SPC SM

enRoute

2012-01-18T12:09:00.000-05:00

Sr. High Winter Retreat 2012. WOW!

Of course, it was a wonderful weekend of bonding, fellowship, learning and fun....but what will stick?

God's movement in our midst.

The entire weekend was based on the concept of being enRoute. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we start a journey of faith. We must press on, through thick and thin, towards Christ-likeness which comes from being transformed through Jesus Christ.

Here are just a few of the questions and statements that God used to challenge us in our faith!

God doesn't love you because of what you do; and God does not love you less because of what you've done.
How would you spend the first week of your life if you had thought you were going to die, but didn't? The reality remains that we all face this daily. As sinners, our fate is death and wrath, but Jesus Christ died to save us from our sin, to give us life! In Christ, we were supposed to die, but instead have been raised to life.
If Jesus came to us in this moment, how would we react? How do we believe that Jesus would react to us? Now step back and think about how those reactions could or should change? What holds us back from connecting with Christ?
Does following Jesus feel like an adventure to you?
What are some risky steps we can take that would move us forward on our journey of faith and closer to Jesus?

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!!

2012-01-09T13:35:00.000-05:00

A very Happy 2012 to all of the students at Sycamore!!

For the first blog post of the new year, I figured we would start fresh!

People have this weird obsession with New Year's resolutions. Unfortunately, we rarely see them last.

What if, instead of resolving to change our behavior, we decided to change our thinking?

Picture with me the impact it would have if we (Christians) believed God at His word by focusing on who we are in Christ and what God truly says about us?? What a difference we would see in our lives!

Although this list is nowhere near exhaustive, here are a just a few critical Truths that God tells us are true of us when we are in Christ!!

I am God's:

Child (John 1:12)
Friend (James 2:23)
Temple (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20)

I have been:

Set free from sin and condemnation (Romans 8:1-2)
Forgiven of my sin (Colossians 2:13)
Given a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7)
Given the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:22)
Adopted into God's family (Romans 8:15)
Given promises and all things pertaining to life (2 Peter 1:3-4)

I am:

Complete in Him (Colossians 2:10)
One with the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:17)
On my way to heaven (John 14:6)
Light in darkness (Matthew 5:14)
A Victor (1 John 5:4)

I have:

Access to God! (Romans 5:2)
A home in heaven waiting (John 14:1-2)
A living hope (1 Peter 1:3)
The Mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16)
Peace with God (Romans 5:1)

And the list goes on....

Let's allow God's truth to rule and shape our lives in 2012!

The Christmas Story

2011-12-20T11:50:00.000-05:00

One word: Accents.

An adorable telling of the Christmas story.

3 Year Old Christmas Carol Composer

2011-12-15T16:02:00.001-05:00

My three year old nephew loves Christmas carols! He loves them so much that he sings them year round, constantly begging various family members to sing them with him!! Of course, he has not figured out as of yet that he actually knows more verses to the songs than most of the adults. When we are all humming or faking the words to keep up, he is usually clearly articulating them, putting us all to shame!

To brighten your Christmas, here is a home video of him singing some Christmas carols....and even making up his own on the spot!! Who knew baby Jesus naps in a cradle on the beach!

Enjoy!

The Adventures of Youth Group: Learning to Waltz

2011-12-05T10:16:00.000-05:00

Killing Sin Before it Kills Us.

2011-11-28T09:28:00.001-05:00

I found this article from a ministry called Resurgence. We all do it. We hide our sin, sweep it under the rug....and sometimes deny it. But that will only lead us down a path we do not want to take.

After reading some recent reports in the news, these 3 big ideas came to mind about sin.

1. Confront Sin

Sin can be in word, thought, and deed (sins of commission) or by not doing what you should do (sins of omission). Sin is not neutral; it ultimately destroys and never leads to life (Gen. 4:7; Rom 8:1-8; 1 Peter 5:8). As John Owen famously said, “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.”
Sadly, we see the sins of omission every day:

We see it in friendships when people gossip about the dumb stuff their friend is doing rather than having the hard talk with the person.
We see it in the church when we enable each other to stay on the surface and never get down to real, heart-level issues. Where adultery, porn addictions, abuse, and any number of other things can sinfully be allowed to exist for the sake of comfort.
We see it in the idols we worship. Anything we put before God in our lives.
We see it in our choice of words.
We see it in our jokes that tear down instead of build up.
We see it in our judgements of others.
We see it in our neglecting those around us.
We see it every time we choose to put ourselves before others.
We see it when we choose to retaliate or take revenge.
We see it in our disobedience to authority surrounding us.
We see it when we take whats not our and try to justify it.
The list goes on....

Loving Jesus, loving your family, loving your friends, loving your people looks like confronting sin with truth and love. There is no greater contempt for someone than to leave them in their sin.
You’ve got to confront sin in yourself (Rom 8:1-11), in your spouse (Gen 3), and in your friends (Gal 2:11-14).

2. Sin Will Come Out

Sin always comes out. 1 Timothy 5:24-25 says this, “The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.”
In our era of reputation management and people pleasing, we need to see this. Sin, either because it seeks to destroy or because God will use it to discipline us, will come out. Some people’s sin is flagrant, they wear it on their face. Other people’s sin comes out years down the road, when they least expect it.

“Your sins do not define you. Your identity is as a redeemed, reconciled, justified, cleansed son or daughter of our loving Father.”

Many men stand idly by, like their father Adam, believing the lies that if they just ignore it, it will go away. They can just deal with it next time it comes up or "it's just how the other person is.” At the bottom of it all is selfishness and the idol of comfort. It does not love the person the way the cross shows us to. The cross shows us that God saves by first condemning, God heals by first wounding, God builds up by first crushing, God makes alive by first killing. You cannot get to the gospel without suffering, and trying to circumvent that is what Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace.” The sin of omission is giving someone else cheap grace. It belittles both sin and Jesus.

3. Jesus Killed Sin

That’s the incredible thing about Jesus: he killed sin. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he lived the only perfect, sinless life. At the cross, he paid the penalty for our sin to redeem us from sin’s bondage, reconcile us from sin’s estrangement, justify us from sin’s guilt, and cleanse us from sin’s filth.
More so, through the gift of a new heart and the presence of the Holy Spirit, it is his kindness that convicts us of sin and leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). It is the Father’s love that disciplines us (Hebrews 12:7-11). Jesus doesn’t passively show us contempt, he actively shows us love. Better yet, when we confess those sins, we receive forgiveness and cleansing from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Because of that, you, if you are a Christian, have freedom from the fear, shame, and condemnation of sin. Your sins and the sins done against you do not define you. Your identity is as a redeemed, reconciled, justified, cleansed son or daughter of our loving Father. You can be bold in confessing and confronting real sin because the grace God gives is real.

What We Can Do To Kill Sin Before It Kills Us

Be with Jesus. The Holy Spirit is faithful to work through the word, whether it is read or preached. A bold prayer could be, “Jesus, show me the things I need to repent of and the people I need to repent to (Ps. 139)”
Preach the gospel to ourselves everyday.
Be in community. Not any community, but the Church- a fellowship with other believers.
Create a culture where the truth is told and heard.

Turkey Dinner.

2011-11-21T10:49:00.000-05:00

A brand new youth group game debuted 11/20/11. "Turkey Dinner."

The Pilgrims go out to slaughter their turkey dinner....when suddenly two turkeys escape! The Pilgrims (depicted in the video as two students with legs tied together - one blindfolded armed with a dodgeball of death) set out to find those two turkeys. After all, who can afford to lose their main course?? The turkeys (those with their legs tied together hopping for dear life) hopped far away to hide. When the Pilgrims startled the turkeys in their hiding spots, the turkeys hop try to hop away to victory before the Pilgrims can nail them with the dodgeballs of death.

If nothing else, the game led to some great laughs!!

Mason Band Rocks BOA!

2011-11-14T09:41:00.000-05:00

Congrats to the Mason Marching Band. They placed in the top ten at the Bands of America competition this past weekend!!

See the article below to read more!

Mason Band places in Bands of America Final

This is Church.

2011-11-07T15:13:00.001-05:00

Think about it.

King Herod Drives the Boat.

2011-11-01T12:42:00.000-04:00

As my brother-in-law (Matt) was tucking my 3 year old nephew (Andrew) into bed one night, Andrew grabbed his arm and asked, "Daddy, will we go back to the lake in Michigan?"

Matt replied, "Yeah, we will probably go back next summer, buddy!"

Andrew paused to think about it. Then he responded, "Well, when we do, if you and mommy water ski again, can I ride in the boat with King Herod??"

How funny. What Andrew meant to say was "Uncle Harry".

The reason I share this story (aside from the humor of course) is because I want us to imagine what it would be like to process everyday life through the lens of the Bible.

What if we were so familiar with the Word that it changed how we viewed the world around us, the circumstances we live in and how we interact with others?

Every night before bed, since his birth, Andrew has been read a Bible story.

On the one hand, he has heard the stories so many times that he knows it well. So well in fact, that a Sunday School teacher recently asked my sister if Andrew was available to help teach the class! Yet on the other hand, Andrew is processing his world through the lens of the Bible because of the exposure he has received.

When my cousin's teenage daughter forgot Uncle Harry's name....she called him "Uncle Henry". But when Andrew was processing what had occurred, he immediately turned to the Bible because of it's familiarity.

What are we familiar with? What is it that we pour into our hearts and our minds, intentional or not?

May we be so entrenched in the Word that we, too, process everything through the lens of the Bible....

Student Update Fall 2011

2011-10-24T12:05:00.000-04:00

What have our students been up to?? A LOT!

Here is a list of activities:

Two students on the Kings Golf team.
A student on the Loveland Varsity Football team.
Two students on the Loveland Tennis Team.
Three students on the Kings Tennis team.
A student serving as Captain of the Mason Water Polo team.
Two students running Cross-Country for Loveland.
A student on the Indian Hill volleyball team.
A student finishing 39th in the Ohio Valley Conference for Mason Tennis.
A student on the Kings dance team.
A student on the Little Miami volleyball team.
A student in the St. Xavier Marching band.
A student starring in Loveland's musical "13".
Six students in The Children's Theater of Mason's production of Cats.
Three students in the Kings marching band.
Two students in the Mason marching band.
A student cast as a lead role in Indian Hill's "Steel Magnolias".
A Loveland cheerleader.
Three students playing rec. basketball at various schools.
A student completing an Eagle project.
A student in the Kings school play.
A student starring as Dracula in Mason's Dracula.
A student on the Indian Hill soccer team.
A student on the Sycamore Hockey team.
A student on the Kings soccer team.
A student playing harmonica at local coffee shops.
A student playing a gig with their band at local coffee shop.
Three National Honor Society inductees.
A student in Acting Up's Tom Sawyer musical.
A student in Madeira's school play.
Two students on Milford's Cross-country team.

Just to name a few....

Manifesto.

2011-10-17T13:09:00.000-04:00

The City Harmonic. Manifesto.

Think Big, Start Small.

2011-10-10T09:24:00.000-04:00

In Cross-Training two weeks ago, Mrs. Nenna talked about how we are called to create and do for the glory of God. We must think big....but we also need to start small. Taking a passion or something we love and using it for the glory of God and the betterment of the world. We may not (or may...who knows!) be able to tackle poverty or slavery, but that doesn't mean we can take small strides towards something much bigger. We serve the God of the Universe who is beyond time....thinking big and doing big things through small people and efforts is a cake walk for Him!

Here is an article I found by the pastor of Elevation Church, Steven Furtick, emphasizing this very point!

Think Big, Start Small

Tuesday October 4th, 2011

A couple of years ago I read Malcolm Gladwell’s classic, The Tipping Point, and came across something that sociologists call “the broken window theory.”

It has been one of the most powerful and helpful tools for helping me understand why so many Christians get stuck and live the sad existence of miserable mediocrity and comfortable complacency. And for how to get out of it.

“The broken window theory” says that if want to reduce crime in a neighborhood, one of the first and most effective things you can do is to fix the broken windows. Literally. If there’s a section of town that’s run down and violent crime, murders, and drug deals are on the upswing, sociologists have proven that by just fixing the broken windows on that block, those bigger issues are affected and crime is diminished.

That seems preposterous to me. You’ve got this big problem and you’re going to go waste your time doing something as simple as fixing a broken window? That’s like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic as it heads toward the iceberg isn’t it?

But it works. Apparently it has to do with sending a signal that anarchy is no longer the rule of the day and that crime is no longer the status quo.

So what is at the heart of the “broken window theory?” If you boil it down, you essentially have two parts: 1) A big goal: reduce crime. 2) A small start: fix windows. But it’s the small start that makes the big goal possible.

From my experience, this is very true to form as far as what I’ve seen in people’s lives that don’t seem to have any traction and aren’t going anywhere. The problem isn’t just that they don’t think big enough. It’s also that they don’t start small enough. As a result, they usually give up quickly, because their initial steps or too difficult. Or they never get started at all, because their initial steps are too daunting.

A big dream without a small start is nothing but a daydream. God initiates the biggest changes in our lives through the little things.

You can’t have Apostle Paul’s walk with God overnight. Big dream.
But you can start praying two minutes a day starting tomorrow. Small start.

You can’t entirely mend a broken relationship overnight. Big dream.
But you can have a conversation and open the door, write the letter, make the call, say I’m sorry. Small start.

If your kid is far from God, you can’t bring him back overnight. Big dream.
But you could start praying for him every day. Small start.

Don’t get me wrong, I want you to keep believing, praying, and dreaming big. God does too – it’s in His very nature. But I also want you to see those big prayers and dreams realized. And that happens when you start small.

What small start can you initiate today that will get you on the path to accomplishing your big dream tomorrow?

Happy Church Summer Mission 2011

2011-10-03T09:21:00.000-04:00

Sycamore Presbyterian Church visit from Happy Church on Vimeo.

A quick glimpse of our Happy Church Summer Mission Trip! The video was created by Phil Tabor.

Does God Make Much of Us?

2011-10-03T09:08:00.000-04:00

Here is a blog entry from Pastor John Piper:

Pastor John in his message at Passion 2011, Getting to the Bottom of Your Joy —

Let it be said loud and clear: John Piper does not deny and and never has denied that God makes much of us. The question is ranking—what’s at the bottom of your joy. Where does it finally rest?

