Hey, Everyone! Thanks for coming last night! I hope the message was a big help and an encouragement! Remember, we need to share the truth with Love~!
FRIDAY NIGHT AT 7:00PM WE WILL MEET AT THE CHURCH FOR A GREAT NIGHT OF FUN!
A Few Thought from Yesterday:
Cary: Very True! The only place that light in really made evident is when it lights up the darkness! What a cool thought!
McCue: Right On! I should have had you help me preach last night, with all of that post modernistic talk. You are exactly right when you say we must spread the truth amidst post-modernism.
Josh: We missed you last night! I hope the "stupid stanley steamer people" didnt kill you!
Kacey: CONGRATULATIONS!!!! You are the winner of the "Longest Devotion of the Year Award" (So far) keep up the good work! Also! Everything you said about giving up bad friends was so wise!!!!! I know it is not easy, but you will be so much happier!
Alex: I was reading your devotions with a few teenagers, and I am glad they were here, because I had no clue what "Kingdom Hearts" was. When they read what you said, they could only say the word "Wow..." (over and over) it was kind of funny!
Ephesians 5:15-21
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Well Hello! This is a pretty neat passage, we see Paul telling us to walk circumspectly!..... WHAT IN THE WORLD DOES THAT MEAN! Well the greek word "akribos" means to walk perfect or in a straight line. So we are supposed to walk in a straight line with the Word of God. When we do that then we are walking as wise men, and not as fools. Why should we live according to the Bible? Well because we must redeem the time, or use the time wisely. Then the key verse is 17, where it says: Dont be unwise, but UNDERSTAND GODS WILL! How do we find out Gods will? By reading his word! By doing exactly what you are doing now, you are looking wiser by the second. Then we are told that we are not to get drunk, but we should be filled with the Holy Spirit! We need to submit and follow the Holy Spirits leading in our life. and then we will see some results.....
Have you ever been around someone who sings all the time? I am like that a little, but my Mom and my Grandma are Die-Hard Singers. Whatever you say, they always have a song about it. Have you ever met someone like that? Well, that is kind of what this passage is talking about, When we sing, it is proof that we are happy, and this passage tells us to walk around singing about the Lord, and his goodness. (Not while you are in class at school, but the idea is simply to always have a song on your heart.) Then: Be thankful to the Lord for everything! He is so good to us! And submit to one another, serve other people with humility as Christ Did!
There is a lot of information in those few short verses! What did you learn?
WEDNESDAY, April 23rd, 2008
Hey Everybody! Today is Wednesday and that means SUNCOAST YOUTH GROUP is meeting for a great service tonight at 7:00PM. Hope to see you there! Great Job once again on the devos yesterday!
A Few Thought from Yesterday:
Mr. Anderson: Good to see you checking us out every once in a while! I have an incredible youth group don't I!
Cary and Tyler: Awesome to see you guys on here! I wish you guys lived closer to my side of town! Maybe I just need to pray about it :)
Jeff: Yes I will pick you up today around 4:00ish
Jill: Hey Girl, I am praying that you have the wisdom to deal with that friendship in a Godly fashion. I am sure it will be hard, but you are right when you say people see you with her and they immediately think you are like her.
Gaby: DUDE(T)~! Good to see you on here! I am glad your computer is fixed! I did'nt know you were a computer techie. I have some computer problems over herre I need you to work on!
Ephesians 5:8-14
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),
10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.
13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.
14 Therefore He says: “ Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”
Wow! What a great passage, and a great follow-up of what so many of you wrote yesterday. The idea in this passage is that we once were without Christ, and if Christ is the "light of the world" then we were in darkness. But now that we have received Christ we have received His light. I think of the good old song: " This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine" Well we are supposed to walk in the light and "find out what God wants from us" (in the red)
Not only are we to walk in the light, but we are to pour our light on the darkness, and this passage does not just mean witnessing, it literally means what Jill talked about yesterday. It means that if we have a friend who is involved in sin, then we need to tell them the truth. We need to shine the light (truth) on their darkness (sin) with the love of Christ. Hopefully they accept the truth and change, but if not, the Bible is clear that we are to have NO FELLOWSHIP with them. Because of what Gaby said yesterday: "It is easier to be pulled down than to pull someone up" BE CAREFUL WHO YOU HANG OUT WITH! Love you guys! You are Great! Stay in the Word!
