Youth Event

Youth saw the movie, "To Save a Life", about living as a Christian and making a difference. Then Scott cooked hot dogs for 36 youth and children. Garrett is hungry!

Enjoying a meal together

Hanging out before going swimming

Playing Red Rover

Fun at the Berryville swimming pool

Experiencing the Social Justice Tradition and the Compassionate Life: Building a Community of Hope in Carroll County

Romans 5:1-5; 8:16-25; Colossians 1:24-29

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossian Christians:1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

The Apostle Paul says that, in his house arrest in Rome, he is “filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of…the church.” Now, Paul does not mean that there was any insufficiency in Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. Not at all. All he means is that the church needs to embody Christ’s self-giving love in new ways in every time and place, so that people can see the reality of it afresh. The world needs to see Christ embodied in believers, embodied in acts of compassion, for Christ embodied in us is our hope of glory, our hope that God can and will restore us as his children. Paul lives and works for this goal, enduring suffering with hopefulness, so that he may present those under his spiritual influence as mature in Christ. In all times and places, the church needs to live with integrity, with self-giving love, and with contagious, solidly grounded, hopefulness.

Here at First Christian Church of Berryville, we say that our mission is to build a community of hope through Jesus Christ. What is hope? Hope is more than wishful thinking.

When I was eight years old, I had five long-term desires for my life: (1) that I was going to be a famous major league baseball pitcher, (2) that I was going to be for the milkweed plant the kind of chemurgist that George Washington Carver was for the peanut, (3) that I was going to be an ornithologist/artist of the stature of Roger Tory Peterson, (4) that I was going to be the kind of President of the United States who ends up on Mt. Rushmore, and (5) that I was going to be a preacher with influence as broad as Billy Graham’s. I was not going to have to choose among these options. I was going to do them all, either simultaneously or by turns. I need not tell you that those desires were not solid hope, but were merely groundless, wishful thinking. When I had begun to mature as a Christian, not one of those daydreams remained as my deepest desire…although I occasionally still indulge them—Walter Mitty fashion--as fantasies that pop up from the depths of my mind. My most entertaining fantasy is becoming the first rookie pitching star who is simultaneously drawing social security. Of course, I would have to learn to play baseball first, a small obstacle to overcome. The point is that wishful fantasies are not what I mean by hope.

Hope is the well-founded, confident expectation that something really good that is not yet apparent will emerge to fulfill our best and deepest desires. When I say that this hope is not yet apparent, I mean that we hold this hope even as we go through human vulnerability and suffering, even as we groan in agony over the fact that we still fall short of the glory of God, even as we are all too aware that we are not yet what were created to be, even as the purpose for which God created us is not yet fully actualized. Still we confidently expect that better things are coming, preferably already in this life, but if not in this life, then at least in the next.

For Christians, the confident expectation is not groundless, the confident expectation is not grandiose like my childhood fantasies, and the confident expectation is not in ourselves. Rather, our hope is rooted and grounded in what has been revealed through Jesus Christ regarding God’s reigning wisdom, holiness, love, and power…and our hope is rooted in our actual experience of well-balanced, daily Christian living. Our confident expectation emerges from spiritual growth through Bible study, prayer, worship, fellowship, and the rest of The 9 Ways.

Our Christian hope flowers when we live our lives as immersed in Christ and when he is being formed in us more and more each day. Our Christian hope is in the experienced fact that Christ is gradually equipping us to do his work of building hope in others. The hope of Christ moving through us touches the lives of many other people in many ways.

I want to say that hope is a matter of social justice. There is nothing more oppressive than a lack of hope, nothing more liberating than adding solid hope to someone’s life.

I want to talk about the many ways that hope is flowering through the ministries of First Christian Church.

