I have been unable to get this video to be viewed directly off the blog, but click on the link and you can check it out.  It is worth it checking it out.  Just click on the link below…

Mexico Mission Video

Enjoy this recap from our trip this summer to Mexico!!

During our time here in Mexico, we have been studying what it means to be a person of influence. One of our theme verses comes out of the sermon on the mount where Jesus teaches us that we should be a city on a hill and a light that illuminates everything around us. With all of this running through my head, we have simultaneously been serving at Los Ninos Del Capitan (an incredible day and education facility) and Centro de Fe (a local church). Both of these ministries have made a conscious decision to locate themselves in the middle of the barrios (a spanish word meaning district or neighborhood but it is really a term meaning ghetto or slums). When you stand at these ministries sites, all you can see is rows of homes that looks to be about the size of a large garden shed. Thousands of people fill these homes and in the midst of them, Los Ninos Del Capitan and Centro de Fe are true the sort of influence in that community. They are a city on a hill and a light in those communities.

Today we continued a lot of painting work at both locations. We were also able to spend some time in more relational ministry with the children at Los Ninos, and our students loved that (Robert Didier even did a small magic show that the children loved). The team is doing great and you should all be very proud of them. We will be back at both sites tomorrow. We hope to finish painting the sanctuary and at Los Ninos, the students will be facilitating craft time as a part of the teachers curriculum. We continue to covet your prayers and look forward to sharing more with you.

We have all seen the images of a sign-wearing-person beckoning the masses to “turn from their sins and be saved”. The approach is seldom well received and typically less than effective. As a matter of fact, the terminology of ‘being saved” to express an understanding of the forgiveness of sins that is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ seems to be somewhat antiquated (or at the very least it has fallen out of favor).

What I find interesting about this image and the way that our culture typically reacts to it, is the dichotomy that seems to exist the public persona that says’ “saved from what?” and the personal, private cries for help that can be found just below the surface. On the one hand, we want to appear as though salvation is unnecessary and on the other there is a constant, underlying sense of desperation. We want to be saved but we don’t want people to know that we want to be saved. You get the gist.

In TREK last week we began to study the book of I Peter. Peter is addressing an audience that is experiencing suffering in large part because they have identified themselves with Christ. Peter seeks to instruct this group of disenfranchised believers on how to “stand fast” in the true grace of God (5:12). He does so by first teaching (or reminding) them about their salvation. For Peter and for the early church, their lives going forward would have to based on and motivated by their awareness of their own salvation.

I Peter 1: 3-12 have a great deal to say about what it means to “be saved”. What has continued to ring in my head after teaching these verses in TREK last week is, “how aware am I of my own salvation and how does that awareness affect the way that I live my every day life?” According to Peter, it is at the core of every life lived for God.

OMOD Lunch Line Promo from One Meal One Day on Vimeo.

We are now just a day away from One Meal, One Day. We will join with thousands of students from around the United States who are skipping a meal on Wednesday, April 21st in order to contribute the cost of that one meal (estimated at an average of about $5 per person) and give it to help feed hungry children across the global. Here are some easy ways to join us in the effort:

1. Join us in skipping lunch or dinner on Wednesday, April 21st and donate that $5 to one of the many students from Club 56, Souled Out or TREK that are taking part in this effort. (one note: if you are unable or not interested in actually skipping the meal, you can of course still donate to the cause.)

2. If you are unable to donate through one of these students but would sill like to give, you can simply text OMOD to 90999 and it will automatically send a $5 donation to the One Meal One Day program through your phone bill. (if you chose to donate via text and are comfortable letting me know that you donated that would be great, we are trying to track how much money we were able to raise to combat world hunger. You can jot me (Sterling) a message on facebook or on email at smoore@fbcg.com).

3. Influence other to join you in the effort. I believe that this generation of students can be the one that ends the plight of world hunger if we begin to think differently and act! One of the major components of action is making others aware of the reality and asking them to make the small sacrifice of joining in this effort. If nothing else, it should open the door to some interesting conversations.

Remember, every $5 that someone gives or texts in feeds a child for 12 days!!! Every $156 feeds a person for a year. Thank you for encouraging these students to get involved.

All funds that we receive will be donated directly to Compassion International.

This week in Student Ministries we began our series entitled One Meal, One Day.  The goal is to become aware of the reality of global hunger in our world, understanding God’s heart for his people to respond to the needs of the poor and marginalized and to influence students and their peers to simply skip a meal and contribute the money to help feed the needy (through Compassion International).

This week we looked at a couple of these key points as it relates to grasping the need and our ability to respond.  Here are a couple of the highlights…

1. We are rich.  Because of where we were born and what we have access to, int he global economy we are immensely wealthy.  We don’t always feel wealthy because we can look around us and see people that have more.  The reality of it all is that we have to come to grips with the fact that most of our families are in the top 5% of the the wealthiest people in the world (for more information on this point check out www.globalrichlist.com).

2. There is a enormous need.  A child dies somewhere in the world every 5 seconds from hunger related causes.  That is over 17,000 children every single day.  This should not be.  It does not need to be but until something changes this fact will remain.

3. God defines true religion as “looking after orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27).  It is the central premise of the gospel, helping those that cannot help themselves.  It is at the very heart of God and God intends for it to be at the heart of his people.

4. As the body of Christ we are called to action. On Wednesday, April 21st, our students, their friends and anyone else who will join us are going to skip a meal and use the money to help combat global hunger. Our goal is to get 100 students to each enlist 10 friends to join them in this effort. If we each take the $5 that we spend on lunch that day and contribute it to this movement, we can raise $5000. Every $156 that we raise in TREK will feed one person for an entire year.

