February 8, 2010
180 NEWS
Small Groups
Join us again this week for a night of small groups....Sunday @ 7pm!
The Burn
The Burn is our area-wide worship night. We gather with other youth groups for a night of worship, prayer, snacks and getting to know other believers. This quarter's Burn is at Tigard Church of God on Wednesday, February 17 from 7-8:30pm. See you there!
30 Hour Famine
It's not too late to begin raising money for the Famine. Join in raising money for World Vision's work around the world and in Haiti.
SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
". . . in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:6)
Want your life to be complicated? Really confused and stressful and messy? It's easy to accomplish: Just give some of your life to the Lord. Just acknowledge Him in some of your ways. And then save the rest of your ways for yourself.
Trust me. It's like signing up for a multiple personality disorder. Why? Because God's way is not your way. If you make a commitment to trust Him in some things and not others, you'll always be trying to keep the parts of yourself a secret from the other parts of yourself.
I'm not saying it can't be done. Most of us do it every day. I'm just saying it sucks. James called it being "double minded and unstable," this trusting in God some and me some. And it leads to foolish living and giant headaches.
Want to live simple? Want to walk a straight-ahead path that's going somewhere? Trust God with 100 percent of your heart and acknowledge Him in all of your ways.
Think: What would you lose if you trusted God by obeying Him in every part of your life? What would you gain?
Pray: Ask God to help you to acknowledge Him in all of your ways.
Do: Make a quick list of parts of your life that you tend to keep away from God, that you'd rather not let the "God part" of your life know about.
A Daily Devotional from PlanetWisdom.com, copyright 2010 Youth Specialties. Used by permission.
SURF REPORT
Interview with Denzel Washington about The Book of Eli
Lost Character Study: Will Kate Believe?
FORGETTABLE FACT
More than ten people a year are killed by vending machines.
POTENT QUOTABLES
To love another person is to see the face of God.
~ Les Miserables
UH, THAT'S FUNNY?
'You should be ashamed,' the father told his son, Andy,
'When Abraham Lincoln was your age, he used to walk ten miles every day to get to school.'
'Really?' Andy responded. 'Well, when he was your age, he was president.'
Small Groups
Join us again this week for a night of small groups....Sunday @ 7pm!
The Burn
The Burn is our area-wide worship night. We gather with other youth groups for a night of worship, prayer, snacks and getting to know other believers. This quarter's Burn is at Tigard Church of God on Wednesday, February 17 from 7-8:30pm. See you there!
30 Hour Famine
It's not too late to begin raising money for the Famine. Join in raising money for World Vision's work around the world and in Haiti.
SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
". . . in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:6)
Want your life to be complicated? Really confused and stressful and messy? It's easy to accomplish: Just give some of your life to the Lord. Just acknowledge Him in some of your ways. And then save the rest of your ways for yourself.
Trust me. It's like signing up for a multiple personality disorder. Why? Because God's way is not your way. If you make a commitment to trust Him in some things and not others, you'll always be trying to keep the parts of yourself a secret from the other parts of yourself.
I'm not saying it can't be done. Most of us do it every day. I'm just saying it sucks. James called it being "double minded and unstable," this trusting in God some and me some. And it leads to foolish living and giant headaches.
Want to live simple? Want to walk a straight-ahead path that's going somewhere? Trust God with 100 percent of your heart and acknowledge Him in all of your ways.
Think: What would you lose if you trusted God by obeying Him in every part of your life? What would you gain?
Pray: Ask God to help you to acknowledge Him in all of your ways.
Do: Make a quick list of parts of your life that you tend to keep away from God, that you'd rather not let the "God part" of your life know about.
A Daily Devotional from PlanetWisdom.com, copyright 2010 Youth Specialties. Used by permission.
SURF REPORT
Interview with Denzel Washington about The Book of Eli
Lost Character Study: Will Kate Believe?
FORGETTABLE FACT
More than ten people a year are killed by vending machines.
POTENT QUOTABLES
To love another person is to see the face of God.
~ Les Miserables
UH, THAT'S FUNNY?
'You should be ashamed,' the father told his son, Andy,
'When Abraham Lincoln was your age, he used to walk ten miles every day to get to school.'
