Expositional Listening

For all of you who do not know our church is doing a book study on Sunday nights. We are going through the book What is a Healthy Church Member? by Thabiti M. Anyabwile. This book takes us through what a healthy church member should look like. The first characteristic of a healthy church member is being an "Expositional Listener." In his book Thabiti says,

"Expositional listening is listening for the meaning of a passage of Scripture and accepting that meaning as the main idea to be grasped for our personal and corporate lives as Christians."

The first way to be an expositional listener is to "Meditate on the Sermon Passage During Your Quiet Time." This means you ask the pastor ahead of time what he will preach on the following Sunday, and you take the Scripture and meditate on it during the week. Pastor Randy is preaching on Mark 10:35-45. The men will be meeting tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 P.M. I encourage you to come and be an expositional listener.

Soli Deo Gloria!!

Sheep Without a Shepherd

Matthew 26:31-35 (NASB) says:
"Then Jesus said to them, 'You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, 'I will strike down the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock
shall be scattered' But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to
Galilee.' But Peter said to Him, 'Even though all may fall away because of You, I
will never faLL away.' Jesus said to Him, 'Truly I say to you that this very
night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.' Peter said to Him,
'Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.' All the disciples said the
same thing too."
Without our shepherd we are bound to fail, just as the disciples failed
Christ. When Jesus was about to go to the cross, be seperated from the Father and
endure the wrath of God for these disciples and for us too, they were nowhere to
be found! They hid in shame and Peter denied even knowing the Lord, not just once
but three times! Without their shepherd the disciples were powerless to stand up
to the world and were wracked in fear. If we want to strive to be successful at
glorifying God in all we do or please Him with our lives we must rely on our
shepherd and draw near to Him. Think about it: we are sheep and without our
shepherd we are aimless and wandering without a purpose and vulnerable to all
sorts of evil that will attack us and devour us. Even if we swear to never forsake
Christ, like Peter did, (and I am sure that he meant it with all of his heart)
without his shepherd he was alone and fell to the wiles of the world and denied
Christ three times! Words are empty without action and so we must rely on Christ,
our shepherd so as to stay protected from the ways of the world and not fall prey
to them, and so that we can glorify and please our lord. For the chief end of man
is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The only way we can do anything to
glorify God, or do anything that will please Him is if we abide in Him and stay
near to our shepherd. Abide in Him!

Soli Deo Gloria! (To God alone be the glory!)

LEFTOVERS

Today, for lunch we were going to have leftovers. Leftovers are not bad- they are just left over. They have been in the fridge and then warmed up in the microwave. Sometimes not all of it gets warmed up and then it is not so good. My dad prayed for our meal and said, God even provides the leftovers. He overflows our cup, and gives us more than we need. We should be thankful for even the stuff that has been in the fridge and not totally warm. When Jesus fed the five thousand, there were twelve baskets of leftovers. In Matthew 14:20-21 it says, "They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children." God does provide for us, He promises He will provide. Matthew 6:28-34 says, "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lillies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tommorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tommorow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Lord, I pray that I would be thankful for everything you give me, and trust you to provide all that I need!!!

Curve Balls

Thursday, May 21, 2009, was a great day. I had succesfully completed eight grade, and I was ready to play in my piano recital. The recital went well, and I was so looking forward to the weekend and the whole summer. We had a weekend planned for my mom's birthday, and that night we all went to bed looking forward to sleeping in and going to a movie. The next day, I woke up to the sound of my dad talking on the phone. He was saying that my great-grandmother had passed away. I was somewhat shocked, and I did not know what to think. The reality that she was gone had not yet hit me. I went into my parents room, and my dad was online. He was looking at airline tickets. All of the sudden he told my mom to pack up. I was very confused, and then he explained that we were going to Michigan. Before I knew it everyone was up, packed, and in the car. It was like a whirlwind. We had all of this stuff planned, and we were going to have fun. God had thrown us a "curve ball." No matter how much we have things planned; God's plan will always be perfect. He showed me He is always in control and sovereign and will rule whether it fits into our schedule or not. I was struggling to see the good in what had happened.
Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
You have probably heard that verse a million times, but because of my grandmother's death my dad got to preach the gospel to his whole family and to all those in that church. We also got to see the work that God is doing in Chelsea, Michigan. The next time God throws you a curve ball, know that His plan is perfect and it all will work together for good according to His purpose.

