Jr. High Swim Party

Hey Jr. Highers, don't forget about the swim/pool party at the Schmidt's home tomorrow night, July 1st. We will meet at 4 pm at the Schmidts and be finished around 8 pm.

We will also have some outside of the pool games and we will have dinner there. Hope you can come. And hopefully the weather will cooperate with us. See you there.

Worldview Night...

Tonight is our monthly Sr. High/Jr. High Worldview Night. Parents are also invited to attend.

Tonight we will begin a new video series by Ravi Zacharias, an internationally well known Christian apologists whom God has gifted in a miraculous way to defend the Christian faith. Many times he makes hard questions seem so simple, and he shows the consequences that take place when you take a thought to its logical conclusion.

The video series is entitled, "Deliver Us From Evil; Restoring the Soul in a Disintegrating Culture". This series is made up of 13 sessions. We will view 4 sessions tonight, 4 next month, and the final 5 in September. Although this is an older video series (1997), it still contains a lot of applicable discussion for today. I think the Lord can use this series in a great way as we continue to focus on this subject of worldviews.

After the video sessions we will probably play a few games and have some snacks. Hope you can make it and make sure you don't check your brain at the door. Your definitely going to need it tonight!

Jr. High VBS...

Last week was VBS. And this year we decided to do something a little different. We decided to do a "special" VBS for our Jr. High group (6th-8th) grade.

While we still had singing, crafts, games, verses, and Bible lessons; they were a little more tailored to the Jr. High mind and a little bit olderish.

So we had a great week. Mr. Wick and Mr. DeVries did a great job leading us in songs every morning. We had a great opportunity to bring visitors to fill up our 3 gallon water pot in order to earn a pizza party on Friday (by the way, over half of it was full after Monday). We also raised just over $40 for the orphanage in Russia. And adding that to what the rest of the VBS groups brought in, we will be able to give a gift of close to $300 to them. Praise the Lord.

And we had more friends come than I expected (by the way, Becca won the prize for bringing the most friends). One day we had 20 Jr. Highers crammed into our youth room. It was great.

Each day we memorized verses focused on a different aspect of our lessons. Throughout the week we focused on God's love.

Monday - God's love is giving. - we saw this in the fact that He sent Jesus Christ into this world as a baby to pay the price for our sins.

Tuesday - God's love is kind. - we saw this in the way Jesus dealt with Jairus, whose daughter was very sick and then died, and the way He dealt with the lady with a bleeding problem she had for 12 years.

Wednesday - God's love is caring - we saw this in the way Jesus dealt with the Samaritan woman.

Thursday - God's love is forgiving - Jesus forgave Zacchaeus

Friday - God's love is forever - Jesus is alive today after being raised from the dead

We had some good Bible study time and some good questions throughout the time.

Thanks also to Mrs. Sadler and Mrs. Schmidt who cam up with some great crafts for us. And Mr. Rios and Jakob who had some good games for us (we won't mention anything about water balloons). We also had a couple of hunts. On Thursday we had a treasure hunt around the church property. There were 16 clues that had to be solved to find the treasure. Congrats to Kathleen, Elisa, Josh, and Alonte on finding the treasure. And then on Friday we had a photo scavenger hunt where we travelled around Aurora and had to take pictures of signs that had anything to do with our theme SonTreasure Island. The kids did a great job with that. Congrats to Alonte, Amonte, Brandon, Elisa, and Liz on barely winning that hunt.

So thanks to all who came and brought friends and thanks to all who helped (especially Mr. and Mrs. DeVries and Mr. Wick). Maybe we can do it again next year.

Camping Trip Report...

Well, the Sr. High camping trip went very well, despite some bad weather.

We had a great time hanging out through a long weekend and doing all sorts of things like swimming, playing games, making smores, and eating good; and of course playing some practical jokes. (I don't know who that person is wrapping up the tent).

