05.15.2012

Important Announcements

Youth Group Yard Sale: May 19

Oh man! We have a ton of stuff – clothes, skis, furniture, an outdoor fireplace, toys, kitchen items, printers, golf clubs, bicycles, art, lamps, and more. We are getting excited about raising money for our mission trips.

The sale is THIS Saturday, May 19, 9am – 1pm. We need people to work the day of the sale, and we need people to help set up Friday evening, 6-9pm (hopefully it won’t take that long). Please let Pastor Joe know when you are available.

We advertised on Craig’s List.

High School Youth Dinner to Honor Seniors, this Sunday, May 20
PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE TO 5PM

This Sunday night, May 20, we are going to be holding a special dinner for our high school students to honor the graduating seniors. The dinner will be 5pm upstairs in the double room.(We changed the time to 5pm to de-conflict with baccalaureate services for the seniors at their high schools)

Please RSVP your intent to attend to Pastor Joe as soon as possible.

Middle School will also have a special night downstairs during regular youth group time, 6 – 8pm.

Car Wash – June 9

We have scheduled a Car Wash at Big O for Saturday June 9!

Another great fundraiser for our mission trips!

This Week in Youth Ministry

No Small Groups this Week!

Sunday Night

High School dinner at 5pm – Upper Level double room

Middle School dinner at 6pm – Lower Level

Tuesday Thought

Quote of the Week

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” - old saying

Trash or Treasure?

Some of the stuff for our yard sale!

Kopi Luwak is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. When I checked online today it cost $399.99/pound on amazon.com (Don’t believe me? Click here). I’ve never had any, but they say it is delicious. For that kind of money, it better be! Two things make Kopi Luwak expensive: (1) it is rare, and (2) it is processed in a unique way. Let me tell you a little about the processing.

There is this cat called a civet that eats the berries that contain the coffee beans. Apparently, civets have very discerning palettes and only eat berries at their ripest, meaning that they have the very best beans. The civets eat the entire berry, bean and all. So how do we turn the beans into coffee? Well, you wait a few hours for the civets to “process” the beans. The cats digest the berries but not the beans, meaning that one can find the beans in their… well, uh, excrement. People then go and sift through civet droppings to find coffee beans, collect them, and turn them into $400/pound coffee. Gross! I know! (Learn more about it on Wikipedia)

But there is a Kingdom of God parable here about the economy of God. God doesn’t waste things. Instead, God has a way of taking things that look useless, like cat dung, and turning them into something very special. Tough times that we go through can make us better. Hard work makes us stronger. Even something as painful and evil as the cross, God changed into a symbol of freedom and new life.

That’s what we’re hoping to do with our yard sale on Saturday. Take a bunch of old stuff that people don’t want anymore and turn it into some money that can be used to help others. In some ways, the piles in our youth room look like a bunch of old junk, but you and I know that they are actually a means of raising money that will allow us to do the work to which God has called us.

You know that junk in your life? If you give it to God, he might just turn it into something wonderful.

Video of the Week

Kid Wakes Up Rockin’

Beware! Future drummer in the backseat.

Other Announcements

Spaghetti Dinner and Talent Show, Sunday, June 24 - Save the Date!

To kickoff Family Fun Week 2012, we will be holding a Spaghetti Dinner and Talent Show Fundraiser for our summer mission trips!

We will serve a spaghetti dinner and then provide a talent show for entertainment. All of the money raised will go toward our mission trips. Get your talent ready. It will be a GREAT night of food, fun, and friends!

Keep using your King Soopers cards!

Thank you to all who are using our King Soopers cards. If you would like to participate, please contact Pastor Joe and we will get a card to you!

Help us spread the word on Sunday mornings! There are printed information sheets at the table in the coffee area – and take some for friends who shop at King Soopers.

Prayer Requests

Please forward your prayer requests to us to add to this list! We believe in the power of prayer.

05.08.2012

Tuesday Thought

Quote of the Week

“My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished 2 bags of M&M’s and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.” - Dave Barry

Finishing well

As the school year winds down many of you already have the finish line in sight. For several weeks now I have been hearing from some of you how many days are left in school, how many more times you will have class with a teacher you don’t particularly like, and some of you are counting down the days left in middle school or high school. It is an exciting time!

But you are not done yet. While it may be difficult to think of anything other than the lazy days of summer with nothing to do, you cannot go there yet. There is still work to be done.

Think about gymnasts. Whenever I watch I note one of the most important things to influence their scores is the landing. Everything they do in the air after a vault, or swinging on the high bar, can be undone by a bad landing. They have to “stick” the landing. To get a good score, they have to finish well.

