God's Kingdom

Hello all!!! Well, the last two weeks of sermons have been quite profound! Two weeks ago we talked extensively about how part of building God's Kingdom (rather than our own) involves learning to be content in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. We also talked about working on the way we pray!! This, I think, is huge!!! Our prayers should reflect our desire for God's Kingdom as opposed to our desire for ours!

This week, we focused on the amazing gift that Christ gave us in his death. The fact that Christ 'gave' up His spirit of His own free will was something we discussed at length. For me, it changes the way I see His death! I mentioned that I have read these verses for who knows how many Easter Seasons... but I have never seen it in quite this light before. The Romans did not kill Him... He died for US!!!!! That is truly an amazing truth and it should inform every aspect of our lives!! That is how we go about building God's Kingdom instead of our own! Remember to think about those practical ways that we can give our lives over to God that we talked about!!

Building God's Kingdom

Thanks again for all your hard work. It really is appreciated! We spent the first 30 minutes picking up stick piles from where the walnut trees were taken down. But what has this got to do with our lesson for tonight? A lot.
We looked at what things we have placed in our kingdoms from cell phones and friends to cars and shopping. We spend a lot of time and effort in an attempt to create a kingdom here on Earth. Our Kingdom. But what is in God's Kingdom? Why is it so vastly different from ours? And more importantly, how do we get from the effort and desire for our kingdom to striving toward God's Kingdom?
God does not give us our gifts and desires without a purpose. Each one of us has a special set of gifts that can be used to build God's Kingdom. Tonight we used our gifts of fellowship and desire for hanging out with our friends to better our church...part of God's Kingdom. Even though it was hard work, we didn't spend a lot of time doing it and we had a good time just working together. We also got some great satisfaction in accomplishing a big task. How many other ways can you find to serve God in ways that allow you to use your talents and gifts? What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? How can this be used to build God's Kingdom? Think on these things this week and we will talk a little more about this next Wednesday. Thanks again for a great job!

Supernanny to the rescue!

This Wednesday we talked about how Supernanny stepped into the lives of families and "solved their behavior problems". We talked about how when we respond with "in a minute" to a parent's request, it is an act of rebellion. This is sin. No way to sugar-coat it. It is sin.

Further, in 1 Corinthians 10, we read that whether we are eating or drinking or whatever we are doing, we are to do it in a manner that brings glory to God. When we do our chores in a sloppy manner, this does not bring God glory. When dad asks you to clean your room and you shove your clothes on the floor of the closet, this is rebellion...sin.

Lastly, we talked about how we are to do these things cheerfully. Phillipians 2:14 reads that we are to do everything without complaining or arguing. Rolling the eyes, the exasperated grunt, clenching fists...these are all disobedience, acts of rebellion...sin.

It is not easy to be obedient. If it were, God would not have had to tell us so many times to be obedient in the Bible. He also would not have told us to be obedient, if it were impossible to accomplish. Sometimes just being aware of how we behave and calling ourselves out on the bad behavior can help us change. Pray for guidance and a willing heart this week as I will be praying the same for you (and me, too!) God will help you. Have a fantastic week!

O-B-E-D-IENCE!!!

Well... as you all know, this week we talked about the ever popular subject of obedience. Our game of Yahtzee illustrated the need for rules in that we saw what happens when everyone simply does whatever they want. CHAOS ENSUES!!!! Our life is no different! God has given us parents as 'caretakers' and He expects us to learn how to submit to authority by learning how to obey them. It might sound simple... but in all reality, it isn't!! The most important thing to remember, though, is that your obedience to your parents speaks volumes about your relationship with God. Take some time to evaluate that this week. I have also challenged you all to try to honor your parents this week. What will you do to show your parents respect??? Post your comments here!!!!

Don't be a brownie that's fallen on the floor...

We had a great turnout tonight! We discussed clothing tonight. We talked about what we should and should not be wearing as young women (and men) of God. We talked about why our schools have dress codes. Then we looked at a couple of store ads and really looked at what they were selling. By dressing inappropriately, we give the wrong message to the opposite sex. Instead of getting love and appreciation, we are pushed toward what the clothes are advertising and end up in premarital sex. This is totally against God's plan for you. We brought in brownies tonight. If we passed your brownie around the room and everyone touched it, would you want it for yourself? Save sex for marriage. Remember the blue tape on the floor? You don't want to cross it. Crossing over the tape is crossing over into premarital sex. How close to the tape do you want to be? The closer you are to the tape, the easier it is to tumble across. A lot to think about. Have a great week and see you on Sunday!

Husbands, Love your Wives
Since we already covered what to look for in a guy and why your future mate needs to be carefully selected by comparing their qualities to God's, this week we talked more about what we really, really want.
First, we played a game called Hot Seat, where each person was asked "what's your favorite...." for 2 minutes. Each girl had a turn sitting in the hot seat. The person who answered the most questions, Claire, won a teen guide to relationships book.
Then we took a quiz to see how much of our day is focused on guys, and how this can be potentially dangerous. After that, we talked about how our media portrays how girls should act and if there is pressure to act like this at school. Surprisingly, most of the girls said that they receive more respect if they are virtuous. (AWESOME!) We talked about what single girls really, really want from a sexual relationship: affirmation, security, love. And do they ever get it: NO. Finally we discussed how we can receive affirmation, security, and love from God. Because our future husbands are human and will not be able to give us the amount we require, no matter how well intentioned they are.
Have a great week ladies!
I Love all of ya
-Virginia