And the Lord was watching over us as always. Friday morning the hostess of the campground told us that a big storm was supposed to be coming in that night. They allowed us to stay in the cabins that night for the same price as tent camping just so we could be safe. That was wonderfully nice of them and it kept us much drier because it rained all night. And about 3 a.m. or so a huge tree fell down just behind our cabins. It woke us up, but thankfully it didn't do any damage.

And we came back a little earlier than we expected on Saturday due to the dreary weather. But we had a great time (at least I think everyone had a great time) and it was fun to spend a couple of days together as a group in the "wild". (Not too wild, they did have nice bathrooms).

Sr. High Camping

Sr. Highers, our camping trip is coming up next week - June 8th-10th. If you are going and haven't let me know yet, please do so ASAP.

We are heading 2 hourse northwest of Aurora to Lena, IL. We will be staying at a KOA campground there. This campground has basketball, volleyball, swimming, a rec room with pool, ping pong, and darts. They also have hot showers. The campground is only 7 miles from Lake Le-Aqua-Na state park which provides opportunities for hiking, canoeing, and paddle boating. There is also a mini golf course close to the campground. So we have plenty of options of fun stuff to do. It should be a fun few days to just hang out, relax, and have some fun together.

You will need to bring a sleeping bag, pillow, camping chair, clothes and toiletries (obviously), probably a towel, swimming clothes, $10, and extra spending money if you want. You may also want to bring some sunscreen. If you have your own small tent and want to bring it that is fine, but otherwise we will be staying in six man tents - boys in one, girls in the other. Food and drinks will be provided as well as some snack food - if your a big snacker you may want to bring some of your own snacks. AND BRING YOUR BIBLES!

And don't forget...yes...that's right...you will need a dreaded medical release form. Please see me for a medical release form and a camping checklist if you didn't get one yet.

We will meet at CBC at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon and be back at 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Don't be late. See you then.

Got Purpose?

Last night we looked at Chapter 4 entitled PURPOSE.

To know God's purpose for us, we have to look into God's Word because this is God's communication to mankind.

As we read God's Word, we see that God has a desire for all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). We also see that God desires that once we are saved we be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29) and not be conformed to this world (Romans 12:2).

When God made Adam and Eve, He made them in His image (Genesis 1:26). This didn't mean they looked like God because God is a spirit, it means that man was made in God's image in the realm of personality, intellect, emotions, will, etc., so that there could be communion, fellowship, and cooperation between God and man. But when Adam and Eve sinned, this was changed. Man was still created in God's image, but the image now had been marred by sin. You and I still have the image of God, but it is marred, it has been messed up by sin.

However, God had a plan of redemption through Christ. Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Christ, the Son of God, was the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being. When we trust Christ as Savior we are born again, we go through a new birth. Stanford says, Our Heavenly Father is still carrying our His purpose of making man in His image. Although His original purpose is the same, His is not using the original man to bring about. All is now centered in the Last Adam, our Lord Jesus.

We have to understand that God's purpose for us is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. As this takes place, we will glorify the Lord through our lives. However, while we still live on this earth, we will never be completely conformed to the image of Christ in a perfect way. That cannot happen because we still have a sin nature. Only when we get to heaven and we receive our glorified bodies without a sin nature will the conforming process be complete. However, God still desires that we continually be conformed to the image of Christ while here on earth so that the life of Christ is what characterizes our lives.

How does this conforming process take place? Stanford says, God has a natural law in force to the effect that we are conformed to that on which we center our interest and love...If we are attracted to this present evil world, we become increasingly worldly; if we pamper and live for self, we become more and more self centered; but when we look to Jesus Christ, we become more and more like Him. This is so true as most of us know. This is why it is so important that we are reading and studying the Word of God. This is why the things of God need to be our interest and not the things of the world or ourself. We must make a conscience decision to focus on Christ, because when we are focused on Christ, our desire will be for Him rather than the things around us.

