On Father's Day Sunday we all attended the main sanctuary service to be with our families and to hear Pastor Scot's great message.
This week we talked more about how God has created us to be royalty. Again, His purpose in doing so is not for us to rule over others. Instead we are to rule over our own life and environment. We create our environment and our outcome in life based on our beliefs and attitudes about ourselves.
This week we really focused on the types of lies that the enemy tends to bring to us -- especially early in life -- that, left unchecked, become the truth of our existence. Perhaps it is someone telling you that you are ugly or fat or stupid. If we do not challenge those lies, they will become truth and thereby mold and shape our life.
Many of you made the commitment to combat particular lies that you have accepted at some point that you know are holding you back. I continue to pray for you as you make the effort to replace those thoughts, challenge them and reject them. Forget those things that are behind and press on toward the mark of His high calling!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
You Are Royalty!
This week we talked about what God has made all of us to be -- royalty. He did not make us to rule over others, but to rule over life.
Seeing ourselves as valuable and capable of doing what God has destined for us to do is not just a suggestion. So many people carry around their low self-image like some sort of badge of honor. Humility is NOT low self-esteem. We are children of the Most High God. We are more than conquerors. We are kings and priests.
The Word does not refer to us as lowly worms and the downtrodden of society. We have to change our perception of who we are and what we can do.
We also talked about increasing our level of expectation as a teenager. Society has created a very low level of expectation for teens -- to the point where just doing the bare minimum in life gets teens recognized for "excellence" and "leadership." God did not delineate the teen years as some sort of vacuum from accomplishment. Throughout the Word, God refers to children and adults -- no young adults or teenagers.
We will always live up to our level of expectation and not much more. So, when society develops such a low level of expectation for teens, it is no wonder that most teens live up to that expectation -- we sit and listen to iPods, play video games and, when faced with communicating with an adult, we speak only in grunts. And society seems okay with that. I say we need to rise to a higher level of personal expectation.
We also spoke a little bit about having a battle plan for when the "less than" thoughts come to us. If we do not have a plan to defeat the negative and low-expectation thoughts when they come, we will lose every time. We need to have Scripture ready to use and speak when those thoughts arrive.
THIS WEEK WE WILL BE ATTENDING THE MAIN SANCTUARY SERVICE FOR PASTOR SCOT'S SPECIAL FATHER'S DAY MESSAGE. SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY!
Seeing ourselves as valuable and capable of doing what God has destined for us to do is not just a suggestion. So many people carry around their low self-image like some sort of badge of honor. Humility is NOT low self-esteem. We are children of the Most High God. We are more than conquerors. We are kings and priests.
The Word does not refer to us as lowly worms and the downtrodden of society. We have to change our perception of who we are and what we can do.
We also talked about increasing our level of expectation as a teenager. Society has created a very low level of expectation for teens -- to the point where just doing the bare minimum in life gets teens recognized for "excellence" and "leadership." God did not delineate the teen years as some sort of vacuum from accomplishment. Throughout the Word, God refers to children and adults -- no young adults or teenagers.
We will always live up to our level of expectation and not much more. So, when society develops such a low level of expectation for teens, it is no wonder that most teens live up to that expectation -- we sit and listen to iPods, play video games and, when faced with communicating with an adult, we speak only in grunts. And society seems okay with that. I say we need to rise to a higher level of personal expectation.
We also spoke a little bit about having a battle plan for when the "less than" thoughts come to us. If we do not have a plan to defeat the negative and low-expectation thoughts when they come, we will lose every time. We need to have Scripture ready to use and speak when those thoughts arrive.
THIS WEEK WE WILL BE ATTENDING THE MAIN SANCTUARY SERVICE FOR PASTOR SCOT'S SPECIAL FATHER'S DAY MESSAGE. SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
More on Who We Are
This week we welcomed all of our incoming 10th graders. Were glad to have all of you as a part of Transit!
