American Idols: Get a Real Life

This past Wednesday, Travis wrapped up the sermon series American Idols. This sermon talked about how to have a real life, one that is fulfilled in Christ, not idols.

First off he looked at John 10:10 where it says, "The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Jesus gives life, life to the full!!!

How do we live life to the fullest?

• New life in Christ. Nothing else can give you life to it's fullest, many try to fill there life with things other than Christ, but ultimately end up dissatisfied. 2 Corinthians 5:17 talks about the new life we can have in Christ: "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old is gone; a new life has begun!" Jesus can change even the worst of sinners, never doubt what Christ can do!
• New purpose. God gives our life purpose, meaning and fulfillment. When we turn our lives over to Christ, we become His ambassadors. See 2 Corinthians 5:18-21. We represent Christ to the world, we are supposed to be different from the rest of this world. Are you?

American Idols: What's the Problem?

Think about what you are truly building your life on, can it be taken away? If it was taken away, would your life completely fall apart? Truth is, if you are building your life on anything else but the firm foundation of Jesus Christ, your life will crumble when difficulties come. And they WILL come! Your life WILL NOT fall apart if your life is built on God. Check out what Jesus says in Matthew 7:24-27 about the subject.

So why should we build our lives on Jesus and not an idol?

• Jesus is reliable. Jesus will never leave you or forsake you, you can count on Jesus! (Hebrews 13:5-6) What/who do you rely on?
• Jesus is Consistent. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

What happens when your idol becomes threatened or lost?

• You become paralyzed, with fear, frustration, anxiety. Remember, Jesus can NEVER be taken from you! You can chose to walk away from Him, but no one else can take Him away from you.
• You become panicked, you do stupid things to hold on to it. Remember, you don't have to prove yourself worthy to Jesus, Jesus accepts you, you are important to Him!
• You feel pressure.

So again I ask, what are you building your life on?

American Idols....What is Idolatry?

This past Wednesday, Travis started a new series about idolatry. He said, "Idolatry is good things that we make into 'God Things' and that is a bad thing!" The first scripture we looked at was Exodus 20:3-5 where God plainly states in the 10 commandments that we should have no other god before Him of any kind and He will not tolerate idolatry!

What is Idolatry?

• Idolatry is our attempt to make a god. It is a god we think we can control, but it ultimately ends up controlling us! Some examples include looks, pornography, money, etc.

• Idolatry is an exchange. It's when we trade God for things like sports, popularity, sex, etc. We devote ourselves to things that have no eternal value when we need to be devoted to God. In Romans 1:25 it says, "They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-who is forever praised. Amen."

Are there things/people in your life that you have elevated above God? Have you exchanged Him for something you have created and think you can control? Turn from these things and give your heart fully to God, be devoted to Him!

What's the Big Deal About the Bible?

Last night at youth, Travis finished up his 3 series with a message about the Bible. Everything we need to know to be a follower of Christ is found in the Bible. God can show us new things every time we read the Bible if we remember what Jeremy Kingsley says, "You don't read the Bible to finish, you read the Bible to CHANGE!" If we read God's Word with that mindset, it can do some amazing things in our lives!

The first point Travis made was that The Bible is a Map. In Psalm 119:18-19, it talks about how God's word is our guide. He gives us His Word to guide us through life, through good times and bad. It comforts us, gives us assurance,and leads us in the right direction. Let God's Word guide you!

Secondly, The Bible is a Light. In Psalm 119:105 it says, "Your Word is a light for my feet and a light for my path." God only guides us and shows us what's just ahead, in front of our feet, on our path of life so we will trust Him to guide us. Yes it may be hard and we all want to know what God wants us to do in the future, but God is in control and knows what is best for us and our trust in Him.

Remember, God's Word is not something to be taken lightly, it should be respected and obeyed. When was the last time you took a look at God's Word?

Eternity

Most of us don't think of eternity very often, but it should be something we are more aware of. Eternity is very real and it last forever. Someone once said, "...you'll be more alive in 1000 years then you are today." Wow, that's hard to fathom, but it is so true. Last night at youth, Travis spoke of this very topic and the fact that you and I will either spend eternity in Heaven or in Hell.

The first point Travis made was that we are all going to die. In Hebrews 9:27 it says, "...each person is destined to die once..." We can't run from it, we can't ignore it, we can't get out of it, we are all going to die one day, maybe even today. It doesn't matter who you are, you are going to die. Death is the great equalizer!

Secondly, we are all going to stand before God. Again in Hebrews 9:27 it says, "...each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgement." We all have to give an account to Jesus for our lives. (see Matthew 12:34-36) For every word we speak or type, we have to give an account. Think about the things you say in a day, the things you text, status update or tweet. What are you going to say to Jesus when He asks you about these things? There is no getting out of standing before Jesus Christ!