Yes, those amazing truths—that God makes much of you—should thrill your soul! But why? The answer to that question makes all the difference.

If the answer is, "Because I'm at the bottom, and I love to be made much of," you're not born again. If the answer is, "Because it reveals more of God and makes me know him, treasure him, love him, be satisfied in him, more than I ever dreamed!" then you are born again.

That's the difference—what's at the bottom.

Seven Ways God Makes Much of Us

1. God makes much of us by being pleased with us and commending our lives.

2. God makes much of us by making us fellow heirs with his Son, who owns everything. (1 Corinthians 3:21–23)

3. God makes much of us by having us sit at table when he returns and serving us as though he were the slave and we the masters. (Luke 12:37)

4. God makes much of us by appointing us to carry out the judgment of angels. (1 Corinthians 6:3)

5. God makes much of us by ascribing value to us and rejoicing over us as his treasured possession. (Matthew 10:29–31)

6. God makes much of us by giving us a glorious body like Jesus' resurrection body. (Matthew 13:43; cf. Romans 8:30)

7. Most amazingly God makes much of us by granting us to sit with Christ on his throne. (Revelation 3:21)

How amazing to think of how undeserving we are...yet how loving and gracious our God is!

For the original article, check out: Does God Make Much of Us?

Something More

2011-09-26T13:45:00.000-04:00

Something More by Nick Vujicic.

Check out this music video from Nick Vujicic! Dr. Kent talked about Nick's new book and testimony in a sermon recently.

A Daily Meal in the WORD.

2011-09-20T10:19:00.000-04:00

In God’s Word. For yourself. Every day.

Ever thought about the Word of God being a daily meal? Think about what happens when we miss a meal... there are obvious ramifications! The same is true about neglecting to dive into the living and active Word of God. To miss a time of daily feeding in the Word of God leaves us vulnerable, weakened, empty...

Check out the blog above from Dr. James MacDonald about pigging out on scripture!!

I am Your Soul

2011-05-19T10:57:00.000-04:00

Check out this incredible video made by our friends at the Happy Church!!

Case for Christ God Moment

2011-03-31T09:30:00.000-04:00

One of the biggest blessings when working in ministry is when God gives us even the smallest glimpse of His hand at work in the redemption of His children. Despite the visibility of the Sovereign hand at work, we labor and toil, proclaiming Him, teaching His truth, trusting that He is not only faithful, but will utilize those efforts for His glory.

Recently, God blessed us with a massive "God moment."

The student made it clear from the beginning: she wanted scientific proof to either give up the need for evidence or find some through the Confirmation process on the biggest questions she will ever grapple with: Does God really exist? Was Jesus just a historical figure?

The moment I read the faith story, I smiled. Clearly, God was at work. I began to get excited about what God had in store for this student.

Some would take such questions and comments as a lack of faith and detrimental mindset. For a youth worker, these are good signs in a teen. It means the student is not only grappling with and thinking about God's truth, but they are so serious about finding the truth that they are willing to be real with others and search for the truth. You can't ask for better soil to plant seeds and see God cultivate them!

Knowing I couldn't let this incredible opportunity pass, through prayer and a brainstorm with God, I sent an email to JohnShaw who would serve as an Elder for one of the Confirmands.

"A neat opportunity has come up and I wanted to see if you would be willing to go “above and beyond” to try to connect with this Confirmation student. I’m not exactly sure what that might look like, but I was even thinking something as simple as both of you reading a book or chapters from a book (like “More than a Carpenter” or “One heartbeat away” or "Evidence that demands a Verdict" or one of Strobel’s student versions) and just connecting and processing what is being read."

And he replied nine minutes later:

"Sounds like fun -- I'm game. OK if I pick the book? What do you think about Lee Strobel "Case for Christ"? I'm pretty sure I have the student version in the WALK library (or could easily get it)."

Did we know where God would lead? No.

I just knew that God was orchestrating a Holy moment and that we had to be obedient to God's calling on our lives as believers to proclaim and teach.

I went to the student that Sunday to ask if she would be willing to read the book alongside JohnShaw and potentially use the discussion as her Confirmation project.

Her reply? "Sure! That works well since I'm already reading the book!"

I was floored. Undeniable evidence that God was at work. But He didn't stop there.

The student finished the book and was trying to arrange a meeting with JohnShaw. I randomly stopped her one Sunday just to ask how it was going. Though I don't remember the full content of the conversation, it ended with her excited to share what she learned from the book with the Confirmation class in the from of a presentation.

The next Sunday after my lesson on the Holy Spirit (a favorite for students since it involves Neapolitan ice cream and chocolate milk), I turned things over to the student.

She stood up, note cards in one hand and the book in the other. One could tell there was a sense of nervousness, but she smiled and started talking.

She began by describing the premise of the book. It is all about scientific evidence surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus, but never makes a claim. It leaves it up to the reader to interpret what the evidence proves.

The student read an except from the book which had impacted her the most. The part where the author describes the flogging of Jesus that led up to the Crucifixion. After reading from the book, she stopped.

She looked at her classmates and said this: "After reading this book and thinking about the scientific evidence, there is no doubt in my mind that Jesus is the Son of God."

I never saw that coming. I was again floored by the Majesty and Splendor of our God.

"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of His body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to His saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:24-27

Glory to God Forever!

2011-03-15T09:03:00.000-04:00

Glory to God Forever by Fee

The Gospel in 6 Minutes

2011-02-21T12:01:00.000-05:00

The Gospel in 6 Minutes

The gospel continued. A sermon by John Piper.

The gospel. Meaning good news. Why is it the good news?
The most incredible news that we've ever heard?
The most important message that we will ever be taught?

"The Gospel is the news that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, died for our sins and rose again, eternally triumphant over all his enemies, so that there is now no condemnation for those who believe, but only everlasting joy."

No condemnation. The wrath of God is satisfied for those who are clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
Only forgiveness. Everlasting joy.

We never outgrow the gospel because it is the only reason we have relationship, fellowship, friendship with our Awesome, Holy God.

Let us preach the gospel to ourselves day in and day out.

Gospel Truth Pt. 1

2011-02-17T10:56:00.000-05:00

This video is called The Bridge. It is a small, but powerful attempt to express the reality of what Jesus Christ did for all of mankind when He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin.

In Confirmation class last Sunday, we talked about the gospel.

I began the class with a pretty pointed statement "Of all the lessons you will ever hear me teach. Of all the lessons you will ever hear in life- whether that is from school, parents, Dr. Kent, etc. This is the only message that will ever truly matter."

Because this message determines our eternity. Through this message, God calls us out of darkness and into marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). God literally paid the debt of our sin through the death of His only Son to restore our relationship with Him.

The overarching story of the Bible is simple. It is a redemption story. It is God plucking His children from death that they might live abundantly with Him. I like to think of our faith journey as going "Back to the Garden." Although the Bible tells us that we will not in fact return to the garden, we will get back...or better yet, we look forward to an unadulterated relationship with God, a perfect heaven and earth without sin.

We ended up talking for a great deal of time and even included an incredible testimony from a Senior High student. But I know from experience that gobs of information are hard to remember and therefore, I repetitively drove home the gospel as three main points: 1. Everybody sins. 2. The penalty for sin is death. 3. Jesus died on the cross to pay for the penalty of our sins.

For the sake of the lesson, this is a great way to drive home points. But I never want the gospel to be just a lesson. I never want to diminish the absolute power that cannot be detached from our Awesome God at work redeeming His children.

That being said, I've decided to take the next few blogs to think further on the gospel. To let it speak for itself. To dive deep into the depth and might that it holds.

Awakening....the SM Journal.

2011-02-08T09:13:00.000-05:00

Students young and old.....

Do not forget to submit to me the following for our Student Ministries "book"....which is more like a journal:

testimonies- stories of how God has changed your life
God moments- epic or minute - the God moments we've experienced
Standing in the truth- times we've had to stand for our faith and righteousness
SM Lessons that stuck (think JohnShaw's "Walk across the room Christians")
Questions about our faith
Stories of how we have grappled in faith
Favorite quotes (preferably related to Jesus)
Favorite scripture verses
Christian lyrics that we love

Don't forget!! I'm collecting now and hoping to have a rough draft started before the end of the 2010-2011 School year!! I already have a ton of good material....but I want you all to participate as well!!

You can sign your name or request anonymity.

Send it to mreuscher@sycamorechurch.org, hand it to me in writing, text me or facebook!!

Sincerely,

Meredith M. Reuscher

California Far From Me.....

2011-01-27T09:25:00.000-05:00

A little Attaboy for your listening enjoyment.

2010 in Review

2011-01-11T12:15:00.000-05:00

Baby Love Crashed Into the World

2011-01-04T14:40:00.000-05:00

A belated Merry Christmas and a joy-filled New Year to all of you from the SPC Student Ministries!!

Over break God gave me a gift. It's actually not a new gift, He will frequently give us this gift if we ask for it....I just sometimes struggle to accept and use His gift.

The gift He gave me was a time of rest. Whenever God gives me a time of rest, I like to spend as much quality time with Him as possible! The cool thing about God is that He is everywhere all the time. Which means He's faithful to be with me, but I'm not always faithful to be with Him.

So in our quality time together, I spent more time praying, more time studying His word, more time reflecting on the many blessings He's lavished upon my life, more time trying to lessen my "To Read" pile of books .....and more time doing things that build me up and refresh me....such as hanging out with encouraging friends, serving others, playing games....you know, the little things in life that we so often forget or justify we don't have time for.

The nice thing about receiving this gift at the end of the year is that it coincides with Christmas! And with Christmas comes worship of all sorts.

I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Crossroads Community Church's Christmas program "Awaited". Can I just tell you that I am still listening to the soundtrack from the program in my car??

It was fantastic. Creative. Unique. But best of all, it was an incredible time of worship! They actually told the Christmas story from the perspective of the Angels!

Below is a video of the first song they preformed. Take a look!

I'm sure everyone has a different opinion of the video. To see it in person was a much cooler experience since it was preformed live with the most random instruments! This video doesn't actually show it being preformed live...but it is!

But the reason I include it is not necessarily the video or the musicians (although wonderfully gifted), but it is the content.

We just celebrated "baby love" crashing down into earth.

Think about that. Baby love. Redeemer. Savior. Messiah. Christ.

He humbled Himself and took on flesh. Experienced what we experience every day....

Only He had to experience something much deeper, much more devastating than we will ever have to experience....He suffered and died. But not an ordinary death....like the one we all will face one day. He was a sinless man - innocent - who suffered and died to take the wrath of God upon Himself. The wrath that we deserved.

If that weren't hard enough, although God will never leave nor forsake us....He had to withdraw Himself from Jesus in order to satisfy His wrath. That means, in Jesus' darkest hour, His Father couldn't answer Him nor help Him.

Not because He wasn't able to. But because He loved His us so much that Jesus had to die so that we could live.

As we enter into this New Year. As we make resolutions. As we break resolutions.

Let us not forget the depth of what we just celebrated in the manger. That our life comes through that small baby.

Let us focus our eyes on Jesus and let Him transform our lives. Let us life abundantly in HIM!

O Holy Night

2010-12-15T15:13:00.000-05:00

As we head into the final days before CHRISTmas, I thought it best for us to take a moment and reflect upon the majesty and splendor of Christ's birth. One of my favorite Christmas songs is "O Holy Night".

For that is what it was....a holy night.
We wandered in darkness until we saw the Great Light.
And now we rejoice! We have hope! We have a future! Everything will be refreshed and made new.
To that we fall to our knees in humble adoration and praise.

Can you hear it?

Okay....maybe the video was somewhat of a joke to alleviate some of the stress from finals....

But think about it...

Revelation 4.

Day and night the four living creatures never cease to say: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!"

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne saying, "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created."

For the God of all creation sent His Son, the much anticipated, yet frequently misunderstood Messiah.
The One who would save the world. Our Deliverer. Our Redeemer.
Our Freedom. God in the Flesh. Immanuel. God with us.

To Him be all Glory and honor and praise forever and ever. To Him and Him alone.

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men from Orient land.

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.
He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.

Food Court Caroling

2010-11-29T09:11:00.000-05:00

Food Court Flash Mob sings Hallelujah Chorus

Now this is spectacular.

The Stewardship of Our Lives

2010-11-23T09:04:00.000-05:00

"Do good, be rich in good deeds, be generous and willing to share.
In this way you will lay up treasure for yourselves as a firm foundation for the coming age,
so you may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
1 Timothy 6:18-19

Abundance. Having more than what we need.

Abundance. An overflowing fullness of heart.

When we take our abundance and share it with others, we gain an abundance of heart. God's abundance. An abundance of joy. An abundance of life. An abundance of blessings. An abundance of mercy and grace.

God doesn't give us an abundance- no matter how big or small- so we might hoard it or selfishly spend it on ourselves. God gives us an abundance so that we can invest in what counts. In abundance, God covers our needs so we can do good with the rest to help alleviate spiritual and physical misery. He gives us an abundance so we can share the gospel message, His Son, with the world.

According to the Annual Statistical Table on Global Mission 2002 (which has since been updated), there are 1,645,685,000 people in the world who have never heard the name of Jesus. 26.5% of the world population lives in a place where there are no churches.

The Bible asks us "how are they to believe Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?" (Romans 10:14-15). If the church is called to take the gospel to every human being, then missionaries must be sent...and paid for. This doesn't even begin to consider the expenses of the church which is the home base for all missionaries...because as a child of God, we are all missionaries, called to take the gospel to our world. We might not be called globally, but we are called to love, serve, give and share the message of good news to all within our sphere of influence.

The most sobering statistic yet?

All the wealth needed to send the missionaries necessary to reach every last human being is already in the church. The same study revealed that the total global church member annual income is 12.3 trillion, but only 1.73% of that goes to Christian causes.

No wonder God challenges us so deeply. He has already equipped us, it is just a matter of how we will respond. I believe Sycamore and this Student Ministries understands that challenge. How incredible is it that God has opened up so many opportunities here at Sycamore to respond!

Take for instance the annual stewardship campaign. God gives His people the privilege of making the mission of the church happen through generosity! A tithe pays for everything that Sycamore does. Every program, every service, every resource for spiritual growth.

This challenge is God at work, growing us in faith. It might seem like we are investing in a building or a program, but in reality, we are investing in so much more.

