A Psalm a Week - Psalm 1

As you probably heard in announcements, this is our first week of "A Psalm a Week." If you have the chance to this week, or if your just looking for something to read in the Bible, check out Psalm 1!

So, here's a link to Psalm Chapter 1 on-line (PSALM 1 - NIV).

It's a really short passage with a really powerful message. As we've been studying in Luke, we are asked repeatedly to analyze our fruit as Christians. Are we reading our Bibles? Are we praying? And most importantly, Are we living a life that brings honor and glory to our Heavenly Father? These are very much so questions that can be associated with the text we're looking at this week.

The psalm talks about our walks as Christians. Where are you found? Is it in the counsel of the ungodly; is it with a group of people who live their lives contrary to the way you are supposed to? The answer should be no. Although I believe that we can have non-Christian friends (as most of us do), the text makes it clear that we are to DELIGHT OURSELVES IN THE LORD and not in those friendships. We should not find comfort and happiness in the world, but in our mighty God. Looking at the picture above you probably notice it's not the best illustration ... even so, the Psalm then says we're to be like a tree planted near the rivers of water. We are supposed to be in out Bibles and in communication with God (prayer). We are to find our roots in God, our comfort in God, our happiness in God. Our leaves and our branches (the desire we have to follow God and pursue a lifestyle in Him) will not fade away. If we live our lives as the tree in this psalm, planting ourselves in God's word, we can be successful as young Christians!

The end of the chapter is clear. The way of the ungodly will perish, but God knows his people. He knows what fruit we bear in our lives. He knows where we find happiness, and no matter how small and insignificant we truly are, he still gives us a promise. This is the promise of happiness, peace, love, joy, and ultimately the gift of the salvation and eternal life that we have in Christ.

Have a great Week!

God Bless!

-Chris

best pictures from thanksgivathon...

Elevate 2009

Winter is almost here!!! That means Elevate is just around the corner.  I am so excited this year.  Same great place of Ogden Utah, same great snowboarding, better than anything available in California!!  The food is absolutely amazing, its like eating at Claim Jumper every night, no joke.  The hotel is a blast, the bus ride may be long, but the movies on the bus are awesome.  It is going to be a great year no doubt.  To keep the cost of the trip down, we have to limit it to 30 students.  This means we will fill up, guaranteed.  Spots are filled at a first come first served basis.  When we hit 30 spots, we will begin a waiting list, but there is absolutely no gaurantee that those on the waiting list will have a spot on the bus.  So we start taking sign ups next Sunday (October 11th) so be prepared!!!! Oh and the trip is actually cheaper than last year, pretty sweet huh!

Movie Night Destruction ... Much More to Come

Well, my junior high friends ... Movie Night was a success!! I'm thinking maybe only two people watched the whole movie through (DeeDee and Marisol), but I'm sure we all still had a great time. Other than setting off the fire alarm, which "is hysterical" (quote Michelle Sharp) ... I think everything else was fantastic ... great food, great games, and lots of sugar.

Anyway, if you missed out, don't worry about it! There are a couple great events coming up very very soon ... one in November ... one in December. Are you ready? I don't think so ...

-Chris

amped....

ROCKS!!!!!!!!

BACK TO SCHOOL MOVIE NIGHT

Well, it never feels good to go back to school after a long, wonderful summer ... Soooo we thought it might be nice to have a movie night ASAP. Just like always, there will be food and drinks provided ... lots of it. Feel free to invite your friends ... they are more than welcome to come!

We'll tell you what movie later ... I think I might know what it is though. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!!

Hope to see you there!

-Chris

New Wednesdays, New Sundays, New Blog

Well the last one's kinda obvious ... I got sick of the last blog setup, so i changed it! I like it now ... It's much better.

For those of you who have been gone, we have just started a study in Luke for Sundays ... I'm excited, everyone except Bethany is excited, so you should be excited too. Luke is a very very interesting way of looking at the gospel message, and since I'm a very very interesting person, it fits quite perfectly! Be excited, be ready ...

And for those of you who don't go to Wednesdays, come!!!!! We just started a study in 1st Peter, and I'm looking forward to every single study. Up at camp, the boys did a study in 2nd Peter (we'll be getting there soon), but the crazy part is that every morning, at least two of the boys connected with the message very well. As Evan would say, Peter is a very underappreciated book, so it's time that we appreciate it! :)

The End

-Chris