Third, we will end up somewhere, Heaven or Hell. Every single person is going to die and then live forever. Those who have given their lives to Christ and truly repented of their sins will get to join Jesus in Heaven, a place of beauty and peace, free from pain, suffering and temptation. Life isn't easy for the Christian, Jesus even tells us that, but don't quit, don't stop, don't give up, & don't give in. Heaven is so worth it!!!

Those who have chosen to ignore Jesus and reject Him will go to Hell, a place of torment, regret and hopelessness. Check out the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. Please always remember that Jesus never sends anyone to Hell, people chose to go there by rejecting Him.

Finally, we will be there forever. Eternity is forever, we will live in Heaven or Hell FOREVER! Eternity never stops, it is reality! Eternity just keeps going whether we like it or not.

Where have you chosen to spend eternity?

3: Night 1 Jesus: What's the Big Deal?

Last night at youth, Travis started a new sermon series called 3. In this series, Travis will be speaking about Jesus, The Bible and Eternity. So obviously, last night was about Jesus! We did things a bit differently at youth, with Travis speaking at the beginning and then worship at the end. It was cool because after Travis was done with the message the teens had the opportunity to praise Jesus with hopefully a better understanding of Him.

Travis talked about 3 things that Jesus did for you and for me, the first being that Jesus Stepped Out. What does this mean? Jesus stepped out of Heaven, made Himself nothing by becoming a servant and ultimately dying for you. (see Philippians 2:5-8) During this point, Travis talked about how Jesus is the only one who can truly say, "I know what you are going through." Others may say this to you when you are having a difficult time, but Jesus is the only one who has been through it all!

The second point was that Jesus Stepped In. He took on ALL the sins of the world, that means every sin you have ever committed and every sin I've ever committed. He took our place, He died for you! We are the reason Jesus had to die; without Him we are hopeless. In Isaiah 53:3-6, we have an all too real picture of how Jesus was and is treated by us, by the world, but He went through it all for us because He loves us.

The last point was that Jesus Stepped Out Again. Jesus is going to return to this earth one day whether we are ready or not. He is alive and will be forever and ever! (see Revelation 1:18) Jesus is everything I need, this world has nothing for me. Jesus is coming back victoriously, are you ready? Today is the day of salvation! 2 Corinthians 6:2

Make War: Beating the Odds

Last night, Travis wrapped up the sermon series Make War by talking about beating the odds. The world believes that this generation of teens is the worst yet and Travis gave them a challenge to go out and no longer conform to the ways of this world. Prove the statistics wrong, you are more than what this world says you should be!!! He talked about how being a Christian is the greatest form of rebellion and that doing the things that everyone else does is really conforming to this world. Some of the teens said they hadn't even thought about being a Christian as rebellion!

We looked again at the story of David and Goliath and how David was not going to stand by and let God be mocked by Goliath. He took a stand for what he believed in, even if it meant standing alone. Sometimes in life, we have to do that, we don't need to be afraid, God is on our side!!! You must be courageous and work what you got! See Ephesians 2:10.

Travis also talked about how we must be confident. David believed that God was able to help him defeat Goliath. Do you really trust God when facing something bigger than yourself? Find your confidence in Him!

The last point Travis made was that if you don't conform, and are courageous and confident, you will become an inspiration!!! David defeated Goliath by trusting in the Lord, when he defeated the giant, it gave the people of Israel a new found confidence and they went after the rest of the Philistines. By following Christ confidently, you never know who might be inspired by you!

At the closing of the message, Travis asked the teens if they would be willing to take a stand at their school, home, work, etc. and be set apart from this world by being a follower of Christ.

The teens will have an opportunity to show what they stand for Wednesday, September 28th at See You At The Pole. Meet at the flag pole at 7am and pray for your school, your community, your world!

BEAT THE ODDS!

MAKE WAR

It's that time of year again, and InsideOut Student Ministries is back in full swing! The year has started out great as we have welcomed the new 10th graders and even some new adult volunteers!

Fall Kick-Off was a great night of worship with Adam Cruz and the Band from Element Church in Cheyenne, then Travis brought the Word with the start of this months sermon series, Make War. Travis has been looking at 1 Samuel 17 and the story of David and Goliath. He has been stressing the point that you are either for God or against Him, you are on one side or another and you must decide! There is no middle ground as much as some people would like to believe there is.

We have started meeting in small groups, called Talk Back Groups, after Travis' message on Wednesday nights. It is a great time for the teens to ask more questions and go deeper into the Word. Each group has one adult leader and no more than 9 teens of the same grade and gender.

We are also excited about two retreats coming up in October. The girls retreat, Radiant, is October 7-9 and will be up in the Black Hills of Spearfish, SD. The guys retreat, The Stand, is October 21-23 and will also be in the Black Hills. Be sure you sign up fast as space is limited! For more information, grab a packet at youth.

Tonight is parents night at youth group and we look forward to seeing lots of parents and them getting to see what a night at youth group is like.

Be sure to check back here regularly!