That is true in all aspects of life. A lot of hard work can be dismissed if we get lazy at the end. We need to persevere, keep going, and finish well. The Bible talks about that with our faith. The Apostle Paul says to his young protegé Timothy, “You take over. I’m about to die, my life an offering on God’s altar. This is the only race worth running. I’ve run hard right to the finish, believed all the way” (2 Timothy 4:7, Msg). Paul is ready to finish well.

As you get ready for finals, and all of the end-of-year work that needs to be done, may you have the courage and strength to finish well.

Video of the Week

Skyaking: Skydiving in a kayak

What a great landing! You always have to finish well.

05.01.2012

Tuesday Thought

Quote of the Week

“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.” - Yogi Berra, Hall of Fame catcher for the New York Yankees

Practice, Practice, Practice

There is an old joke where two people are standing on a street corner. One turns to the other and says, “How do you get to Yankee Stadium?” The other responds, “Practice, practice, practice.”

If you go to a baseball game early, you may see players taking batting practice; if you watch golf on television, you will sometimes see players putting on the practice green or hitting balls on the driving range before they tee off; or if you look for your favorite musician on YouTube you may find some tips on what they do when they practice. I am always impressed to see people who are great at what they do still need to practice.

You’ve been doing it all of your life. You learned to walk when you were very young, holding onto the couch and stumbling every few steps. You’ve been practicing ever since. By now you should be pretty good at it.  You learned to talk when you were really young too – a couple of words here and there. You kept practicing, and now some of you are REALLY good at talking. Every day in school you are practicing. They call it homework, but really it’s just practice – reading, writing, math, problem-solving… Practice, practice, practice.

The same is true of our faith. If we want to grow in our faith, if we want to have a strong faith that will help us through the difficult times of life, if we want to have a good relationship with Jesus, it takes practice. When you read the Bible you are practicing listening to God in your story. When you pray you are practicing talking with Jesus. When you come to youth group you are practicing loving and being loved by other people, practicing what it is like to be a Christian in ordinary life.

Become a mature Christian doesn’t happen all by itself. It takes practice.

Video of the Week

Human mattress dominoes attempt breaks world record

More people with a lot of free time!

04.24.2012

Tuesday Thought

Quote of the Week

“I’m not insane, my mother had me tested!” - Sheldon Cooper, Big Bang Theory

Seeing people

Do you know a Sheldon?

When I was in college I had this friend – he was a nice enough guy, but a little weird. He was difficult to know, but once you got to know him, he was one of the nicest people ever. Except when he wasn’t. Sometimes, he was annoying. Other times he was argumentative. Once in a while he was moody. Think Sheldon on Big Bang Theory, only not as funny or smart.

Maybe you have a friend like that – one who talks too much, or too little; one who is demanding of your time and attention; one who seems to always be in need and creates drama; one who sometimes complicates your other friendships. Or maybe it is just somebody in one of your classes or at lunch, who seems to think he is a much better friend of yours than you think. What do you do?

It seems to me you have two choices: (a) get out of the conversation as quickly as possible, or (b) work at begin fully present and listen.

There are people who disregard our boundaries. When that happens we need to draw the line. Don’t let those annoying friends take over your life – monopolize your time, drive away your other friends, get you in trouble, or anything like that. Sometimes Sheldon needs to be told that what he is doing makes Leonard uncomfortable, or is inappropriate.

There are other times though, when people simply need someone to listen to them. So few people are good at listening, especially to the awkward people.

Jesus never seemed to brush people off. He saw beyond their reputation, their annoying habits, and even their needs to the heart of who they were. May we, his followers, be people who truly see and listen to the people in our lives.

Video of the Week

Monkey Man Gallops across Japan

This guy takes his “craft” seriously!

04.17.2012

Tuesday Thought

Quote of the Week

“Envy shoots at others and wounds itself” - English proverb

The 10 Commandments of Chick-fil-A
(but there are only 9)

Hungry yet?

I mentioned this in passing in my sermon Sunday morning, and some have asked me about it. So here is an excerpt of self-proclaimed Chick-fil-A expert, Jon Acuff’s “The 10 Commandments of Chick-fil-A” from Stuff Christians Like. You really should read the whole thing here.

1. Thou Bible study has an 89% greater chance of survival if you hold it at a Chick-fil-A.
2. Thou shalt not try to trick employees into forgetting to say “My pleasure.”
3. Thou shalt pray if you desire, but you don’t need to since the food comes pre-blessed.
4. Thou shalt feel like you’re tithing when you eat there.
5. Thou shalt crave Chick-fil-A more on Sunday than any other day of the week.
6. Thou shalt be tempted to complain at other restaurants you go to.
7. Thou shalt turn the kids meal toy into a free ice cream cone.
8. Thou shalt not abuse the free refills of sweet tea.
9. Thou shalt not take Chick-fil-A for granted.

