In this post I’ll summarize what the Friday night outreach will look like.

Worship/Singing

Michael Cassinari and Nate Cornett will be starting out our time each evening with a set of prepared and corporate music. The design of this is two-fold 1) to help the Christian students to see God as He is, so that they might worship Him in truth each evening. 2) For the non-Christian, we want to show them through the lyrics in each song why God alone is worthy of their worship. The prepared music is not designed to be merely performed for the audience’s appreciation; as Mike and Nate sing their prepared music, their desire is that the students would seriously consider the content of each song and the truth conveyed therein.

Introduction to Teaching

After the worship is done, Jeff and I will be introducing the topic for each evening. There will be much question asking and discussion, so come prepared to ask good questions and answer ours. We’ll also be complimenting the teaching with photos/videos/whatever seems useful. For instance, tonight we’ll have several photos showing different examples of worship in our society. You might be surprised at how universal worship really is!

The intention during this time is to show Christians and non-Christians the truths of the Word in such a way that its applicable to the way they think, feel, and act in their everyday lives. Obviously what the Word says to a believer will be different than a non-believer. Our intent is to address both; not ignore one or the other.

Discussion

After about 10-15 minutes of introductory teaching and large group discussion, we’ll break out into small groups. Kevin Zylka, Danny Cornett, and Judith Miller will be leading the junior high small group. Jeff Cornett will be leading the students in high school, and Natalie and I will be leading the college students. The intent of this time is to reinforce the main teaching in each age group; the way a junior high student views worship is different from a college student. Their circumstances are different. As such, we’ll be aiming to contextualize the teaching in the discussion time, as well as address any questions and concerns the students have.

Final Teaching

Finally, all of the groups will join back together for a final teaching time, where Jeff and I will continue the teaching. For instance, tonight I want to make a strong argument for the universality of worship (everyone does it), and then who or what should be given worship. This will lead into a time of Q&A where the students will be able to ask questions verbally or text questions into a number that will be displayed on the projector screen. Any and all questions texted to that number will be answered over the weekend, and certain ones will be chosen to be displayed and answered in front of the students.

Fellowship/Games

Following the Q&A time, we’ll have food for everyone and games for anyone that wants to participate. We’ll be around to talk and answer any more questions that the students have… I personally will be there probably an hour or two after the event ends to answer questions and just to chat.

Discipleship

The larger goal is not to have good events every other week, but rather to create a culture of discipleship among the students whereby they are encouraged to pursue Christ for themselves based on their own motivation and joy in Him. For the non-Christian, we want to be able to maintain contact throughout the week, form friendships, and answer any and all questions they might have about Christianity. A lot of this will involve Jeff and I texting like never before; hopefully we’ll get a chance to spend time with the students during the week, so that discipleship can continue.

We’re excited about this. And we realize that this is just as much for us as it is for any of the students. We will learn from the student’s questions, our own study, and our friendships beginning and growing deeper as time goes on. At a fundamental level, this is for everyone, both volunteers, students, adults that want to come and observe… everyone. Because the whole body needs to be encouraged and strengthened. We’re looking forward to serving the Lord Christ faithfully to be made into better disciples and help others do the same!

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in d the splendor of holiness. (Psalm 29:1-2)

At the conclusion of Bethel’s Teen Challenge during the summer of 2008, I was told by a young man that we should be “doing stuff more often.” I said to him if by “stuff” he meant Bible teaching and strengthening the teens at Bethel in their walk with Christ, then I was all for it. Having to think about it for a moment, he agreed with me. Now, 14 months after that conversation, his desire is becoming a reality.

Tomorrow night, after 2 months of intense preparation, prayer, and coordination we’re starting an outreach program on Friday nights. I want to explain in brief why Bethel is stepping forward with this.

The purpose of the outreach is two-fold:

1. To spiritually equip and challenge young adults to know God through Biblical teaching and discipleship; the goal of the teaching is both personal obedience to God and ultimate satisfaction in our relationship with God himself.

2. To reach out to the world around us, proclaiming Jesus Christ as the sole Savior from judgment and only Lord of the universe, leading them to discover the soul-satisfying relationship with Christ.

The goal is not merely to show the students what God requires of them; we want to display God as He is in the Scriptures, and what that means for every human being’s thoughts, emotions, and actions. We don’t want to just influence how we act; action without emotion quickly becomes hypocrisy; action without thought quickly becomes fear… or worse.