I continued teaching this week on understanding our value in Christ; not only understanding our value, but treating ourselves as though we are valuable.
I talked about how, when I was in elementary school, I got a 15 cent per week allowance. Even adjusted for inflation, it might be 30 cents today. That small allowance did a great job of teaching me to value things. I would literally have to save for 10 weeks to buy a Star Wars figure. Because I had to work so hard to earn and save the money for those toys, I truly valued them. I did not throw them all into a bin or let much of anyone play with them. I had each one in little cases along with all of the little guns, light sabers and accessories that came with them.
Maybe it also made me a little O.C.D. too, but I did learn to value my toys. I did not ever break my toys or leave them in dirt piles outside. In fact, I'm not sure they ever went outside the house -- event the Tonka dump trucks that were made for dirt.
OK, maybe I was a little anal retentive.
But the point is that when you value something, you treat it differently than when you do not. If we get hold of the concept of our value in God's eyes we will look at ourselves differently, we might think differently, eat differently or choose friends differently.
Romans 5 tells us that while we still sinners (read: messed up), Christ was crucified for us. What does that tell you about your value to God. In Romans 5:17 we find out that, through the work of Christ, we've been made to reign in THIS life.
Genesis 1:26 says we're made in the image and likeness of God. It also goes on to say that we have been made to have dominion and authority over this world. That doesn't mean over other people. But we were made to have dominion over our environment; over those things that mold and shape our image of who we are.
Finally, in Revelation 1:6, we are told that Jesus' redemptive power has made us kings and priests in this world. Kings are those who are successful and bring wealth into the Kingdom. The priests are those whose efforts directly expand the Kingdom. Any way you look at it, you are a valuable part of what God is doing in this world!
See you all next week!
I continued teaching this week on understanding our value in Christ; not only understanding our value, but treating ourselves as though we are valuable.
I talked about how, when I was in elementary school, I got a 15 cent per week allowance. Even adjusted for inflation, it might be 30 cents today. That small allowance did a great job of teaching me to value things. I would literally have to save for 10 weeks to buy a Star Wars figure. Because I had to work so hard to earn and save the money for those toys, I truly valued them. I did not throw them all into a bin or let much of anyone play with them. I had each one in little cases along with all of the little guns, light sabers and accessories that came with them.
Maybe it also made me a little O.C.D. too, but I did learn to value my toys. I did not ever break my toys or leave them in dirt piles outside. In fact, I'm not sure they ever went outside the house -- event the Tonka dump trucks that were made for dirt.
OK, maybe I was a little anal retentive.
But the point is that when you value something, you treat it differently than when you do not. If we get hold of the concept of our value in God's eyes we will look at ourselves differently, we might think differently, eat differently or choose friends differently.
Romans 5 tells us that while we still sinners (read: messed up), Christ was crucified for us. What does that tell you about your value to God. In Romans 5:17 we find out that, through the work of Christ, we've been made to reign in THIS life.
Genesis 1:26 says we're made in the image and likeness of God. It also goes on to say that we have been made to have dominion and authority over this world. That doesn't mean over other people. But we were made to have dominion over our environment; over those things that mold and shape our image of who we are.
Finally, in Revelation 1:6, we are told that Jesus' redemptive power has made us kings and priests in this world. Kings are those who are successful and bring wealth into the Kingdom. The priests are those whose efforts directly expand the Kingdom. Any way you look at it, you are a valuable part of what God is doing in this world!
See you all next week!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Changing the Heart, Changing Your Life
This weekend Pastor Tammy taught us on how we go about changing our reality by changing our heart. Last week I challenged you to pay attention to your internal voice; what goes through your head when faced with a challenge or trial.
Final exam week was probably a good week to think about that. How did you think about yourself and your ability to get your desired grade on a difficult final. Did your internal voice say that you're going to just fail the algebra final because you're just not good at math? Or, did it tell you that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you and that you have the mind of Christ and the Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance those things that you have studied?
