So it’s been a loooonnnnnngg time since our last post for Sr High group. Too long if you ask me…

So we have started our new school year… A little slow…. But a start none the less.

So our Series was called Ignited… It was broke up into the 3 parts of the candle that allow for a flame to “ignite” and burn so that it may bring forth light into dark places.

Part 1 was called “The Wick” this lesson spoke about giving ourselves to Gods calling of being light in a dark world. We all give our selves to something. God wants us to give ourselves over to him and allow for him to use us for his purposes and goals in life. With all the darkness in this world we cannot as Christians sit back and do nothing. While on our missions trip to the DR we witnessed the first hand accounts of the darkness in this world. Many were impacted for the cause of Christ. Several of you were baptized and dedicated or better yet made a proclamation to go out and be the light, to go out and give yourselves over to Gods calling to ministry. Be the Wick!!

On our 2nd week we discussed “The Spark” this was in conjunction with our launch of the Love 146 awareness campaign. There is a need to be sparked twoards movement in some way shape or form. We all have some sort of Holy Discontentment. What’s yours??? Is human trafficking what sets you off? Is it the poverty problem? How about AIDS?? Whatever it is this spark is the thing that makes you say “THATS NoT RIGHT!!! SOMEONE SHOULD DO SOMETHING!” Christianity is not a spectator sport we are to be actively engaged in the spreading of the Gospel. It’s not something you HAVE TO do, it’s something you GET TO do. We are to be motivated by love and compassion not fear and guilt. What sparked me and my wires desire for ministry was seeing how many youth were heading down dark roads and we jumped in to help solve some of that. You would not be reading this had we not been sparked into this calling thank you Jesus!!

Last but not least was “The Invisible Fuel” this is the unseen necessary part to any flame!! Oxygen a.k.a the spirit of God. The truth of the matter is that there are many causes one can get behind. However if one does not have the Holy spirit the. So much can fail!! As broken vessels we are I’ll equipt most times to handle the burdens of passions that call us to give of our time energy and resources. There is a reason why the profession with the highest suicide rate is psychiatry. People who diagnose issues that a majority are of the heart and of a spiritual nature by using secular worldly positions tend to run out of steam when time and time again efforts fail. Since they are relying on something other then Gods Spirit for strength and direction they fall short. I can say with all frankness that it is by Gods Spirit and Grace that we move forward in our calling. Cause if it were by our own strength our light would have went out a long time ago. Thank you Holy Spirit we love you and invite more of you into our lives to strengthen the light you desire for us to shine for you.

So on goes the series of Complicated Equations using Y and X Chromosomes to explain the age old battle of the sexes, as well as putting biblical perspective into how we should deal with the differences God has placed in us in this regard.

Last week my queen shared about Gods perpsective on women. The interaction between Jesus and the women in his life taught us his opinion of the daughters of God. The curse on this world had drasticly affected the X Factor and has marginalized it greatly.

Jesus said NO MORE!! The bible is clear on the creation account of eve… He made her from Adams side not from his foot. She is to be by mans side as a helper not under his foot like the rug.

Y oh Y do men do this?? That brought us to last nights conversation about the common denominators both men and women share… The Human Factor which brings us to the garden when man fell.. We find it clearly stated that all fall short!! Except the Jesus factor which needs to be taken into calculation when we compute all factors into our lives.

Some may have chosen last night to follow Christ truly for the first time when they realized that there math was off… That Them alone plus works or anything created equals happiness and fullfilment was an inacurate tabulation… How sad that many have done IDOL math and will come up short at the end.. We must get this Complicated Equation correct first and then everything else begins to come clear.

The correct math is Jesus plus NOTHING equals eternity with God and true joy. I pray we can reach out to as many people as possible with this acurate equation… The harvest is ready but the workers are few.

This is gonna be fun
Nothing like fanning the flames of debate over the y and x chromosome issue.

We started this week with pickn on the guys… Boy was that fun… Me pickn on guys work’n on only 3 hrs sleep… Woo Hoo!!!

Let’s review
The world lies to dudes!!!
#1 the bigger the muscles the bigger the man…. NOT!!!
The picture of the real life incredible hulk dude proved that was not true, it was rather gross!!
#2 Real men show no emotion.
The truth is we are emotional beings… To negate that reality is beyond foolish. Jesus himself fell before a group of strangers and wept over the loss of a friend. Who are we to deny someone the right to have feelings.
#3 Real men have alot of sex partners.
Don’t be REDONKULOUS!!!
The notion that having alot of sex partners makes you a real man is so laughable it hurts… There are K9 dogs running the streets doin the deed with everything that crosses it’s path. This does not change the dog into a man. On the contrary.. This changes a man into a dog!! The countless things that can go wrong should be enough to scare guys away from that kinda of drama, and potentially deadly game. Once you catch something, there ain’t no given it back, but there sure is spreading it!! What would your future wife have to say about that one??
#4 Real men are independent and need no help.
Back to Jesus!! To say we are bigger men then Jesus when even he asked his friends for help in his time of need. At the beginning of his darkest day he asked his small group to stay up and pray for him. He went away to pray alone and his buddies snored away… Sad, but shows that even the realist man of all time asked for help then we Y chromes can ask for yelp too. To say you are a bigger man then a Jesus is so off it ain’t even funny.