Pray for the girl who gets my hair, k?

okay so if you don't know me or haven't seen me since Friday well, i just cut off ten inches of my lovely long wavy perfect hair. Um, if any of you have long hair then you would know that it is something that you take love and cherish and to cut it all off was a very strange experience. I almost wanted to cry. and then i saw it sitting there on the counter and it was like surreal. like way weird. All i couuld say was, "it is so short" but ya know it really does go toward a good cause and i am not trying to be righteouss about this thing that i did because that is wrong. As it says in Matthew 5 you should not share those things and i'm only sharing this because well, i was looking at the donor form and it had a place for comments and i was like no i don't need to comment and then last night i was up cuz i couldn't sleep and i was thinking about how i want to glorify God with all that i do and i was praying and then i was remembering how in youth we're learning how to pray and when you pray it should be for no other reason than for the glory of God even when i was praying for someone sick and then i was praying for the girl who gets my hair and then i remembered the power of prayer and how if more than one person prays for her as long as they pray for her in a way that God would be glorified through her healing or that someone would come into her life to save her and im going to put on that comment section that we are praying for her and maybe even some bible verses or something idk please feel free to comment on what i should say or something so yeah but please pray for her so that God may be glorified! so ya thanks...

The Modesty Survey

Some of you have wanted to know what the modesty survey is. It was posted by Alex and Brett Harris on http://www.therebelution.com/. (This is one of my favorite sites.) The modesty survey is Christian guys putting in their opinion of modesty. It has been really helpful to me. I hope you enjoy it!!!!!!

http://www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey/browse

Make sure you realize that these are guidlines NOT rules. (You can post your coments by pressing the coment button below this post.)

Be a Servant

If someone has a need; how can a teenager meet it?
Just because i am younger; does that mean I am a less important part of the church body?
Here is your answer. Can the human body function properly if it does not have all the toes?
It can work, but does it have all the abilities a normal human body would have? Obviously teenagers should not teach Sunday School or become a pastor, but what other things can we do to serve Jesus in the local body of believers? There are many things such as cleaning the church, pulling weeds, helping in Team-KID, putting up and taking down chairs, or doing nursery work. Serving the body does not always mean teaching a class, leading music, or preaching a sermon. Serving the body is sometimes cleaning a toilet, watching kids so that their parents can listen to the Word of God, or moping the floor. It is little things that no one thanks you for or sees you doing them, but God sees them. Jesus Himself was a servant.
It says in Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many"
Another place we can serve is in the home. How many times do we sit at the table stuff our faces and leave our mess for our mom or dad? If Jesus washed the feet of His disciples why can't teenagers take their plate or wipe the table off or even do the dishes? Youth today are not even expected to make their bed; why not help siblings make their bed or even... clean our room! (terrifying)
Just because we are teenagers does not mean we should leave all the work in the church body or at home to our parents or other adults. We are just as capable to take on the responsibilities of adults. DO HARD THINGS AND BE A SERVANT!!!!!!!!!!