God has not only blessed us with the opportunity to invest in His Kingdom through tithing, but also the capital campaign. We are in desperate need for a bigger space to continue responding to the blessings of God on our congregation. The capital campaign is raising money so that we can build the space that we need to reach more people. The capital campaign isn't ultimately about a building. It's about the people! The beauty of the entire building project is the changed lives, the full hearts, the overflowing love and the overwhelming compassion to ensure others know the transforming power of our God.

An open seat for one just wandering by.
A safe environment for a youth grappling with faith.
A place to pray for someone who desperately needs help.
A chance to hear the gospel message of salvation for one who has been lost in the darkness.

What are we willing to give?
Are we willing to offer to God what we do have?
Are we willing to give our abundance....or maybe even challenge ourselves to give even in poverty?

Let's be real. We are a student ministry. None of us are going to whip out our checkbooks and write a check for $1,000,000.
And even deeper, many of us are not going to be around to see the end result.

It's not about what we will get, but what we can give. It's about what we are willing to invest now for people of the future.

Visualize the VBS children we work with. In a few years, they will be where we are now. It is for them that we are giving. It is for them that we are building. Not because we expect something in return....but because we deeply desire that they would not only come to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but that they will have the same opportunity that we have had to grow in faith.

So we might not be able to bust out the "Benjamins"....but we can offer what we do have.

Our time. Our talent. Our gifts. Our hearts. Our voice.

One of the saddest days of my life was back in January of 2005. I went to sit with my Grandma in the nursing home before returning to college to start my final semester. Earlier that year she had foot surgery but due to complications she was still fighting to recuperate. Her health had never been good- she had rheumatoid arthritis among other things and so her quality of life....for pretty much most of her life was devastated.

She was having a rough day when I arrived. My mom was already there by her side. They both were crying when I walked in the room. She looked at my mother and said: "Oh Deborah, how will I ever serve our Awesome God if I can't write?"

What you need to know about my grandmother is she was never really able to serve at her church because she was physically handicapped and couldn't leave her home. She was a God-fearing woman with an incredible faith and so she quickly learned that despite the pain, she could write encouragement cards to others as a form of serving. For over thirty years of her life, she fought pain and disability to send out eighty cards of encouragement every month to others- to build them up in faith.

That day was the last day my grandmother ever wrote a card of encouragement. I watched as my mother removed the pen from her crippled hand for the last time and reassured her that her faithfulness to serve, her willingness to give with the little she had and to make a sacrifice of time and pain so that others would know the love of God- would not go overlooked by our Awesome, loving God. Just a few weeks later He called her home.

If she were here with us now, she would tell you that she was abundantly blessed and that is why she gave so much of what little she had. The pen she used for that final card sits on my desk at home. It is a daily reminder of the faith, generosity and sacrifice that I, too, want abundantly flowing from my life just as it did from hers.

So as we continue to reflect on the incredible challenge that God has placed in our lives as a church, what are we willing to give- whether from our abundance or poverty?

Sr. High Thoughts New SM Space

2010-11-13T16:22:00.000-05:00

This video presents some of our Sr. High students processing the basement and the "Garage-Mahal" as potential youth spaces as well as their current thoughts on 7 Gables and what they believe to be the most important aspects of a new youth space.

Post It Prayers: Our

2010-11-08T13:20:00.001-05:00

These are the prayers of our students for their families:

Divorced families
Thankful for what our family does for us even if we forget to show it
A friend who is sick with cancer
Friend’s mom (a single mom) who is sick
Mueller family and friends
My grandpas as he goes through general old age stuff and vertigo
Help all our families as we know that everyone is at sometimes going through something hard even if they don’t tell anyone
My sister’s addiction
Please help my parents and brother come back from their trip safely
Help my family and other dog to get over the loss of our older dog Champ
Take the pain away from Aunt Gail, Cooper and my dad
Please help my brother get through college without my dog
My dad
Health
Great Grandma’s health
Help my dad to get on the right path and stop sinning
Have a healthy pregnancy
Guidance and love and understanding
Help my grandparents remain healthy
Rest in peace Gramie
Help my aunt recover from the car accident. Thank you for being with her and keeping her safe
Get rid of Winston’s mole so I can pet him normally
Help my brother at college
I pray that you help all of the families that knew Joe to get through this hard time
Sister’s relationship with boyfriend and their future
Help brother and Sister in Clifton and help them be safe
That my sister gets a job
Grandma Whittington’s broken wrist
Help my uncle who has a brain tumor
Job changes and moving
Help my sister and brother in law manage finances and their kids
Don’t make me move for my dad’s job
My aunt to find a job
Help our families money problems, but also help us be more thankful for what we can afford
Help my aunt and grandma and mom as they get through my grandpa’s death
Help my mom while she is going through hard times
Help my family stay close as everyone is growing up and going in their separate ways
Help my grandpa with cancer
Help my parents stop fighting

Post It Prayers: Our Friends

2010-11-01T12:02:00.000-04:00

These are the prayers of our students for their friends.

That we are true friends
Cutting off unhealthy friendships and Help people realize who the right friends are for them
Courage to share our faith
Help me rebuild my friendship with R.B. help D.H with her course load at school
To know, understand and be a positive influence on lives
Help my friend through hard times and help her see God
Help me to bridge the gap
Help my friend’s grandma in her battle against cancer
Help my friends realize who are true friends and who will turn their backs
B- you are like my big sister. I hope you find what you’re looking for
Angela- finally find out who you really are at college
Help my friends make the right choices (X2)
Help my friends find real friends and not push away his real ones for fake ones
Help LFA’s mom who has breast cancer
If you have a cutting problem- at this church and everywhere else in the world I pray for you. You’re not alone…I had that same problem 2 years ago. You are not alone.
Don’t let my friends get caught up in all the bad things in High school. Help them to get to know you.
Help my friend Maria on some days when she has to go to work in a very bad part of the city
Help my friend with the death of her father
Nick Whitmore lost his memory by getting hit in the head during cross country last weekend (X 5)
Joe Masello, always remembered, never forgotten, RIP (X10)
K.M, help her get on the right track and become a better person
Help R.K. make the right choices
College crap
All my friends at school
That they would come to know Jesus as I do
C.V. Her family has had some rough times and her sister got hurt pretty badly in boot camp
That You would give us Your wisdom and strength to talk about the hard things
S.F., E.B., C.V., J.J., C.B., L.W., H.A., M.W., E.G., R.B., S.B., M.J., M.T., C.B., C.L., B.G., M.S., S.L., A.G., B.L., C.G., M.B., A.K., C.V., E.B., M.P., A.R.C.
Help Connor and his family get through a hard time
N.H. I’m sorry about everything I have said. It was ignorant and selfish and rude. I want our old friendship back. Please God that you can help us be friends again.
B.D. Love you bro. You’re my best friend. Can’t ask for anyone better for a friend then you. Praying for your families money problems. You are practically a brother to me.
Please help my friends and everyone else to realize fighting isn’t the answer over things it’s not worth
Please help my friend (D.S) get rid of his drug addiction
Friends to realize who is always there for them
Help my friend to be able to get help for his problems
Help to get enough self-confidence to finally be happy
Healthy, encouraging friendships
The Mee family (X3)

Post It Prayers: Our Schools

2010-10-25T14:13:00.000-04:00

Theses were the students prayers for their schools.

Kids with depression and who are bullied
Please help me to get better grades so I can get into the school I want to
Better grades
Help Mason's levy pass and the Mason schools foundation to continue to be successful
Levy to pass
Help stop the Milford vs. Loveland fight
I pray that all the people that have drug problems in our schools get helped
Please help me get better grades
Pray I don't get beat up by Milford kids
Give them accountability
Mr. Woodall- esophageal tear
Teachers and staff
Safety in extracurriculars
Stay myself in all I do
Help Carly's ankle to heal
Help sports teams stay safe
Acceptance
We need our fall levy to pass- Little Miami
Levy to pass
My friend LW as he goes through a rough time
Jessie- I miss you so much
Peers
Help a close friend break these habits. I don't want to see her broken.
Help the Milford vs. Loveland fighting to end.
Loveland vs. Milford to end.
Understanding in learning
All the stress and homework that consumes our lives and all the students in AP chem.
Help people on drugs realize the mistake they are making. The talent they are wasting and how they are simply screwing up their lives.
Help all of the teens at school who do drugs realize that it is not a good choice.
Less drug use and negative peer pressure.
Help students stay away from substance abuse.
Help my friend Angelique heal from her broken collarbone.
Jowillie frees recover from his ACL tear and Cole from his head injury
More care between people at school
Let us enjoy the little time we have together and appreciate one another
Matt James & Kevin Le
That we will be a light
Grieving over the loss of a fellow classmate
Coach Marlatt and the coaching staff
Accepting people for who they are
Pain and confusion
The golf team

Post It Prayers

2010-10-19T09:05:00.000-04:00

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Colossians 4:2), “and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18), yet, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6).

And that is what we did as a Student Ministries. Usually on Meal nights we like to worship in song, but recently we decided to worship in sticky notes and prayer!

Harper Hall was decorated with prompts- Capital Campaign, Our Church, Our Schools, US Government, Our Families, Our Friends, Student Ministries, Our World and Our Hearts- and starter prayers under each big prompt.

Then, the Sr. High was challenged to pray through sticky notes. They could pray for something specific or something broad. They could put up a request they were praying for our slap up a prayer for someone else's request. The sky was the limit. All we wanted to do was pray.

And so, we went from prompt to prompt writing down the prayers of our hearts for ourselves and for others and stuck them on the wall.

Why did we do this activity??

Because we believe that “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7) when we humble ourselves and pray. We trust that God not only hears our prayers, but powerfully works through them.

The prayers have been posted on the bulletin board outside the Student Ministries office so that the congregation can pray along with us- they can intercede as they read! Deeper than that, it gives the greater congregation just a small glimpse of what we face as a Student Ministries. Our joys and our pain are real and significant. We are not exempt from the difficulties of this world, nor are we blind to them. We face them head on in the power of Christ who works in and through us.

The next few posts will be devoted to the many prayers offered by our students.

A Piece of Cake....

2010-10-14T13:09:00.000-04:00

Literally!!

On Sunday September 26th, our Junior High females gathered together for the kick off of our annual Jr. High Girls Event!!

After awesome food served by the fantastic McMillan family, we participated in a cake decorating contest! Vying for the cake titles "Most Creative", "Prettiest" and "Most Unique", the ladies went to work on their individual cakes. We started by icing the base. Then, Karoline Krynock taught a few decorating techniques and then let them go to town. The cakes were absolutely amazing!

"I'll Bet Anyone A Dollar...."

2010-10-05T11:54:00.000-04:00

"I'll Bet Anyone A Dollar....if you can shoot the deer between the eyes." These were the famous last words uttered by Ronny that beautiful fall day. On September 26th, we headed out to the Otto's house for food and archery on our 2nd Annual Guys Event!

After some venison BBQ whipped up by the wonderfully sweet Kathy Pitman, we headed to the "hill" to begin our archery "refreshers". On hand were Dr. Jerry Pitman, Steve Otto, Doug Bentz and Darrell Pitman who all brought their favorite bows and crossbows to teach our guys how to shoot.

Following the quick review, each guy made their way to the top of the hill where they took a stab at the deer targets. One after another, getting the hang of it.

Then, out of nowhere, Ronny watches the hosts son nearly nail the deer in the eye and announces his challenge. "I will give a dollar to anyone who can shoot the deer between the eyes."

Little did Ronny know, there was a shark in the ranks....silently awaiting his turn.

Unlike Ronny, I was aware of the dangers in such a statement. You see, months ago we took the WALK guys and BABES girls out for bowling to celebrate the end of a great year. Before we started bowling I walked up to Ross and Matt and asked, "do you guys bowl often?"
To which they replied, "Not really."
I continued, "I'm sure you guys are good and just being modest."
Sure enough, moments later they were giving John Shaw a run for his money on the lanes (which is a bowling feat in itself!!)!

Fast forward back to this fateful day on the hill. Before Ross went to join the crew to find a bow that worked well for him, I challenged him with a simple remark: "This isn't going to be like bowling....where you tell me you aren't that good and you end up beating us all??"

Again, a modest retort, "I haven't really shot before. Only in gym class a while ago."
My counter was short, "Well Ross, I'll bet you will walk out there and beat us all." Foreshadowing at its finest.

Ross patiently waits his turn and finally it arrives.

First shot? In the neck.

Ronny begins to sweat. Most of the other guys took their shot at the dollar and hadn't succeeded. This was getting a little close for comfort.

I mean...it's only a dollar, but for a college student and the male ego....there is a lot riding on this dollar.

Ross' second shot? In the head by the chin.

Third shot? Right in the white of the eye. (Depicted above)

Ross successfully scored that dollar and much fame. No one would ever come that close to the eye again.

Shooting was great!
The food was delicious.
The crossbow was power never felt before.
The various challenges kept us all on our toes.
John Shaw pretends like he beat me in our personal shoot out (I just didn't have the heart to tell him I was shooting left-handed with my eyes closed....just kidding).

Another fun day in the life of the Student Ministries.

Youth Group: Pirate Night!!

2010-09-27T09:31:00.000-04:00

Pirate night was a plunder of fun!! (HA! Oh, bad jokes.)

We translated scripture into pirate talk. We ventured to the ends of the earth and even committed mutiny. We created our ships and branded our flags. And the moral of the story? What is our treasure and where do we keep it? The only treasure worth investing our lives is that which comes from God. Treasure stored in heaven.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6: 19-21

Although we never make light of personal injuries (one did occur during the filming of this video- all will be glad to know that it is now healed), another underlying moral was being written as we sailed the high seas. Cheaters never prosper. Pirates may be in the habit of rifling, looting, pillaging and plundering....but students who cheat do not survive! Take a peek below at what happens when students do not follow the rules.

All Things Lawn Fete

2010-09-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

Lawn Fete. A Celebration. We celebrate life together as a church. We celebrate our freedom in Christ and our privilege of taking the gospel message to the world. We celebrate the opportunity to love on those around us....and eat good food! The countless hours and hard labor culminate in one thing: the glorification of our Savior.

The Happy Mission

2010-08-31T12:02:00.000-04:00

For Sr. High Shenanigans this year (our Sr. High Fall Retreat) we ventured to the Happy Church for some fun and service. While there, we got to participate in their Youth Rally. Teens from all over Jackson, Kentucky came to the church for food, worship and a bonfire. Below is a video of clips of the worship!!

