Recently by Cameron

Parents and youth will want to stop by our all new youth ministry website Youthanize.net!

There are tool for bible study as well as great ways to stay in touch with Grace Chapel Youth Ministries.  Web calendars, News and Events via email, web, or RSS.  Contact your teen's small group leader. Hear the latest message via audio podcast.  Be sure to check out the page specifically for parents and sign up for the Parent's eNewsletter.  Get Youthanized!

You can see the "How-To's" that I left out of my sermon on September 21st as well as the Franciscan Blessing prayer that I closed with by stopping by the brand new Youthanize.net!  Click on the "Parents" tab.  It's the first entry, titled Aftershocks: ReCreate.


C

We talk and pray about sharing our faith and reaching more people for the Kingdom of God, but what if we simply looked at the situation like this; We are missing some members of our extended family.  If we that are already together were truly unified, would that be the testimony the rest of the world is waiting for?

Seriously, how will we ever have the impact any of us dreams about if we can't get along well enough with each other, or those we hope to influence, to be noticeable?

Jesus prayed that we would be "one" as he and God the Father are one.  In his words, "Perfect Unity".  He implied that it was possible, that it would be proof to the world that he (Jesus) was sent from God, and proof that God loves al of us here on Earth as much as he loves his son Jesus.

When we pray, we believe that our prayer will be answered.  Wouldn't it be great to be the one answering for a change?


C

PS.  The books I mentioned were "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell and "A Ready Defense" by Josh McDowell

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I moved to Flagstaff in the mid-ninties to start (and end) my radio career. Before moving there I went up and scoped out the town. I wanted to make sure that it had all of my basic needs (Jack in the Box, Slurpee, Record Store, Guitar Shop). I decided that I would have the basics covered and made the move.
What I found out quickly is that I don't like living on just what I need. Who does? There is more to life than just the basics.
In addition to basics of life, such as protection, provision, and love, our Heavenly Father has given us other necessities. Those are all more than I deserve. However He still provides hope, peace, purpose, and joy. Thank you, Jesus!

C

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Aside from allowing us to spend eternity in Heaven with Him, Jesus described "Eternal Life" in John 17:3 as "...knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent." That is the key to all lasting peace and joy. 

We must know who God is AND what he is like.

 

C

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Today I was out picking up a few things and came upon a fender bender in the parking lot of a Home Depot. It looked as though a car had pulled out of a space and was struck by a pickup truck from a business called "Fore Sight"... oh, the irony.

It made me think of how when we "advertise" something we believe, it gives everyone a chance to take a shot at you without knowing you.

As a follower of Christ, my belief system has been advertised for the last 2000 years or so. Plenty of time for anyone who might like, to absorb, assess, and take a shot at someone who says they are Christian.

The worst part of that is, after identifying you with Jesus, they feel they have license to hassle you whether or not your life lines up with what they know about the Bible. If your life does line up with scripture, you can be labeled as intolerant, or prudish, or weak and foolish. However, if your life doesn't line up, you are no safer, as then you're, in their eyes, the worst of the worst... a hypocrite.

My problem with all of that is, the reason they can label any Christian "hypocrite" is that they know ahead of time (thanks to advertising) what we are supposed "believe" and therefore "live". Most of the behaviors we exhibit aren't what we get maligned for; it's that we don't do what we say we believe.

I should add, that is truer than I care to admit, even in my own life. However, the fact of the matter is that those who enjoy dropping an "H-Bomb" are conveniently immune to hypocrisy simply because we cannot see any "advertising" for their beliefs. Plus, even if we could, they have liberty to change what they believe and call it "growth" or "enlightenment". So, they are never hypocritical.

Okay, so this is a pet peeve of mine. (Peeve is a funny word isn't it?) But, it is a drag to not be recognized for trying to do the right thing but stumbling, as opposed to not trying at all, or changing course every time something becomes too difficult, less interesting, or too inconvenient.

With that said, we must always do what we can to understand others that might see us this way, and to seek to be understood. It is a two way conversation that leads to the unity that Jesus spoke of when he prayed in John 17:20-23. Perhaps we can avoid future fender benders.


C

PS You can see my main blog at www.cnotesonline.com
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I was driving to work today and drove past the Photo Radar cameras on the 101 freeway in Scottsdale. I drive by all of them everyday to and from work. I think they are a good idea. If you break the law, you get flashed and you get a ticket. They even have "grace" built right in (you can go 10 miles over the limit and not get flashed).

That's when it occured to me; the cameras only flash you if you are going too far OVER the speed limit, even though it is also illegal to go too far UNDER the posted limit. I understand that we do that to protect lives. However, the thing that bugs me, and that I hear most people complain about, is not how FAST people are going, but how SLOW some people go.

I would like to propose that the people that drive by the cameras at less than 10 miles an hour UNDER the speed limit are also flashed. And, if they are going that slow in the far left lane (The Fast Lane) then their ticket could be even more expensive.

It reminds me that we naturally accuse people of being "wrong", or even "weird", using ourselves as the basis for "right". For example, regardless of whether we are going too fast or slow in relation to the speed limit, we call anyone going faster than us a "maniac" and anyone going slower than us an "idiot".

That's why having an external measure for right and wrong is crucial. Without an absolute that we can all subscribe to there will always be some measure of chaos.

It's even better, if that "external measure" is perfect. What if we were so lucky as to have that external measureER, care about us... ALL of us, even the ones who don't care about him. What if he desired nothing more than to just be close to us and were willing to sacrifice himself to make that possible. That would be great (Romans 5:8).

 

C

PS You can see my main blog at www.CnotesOnline.com

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