Youth News March 10

Wed. night prayer challenge was between Squishy (Corey Miller) and Genesis. Of course, Genesis won. Girls got to eat first.... WOOHOO!!!
We were blessed with Ken Hale's attendance in youth.
We started off with praise and worship, with Josie, Kari, Alicia, Hillary, and Kayla helping lead songs. Kayla sang "Here I Am To Worship"
An offering was taken up for James. Our sponsored child in Haiti. We were so very happy to see Austin again last night.... WE HAVE MISSED HIM SO MUCH!!!!
Our lesson was on God's Grace. We read Romans 1:20. How God may appear to be invisible, but you can look at the evidence to know He is all around us. This was the warm up as we watched our music video by Decemberadio called "Look For Me." We had a discussion about how we sometimes feel lost and going the wrong way sometimes. We talked about some of the things that happen in our lives whether they're caused by our own decisions, or the decision of someone else. We worked on a "study guide" that pertained to the video. We had to fill out what the chorus of the songs was. Ken Hale read his out loud, and he got 100% A+++.... SNAPS FOR KEN!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!
chorus
If you ever wonder where you are
If you ever think you've gone to far
I'll be that light out in the dark just look for Me
I'll be standing here with open arms
So close your eyes and trust your heart,
And then you'll see, that I'm all you need
Just look for Me.

We learned that when we go through these tough and dark times, God is our light, if we'll just trust Him. He is always right there with His arms wide open. Just waiting to hold us through our storms.
There was quite a bit of Spiritual honesty. Kids opened up and talked about some deep hurt. May God hold them through their storms. We moved on to discuss things that aren't so visible that are outside of God's plan for our lives...
GOSSIP & JUDGING OTHERS just to name a couple. We talked about how NOBODY on the face of this Earth is perfect, not one. And we have NO RIGHT to pass judgment on anybody until we are perfect, and since that will never happen until the day we are with Jesus in heaven, we need to let God be the Judge, not us.

We also talked about having a relationship with Jesus. That God loved us so much, He gave His only Son for us. We talked about how hard it would be if we had to do that. And we all agreed, we wouldn't give the life of our child to save someone else. Especially someone that hated us. But God did. And having faith in THAT is where our salvation comes from. It's not about religion, but a relationship. It isn't about how much we pray, how much we read our bible, how much we attend church, how nice we are to other people, how much we tithe......

It's about faith in Christ and having a relationship with Him. Because He loves us that much.