Connections tonight!

Don't forget to come out for Connections! It all starts at 6:30, finishing up at 8:30. There will be dinner, praise music, a short message, and a long small group.

We are in the midst of our study of Philippians, so bring your Bible and we can figure out how to have a chaotic joy.

See you tonight!

Experience God Sunday...express this!

This past Sunday we had an Experience God Sunday. For those of you who don't know...we take the last Sunday of the month off from teaching, combine the two age groups, and try to experience God in a fresh new way. This week was through expressions.

The kids had the opportunity to express how they felt to God via different crafts throughout the youth wing. We had painting (on real canvas!), we had songwriting/poetry (really poetry, but songwriting sounds more manly), we had clay for molding, we had a cool magnet like wall with a ton of words on it and kids could move them around to make sentences (scrabble praise?), and we had a community collage (on a really big canvas!). These were great avenues to experience God in fresh ways!

On top of these options the kids were "required/encouraged" to do two more things. They all wrote a letter to themselves that will be delivered to them in one year. They were to challenge themselves, and write down where they are spiritually...and in one year they will look back and hopefully have changed. The second "required/encouraged" station was a video journal. We asked the kids to answer one question in front of the camera, where we will make a cool montage out of all the answers. The question was "How have you seen God work in the past year?"

It all turned out great! Check out these sweet photos!





















much Love,
johnny

Peace that surpasses

So, I would love to tell you about an answer to prayer. I have routine in my life! I remember when the new year came along and it had been so spontaneous! But now, I have routine. We have Connections every Wednesday. Transit every Thursday. And Crosstalk ever Sunday. That is a lot to plan and prepare! Both Scott and I are both very busy with those two weekly programs. But throw in the bag of chaos some more events.

Events like Guys retreat, and Girls retreat, and Senior Trip, and the Crosswalk Gala, and special Connections...and that is just in High School! The middle school has the Gala, a 30 hour famine, Mission Trip to Vancouver, meetings for that mission trip, and so much more!

It sounds like these "programs" are keeping people busy. They are. But these programs are not the reason I do ministry. And I am pretty sure I can speak for Scott and Brooke as well. We don't feel called to just put on events. We feel called to care for young people. We feel called to build relationships. We feel called to tell young people about a God who loves them and wants to give them a peace that surpasses all understanding. So I hope that these events and programs are avenues that God uses to do just that.

We have been praying for each other as a staff during this "busy" time of ministry. And for me, my prayers have been answered. I have a peace in craziness. And only God can do that.

Read Philippians 4:6-7 today. It will lift you spirit.

much Love,
johnny

Special Connections Tonight!

Tell your friends. Tell your cousins. Tell your parents. Tell your parents' cousins' friends? Maybe not. But do come to Connections tonight! We will have dinner. We will worship God through song. Then we split into our respective Genders and talk about...guy stuff (or if your a girl you would talk about...girl stuff). This doesn't mean we will talk about the typical stuff we talk about when we get together (as in the opposite sex), but we do want to talk about the upcoming opportunities to go to a retreat that is built just for you.

If you are female, you are invited to the girls' mystery retreat! In the end of February (as in the 27th, 28th, and March 1st) you will be headed to who knows where to talk about some lavishing things. The cost is $50, but it covers everything for the whole weekend! (Scholarships available)

If you are male, you are invited to a guys only retreat! In the end of February (as in the 27th, 28th, and March 1st) you will be headed to who knows where to talk about how to "shoot straight" as a man of God. As opposed to shoot crooked...or bad...or bendy. The cost is $50 dollars and it covers everything for the whole weekend! (Scholarships available)

So come tonight at 6:30 where you will hear more about the retreats, and start our discussion on...(finish sentence below)

• If you are a girl finish the sentence above with "the lavishing love of God"
• If you are a guy finish the sentence above with "what it means to be a totally awesome super cool man of faith that the Bible calls us to be regardless of what the world around us says we should be! Boo Yah!"
  

much Love,
johnny

Sunday ReCap, high school

Judges. Lots of cool stories of God raising up warrior judges to lead the people back to Him. When you sit down at Forza to take the half hour this week to read it...remember that it is very bloody at times and war like. Probably rated R for violence. But don't let that stop you!