So the question remains…are you hungry?

Coming in April, FBCG Student Ministries will be partnering with Compassion International to raise awareness and money to combat global childhood hunger. Over 17,000 children die every day (about one every 5 seconds) from hunger related causes.  Imagine losing all of the students that attend the major high schools in the tri-cities area every single day.  The reality is that it is preventable.   As a ministry, we are going to be exploring God’s heart of the poor and marginalized, the call to respond and to use our influence to get other students in involved. Pray that this would open our eyes up to global issues, awaken us to the needs around us and motivate us to respond.

For more information about One Meal One Day check out:

http://www.onemealoneday.com/ or  see them on facebook.

We can make a difference.

Have you ever had a bad day lead to a bad decision?  I have.  The stress of life gone wrong seems to be particularly effective at enabling me to make stupid decisions.  I rationalize that “this day is already shot to pieces so might as well…” _______________ (you fill in the blank).  It is almost stereotypical.  We picture a girl after a break-up downing a cartoon of ice cream or a guy after his pride as been hurt doing something stupid in order to prove himself.  It happens all the time.

Think about the life of Joseph for a minute.  He was betrayed by his brother in a jealous fit, sold as slave and removed from his family and his home, framed by Potiphar’s wife for attempted rape, spending years of his life in prison and after interpreting the dream of Pharaoh’s cup bearer and being promised that he be remembered for what he had done, he remains in jail for another 2 years.  Talk about a rough patch.  What is amazing is that in the midst of all of the Joseph remains faithful to God believing that there is a purpose behind everything that is happening.  I get a flat tire and I can wonder why God would allow me to suffer so unjustly.

The question that emerges is how did Joseph remain so faithful to God in the middle of circumstance that went so horribly wrong?  How did he make those kinds of decisions?

Here are a couple of questions for you as a family to process as you seek wisdom under distress….

1. After everything that Joseph has been through, being sold into slavery by his own family, being falsely accused of rape by his employer’s wife and now landing in prison (for ten years)—what do you think allowed him to continue to make God honoring decisions?
2. How might we expect someone who has been through what Joseph has been through to react?  How would we expect someone to make decisions in the context of these circumstances?
3. Think of someone that has been through a really tough time.  How did what they experienced affect the way they made decisions?  Did they continue to make wise, healthy decisions or did they make harmful or self-destructive decisions?
4. How can we be prepared in life to make wise decisions when life is bad?
5. What will you take away from the lessons that we have looked at through Joseph’s experiences and that application of wisdom?

Temptation has confounded mankind’s efforts to make wise decisions from the very beginning.  Temptation seems to complicate everything, confounding our ability to consider our options, identify consequences and to emerge on the other side having made that wise decision.  Temptation is a reality that is common to man and as such learning how to make wise decisions in light of that reality is critical.  Joseph faced just that situation.  He finally landed in a pretty good situation.  He was working for a powerful man, was in charge of all of his household and all of a sudden Potiphar’s wife invited Joseph into her bed and Joseph is faced with a decision.  For Joseph, the situation would eventually leave him with no other option but to run away.

In contrast, look at the case study of Tiger Woods and his exploits that have been all over the news since last Thanksgiving. Tiger Woods talks about feeling entitled and that the standards that apply to everyone else somehow did not apply to him. Because of privilege, fame and money Tiger constantly had women who were more than willing, throwing themselves at him and in the face of that sort of temptation; he cheated on his wife and ruined his reputation.  Joseph chose to run away and Tiger gave in.

Here are some questions for you as a family to think about as you talk about this topic:

1. What do you imagine is running through Joseph’s brain in the midst of Potiphar’s wife’s seduction?

2. How vulnerable do you think Joseph is to this type of temptation? He resists, but how difficult of a struggle can we imagine that this is for him?

3. In what ways does temptation have an ability to determine our choices?

4. Genesis 39:10 says that she “spoke to Joseph day after day”. How does temptation have a way of wearing us down? How much harder is it to make wise decisions when we are facing temptation day after day?

5. I Corinthians 10;13 says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” What are some of the “ways out” that you think God provides?

Have you ever hit your boiling point?  I think that we all have at one point or another.  Right now in TREK, we are going to in the midst of a series entitle WizDumb looking how we make decisions and how those decisions ultimately determine our destination.  This week our focus will be looking at what happens when we make decisions under the pressure of emotional strain or peer influence.  This week we will be looking at Genesis 37 to see how Reuben and his brothers made decisions in the midst of the anger and jealously that they were feeling toward Joseph and their father.

The reality is that much of life is lived under pressure and that pressure can greatly cloud our ability to make wise decisions.  The result is often times regret, hurt and the spiraling effect that comes when bad decisions begin to compound upon each other.

Here are some questions for you as a family to discuss at home:

(Consider beginning with a story of a decision made int he heat of the moment from your own life and what resulted from that situation in your own life.)

1.  What are some of the major decisions that you will face in your life in the next couple of years?

2. How are you feeling about the prospect of making these decisions?  Are you confident? Scared? Confused?

3.  How will it complicate your decision making process if you are making the decisions out of anger?  hurt? what if you are in love with someone?

4. Why do you think strong emotions make it challenging to make wise decisions?

5.  In what ways will your decisions be influenced by your friends?  How does peer pressure effect the decisions that we make?