OK104LUVU2BYE
A Few Thought from Yesterday:
Mr. Anderson: Good to see you checking us out every once in a while! I have an incredible youth group don't I!
Cary and Tyler: Awesome to see you guys on here! I wish you guys lived closer to my side of town! Maybe I just need to pray about it :)
Jeff: Yes I will pick you up today around 4:00ish
Jill: Hey Girl, I am praying that you have the wisdom to deal with that friendship in a Godly fashion. I am sure it will be hard, but you are right when you say people see you with her and they immediately think you are like her.
Gaby: DUDE(T)~! Good to see you on here! I am glad your computer is fixed! I did'nt know you were a computer techie. I have some computer problems over herre I need you to work on!
Ephesians 5:8-14
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),
10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.
13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.
14 Therefore He says: “ Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”
Wow! What a great passage, and a great follow-up of what so many of you wrote yesterday. The idea in this passage is that we once were without Christ, and if Christ is the "light of the world" then we were in darkness. But now that we have received Christ we have received His light. I think of the good old song: " This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine" Well we are supposed to walk in the light and "find out what God wants from us" (in the red)
Not only are we to walk in the light, but we are to pour our light on the darkness, and this passage does not just mean witnessing, it literally means what Jill talked about yesterday. It means that if we have a friend who is involved in sin, then we need to tell them the truth. We need to shine the light (truth) on their darkness (sin) with the love of Christ. Hopefully they accept the truth and change, but if not, the Bible is clear that we are to have NO FELLOWSHIP with them. Because of what Gaby said yesterday: "It is easier to be pulled down than to pull someone up" BE CAREFUL WHO YOU HANG OUT WITH! Love you guys! You are Great! Stay in the Word!
OK104LUVU2BYE
TUESDAY, April 22nd, 2008
Hey everyone! Great Job on the devotions yesterday! Keep up the good work! I am excited about taking all of you on a trip to Orlando in June! We will have such a great time!
A few thoughts from yesterday:
Amy: Great Stuff! Instead of putting off sin we often "take it out and play with it"
Jessica M: I use to sing that song all the time!! :) "keep your tongue from evil keep your tongue"
Kacey: You are right on track! I think all of us do that sometimes: we remember to do what is right after we have already done whats wrong. But if are sensitive to the Holy Spirit and we get in the habit of doing whats right then it gets easier and easier.
Jeff and Jill: Dont apologize for writing too much! What you did was great! I read very word! AND LOVED IT! :)
Ephesians 5: 1-7
1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;
4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.
Wow this passage has some great stuff! Be immitators of God, as dear children. I have been reading a book that tells you all about babies and one of the things it tells you to do to test your babies abilities is to get right in front of His face and smile, or stick your tongue out, or make a "kissy face" and you do this to see if your baby will immitate you. Children always immitate adults! Think about it, when you were a little kid you always said: "I want to be just like my mommy or my daddy". Maybe you would put on your daddy's shoes and walk all around the house, You Immitated Others! God tells us: "the same way that a child immitates adults, you should immitate God. Then the passage gives an example: God walked on this earth and dies on the cross because of His LOVE therefore we should immitate his love, and we should walk on this earth with the same love Christ had.
Then the passage goes on to say that we should avoid fornication and all uncleanness. Not only should we avoid it, no one should ever be able to use our name and fornaication or uncleanness in the same sentance. (in other words, you must have no association with those things at all!!)