The Word has something to say about the way we act, feel, and think. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) It’s our whole response to who God is and what He’s done. Join us as we examine worship… as we take off all the hype and dig into God’s Word to prove that He is worthy and all-satisfying for anyone who will come to Him.

Come join us as we explore how we’re to live each day, in everything we do, worshipping God alone.

What is “Uprising”? A time of teaching, discussion, worship, and refreshments. Who is it for? Ages 13-22 When? Every other Friday beginning Oct.9th from 7-9 pm Where? Bethel Baptist Temple 8501 Plainfield Rd. Cinti, OH 45236

Programs available: 1.Puggles: older 2-younger 3 (A parent is required to stay at the church for this age) 2.Cubbies: Pre-school (A parents is required to stay at the church for this age) 3.Sparks: K-2 4.T & T: 3-6 5.Trek: Middle school 6.Journey: High School

Bethel Baptist Temple voted to start a new church in Dayton with Jeffrey Cornett as pastor. Jeffrey started this group as a very small prayer meeting which then began to grow and after several relocations, a Thursday night worship service began. They’ve outgrown their last place of worship at Robyn Tolle’s home with close to 100 attending. Pastor Cornett and his new congregation share Eversole Church of the Brethern in the Dayton area on Thursday evening. Three weeks ago, Pastor Cornett also found a place for his congregation to meet on Sundays. The Brookside Community Center, 428 Wolfcreek St., Brookville Ohio 45309 has a finished lower floor perfect for worship and Pastor Cornett was offered a beautiful 100 year old carved wood podium to use. Pray that Bethel Dayton referred to as “The Happy Church” by her members and Pastor continues to be blessed!

Typical sources of holiday sadness include:

• Stress
• Fatigue
• Unrealistic expectations
• Over commercialization
• Financial stress
• Inability to be with one’s family and friends

Balancing the demands of shopping, parties, family obligations, and house guests may contribute to feelings of being overwhelmed and increased tension. People who do not view themselves as depressed may develop stress responses, such as:

• Headaches
• Excessive drinking
• Overeating
• Insomnia

Others may experience post-holiday sadness after New Year’s/January 1st. This can result from built-up expectations and disappointments from the previous year, coupled with stress and fatigue. Here are some helpful steps.

1. Get your focus off yourself (Do something for others)

Proverbs 3:5-6

vs. 5-Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

vs. 6-In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

2. Refocus on right priorities

Mark 12:30-31

vs. 30-And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

vs. 31-And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

3. Just start over again

John 8:10-11

vs. 10- When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?

vs. 11- She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Every family is a ship with a captain, a crew, and sometimes passengers and cargo. It may be a pleasure liner, a research vessel, a boatload of pilgrims headed to a new city, a mercy ship, a cargo vessel seeking riches, or a stinking old tub hanging around port. There are many ships leaving port, each with its own captain, crew, cargo, and passengers. Every ship has a purpose or destination before it leaves port; all on board are participants, regardless of the degree of their commitment, their lives affected by the passage and the destination. No ship is alone. Others are sailing nearby, and the crew becomes acquainted with many ships and their crews. In each port, there is a mingling and exchange of news and gossip. Every crew member is always weighing the possibilities and deciding if he is on the best ship.

No ship is an island unto itself. If a captain were to simply anchor offshore to avoid the corruption of society and to prevent his crew members from being tempted to switch ships, the hands would become very discontent. The ship must be going somewhere with a meaningful purpose, otherwise the crew would not long tolerate the drudgery of their daily duties. There is no romance in simply retreating, in seeking one’s own survival. The thrill of life is in the conquest of the obstacles of life. Many fathers/captains are afraid of failure, so they go nowhere and do nothing but seek to stay afloat just outside the influence of other ships. The crew of a self-quarantined ship will stand at the rail and longingly watch other ships sail past to destinations unknown. They know that those ships going someplace, any place, are certainly more interesting than the stagnant calm in which they must exist. Younger kids will wish for something different, but fear and insecurity will keep them at the rail. However, there will come a day when they can swim well enough to risk going overboard to catch a ride on a passing vessel.

To keep kids from jumping ship and booking passage to a different port, they must have confidence that their ship is going somewhere, sailing to a port that offers tremendous possibilities. They should be able to stand up there on the bow and imagine the great new world to which they are sailing. They must have an exciting vision of great things to come and a hope of being significant in the coming events.

They must have a sense of mission, a full understanding of the history of their captain’s and ship’s endeavor. They should be familiar with those who have gone before and made to know that they are needed to carry on the worthy tradition. Only then will they endure the hardships of the voyage without crumbling under the burden of daily, monotonous routine.

