That's So Messed Up!

This is the theme for the winter camp that the Jr. High Crash students will be attending. This is such a huge topic for Jr. High students to grasp. Why are things messed up? How can we deal with it? Can we fix it? The reality of it is that there is hurt and pain in our world, our relationships and in our lives. But why? By the end of camp we're going to explore how Christ came to fix it all.

The camp is going to be held at Alpine Camp & Conference Center, near the beautiful Lake Arrowhead. There are piles of snow up there already and rumor has it that it is supposed to snow on Saturday. Pack warm, cause it's going to get cold. But that's what makes it fun!

I am so excited... and busy. I am working with the camp and a couple other churches to make this camp awesome and unforgettable. We going to be offering things like a huge snowball fight, a "Slumber Party" theme dinner where you dress up in appropriate pj's, tube run, zip-line (** at night!!!), and an event so huge that I can only tell you it's called TASMU!

We will be taking up 4 leaders and 17 students!! 17!!! I am SO EXCITED! If you are going, remember to pack warm clothes, a sleeping bag, and a Bible. Also remember that we are meeting at Desert Springs Church at 2 PM. So get here as close to 2 PM as you can. I can't wait to throw snow balls at all of you! See you Friday.

Keeping The Faith

What do you think it means to "keep the faith"? What does that look like?

This past week a friend of mine showed me an article that was rather interesting. It came from a Christian magazine called Relevant. They interviewed an actor named Zac Levi, who stars on the TV show Chuck. I like the show, and think he is a good guy. I had no idea he was a Christian until after I read the article.

The article talks about how Zac Levi is, in my opinion, keeping the faith, despite his surroundings. Hollywood is not the best place to live a life of faith. But Zac has done tremendously well. He lives in a house where he dedicates two rooms for people who struggle financially and need a place to stay, and even hosts a home church on Sunday nights. He lives life with a Christian community of friends. Zac also talks about how he is able to help himself in the work that he does. "...everything starts with the audition process," he chooses what he wants to do based on, "whether its something I want anything to do with." If he finds a script questionable, he simply won't audition (if you want to read the full article click here). Zac Levi is a far cry from the Apostle Paul but I think he's definitely on the right track.

Paul was an amazing evangelist. From the moment he became a Christian up till the moment he died for his faith, he did everything he could to tell others about God and please and serve God with everything he had. He practiced what he preached and fully hoped and trusted in God's word and guidance, despite hardships and persecution he faced. You could definitely say that he kept the faith.

For the past few weeks, we have been looking at Paul in Rome. We saw that faith and culture are in conflict, and that we can never be good enough for God, and yet He still declares us good enough.

Join us tonight as we look at how Paul "...fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith," in everything he did, and how we can do the same.

Feeling Adequate?

How many of you have ever felt like you were not good enough? Not good enough to get good grades, not good enough to do sports, not good enough to sing, not good enough for God. Many times throughout our life we can have feelings of not being good enough.

We can even feel that way about God. Many people throughout the world don't feel like they are good enough for God. That they have to work hard, and do many different things for God. Other religions even require you to do good works and different rituals, then maybe, just maybe, you will be good enough to go to heaven.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and that not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast" (NIV). It is by the power, work, death and resurrection of God's son Jesus that you can freely be declared "Good Enough". It is through Jesus that we can have a personal relationship with God and go to heaven. It is nothing we could ever do, but only something He could do.

Join us tomorrow night as we continue in our series Paul In Rome and look at the Romans Road and explore how we can be good enough for God.

Rome Vs. America: 2 Big Superpowers

Many times while reading my Bible, I have wondered where the places that are mentioned... are... Not just where, but what did the towns and people look like? What was life like back then? Was it like today? Even though they didn't have technology, did they struggle with some of the same things that I struggle with today?

While searching for answers and Bible studies I could go through I found a series by a guy named David Nasser. He actually went to Rome and filmed on location at such places like the Coliseum, The Roman Road (that goes into Rome), and even the prison cell that Paul was held captive in during his stay in Rome. As David goes to these different locations he talks about Paul and his life and ministry in Rome. For the next four weeks we will be looking at Paul In Rome: Ancient Truth For Today's Culture, and highlight how followers of Jesus Christ ca stand up to cultural norms and stand firm in Christ.

The philosophy in Rome was to live for yourself. This was culture then, and I believe it's culture today. Culture tells us to be self-centered, but faith tells us to be self-sacrificing. Culture tells us that we need more, it's never enough, and we need to look out for number one- ourselves. Faith tells us to love everyone, to look out for and take care of those in need. Faith tells us to put others needs before our own. These are two very different and very opposite messages, lifestyles, and world-views.

Join us tonight as we begin to look at Rome through Paul's eyes and see how faith and culture are in conflict, not just back then, but today as well. We will discover that it's so easy to conform to culture, but we need to allow God to transform our hearts and minds.