So what can be done…

Well here was my advice…
1. Seek God- before you do anything plugging I to God is primary. This even precedes planning… Gotta do what he wills not what we will.
2. Plan for your future- after seeking God and listening for what he wants for us we can then begin to prep for the future. There is nothing worse then pursuing something that God does not want for you, or something you were not made for…I.e. Being a teacher and having no patience for kids is an excellent example. When I hear of teachers who say “I can’t stand children” I have to ask why are you even a teacher?
What do you have on your heart for your future?
3. Don’t be lazy!!
I’ve heard many great ideas, but some who have had them have done nothing to facilitate to development of the idea they have. Get a job!! Pick up a hobby that has promise in it. Playing World of war craft all day long isn’t gonna do anything for you and your future.
4. Avoid the X Factor until ready.
I don’t want anyone to think I am anti-dating, I am not. What I am is a realist, if you have nothing to offer other then company you need to reconsider dating. I don’t know of any woman who wants a lazy unmotivated good for nothing. If she does then it won’t be a pleasant experience. I GUARANTEE IT!!! A man w a plan, who is working it, is a heck of alot more apealing to the X factor.

Gentlemen… It’s Man Up time!!!

After a crazy holy week I finally have a chance to shoot this out. We just finished our 5 part series on a “Beautiful Mind”

Here’s a quick review….

Week 1. “Wisdom and Learning”
In this age of humanism and secularism we must know what true knowledge is, as well as really grasp our faith insuring it is biblically based. With so many different “OPINIONs” on who Jesus is, and how to get into heaven, we cannot afford to be wrong in this area… We should be studying to learn what the bible says about God and what he wants for us. This applys to so many areas in our lives… Don’t just take anyones word for it!!! Study Study Study the bible instructs to show ourselves able to appropriatly handle Gods word of truth.

Week 2: Servant Minded
Serving at home, out in the world and within your local church was the topic this week we explored. My stance was that all service starts at home and flows out to the community and the church. We walked this out with the packaging of over 200k meals for FMSC. AWESOME!! Great job y’all it was an amazing experience. Our desire is to see ALL OF YOU involved in serving somewhere…. We NEED HELP!!! can you contribute w helping?? Let us know if you feel God is calling you to help in any way shape or form. Trust, there is plenty opportunity to be involved. We had 1300 people come through the doors for Easter. This weekend is always followed with growth in our church, thus we will need help for child care, host/hospitality, greeting, and woship band members. Let’s step up to the plate… This is your church, TAKE OWNERSHIP!!

Week 3: Toxic Minded
This week I will admit was a tough one. Nobody likes admitting that they have a twisted mindset on some things. That can be cause of embarrasment or shame. Truth is that is EXACTLY what the enemy wants…
We must renew our minds when it comes to Pride, Money, Sex and Alcohol/Drugs. The Enemy & The World tag team us along w our own Fleshly desires to pursue these dangerous things. Please Please Please seek prayer in this regard if you didn’t.

Week 4: Social minded
This led us into the week of being social and staying plugged in with a group of fellow believers or church. As we discussed God created us for community not for isolation. Being apart from the one place that encourages you in the things of God is extremly dangerous as well. Yes we have extraverts and intraverts but both are needed in the group. The roaming Lion (the Devil) is seeking whom he can devour. Just like in the wilderness the gazelle that gets seperated from the group ends up being the meal for the Lion and all his homies…. Not good AT All for the gazelle.
Here is Eddies stance on this… We protect our sheep!!!
Sheep: Follower of Christ, seeking to be in his will.
So if you are we will protect you.
We try to teach the Goats, in an attempt to help them become sheep.
Goats: not sold out to Satan, just not sure about God… Agnostics who are open to learn about God.
Wolves get a 12 Gauge Shotgun called the Holy Spirit to the dome!!!
(spiritually of course… Not literally)
Wolves- those who purposely seek to seperate the sheep from Gods fold.

Week 5: Kingdom Minded
Adam after hanging in Egypt came and spoke about what it would look like to have a Kingdom mindset, the fact that the Future Kingdom of God is our goal, we must run that good race to get that crown!! We saw from his examples that the process will bring challanges, and self sacrafice, but it is for the purpose of advancing Gods kingdom that we should live and behave.

ARE YOU READY FOR MIND RENEWAL?

