XtremeBlog

3 Keys to Save 10,000 People

2012-09-14T13:18:00.002-04:00

10 Tips for What to Avoid While Listening to Music

2012-04-19T10:29:00.003-04:00

1. Anything that swears – or has bleeps where someone would be swearing - NOT OKAY

2. Anything with naked or half-naked people on the cover - NOT OKAY

3. Anything referencing naked or half-naked people - NOT OKAY

4. Any song that references the word ‘booty’ - NOT OKAY

5. Anything that talks about drinking, drugs, sex or hating the police – NOT OKAY

6. Anything that talks about killing people - NOT OKAY

7. Anything that depresses you - NOT OKAY

8. Anything that you’ve downloaded illegally - NOT OKAY

9. Anything where you can’t understand what they are saying or repeat what they are saying - NOT OKAY

10. Anything you’d feel uncomfortable listening to in the car with your senior pastor - NOT OKAY

What else would you add to the list?

The Wall of Shame

2012-02-29T10:41:00.000-05:00

We all have walls in our lives that keep us from doing the things in life that we need to do. One of the most destructive walls that makes us prisoners is shame. Shame is a debilitating belief about who we are as individuals. But God has created us to live free from shame. Listen to this message from Aaron Springer to see what God really has in store for you.

You Need to Change...

2011-07-31T17:12:00.000-04:00

Life is full of changes. Good and bad. We handle some changes well, and others... not so well. Following Christ means changing from where we are to where God wants us... why are we so bad at it?

Follow Jesus...?

2011-07-25T14:05:00.003-04:00

Jesus makes some bold invitations to his disciples... "Follow Me." And that's it. They drop everything and follow Him. When we come into a relationship with God we are asked to do the same thing... but are we really doing it? Are we really following God?

Trusting God

2010-11-11T11:54:00.000-05:00

This is Pastor Aaron's message from Oct. 24th. He discussed how our lack of trust in society leads to our lack in trust in God and how it is all because we are disconnected from the Source.

The Others

2010-09-02T12:01:00.002-04:00

LIVE TOGETHER, DIE ALONE. This is a continuation of our series on unity. This week we discuss diversity and division and how the two rarely go hand in hand.

Lest Ye Be Judged

2010-08-26T11:53:00.002-04:00

LIVE TOGETHER, DIE ALONE. This is the fourth part in our series on unity. In this lesson we talk about the dangers involved in judging people and what Jesus has to say on the issue.

Sticks & Stones

2010-08-19T10:52:00.002-04:00

LIVE TOGETHER, DIE ALONE. This is the third message in our series on unity. In this week's message we discuss the contagious, infectious nature of gossip.

Why Are You Here?

2010-08-18T10:39:00.000-04:00

This is Pastor Aaron's message on Sunday, Aug. 15th. This message asks the question, "Why are you a follower of Jesus?" What made you choose to become a follower of Christ?

Nothing Nice to Say

2010-08-12T10:28:00.000-04:00

LIVE TOGETHER, DIE ALONE. This is the second message in our series on unity. And this week we explore the topic of complaining and how discontentment plagues us as a group.

Live Together

2010-08-05T11:18:00.000-04:00

LIVE TOGETHER, DIE ALONE. This is the first in our five week series exploring the importance of unity. In this week's message we discover the importance of endurance and encouragement in unity and the extreme value unity carries in spreading Jesus' message.

YWAM Night @Xtreme

2010-07-22T12:02:00.000-04:00

A team from Youth With A Mission shares what their ministry is all about. Danny Frost shares a message from his journey with God.

Insecurity

2010-07-01T10:46:00.002-04:00

This is a continuation of our series on tearing down the emotional walls that keep us from connecting to God and others. In this message we explore our insecure feelings that come from comparing ourselves to others and what Jesus said to one of his disciples about it.

Shameful Roles

2010-06-17T13:19:00.000-04:00

This is a continuation of our series on tearing down the emotional walls that keep us from connecting to God and others. In this message we discovered the roles shame causes us to play in our families...

Shame

2010-06-11T13:40:00.001-04:00

Selfish

2010-06-03T10:47:00.002-04:00

Offended

2010-05-25T18:52:00.001-04:00

What's up with Worship?