Then Paul also mentions a list of other things we should avoid. foolish talking, Bad jokes, (not only dirty, but insulting and cruel) why? BECAUSE IT IS NOT FITTING FOR SAINTS! That is not how a Christian should act! At the end we see that people who are living in those kinds of lifestyles without the Holy Spirits conviction are not saved. And we should not have anything to do with them. We should not partake in their uncleanness! Wow there was so much in this passage! What did you get out of it?
OKAY104LUVU2BYE
A few thoughts from yesterday:
Amy: Great Stuff! Instead of putting off sin we often "take it out and play with it"
Jessica M: I use to sing that song all the time!! :) "keep your tongue from evil keep your tongue"
Kacey: You are right on track! I think all of us do that sometimes: we remember to do what is right after we have already done whats wrong. But if are sensitive to the Holy Spirit and we get in the habit of doing whats right then it gets easier and easier.
Jeff and Jill: Dont apologize for writing too much! What you did was great! I read very word! AND LOVED IT! :)
Ephesians 5: 1-7
1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.
2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;
4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.
Wow this passage has some great stuff! Be immitators of God, as dear children. I have been reading a book that tells you all about babies and one of the things it tells you to do to test your babies abilities is to get right in front of His face and smile, or stick your tongue out, or make a "kissy face" and you do this to see if your baby will immitate you. Children always immitate adults! Think about it, when you were a little kid you always said: "I want to be just like my mommy or my daddy". Maybe you would put on your daddy's shoes and walk all around the house, You Immitated Others! God tells us: "the same way that a child immitates adults, you should immitate God. Then the passage gives an example: God walked on this earth and dies on the cross because of His LOVE therefore we should immitate his love, and we should walk on this earth with the same love Christ had.
Then the passage goes on to say that we should avoid fornication and all uncleanness. Not only should we avoid it, no one should ever be able to use our name and fornaication or uncleanness in the same sentance. (in other words, you must have no association with those things at all!!)
Then Paul also mentions a list of other things we should avoid. foolish talking, Bad jokes, (not only dirty, but insulting and cruel) why? BECAUSE IT IS NOT FITTING FOR SAINTS! That is not how a Christian should act! At the end we see that people who are living in those kinds of lifestyles without the Holy Spirits conviction are not saved. And we should not have anything to do with them. We should not partake in their uncleanness! Wow there was so much in this passage! What did you get out of it?
OKAY104LUVU2BYE
MONDAY, April 21st, 2008
Ephesians 4:25-32
25 Therefore, putting away lying, “ Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.
26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
27 nor give place to the devil.
28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
This is such a great passage! Think about it like this: Yesterday in Sunday School we talked about Three steps to getting rid of sin: 1. Put off (sin); Renew your Mind; Put on (God's Righteousness). Well, today the passage gives several illustrations to help us understand the passage better. Here is my summary.
Here is a good way to understand it: There are two kinds of people: The grouchy, mean, bitter, angry gossiping kind of person, or there is the kind, tenderhearted, forgiving, loving, encouraging, and truthful person. Read through the passage and look at How we are told to get rid of the mean-ness and the bitterness, and the cruel words, and BE NICE! BE FRIENDLY! BE GODLY!
What jumps out to you about this passage?
25 Therefore, putting away lying, “ Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.
26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
27 nor give place to the devil.
28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
This is such a great passage! Think about it like this: Yesterday in Sunday School we talked about Three steps to getting rid of sin: 1. Put off (sin); Renew your Mind; Put on (God's Righteousness). Well, today the passage gives several illustrations to help us understand the passage better. Here is my summary.
Here is a good way to understand it: There are two kinds of people: The grouchy, mean, bitter, angry gossiping kind of person, or there is the kind, tenderhearted, forgiving, loving, encouraging, and truthful person. Read through the passage and look at How we are told to get rid of the mean-ness and the bitterness, and the cruel words, and BE NICE! BE FRIENDLY! BE GODLY!
What jumps out to you about this passage?
SUNDAY , April 20th 2008
WERE YOU IN SUNDAY SCHOOL???
