. The instructions said to read all the questions before beginning. Question #23 told them this was not the real test (I have actually had this trick done to me when I was in school). But both teams did not realize this until they got to question #23. Then they got the real Bible quiz. The other team members could be told the question by the one person taking the test, but they couldn't be told the answer choices. Every question on the test had to be answered correctly, and if there were questions wrong, the host could tell them how many they missed but not which ones they missed. This made this challenge last a pretty good amount of time. By the way, at the end of this challenge, Team 1 was in the lead by a few minutes.

5. The next challenge involved the kids going to a local store parking lot and rounding up grocery carts. Each team had to round up 20 carts at one location. The carts had to be taken to one central cart hub that the team chose. And as the kids deposited the carts, they had to say "Yee Haw" or "Get along little doggie". Once the 20 carts were "rounded up" the team's driver gave them their next clue.

6. The teams now had to go to the Anderson's home. Here they were given 3 20oz. beverages. One was water, one was Sprite, and one was Coke. Three team members had to be chosen for this event, one for each beverage. The beverages had to be drunk completely. When the first team member completely finished his/her drink, the next team member started. When that team member finished, the final team member started. When that team member finished, he/she had to burp and say "Thank you very much". They then received their next clue.

7. The next two challenges took place at the DeVries home in Oswego. One team member was chosen to build a banana split with all the ingredients given. All ingredients had to be used entirely. The banana split would be judged by the DeVries and the winner of the best looking ice cream treat would be rewarded with 3 minutes off their time. Once they were finished constructing the banana split, the teams were given their next clue. The next clue told the teams to eat the banana split as a team. Everyone had to have at least a little bite. The funny thing was that Team 1 left the DeVries home and got in their van before opening their clue. So they then had to get back out and come back inside losing a few minutes. Team 1 still was in the lead, but only by a minute or two.

8. The next challenge involved going to our (Bonner's) house and having 1 team member search through empty boxes (still left from the move last August) looking for the next clue. When the next clue was found, it gave instructions about the next place to go. However, scattered with the clues were envelopes that had a "Delay" in them. And team 2 got this delay as well. Team 1 was now further ahead.

9. The next challenge involved going to Warren and Kris Scharbert's home. However, this was just the beginning of this challenge. At their home, they left a little red box with streamers that contained the next clue. Warren and Kris were awaiting the kids elsewhere. The clue at the park told them to walk or run to Lincoln Park, just a couple of blocks away and look for familiar faces and the sound of thumping. There was also a bonus opportunity - the kids were to bring six balloons with them (these were attached to the outside stairs at the Scharbert's home). Once the kids got to the park they were given their next challenge. This challenge involved them shooting a free throw with a basketball. Sounds easy? Maybe, except two team members had to do it together with a hand from each team member on the ball at the same time while shooting. The teams were required to make 3 free throws with a different combination of shooters, but only 2 if they brought the balloons. (Both teams came bearing balloons). When this was completed, they received their next clue. It told them to walk or run from Lincoln Park to the church (about 6-7 blocks away). Team 1 was still in the lead by a few minutes.

10. Once at the church, I was awaiting them with their final challenge. Letters were hidden all over the church. These letters when unscrambled spelled out a phrase. The team had to find all the letters and then unscramble the letters. When the puzzle was solved they would be finished with the race. The answer to the puzzle was "Congratulations you finished the race". Each word's letters were a different color to give the teams a little bit of a hint. However, the letters were hidden all over the church and some were hard to find (like the one taped under the toilet seat lid). While Team 1 came in with the lead and the 3 minute bonus for the best banana split, Team 2 was able to come back and find all the letters first to win the race.

Overall, it was a great race. It also took 4 hours to complete. And the kids were worn out at the end. Who knows, this may be the first of many races to come. We'll have to wait and see. Congratulations to both teams for a race well run!

Wednesday Night Bible Study, Part 2...

Well I know everyone is just sitting by the computer with baited breath just waiting for Part 2. So since you are so anxious, I'll continue with our Wednesday Night Bible Study. This time we'll focus on what we talked about in chapters 8-10.

Chapter 8 was entitled, "Identification". Our identification with Christ speaks of our union or joining with Him. The focus of this chapter dealt with the believer not only understanding that Christ died for our sin, but that we died with Christ. As we begin to understand this principle and that this is our position in Christ, we will begin to understand the fact that the old sin nature no longer has control or power over us. Romans 6:11 tells us to count it as true that we are dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. The position is ours as soon as we trust Christ as our Savior. The question is, are we counting it to be true?

Miles Stanford quotes James McConkey, "Because He died 'death hath no more dominion over Him.' and because of our union with Him 'sin shall not have dominion over you,' even though it is present in you. Our 'reckoning' ourselves dead to sin in Jesus Christ does not make it a fact-it is laready a fact through our union with Him. Our reckoning it to be true only makes us begin to realize the fact in experience."