2010-03-09T09:10:00.004-05:00

Over the next few Wed. nights, we are going to be talking about worship and what it means and why we do what we do. The funny thing about worship is that we have classified it down to a style of music. I'm glad there are specific types of music that help us bring glory and honor to God, but is that really all worship is to us? Unless you hear your specific style, beat, volume, tempo or whatever characteristic of music you need, unless you hear something specific you can't praise God? Doesn't that sound a little pathetic? When I was studying to be a minister there was an amazing president of the university I attended (NorthCentral University, in case you were wondering), Dr. Gordon Anderson. The man is a genius. I'm talking one of those obnoxiously smart guys, we used to think he made up words during his messages...which I still believe. But he could get away with it because of how smart he was. He'd be talking about ancient cultures and then talk about the original meaning of the scapegoat and then apply it all to your life (I really enjoyed the message about the scapegoat). But I remember another message he did about worship, or at least he had a point about worship. He said, "Can I tell you something? I can't stand it when all of these old people can't get into new worship. They say it's too loud or too fast. Well God is an exciting God and if you can't take it then move over grandpa!" Remember, he is probably in his 50s and he is talking to a group of students. The place erupted in applause, as young people love exciting worship... He kind of stood back and soaked it all in and let the uproar calm down before leaning into the mic and whispering... "Can I tell you something else? I can't stand these young punks who don't ever want to sing a hymn or play a slow song... Don't they know anything about tradition and sovereignty?" The place was pretty quite, but his point started to come into view. Worship isn't about us. It's not about Hillsong or Hillsong United, it's not about your church, it's not about my church... Worship is solely about GOD. And God alone. It's about sacrifice. It's about humbling ourselves and glorifying God. I'm not saying it's not beneficial for us, but I am saying that's not the purpose. The purpose is uplifting God.

One thing I see as a tremendous benefit to us in worship is how intimately close we get to God in times of worship. Worship is generally one of the only times we allow ourselves to completely block out everything else around us and focus completely on God. Why do you think we close our eyes? It's not the bright lights, it's so we can block those out and block out everything else and connect to God. And other than the utter pleasure of connecting our broken, imperfect, desperate souls to the all-loving, giving, perfect Creator of the universe, it is during these times that I think we hear God the best. When we humble ourselves and allow someone else to speak into our lives it can be very impactful. Imagine how tremendous it could be if we all let the Savior of humanity speak to us...

Next time you are jamming in your car to David Crowder, Lincoln Brewster or the Desperation Band remember it's not even remotely about how great of musicians they are... even though they are. I can guarantee you any of these bands would tell you the reason they play is to glorify God, not so they will get played over and over again on the radio and your ipod. They want to see you connect to God. So don't close your eyes in your car to block out all distractions, but reflect on how great God is while keeping your eyes on the road. And when you have time to block it all out, DO IT!

Is there hope from worry?

2010-01-15T14:56:00.003-05:00

I was reading some more of Thomas a Kempis's book "The Imitation of Christ" and he has a weird chapter about sorrow and being sorrowful. He says, "Happy is the man who can throw off the weight of every care and recollect himself in holy contrition. Happy is the man who casts from him all that can strain or burden his conscience." I thought, 'Wow that would be nice.' But no sooner did I think that than about eight trillion different cares and concerns fluttered into my mind. Who does a Kempis think we are? Certainly he does not live in the real world if he can rid his mind of 'every care.' I mean how could anyone possibly turn off all of the noise in their brain? That would mean tuning out school, work, TV, your ipod, family, friends, and everything else you worry about... I mean it's impossible! Plus, would we get anything done? Half of what motivates us to do anything is our worry. We worry we will lose our job, lose our friends, lose our ipods... well you get the point.

Then it's like he flip-flops on us... he says, "A good man always finds enough over which to mourn and weep; whether he thinks of himself or of his neighbor he knows that no one lives here without suffering, and the closer he examines himself the more he grieves." Talk about a buzz-kill...I'm sure Thomas was a party animal back in the day. I can just see him now, walking up to a group of guys laughing and having a good time... "Hey guys, what's so funny? Well you know what's not funny... life, and especially yours. Think about it." And then he would just walk away like he already knew his life was full of things to mourn about, but he had already talk to God about it and made his peace. Thanks Thomas...