And when you read it remember to look for the "judges cycle." That is: the people turn from God, suffer oppression from surrounding nations, cry out to God for help, God raises up a Judge, they turn back to God. This cycle happens a number of times in the book and we can learn a lot from it today.

This "cycle" happens because "everyone did what they saw fit" (Judges 17:6, 21:25). You see just how bad society is when you read Judges 19-21. It has gotten very bad in Israel! I don't think USA is at the point where the book of Judges ends, but similar to our society, the moral code is loosening greatly in recent years. Take for example sex before marriage. 60 years ago it was frowned upon in our society. Now, it is practically expected to have sex if you are dating. Because society says it okay, does it make it right? Is there a higher standard that we are to live by? Yes!

And this puts Christians in a tight spot. We DO have a moral code to live by, regardless of what society says. But it is becoming increasingly more difficult to BE a Christian. To constantly choose God over our selfish desires. To constantly be a light to this crooked and perverse generation (Phil. 2:15). I am praying for you!

God has set His standard higher. I am once again reminded of the classic DC Talk song, "I don't want it." It is very poetic (a stretch of the word) about how Christians should live in a society that has loose morals about sex. Check it out!

much Love,
johnny

Connections ReCap

Hello! Grace and Peace to you in all that your chaotic life is bringing you today! If you and your parents are in a fight right now...how great would it be to experience Grace and Peace in that relationship? If you and your best friend are really not seeing eye to eye right now...how great would it be to experience Grace and Peace in that relationship right now?

Grace and Peace is what we need...with God, with each other.

Last night we looked at the first step in finding a CHAOTIC Joy is finding Grace and Peace with God, and then sharing that with the people we encounter.

We saw last night that the apostle Paul is all about grace and peace. He opens every letter with it. The same way. Grace and peace. When asked to define Grace and Peace you all did a pretty awesome job!

Grace according to you: the undeserved love of God, favor, acceptance, unearned, mercy

Peace according to you: harmony, reconciliation, a little bubble of Jesus wrapped around us that is full of serenity, calmness

Some good thoughts. What if we treated each other with Grace and Peace? What if we didn't add to the chaos around us and we were "little bubbles" of grace and peace in our community?

What if?

grace and peace,
johnny

Life can be chaotic

So, Brooke and I are in a young married home group here at Believers Fellowship. We joined this year because we wanted to meet more people in our situation. Young and married. What we have found has been great! There are so many faithful young married couples here, and all of them get together twice a month. You may be thinking "Twice a month? That doesn't seem like very often...how can you have quality fellowship when you only see each other twice a month?" Well, we do wave to each other Sunday mornings...

We can't meet more than that because we have such chaotic busy lives...but, we are creating good fellowship! Because we know that all of our lives are so chaotic, we go twice a month with a purpose. We go with intentionality. We all want to grow with each other and learn from each other in the Lord.

Why all this talk about young married people? You are not married. You are in high school, or middle school even! That may be the farthest thing from your mind. Well, I want you to glimpse at the future. For many of you, you have a chaotic life right now. For many of you, your focus is on school, sports, family, drama (the good kind on stage), food, sleep, boys, girls, drama (the bad kind that is annoying), and many other things that compete for your attention. Oh yeah, and don't forget God.

Guess what. When you get married and start making babies, life doesn't get less chaotic. Life is always busy. Good things happen and your like "hooray!" then bad things happen and your like "man, again?". Life is life. And in our American mind set we will have chaos.

So, we need to start learning how to have Joy in the midst of chaos right now. We can learn from the apostle Paul to not have a cow when things go south. We need to allow joy to have its proper place. I want to endow you with the opportunity to learn to rejoice always. Any how, starting tomorrow, we are going study the book of Philippians, which is all about a Chaotic Joy.

See you there!

much Love,
johnny

Sunday ReCap, high school

Who says a book thousands of years old isn't relevant today? We have seen time and time again how the Old Testament still speaks boldly into our lives; showing us morals, giving us examples of faithful (and unfaithful) people, and challenging our choices.

We are in the midst of our "The Bible Jesus read" series, where we take a glance at each of the Old Testament books, and then dig a little deeper into a passage. Yesterday we talked about Joshua. We noticed a couple of key verses that would be great to put into your brain (as in memorize them) in 1:8 and 24:15. We saw that Joshua is a book of war, where G0d leads His people in capturing the land that was promised to them 500 years ago. We saw the two fold redemption process of deliverance from Egypt and possession of the land. But where we really dug our heels into was Joshua 24:13-15.