Let’s start with the Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry. When a family is at the end of its rope, f-o-o-d spells hope. This congregation has labored long and given generously to support Loaves and Fishes. The number of families who have been sustained in their hope is beyond calculation, but it is highly significant. Even if you are one of the volunteers or donors, let’s all join in applauding those around us this morning who have joined energy and resources to make possible this outpouring of hope. Recently, our volunteer energies have been stretched pretty thin. There is no shame in letting other congregations help fill our gaps. But keep this in mind: the other congregations that have historically supported Loaves and Fishes are also experiencing the stretching of their volunteer energies, some more severely than we are. We need some folks praying and thinking about creative ways to expand the human resources and food resources of Loaves and Fishes. If we want to go farther in building hope for the families being helped by Loaves and Fishes, we need to be thinking about how we can help them with a hand up as well as a hand out. Can we help them with job skills? Can we help them find home-based ways to supplement their income? Can we help them with gardening, cooking, and food preservation skills? Can we help them with financial planning? Can we help them with family relational skills? Can we help them establish a stronger spiritual foundation for their lives? Can we stimulate conversations within and beyond this congregation on what comes next for Loaves and Fishes? Can we deepen our prayer on such matters? I am not trying to pile more burdens on the already over-burdened volunteers. I am trying to stimulate visions that will bring more people, more energy, and more resources into the battle for hope. We need to be talking to our friends within and especially beyond this congregation about all the possibilities. There are lots of people out there, some of them Christians who are not affiliated with a church, who want to make a tangible difference for the better. If they see and hear that First Christian Church is about making a tangible difference, about building a community of hope through Jesus Christ, they may join their energy and resources with ours. They may even supply new creative vision and new leadership. We have to show by our conversations and by our actions that we care. This is a matter of social justice.

Let’s think about families, youth, and children. It is not just here in Berryville, but all across our culture, that families, youth, and children are in crisis. Like many earlier times in history—for instance, the 1790’s or the 1920’s—we are proving that life without a spiritual and moral foundation does not work. Our education systems reflect the lostness of our whole culture. I am not attacking our schools—they have a tough, perhaps impossible task in trying to compensate for the broken homes from which their students come. And since, in our pluralistic culture, they are unable to speak with moral and spiritual authority, they are trying to fight with their hands tied behind their backs. But it is apparent that there are many children and youth for whom our education systems are not working. How do we pour some hope for something better into the lives around us? I do not have statistics, but I believe it probable that First Christian Church is attracting far more unchurched youth to our mid-week youth program than any other long-established congregation in this community. It comes as a bit of a shock to some of us. Some of us—maybe most of us--prefer not to see the signs of brokenness so openly displayed among us. But take a look at Jesus. The perfect Son of God did not pull back from the messiness of life. He did not insist that those who came to him know how to do things with social propriety before they offered their hearts and their service to him. He was willing to take a lot of heat for that. Christ is still at work. I believe that he is at work in our youth ministry. And he is still taking heat. Let’s just be sure that the heat he is taking is not coming from us. Can we use more help? You bet. Do we need more critics? Probably not. We will not help by standing back and remembering through a golden glow how we did things in the 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s, or 1980’s, and then wondering why we are not still doing things that way. Even 1990 was a generation ago. What we did then had to be designed to work then, and, to be honest, our best efforts did not always work then. Youth ministry is messy and unpredictable in any generation. We are entering the second decade of the twenty-first century. What we do now has to be designed to work now. Let’s get about the task of building a community of hope that includes youth and children. This is a matter of social justice.

The Gulf oil spill which dominated the news for a time is receding from the lead story on the evening news and the front page of the local paper. It was and is and will remain a great tragedy, but it should call to our attention that the practices and policies of industrial agriculture have been killing the Gulf for decades now, sending topsoil and fertilizer down the Mississippi. Not only that, but those same policies and practices have been killing the soil of our farmlands, killing family farms themselves, killing the rural towns that once served those farm families, killing all of us as we eat the subsidized high fructose corn syrup and similar products that emerge from our agriculture industry, and depending heavily on petroleum at all stages of the process, petroleum that is itself costing us heavily at all levels of our lives. Diversified, sustainable agriculture and local food economies are the answer to many of the problems that face us. Our church community garden may not seem like much of an answer to such huge problems, but our garden is like a signpost calling our attention to the shape of the solution. I am convinced that our garden fits very closely with our biblical and Christian values. I am also convinced that it fits with our mission of building a community of hope. Perhaps we can welcome into our church people who are looking for such a sign of hope and who in turn can help us enlarge the impact we make in supporting increased opportunities for employment in our local economy. It is a matter of social justice.