But I did something earlier on purpose... Thomas doesn't say, "Happy is the man who casts from him all that can strain or burden his conscience." He says "stain" not strain... stain. "Happy is the many who casts from him all that can stain or burden his conscience." I think Thomas knew there was no hope in a life without worry and without stains/sin. But he also knew that we were supposed to turn to God with our worry and sin. If someone lived a life without worry and sin they wouldn't need to turn to God, but no one does. We all sin, we all fall short of the glory of God, blah, blah, blah... The point is, we all are broken, worried, sinful, neurotic, depressed, happy, sad, unholy, unworthy people. But because we are so broken God restores us. Psalm 34:18 says, "The Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Maybe Thomas a Kempis knew there was no hope for a life without sin and worry, but he knew the solution... turn to God and avoid things that will stain your conscience and worry your head. Maybe Thomas a Kempis was a bit of a worry-wart, but I bet he talked to God about it a lot...

Resolving to Change...

2010-01-05T22:37:00.001-05:00

Well it's the new year... I'm sure you're all as thrilled as I am. It seems like the older I get the less and less I care about transitioning from December to January, is it really that big of a deal? But what it does provide us with is the opportunity for reflection. What did I accomplish this past year? What caused me to fail or stumble? What will I do differently this next year? How can I make these things happen? I know you all make a list like this on January 1st... yeah right. Neither do I, but it's probably a good idea. What else is the change good for? It's a fresh start, a redo, a second chance, a third chance, maybe a fourth chance or however many it takes. The new year's celebration is what? A celebration of death of another year? The celebration of the birth of another year? A celebration of success or failure? Expectation or reflection? The new year is typically a time when people make all sorts of resolutions that they hope will change the course of their life or make their life better in some way... people don't generally make resolutions to hurt their lives. Yet what is a resolution? A resolution is a promise, proclamation or good intentioned attempt to do the right thing this time around. Yet for the most part a resolution is simply an acknowledgment that something in our lives isn't aligned correctly, that we have made some mistakes that we don't want to continue. For the most part if we were really going to change, or resolve, whatever issue we are declaring immunity to, we would just stop doing it. If you really wanted to stop drinking, then stop. If you want to join the gym in the new year and lose weight, just do it. Think about it, if there was something you really wanted to change, you would just do it. Really, how many new year's resolutions can you remember keeping until year's end? Probably very few if any. I read a psychology article recently that said resolutions are basically an excuse for people to binge on their dirty little habit one last time without feeling bad about it. "Well I'm going on a diet on January 1st so I need to eat a huge breakfast, a huge lunch, and an enormous dinner with two sides of dessert on December 31." What?!? That just sounds dumb. If you really wanted to resolve something about your life, you would just change. So change! Don't wait for some magical date that is going to allow you to keep up whatever your habit it. If you want to have a better relationship with your spouse, start now! If you want to lose weight, stop reading and go to the gym... wait... keep reading then go to the gym. The point is resolutions shouldn't be a anything more than change. Change is the answer and change can happen anytime you let it. Change now, or tomorrow, or tonight or immediately! Change the next way you interact with your spouse, or the next interaction with your boss or that annoying kid in your class. Change is up to you... If you are going to make any resolution this year, how about resolving to change...

Your Story...

