Summer!

It’s almost here!  A time to get outside, play a sport, sun tan, go for a walk, vacation and graduation!!  It’s that time where we all get a little excited.  I graduated from high school over 10 years ago now (man I feel old) and I still get a little excited for this time!  It’s still a time that feels like new life.  Things are turning green, as a student you’re moving on to different things whether it’s the 10th grade, college or middle school, things are a changin!  And that brings a sense of excitement.  The other week we were talking during middle school about rain and how God is like Rain.  How he refreshes and brings life.  Then I just listened to a song called “Send your rain” off of the Passion CD and it’s just a simple but beautiful song about how we want God to send his rain on our soul.  Why?  Because it refreshes and renews!  Each spring we have this season of renewal and life that is such an awesome time, especially when you live in the midwest (AND IT SNOWS IN APRIL - I still don’t think that was funny God).  Many times during this past year I have felt like the weather outside, cold, damp, dreary, tired and “dead” (spiritually, emotionally and physically), it’s so nice to see the life outside and remember that when we’re in those dark places there is always an answer/life at the end of that time.  If we want it.  I have been waiting for that life and renewal and I am starting to slowly feel that.  Just like anything else that grows, I will take time to grow and “bloom” again after a tough season of life.  But praise God He is there, he will never leave me or forsake (forget) me!  As you go into the summer, remember that “For everything there is a season” Ecclesiastes 3 my season was tough, but the new one is here and things are a changin!!!

Get Ready!!

February 2009! Dare 2 Share! Get Ready…watch this!

http://www.dare2share.org/invincible/

Congrats

Congrats to the Mitchell Kernels boys bball team for their runner-up at state basketball!!

Spring

I love this time of year!  Spring/summer is coming, the golf courses are clearing up, Easter season and it really seems like everyone gets in a much better mood.  We have started our discussion on the Passion movie for Easter, and I love it!  The movie is such a great visual of Chirst’s trial and death.  It really gives me a great perspective of what happened.  But what amazes me is that through this whole time of year we tend to focus so much on the fact that Christ was killed, hung on the cross and beaten, we lose sight a little bit of the fact that Christ didn’t stay dead!  He came out of that grave and said “death, you smell, and I don’t want to have anything to do with you!”  The fact that Christ conquered death and the “end” of life as we know it, give me great hope.  It’s so easy to fall into the idea of ‘yea there’s a heaven’ ‘yea Jesus loves me’ ‘yea i’m a Christian’.  But do we really, I mean really know what that means?  I have heard a lot of the great bible answers lately.  Do we understand what it means to follow Christ?  I just had a conversation with a friend of mine, and he was telling me the story of why he left a church in the past.  Basically to sum it up the Church didn’t support or reach out to him at all in a time of great emotional and spiritual pain.  He got the Church answers in order to “fix” his emotions and feelings.  But not once did anyone in that community reach out and support him during this time in his life.  Saying that you’re a Christian means nothing if we don’t live out what Christ did.  We must love our brothers and sisters, that goes WAY beyond saying ‘i’m praying for you’ and we must be willing to stand up and say Jesus is the way to Life and hope!  Calling yourself/myself a Christian and not following Christ, is about as meaningful as saying i’m a black man, when my skin is almost as pale as they come.  So much now we are “Christian” by a people group, but do we actually practice and live out the meaning of what a “Christian” is/should do?  Easter is that time for me that this is so much more prevalent in my life.  I learn, watch, listen and everything inside me screams I have betrayed Christ daily and that I deserve to suffer for my own stupidity!  Oh how much I take Jesus and His amazing grace (and patience) for me for granted.  Father forgive ME!  For I know not what I do!  Amen.

College Ministry pt 1

top topics for college-age people to hear - part 1 of 5
I’ve been getting a lot of emails lately from people asking about good teaching topics for college-age people. I get so excited when I see these …

College Ministry

top topics for college-age people to hear - part 2 of 5
Okay, there is no possible way I can do this series in five parts! I’ve tried to limit what I say about each topic to fit …

It’s here!

A new layout that hopefully will be easier to manage and find information! You’re going to find great articles, fun websites, info about the ministries of First, info on the Youth Pastor, and so much more!! Check it out!

Favorite TV Show

What is your favorite TV show?

Summer is here!

Well, it’s another year over.  We are getting ready to send off our graduating seniors to college, the military, work or other various opportunities.  What a great year this has been, for my first year here at the Church and in town, it’s been great.  I was thinking about some of my childhood the other day, and I remember there was a kid I hung out with all summer long, we had tons of fun!  We went to the mall, played games, rode our bikes a bunch of boy stuff, it was great!  When school started he met other students, one in particular that was one of the “cool kids” and I was not one of those (I know it’s hard to believe).  Shortly after the start of the school year this “friend” started acting like the “cool kid” I was no longer hanging out with him, and in fact he was now teasing me and didn’t want to have anything to do with me.  Ok, wipe your tears now, and focus!  This story from my own childhood reminded me of what we do with God sometimes, we have this weird notion that since school is over we no longer need to do any “God stuff” like Church, bible study, your own daily devotions etc.  Why do we think that we are going to take a vacation from everything, including God?  Like the story from my own life, we sometimes find cooler stuff to do in the summer than hang out with God.  And it’s nothing He did, we just don’t think that He’s that  fun, cool, or as important to hang around with anymore.  I know summers are busy, mine is too, and it may take a little extra work to strengthen your relationship with Christ, but what relationship doesn’t take work and effort?  And you know it doesn’t even matter if we try to leave God for the summer, we can’t shake him read what the Psalmist writes in Psalm 139
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast

As much as we try to avoid God or ignore Him all summer long, there is just no way that we can.  God is daily and constantly pursuing YOU!  He loves you so much that he is constantly calling and coming over to spend time with YOU!  Let’s not ignore him all summer long!

New links

Go to the support section and you will find some new and pretty awesome links to use and help us out all at the same time!!