Chapter 9 was entitled "Consecration". Consecration involves a dedication or devotion. Many times we hear of people dedicating or devoting their lives to the Lord. While this desire is not bad, many times believers proceed to consecrate themselves to God based on a wrong basis or motivation. The motivation is often that we will dedicate our lives to God because of all God did for us or because we love Him so much. While gratitude and love are certainly great to have, these things will not produce the power needed by the Christian to live a consecrated life. Our lives are to be consecrated to God because we recognize and see Him as our very life. And it is not the Christian trying real hard in the strength of his/her flesh to produce Christ's life in us, but rather the Christian resting in and yielding to the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. If our dependence is upon God and we are continually making the conscious decision to yield to the Holy Spirit, the a consecrated life will naturally be produced in our lives. The old self life cannot be consecrated to God, because even for the believer the old self life still holds nothing good.

Chapter 10 was entitled "Self". This chapter deals with a very important key in the Christian life: understanding self for what it is - worthless. The self life is who we were before Christ and involves the old sin nature. Now as Christians, we have a new nature and an old nature. The old nature has been rendered inoperative by our union in death with Christ. However, the old sin nature has not been eradicated from the life of the believer. And because God has given us free will, we can choose to depend upon self and allow the sin nature to have power in our lives. So we must come to see that in myself dwells no good thing as Paul reminds us in Romans 7. We must see that depending upon self will not produce anything that brings glory to God. Sure we can do a lot of good things through the power of self, but we will not be glorifying God by doing these things if it is in the power of self. God may receive glory in spite of our wrong dependence, but we will not be glorifying Him through our actions. Often for the believer, it takes time and going through the struggle experientially for the believer to begin seeing self for what it is. Life springs out of death. Stanford closes the chapter with a rather thought provoking and pertinent quote: "there are many 'separated from the world' Christians who are not 'separated from themselves' Christians."

So that brings you up to date on the Wednesday night Bible Study. Tonight we will look at Self Denial. And I hope to be able to keep you updated here on the CBC Youth Blog about our studies on a more consistent basis. Hope to see you tonight!!

Wednesday Night Bible Study, Part 1...

Well, I have been meaning to make a few posts regarding what we have been studying on Wednesday nights, but have failed to do so lately. And since the last post concerned chapter 4 of Miles Stanford's The Complete Green Letters, and now we are on chapter 11, I thought I might should get on it.

So I just want to give a brief synopsis of the chapters we have covered up to ch. 11 that we will be looking at tomorrow night. Today I'll focus on chapters 5-7 and tomorrow on 8-10. I really feel like we have covered a lot of ground over these past 6 weeks.

Chapter 5 was entitled "Preparation". In this chapter we focused on the principle that God uses need to bring conformity to the image of Christ (our purpose). Many times this need involves a struggle, involves hardship to get us to the point that we see we must be depending upon God and have the attitude, "Not I, but Christ." One of the greatest struggles involves us understanding the total inadequacy of self, and the total adequacy of Christ.

Chapter 6 was entitled "Complete in Him". Obviously the Him is Jesus Christ. We as believers are complete in Jesus Christ right now! Complete means that nothing can be added. Growth in the Christian life is not about adding anything by our production, but it involves understanding and receiving what God has already given us (like every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus - Ephesians 1:3). And then by depending upon Christ in us, we apply what we have so that Christ's life is seen through our life.

Chapter 7 was entitled "Appropriation". Appropriation simply means application; to take for one's own use; to put into practice. In order to apply, we must "see what is ours in Christ, be aware of our need for it, and then give God the necessary time to work the appropriation into our everday walk." We see what is ours by studying God's Word. Practical life as a believer will make us aware of our need for what is ours in Christ. Again, many times struggle will be involved, and it takes time for us to get from the point of seeing our need to apply what is ours in Christ to the point where we are naturally resting in what is ours in Christ so that the application of God's Word is what characterizes our lives. Application of God's Word demands us to go beyond admiring God's Word and what we have in Christ and who we are in Christ, and get to the point where we are standing on our position in Christ. Stand on the truths of God's Word in faith.

I'll try to look at chapters 8-10 tomorrow.

Taming the Bull...

Our Great America Trip was great. We left the church about 8:30 a.m. and made it to the park right when it opened around 10:00 a.m. And from the get go we were off and running...after we put on our sun screen that is.

First we headed to Superman where we promptly stood in line for about 40 minutes before spending one and a half minutes on the ride. But it was worth it. On Superman, they start you seated (see pciture to left) and then when the ride starts the seats pull up so that you are riding the roller coaster like you would by flying. Pretty cool.