What would you say should be the 10th commandment of Chick-fil-A?

Video of the Week

Man auditions to be a Denver Bronco Cheerleader

This is a little like watching an early episode of American Idol.
He has no idea how much better the others around him are!

04.10.2012

Tuesday Thought

Quote of the Week

“A man who is eating or … preparing to go to sleep in humility, thankfulness and temperance, is, by Christian standards, in an infinitely higher state than one who is listening to Bach or reading Plato in a state of pride.” - C. S. Lewis

From good to great

Which is good enough, and which is great?

I read a blog today by Jon Acuff, an author I read regularly, where he talked about the difference between ordinary and extraordinary. He used the illustration of the two cups of yogurt he got on a recent trip. The one on the left is from a restaurant, where one expects to get good food. The one on the right is from his hotel where you expect a clean room, but not necessarily great food. Can you tell the difference?

Sometimes we think the difference between a C and an A, between a good friendship and a great one, or between an OK relationship with God and a powerful one, takes monumental work. We don’t have extra hours to spend studying, talking on the phone, or reading our Bibles. But maybe the gap really isn’t that great. Maybe it is just two inches, as Acuff says, that one extra scoop of yogurt.

I agree. The difference is often just doing a little extra. Little changes can lead to big differences. So what can you do that can turn that grade, friendship, or relationship with God from ordinary into something extraordinary?

Video of the Week

Tim Hawkins: Restaurants

I’m not sure I agree with what he says about Chipotle!

04.03.2012

The April Snow Day Edition

Tuesday Thought

Quote of the Week

“God wants to show his greatness by using nothingness.” - Mother Teresa

Making the ordinary holy

One of the things easily overlooked about our faith is how God uses ordinary stuff to do extraordinary things. God takes the “dust of the ground” and forms human beings. Jesus is baptized with water in an ordinary river. He spits on the ground and makes mud that he uses to heal a man born blind. At the end of his ministry he asks his disciples to remember him using two things they would have seen every day – bread and wine.

To close our discussion on the Last Supper Sunday night, I asked the middle school youth what ordinary things in their lives might God want to use to remind them of Jesus. We came up with several, like our phones because God wants to be in communication with us, baseballs which are hard and Jesus is the rock, and our shoes because Jesus wants us to walk with him and follow him.

That thought stuck with me throughout the day Monday. I looked at my desk differently when I got to the office. At lunch, I saw my sandwich as a gift. On the way home I thought about my time alone in my car as a blessing.

As we continue Holy Week I wonder what other gifts God is giving that I don’t even see. What about you? Are you missing God’s presence in the ordinary too?

Video of the Week

The Skit Guys: The Rabbit and the Resurrection

What happens when a mall Easter Bunny goes on break?

03.27.2012

Tuesday Thought

Quote of the Week

“Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest” - Ashleigh Brilliant (writer/cartoonist)

Spring Break!

Woohoo! Spring Break!

It is spring break! Time to celebrate! I know there are many of you who are not home because you are skiing, visiting family, or on some other fun vacation this week. I know because I have seen your Facebook statues while sitting in my office. I’m not jealous or anything.

Spring break serves as a great reminder that we all need to slow down sometimes. It is so easy to go, go, go all the time. School, homework, papers, projects, practices, work, chores, friends, Facebook, and everything else in our lives can keep us incredibly busy all the time – or at least if feels that way. We need to find those times when we can take a break, relax, and be with our friends, family, and God.

Remember that in the story of creation, God made us that way. Every night God rested and created us to do the same. That is why he commanded that we should rest one day per week, a day called the Sabbath.

Enjoy your break! Hope to see you on Sunday.

Video of the Week

Soldier’s Deck of Cards

A magician’s story about God and a deck of cards.

Can We Text You?

I sent our first text on Friday, reminding you about the St. Patrick’s Day event at the church. The texts begin with “FRM: pastorjoei@symt.us.” That’s my account with Simply Youth Ministry Tools.

If you would like to be added to the list, sign up using one of the links below. (If you have already signed up, thank you. You don’t need to do this again.)

Instructions: You only need to sign up once! Parents of both high school and middle school youth, please sign up under Middle School, and I will add you to the High School list on my end. I know it looks complicated, but doing it this way minimizes the work I will have to do later.

Here are the links:

• Parents of Middle School youth: trunc.us/09d581 (if you have both high school and middle school children, please subscribe under Middle School)
• Parents of High School youth: trunc.us/90D2vt
• Current High School Seniors (Class 2012): trunc.us/QviHVD
• Current High School Juniors (Class 2013): trunc.us/qtD74a
• Current High School Sophomores (Class 2014): trunc.us/94z4MD
• Current High School Freshman (Class 2015): trunc.us/k5W62F
• Current 8th graders (Class 2016): trunc.us/GD275n
• Current 7th graders (Class 2017): trunc.us/8252l2
• Current 6th graders (Class 2018): trunc.us/S1NK79

Prayer Requests

Please forward your prayer requests to us to add to this list!
We believe in the power of prayer.