I've got somethin to say

I love that song btw Something to Say by Matthew West. If anyone wanted to know I have a lot to say. I haven’t even started reading the Do Hard Things book yet and it’s already affected my life and how I think. I have tons to say I might forget some cuz I just don’t have an outlet to let them flow and I have so many thoughts I want to share and so if I forget some or my thoughts are half formulated…sorry. That’s whyI am soooo excited to be a part of this blog. Like very excited…. I do this thing with my hands when I get really excited and mary kate will attest to this. It’s like I clench and unclench my fists like ten million miles per hour. But anyways, I did that when I found out the blog was up and running and when I learned how I could post on it. I think why I’m so excited to get this blog up and runnin is to encourage other believers in the same way that me and Mary Kate are being excited and stirred up by the things He’s doing in our lives and share that excitement with the world and I don’t know bout the rest of the youth group but I think that’s their heartbeat too. Here in Sedona we don’t really have a lot of Christian friends. I have three that go to my high school. There could be more I just don’t know because I just found out this guy I’ve been friends with since freshman year is a Christian and I just found out on Good Friday. So I don’t know I think that Christians everywhere just need to man up and be outspoken about their faith. If someone finds out that I am a Christian it should be because of my actions or that I shared the gospel with them or something and not because I had to tell them. There should be no question about whether I am a Christian or not.
K so I went over to my friend’s house to have a sleepover Friday night and then I hung with her and my other friend and this exchange student from Phoenix all day yesterday and then I took pictures of them and all the other girls who were getting ready for prom at her house and I came home really discouraged cuz I didn’t go even though they were all telling me I should go and I would regret it if I didn’t go and I was like no I don’t wanna go I don’t enjoy other dances the tickets are expensive I’ll have to buy dinner and a dress plus shoes and jewelry (cuz I’m an accessory type of girl if u know what I mean) and I don’t think spendin that much money will be worth it, and so they finally give up but they still really want me to go. I really didn’t want to go because I knew I probably wouldn’t like it not only cuz the dancing is WAY inappropriate but I don’t think that there will be any honoring of God going on there. So I didn’t go. But as I was taking pictures of them that afternoon I began to hugely regret not going. I felt so left out and I wanted to go get a new dress and look all pretty and ya know what I probably would’ve had so much fun. Ugh I should’ve gone! And I came home with those thoughts in my head and I was really really sad. Then I got home and we ate steak, my fave! And I did the dishes. Well I was listening to my ipod and I realized I was dancing and having a grand time doing dishes, which is very unusual cuz I hate doing dishes. And I was like ya know what I don’t need to go to some dance, even if it is prom, just to have fun. And it’s not like I missed my senior prom, which I am definitely going to, but it’s only the junior prom it’s not that big of a deal. Come on now, and then I was like yeah, and not going isn’t important because really, what does having fun at prom mean in the end of all things? I mean the only eternal consequences of prom are not honoring God in the way I dress and not honoring God in the way I dance. Dancing in my kitchen honors God and I’m having fun doing it! That thought made me happy and so after I was done doing the dishes I went onto www.workofthepeople.com which makes videos I saw on this Christian TV station on Easter, and I saw this one video called Misseo Dei, which can be viewed at http://www.theworkofthepeople.com/index.php?ct=store.details&pid=V00582, which was one of the videos on their site and it led me to this website called to be told (http://www.tobetold.info/) and what to be told does is share stories about how God is advancing the kingdom throughout the world which is something that often doesn’t get heard. We hear more about all these people who are suffering persecution and all these places where people don’t have access to the gospel and trust me, that needs to be heard especially in America where Christians take for granted their government and are way too apathetic. But the success stories also need to be shared. Jesus said He will build his kingdom and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. Christ will build his church no matter what we do and those Christian stories need to be spread throughout the Christian community to promote oneness of the mind. And that’s what he was talking about; he was doing this to get Christians to have oneness of mind throughout the world. The bible continually says that the church(the invisible universal church; not the building but the people) need to be united and spread God’s word together.We need to come together. We don’t even have that oneness that Christ prayed we would have in John 17: 20-26, and that the bible teaches we should have in our churches. We don’t even have it in our youth groups let alone our towns. How are we supposed to reach Sedona for Jesus if our churches in Sedona don’t even agree on what we’re supposed to tell them?! People everywhere need to man up and realize that we can’t hide behind our church doors and just invite people. Inviting people is good but Jesus, in the great commission never said sit and invite, he said Go, tell! That’s a command! Churches you need to get over your differences and band together work together to get over your differences in doctrine and see what the bible has to say about it don’t just give up and create a different church. People are so apathetic they need to read the word so that their spirits can be renewed and do what the word says. I’m calling all of you youth out there to yes, go to church, but more importantly you need to read the word and pray constantly, assiduously. If you’re really saved the Holy Spirit within you will make you zealous to spread the word of God as I so desire. I want to stir others up to the glory of God that we might all turn Sedona upside down or whatever town you’re in. That’s why I’m so so so excited about this blog. That is my something to say. I could probably write for hours more because I am so passionate about seeing God glorified and there are so many things that don’t glorify God in this world I could write about them for days but I need to act. It’s your actions that are important. Your actions gotta match your passion. If anyone did lifeway’s VBS last year that was the day five song and it’s truth is so important anyways that’s all for now. Sorry if I made your scrolling finger hurt. I’m very long winded:)

Take a Stand

Last night we were watching a movie, but we had to stop it halfway through. It had some bad language and the characters took God's name in vain. The story was an important one to learn but should we compromise just to learn a good lesson? People say to run things through the "Philippians filter" but what is the Philippians filter?
Philippians 4:8-9 says, "Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things"
We should strive not to compromise on things in our life that do not honor God(clothes, movies, friends, ect.). Part of being a "Rebelutionary" is taking a stand for what you believe in.
Father help us to stand for whatever is true and right in Your sight, not ours.

Men, here is a real woman

This is what a real woman is supposed to look like. :) Check it out! http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2006/02/three-teens-define-a-real-woman/

Ladies, here is a real man defined

Check out this blog post from Rebelution.

http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2006/01/teen-girls-define-a-real-man/

Why "Upper Room Rebels?"

Hi! I wanted to to tell you why we named it "Upper Room Rebels." We are starting what is called a "Rebelution" in Sedona, Arizona. Two teenagers named Alex and Bret Harris (brothers of Joshua Harris author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye) wrote a book called Do Hard Things. This is a rebellion against low expectations for teens. Today it is considered normal for a teen to drink, do drugs, get some bad grades in school, or have premarital sex. Years ago, teenagers were not called teenagers they were either adults or children. Today the word "adolescence" is an excuse not to take on the responsibility that adults have. Clara Barton was teaching at a school when she was only sixteen and George Washington, our first President, was out surveying land at the age of seventeen. These people decided to take on the challenges we were made to take on all for the glory of Jesus Christ. I ask you to join me in this rebellion against low expectations and begin to Do Hard Things.

Join us as we blog

This is the first blog of Village Park Baptist Church's upper room youth ministry. Our youth ministry is designed to glorify God by obediently making and equipping disciples of Jesus Christ here in the Village, Sedona and the world by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We want to keep you updated on events, but also give you an avenue through which our young people can interact concerning topics important to our walk with Jesus Christ. I pray that this exalts Christ and exhorts believers to pursue holiness without which no one will see the Lord.