Although the wait was long, the neat thing is that while you are standing in line you actually stand underneath the ride. So you get to watch many people go before you even get there. And you are somewhat prepared and know what to expect. And they have the walk covered when you are going to be directly under the ride...I guess so if someone is throwing up it won't get on you.

From Superman, we took off to the Batman roller coaster. And that one shakes you up pretty good. You're feeling nice and dizzy when you get off.

A special note needs to be mentioned here. As you see in the above picture, the only people who did not ride any roller coasters were Melinda and Alison. Trust me, we tried to use peer pressure to get them to ride, but they weren't having it. And that was fine. They stood in line with us the whole way up and talked with us and people watched. But when it was time to get on the roller coaster, they headed to the other side and held everyone's stuff while we rode the coasters. So I thought it would be nice for you to see what they did most of the time. They did ride on the teacups and the family innertube ride where you get wet. And then they spent a couple of hours at Hurrican Harbor on the lazy river and in the wave pool. I'm just glad they had fun.

Now back to the roller coasters. After Batman, I can't remember where we headed. But we rode the Iron Wolf, the Eagle, the Viper, and then the Raging Bull. Now some people (Jess) were afraid at first to ride the Raging Bull. It has a ginormous drop and there are no harnesses just things around your waist, so you feel like your coming out of your seat on the way down. However, its good to know peer pressure still works on some people (at least concerning roller coasters). So we talked Jess into going with the rest of us (Steve, Ruth, me, Jakob, Andrew, and Heidi). And of course she loved it like the rest of us. (The picture to the left is of us getting ready to tame the bull.)

The Raging Bull to me was the best ride in the park. It was really cool and a really smooth ride. Plus we saw where the camera (the one that takes your picture while your riding the roller coaster) was stationed and we posed everytime we came to it and then got to see our pictures after we got off the ride.

In fact the Raging Bull was so great that we rode it three times and so we really tamed the bull. Some of us also rode the freefall, which is a giant drop straight down. It takes you higher than any roller coaster in the park. And you sit up there for about 3 seconds just waiting and it drops you straight down. You get down in about 4 seconds. It was awesome. Second best ride in my book.

And we did other stuff like the Whizzer, and the teacups, and the boats roller coaster, and the family innertubes, and the swings, and just about every ride in the park. Overall it was a fun day but very tiring. Can't wait until next year though.

Great America

Hey Sr. Highers, don't forget about the Great America trip on Saturday!

We will be meeting at CBC at 8:30 a.m. and leaving shortly thereafter to head to Great America. We will spend the whole day there riding rollercoasters or hanging out at Hurricane Harbor (the water park).

We will head to our vehicles in the parking lot for a quick lunch. The lunch will be provided for you and is free to you. And then back into the park for a whole afternoon of more fun.

We will probably leave around 7 p.m. from the park, stop for a fast food dinner on the way home and plan to be back at CBC by 9 p.m. for pick up.

Don't forget that the cost is $20/person for admission and you also need to bring money for your fast food dinner (and any other money you may be planning to spend there). You will also need to make sure I have your medical release form so you can go.

And it probably would be a good idea to wear a little sunscreen and bring some swimwear and a towel if you are planning to go to the water park. And don't forget your cameras.

See you Saturday at 8:30 a.m. The day should be a blast!

Soaked...

So we had a great time at the Jr. High Swim Party. We swam and swam and swam and then we ate and ate and then we swam some more (after of course waiting twenty minutes to let our food settle).

There were chicken fights amongst the ladies, many different jumping and form contests, a little Marco Polo, and some breath holding contests. And overall we had a really good time hanging out and splashing around.

One thing I was not expecting, however, was getting pelted with water balloons. Now the water does not really scare you because you are already wet and wearing swim gear. (Although when the water balloons first appeared I had been out eating and dried off a bit).

You see the water balloon thing started a couple of weeks ago at VBS. Mr. Rios had a game to play similar to throwing eggs back and forth and backing up a step each time. Only he used water balloons. Then when we got done and were about to have a snack, a few water balloons were thrown at me (as I remember it) but we put an end to it quickly and no damage was done. However, what the girls who threw these at me didn't know was that I had put one in my pocket. So as soon as they got their snacks and sat down together, I ran up and threw it hard on the floor in front of them so it would pop and spray them with water. And of course that insighted chaos and I got pelted with a few more balloons but most did not pop.

So that brings us back to our swim party, where the balloons made another appearance. However, these balloons were not filled to maximum capacity, so most just bounced right off. But I would have rather them hit me and popped then bounced off because they hurt when they hit me. So for the most part I was outnumbered and abused by Jr. High girls who pelted me with water balloons that wouldn't pop. Just take a look at the picture. See how innocent I am. Ok, maybe I threw a few also.

But overall we had a good time. Thanks to all who came and thanks to Tom and Ruth Schmidt for making their home and pool available to us and for cooking us a great dinner.