If you found that you tended to be more like the first example you need to re-program your internal thoughts about yourself. Pastor Tammy talked about some of the ways we can do that by meditating on the Word daily and nightly. Search the Word to find out what God says you are and what He says you can do. Get a true understanding of just who you are "In Christ."
In the example of final exams, you're still going to have to study and work hard. And you probably should not wait until the week before finals to start taking the class seriously. But, assuming you have done all the things you know to do, why would you sabotage all that hard work by telling yourself you'll probably fail anyway? The mind and body will take orders from the heart. If you have told the mind and body to expect failure, it will live up to that expectation.
Next week I will continue talking about finding our true identity in Christ.
Final exam week was probably a good week to think about that. How did you think about yourself and your ability to get your desired grade on a difficult final. Did your internal voice say that you're going to just fail the algebra final because you're just not good at math? Or, did it tell you that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you and that you have the mind of Christ and the Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance those things that you have studied?
If you found that you tended to be more like the first example you need to re-program your internal thoughts about yourself. Pastor Tammy talked about some of the ways we can do that by meditating on the Word daily and nightly. Search the Word to find out what God says you are and what He says you can do. Get a true understanding of just who you are "In Christ."
In the example of final exams, you're still going to have to study and work hard. And you probably should not wait until the week before finals to start taking the class seriously. But, assuming you have done all the things you know to do, why would you sabotage all that hard work by telling yourself you'll probably fail anyway? The mind and body will take orders from the heart. If you have told the mind and body to expect failure, it will live up to that expectation.
Next week I will continue talking about finding our true identity in Christ.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Who Are You Anyway?
I started a new series this week on defining who we are. The number one thing that will either drive us to success in life or sentence us to a life of mediocrity or failure is our self-image.
Our self-image or self-esteem is generally formed by our experiences and opinions of others. Throughout our lives we become sort of like an onion -- layer upon layer. We add these layers over time to try and become what we think others want us to be.
Instead we need to understand how and why God values us. Let's look at the summary of what the world uses to determine one's value:
1. Looks
2. Intelligence
3. Abilities
4. Accomplishments
All of those things will eventually let you down if you rely on them to determine your value. Today's hottest movie stars or models will all eventually get old. You will always find someone smarter than you -- even in something you thought you were an expert in. Even superstar athletes begin to lose their exceptional abilities at an early age. There will always be more that you could have accomplished.
Here is God's list for determining your value:
1. You exist
That's it. Now, I know that is hard for us to grasp. God values each one of us so much for no other reason than we exist. In fact, Romans 5 tells us that even while we were yet sinners, He sent His Son to die for the sins of ALL mankind.
We live in a competitive world. It is very difficult for us to get beyond the idea that God sees us all of the same value. When the world tries to see everyone as equal it attempts to bring everyone DOWN to a lowest common denominator to make them equal. However, God sees us all as the winners in life. He wants to bring you UP to that level.
When He sees us all as winners it is not like elementary school track and field day when the kid who stopped for a milkshake and a nap in middle of the 50-yard dash gets the same "you're all winners" ribbon as the kid who set the world record for 3rd graders.
To be a success, we must see ourselves as the success that God made us to be.
In Matthew 22:37, Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart. But the second most important thing is like the first -- to love your neighbor as yourself. If you can't love yourself, you cannot love your neighbor. If you cannot value yourself like God values you, you won't be able to value another of God's creation.
This second commandment is LIKE the first because it is about valuing God's creation. If you love God, you will value what He has made and has called valuable. This includes yourself.
Humility is important. True humility is NOT about devaluing yourself. It is understanding that any good thing in your life is because of how God made you and not what you have done. But you can love what God has made.
If you want to know what you really think of yourself, pay attention to the internal voice that plays in your head -- particularly when faced with a challenging task. This will tell you how you see yourself.
Over the coming weeks we will discuss how to change the way we see ourselves by using the Word.
