What is the Gospel?

Hey does everybody know that the youth group at Grace has a blog! Well we do and I would love to welcome you to it. This is where Tara and I want to inform the other members of the congregation what the youth group is up to. Each monday or tuesday Tara or I will write a little bit about what we did the previous sunday meeting focusing on the bible study time.

In many ancient Greek and Roman cities the Acropolis towers above the rest of the surrounding city. On top of the Acropolis stands an elegant pagan temple putting the polytheistic religion at the center of all of Greek and Roman society. But the Acropolis was also a stronghold of safety for the residents of the city during times of war or distress. Last week (Oct. 16th) we watched a sermon Paul Washer preached titled "Recovering the True Gospel" (here). Paul Washer looked at Romans 3:21-31 saying that some prominent theologians call this passage of scripture the Acropolis of the Christian faith, the stronghold in which we should run to take refuge. Paul Washer said that this is the most important passage of scripture in the bible which is saying a lot considering the gold on the book is gold.

Then this past sunday (Oct. 23rd) we opened by watching this video of Kirk Cameron from the Way of Master witnessing to some men on the street. And then we springboarded off of the question "What is the Gospel?" and then had an awesome discussion about the most central message of our faith. A message all about how God redeemed his creation by sending his one and only son Jesus Christ offering him as an sacrifice of atonement to satisfy his own justice that had to be served. And because of the resurrection we can recieve the gift of eternal life by trusting in Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. This is a gift recieved not by our own works but by the grace of God through faith.

-MPN

Love Jesus

Fall in love. Surrounding us constantly are many ‘love stories’. Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Boy marries girl. That’s how it always goes, right? Is that how God wants it to go? Dating? What’s that about? Everyone is always looking for more and that more is usually love. Not necessarily romance, but all of us desire to be in love with a friend, family, boyfriend, or girlfriend. Jesus is yearning for us to fall in love with Him. In my life, there are times that I feel alone. Not enough friends. Not enough family. Not enough… Just not enough. When I feel this way I try to make the most of my situation, but when it continues I begin to lose hope and become sad that I am alone. James 1:2 tells us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that testing of your faith develops perseverance.” University of Mary’s President Father Shea told me once in a speech, “It is when we are alone that we find Jesus Christ.” The physical abuse that Jesus faced when he was crucified was only half of the pain he experienced. He was abandoned by everyone he had ever loved; all of his friends left him and denied ever being associated with him. Can you imagine that, ALL of your friends betraying you? His emotional sorrow and agony far surpassed his physical pain. It has been a desire in my life for a long time to know Jesus more. I pray that I may fully comprehend what he did for me, that I may understand the extent of the pain he experienced for me. The next moment I am lamenting because I am lonely. However, it is when we are lonely that we experience Jesus’ pain. It is in our loneliness that we can celebrate and use that time to grow closer to Jesus because he knows how we feel and we know a little bit more of how he felt when he DIED FOR US. It is my goal in my own life and my challenge to all of you, especially as you get older; stop searching for love. It is right in front of you. Jesus wants you to search for Him, He is desperate for you to fall madly and passionately and forever in Love with him. Make Jesus all you want. Make him everything you need. Jesus is the beginning and the end. Psalm 23:1 says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Strive to want NOTHING, but Jesus Christ. The next time you are alone, be grateful because it is in that loneliness that Jesus Christ comes alive.
-by Tara Ness

God’s Plans for me!

The following is from Miranda Nickolauson's blog (http://bit.ly/hTAux9)

If you are anything like I am, you stress out and worry about a lot of things. It is probably one of my biggest flaws, I guess you could say? Well, anyway I worry about so many things that I don’t really need to worry about. Sometimes it is bad, but I’m not the type of person to show my worry. I like to act like I don’t care about stuff, but deep down inside I am really concerned about. One of my worst worries is my future. I get afraid because I don’t know what I want to be or what I will be like when I’m older, and it really causes me to worry a lot. As a Christian I know there is no reason to worry about anything because I know God will always watch out for me, but you know, no one is perfect, we all struggle with different things God tells us not to do, it is all just a part of life.

In Jeremiah 29:11 it says “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” I don’t know about you, but when I hear or read these words I just feel a peace fill me up. It’s like all those fears and concerns about growing up and my future just go away, and that make me so happy. Just think about it, God knows everything about you, for goodness sake He created you, and because of that, He tells not to worry because He has got everything completely under control. I don’t know to how many times a day I need that reminder.           

Personally, to not worry so much, I am going to just live my life for God, and trust Him with everything. Because without Him we have no hope for a future, and honestly I hope my future is great. Part of me can’t wait, but then all these worries start to fill me again, so to solve that, like I said, I am going to honor God with my life.  “Dear God, Thank you so much for giving me a hope and a future. I look forward to the future, but I’m sorry Lord that I worry and don’t trust you. Please be with me and help me turn to you whenever worries and fears start to fill me. Amen.”

If your eyes are blinded with your worries, you cannot see the beauty of the sunset. - Jiddu Krishnamurti