Eclipse

your part in peace

This week we looked at Romans 12:18 which says “as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”  This is an amazing command (and it is a command) which says that we must do our part in relationships to make peace regardless of what others do.  God is our model of someone who does everything to make peace with us even when we weren’t trying to be at peace with him.  The Gospel sets a pattern for us and shows us that we must do our part no matter what the other person does, but man is that tough!  How do you feel about having to keep peace, even if the other person doesn’t care or worse is trying to destroy peace? 

are you a “what can I get” or a “what can I give” kind of person?

As we continue to talk about what should be different about Christians, we looked at the idea of being a servant. Our world tells us to look out for ourselves and make sure our own needs are met, but Jesus tells us to serve. Not only does he tell us to serve, he gives us an example to follow. Mark 10 tells us that Jesus came not to be served but to serve, and the biggest way he served us was by dying for us. That is what it means for him to be our "ransom". He put our need for forgiveness about his own needs, and he calls us to show that same type of love to others.

So here’s the deal - if you are going to let Jesus change your life, then you are going to have to serve people. Put them ahead of yourself and ask, "what can I give you?" rather than "what can I get from you?" Don’t use people to advance your own social standing, love them and be like Jesus to them. If you do, then people will see the difference – try it.

conflict is an opportunity??

I am not sure how your conversation was on Sunday, but we were trying to convince you that God sees conflict in your relationships as opportunities for growth. Did that make sense to you? If not, what was confusing? If it did make sense, how do you think God can use conflict in your life to help you grow? We want to hear from you.

a contest for the artsy

This week’s contest is an art contest. I am planning on having several 4x4 boxes built for the back wall that look like miniature versions of the black signs we have on stage. I thought it would be cool if they were decorated with murals or verses or something that went along with the "eclipse" theme. They would serve as decorations and sound boards while they creatively remind us of our goal that Jesus would be the biggest thing in our lives. So the contest is for you to draw up something and bring it to me on Sunday. You just need to give me a draft on a regular piece of paper. Of course there will be a prize for those who enter and if your design is selected, we will blow it up and put it on one of these boxes that would hang in the youth room. I think we will make six boxes so there is room for several ideas. Get crazy!