Love that never fails....

2010-08-24T08:59:00.000-04:00

And the final "Re" word.....Relate.

The message was simple. It was based on 1 John 4:7.

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."

The only way to relate is in love. The only way we can love is when we begin to understand how deeply, truly loved by God we are.

Our lives matter. Not because of who we are or what we can do...but because God created us. He created a plan for us. He created our purpose. He created us to be one small, but important piece of His larger puzzle known as life.

In this very moment we can rest assured. God loves us as much as He, the God of the Universe can love us....and that doesn't change. He always loves....but sin separates us from Him and we begin to doubt His love.

In response....in love, God sent Jesus to pay the price to bridge that gap. The greatest expression of love ever.

So that we could again Relate to God. Have relationship with Him. Walk with Him, talk with Him. All through His Son.

God never has doubts about us and His love for us.

No one is too far from God. And God loves us so much that He will send His gospel to the very ends of the earth so that everyone might hear of His love.

God's love isn't like the love in the movies or what we try to make it out to be. God's love stands alone. God's love transcends our understanding and our finite attempts to define it.

His love doesn't fail us....it's the circumstances in life, effected by the deadness of sin that fail us. That hurt us.

God redeems us. God sends His truth. God sends us life.

Let's let God Relate to us. To reveal His love to us. To transform us.

Going further, let's believe the truth- God loves us beyond reason and beyond comprehension at times.

Not because of who we are or what we do....but because we're created to be a part of His story. For His glory.

When we accept God's love, then we can truly love others.

And that's how we should relate. Through God's love.

The Rocks of Repentance

2010-08-16T09:05:00.000-04:00

Word #3: Repent.

Repentance is a tragically misunderstood concept of Christian faith. The reason it is tragically misunderstood is because it is critical to our ongoing growth....yet it is often forgotten.

In salvation, there is an initial light bulb moment of repentance when the reality of our deadness in sin collides with the reality of the slain savior who has died to pay the debt of our sin.

The moment when we step out in faith and claim our forgiveness and freedom from sin- acknowledging that Jesus is the only help. We turn from the darkness and turn to the light. A 180 degree turn.

And that is where many Christians stop. But the truth is that repentance is an ongoing process. It is a moment by moment, day by day sort of thing.

So how did we work on repentance?

We placed a pile of rocks in the center of our small groups and asked the students to pick a rock.

They were rocks of all sizes, picked specially for this group of students out of the fine streams of Ohio!

After choosing a rock we passed out sharpies and challenged the group to think on this:

What sins do you currently need to lay at the feet of Jesus?
Where do you need repentance- to turn from something and turn towards Jesus?
What is laying heavy on your hearts?
What is something we know we shouldn't be doing, but just can't let go of?
What are wounds others have inflicted on us that we just can't seem to shake? Who or what do we need to forgive?
What are wounds we have inflicted on others that we know we need to apologize for? Where do we need forgiveness?

And the students wrote symbols, words, pictures, etc. on their rocks that represented these areas that just needed to be laid down or surrendered.

We then carried those rocks with us all day throughout the conference and our fun on the beach. We wanted to feel the weight of the burdens that we were carrying. Whether they were sins or just places where we couldn't bring ourselves to let go.

Finally, following our last worship session, we headed to the beach. Under the stars, with the sand between our toes and the sound of the ocean crashing on the shore we read scripture and then took some time to pray before throwing the rocks as far from us as possible.

A physical symbol of repentance.

What is keeping you from fully experiencing the sanctifying power of Christ in your life?

2010-08-09T08:54:00.000-04:00

Word #2: Respond.

When God reveals Himself....our response is worship, praise and change. God reveals, we respond.

We aren't talking about one of those "Mountain Top" experiences of emotion every moment of every day...or even every time we read our Bibles or pray!

Will we have those moments? Sure! Louie described a time in his life when he was absolutely shattered by the overwhelming revelation of God. Although I won't be able to do his story justice the idea was that he had studied Mount Rainer a great deal and could spit all sorts of facts and figures about it. He loved it. Then...when he finally went to see it, all he could do is weep. He was shattered. He was awestruck and amazed at the size and beauty of the God he saw in the mountain.

Sometimes this is our response. Almost uncontrollable. These are the rare occasions that God saves for those moments when He is going to make a point in our lives that sticks.

In reality, our faith journey isn't about an experience, but a relationship. Progress, persistence, baby steps....it is the movement of the Spirit within us, a greater appreciation being forged in which we just want to worship and praise the Most High.

Some revelations bring us to tears.
Some revelations bring us to our knees.
Some revelations make us say "Oooohhhhh.....I get ittttttt."
Some revelations just make us smile.
Some revelations move us to prayer.
Some revelations make us sing louder.
Some revelations make us sing.
Some revelations bring us to forgiveness of others.
Some revelations are beyond emotion.
Some revelations send us to others to talk.
Some revelations just need to be pondered and are left to percolate.

Regardless of the actual response....it is a response none the less. A response that is us humbling ourselves and glorifying God. Worship becomes our automatic response.

Many Christians have a tendency to stumble in faith and complain because they are always waiting for that big moment or begin to doubt because they haven't had that experience. But the truth is....God reveals Himself in His time to a degree in which we can handle. Often times we are missing what He is revealing because we are looking for something much different.

What about the fact that every single human being has already received a revelation from God just by existing in this universe? He surrounds us in creation. Its just a matter of whether or not we are paying attention.

Going further, God has already done His part in our redemption story. He intervened before we even knew we needed help. He sent His Son and made a way for us to be redeemed, restored and rejuvenated.

How are you responding to what God has already done?
How are you responding to what God is doing at this very moment in your life?

What are you seeing of Jesus right now in your life? Because what you see of Jesus affects your response.

May the eyes of our hearts be opened to see Jesus as the Christ, worthy of worship and praise.

2010-08-02T10:05:00.000-04:00

It is funny how little the average Christian really knows about the Minor prophets...yet some of them contain frequently quoted verses.

Take Micah 6:8 for instance. This was the crux of our Conference in Daytona Beach.

As usual (and much the same today), Israel has angered God by their unfaithfulness. God responds by reminding them of what He has so faithfully done for them. Then in response to God, Israel wants to know what they can do to make amends. They ask about the appropriate size of the offering they should make...but God surprises them with this response:

"He has told you, O man, what is good: and what does the Lord require of you but to DO JUSTICE, and to LOVE KINDNESS, and to WALK HUMBLY with your God?" (ESV)

This is the passage that pulled major themes from throughout the week. We focused on major "RE" words. Specifically the words:

REVELATION
RESPOND
REPENT
RELATE

Although REvelation was not a pre-planned concept that the conference was based upon, it ended up becoming our main focus as a Student Ministries.

Louie Giglio did a fantastic job of describing what true revelation looks like. It is that "God Moment." The moment when God is not only seen clearly, but we suddenly have an understanding we did not come up with on our own. I like to describe them as "AH-HA" moments or lightbulb moments in faith. It is what happens when God reveals Himself to us in a way in which we can understand. But not only understand. It is done in a way in which we must respond. We want to respond.

The Bible is our complete Revelation in writing. We have it in our hands to hold. The Spirit serves as our eyes and ears to comprehend.
Jesus is our complete Revelation in being. He is God incarnate. No one has ever seen God....unless they have seen Jesus.

God isn't mysterious because it is some sort of power struggle or a game He is playing. God remains somewhat mysterious because He is absolutely perfect and Holy in every aspect of His being and we as finite human beings cannot comprehend it.

Needless to say, when God reveals Himself...our response is often Worship, Praise and Change.

May God reveal Himself to us so that we might draw closer to Him.

2010-07-29T08:43:00.000-04:00

Picture this....

You are sitting in a convention center. Stadium seating. Your rows have letters, your seats have numbers.

People just keep piling through the doors on all sides. Seats are filling up quickly.You wonder if they will all fit.

Suddenly....the lights begin to dim and on the screens pops up.....a man in a red spandex suit??

Alas, it is time for "The Morning Dance-Tastic Super Awesome Video Show"!!

The crowd of 6,200+ people represented by eleven churches from all over the country...and even the Bahamas...rise to their feet to learn new dance moves such as the smelly armpit.....

School Dances all over the country will never be the same.

The StudentLife Daytona Beach summer conference was the perfect mix of fun and faith building.

We had many laughs and yet we left with revelations of God percolating in our heads.

There was high energy dancing and intimate heart to hearts.

We swam in the ocean and prayed on the beach.

But what was the one thing almost every student commented had the biggest impact and was their take away?

The Music. Sure it was stylistically different from what they are used to here at Sycamore and it was amped enough to make the "lame walk"....but I would venture to suggest that it wasn't the music that sparked such a response so deep in their souls.

I would propose that it was God showing up in power through the prayer and praises of the Saints. When you have a gathering of believers- no matter the number- who are humbled and laying all of themselves out for the Glory, Honor and Praise of God alone....He is there and the Spirit is uncontainable.

What were the youth leaders really doing in our secret meetings??
We were praying for our students and leaders by name.
Why did the youth leaders drag themselves out of bed early each morning after minutes of sleep??
To pray for our students and leaders by name.
What were the youth leaders doing before we even left for the trip??
Praying for the students and leaders by name.

God is not only faithful, but He created and ordained this trip and those moments of worship and revelation before we were even born.

Sure, the music was cool. But the Spirit was overwhelming. It was the power of the God of the Universe that our students encountered in a real way.

But this encounter, although a major awakening for some, is still just one small piece of our journey of faith.

Step by step, moment by moment, drawing closer to God. Becoming like Christ through the transforming power of His blood and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

For what awaits us at the end does not even compare to the small, yet significant moments of revelation that occur along the way.

We Are A Chosen Generation!

2010-07-21T13:01:00.000-04:00

It's always funny how there is so much to report when returning from a Student Ministries trip....yet when you sit down and begin to write you realize how insufficient words are in describing the Majesty of what God has done.

This will be one blog of many. There is tons to report. Everything from what the speaker discussed to testimonies to stories that will make you laugh until you puke! It will all appear over time, but first I want to give you an overview.

This is the best I could come up with and I'm not even sure it begins to describe the depth of God's hand at work in the lives of those who went.

Anyway....here it goes:

What does it mean to truly be alive?

To be able to say that I once was dead, but now I am alive….forever.

To have the living, active, Awesome God of this universe step down into our lives and make Himself known.

Not just a tap on the shoulder, but an awakening of the heart, of the mind and of our being.

Revelation- when God invites us to venture beyond our present reality which is limited to our own small world and to be an integral part of HIS massive story of hope, love and reconciliation that is already written on our hearts and encompassing our very being. God reveals Himself and we can do nothing but respond in worship and praise.

On July 11^th, nineteen students and seven adults ventured to Daytona Beach, Florida to find out! We attended a conference hosted by StudentLife where we were stretched in faith and floored by the majesty of our Creator. We laughed, we cried, we were humbled and deeply moved. Louie Giglio spoke Truth into our lives while Chris Tomlin led us in worship as our souls sang praises to our God. We were then given the opportunity to step out in faith and share the love of God with the people of Daytona through two training projects of service. New friendships were forged, eyes were opened and God was encountered in a new way.

That, in sum is what occurred. Each participant will paint a different picture, but the deeper message is still the same: God was moving in our lives before we even left Cincinnati and we caught a small glimpse of our role in His greater story!

Questions that matter.

2010-06-29T09:28:00.000-04:00

On VBS Sunday, the guides and children sang their VBS songs for the congregation. After the sermon which focused on the parable of the "Lost Sheep", they sang one last song and then exited the sanctuary.

Bringing up the rear, watching for any stray children, I was suddenly stopped by a guide with a young boy. She said: "He has a question to ask you...but he won't tell us what it is!"

So I bend down and say: "What's you question?" I'll admit I was waiting for a question like "can I go to the bathroom" or "can I have a doughnut"...but I was pleasantly floored when he said with a worried look on his face: "What happens when the Shepherd dies? Who takes care of the sheep?"

I smiled one of those "God" smiles- you know, the one of overwhelming spiritual emotion- and responded: "God is faithful and He loves those sheep so much that He raises up another shepherd to take His place!" The look of worry faded away. Absolutely profound. What a good question. For this little boy, he needed to know that those sheep were taken care of.

Bigger than that, whether he knew it or not, that little boy was touching upon the most important message we will ever hear. Ultimately, Jesus Christ is the good shepherd. And what happened when He died? God raised Him from the dead so that the sheep would be saved. Our God will do the humanly impossible just for His sheep. Our God is faithful. Our God is love.

H-E-R-O God is our HERO!!

2010-06-28T09:44:00.000-04:00

The 2010 VBS Guides were amazing!

A BIG THANKS TO:

The Pink Group: Emma, Rachel, Stephanie & Carly!
The Light Blue Group: Kelsey, Leah, Annie & June!
The Yellow Group: Alicia, Maria, Kevin & Nick!
The Purple Group: Emily, Morgan, Andrea, Jessica & Ellen!
The Red Group: Madilyn, Taylor, Fallon & Sidney!
The Navy Group: Stacey, David, Wesley, Brad & Christine!
The Orange Group: Connor, Nick, Ryan, Melissa & Allison!
The Green Group: Ben, Adam, Kiya & Cara!
The Black Group: Sarah, Michelle, Eric & David!
The Gold Group: Sarah, Rachel, Matt & Hunter!

Open Heart Surgery

2010-06-16T14:45:00.000-04:00

Sr. High Sunday 2010: Faith Journey 101

2010-06-14T11:28:00.000-04:00

Sr. High Sunday 2010: Narrators

2010-06-10T09:18:00.000-04:00

Sr. High Sunday 2010: Scripture Reading

2010-06-09T09:56:00.000-04:00

Livin' for Cruise Ship Status

2010-05-24T09:49:00.000-04:00

“Living for Cruise Ship Status”! An analogy of heaven and our faith journey which is boldly proclaimed on the Student Ministries t-shirts. If you had a chance to worship with us on Sr. High Sunday (May 2^nd), we pray that you walked away blessed. If not, we are in the process of getting the service off of our fancy church camera and onto this blog!

Our youth were honored to be given the opportunity to lead the church in worship by bringing them into our world. Over the last year, we talked a great deal about a faith journey and in the process created an ocean analogy that correlates.

