Work Day

Make sure you're ready for the work day this Saturday. We will be working @ MabelWhite from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. If you need a fundraiser sheet, you can get one on Wednesday or e-mail me and i'll send you one, but go ahead and ask people to sponsor you for a certain amount of $ per hour. If you have any questions, let me know.

Amazing Grace Review

So we went and watched Amazing Grace, the movie on Friday.

I know some of the students who attended were bored out of their minds, but Emily and I were extremely impressed. The story of William Wilberforce is still extremely important today.

One thought in particular that I would like to point out to you. Wilberforce, after he trusted in Jesus, could not decide whether or not he wanted to continue his already succesful and promising career in politics, or whether he wanted to leave it all and enter the "ministry."

This same delimna confronts a lot of serious Christians. We often think that if we are serious about Jesus, then we must join the vocational ministry. I strongly disagree. If you are a Christian, you already are a minister and a missionary right where you are! You don't have to join the vocational ministry.

I really liked what John Newton said in the movie. He told Wilberforce that he should do both. He should be a minister by being a politician!!! This idea is so important.

Now, listen close: You need to be a missionary by being a student!!! You need to know that you have a mission and a ministry right where you are!! Ask God to show you what He wants you to do. Ask Him to help you to minister where you are. William Wilberforce took this seriously and changed the world. Here's the truth, with God's help, you can too.

Amazing Grace

If you have signed up for Amazing Grace movie night, we will be meeting this Friday at 5 PM. We will have dinner here at the church, then head to the movie together.

Your parents can pick you up back here at the movie at approx. 10:30. Don't forget to bring your $10. If you have any questions, just give me a call.

Braves...Excitement or Blues?

No, this post isn't about God, but it is about baseball.

This is one of the most exciting times of the year. Pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training and the weather is growing warmer. Baseball season is upon us. I have been blessed to be a Braves fan my entire life.

I grew up wearing number 3 in honor of Dale Murphy, my favorite player and should-be Hall of Famer. I suffered with my Dad through the rough patch of the 80's. I celebrated as the Braves won the division, worst to first in 1991! I watched as Sid Bream slid home and then as Dave Justice homered and we won it all in '95. Oh the memories.

I'm scared, though, that the Braves might be done at 14 divisions, for awhile. They have been sold to Liberty Media, a faceless corporation from Colorado who only picked up the Braves as a loophole in the tax laws made the deal tax free.

Things can only get worse from here. They don't care if the Braves win, or keep their best players, all they care about is the bottom line. This year, I am going to hold out hope. This year they still have Andruw Jones and John Smoltz (both free-agents next year), who Liberty Media will surely not keep next year. They have pitching, they have hitting, they have feilding. They still have Manager Bobby Cox and GM John Shulerholz. All they need is a little luck and a little magic.

So I'm holding out hope and holding on to this year. I'm praying that the Ted can light up with one more round of the Tomahawk Chop and this year, we can do something amazing, and delay the day of First to Worst.

One Minute Bible

Have a hard time having a quiet time because you are running low on time or have trouble paying attention to one thing for very long? Check out this One Minute Bible.

It might help for those times that you cannot spend a long time in the word.

James 1:19-21

When you read this passage, what do you think? Do you think it will make you a sissy? If you are a middle school student, you most likely do the opposite of this passage. You talk (a lot), have selective hearing (especially with your parents & student pastor) and you like being wild and crazy.

Which, honestly, is ok. No seriously, I don't mind, you're teenagers. But (there's always a but), I want you to be wild, crazy, joyful, rebel teenagers who love God and love other people.

We all want to be different. We all want to have our own identity. You know what I mean. Some are jocks, others are preppy, some are nerdy. But here's the thing, if we let ourselves fall into these categories, we're really just like everyone else. Most teens are selfish, care only about what they want, are insecure and dress/act/look a certain way because they have a low self-esteem and want other people to like them more than anyone else in the world.

What this passage says is, be a rebel. Here's what I mean. Love other people. Care about others, just because. Listen to what God says, then live it out. Be fun, crazy, wild, etc. But do it out of a love for God and other people.

When you have fun, have fun with other people, not at their expense (by being a jerk). When you act crazy, be crazy by going out of your way to be nice to someone who is not nice to you. When you are wild, tell people that it is because your God is a wild and fun God. When you are angry, don't be angry because people are mean to you or you don't get your way, be angry because someone is being mean to someone else.

This passage says, be a rebel. Love God and listen to Him. Love other people. Obey God. Reach out and be kind to other people. Then you will really be different than everyone your age.

Missionary?

Did you know that you are a missionary? Wait, you may be thinking, a missionary is someone who goes to Africa or China or something, I'm not a missionary. Sorry, you are. Here's why:

A missionary is simply someone who takes seriously the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20, "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in the way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day, right up to the end of the age."

As Christians, we all have to take these words seriously, because Jesus is speaking them to us!! He uses the word commission. What is the second part of that word? Mission. He has called us all to be missionaries. So, does that mean we all have to move to Africa? No, because notice what else Jesus says. We are supposed to minister to everyone, far and near! That means unless you feel God directly calling you to a foreign country, he has called you to be a missionary right where you are.

So what do missionaries do? They live out a life that shows they are a follower of Jesus. They love everyone around them. They care for and listen to everyone around them. They try to understand people who are different than them and show them the love of Jesus. They pray that their friends would come to know Jesus. They look for opportunities to talk to the people around them about Jesus.

Sound tough? It is, but it also brings purpose to your life as you begin to do what God has created you to do. So, what kind of missionary are you?

Flying Car

So, there is a company in Israel that is producing a flying car. They hope to have it on the market by 2010. The car is expected to be used by military personnel for urban rescue missions, etc. It looks pretty cool. Check it out here.