After all that God had done in the midst of the people, in giving them cities they did not build and letting the people eat from gardens they did not plant, they were laid with a choice. They needed to choose for themselves who they would serve. Would they choose the gods of Abraham before he was called by God? Would they choose the gods of Egypt? Would they choose the gods that were already in the land where they now lived? Or would they choose to serve the living God? As for Joshua, he and his house will serve the Lord!

This is theme throughout the Bible! (check out 1 Kings 18, it is awesome/and John 6:66-68 where the disciples of Jesus were given a chance to choose!) We are constantly battling who to serve, ourselves or God. We are faced everyday to make a choice of sin or serve God. Please know that I am praying for you all and the choices you make.

As for me and my house...we will serve the LORD!

much Love,
johnny

Transit tonight!

We are back in the bus tonight! Come on out for fun filled games, a challenging message from the book of Matthew, as well as taking what we learn to another level in small groups! Get caught up on all the happenings tonight at 6:30, here at the church!

So glad to be back

It was great to see all of you smiling faces back at Connections last night! I spoke with some of the leaders and they share my feelings...we missed you! Sure we get to talk to you on Sundays, or at Forza (where you know at least one person every time you go there), or even on the phone or facebook.

We may chit chat at those places, but on Wednesdays its different. We sit over a meal together. We worship together. We discuss spiritual topics and the Bible together. And then we go even deeper in small groups. Last night I challenged the small group leaders to turn a corner with the groups. To really dig into our lives and let God change us. Hopefully you were a help in your group by setting the tone.

We might have a blast on our big retreats like Mt. Baker and Mission trips...but lots of times we leave the commitments we make on the retreats at the retreats. I challenged you last night not to leave the remedy behind. Even if you didn't go to Baker you can still be healed from whatever is in your past. You can be free of that "thing" that is keeping you from growing in God. Let go of whatever you are holding onto and start looking at things with an open palm.

Remember, spirtuality is not a pull yourself up by your bootstraps sort of thing. God never tells us to heal our selves. So if you gave something to God last night or at Baker, don't wait to start telling people about the change in your heart. Even if you feel "unchanged" right now. These things take time, but God is really cool. It says in Philippians 1:6 that "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ." Don't wait until you are totally changed before you tell the world about Jesus, start telling them now...even with your "unchanged" life!

much Love,
johnny

The gala is coming!

The Crosswalk Gala is upon us. Less than a month away. You can still help! Get your auction packet and help us by gathering donations from around the area. It is very important to help out if you are planning on going to the Montana mission trip, or even the Vancouver, BC middle school mission trip; because the Gala is required if you want to go on these trips.

Also, if you want a discounted price on Camps this year, then please help out. Even if you are not planning on doing either, it will be a fun experiment being part of the group! So sign up to help out on the auction day or continue to get some donations!

much Love,
johnny

Connections is back tonight!

It has been 28 days since our last Connections. That is a month on some calendars! I hope you are all jazzed about getting back in the groove! We are re-capping Remedy tonight, knowing that it is not a one time thing to be healed by God, but an ongoing process for most of us. As usual, we will have dinner, worship, a message, and small groups. Welcome back all!


much Love,
johnny

I just had an Epiphany!

Happy Epiphany day! Today is the traditional day the church (in general) celebrate the end of Christmas. Epiphany day is where we recognize the Magi coming and giving the gifts to the baby Jesus, and according to the picture, Jesus is able to give the awesome finger blessing gang sign (pretty dexterous for a baby)!

We could focus on the Magi sacrificing by giving really nice gifts (which is where it all started). We could also focus on the magi leaving everything to follow a star that God told them follow (still very cool and faithful). But what I want to focus on today is another meaning we could pull from the celebration of Epiphany day...that God sent His son not only for His people the Israelites, but also for the gentiles (non-Jewish people).

I have always known that, but back in the day the Jews were expecting a Messiah to be sent for them! To set them free, and give them fullness of life. But it has always been God's plan to bless the nations through them (Genesis 12:3). I am used to reading in Acts 10 as the first Gentile exposure to the Gospel...but we have a gentile exposure when Jesus is still in Bethlehem. How cool!