03.20.2012

Tuesday Thought

Quote of the Week

“Peyton Manning called John Elway this morning to tell him he’s looking forward to coming to play for him.” – Adam Schefter, sportswriter, via Twitter yesterday (@AdamSchefter)

Manning photoshopped into a Bronco uniform.

Too soon?

About 10am yesterday my Twitter feed got quite congested yesterday with news that Peyton Manning was coming to the Denver Broncos. What a great season we can look forward to with one of the best quarterbacks ever, playing right here in Colorado. If you are not a fan, and think all of this football talk is crazy, you haven’t seen anything yet. It is going to be a frenzy of football from now through the Super Bowl in February 2013!

On the way home yesterday, when I turned on the sports-talk radio station to hear the latest, I found people talking about how many Super Bowls the Broncos are going to win. They were counting them. You’d think sports fans would have learned what a mistake that is from the whole LeBron James “I’m taking my talents to South Beach” fiasco a couple of years ago. I understand the excitement, but c’mon, it is not like they just hand you those Vince Lombardi trophies. Maybe they should just think about winning the first game, then the second, then after 12-14 of those you can talk about the Super Bowl.

We all do that sometimes, with things way more important than football. We get ahead of ourselves. We think things like: ”Now that I have a boyfriend/girlfriend, everything is going to be perfect;” ”Now that I have a job, I’m going to have money to do what I want;” “Now that I’m in middle school (or high school) I’ve got it made.” But then we learn that relationships can we hard work, that balancing school and a job can be difficult, or that this school means the work is that much harder. We need to be patient and take things a step at a time.

When Moses was leading the Hebrews through the wilderness after escaping from slavery in Egypt, God led them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night. The people followed the cloud and the pillar. The Bible says, “Whenever the Cloud lifted from The Dwelling, the People of Israel set out on their travels, but if the Could did not lift, they wouldn’t set out until it did lift” (Exodus 40:36, Msg). For me the following would have been much easier than the waiting. I imagine there were at least some who prayed for the cloud to move. Living in the wilderness could not have been fun. But God asked them to wait sometimes.

That continues to be true for many of us. We want to keep going. We get “ahead of ourselves.” We start counting Super Bowls before training camp. Sometimes God just want us to be fully aware of where we are in the moment. He has work for us to do now, where we are. He has put you there for a reason.

Video of the Week

Dinosaur Office: Computer Problems

A new discovery. Really silly but made us smile. 

Prayer Requests

Please forward your prayer requests to us to add to this list!
We believe in the power of prayer.

03.13.2012

Tuesday Thought

Quote of the Week

“If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God so as to teach these peoples; even though some of them still look down on me.” – Saint Patrick

Turning it around

All of us have been hurt by someone who called us a name, bullied us, stole from us, made us feel bad about ourselves, or something like that. When we have been hurt, it can difficult for us to deal with that person again. Imagine if someone took away your freedom.

In the 400′s that is what happened a young man in England named Patrick. At the age of 16 he was captured and taken from his home to serve as a slave in Ireland. For six years he worked as a shepherd slave, before escaping. Upon returning home, he trained to become a priest. During his training he felt called by God to return to Ireland to serve the people there. When his training was complete, he asked to go to Ireland as a missionary, where he was tremendously successful in sharing the love of Jesus. Patrick, of course, became St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland whom we celebrate this Saturday.

His story is similar to the Biblical story of Jonah. God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh, but Jonah so disliked the Ninevites, that he went in the opposite direction. That is why God had to use a whale to get Jonah to Nineveh.

Patrick could have run too. He could have decided that he was needed in England more than Ireland. He could have been so angry about his six years in slavery, that he would spend the rest of his life in hatred, plotting revenge. Instead, Patrick gave all of that to God, and God used it. All he had learned about Ireland and its people during his six years of slavery was used it to change people’s lives.

That is a choice that we have too. We can allow bitterness, resentment, and a strong desire for revenge to build up in us when we are hurt. Or, we can look for ways to serve God, even in our brokenness. May you and I be people who reach out to all people, even those who have hurt us, with the love of Jesus.

Video of the Week

Billie Jean by James Hill

Mad ukulele skills. Yes, I said ukulele. 

Prayer Requests

Nicole asks for prayers for her and her brother Jonathan who will be in Guatemala from the 10-17 and Ari who will be there from the 9-16. Prayers for safe travels and that God’s will may be done!

Please forward your prayer requests to us to add to this list!
We believe in the power of prayer.