Will your treasure last forever?

I want to thank all the leaders that helped at Jr. High ministry last night, and welcome the newest leader, Mr. Mark. You are all an inspiration to the perserverance and faithfulness of a servant of God.
I was looking at the clock last night at 6:20pm and became worried that the snow would stop everyone from coming to youth group. But God continually proves to be faithful despite the odds. The jr. highers went above and beyond with their insight into the treasures in heaven that await us.
A not so funny thing happened to me this morning before I went to class. I had been working on paper for my British Empire history class for weeks. When I was finally ready to print and be done with it, I receive an error and the whole paper was lost. For about twenty minutes I sat stunned and frantic because the paper was due in less than an hour. Thankfully God has blessed me with a wife that keeps me in check. She reminded that God continually shows grace and the teacher may show grace to me as well. Grace-a gift that I do not deserve.
Long story short, I was given that grace and was able to rewrite the paper.
But I learned two thinsg from this: 1.)We as Christians will have tough times, but God has a plan and reason for EVERYTHING He does; and 2.) Satan will do whatever he can to take the joy out of life.
Serving Christ,
Graham

Expectations and Endurance

Are you perfect? No seriously, think about that question for a moment. We had an interesting conversation last night at youth. We've been reading and focusing on Hebrews 12:1-3 (Thanks to Rachel, Joy, Kelli, and Tori I will NEVER forget those verses). In it, the writer of Hebrews uses the words perseverance and endurance to describe how we should continue to press on despite any circumstances. Then we looked at Matthew 18 (The Story of the Unmerciful Servant).

Are other people perfect? No seriously, think about that question for a moment. If you aren't perfect and other people aren't perfect, then why do we expect them to be? We related this to the idea of enduring one another (as Christians). If, as Hebrews says, to "Consider [Jesus] who endured such opposition from such sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart," then how much more should we as sinful people endure one another?

Jesus tells the Story of the Unmerciful Servant in answer to Peter's question, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? (verse 21)"It's as if Peter is asking Jesus for a cut-and-dry formula for forgiveness (because any more than 7 times would be ridiculous, right?). Precisely. I'll let you read Matthew 18 for the rest of the details. As Kevin says, "you can dig and dig at this passage and continue to find things."

For Him,

Joe

Reminder: Senior High Youth - don't forget your "30 minute" assignment this week! Stay in the Word, get some quiet time with God, and pray with your prayer partner. See you at 5:30 next Sunday night for the Food Drive!

What about the Grits?

I am currently reading a biography by Chuck Swindoll on the life of Paul. I must admit that as a teenager, Paul was one of my least favorite people in the Bible. I thought him to be arrogant and a know it all. But after reading Chuck's take on the man, I realized how incredibly humble Paul really was. He preferred to boast about his weaknesses than his strengths. How many people do you see do that nowadays?
He had passion and grit that matched few anywhere with an amazing preaching ability. But the thing that stands out most is his leadership ability. He never had the focus on himself; it was always on Christ. Paul stands as a reminder that the Bible is full of heroes that we can learn from over two thousand years later.
Serving Christ,
Graham

My T-Shirt is Glowing!!!

It is difficult to describe the amount of fun we had at Glow Night on Wednesday, and I'm sure the leaders and youth will agree. The countless number of glow sticks were used not only to provide a fun and safe place for the youth, but to help bring them to Christ. I was on a website on Sunday and read a startling quote: typical youth groups today are focused more on entertainment rather than evangelism. While it is important to have fun, we as Christians need to act as Christ did, speak as Christ did, and love as Christ did. Even though the it is not always the popular thing to do, we are not here to serve man, but God.
Serving Christ,
Graham

Why Wait?

I noticed something as I got home last night after youth group. God has a purpose for everything that happens. I became frustrated as I was setting up for the night, and I noticed that my powerpoint presentation had been deleted 15 minutes before Area 51 began. I wondered and prayed how I would be able to effectively show the juniors highers how important it is to wait on God. But as always, He comes through. As the lesson came to a close, a great youth leader brought up an amazing point about perseverance. I didn't need to worry about what would happen because God had it all figured out. I encourage all of you to reread Isaiah 40:31 to see exactly what He can accomplish if we let Him.
Serving Christ,
Graham

What's that word?

I'm drawing a blank right now!

I can't think of that word...
You know, when you can sense
God's Spirit moving through
a group of people and you
just sense that something good is happening. What on
earth is it called? It's like rekindling a flame that was on
the brink of extinguishment (can I say that?). It's like,
you have no idea what's about to happen, but you
know it's going to be something great. It's nerve-wracking,
yet exhilarating at the same time. It's mysterious, yet
refreshing; confounding, yet inspiring; unusual, yet
comforting. Huh, someone help me out. You know what
I'm talking about, right? Like when a group of people can
really open up and trust each other? Like when a group
of people want something more than what this
world has to offer? Like when a group of people
want to hold each other accountable, even though
it might hurt sometimes. Or like when a group of
people turn into a ministry. It might be as good
as watching Satan fall like lightning, but I'd
have to ask Jesus for an opinion on that one.

Gosh, I'm so upset I can't think of the word.
I guess it's almost cliche-ish anyway, so I
won't bother trying to remember. I think I'll
just bask in God's sunshine for a while and
see what happens. Yeah, that's what I'll do.

Come like a rushing wind,
Clothe us with power from on high,
Now set the captives free,
Leave us abandoned to Your praise.......

Hallelujah!

Joe

Jr. High youth = great time with great folks!

I hope everyone had as much fun as I did at Jr. High youth last night! Thanks again to Donna and Julie for leading awesome games. I encourage you all to keep your tombstones as a reminder of the life that we are called to live through Christ. David serves as a great example of a "man after God's own heart". Remember John 14:6 and the fact that we are nothing without Him. Hope to see you all at NEEWOLLAH tomorrow night.

"Do YOU have the Life Bridge?"

Serving Christ,
Graham

What a great night!

Wow, tonight was a great night with the Senior High Youth Group! I am really excited for all our students and leaders. You guys are a lot of fun to hang with every Sunday night! I pray that we can come together and work together for God's glory and the advancement of His Kingdom!

I would encourage you guys to read Luke 10:1-24 this week and come next week ready to be used by God and grow with one another!

For Him,

Joe

Hey ya'll,
This website is awesome! Just a few reminders: Neewollah on Friday night, Game night on November 7th, and for the Junior Highers: glow in the dark game night on November 12th.

I have been thinking about the Old Testament a lot lately, and Romans 15:4 comes to mind. "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance, and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

Serving Christ,
Graham

Wow, a new blog for the Youth!

Hey everyone, this is our first...well, I guess second, post on the youth blog. I'm actually just really making sure this works and getting used to "blogerville." So let's see if this works...

Why were the early days of history called the dark ages?
Because there were so many knights!

Did that make you laugh? Then it works!

Joey

New Blog

Welcome to the new Judson Youth Ministry Blog! Check back for new posts from your Judson Youth Ministry Team.