Our self-image or self-esteem is generally formed by our experiences and opinions of others. Throughout our lives we become sort of like an onion -- layer upon layer. We add these layers over time to try and become what we think others want us to be.
Instead we need to understand how and why God values us. Let's look at the summary of what the world uses to determine one's value:
1. Looks
2. Intelligence
3. Abilities
4. Accomplishments
All of those things will eventually let you down if you rely on them to determine your value. Today's hottest movie stars or models will all eventually get old. You will always find someone smarter than you -- even in something you thought you were an expert in. Even superstar athletes begin to lose their exceptional abilities at an early age. There will always be more that you could have accomplished.
Here is God's list for determining your value:
1. You exist
That's it. Now, I know that is hard for us to grasp. God values each one of us so much for no other reason than we exist. In fact, Romans 5 tells us that even while we were yet sinners, He sent His Son to die for the sins of ALL mankind.
We live in a competitive world. It is very difficult for us to get beyond the idea that God sees us all of the same value. When the world tries to see everyone as equal it attempts to bring everyone DOWN to a lowest common denominator to make them equal. However, God sees us all as the winners in life. He wants to bring you UP to that level.
When He sees us all as winners it is not like elementary school track and field day when the kid who stopped for a milkshake and a nap in middle of the 50-yard dash gets the same "you're all winners" ribbon as the kid who set the world record for 3rd graders.
To be a success, we must see ourselves as the success that God made us to be.
In Matthew 22:37, Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart. But the second most important thing is like the first -- to love your neighbor as yourself. If you can't love yourself, you cannot love your neighbor. If you cannot value yourself like God values you, you won't be able to value another of God's creation.
This second commandment is LIKE the first because it is about valuing God's creation. If you love God, you will value what He has made and has called valuable. This includes yourself.
Humility is important. True humility is NOT about devaluing yourself. It is understanding that any good thing in your life is because of how God made you and not what you have done. But you can love what God has made.
If you want to know what you really think of yourself, pay attention to the internal voice that plays in your head -- particularly when faced with a challenging task. This will tell you how you see yourself.
Over the coming weeks we will discuss how to change the way we see ourselves by using the Word.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Making the TRANSITion
We have been discussing the keys to transitioning from being a teenage, youth group attendee to becoming an adult with a thriving Christian walk. One key to making that happen is staying plugged into your church.
We see a high number of teens who graduate out of youth group and subsequently stop attending church. Certainly we know that some go away to college. Others may find that another church might be a better fit for them; and that's OK. But there should be far more young adults in our congregation once they move beyond the high school ministry.
When studying the common factors that the young adults who remain connected to the church possess, I found two that were almost 100% reliable indicators:
1. They frequently attended main sanctuary services in addition to youth ministry services
2. They began serving in another area of the church while still in high school
We have been discussing the importance of these two things as well as how to change our habits to incorporate these and others that will help us thrive into adulthood.
There will be some exciting changes coming to the overall structure to our ministry to help facilitate an atmosphere that will encourage better connection to our adult and young adult ministries.
We see a high number of teens who graduate out of youth group and subsequently stop attending church. Certainly we know that some go away to college. Others may find that another church might be a better fit for them; and that's OK. But there should be far more young adults in our congregation once they move beyond the high school ministry.
When studying the common factors that the young adults who remain connected to the church possess, I found two that were almost 100% reliable indicators:
1. They frequently attended main sanctuary services in addition to youth ministry services
2. They began serving in another area of the church while still in high school
We have been discussing the importance of these two things as well as how to change our habits to incorporate these and others that will help us thrive into adulthood.
There will be some exciting changes coming to the overall structure to our ministry to help facilitate an atmosphere that will encourage better connection to our adult and young adult ministries.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Leadership - Sat PM & Sun 11
We've been working through a long series on the subject of leadership. We have all been called to be leaders of this world and not followers. We are to lead people to Christ. We can't do that if no one is following us.