2009-12-01T09:38:00.002-05:00

So I have been reading Donald Miller's latest book "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" and it is related to what we have been talking about in our youth group. His book is based on, at least so far, a couple of movie-makers approaching him about making a film about a book he wrote based around his life. After agreeing, they filmmakers begin dissecting the book and ultimately dissecting the story of Miller's life. It is painful at first, especially when they use words like 'boring' and tell Miller what the character would and wouldn't do - even though the character is him... but Miller gets on board after awhile, realizing there are things in his life that seem unresolved or points in his life that aren't leading anywhere. To be a better part of the filmmaking process Miller attends a seminar by a noted professor specializing in telling stories. He learns a lot about characters in stories, plots, leading roles, inciting incidents, explosions, and all things story and film. An inciting incident is something that pushes the character to make a decision. They may be on the fence about something and the inciting incident forces them to go one way or other, either painfully or peacefully the inciting incident gives the story some insight into the character's behavior and thought-process. But one of the most important thing about a main character is they have to have motivation, they need drive, somewhere they are going, a goal, somewhere on the horizon they are pedaling towards... they need a purpose. What Miller painfully discovers about his life, is that is void of meaning, void of a purpose... aside from writing amazing books he searches for something more (at least that is where I am now). We have been talking about our testimonies in youth, several of our youth leaders have shared their experiences and where they grew up, what obstacles they have come through, mistakes they wish they had avoided and through it all where God has brought them now. I wonder how many people actually have a 5-year plan, a 10-year plan, how about a 10 month plan? Probably not very many us... we have dreams and lofty ideas about where we need to be, what our status in society should be, but if we aren't pursuing those ideas, those dreams then we have fallen into complacency. I have been studying the 7DeadlySins lately, and one author believes that is exactly what sloth is... it isn't simply laziness but a complacent attitude towards life, specifically towards spirituality and God. This is worse than where Miller was, at least he was ignorant to his ambitionless state... most of us are aware of where we are, where we think we should be, but we just sit and complain about how wrong we have been treated ultimately defeating any chance or reaching our dreams. Take a second to reflect upon the things you saw for your future when you were in high school, when you were just starting out in life. If you are in high school, where do you see yourself at 25? 30? 40? How do you plan on getting there? And don't just say, "Well, I'm going to college and I'm going to start my career and work my way up." Not going to cut it! There are thousands of college graduates workin retail or flippin burgers at Burger King, and unless those are your goals you are going to need to be a little more creative and for-crying-out-loud a lot more intentional. For anyone seeing their dreams slip by, start dreaming again, life isn't over. Try daydreaming. What are you passionate about? What is your family passionate about? Do something that will benefit others, like your children, or their children... you will come out feeling better in the long run and your dreams will feel a lot more fulfilled... I guarantee it!

There are no "innocent" bystanders when it comes to eternity...

2009-11-24T09:07:00.004-05:00

I was reading the Proverb of the day (Proverbs ch. 24 being that today is the... you guessed it 24th) and it had some really awesome things to say about witnessing. Granted it didn't use the word "witnessing" or "evangelism" or "outreach" or even mention talking to someone about God, but it did talk about the consequences you and I may face if we are negligent in our responsibilities.
Proverbs 24:11-12 - "Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this." does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?"
Hopefully you see the direct correlation between witnessing and remaining uninvolved. But in case you don't let me spell it out for ya... This passage is talking about seeing our friends and loved ones, or even just acquaintances, living an unhealthy lifestyle and we are simply "innocent bystanders." Well what God is doing in this verse is removing the "innocent" part. There are no innocent bystanders when it comes to eternity. If you know much about me, you know I am a fan of Seinfeld. And unfortunately the show is no longer on the air, but thanks to TV on DVD I have the majority of the show available at my disposal. The very last episode of the show revolves around the cast taking a trip to Paris, but making an emergency landing in some small town in Massachusetts (Lakethem, or Lakin, or something like that...) But while stranded waiting for their car to be fixed the group stumbles on a man being car jacked... and stupid Kramer tapes the whole thing, while the rest of the group makes fun of the whole situation. But then they all get arrested under the "Good Samaritan" Law. Apparently it was no longer allowed to simply stand by and watch someone in trouble... and then the group spends the next year in jail and the show is for ever etched in sitcom history. But the point is, just like in the show, there is no such thing as an innocent bystander in life. When someone is living their life in a destructive manner that will ultimately jeopardize where they spend eternity it is our OBLIGATION to get involved. The passage from Proverbs 24 say God will "repay" us for what we have done... I don't know about you but I would like for God to repay me for good things, not the times where I let my friends slip away, where I didn't counsel my coworkers because it could be awkward, where I told someone I wasn't praying when I was... God is going to repay us, just think about what He will be paying you for

There are no innocent bystanders when it comes to eternity!

Moms...