· THE OCEAN: It all begins in the deep, dark ocean of life where we tread the waters of death. Suddenly, our God reaches down into the depths offering us a Savior in His Son, Jesus Christ who comes to the rescue.

· SURFBOARDS: With a new faith journey we are torn from our old lives and given “surf boards” where God is not only tethered to us, but He begins to teach us how to navigate the seas of life starting in the shallow waters. All we can handle are the basics which also teach us how to trust in Him!

· BOATS: Over time, God will remove our “surf boards” and give us the stability of a boat because we have learned to trust in Christ as our firm foundation. We are prepared to head out into deeper waters where much more will be demanded of us. With the boat also come tools for growth that we learn to use:

o the compass representing the Spirit that guides our every step

o a life-jacket representing the Bible that keeps us afloat and prepares us for what’s to come

o finally, oars that represent the power of prayer which humbly propels us forward

We spend a majority of our lives in the boat, constantly growing, learning to conquer sin through the power of Jesus Christ, and running the race with perseverance.

· CRUISE SHIP STATUS: Then, one fateful day we will hear our Savior say “Well done, my good and faithful servant!” For we fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith. Going on, we receive our crown of righteousness….cruise ship status. Our final destination on our journey: Heaven.

Living for heaven, where we will finally dwell with our God, worshiping and glorifying Him for eternity.

Strength....it's what's for dinner....

2010-05-18T09:09:00.000-04:00

What do you do to renew your strength?

You know, you come home from work or school after a long day of productivity (or at least you hope it was productive) and just feel like crashing?

Or maybe life has dealt you a hand that is seemingly too difficult for you to handle. You begin to crumble just thinking about it.

Regardless of the causation, we all find ourselves in need of strength from time to time.

So...where do we go? What do we do to regain our strength?

Here are the methods I've been known to try:
1) Withdraw from everything and everyone
2) Go outside and seek beauty from creation
3) Do something physical- run, jump or play!
4) Talk to someone who we know will be encouraging and give us perspective
5) Eat comfort foods......
6) Veg out....in front of the tv, a video game, a crossword puzzle, gardening...etc.
7) Sleep
8) Pray

All of these are good things, but they are not the only things! Let's look at the example of David. In 1 Samuel 30, verse 6b, it says "But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God."

It doesn't actually tell us how...but here is what we do know: everything David had, including his family, had been captured and the people he was leading were bitter and wanted to stone him.

Now that is a weakening situation. David is not only devastated himself, but his people are ready to blame him and kill him for the unruly actions of someone else.

What did David need? Strength.
Where did David go? God.

He first turned to God who strengthened him. As mentioned before, our methods for renewing our strength are good, but unless we are seeking the God who is perfect in strength and always willing to strengthen His children, those other methods will not last very long.

As Isaiah writes: "but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

How are we strengthened by the Lord?
1) Surrender- humbling ourselves in prayer and admitting that we need His strength
2) Hoping in the promises of God- reading the Word, memorizing the Word, trusting in the Word
3) Spending time with God- As the old hymn proclaims- "He walks with us and talks with us"- when we spend time with God, He will guide us, He will direct us and He will renew us

Let us strengthen ourselves in the Lord our God.

Confirmation 2010

2010-05-07T13:56:00.001-04:00

In the life of every Christian, there comes a time to publicly declare one’s faith in Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior. This is in accordance with Matthew 10:32-22 where Jesus calls for us to “confess our faith before others so that He might confess us before the Father.” This act within the Presbyterian Church is known as “confirmation.” This public confession of faith does not only serve as a commissioning into the life and membership of Sycamore, but it also is the beginning of a faith journey. As these students learn to walk in faith and accept Christ’s call to be involved responsibly in the ministry of His church they will need all the support that they can get! The beauty of this process is that every member of the congregation is blessed with the challenge to be that support system.

Here is Confirmation Class 2010, students whom we have vowed before God to shower in prayer, encourage in faith, teach what Christ has taught us and simply be their friends in Christ.

Sarah G.
Elizabeth R.
Stacey S.
Eli K.
Mackenzie J.
Carly B.
Laura F.
Nick K.
Michelle B.
Emma B.
Alicia K.
Kevin D.
Stephanie B.
Maria I.

Watch out Sycamore....this is an astute class, filled with teachable giants of faith.

We're Back!!

2010-05-04T08:41:00.000-04:00

It's good to be back and able to write!

For those of you who have spent a few months disappointed with the lack of updates, I do apologize profusely. Student Ministries has been in a whirlwind of activity which has required a time focus elsewhere.

But...we're back and excited to blog, post and share the incredible things that God has been doing in our midst.

It would only be right to begin with the Word!

As I was reading 1 Samuel where Jonathan (Saul's son) decides to sneak off without anyone knowing to face the Philistines, I was suddenly struck with a thought. It's a pretty neat story which I encourage you to check out in 1 Samuel 1414:1-23, however it wasn't Jonathan's crazy act of faith in God that struck me- don't get me wrong, that was pretty incredible. But it was Jonathan's armor bearer that stood out. He says this in verse 7: "Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul." Talk about loyalty and trust!

Jonathan is asking his armor bearer to run into battle against the whole Philistine army. I'll give you a moment to do the math. Think about that. Two against....thousands?

It's absolute crazy talk. My human instincts say "RUN!" when I read such a thing. My mind scoffs at Jonathan and thinks "what kind of leader are you??" I mean really....it is a death sentence.

So...why does the armor bearer reply with: "Right on. Let's do this thing??"

Although the scripture does not directly tell us, I would suggest that this armor bearer knew Jonathan pretty well. Enough to place the fate of his life in Jonathan's hands. But I would go further and suggest that is wasn't only in Jonathan's leadership that the armor bearer was trusting, but in God.

Jonathan was actually an incredible leader as displayed by his armor bearer's response. Jonathan has made it clear that he lives a life that trusts in God. Jonathan is running into this battle solely trusting in God to win it. A feat in itself. But look how Jonathan's faith in and obedience to God impact the lives of those around him?

Not only has God made Himself known to us, but He is revealing Himself, His true character, through our leaders and other Christians around us everyday!

Let's be a people who not only trust in God and that which He has put into place to grow us in faith, but let's also be a people who impact others simply by witnessing our faith.

Redemption is Everywhere

2010-03-10T08:57:00.000-05:00

In Confirmation class this year, Rev. Shirley challenged us to really think through our favorite movies and to figure out which ones provide a clear story of redemption. If you meander into the "Blue" room in 7 Gables you will see a big "chalkboard" list of such movies offered by our 2010 Confirmands.

Honestly, most films carry the theme even if it is obvious at first. Think about that for a moment.

Redemption:

Deliverance
Rescue
Atonement for guilt
Repurchase
Paying off

Redemption is everywhere. It is the moment in the movie when the wrong has been corrected and harmony ensues.

Like in music when you hear dissonance. The ear catches it because we know something isn't right, but then consonance befalls and we breathe a sigh of relief.

Of course, the greatest story of redemption to ever occur is that of Jesus Christ suffering and dying on a cross for the atonement of our sins. There is no greater redemption.

How perfect that ChristianityToday (a Christian Magazine) wrote an article on the "Top 10 Most Redeeming Films of 2009".

I encourage you to peruse the list and see what you think (*By listing these movies, SPC Student Ministries is in no way endorsing these movies nor encouraging others to go out and watch them. Some may be rated PG-13 or R. They are simply being used as an example to emphasize a point.):

1. Up

directed by Pete Docter
It's got talking dogs piloting fighter planes and a house that floats to South America on the strength of a thousand balloons, but the most outrageous thing about Up? It's a summer blockbuster that's head-over-heels for the joys of marriage. Here lifelong commitment isn't a burden; it's an adventure.—Josh Hurst

2. The Blind Side

directed by John Lee Hancock
The Touhys, a well-to-do white family, can't ignore the needs of a homeless African-American boy. Instead of just lending a hand, they make him family. This real-life story of NFL player Michael Oher shows a great example of Christian compassion. We can't save the world, but we can love the ones God puts in our path.—Camerin Courtney

3. Invictus

directed by Clint Eastwood
This is much more than just another sports movie or "another Clint Eastwood awards season movie." It's a beautiful portrait of forgiveness and a model for how reconciliation can happen in reality, and how politics can employ things like sports and poetry in the service of national renewal.—Brett McCracken

4. The Road

directed John Hillcoat
Despite the bleak and sometimes terrifying post-apocalyptic milieu, this film—based on the book by Cormac McCarthy—stands out from other recent end-times flicks in its tenacious, audacious insistence on hope in the midst of darkness. Plus it's one of the most loving father-son relationships ever depicted on the big screen.—Mark Moring

5. The Soloist

directed by Joe Wright
This true tale of the unlikely relationship between a newspaper columnist and a musically gifted, mentally ill homeless man is a testament to the power of friendship. There are no easy answers here and the homeless problem among the mentally ill is clearly epidemic, but for both of these men, care and companionship are transformative.—Lisa Cockrel

6. Where the Wild Things Are

directed by Spike Jonze
Jonze reimagines Maurice Sendak's tale of high-spirited rebellion as a meditation on childhood insecurity in a messy world in which nothing—families, forests, even the Sun—lasts forever. Wild Things knows both a child's drowning sense of trying to hold together a broken family and the comfort of a mother's embrace, a calm center in a storm of uncertainty.—Steven D. Greydanus

7. District 9

directed by Neil Blomkamp
Using aliens and spaceships, District 9 actually gives new perspective on humans—their ugliness, racism, and greedy self-preservation. Perhaps because it shows a realistically dark world, we can see what shines. And because the main character is a complex mash-up of good and evil, his ultimate redemptive choice is powerful.—Todd Hertz

8. The Hurt Locker

directed by Kathryn Bigelow
A group of soldiers spend their days in combat and their nights shooting it out in video games; they see violence as macho and cool, but we see it as a deadly addiction. A lot of war movies turn our hearts to anger, but this one fills us with compassion for the people whose lives are caught in the crossfire.—Josh Hurst

9. Julie & Julia

directed by Nora Ephron
It's rare to see happy marriages portrayed in Hollywood—after all, no tension is boring. In contrast, Julie & Julia presents us with not one, but two marriages in which the husbands and wives genuinely love one another and stand ready to support, encourage, and laugh together. A feast, indeed.—Alissa Wilkinson

10. Up in the Air

directed by Jason Reitman
The core characters may not always behave honorably, but that's the point of this cautionary parable about investing more in selfish pursuits than in relationships. How sadly ironic that Ryan Bingham so skillfully helps others find hope and meaning in unemployment, yet can't find any in his own cocoon—though there's hope even for him.—Russ Breimeier

Others:

Avatar (Russ Breimeier)
Sin Nombre (Lisa Cockrel)
Crazy Heart (Camerin Courtney)
Coraline (Brandon Fibbs)
The 13th Day (Steven D. Greydanus)
Precious (Todd Hertz)
A Serious Man (Josh Hurst)
Bright Star (Brett McCracken)
Earth (Mark Moring)
The Young Victoria (Alissa Wilkinson)

To read the full article, click below:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/movies/commentaries/2010/tenredeemingfilmsof2009.html?utm_source=YS+Update&utm_campaign=34f172bf95-YSU_3_9_2010&utm_medium=email&mc_cid=34f172bf95&mc_eid=757da96037&start=1

Redemption. It's everywhere!

What a mess....

2010-02-24T16:45:00.000-05:00

I was reading through Psalm 43:

"Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people,
from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me!
For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me?
Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me;
let them bring me to Your Holy hill and to your dwelling!
Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise You with the lyre, o God my God.
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God."

As I read I began to sing.....

Why are you downcast, o my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
I put my hope in God, for I will yet praise Him
My Savior and my Lord

Send Your light and Your truth, let them guide me
Through the night it's Your song that will find me
Lead me to Your Holy Mountain
Lead me to Your dwelling place

And I will go to the altar of God, my joy and my delight
I will praise You with all my heart
And I will go to the altar of God, my song through the night
I will praise You with all my heart

My God, You are my stronghold. Why have you rejected me?
Why must I mourn the oppression of my enemies?
Vindicate me, Lord. Rescue me from wickedness

"Altar of God" by Josh Bates

How awesome it is to sing scripture!! So...I thought it would be appropriate to post a Youtube video of this song for effect. Below is the only video I could find. I hope you are just as amused as I was when I watched it. Do you see what I see?? Take a look behind the guy singing!

This guy is a very talented musician and I appreciate him posting the video online so I could use it in the blog. However, he needs a lesson or two in cleanliness....HA!

Confirmation Lesson 7: The Bible

2010-02-22T09:41:00.000-05:00

Let's go back to grade school for a moment.....

Thhhhhheeeeee B-I-B-L-E
YES! THAT'S THE BOOK FOR MEEEEEE!
I STAND ALONE ON THE WORD OF GOD
THE B-I-B-L-E

Children's Bible songs anyone??

Pt. 1

Pt. 2

Pt. 3

Confirmation Lesson 6 - Grace 2/10 Make Up

2010-02-11T10:16:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

Thank you for assisting in worship on Sunday, February 7. You were AWESOME!!! Many, many thanks and my gratitude for enriching worship with your participation.

Homework: Films with themes of Redemption:

Here are some of my thoughts on redemption/saving/changing:

1. Babe – Yep, the pig movie…. Babe changes the attitudes of several animals in the barnyard; remember how Babe works the sheep and gets them to listen?

2. The Bucket List – both men “redeem” each other; Carter, played by Morgan Freeman, has a moderate lifestyle and gave up his dreams to support his family. Edward, played by Jack Nicholson, has everything money can buy and then some, but has nothing. They make a list of things they want to do “before they kick the bucket”; both are treated for cancer, neither expect to live; Both give their lives to change the other.

3. Secondhand Lions – 2 uncles allow their nephew to come live with them; all are redeemed – live, richer, fuller lives because of their commitment to each other.

4. The Lion King – full of all kinds of redemption images

5. Toy Story I – Remember how Buzz and Woody were at the first of the movie and how they changed to help one another at the end?

What’s on YOUR list?

*If you can post a comment- write your list in response to this post. Or, send Meredith an email & she will mreuscher@sycamorechurch.org. If you don't have email, you can always bring your list to class next week!

(To post a comment, you must be signed up for certain programs: aim, livejournal, etc.)

The lesson for this week is GRACE.