They must be learning to pilot the ship. They should be made to know that they are in training to become a captain of their own ship and that they can be trusted with real responsibility.

They must taste of the glory and the triumph from time to time. They must be kept on the edge of expectancy.

There must be authority on the ship that provides security and promotes admiration. There is nothing more emotionally dissatisfying to young people than disorganization, lack of a top commander who is decisive, resolute, even hard and unyielding at times, but always accessible. The ship must have one authority that is respected. If the chief officer is subversive and disrespectful, it will cause the crew to commit mutiny or to abandon ship in some promising port.

Some of the issues we will discuss will be:

• How to speak to the heart of your child.
• How to mold the identity of your child.
• The balance between legalism and worldliness.
• What about the gray areas?
• Building faith in your child.
• Motivating your children spiritually.

I realize that parenting is a process and that each of us has issues that we are working on in our families. The big issues do not just go away and the small issues only get bigger. And believe me, there are no perfect families.

Often life is about living and learning. Sometimes through the school of hard knocks, sometimes thorough the wisdom we find in the bible, and sometimes through the counsel of others who have learned through the two I just mentioned.

We never stop learning. Each new year of parenting brings its challenges and every individual child has their strengths and weaknesses.

One thing I have learned over the years in that life is all about RELATIONSHIPS! It’s as if God the Father designed it that way. Starting with a relationship with Him, and then with those around us.

Often I have made ASSUMPTIONS about my relationships and have thought that because everything seems to be going well from what I can see and hear, that everything is well. And many times that has been the furthest thing from the truth.

Relationships are WORK! And unless you are REALLY working on your relationships then you probably do not have sincere relationships in your life.

So where do we start? With communication, as I think it is the key to sincere relationships.

What is Pride? It is alternatively described as: an exaggerated opinion of ones self, independence of any authority, or placing oneself at the center of his thinking and sphere of influence. Psalm 10:4 tells us that the wicked will push God out of his thoughts. As he becomes the center of his own world, there’s no more room for God. Psalm 49:11 tells us that they begin to think of themselves as everlasting… thinking they’re invincible and will endure forever. This is the natural reaction of anyone who has no room for God… they themselves become the measure of all things.

What does God think of the proud?

Proverbs 16:5 tells us:

Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

This is echoed all throughout Scripture. God hates pride. From the Old Testament Psalms all the way into the New Testament, the condemnation of pride by God is universal. There’s two illustrations that the Scriptures use to describe the proud: Proverbs 25:14 tells us:

Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.

They’re like empty clouds… all the huff and puff, but no substance behind their masquerade.

Second, Psalms 73:6

Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.

Why is Pride such a major problem in the heart of man? We have to realize that the heart and origin of sin can be traced to pride: Lucifer’s. Isaiah 14:12-14:

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Pride can and will affect every area of our life. First in our thoughts, it will quickly spread to our speech, relationships, decisions, goals, etc. Every area. Nothing within the soul of man will be left untouched by the scourge of pride. So how do we deal with it? First, we must acknowledge its presence and reality: it is sin, and it is in us. Also, we must realize the consequences. Deception, shame… ultimately it will rob us of our ability to see God, and in turn take His glory that He deserves in our lives.

What does Scripture say must be done? I’ll leave you with two passages.

1 Peter 5:5-8:

Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Jeremiah 9:23-24:

Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.

For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart. For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us; (controls us, overmasters, urges us, drives us) because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

What does Paul mean when he says,”Christ love constraineth us?” Is it Christ’s love for Paul? Paul’s love for Christ? Or is it Christ’s love flowing out of Paul to others? 1 John 4:10 suggests where love begins:

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

Love begins with God-not with us!

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

When our hearts have been first stirred and then awakened by God’s love, we are ready to reach out in love to our others. It takes all three of these phases to fully manifest the love of Christ. But the important point is that love, not duty, is the proper motive for Christian functioning.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” It is not the other way around- If you keep my commandments you will love me. Love makes obedience easy, not vice-versa. It is the delight of love to do what the loved one desires. So when the heart grows dull and obedience is difficult, the proper response is not to grit your teeth and decide to tough it out but to remember who it is that asks this of you and then for His sake to do it.

When a Christian responds this way he will find to his own amazement that his own attitude has changed. Look at 2 Corinthians 5:16-17:

Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. How did Paul view Christ before and after? He didn’t look at him the same way. We should seek to do the same… from the base motive of love, which holds all the other things in our Christian life together (Colossians 3:14).