Last week, I asserted that the modern Christian social justice movement emerged from the evangelical tradition and the holiness tradition. These three traditions compose the subtopics of our mission statement. The evangelical tradition is represented in “drawing people to Jesus.” The holiness tradition is represented in “becoming more like Jesus” and the social justice tradition is represented in “doing the work of Jesus.” Last week I bemoaned how the church has suffered for well over a century by the splitting apart of the social justice tradition from the evangelical and holiness traditions. Both sides of the split have suffered from that. I see hope that this is turning around, that the chasm is being bridged by the latest generation of young evangelicals who are less judgmental, less dogmatic, less narrowly focused on private morality, and more aware of the social justice concerns that are rooted in the Bible. I pray that this may be so. Whether it is so or not, there is nothing that keeps us right here and right now from taking a holistic approach to Christian spirituality. We will be spiritually healthier when we are living out a well-rounded Christian life represented by the six streams of living water, and the social justice tradition will both draw strength from and contribute strength to that healthy combination.

Let me conclude with an example of how the streams work together: My father was not an active church person through my growing up years on the farm. His excuse was that the church was filled with hypocrites, and that there were people outside the church as good as those in the church. He finally dropped his excuses and became actively involved when he saw two things: (1) he saw rural churches overcoming traditional antagonisms and cooperating to offer more effective ministry and to help slow the decline of rural communities, (2) he saw Heifer Project International taking practical self-help steps to make life better in impoverished countries. As a result of reconnecting with the church, my father began rapid spiritual growth that showed up in study, service, personal formation, and general life satisfaction. His seeing the social justice tradition in action gave him hope and spurred the rest of his spiritual growth.

It can happen again. It can happen right here and right now. Our efforts to carry tangible hope to people in despair can make a difference. Let us embrace our calling.

Car Club Luncheon and $350.00 raised for the Youth Fund!

The cars

Car Club members

Preparing for our guests

Beautiful flowers and table settings. Martha Stewart would'a been proud!

Young waitresses

Our guests

Our guests enjoy the meal

The crew gets to eat!

Youth raise over $400.00 with yard sale

Thanks to all who donated stuff, bought stuff, hauled stuff, set up stuff, and cleaned up. Did anybody see Dan's flugelhorn?

FCC Youth Share God's Love on the Square

Andrew, a FCC Hero

Saturday our church had a booth at the Flower and Garden Show. We raised some money for the Youth Fund, but more importantly, we shared the love of God in some practical ways. Kari, Emily, Elizabeth, Abby, Dawson, Andrew, and Genesis spent their day giving out free seeds with a message of God's love. When the storm blew hard and people were frantically trying to get things put up, they spontaneously helped. Talk about putting the love of God into action!

Youth News Feb. 24, 2010

Special guest speaker Andrew Greathouse

More than 30 youth ate spaghetti and ice cream sandwiches

Hanging out before the youth worship service

Scott and the Song Leaders

More song leaders

We had record attendance this past Wednesday evening, partly because Scott Frame had spoken earlier in the day at an F.C.A. meeting at Berryville High School. We have heard excellent reports on that event!

Friday through Monday, Scott and Amanda Frame will be attending a large national convention for youth leaders in Chicago. We expect that they will come home loaded with creative ideas and encouragement.

Youth Mission: Hayride

Wed. Night : Youth Learn About Baptism

Wed night there was a worship service in the sanctuary where we sang "Blessed be the Name of the Lord" followed up by Justin singing Saved by Grace. The kids took another step in outreach as they sponsored a child from another country. The country chosen was Haiti and they chose a boy. We asked the kids to be in prayer about stepping up to take on the role of "outreach overseer". The person/people will be responsible for making sure letters are sent to the sponsored child, help choose a Christmas gift for the child, possibly sponsor a child in the community for Christmas, and any other outreach opportunities that may come. Judy led the word as she taught about baptism and the meaning behind it, where she also illustrated baptizing Alicia Keever to give the kids a picture of what takes place during a baptism. Judy learned a new word from the kids.... "peeps" Peeps is another word for a group of friends. So, Judy taught her peeps about baptism. There were 5 kids that were asked to read a scripture passage, who were Justin, Summer, Miranda, Elizabeth, and Brady. (Zach took it away from Brady, because he wanted to read it) As Judy ended the lesson with her peeps, she passed around a sign up sheet for those individuals that would be interested in learning more about baptism. There was a great response as 10 kids signed up for these classes, which will be the next 2 Wed. after youth for about an hour. After these, the kids will be given the opportunity to take the next step to be baptized. There was a great response from the kids during prayer, as the majority came to the front to bring concerns before God, and some come forward just to be with Him. Klara plays the piano during these times of prayer each week.