I was taught the following: grace is God’s unmerited goodness for us.

There is nothing I can do to earn God’s grace. It’s there, whether I am good or bad.

There is no amount of money I can give God to PAY for the grace. Grace is a gift from God to me, and you…..

I can do good deeds every day, all day long, and still not do enough good deeds to deserved God’s grace.

Grace is a gift of God for us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s only son.

For me, grace is what the heart knows and understands. I can read all the Bible verses I want, but it’s my heart that opens to grace. It’s my heart, connected to God’s heart, that helps me hear the song of grace, the joy of grace, the peace of grace.

Grace marks our lives and we are never the same.

Grace – turning to God and renouncing sin.

I looked for some clips that might help with the theme of redemption and grace, what someone might do to save someone else.

--------->I offer you the ending clip from the movie, Pay It Forward.

You know that Trevor is an 11 year old boy in a social studies class. His teacher gives the class a whole year to do the following assignment: “Think of an idea to change our world and put it into action.” Trevor comes up with the “pay it forward” idea. If one person does something for 3 people, people we may or may not know, and those 3 people have to do something for 3 other people. Trevor is not so sure his idea changes the world. You see the clip at the end of the movie where he does something for a class mate who is bullied throughout the entire movie.

*To watch this clip, click on the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f198pJXYZOs

-------->Second clip – The Resurrection of Aslan, from the movie, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Aslan is killed by the White Witch and her minions. Susan, the older sister, and Lucy, the younger sister, find Aslan. Aslan takes the place of Edmond the brother between Susan and Lucy. Edmond has betrayed his brother, Peter, and 2 sisters to the White Witch. He is shamelessly addicted to Turkish Delight and thinks the Witch Witch is his friend. Aslan gives himself to the White Witch in place of Edmond. (Sound like another story you might know…. Maybe something from the Bible?)

*To watch this clip, click on the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2O3VpubRq8

---------> The Last clip- The Bridge: What would you do? Is a modern look at the John 3:16 passage. Take a look.

What themes do you see in all three clips?

Can you write down phrases about the clips that connect them?

Example: sacrifice of self…. Theme of love and care and concern….. What else do you see?

And, to wrap up the lesson, just in case you missed it….

The point of the lesson is grace, undeserved, unmerited, priceless, amazing grace – for you and me and the world from God through Jesus Christ.

Love in action.

Thanks so much for “doing” your lesson.

Stay safe. Stay warm.

Blessings and grace to you.

Rev. Shirley

Confirmation Lesson 5 - The Gospel

2010-02-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

Rev. Shirley came to talk with us last week about the Gospel. She used a clip from the movie "The Mission." If you would like to watch this movie, she has lent me her copy and I am keeping it in the SM office. You may borrow it if you return it. The movie is rated PG.

I had to edit the lesson into two parts since we keep having internet/video problems. We will see if this works!

Lastly, don't forget the addition to your journal entry for this week. Brainstorm movies where you see the theme of redemption!

"One Hit Wonderrrrrrrr"

2010-02-02T09:00:00.001-05:00

Did you know that you probably know more scripture than you think??

I know. You're probably doubting that last statement, coming up with a great argument about how you have proof since your Bible has dust on it....okay, only kidding.

But I think you would be surprised by how much scripture you do know! Especially if you ever sing hymns or listen to a lot of the Christian music out there today.

Case in point, this morning I was reading in Exodus chapter 15 the "Song of Moses". God had just parted the Red Sea in the great exodus and defeated the Egyptians, so the people suddenly began rejoicing in song!

As I was reading, I suddenly stopped dead because the verses I had just read (v. 11) I was singing in my head!! (Ha! that rhymed.) No joke. I was singing it in my head.

Moses said:
"Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?"

And no, I wasn't making the song up in my head. The songs I make up in my head usually don't have lyrics.

Anyway....I was blown away because I already knew this scripture, but had no idea!! You see, my friend had put the song "Who is like you" by Tim Neufield from the band Starfield on a cd for me to listen to a few months ago.

Here is what he sang:

The Lord is my strength and my song
He has become my salvation
He is my God and I will praise Him,
I will lift him up.

Who is like You, Majestic in holiness
Awesome in glory, Working wonders?
Who is like You, Majestic in holiness
Awesome in glory, Working wonders?

In Your unfailing love
You will lead the people there You Redeemed
And in your strength, You will guide them
to Your holy place

Who among the gods is like You,
who in all the heavens?
Who among the gods is like You?

Recognize the chorus & bridge?? Sure you do! He wrote the song based on Exodus 15:11!!

How delightful and joy-filling it is to recognize song lyrics in the Word as you read. To realize that you knew scripture all along, and might not have known it.

If nothing else, it's a great way to figure out the correct lyrics when you turn to the Word. I'll admit that I thought the guy singing was saying "one hit wonder" when I first heard the song....and I'm embarrassed to admit that's how I sang it....mainly because it made me chuckle....

I challenge you to think about the hymns and songs you know. Can you find them in the Word?

Better yet, integrate those hymns and songs into your daily routine. Sing with joy to the Lord for He is majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, always working wonders!

Confirmation Lesson 4- The Holy Spirit

2010-01-29T14:17:00.000-05:00

Pardon the three different videos. Youtube only allows 10 minutes per video!

Part 1.

Part 2.

Part 3.

Preconceived notions & the Holiness of God

2010-01-25T09:22:00.000-05:00

All of our confirmation students were asked to answer this question in their journals:

"To begin, take all of your preconceived notions or
whatever comes to mind when you think about God
and write them below. Be honest."

The prompt for this question is our human tendencies to take God and put Him in a box. We take the incredible God of the Universe who transcends time and matter....and attempt to give Him rules, boundaries and expectations. In other words, the creation tries to control the Creator.

Instead of approaching God with our human ideas of how He should act, speak, bless us, help us, etc....we decided that were going to lay down, by writing down, everything that comes to mind so that we could allow God to tell us about Himself instead! We want God to reveal His true nature to us!

There were a lot of great answers!
A man with a white beard
Huge/large
Loving
Caring
Pure
Protection
Powerful
Spirit
Listens
Watches over us

But with one, came an extra, hand written sheet of notebook paper. Here is what it said:

"God is the limitless horizon we base our lives on, the place we look to for help and reason. It is forever unreachable, but within reach. It is constantly new, yet older than time itself.

You can never reach the edge of God. He exists everywhere in such a vast sense that we can't understand it. It is human nature to fear things we don't understand, so we fear God, but we also love Him, so we try to put Him into something we can understand.

Although it is diminishing His endlessness and glory, God doesn't mind because He loves us. The only problem is that we lose sight of the real Him, and focus on the image we have created of Him. We need to go beyond that, back to the real God, and just except that God is not something we can understand fully.

What is my image of God?

An older man with a white beard, who's eyes are kind but also capable of flashing with lightening. Sort of like a Grandfather of everyone."

~Elizabeth, 8th grade.

May all of us wonder in awe at the Majesty and Splendor of our God and fall to our faces as we encounter His Holiness and are transformed by the power and love of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Confirmation Lesson 3- Jesus

2010-01-25T09:13:00.000-05:00

Below are the scripture verses used in the activity. Match the verse to the appropriate characteristics of Jesus' human nature or deity.

Fully God:
Matthew 14:33
Matthew 28:18,20
Mark 2:10-11
Mark 3:10
Mark 4:39
Luke 4:35
John 2:25
John 5:18
John 11:43-44
John 5:22

Fully Man:
Matthew 4:2
Matthew 8:24
Matthew 9:36
Mark 8:31
Luke 2:40
John 8:40
John 4:6
John 11:35
Acts 2:22
Hebrews 4:15

"Have A Little Faith In Yourself"....according to Kung Fu Panda

2010-01-19T14:06:00.000-05:00

Po, is a large, clumsy Panda who has an obsession with Kung Fu. Becoming a Kung Fu Master is the exact opposite of everything he is. Then, in what seems like a fluke accident, Po is named the "Dragon Warrior" to everyone's dismay. This "Dragon Warrior" is appointed to defend the people against the evil Tai Lung.

The story of Po can closely resemble our faith stories at times.

Have you ever began to doubt yourself or your call?
Have you ever been in a position where everyone was doubting you?
Have you ever thought that if you just gain something more or if you accomplish something greater, then you will be a better Christian or closer to God?

1. Doubting Ourselves

When Po is walking with Master Shifu, he is on top of the world! He has realized his potential and begun to believe that he is the Dragon Warrior. Interestingly enough, it took the voice of just one person who had faith in Po to bring him to this point. If you watch more of the movie, you will quickly see that everything and everyone is against Po. No one believes in him. He defied odds by venturing to the point of battle.

But then...seeing the Furious Five return defeated, he begins to doubt himself.

In life, we are going to face all sorts of adversity- people are going to doubt us; people will put us down; we will see others fall. In fact, we have an adversary (the evil one) prowling around and just waiting to devour us (1 Peter 5:8). The evil one will do everything in his power to keep us from becoming all that God created us to be.
When we doubt God, we begin to believe lies, we focus on overwhelming circumstances that bog us down and we believe that we are less or different than what God has created us to be.

What would have happened if Po had run away and didn't return to defeat Tai Lung?

Pretty scary to think about. What would happen if we refused to be obedient to God or decided we were going to "be a Christian" on our own?

God created us to be apart of HIS redemptive story. HE created salvation in a way that we could be apart. He designed a faith journey so that we would walk as HE leads. HE made us an important part of the story.

It really doesn't matter what others think or say. What God has deemed His is HIS! And that is how we are to live.

2. The Quick Fix

The dragon scroll is said to make someone super human (or super panda). When it is read, the person fulfills their destiny. Amazing, huge, wonderful, out of this world things are said to occur.

But what really happens?

Po opens the scroll and it's blank. At first is seems like a major let down...but as we watch, we see that there is real wisdom in the fake out.

There is no secret ingredient to a close relationship with God or being a Christian. Sorry to disappoint. Nor is there a quick fix. God didn't call us to Him because we were the most talented, best looking or ridiculously practical. He calls us as we are- sin and all....because He took care of the sin & is ready to take care of everything else.

We aren't going to be super Christians. No one is. We are just supposed to be us. There is no Christian power in traditions, tales or even the words of others. Only God has the power. We only experience that power through Him and by Him. God puts us in the right place at the right time to succeed. We will never venture alone.

Po didn't have to change who he was....he just had to accept it. God doesn't ask us to change our hearts and our minds because He knows that we can't. Only HE can change our hearts and our minds. All He asks us to do is to be who we were created to be in obedience.

In the end, like Po, we will never be satisfied in life if we aren't who we are created to be. Being a Christian isn't a far fetched notion, reserved for those who don't sin, like organ played hymns and can clap and sing at the same time. Being a Christian is about loving God and falling more in love with the Savior every day.

SKADOOSH! (See the end of the movie for this reference)

Confirmation Lesson 2 - God

2010-01-15T14:00:00.000-05:00

Confirmands,

This video contains:
1. Updated information
2. A Lesson on the existence of God & Knowing God Personally
3. A game about the attributes or characteristics of God (only part of the game is shown)

Missing answers to the notes page:
1. God is separated from sin, perfect in moral purity- HOLY
2. God is always giving Himself for His creation- LOVE
3. God intensely hates and punishes all sin- WRATH
4. God is the sum of all desirable- BEAUTY
6. God's total essence is not seen unless God shows it through visible, created things- SPIRIT
12. God offers goodness to those in misery and distress- MERCY
24. God offers goodness toward those who only deserve punishment- GRACIOUS/GRACE

Be sure to complete the homework, notes, faith story & questionnaire, then leave them in the box under the mailboxes outside the main office at church!

SM Top Ten: Winter Retreat

2010-01-13T09:38:00.000-05:00

The Top 10 Reasons EVERY Senior High Student Should Go on the Winter Retreat....

10. Road Trip. Need I say more? Who doesn't love a good road trip.

9. Team Sports. No one cares how good you are....it's all about the FUN!

8. Zipline. Pamper Pole. Climbing Wall.

7. Senior Picture Photo Shoots.

6. Major Dance Parties & Addictive Songs. Jesus....is my.....super hero....he's my star.....my best friend....

5. You learn awesome things about people you never knew before.

Sleep habits
Cleanliness
Night time personalities
Fears
Who has a potty mouth when they are facing their fears
Just to name a few

4. You meet new people....from our group....from other churches....hot band members....

3. You will laugh until your sides hurt.

2. You get to hang out with some of the coolest adults on earth.

And the number one reason to go on the winter retreat......

1. You get to learn more about our Incredible God!!

Feb. 12th- Feb. 15th, 2010
Scioto Hills Christian Camp (http://www.sciotohills.com/)
Only $50! A huge discount! SM will pay the rest.
Registrations forms & money are due by Jan. 31st!
Pick up a packet for more details!

It takes manure to grow.

2010-01-08T11:10:00.000-05:00

This week in BABES, we were looking at God's truth compared to satan's schemes and we stumbled across the parable in Luke where Jesus is telling us about the various conditions of the heart.

Naturally, it is compared to seeds and soils. What is one - natural- thing that farmers and gardeners use to help make things grow?? Manure!

I know. Gross.

But think about that for a moment. I was recently at a Jesus conference and was having a conversation with an old friend. We were discussing how life had been relatively difficult in the last few months and out of my mouth popped: "Life is full of manure (hard, unpleasant situations & circumstances, but no pun intended)"...but then I paused and thought about it....and went on: "But it's the manure that makes us grow! We need to be rolling in manure in order to keep changing & growing!"

Ok. As gross as this conversation seems, it has critical truths attached to it. Dr. James MacDonald (the speaker for the conference) opened his four part talk by describing our need for a crisis. A crisis that will force us to "come to Him" or "return to the Lord."

God is sovereign. He uses every circumstance for our good as Christians. Even the ones that hurt the most. He is able to turn the most horrible situation into beauty and give it a purpose far greater than our understanding. He takes the crisis situations that are full of manure and uses them to grow us closer to Him!

So...instead of wallowing in the manure or tough times in life....look up. Look to God. Let Him use that for your good. Run to Him. Cling to Him. Never let Him go.

Know that the manure is working together for your good when you are called according to Him purpose (Romans 8:28).

Unless you are in Confirmation....you can ignore!!