'Really?' Andy responded. 'Well, when he was your age, he was president.'
February 1, 2010
180 NEWS
Prime Time Video
We gathered Sunday for a celebration of God's goodness in 2009. Check out the video from that night below.
Small Groups
Join us again this week for a night of small groups....Sunday @ 7pm!
30 Hour Famine
It's not too late to begin raising money for the Famine. Join in raising money for World Vision's work around the world and in Haiti.
SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21)
We've spent this last week listening in on Paul's prayer for the Ephesian Christians, a huge prayer for huge power so they could understand and live in the reality of a huge idea -- that the God of the universe loves them and will never, ever stop.
To understand that truth about God's commitment to us in Jesus changes a person. In fact, it changes everything. Ultimately, if the all-powerful God is for you -- and will be always -- how could you future be any better?
In these final verses, Paul responds in the only way that makes sense: worship. "To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!"
Amen.
Think: Are you convinced that God is all-powerful and that He loves you unconditionally in Jesus -- and that He will love you forever? If so, how does believing that change the way you live? How does it motivate you to respond to God in worship?
Pray: Say to God, "To you be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!"
Do: Make a point this next week to remember God's love for you in Christ and to worship Him for it.
A Daily Devotional from PlanetWisdom.com, copyright 2010 Youth Specialties. Used by permission.
SURF REPORT
Movie Review of Extraordinary Measures
FORGETTABLE FACT
Even Antarctica has an area code. It s 672.
POTENT QUOTABLES
Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.
~ Dr. Suess
Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.
~ Booker T. Washington
UH, THAT'S FUNNY?
Q. What do you call a song sung in an automobile?
A. A cartoon.
Prime Time Video
We gathered Sunday for a celebration of God's goodness in 2009. Check out the video from that night below.
Small Groups
Join us again this week for a night of small groups....Sunday @ 7pm!
30 Hour Famine
It's not too late to begin raising money for the Famine. Join in raising money for World Vision's work around the world and in Haiti.
SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21)
We've spent this last week listening in on Paul's prayer for the Ephesian Christians, a huge prayer for huge power so they could understand and live in the reality of a huge idea -- that the God of the universe loves them and will never, ever stop.
To understand that truth about God's commitment to us in Jesus changes a person. In fact, it changes everything. Ultimately, if the all-powerful God is for you -- and will be always -- how could you future be any better?
In these final verses, Paul responds in the only way that makes sense: worship. "To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!"
Amen.
Think: Are you convinced that God is all-powerful and that He loves you unconditionally in Jesus -- and that He will love you forever? If so, how does believing that change the way you live? How does it motivate you to respond to God in worship?
Pray: Say to God, "To you be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!"
Do: Make a point this next week to remember God's love for you in Christ and to worship Him for it.
A Daily Devotional from PlanetWisdom.com, copyright 2010 Youth Specialties. Used by permission.
SURF REPORT
Movie Review of Extraordinary Measures
FORGETTABLE FACT
Even Antarctica has an area code. It s 672.
POTENT QUOTABLES
Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.
~ Dr. Suess
Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.
~ Booker T. Washington
UH, THAT'S FUNNY?
Q. What do you call a song sung in an automobile?
A. A cartoon.
January 25, 2010
180 NEWS
Snow Fun Pics
We had a great time up on Mt. Hood last week! With great weather, just the right amount of snow, and good friends, we enjoyed the day! Check out all the pics here.
Prime Time & Small Groups
This week we'll have no small groups because our church is gathering to celebrate this past year of God's goodness. Join us at 7pm in the Worship Center for this celebration.
30 Hour Famine
It's not too late to begin raising money for the Famine. Join in raising money for World Vision's work around the world and in Haiti.
SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
"My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, 'Where is your God?' Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." (Psalm 42:10-11)
Have you ever been so sick or injured or sad that you thought you were going to die -- or felt like maybe you wanted to? The writer of Psalm 42 seems to be describing severe physical pain on top of all of his emotional suffering -- on top of being mocked along with his God.
Once more, though, he refuses to give up. After asking God the hard "why" questions in the previous verse, he turns the questions on himself again: "Why am I so downcast? This is not the end. My hope is in the God who saves -- I will not stop praising Him."