We have discussed many of the qualities that make up an effective leader. We've discussed the focus of Noah who stayed on the task God gave him to build the ark and lead his family to deliverance from the flood. He stayed focused for 120 years (between the time God told him to build the ark and when the first rain drop fell).
We also talked about Elijah and his passion. People will follow a passionate leader. He displayed this passion when he was moved to action by God's people worshiping Baal. He challenged the prophets of Baal to call down fire to consume an offering. Whoever had their god show up would prove who the real God was. The 450 prophets tried for many hours with no results. Elijah then soaks the offering and calls down fire from heaven. God's people turned from their ways and returned to God.
We also talked about the 360 degree leader. A 360 degree leader masters leadership in four key areas -- leading himself, leading a person of influence, leading those around him and finally leading in a position of authority.
We looked at Nehemiah and how he went through this process to get the wall around Jerusalem rebuilt. He led himself by taking responsibility for being disobedient to God. Then his leadership skills were able to lead King Artexerxes to allow him to leave to rebuild the wall and even financed it. Then he head to lead the people in Jerusalem to get the job done. he did not use a title or position to do this, but simply influenced the people by having a plan and a passion. Finally, he led in the position of the governor. When he received royal "care packages" from the king, he shared them with the people who were working so hard instead of enjoying the goods himself. This gained him respect among the people who were willing to continue on the project, even when times got tough.
This past week we looked at Jehoshaphat and Elisha in 2 Kings 3. Jehoshaphat and two other kings were preparing to go to battle with the Moabites. As they are crossing a desert valley they run out of water. They go to the prophet Elisha to get God's help. Elisha tells them that God will perform a miracle to bring them water. But he also teaches them a valuable leadership lesson. They were simply looking for water and had resigned to the idea that they would be defeated by the Moabites. Elisha showed them that a good leader needs to think big. He told them that God would meet their need and miraculously provide water and that He would also deliver their enemy into their hands. They needed to have bigger picture thinking.
We have discussed many of the qualities that make up an effective leader. We've discussed the focus of Noah who stayed on the task God gave him to build the ark and lead his family to deliverance from the flood. He stayed focused for 120 years (between the time God told him to build the ark and when the first rain drop fell).
We also talked about Elijah and his passion. People will follow a passionate leader. He displayed this passion when he was moved to action by God's people worshiping Baal. He challenged the prophets of Baal to call down fire to consume an offering. Whoever had their god show up would prove who the real God was. The 450 prophets tried for many hours with no results. Elijah then soaks the offering and calls down fire from heaven. God's people turned from their ways and returned to God.
We also talked about the 360 degree leader. A 360 degree leader masters leadership in four key areas -- leading himself, leading a person of influence, leading those around him and finally leading in a position of authority.
We looked at Nehemiah and how he went through this process to get the wall around Jerusalem rebuilt. He led himself by taking responsibility for being disobedient to God. Then his leadership skills were able to lead King Artexerxes to allow him to leave to rebuild the wall and even financed it. Then he head to lead the people in Jerusalem to get the job done. he did not use a title or position to do this, but simply influenced the people by having a plan and a passion. Finally, he led in the position of the governor. When he received royal "care packages" from the king, he shared them with the people who were working so hard instead of enjoying the goods himself. This gained him respect among the people who were willing to continue on the project, even when times got tough.
This past week we looked at Jehoshaphat and Elisha in 2 Kings 3. Jehoshaphat and two other kings were preparing to go to battle with the Moabites. As they are crossing a desert valley they run out of water. They go to the prophet Elisha to get God's help. Elisha tells them that God will perform a miracle to bring them water. But he also teaches them a valuable leadership lesson. They were simply looking for water and had resigned to the idea that they would be defeated by the Moabites. Elisha showed them that a good leader needs to think big. He told them that God would meet their need and miraculously provide water and that He would also deliver their enemy into their hands. They needed to have bigger picture thinking.
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