2010-01-08T10:45:00.000-05:00

Confirmation Lesson 1: Introduction

Here is a poor quality video....but excellent quality audio of the first Confirmation lesson for those of you who missed. You will find your notes that go along with the lesson in your journal binders!

Enjoy!!

Where are all the space cars??

2010-01-04T08:58:00.000-05:00

As a child, I always hoped that one day our cities would resemble the old Hanna-Barbera cartoon "The Jetsons". We would fly around in really cool cars and have robot maids with personalities.

(Tidbit of Useless Cincinnati Information: King's Island's Nickelodeon zone used to be Hanna-Barbera land!!)

Okay....it's only 2010. But just saying that makes it feel like we need to be living in space!

The Jetson's cartoon was created in 1962 although the cartoon was ingeniously imagined to represent the year 2062! Can you imagine what the world would look like 100 years from now? In the year 2110?

That is just mind boggling!

The truth is, our world is ever changing, whether for the better or worse. Every second of every day. The worldly future is so unknown. The best we can do is look back and see where we've come from.

Moving into 2010, we just finished a decade or a ten year period. Remember the Y2K scare? People thought the world would end because chaos would consume us as all of our computers failed to make the leap into the new millennium?? And then nothing happened. Or what about living pre-9/11? When you could walk your family members to their gates at airports to say good-bye??

How about our hair styles, clothing and age?

We must look back, but we must never live in the past. We must walk forward. In the end, the only thing that is unchanging is God. He will ALWAYS be perfectly Holy, Wise, Loving, etc. When all else fades, the promises He makes will stand firm until the end....of this world and even on into eternity.

So, as the tiny details of life change, don't sweat them. Remember, that in Christ, we focus not on the world around us, but we "fix our eyes on, the author and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2). We live knowing our future is secure and walk toward that security- Jesus Christ!

So...start 2010 right. Let's put our faith in our unchanging God and allow worldly change to move us toward Him. As our world is ever changing, we can use that change to glorify Him!

Our Beloved Ann......

2009-12-08T08:50:00.000-05:00

I'm sad to report that Ann Ross, who is one of our three incredible office ladies fell and broke her arm yesterday while getting the mail here at Church. On the bright side, there is only one break and they say no surgery is needed.

If everyone could be in prayer for her, that would be wonderful!

If you don't know Ann....I suggest you get to know her. She is pretty fantastic. She claims she has a partial halo and a partial horn because she loves to laugh and joke around!

In honor of her and her silliness, below is a video she recorded just for our students. Enjoy!

the Best answer yet.

2009-12-02T10:10:00.000-05:00

Recently, Doug Fields (pretty much known as the "Mac-Daddy" of youth ministry...he was YP at Saddleback) did an interview with Derwin Gray. Derwin is probably best known in the Christian community as the "Evangelism Linebacker" (www.theevangelismlinebacker.com).

In the interview, Doug asked Derwin a critical question, he asked this: "What do you think is the primary, dying need in youth ministry today?" And Derwin gave the best answer yet.

"It's for students to follow a path that has been blazed by men and women who are passionately enthralled with Jesus Christ- that they'd be absolutely wrecked and undone by His grace so much that He shapes them into the people that they were created to be. Our students are not hungering for perfection, they're hungering for an authentic engagement with Jesus Christ that is bigger than just "you go to heaven when you die." They want to engage a Jesus who transforms them to live a life of significance, a life of service, a life of sacrifice. "

What Derwin shared is the gospel message. When we truly encounter Jesus Christ, the Son of God, we do not leave the same.

And how does Derwin propose we do this as a youth ministry?

"It's all about head, heart and hands. We want our heads filled with rich, Christ-exalting theology. We want our hearts overflowing with the love of Christ. And we want our hands serving our broken world. We want to participate with God in His redemption of creation."

Know Christ. And then become transformed to His likeness.

The Best Answer yet.

Life Doesn't Always Go How You Plan....

2009-12-01T09:44:00.000-05:00

Proverbs 16:9 says this: "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps".

It happens all the time. We have these incredible, extravagant ideas.
We plan situations to the "T".
We even have entire conversations with others in our heads before we actually go and talk with them to plan what we will say and how we'll respond....well....maybe that's just me.

Needless to say, as human beings, we like control and we don't care much for surprises.

However, life if full of unavoidable surprises.

The beauty of these unavoidable surprises?

For a Christian, we can rest assured that every single surprise, whether good or bad, has the hand of God working in ways we can't see or imagine for our good because we are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

So...instead of worrying or getting frustrated....we can look at every situation with a deep resounding joy, knowing that our Awesome God loves us and is at work!

So, in close, life just doesn't always go how we plan. How will you respond?

Gratitude....its not a fad.

2009-11-24T09:34:00.000-05:00

We took a poll among our Sr. High students and adult volunteers:
If your house were suddenly on fire and you could only grab one item, what would it be?

Here were some answers:
A laptop
Harry Potter Books
Crayons
Monster Energy Drinks
An external hard drive
Ipod
Tennis Racket
Xbox 360
Phones
Photos
Animals
Blanket
As much as possible....(someone cheated)
A cheerleading uniform
Children

Thankfully, we haven't faced such a dilemma. However, what we answered does speak volumes.

The point of the poll was to get us thinking. What are some things that we cherish and how do we treat those things? What about the other "things" in our lives? Even beyond material possessions?

As Thanksgiving fast approaches and we begin to hustle and bustle to get our food bought and to plan the time around the football games and family, I want everyone to take at least one moment to stop and reflect.

Are we really grateful for the many blessings that God has lavished upon us?

If God were to ask us to give them up....would we? Could we?

I really believe that the first step in changing the world. The first step in not becoming another statistic. The first step in living a life glorifying to Christ in all that we do... is to begin by being grateful for and content with what we do have.

Let's be honest. We as a student ministries are all blessed beyond belief. I personally cannot get through an entire quite time with the Lord without crying out in thanksgiving for His many blessings in my life. Good or bad. Hard or easy. All are blessings that draw me closer to Him.

In fact, we took another little poll to prove the point of how blessed we are. We made a list of about 10 items typically owned by suburban kids and asked how many in the room owned those items. Then we added up the total that they cost and put it into perspective.

For example, the total cost that our Sr. High youth group came up with for the 10 items was about $17,057.

Perspective?

Through the mission organization, Advent Conspiracy, that amount could drill 1,706 wells of clean water saving 1,706 lives of children around the world.

Mind boggling!

Did you know that statistics say that the cost to solve the water problem of the world would only cost $10 billion. How does that compare to the $450 billion Americans spend every Christmas....or the money we pay entertainers- sports stars, actors, musicians, etc.

Through the mission organization, Compassion International, the money could sponsor 38 children for a year...that's giving them food, clean water, medical care, life skill training and a chance to hear the gospel message.

Again. Mind boggling. These statistics aren't meant to make us feel guilty. They are meant to get us thinking outside of ourselves.

Is it bad to have "things"?

NO! Not at all! We should rejoice that we are so blessed to have things. But what we need to remember is that God is far less interested in what we have than in who we are. God cares about our hearts above all else! Remember the story of the poor widow who gave more out of poverty than the rich man who gave out of wealth?

Or the story of the Rich young ruler in Luke 18. He becomes sad when Jesus tells him to sell all his possessions and give to the poor. Why was he sad? Because He had great wealth. The more we have, the harder it can be to let go of those things or share those things.

Jesus' point is clear. Those things won't save us- they will all fade away. But what we do for the least of these, what we do for others is what will last.

So, this Thanksgiving, let us rejoice and be content with the things that we do have.

Let us be grateful for the many blessings that God has lavished upon us- especially for His Son, His sacrifice, His love and the hope that we have.

Let us hold our "things" out to God with open hands and ask Him to use them to bless others.

In close, let us not forget that in our city (Cincinnati), 1 in 3 children live in poverty.

So, even if life is tough and things just aren't going our way, let us be grateful that we have food, shelter, clothing, support, opportunity, family and most of all, the freedom to worship our God and love others.

God guides even when we fly by the seat of our pants!

2009-11-19T09:08:00.000-05:00

A cool "God-Moment" has recently occurred.

First and foremost, I want to announce that we packed 55 shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan's Purse which exists to offer international relief last week at youth group!! Awesome. That is 55 children between the ages of 2-14 who will receive a gift of love and an opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ.

If that isn't awesome in itself, our God story takes us back beyond what we did last week. You see, a congregant of our church has a passion for underprivileged children. Trust me! I've seen it in action. So...a few years back (from what I understand) she began collecting items to for the shoe box ministry.

Fast forward a few years. Sadly, she suffered an incredible loss last year and being a family friend, my mother went to help her through the rough time. One of my mother's tasks was to help her sort through her house so she could eventually sell it. That is when they stumbled across the collection. Without thinking (which I'm glad she did) my mom said "I'll bet Meredith and the youth group would pack those boxes for you!"

Fast forward a few months later (last spring), my mother and I hauled all of the boxes and gear to 7 Gables to be stashed until Christmas season. I figured I would work it into a youth group sometime in December.

And so it sat. Here is the coolest part of the story. I had made a big plan to discuss "dating" in accordance with the curriculum calendar we had been following last youth group. Out of nowhere, I just knew it needed to be something. In "God-moment" after "God-moment", we decided to participate in the Advent workshop and in doing so something triggered within me to include the shoe boxes.

Seems normal....right?

Not at all. We packed those shoe boxes, totally flying by the seat of our pants because we are in a crunch to accomplish a lot as 2009 draws to a close....only to find out that there is just one week that you can pack the boxes and turn them. Can anyone guess what week that is?

That's right! November 16-23rd 2009!!

God knew in our rush that we wouldn't look beyond the old information we had....and had us pack those boxes right in time!

No lie. I got on my computer on Monday 11/16 to see where to drop them off and flashing before my eyes were the dates!

Needless to say, a pretty cool God story.

So, in close, I'm going to quote a former co-worker, disciplee (one who is being discipled) and friend:
"Sometimes our plan B is God' s plan A."

ATTENTION....

2009-11-17T08:55:00.000-05:00

Did I get your attention?

We have a predicament or two.

1. If anyone lost money at youth group on Sunday night....we have it! Come see Meredith or Wendy.

2. Our new church camera has gone missing. It is a blue-gray colored Canon Powershot SD1200 IS. It was last seen November 8th in the Blue room of 7 Gables right before our guys event. If you remember seeing it, set it somewhere or accidentally picked it up, please let us know.

3. Lastly, I wanted to officially announce with a warm welcome that we have a new SM mascot. Old Testament Mickey has come to dwell among us, bring us joy and teach us about our Jewish ancestry....okay, maybe Mrs. Krynock is going to cover the Jewish ancestry, but he is still wicked cool.

And to end, I leave you with this:

"Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; Your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast You save, O Lord. How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we do we see light. " Psalm 36:5-9

(Name that Third Day song....)

"The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is." C. S. Lewis.

2009-11-16T09:53:00.000-05:00

"I will fill your future". Those were the words preached this past Sunday.

God will fill our future....if we let Him.

The worldly future we walk into daily is a scary thing to process. We have absolutely no clue what it holds for us, its not guaranteed to us and Christians find themselves devastated by living for whatever is next as opposed to being content in the moment.

When our focus is on the world at hand, and not the God above, it can be easy to sweat the small stuff.

Don't get me wrong, we have to walk the journey moment by moment. And this journey is filled with choices that will impact our future. But what would happen if we would lay our journey down before the King and let Him guide our steps? What if we were to stop sweating the small stuff because we trusted that God would work it out....exactly as He intends?

What if we were to let go and let God?

The reality of the situation is that God has already told us our future. Maybe not the details of every second, but the end has already been written.

The end?
1. No one is guaranteed tomorrow, our time is limited here.
2. There will be a final judgment where every human being ever to exist will stand before God.
3. Ultimately, we will end up in one of two places when we pass from the earth- heaven or hell.
4. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, will be fully glorified and every human being will finally see the Truth, knowing He is the Christ.

Just to name a few....

Here is the catch. God made the future clear because it matters.

The most important decision we will ever make about our future is whether or not we believe in Jesus Christ and will live for Him.

When we live for Christ, our journey is a faith journey. Walking forward as we Trust in God. Allowing God to will and work. Use us for His glory.

The question ceases to be: where am I going, but where is God leading.

Advent is almost here....but Christmas Music has been playing for months....

2009-11-11T13:51:00.000-05:00

I want to thank Bob Stevens for sending this video for us to share! As advent is fast approaching and we have been bombarded by Christmas music from before Halloween.

Awesome. Too true. Watch & enjoy!

Merry Jesus was Born!!....in 44 days....

Don't forget to be Thankful, grateful and joy filled for the many blessings God has lavished upon us first (in 15 days)!

A power greater than the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.....

2009-11-09T09:20:00.000-05:00

Yesterday in Sunday School we ventured deeper into the conversation Dr. Kent first started in his sermon "I will raise you from the dead" which was based upon the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11:1-44.

Just as there are two types of death:
1. A physical death....there is 100% chance that we are all going to die one day....
2. A spiritual death....after the fall, we were born into sin- Romans 6:23, Romans 3:23- dead in our transgressions

There is the reality, but what is the catch?

There are also two types of resurrection from the dead. Both in which Jesus participated!
1. Jesus performed the miracle of raising Lazarus to life, in the same way, God raised Jesus to life!
2. Spiritually- we are raised to life with Christ- when we believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and was raised to life, we inherit eternal life as well. We participate in that resurrection because He will raise us to life.

Here is our problem.

We frequently live as though we are still dead. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the first thing He told others was to take his grave clothes off. What does that mean?
1. You leave your grave or death clothes behind.
2. It requires community to do so!

Think about that for a moment.

Are we constantly unsatisfied, discontent and desperately desiring "what's next" instead of what we currently have?
Are we appreciative of the many blessings that God has lavished upon us?
Would we be satisfied if the only gift we received from now until we leave this earth was the atonement for our sins?

What we need to remember is that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the power that we have in us. We have full access to that power! Are we living a half life, are we wallowing in our own self pity?

A great quote from Louie Giglio: "We're debating about whether to have carpet in the emergency room, while there are people bleeding to death all around us."

We become so focused on ourselves and our current circumstances that we fail to offer life to others. We hold the key to life and yet we so easily get distracted.

In sum,

What are you doing with your raised life? What are you living for? Are you experiencing that power?

or

Do you need to be raised from the dead?

Loveland's increasing pride!