So here’s how we end this series….
Secret Question time
Below is the user name and password for a special email address I constructed for the purpose of submitting anonymous questions. Log onto Hotmail.com with the below info and send me Eddie@vineyardny any questions you want to ask…. We will answer some over the next 2 weeks. The user name and password will be available until Wed April 14th at noon. I will then be shutting down access to the account until next series.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GIVE YOUR NAME IN EMAIL PLEASE JUST PUT A CAPS FM for Female and MA for Male at top of email before question.

Log into hotmail.com
Username: secret.questions@hotmail.com
Series Password:
April2010

DO NOT CHANGE THE PASSWORD !!
DO NOT USE THIS EMAIL FOR ANYThING OTHER THEN EMAILING ME QUESTIONS!!

This week we discussed being social minded. Hopefully this triggered something in you guys to get out there and be around people instead of alone in an attempt to do this life thing alone. Here’s an overview on how we could be social minded…

A. Share your testimony.

This is an awesome way to let others know where you were, when you encountered God and how it has changed you. We don’t all need to be biblical scholars to impact those around us for Gods Kingdom.

B. Invite a Friend or Family member.

Most people who don’t go to church or to a function at church are simply not there because they were not invited. God wants to encounter all of your friends and family… So we should be presenting them with an opportunity for God to do that.

We are praying for 70/70
That is 70 Sr High & 70 Jr High

For those of us who stink at math.. That’s 140 youth… THAT WOULD BE AWESOMEO 5000!!!!! For Shiggity!!!

And it won’t happen without your efforts in the area of inviting others.

C. DO NOT ISOLATE FOR BAD REASONS!!

Aside from finding a quiet place for prayer and meditaion w God, Isolation can be an EXTREMLY dangerous position to put yourself in. As the bible teaches the enemy is lurking seeking who he can devour… We are big targets for him, if we even express an interest in the truths of God then the enemy will seek to seperate you from that place which is leading you into the reality of our need for God, His Son and the amazing gift of his Spirit.

If you happen to be one of those people who has seperated yourself from your spiritual family… I plead with you to turn back to God and plug back in. As we read this week “2 are better then one, if you fall one can help you up, but pity the one who has no one to help them.” we love you guys… No where close to the amount of love God has for you…

I suggest Sat @ noon shopping town mall…
Laser Zone Eliminator 4…

Come out!!
Plug in!!
Seek God!!

“I pray he break through any of these areas in all our lives.. May he IGNITE us for the purposes he has called us to.”

Hope to see y’all Fri for the Sr High Lock In.

This weeks message was one that I believe should have sparked something in you about serving in any of the 3 areas we discussed…
A. Basic Service – in life w family, friends and those around you in everyday life.
B. General Service – in church in some way shape or form
C. Leading Service – Running or Co-leading a group or ministry

I pray you saw yourself in one if those three areas… And that being the case we want to hear where you have served or are serving. And what that experience has been like for you…

If you do not serve or are looking for direction from God as to where to serve we pray he makes it clear for you and that you take a step of faith and move into that area of service.

Just wanting to express how proud I am of all of you who stepped up and served… With servant minded being our upcoming subject, the FMSC project and Johns last sermon in the Pump It Up series we cannot ignore the obvious call from God for us to step up our game in this area.. We cannot stop!! I’m still waiting to hear from u guys on what you’ve found in the bible on the topic of serving to date haven’t heard much on it…. Hhhmmmm wonder who remembered…. Guess we will see

So study study study!!! I repeat my statement from the 1st sermon “True Ignorance is speaking or developing an opinion in something, without having done any studying on the subject”

Dont forget the challange for this week either..
A: Research what the Bible has to say about serving…
Let us know what you find.
B: sign up for a FMSC packaging session.. SLOTS ARE GOING FAST!!!!! Last I checked the Wed 7:30-9:30 is closed. So sign up for whatever time slots fit your schedule.. I want as many of you involved as possible!! Serving gets you out of yourself!!

This weekend without a doubt was one of the most amazing experiences of my and I know many of your lives!! Winter reatreat this year although my first was unlike anything I have ever seen.
650 teens and 100 Youth pastors and they’re assisting leaders had an awesome time of fellowship and worship.. Check this out!!!

It was insane!!! The Holy Spirit was so heavy and thick you could cut it with a knife. We return from this feeling charged and on Fire…. It’s about 10:50pm on the night we returned and although my body is completly fatigued inside I am on Fire!!!! I can’t wait to see what God will be doing in 2010 and beyond….. There is so much ahead…. And so much work… Are you ready to take the Samritan challenge???? Well in order to do that we will need to be getting our heads on right… That will be the topic of the next 6 weeks beginning next Wednesday since we have Ash Wednesday service thus week. I would encourage all to attend. The New interactive Sermon Series..
“Beautiful Mind” starts Feb 24th here are the topics..
24th: Wisdom & Learning
March
3rd: No lesson Packing for FMSC
10th: Servant Minded
17th: Toxic Minded
24th: Social Minded
25th: Kingdom Minded

Come prepared!!!
Lots to cover… Not alot of time
I talk alot…