Job made a similar declaration when in physical and emotional agony -- at no fault of his own. He said about the God He was convinced could end His suffering, "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him." (See Job 13:15.)
For those who trust in God, life's worst days call for the best kind of stubbornness to keep hoping in the God who saves, to keep trusting and praising the God who comforts and rescues and will one day bring us home.
Think: How much harder is it to trust and hope in God when you are hurting physically as well as emotionally? How much difference does it make to know that God is for us and that Christ understands our physical and emotional pain after what He experienced on the cross?
Pray: Ask God to help you to be stubborn even when your sad, to keep praising, trusting and hoping in Him even on your hardest days.
Do: If you know a Christian who lives with ongoing physical pain and still seems to trust God and live joyfully, think about asking how they do that.
A Daily Devotional from PlanetWisdom.com, copyright 2009 Youth Specialties. Used by permission.
SURF REPORT
Movie Review of Book of Eli
Movie Review of Legion
FORGETTABLE FACT
About twenty-five percent of the population sneeze when they are exposed to light.
POTENT QUOTABLES
"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
~ John Quincy Adams
UH, THAT'S FUNNY?
Q: What do you call a dinosaur that smashes everything in its path?
A: Tyrannosaurus wrecks.
Snow Fun Pics
We had a great time up on Mt. Hood last week! With great weather, just the right amount of snow, and good friends, we enjoyed the day! Check out all the pics here.
Prime Time & Small Groups
This week we'll have no small groups because our church is gathering to celebrate this past year of God's goodness. Join us at 7pm in the Worship Center for this celebration.
30 Hour Famine
It's not too late to begin raising money for the Famine. Join in raising money for World Vision's work around the world and in Haiti.
SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
"My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, 'Where is your God?' Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." (Psalm 42:10-11)
Have you ever been so sick or injured or sad that you thought you were going to die -- or felt like maybe you wanted to? The writer of Psalm 42 seems to be describing severe physical pain on top of all of his emotional suffering -- on top of being mocked along with his God.
Once more, though, he refuses to give up. After asking God the hard "why" questions in the previous verse, he turns the questions on himself again: "Why am I so downcast? This is not the end. My hope is in the God who saves -- I will not stop praising Him."
Job made a similar declaration when in physical and emotional agony -- at no fault of his own. He said about the God He was convinced could end His suffering, "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him." (See Job 13:15.)
For those who trust in God, life's worst days call for the best kind of stubbornness to keep hoping in the God who saves, to keep trusting and praising the God who comforts and rescues and will one day bring us home.
Think: How much harder is it to trust and hope in God when you are hurting physically as well as emotionally? How much difference does it make to know that God is for us and that Christ understands our physical and emotional pain after what He experienced on the cross?
Pray: Ask God to help you to be stubborn even when your sad, to keep praising, trusting and hoping in Him even on your hardest days.
Do: If you know a Christian who lives with ongoing physical pain and still seems to trust God and live joyfully, think about asking how they do that.
A Daily Devotional from PlanetWisdom.com, copyright 2009 Youth Specialties. Used by permission.
SURF REPORT
Movie Review of Book of Eli
Movie Review of Legion
FORGETTABLE FACT
About twenty-five percent of the population sneeze when they are exposed to light.
POTENT QUOTABLES
"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
~ John Quincy Adams
UH, THAT'S FUNNY?
Q: What do you call a dinosaur that smashes everything in its path?
A: Tyrannosaurus wrecks.
January 19, 2010
180 NEWS
Snowboarding
Yesterday was a great day for tubing up on the mountain...Saturday, the snowboarders get their turn! If you are snowboarding/skiing with us on Saturday, remember to be at church by 12:30pm. Don't forget a sack dinner or money for dinner either!
Small Groups
We hope to see you at small groups, this Sunday from 7-8pm. If you haven't yet joined us, come out and give it a try! We have great times in applying God's Word to our real life.
30 Hour Famine
This past week we began the 30 Hour Famine season. Though the Famine event isn't until February 26-27...we want to encourage you to begin raising funds now! This year, we will even direct some of our funds through World Vision to the relief effort in Haiti.
Need a fundraising packet? Stop by the Youth Center or see Pastor Aaron.
SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." (Psalm 42:1)
How often do you feel sad? Sadness can be a fleeting feeling in the middle of a busy day, or it can overwhelm us for weeks and months. We're going to talk about sadness (or depression or "feeling down") this week -- but we're not going to talk about how to fix it.
Psalm 42 is a song about sadness apparently intended to be sung in public. The writer admits to being deeply "downcast," but he responds to his sadness in a weird way. More on that later in the week.
He starts the song with the picture of a thirsty deer looking for a stream. It might be easier for us to imagine a dog coming in from a long walk and making a bee line for it's water dish. The writer's point is that he was thirsty for God like that -- needy, eager, desperate.
More tomorrow about feeling lonely for God.
Think: Do you ever feel so lonely for God that it feels like a thirst, like you're desperate? Would it be weird to feel sad because you can't be with God?
Pray: Ask God to help you to increase your thirstiness for Him.
Do: Think about being needy for God in your soul next time you feel physically thirsty.
A Daily Devotional from PlanetWisdom.com, copyright 2009 Youth Specialties. Used by permission.
FORGETTABLE FACT
It takes about a week to make a jelly bean.
POTENT QUOTABLES
If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.
~ Lewis Carroll
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
UH, THAT'S FUNNY?
Q: What do cows do for entertainment?
A: They rent moovies!
Snowboarding
Yesterday was a great day for tubing up on the mountain...Saturday, the snowboarders get their turn! If you are snowboarding/skiing with us on Saturday, remember to be at church by 12:30pm. Don't forget a sack dinner or money for dinner either!
Small Groups
We hope to see you at small groups, this Sunday from 7-8pm. If you haven't yet joined us, come out and give it a try! We have great times in applying God's Word to our real life.
30 Hour Famine
This past week we began the 30 Hour Famine season. Though the Famine event isn't until February 26-27...we want to encourage you to begin raising funds now! This year, we will even direct some of our funds through World Vision to the relief effort in Haiti.
Need a fundraising packet? Stop by the Youth Center or see Pastor Aaron.
SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." (Psalm 42:1)
How often do you feel sad? Sadness can be a fleeting feeling in the middle of a busy day, or it can overwhelm us for weeks and months. We're going to talk about sadness (or depression or "feeling down") this week -- but we're not going to talk about how to fix it.
Psalm 42 is a song about sadness apparently intended to be sung in public. The writer admits to being deeply "downcast," but he responds to his sadness in a weird way. More on that later in the week.
He starts the song with the picture of a thirsty deer looking for a stream. It might be easier for us to imagine a dog coming in from a long walk and making a bee line for it's water dish. The writer's point is that he was thirsty for God like that -- needy, eager, desperate.
More tomorrow about feeling lonely for God.
Think: Do you ever feel so lonely for God that it feels like a thirst, like you're desperate? Would it be weird to feel sad because you can't be with God?
Pray: Ask God to help you to increase your thirstiness for Him.
Do: Think about being needy for God in your soul next time you feel physically thirsty.
A Daily Devotional from PlanetWisdom.com, copyright 2009 Youth Specialties. Used by permission.
FORGETTABLE FACT
It takes about a week to make a jelly bean.
POTENT QUOTABLES
If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.
~ Lewis Carroll
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
UH, THAT'S FUNNY?
Q: What do cows do for entertainment?
A: They rent moovies!
January 12, 2010
180 NEWS
Snowboarding, Tubing & the new 2010 Release Form
Join us for a day of Tubing (January 18) or a night of Snowboarding (January 23). Check out the fliers here:
SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
"To which of the angels did God ever say, 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet'? Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" (Hebrews 1:13-14)
Angels serve humans? What a wild idea that those awesome, powerful, fiery creatures of the wind who worship Jesus and obey His commands would be sent to serve the humans who will "inherit salvation."
That tells us something about the purpose of angels, but it also tells us something about Jesus and the humans who are trusting in Him for their salvation.
First, we see again -- once more -- that Jesus is above the angels. He sits in the seat of power and victory at God's right hand. But what does He do with that commanding position? How does He put His angel army to use?
He sends them to minister to the people He loves, the people He died for -- including those being persecuted for their faith in Him. He spends His power, in part, to serve His people.