Many times God uses failure in our lives to conform us to the image of Christ. This is hard to comprehend. But failure teaches us that we cannot live this Christian life in our own strength and teaches us that we must depend on Christ, our Source for life. While we as humans do not like to fail, as Christians we need to see failure in our Christian life as a tool God can use to conform us to the image of Christ. This doesn't mean that we try to fail and say God is using this or that whowever fails the most is conformed the quickest. But when we do fail, we must understand that God can use this to grow us closer to Him.

I want to type this quote for you. It is somewhat lengthy, but very well said. It is by Norman Douty. "If I am to be like Him, then God in His grace must do it, and the sooner I come to recognize it the sooner I will be delivered from another form of bondage. Throw down every endeavor and say, I cannot do it, the more I try the farther I get from His likeness. What shall I do? Ah, the Holy Spirit says, You cannot do it; just withdraw; come out of it. You have been in the arena, you have been endeavoring, you are a failure, come out and sit down, and as you sit there behold Him, look at Him. Don't try to be like Him, just look at Him. Just be occupied with Him. Forget about trying to be like Him. Instead of letting that fill your mind and heart, let Him fill it. Just behold Him, look upon Him through the Word. Come to the Word for one purpose and that is to mee the Lord. Not to get your mind crammed full of things about the sacred Word, but come to it to meet the Lord. Make it be a medium, not of Biblical scholarship, but of fellowship with Christ. Behold the Lord."

God's purpose is to conform us to the image of Christ. Stop trying to do it yourself and allow Him to do it in you. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

Accepting our Acceptance...

Chapter 3 talked about ACCEPTANCE.

Most all of us want to be accepted by others. And that is not always a bad thing. But we need to be careful to what extent we go to be accepted and be careful who we desire to be accepted by. But acceptance is important in a person's life.

In this chapter, Stanford says there are two questions every believer must settle on.
1. Does God fully accept me?
2. If so, on what basis does He do so?

The answers to these questions are that God does fully accept me on the basis of Christ's finished work. We are accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:5-6). We are only accepted in Jesus Christ. If we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ then we are fully accepted by God.

Now many of us would be able to give that answer if we are believers. But to understand this changes the life of the believer. Because our acceptance by God is based solely on what Christ has done, not what we have done. Even after we are saved, we are always accepted. This means even when we sin. Often as believers we think that when we sin God can no longer accept us. And this is why so many people think they have to be saved over again. But God does still accept us. We are the ones who have changed when we sin, not God. It is a matter of restoring fellowship by confessing our sin (1 John 1:9). And when we confess that sin to God, we find our acceptance with God unchanged and unchangeable. Our righteousness is not our own, it is Christ's righteousness in us. This is why God can accept us!

When we understand this, we understand that there is nothing that we can bring to God in ourselves that will make us any more accepted by God. So many Christians are trying real hard to do a lot of things for God. And they are depending on a source that cannot bring anything good-themselves. Even after we are saved, the righteousness that we have is still filthy rags in the eyes of God. So our desire instead should be that what is produced is the righteousness of Christ. And that does not come by us trying real hard to live for God, it comes by us resting in the power that God has given us and allowing Christ's life to be lived out through us as we yield to the power of the Holy Spirit in us. Darby said, "It is not that I abhor my sins...but it is 'I abhor myself.'" We must come to see self for what it is...useless, a failure. And we must learn self does not produce acceptance by God or obedience to Him. Really, depending on ourselves is another form of bondage from which we have been freed through Christ.

We as believers also sometimes think that when things are going well God is blessing us and that when things are going bad that God does not love or accept us. Many believers have a mentality that God's blessing is based on our devotion. William R. Newell says this, "To preach devotion first, and blessing second, is to reverse God's order, and preach law, not grace. The Law made man's blessing depend on devotion; Grace confers undeserved, unconditional blessing: our devotion may follow, but does not always do so-in proper measure."