Thanks for coming! Do your devotions in the morning!
Thanks for coming! Do your devotions in the morning!
SATURDAY, April 19th, 2008
Hey everyone! Great Job on staying faithful! We will be talking about the next chapter of devotions in Sunday School tomorrow. So make sure you are in Sunday School to get credit for doing your devotions tomorrow! If you need a ride then please call me! I would love to help you get to church!
This passage is pretty great! It explains to us that every one of us are given gift from Jesus Christ. When did He start giving gifts? Right when he ascended (that was when Christ went back to Heaven after he rose from the dead!) Christ "gave gift to men" (vs.8) Then verse 9 and 10 explain to us that Christ descended to earth (in the form of a baby) then He raised above the heavens! Now comes the good part!!! in verses 11- 13 we see what those gifts are: the gift of prophecy (explaining the truth), evangelists (people who are good at soul-winning), even pastors like me, or teachers. (We all have gifts like these we just need to figure out how to use them)
Find out what your gift is and use it! The last verse tells us why it is so important: so that we can work effectively and build the body of the church!!! (By teaching people about Christ!)
Ephesians 4:
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”
9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
This passage is pretty great! It explains to us that every one of us are given gift from Jesus Christ. When did He start giving gifts? Right when he ascended (that was when Christ went back to Heaven after he rose from the dead!) Christ "gave gift to men" (vs.8) Then verse 9 and 10 explain to us that Christ descended to earth (in the form of a baby) then He raised above the heavens! Now comes the good part!!! in verses 11- 13 we see what those gifts are: the gift of prophecy (explaining the truth), evangelists (people who are good at soul-winning), even pastors like me, or teachers. (We all have gifts like these we just need to figure out how to use them)
Find out what your gift is and use it! The last verse tells us why it is so important: so that we can work effectively and build the body of the church!!! (By teaching people about Christ!)
Ephesians 4:
7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”
9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
FRIDAY, April, 18th, 2008
Hey Everyone! Stay faithful this weekend! Dont slack off, make it a priority! Be in Sunday School on Sunday at 9:15 am! Sorry Kasey for spelling your name as Kacey :)
Enjoy your day everyone! My parent will be here Sunday morning! Make sure you say hey to them! They love to come see you guys!
Ephesians 4:1-6
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
This passage is about the unity that we share as Christians and the unity in Christ Jesus. First of all it jumps out at me, that Paul is not bragging about How great of a Christian he is. No, He is humbly calling himself the prisoner of the Lord. He has given himself over to God permanently because He was called to do so. Paul then tells us that we need to walk, (or live) worthy of our calling. In other words, God has called us to do Great and Mighty Things! We need to live like it! Lets live like we have a higher calling than just wasting our life away. Then, when we walk worthy of our calling, we need to do so, humbly like Paul did. And the word that sticks me everytime is that word longsuffering! I usually dont have the attitude that I am willing to "Suffer long" for something. I usuallly tell myself that "I dont deserve this". But God says, show your love to me by being willing to suffer if that is what happens. Lets be longsuffering!
Enjoy your day everyone! My parent will be here Sunday morning! Make sure you say hey to them! They love to come see you guys!
Ephesians 4:1-6
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
This passage is about the unity that we share as Christians and the unity in Christ Jesus. First of all it jumps out at me, that Paul is not bragging about How great of a Christian he is. No, He is humbly calling himself the prisoner of the Lord. He has given himself over to God permanently because He was called to do so. Paul then tells us that we need to walk, (or live) worthy of our calling. In other words, God has called us to do Great and Mighty Things! We need to live like it! Lets live like we have a higher calling than just wasting our life away. Then, when we walk worthy of our calling, we need to do so, humbly like Paul did. And the word that sticks me everytime is that word longsuffering! I usually dont have the attitude that I am willing to "Suffer long" for something. I usuallly tell myself that "I dont deserve this". But God says, show your love to me by being willing to suffer if that is what happens. Lets be longsuffering!
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