2009-11-03T11:26:00.003-05:00

The other night Julie, Elizabeth and I drove 13 hours from our home in Lancaster, PA to my hometown of Pekin, IL. It was a pretty ugly drive, but I'm glad to be here visiting with my family. But it may have been one of the worst times for us to drive down here... not only do we get an extra hour of time traveling from PA to IL, but daylight savings also changed the back an hour in the midst of our traveling also. Which sounds really awesome, but someone forgot to explain to Elizabeth (our ten month old) that she could sleep for an extra couple of hours and no one would mind...(someone could tell her she could sleep a couple extra hours every night and I'm confident no one would mind). So she got up @5am here, which would actually have been 7am last week in PA, hopefully that's not too confusing. But Julie and I were exhausted from all of the driving and hadn't caught up on our sleep. So we got up and tried to comfort her and get her to take a bottle and whatever we could do to try and coerce her into go back to sleep. But it seemed like nothing we could do would get her back into sleep-mode. I went and threw away her soaked diaper and prepared a bottle and by the time I got back into the room we are staying in she had totally calmed down and Julie was holding her and her blanket, laying in bed... I was super relieved that she had mellowed out, but also a little confused at how Julie has some sort of special motherly power that I clearly do not... I mean when I get home from work, Elizabeth says, "da-da." When she's done eating and its time to play... "da-da." When she sees something funny, or someone else makes her laugh..."da-da." I mean it feels really great to have someone love being around me so much. But when she falls and hits her head she says, "ma-ma." Time to have a bottle... "ma-ma." She isn't feeling well or basically anything is wrong in Elizabeth land... "ma-ma." There must be some sort of motherly ability that moms have that allow them to connect with the babies... I must say, my wife is an awesome mom, she is always there for the baby, always caring for her, making her laugh, feeding her... basically everything. Being at home, staying with my mom makes me realize how especially awesome Julie is as a mom. My mom is pretty amazing. I'm not pulling any punches her she is awesome! I've never doubted for a second that I have a terrific mother. Being able to see Julie and my mother in the same setting is really cool for me to see how awesome they both are. Needless to say, I have some really awesome women in my life... (including baby Elizabeth, you won't find a happier baby anywhere). Maybe today, try and take an extra couple of minutes to thank your mom for being awesome... or if she's not that awesome try and reflect and make yourself a little better, or try and select a significant other who is awesome. There is a lot to be learned by where we come from... our family, our past, the people who have impacted us. In the Bible the used genealogies to decipher if a person was important or not... you know those long lists of names before the story of Jesus... that's a genealogy. They are still important to us today, just not in the same way. It's not necessarily about who your parents are, but who your parents raised that matters most. The point is, your parents raised you and you are a reflection of them... Maybe you are an opposite reflection... maybe you had crummy parents and vowed never to be like them so you have been raised to repel the qualities of your parents. All in all we need to be a reflection of our heavenly father. If Jesus isn't in our spiritual genealogy we will never be fulfilled enough to reach our potential...

Thanks so much to my mom for being awesome and to my super wife, for being such an amazing woman and mother. Love ya.

TiMS

2009-10-28T16:43:00.003-04:00

Tonight we are starting our series "This is My Story." This series features the testimonies of our young adult leaders... We will be watching about a 10 minute video of their testimony and then each leader will be on stage following their video and share a Bible passage that pertains to their story and an application that our students will be able to relate with... While taping these videos it is amazing to me the amount of information you have no idea about someone until they open up their lives to you... Each one of these videos has been completely different than I ever would have imagined. Each of these leaders has gone through things that I have never even thought about happening in my own life. Each has a story far different from any of the others. Each has specific stories that have made them who they are now. Each story different. Each story valuable to who they are. But each story ends the same... Each of our leaders are where they are now because God has gotten ahold of their lives and changed the path they were on and placed them on the "God Path." God is the one thing each of these leaders have in common. They didn't get in contact with God the same way, God didn't impact them all the same way, they didn't experience God the same way... but they all know the same God and they all love Him and know He loves them. What's amazing to me is how a God that has been around forever (which is hard to imagine to begin with) impacts the lives of so many different people... not in the same way, the same place or the same style but still the same God changing lives. I can't even begin to think about all of the awesome things God has done for me... I've told my testimony so many times that I can't even remember all of the bits and pieces anymore. I can remember times when I was super down and thought things couldn't get any worse and the same God provided for me. The same God that changed the lives of these leaders changed my life... and probably your life too... and the lives of a bunch of people you know... and more people they know... all different people... still the same GOD. When thinking about this series (This is My Story... TiMS for short), I remember my favorite hymn "Blessed Assurance." The line in the chorus says, "This is my story, this is my song..." I could sing this song in a room full of people all with very different stories and different songs, but what unites us all is that God is a part of our story. And if God is not a part of your story, I guarantee you, your story is missing some key plot points... Whatever your story is, wherever you found God, or He found you, or however your life has been changed, be thankful that the one thing common to SO many people's story is the same GOD that you know. But don't forget the people who have yet to include that same God in their story... maybe you should tell them.