So today, as the celebration of the Christmas season ends, remember that you were always a part of God's plan.

So share the love of God with others around you, because they are part of the world that God sent his son into (john 3:16) and tell them Happy Epiphany day. They will look at you weird at first, but then you can explain what all of it means.

much Love,
johnny

On the last day of Christmas...

Today, January 5th is the 12th, and last day of the Christmas season. We all know the cheesy song. For some of us it is the most annoying song of the holiday season. For others, we have to start on the tenth day to even enjoy it. Yes, I am talking about the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Historically the church had a Christmas "season" that celebrated the 12 days of Christmas after advent. We as Americans in the 21st century have gotten used to idea of Christmas being a one day celebration where we eat food and open presents. We try to justify being selfish by telling ourselves that we give (and receive) gifts in remembrance of God giving us the perfect gift.

Now, I would be a hypocrite if I told you that I don't do that. I do. And my kids will more than likely do that as well. But I can't help but look at the past two weeks and realize that I missed out on an opportunity to celebrate Christmas different. From now on I won't let the 25th of December be the last day of Christmas, instead it will be the first day. And I will try for twelve days to reflect hard on what it means to celebrate the gift of Jesus. And maybe my kids will learn something different. Maybe we will spread out the presents over the 12 days, at least the presents will be cheaper with the after Christmas sales...

But it will also show them that we should slow down with the gift giving, and be more about the reflecting of what it all means. Maybe we will also watch the Charlie Brown Christmas Special on all 12 days too, that way they will memorize the real meaning of Christmas.

So, all this to say...Merry last day of Christmas!

Tomorrow is known as Epiphany day. That is where the Magi came and gave gifts. Again, another justification for the commercialism of Christmas. But I will let you know tomorrow about the thoughts on the wise men.

much Love,
johnny

Spontaneity, what's that?

I can't wait to get back in the swing of life! Maybe swing is too spontaneous of a word. I should say, I look forward to the routine of life again. I have no idea how "spontaneous" people continue to live life spontaneously. I feel that even they would have some kind of routine that needs to continue in order to feel normal. Take for instance this one guy I know. He and his wife are always surprising each other with special "nuggets" of love, and dinners, and vacations. They are really spontaneous! Even tonight, he was talking about surprising his wife with a trip up to Seattle for a special sing along to the "Sound of Music" musical. Again, the word for this is spontaneous. He just got back from a surprise trip to see his family that his wife got him for Christmas. Again, spontaneous. Do these people have routines at all? Or are they living in this world where anything goes? I think I would want in. That sounds kinda fun.

But then I tasted that life. For that past two weeks it feels like my routine loving world got thrown into the magic bullet I got for Christmas two years ago. We had an amazing Christmas party planned, but it got canceled because Jack Frost wanted to follow me from Chicago to give us a white Christmas. So no Connections party, and no Transit party. Sad. Very Sad.

Then my routine for the past bajillion years got ruined. They canceled church. Yeah, every Sunday, week in, week out. Canceled. I did get a snow ball thrown at me by the pastor though, so that was fun.

Then the power goes out on Monday, and I don't go in to the office, and my routine is going out the door completely. But Christmas time is here, and we should be full of cheer. But wait. Brooke and I don't have any family around, so we have an "off" Christmas eve. But that will be made up for on Christmas day when we have an amazing family Christmas breakfast...at a truck stop in Ellensburg. Spontaneous! More like Bizzarro world.

All this to say that I look forward to 2009. We sent out the new calendars with the next five months planned! We are back to the Bible in Connections, studying Ye Ole’ Testament in Crosstalk, there are mission trip meetings, bible studies, special events that are planned. Ah, the routine is flooding back into my life! This doesnt mean it's going to be boring…with this five month planner calendar we just sent out, it means we can plan in fun events that would normally be considered Spontaneous! Like the special Luia Connections we have planned. Planning these five months was hard for me, but what I can I say? I like routine.

Which is why I joined a gym. The new membership means that my daily routine is this: wake up, walk dog, eat breakfast/read the bible, work out, go to work, come home, dinner with wife, watch "lost" season four, walk dog, sleep, repeat. I will try to get some tips from all of you (and that spontaneous guy I know) about being spontaneous occasionally, but for now...see you at these planned events!


much Love,
johnny