Finally, Stanford deals with another issue regarding acceptance. It is hard for us to understand unconditional acceptance because that is not how we function as humans. Our acceptance of others is often based on their actions or way of life. J.W. Sanderson, Jr. gives some good thoughts regarding this. In our way of thinking,"to promise a man the certainty of his destiny may seem...like playing with fire: but this leaves God out of the picture." Unfortunately there are many who take advantage of this acceptance by God and think they can do what they want because their ticket to heaven is punched. However, this is a misunderstanding of grace and taking advantage of God. Sanderson goes on to say, "those who have the deepest appreciation of grace do not continue in sin. Moreover, fear produces the obedience of slaves; love engenders (produces) the obedience fo sons."

It is so important for the believer to understand that we have unconditional acceptance by God based on our faith in Christ because of Christ's work on our behalf. Coming to a true understanding of this will make a huge difference in our Christian life.

Don't want to be a SQUASH...

In addition to our ginormous volleyball playing, we have also been studying Miles Stanford's book Principles of Spiritual Growth. So I will use the next few posts to bring you up to date on what we have been studying.

Chapter 2 talked about the subject of TIME.

We know that God is not governed or limited by time the way we are as humans. However, He created time for us and understands its importance in our lives. Today we live in a world that wants everything right now, but we saw that there are no shortcuts in our Christian life. Maturity in our Christian life takes time...actually a lifetime. When we trust Christ as Savior we are not automatically mature Christians who do not sin (as most everyone who is a Christian is aware of). God does not hurry in His development of our Christian life.

A great illustration was used that said when God wants to make a squash, He takes six months, but when God makes an oak, He takes hundreds of years. I think most of us would rather be an oak than a squash.

In this time of growing, we often go through good times and difficult times. But both are used to grow us to maturity in our Christian life. We must trust and rest in the Lord that He is working to mature us in our Christian life. "Being confident of this very thing, that He which hat begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6).

Summer Wednesdays so far...

Well, since I have failed to update the blog consistently, I will use this post to update you on what we have done and talked about the past three Wednesday nights.

When the weather has cooperated (which has been most nights) we have played quite a bit of volleyball in the parking lot. Last night we did have quite a crisis as our ginormous ball got stuck in the tree. Then as we began throwing our shoes at the ball to knock it down...you guessed it...someone's shoe also got stuck in the tree. Thankfully David Mulligan (a.k.a. Monkeyman) managed to climb the tree and get the ball and the shoe down, and he also managed to get himself down as well. But he wasn't done yet, because in all the commotion taking place with the ball and the shoe in the tree...Andrew's glasses got knocked off and we couldn't find them. So who found them...that's right David. So he saved the day 3 times in the span of 10 minutes. Way to go David!

By the way...don't forget to bring your medical release forms for Wednesday nights so that we can take a trip to the park or wherever throughout the summer. That way we can do more than just play volleyball every Wednesday night.

Not the greatest blogger...

Ok, I have to admit, I'm not the greatest blogger. As if you all didn't already know that from my lack of posts...even after I said I was going to try really hard to keep it up to date and maintained (Just a few posts ago).

Well, very sorry. So this time I will not make any promises of the sort, I will just say that when I have the opportunity and have something to post about, Iwill post something.

Actually, this failure to fulfill something I said I would do goes well with what we have been studying on Wednesday nights. We often make promises in our Christian life and try real hard to do something for God. And often we fail and don't understand why. And then we try real hard again, and we fail. And it is not that we do not have good intentions, it is that we are looking to the wrong source to be successful. We are trying through self rather than relying on all that God has given us. We have God by way of the Holy Spirit living in us. And we are to rely on or yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit that the life of Christ may be produced through our life. And yet many times we (I) still depend on ourselves. We must continue to learn and have the attitude of "Not I, but Christ".

Thankfully, God often uses our failure to teach us and show us practically that we cannot do it and that we must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit in us to produce the life of Christ through us. Praise the Lord that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 1:3)