2009-11-05T09:53:00.000-05:00

Cara G. is now a member of National Honor Society through Loveland High School and Ben G.'s freshman football team are the Champions of the FAVC conference this season.

Congrats!!

Discipline anyone?

2009-10-27T15:15:00.000-04:00

I challenge you to take a moment and think about what you just watched. Yes, that kid is incredible. I'm sure there are some who are thinking....who would let their child do such a thing?

But I want us to think in a different direction. Think about the time, dedication, consistency and discipline it took for that little boy to get to where he is today. Yes, his feat is pretty amazing, a task very few of us could ever have reached even if we started at the age of 2 like him.

On the one hand, what if our spiritual journey looked something like little Giuliano's workout routine? What if we approached the WORD and prayer like he approached push ups, pull ups and hand stands? Could you imagine the vibrant relationship we would be cultivating with the Lord?

Going further, what if we had the same joy approaching God that we see in the face of Giuliano when he flexes or accomplishes such incredible feats?

Think about it. Discipline. Seeking the Lord. Fervently. Passionately. Joyfully.

SPC SM Dungeon.....

2009-10-26T13:13:00.000-04:00

Harvest Fest 2009 = good food, good fun & incredible pumpkin carving talent. The picture above says it all!

We lassoed pumpkins, gutted & carved them.
We made human scarecrows out of Sam & Eric.
We had a costume contest.
7 Gables was decked to the Ritz serving as a creepy old house (fits it well) and the Student Ministries dungeon where some entered and never returned!!

Congrats to our costume contest winners:
Carley B. with Twister
James R. as Phantom character with a wicked sweet mask
Sarah K. as a fairy
Madi as Sponge Bob

All costumes were awesome. Pictures will soon be posted.

Lastly, if you didn't get a chance to see 7 Gables decked out, we suggest you do so before it gets torn down and put away. The pictures might not do it justice!

And the count down begins.....

2009-10-21T10:06:00.000-04:00

Harvest Fest.....just four days away! Do you have your costume yet??
This years Harvest Fest is this Sunday, October 25th from 5-8 at 7 Gables.

There will be dinner, a costume contest with awesome prizes, games, pumpkin carving....be excited!

The catch you say? The only catch is that costumes are mandatory for all participants!

Before you think..."boy, costumes are lame" or "I'm don't want to be the only one dressed up"....guess what...you won't be!

For those who choose to show up without costumes we have a small surprise. And no, showing up as someone in the youth group or an adult leader does not count as dressing up.

Because choosing a costume is a such a fine art and delicate process, I've decided to dedicate an entire blog post on how to choose a costume, rules & ideas.

Costumes just make things fun. Think about it. It's an opportunity to let the little girl or boy inside us all come out and be something we can't be the rest of the year!

The only rules? It must be Church-appropriate.
No excessive gore, sexual innuendos, drinking/drug references or putting others down.

So how does one go about finding a costume?
1. Assess your resources
A) Can you afford to buy a costume?
B) Do you already have parts/materials at home that you could use?

2. Brainstorm practical ideas

We are not expecting people to go out and buy a costume. If you do, that's awesome! If you don't....that's awesome as well! We want this to be fun and allow you to utilize your creativity.

Easiest way to choose a costume?
1. Go down your basement or in your closet and recycle one from the past. (Whether it fits or not!!)
2. Ask a friend if they have any you could borrow.
3. Look at the random things you do have and see if you can come up with a cheap and easy costume.
4. Go to the store, find the cheapest one and purchase it.
5. Convince your parents that you have to be something wicked sweet and see if you can get them to buy you one!

Remember, you don't have to find a costume just for yourself. You can get a group of friends together and come up with a group costume.

A link for homemade costume ideas:
http://familycrafts.about.com/cs/halloweentheme/a/091399.htm

Random ideas:
Bible character
Sport star/figure
Famous person
Comic book character
Movie character
Cartoon character
Political leader
Disney character
Random objects
Occupations- Doctor, Nurse, lawyer, etc.
A play on words
A recent situation

Hopefully that will get you started! BE CREATIVE AND HAVE FUN WITH IT!

Just a few known updates.....

2009-10-19T09:04:00.000-04:00

As fall activities draw to an end and winter activities begin to take flight, here are just a few student updates that have been flowing through our ministry!

Hunter Doebereiner just finished the play Aladdin this past weekend....where he starred as Aladdin!!

Allison Shaw recently took 4th place in her tennis tourney!

David Gill was crowned Sophomore Homecoming King at Mason!

Erin McLean had a sweat goal in her soccer game on Sr. Night! Laura McLean had the assist for her sister's goal and almost had two goals herself in the same game! They won the game with a shut out.

Madi Trulock took 2nd place in her tennis tourney!

Uncertain of specific details, rumors are flying that Cara Genbauffe has been leading the Loveland Varsity tennis team to some sweet victories!

Congratulations and a job well done!

(If you hear of any other updates on students, please let us know.)

Leopards & Cucumbers.

2009-10-13T09:09:00.000-04:00

Bible Trivia is probably a favorite for adult leaders. We don't just learn new things as we challenge students with questions, but we also get to witness the creative responses students come up with when critically thinking!

Here are two of our favorite answers from last weeks Ocean Journey Bible Trivia.

Sr. High:
Mr. Mark Bennett: What kind of people did Jesus hang out with that the Religious leaders didn't like?
Students: A Pause to think.
Student 1: Ohh.....Leopards!
Student 2: Did you mean lepers?
Everyone: Hysterical laughter.

Jr. High:
Mr. Mark Bennett: Who wanted to kill David?
Student 1: Oh wait. I know this....but I only know the Veggie Tales version.
Student 2: (Looking at Mark to answer) Was it the Cucumber?
Everyone: Hysterical laughter.

We LOVE the creativity! Thanks for a laugh. I hope you enjoy!

Report: Nearly 1 in 4 People Worldwide Is Muslim - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com

2009-10-08T08:51:00.001-04:00

Report: Nearly 1 in 4 People Worldwide Is Muslim - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com

Posted using ShareThis

Reading the news this morning, I stumbled across this very large headlining news report. Send me some thoughts and comments.

Students Sockin it to the Devil in School!

2009-10-07T09:30:00.000-04:00

Greetings! I am excited that today's post is dedicated to the work that various students have been doing in school. For example, Sarah K., just informed me that she did an entire project on Esther when asked to report on women in history. AWESOME!

Below is a homework assignment that Caitlyn posted. I wanted to share it with you 1) so that all would be encouraged and 2) to see if we can spark any further conversation on the topic!

The assignment: Respond to the statement- Is religion the basis of morality?

This was the topic we had to respond to for Contemporary Social Issues. We had to post our response on a discussion board our teacher made.

This is my response:
"I believe that religion is the basis of morality. I know especially in the Christian faith, you are taught what to do and what not do from the 10 Commandments. This is what I believe to be the beginning of right and wrong. Most of the the laws we have today involve the 10 Commandments: you shall not murder, you shall not steal, etc. If you look at the Bible, you can definitely see where a lot of the laws came from. After all, our country was founded by Christians: GOD is named in the Pledge of Allegiance, inferred in the Constitution, and named in the Declaration of Independence. They were creating a secular nation but you can't hide the fact that the founding fathers of our country were Christian and most of our country is Christian.

I don't believe that atheists or people who are non-religious aren't good and don't make good choices. I also think that people who believe that GOD or another being is watching over them feel more inclined to do the right thing. Even when people do believe in a god, they don't necessarily do the right thing. What I see is a lot of people get wrapped up in the world and still make poor decisions. But it doesn't mean GOD doesn't play a role and cause us to have some accountability - plus it encourages us to do HIS work here which would mean we are more inclined to please HIM rather than do something wrong. It's like when little kids are told not to do something, they will try and get away with it while you're not looking but if you are looking, they won't do it."

~ Caitlyn

Thoughts? Comments? Reply below or drop me (meredith) a email or facebook message & I'll post it!

Now the moment you've been waiting for....

2009-10-05T09:37:00.000-04:00

The bloopers.

WARNING: These clips are not staged, they are real occurrences. Dangerous events can happen when making Youth Group videos. Please. Do not try these at home. Or ever.

A Little Fun For Everyone!!

2009-10-05T08:48:00.000-04:00

I thought it would be fun to share the Mission video from last night with everyone!!

Remember, there are tons of mission opportunities coming up....including some in your own backyard!

Russian Dinner- 10/8 6:15pm $5- come hear about the impact our Church is having in Vologda, Russia.

10/18 Youth Group Service Project!! Details to come!!

Need community service?? SPC needs help entering the books into the computer system in the library!

WINK. Be a mentor to our children's ministry. You don't have to be able to wink to help with WINK!

Be in prayer for those who have gone before us! Avery in South Africa & Allison leaving for India.

IT'S OCTOBER...YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!!

2009-10-01T08:53:00.001-04:00

HARVEST FEST!!

That's right.

Sunday October 25th is our Annual SPCSM Harvest Fest.

Times to be announced.....

It will rock. We are stoked. You need to come & brings friends.

We are beginning our advertising now because it's that awesome.

All you have to do is find a creative, fun, scary costume & wear it to our party. The rest we are taking care of!

Think games, pumpkin carvin, old school movies, dinner, costume contest.....oh the possibilities!

Here is Garfield's Halloween Adventure Part 1 to get you pumped!!

P.S. Other Awesome Opportunities for fun & fellowship this month:

10-4 (this Sunday) Youth Group has a mission focus- wear mission gear if you've ever been on a mission trip!

10-7 WALK/BABES kick off in 7 Gables at 7:30. For all High School students!

10-8. 6:15. $5. Dinner & meet our Russian friends whom our church supports!

10-11 will be at 7 Gables....oh...it's gonna be a party!

10-18 we are hoping to do a service project- more details to come!

Be excited!!

More Prayer Requests

2009-09-29T09:15:00.000-04:00

Hey Friends!

We have a few more prayer requests this week.

The first is Molly Herre - she graduated last year and now attends Miami University. She has contracted H1N1 (swine flu). From what we gather, she is just tackling it like any other flu, but we haven't received a recent update. If anyone can offer an update, that would be wonderful! Be sure not only to pray for healing, but also for school. Being a freshman and being sick is never fun, nor is it easy. Hopefully, she will take the time to get better and not worry about the stresses of classes, etc.

The second prayer request is for a friend of a number of the staff. I have been friends with her daughter since High School and Jack Taylor (Operations Director at SPC) is very close with her husband. Diane Whalen had a seizure a couple of weekends ago and was rushed to the hospital to find out she had a mass on her brain and needed immediate surgery. She came out of surgery like a champ....in fact the family reports she was out shopping the very next day after being released! If you could be in prayer for the family and Diane as she continues to recover and deal with her illness that would be wonderful! If you want to keep up with her recovery, you can check out her blog at: http://dianesdailydish.wordpress.com.

I think that is all for now. Remember, if anyone has any prayer requests send them to Meredith (mreuscher@sycamorechurch.org) or Wendy (wgrethel@sycamorechurch.org) or just let us know. We will be sure to post them on here and pray!

Sunday School Follow Up!

2009-09-29T09:07:00.001-04:00

In Sr. High Sunday School this week, we discussed Jesus being the Truth, diving a little deeper into Rev. Kent's sermon.

In our lesson we mentioned four means by which people are often led astray. These are four main groups by which we must be careful of as Christians- lies/half truths/faulty theology, people- especially those who are popular or influential, groups- like the emergent church or cults and finally, the evil one.

During our discussion on influential people I read some statistics and beliefs of Oprah. Again, in no way do we demonize or grow hate towards people & churches who lead others astray. Instead, we pray for them and ask that God will not only reveal the truth to them, but that He would have mercy upon them. The wrath of God is far worse than any wrath of man. Besides, we are never called to hate people as Christians, we are called to love them.

Caitlyn mentioned in class that her mom had sent her a YouTube video about it. So I decided I would post it here for the curious! Ignore all the unnecessary propaganda, but do listen to what Oprah says. A lot of it "sounds good" or "fits with what we want to believe" or "feels good", but is it truth? NO!

See if you can pick out the lies that she is believing and then see if you can replace them with God's truth.

Remember, we are all susceptible to believing half truths and lies. I'll bet all of us have. Unfortunately for Oprah, she is famous, so her mistakes are broadcast everywhere and millions are impacted by them.

A prayer request.

2009-09-25T17:06:00.000-04:00

Hey Friends!

We have a new prayer request. Cara Genbauffe's grandma passed away. The funeral will be Monday.

So, if you see her or Alex around, be sure to offer your condolences and keep them in your prayers as they deal with their loss.

Indescribable.

2009-09-22T09:16:00.000-04:00

Music is just one outward expression of worship. One praise song that I've always found humbling is Chris Tomlin's "Indescribable". Take a moment to enjoy the video below!

Here are the lyrics to ponder:

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God

Aside from the humbling reality of all that God created which is so far beyond us, is the critical truth that Chris throws in at the end. He says this: You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same.

Only a God who is inherently love, could look upon a sinner- one who consistently commits crimes against Him- and would violently sacrifice a piece of Himself to reconcile us. To draw us back to Him!

Think about that for a moment.

Let's put it into terms we might be able to grasp.

Say you have a dog. His name is fluffy. He's cute and cuddly, you chose him yourself. He was perfect, just what you had always wanted. But then you get fluffy home and he bites you. From then out, every day, bites you drawing blood. What would you do?

Many of us would find fluffy a new home. Some of us would leave our gates open at night & secretly desire fluffy to discover the discrepancy and take full advantage of it. Some would pass him off on others. And still others might turn to more violent forms of punishment to try and stop the behavior.

But for the sake of this story, you don't. You continue to feed fluffy, spend money on fluffy, take care of fluffy. And yet...fluffy continues to bite you, drawing blood. Just a vicious, mean little thing.

One day you are out walking fluffy. You're wandering down the road when out of nowhere a squirrel catches fluffy's attention and he bolts out into traffic. It's inevitable- a car is coming fast.

Do you jump out in front of the car, sacrificing yourself and save fluffy? Or do you act in self-preservation, understanding that it was inevitable...an accident....and besides the stupid little thing kept biting you so it's not like you were on good terms.

Of course, this is a mere analogy. God being the creator, the owner, He jumped in front of the oncoming car without question. He took the hit for us. Even though we didn't deserve it.

An incredible God. Indescribable.