Youth Mission

Some of our youth went to another church, Soul Purpose Ministries, Sunday night. They presented a drama, which shows the saving work of Jesus. Scott Frame preached on "New Beginnings." The drama and Scott's words were a powerful message.

Youth Worship Service Oct. 21

YOUTH GROUP COVENANT

Consistency - I will give my best efforts to attend every session

Honesty - I will take risks to share truthfully about issues in my life

Confidentiality - I will support the foundation of trust in our group by not participating in gossip
And will not reveal personal information about others

Prayer- I will commit to pray for others in our group

Accountability -I will allow others to hold me accountable for growing spiritually


SCOTT’S MESSAGE ON WORSHIP

To worship we need to take our eyes off ourselves so we can focus
on God. When we go too long without worshiping God, the overwhelming
details of life begin to weigh us down and ultimately to
trap us. That’s when we begin to believe we’re too busy or too tired
to focus on God

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy,
to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing
to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform
any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be
able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good,
pleasing and perfect will.
3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you:
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but
rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance
with the measure of faith God has given you.

1. What are ways that we can worship?
*Praying (Psalm 95:6)
*Hearing the Word (John 17:17; Deuteronomy 31:11)
*Giving (1 Corinthians 16:1-2)
*Baptizing (Romans 6:3-4)
*Meditating and being silent (Habakkuk 2:20) we actually took a minute of silence and the kids said they didn't like it
*Celebrating the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
*Singing (Ephesians 5:19)
*Celebrating the arts (Exodus 35:30-36:7)

2. What does it mean to offer your body
as a spiritual act of worship?

3. What are some signs that you’re being
transformed by the renewing of your mind?

4. Worshiping God leads to renewal, which leads to
transformation. According to this passage, what
follows transformation?

5. Would you consider yourself to be a discerning
person (meaning that you regularly know the will
of God)? Explain why you think so.

6. How can a better understanding of God’s
mercy improve your worship of him?

Youth News

Scott and Amanda Frame Share Exciting News from Wednesday Night, Oct. 13:

Wednesday night was great. God is always at work, but sometimes it's more obvious than others. Kids are bringing kids who are bringing kids. Praise GOD!
We began as always with food, fun, and friends, just hanging out with one another. We are so grateful for the adult volunteers who work behind the scenes to provide our meals.
We went into the sanctuary for our second Youth Worship Service. A newcomer to our group named Justin played guitar to a Christian remix called “Saved by Grace”. We see In Justin a lot of musical talents that could be very beneficial to the ministry. We have several kids with musical ability, and we hope they will provide the music leadership for this service. Scott brought the message (an outline of the message is at the end of this post).

The kids are very receptive to God’s Spirit. They do not seem to be ashamed or embarrassed to step out in faith. They want Jesus and more of Him. When Scott offered the invitation to make a decision for Christ or come forward to pray, there were so many youth that came forward that you couldn’t squeeze another body at the front. Also, many youth prayed together in their seats. One youth gave his life to Christ. That makes 2 since the beginning of the school year. Praise God!! Several youth texted us later to thank us for being there for them.

Overall, we could not have asked for anything more. God is faithful and wonderful. We are so excited to see our youth grow in prayer and worship.

OUTLINE OF SCOTT'S MESSAGE, "A FRESH START"

IDENTIFY THE PAIN Recognize that we all are hurt or wounded and we need to know where it comes from
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord . . . (Isaiah 6:1)
WHY should I change?

IT’S ALL ABOUT GOD realize that if God is not at the center of our life something else will be. Does it have to power to give you a fresh start?
. . . I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isaiah 6:1).
WHO is my God?

REVEAL THE TRUTH ABOUT MYSELF Spiritual honesty
"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips . . .”
(Isaiah 6:5).
WHERE is my heart?

RELEASE THE PAST We are forgiven so lets forgive ourselves
With it, he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for” (Isaiah 6:7 NIV).
Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them . . . And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone (Psalm 32:5 NLT).

He forgives all my sins . . . (Psalm 103:3 ).
WHAT am I holding on to?

SAY “YES” TO GOD the time is now!!!
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8 )
WHEN will I get started?

Scott would like to credit Doug Fields, Youth Minister of Saddleback Church, for some of the ideas in this sermon.