Think: Have you expanded your picture of powerful King Jesus as God this week? Has that changed in any way how you feel about Him, how you might choose to worship Him?
Pray: Praise Jesus that He sits in the victory seat at the right hand of God.
Do: Today's passage quotes from Psalm 110. Check it out to see the picture it paints of conquering King Jesus.
A Daily Devotional from PlanetWisdom.com, copyright 2009 Youth Specialties. Used by permission.
SURF REPORT
Movie review of The Princess and the Frog
Movie review of Leap Year
FORGETTABLE FACT
Hummingbirds can't walk.
POTENT QUOTABLES
He who laughs last didn't get it.
~ Helen Giangregorio
Love is like pi: natural, irrational, and very important.
~ Lisa Hoffman
UH, THAT'S FUNNY?
Q: What do you call a sheep with no legs?
A: A cloud.
Snowboarding, Tubing & the new 2010 Release Form
Join us for a day of Tubing (January 18) or a night of Snowboarding (January 23). Check out the fliers here:
- Tubing (sign up by Thursday, January 14)
- Snowboarding (sign up by Sunday, January 17)
Don't forget to turn in the new 2010 Release Form even if you aren't going up to the mountain.
Small groups
Join us for small groups this Sunday night from 7-8pm. Spend time with leaders as we discuss God's word and it's implications for how we live.
Small groups
Join us for small groups this Sunday night from 7-8pm. Spend time with leaders as we discuss God's word and it's implications for how we live.
SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
"To which of the angels did God ever say, 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet'? Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" (Hebrews 1:13-14)
Angels serve humans? What a wild idea that those awesome, powerful, fiery creatures of the wind who worship Jesus and obey His commands would be sent to serve the humans who will "inherit salvation."
That tells us something about the purpose of angels, but it also tells us something about Jesus and the humans who are trusting in Him for their salvation.
First, we see again -- once more -- that Jesus is above the angels. He sits in the seat of power and victory at God's right hand. But what does He do with that commanding position? How does He put His angel army to use?
He sends them to minister to the people He loves, the people He died for -- including those being persecuted for their faith in Him. He spends His power, in part, to serve His people.
Think: Have you expanded your picture of powerful King Jesus as God this week? Has that changed in any way how you feel about Him, how you might choose to worship Him?
Pray: Praise Jesus that He sits in the victory seat at the right hand of God.
Do: Today's passage quotes from Psalm 110. Check it out to see the picture it paints of conquering King Jesus.
A Daily Devotional from PlanetWisdom.com, copyright 2009 Youth Specialties. Used by permission.
SURF REPORT
Movie review of The Princess and the Frog
Movie review of Leap Year
FORGETTABLE FACT
Hummingbirds can't walk.
POTENT QUOTABLES
He who laughs last didn't get it.
~ Helen Giangregorio
Love is like pi: natural, irrational, and very important.
~ Lisa Hoffman
UH, THAT'S FUNNY?
Q: What do you call a sheep with no legs?
A: A cloud.
Snowboarding / Tubing & the new 2010 Release Form
Join us for a day of Tubing (January 18) or a night of Snowboarding (January 23). Check out the fliers here:
- Tubing (sign up by Thursday, January 14)
- Snowboarding (sign up by Sunday, January 17)
Don't forget to turn in the new 2010 Release Form even if you aren't going up to the mountain.
Happy New Year!
December 22, 2009
180 NEWS
Last Blog of 09
Hey 180! This will be the last blog of 09. We'll finish up our Bible reading in this issue. We hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year!
Calendar
The Winter Calendar is available for download. Make sure you save the date on your own calendar for our snow days and the 30 Hour Famine!
Party Pics
We had a great time celebrating Christmas with each other. Thank you for bringing toys for Bridgetown! You can view all the pictures here:
Christmas & More
In case you've been living in a hole in the ground...Christmas is this week! Woohoo! We won't have mid week groups until the new year, but we hope you join us at one of our Christmas Eve services (Dec 24, 3:30 & 5:30), or Sunday the 27th (9:00 & 5:00).
Read Through the Bible
SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
Wild Night: Light in the Dark
"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified." (Luke 2:8-9)
I think most of us tend to root for the shepherds in the Christmas story. They represent us. No matter what role you played as a kid in your church Christmas pageant, none of us are angels. And though we're all learning to have faith like Mary, none of us will ever have her experience exactly.
