tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69784113422060856512024-09-20T16:11:25.044-04:00FBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07488807085273290955noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6978411342206085651.post-69369613144012842622010-03-03T11:41:00.003-05:002010-03-03T12:05:52.174-05:00Currently, we are in the third week of Lent--a season in the Christian Calendar that Christians use to prepare for Easter through 40 days of fasting from something. Why 40 days? The 40 days is a tradition set providing Christians the opportunity to share in the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness (which itself is a reference to the Israelites 40 years in the desert). Lent is a time of reflection on what Christ has given us through His sacrifice--not only the sacrfice on the cross, but the sacrfice of His position in heaven (Philippians 2) to spend time with us and ultimately be humiliated and die an agonizing death that we might have hope for salvation. If you are interested in more info on Lent, please visit "The Lenten Experiment" group on Facebook. <br /><br />During Lent, at youth group (which meets on Sunday nights from 5pm-7:30pm in the basement of the church--find directions on our website <a href="http://www.firstbaptistgreenwood.org/youth">www.firstbaptistgreenwood.org/youth</a>) we are going through the Easter Experience which is a video series coupled with a time of experiential worship. Please feel free to join us for this incredible experience. <br /><br />This past week, our Experience was of the upper room where Jesus washed the disciples feet. The video was a powerful illustration about how the disciples were constantly bickering about which one of them was the greatest. In walks Jesus, who quietly walks in and starts washing one of the disciples feet. Immediately the room was silenced as this task was typically done by the lowest of servants. The disciples got the point and realized how foolish they were. Christ said that if they really wanted to follow Him, they must be willing to be the servants of all...even to the point of death (which many of them would suffer under their own torture). Following the video, we took some time to serve one another. The students blindfolded themselves and were given two decisions--both of which were large leaps from their comfort zones. The first was whether they were comfortable enough to have one of their own feet washed. The second was whether they were comfortable enough to wash someone else's feet. If they were not comfortable with these actions, they could take their blindfold off signifying their decision to not participate. Everyone else had to wait to be chosen to have their foot washed. In the mean time they were to listen to the sounds, imagine being in that upper room, imagine their own sense of Christ being the one to wash their feet. One by one, they took turns washing each others feet, and after their foot was washed they were allowed to take off their blindfold. Interestingly enough, as it happened, by the time they took off their blindfold, the person who had washed their foot was already sitting down and so when their eyes were opened, no one was there. <br />It was a powerful experience.<br /><br />If you're a youth in jr high through high school, please join us and position yourself to recieve a new experience of God in a powerful way. See you thereJoel Hawkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11314462563141827602noreply@blogger.com0