No, we're the shepherds -- just living our everyday lives and suddenly terrified to realize that God has noticed us and overwhelmed to understand that the message He is delivering is Good News. For us. And it's happening right now.
Like the shepherds working the night shift, we live in the dark. And like the shepherds, God's light broke through the darkness of our fallen world with a spectacular opportunity: Believe in Jesus and live in great joy.
Don't be afraid the light. It's a good thing.
Think: Have you ever tried to imagine what that night was like for the shepherds out in the dark? Why do you think the shining "glory of the Lord" was so terrifying?
Pray: Thank God for making sure you heard the story of the shepherds and the angels so you could understand Jesus better.
Do: Think about reading Luke 2:1-7 to get caught up with the story again.
A Daily Devotional from PlanetWisdom.com, copyright 2009 Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission.
SURF REPORT
~ Movie Review of Avatar
~ Book Review of "Marked"
FORGETTABLE FACT
A snail can sleep for three years.
POTENT QUOTABLES
Those who wish to sing, always find a song.
~ Swedish Proverb
UH, THAT'S FUNNY?
Q: What goes up and down without moving?
A: Stairs.
Last Blog of 09
Hey 180! This will be the last blog of 09. We'll finish up our Bible reading in this issue. We hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year!
CalendarThe Winter Calendar is available for download. Make sure you save the date on your own calendar for our snow days and the 30 Hour Famine!
Party Pics
We had a great time celebrating Christmas with each other. Thank you for bringing toys for Bridgetown! You can view all the pictures here:
Christmas & More
In case you've been living in a hole in the ground...Christmas is this week! Woohoo! We won't have mid week groups until the new year, but we hope you join us at one of our Christmas Eve services (Dec 24, 3:30 & 5:30), or Sunday the 27th (9:00 & 5:00).
Read Through the Bible
| Day | Job | Zechariah | 2 John |
| Tuesday, December 22 | 24-25 | 5-6 | 1 |
| Wednesday, December 23 | 26-27 | 7-8 | 3 John 1 |
| Thursday, December 24 | 28-29 | 9-10 | Jude 1 |
| Friday, December 25 | 30-31 | 11 | Revelation 1-3 |
| Saturday, December 26 | 32-33 | 12 | 4-6 |
| Sunday, December 27 | 34-35 | 13 | 7-9 |
| Monday, December 28 | 36-37 | Malachi 1 | 10-12 |
| Tuesday, December 29 | 38-39 | 2 | 13-15 |
| Wednesday, December 30 | 40-41 | 3 | 16-18 |
| Thursday, December 31 | 42 | 4 | 19-22 |
SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART
Wild Night: Light in the Dark
"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified." (Luke 2:8-9)
I think most of us tend to root for the shepherds in the Christmas story. They represent us. No matter what role you played as a kid in your church Christmas pageant, none of us are angels. And though we're all learning to have faith like Mary, none of us will ever have her experience exactly.
No, we're the shepherds -- just living our everyday lives and suddenly terrified to realize that God has noticed us and overwhelmed to understand that the message He is delivering is Good News. For us. And it's happening right now.
Like the shepherds working the night shift, we live in the dark. And like the shepherds, God's light broke through the darkness of our fallen world with a spectacular opportunity: Believe in Jesus and live in great joy.
Don't be afraid the light. It's a good thing.
Think: Have you ever tried to imagine what that night was like for the shepherds out in the dark? Why do you think the shining "glory of the Lord" was so terrifying?
Pray: Thank God for making sure you heard the story of the shepherds and the angels so you could understand Jesus better.
Do: Think about reading Luke 2:1-7 to get caught up with the story again.
A Daily Devotional from PlanetWisdom.com, copyright 2009 Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission.
SURF REPORT
~ Movie Review of Avatar
~ Book Review of "Marked"
FORGETTABLE FACT
A snail can sleep for three years.
POTENT QUOTABLES
Those who wish to sing, always find a song.
~ Swedish Proverb
UH, THAT'S FUNNY?
Q: What goes up and down without moving?
A: Stairs.
