Parent eNewsletter for January

This content is intended for all parents, grandparents, legal guardians, foster parents, volunteers, or anyone involved or interested in the student group [yes, I have to specify or some people will think they can't read it or that I'm not being fair :)]

The eNewsletter includes a message from me, the youth pastor, as well as music reviews, book reviews for parents and students, and a schedule of events for the coming month and big events in the future. [Click here to go to the Parent eNewsletter]

-Daniel

Year End Update

2010 is coming to a close and we have so much on the horizon as we face the new year. We have had an amazing year filled with many exciting moments. I would like to thank all our volunteers for making everything possible. None of our services would be possible without you! I would like to thank parents, volunteers, and all church members who have an active hand in mentoring and building relationships with our students. I have officially been the youth pastor for one year! I must thank Union Grove for giving me the opportunity to serve. Thank you all!

We will be beginning a new series, Rehab, to compliment the new series being preached on Sunday mornings by our pastor. "Rehab" will be a 4-week series starting December 29. Content can be found here on the blog and our YouTube page. We at the church would like 2011 to be a year focused on the family and bringing church to the home. I hope to serve you as parents and equip you to lead your children to become spiritual champions. We will include content from Cultivate each week on the student blog and on the student calendar. We will also be releasing resources for parenting at the beginning of the year.

Resources being released in 2011:

• Sermon content from each Cultivate service
• Scripture and sermon content on the Student Calendar
• A monthly printed calendar with all major events and info
• A monthly Parent eNewsletter
• Music, Movie, and Book reviews from ME!
• Resources for parents in our church library
• Faith Talk material
• Parenting Training
• and much more!

Major Event: Winter Retreat- Jan. 15-17

We will depart Saturday morning and return Monday afternoon. Please pay the remainder of your balance if you have not done so. Students will need to bring money for food and entertainment.

-Daniel

Fear

Proverbs 1:7- "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of all wisdom..."

What are you afraid of? A quick Google search revealed some of the top fears in the United States. The list included: flying, public speaking, heights, the dark, intimacy, death, failure, rejection, spiders, commitment, snakes, drowning, and clowns. If you were honest, we all have fears. In the passage that we cover this week, Jesus commands his followers to have no fear of other men.

In Matthew 10, Jesus instructs his disciples to go out on the road and help the hurting and lost people of the world. He tells them to heal the sick, cast out demons, cleanse lepers, and even raise the dead. This sounds like good news, right? It sounds like the 12 disciples are about to become celebrities. If you went to a developing nation that was deprived of clean drinking water and built wells that could supply every citizen with clean drinking water for their entire life, how would you expect to be treated? Life a champ? Like a saint? I would expect those people to thank me. I would expect them to love me and even cherish my efforts. Jesus goes on to tell his men that they would be hated because of their service. He goes on to tell them that people will mock them, spit on them, imprison them, and even murder them. Why? People will dislike them only because they love Jesus.

Questions

Are you living in such a way that the world knows you love Jesus?

Would you be willing to embark on the journey after knowing people would hate you?

Matthew 10:26-33

²⁶ “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. ²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. ³⁰And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

³² “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

Can you imagine Jesus telling you not to be afraid while standing before an angry mob who is ready to kill you? Up until this point, Jesus and his crew had been keeping a fairly low profile. Jesus tells his men to take the good news they had discussed and worked through and to shout it out for all the world to see. How does this translate for us today? The things you hear on Wednesday nights, during Sunday School, during small groups, during sermons, during devotionals, the things you read in the Scriptures; proclaim these things at school, at the lunch table, and while you're hanging out with your friends. The things you post on Facebook and the things you text can be a light in a dark world.

Why would Jesus tell them not to be afraid? He uses the example of sparrows. Nobody thinks much about sparrows. Sparrows don't cost a lot of money. Yet, God watches over them. Jesus is telling us that we are far more valuable than any bird. Can you fathom knowing how many hairs are on your head? God knows. He cares about the small details of our life. He knows everything there is to know about us and He loves us. The disciples can rest in the fact that they are loved.

Verses 32 & 33 are the key verses in this passage. Simply imagine yourself at the end of your life standing before God. What will He say to you? Will God allow you in? Will He deny you from entering into heaven?

Questions

Do you confess Jesus?

-Daniel

The Harvest

Mat 9:37-38 "Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

Questions

Who is the Harvest?

Who is supposed to gather this Harvest?

How do I go about gathering this Harvest?

I believe these questions can be answered in a previous passage of Scripture. In Matthew 9:9-13 it says, "As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

We have a sin-meter in our culture. We measure the actions of others by our sin-meter. We like to think there are small, small-medium, medium, medium-large, large, super size, & "Oh-My-Gosh-I-Can't-Believe-They-Would-Do-That" sins. We like to believe that certain sins are worse that others. Have you ever met anyone who seemed to be really good at sinning? And they seemed to be really good at committing all those nasty big sins? Have you ever heard anyone say, "If God can save so-and-so, He can save anybody." Matthew, the tax collector, was one of those guys. He was a thief and a liar.

Question

Do you tend to think you're better than others because you don't commit the big sins?

Like Matthew, are you guilty of being a thief or a liar? Are you guilty of any sin?

This story is unique. Matthew was hated by the Jews because he worked for the Roman government as a tax collector. He would have certainly been guilty of robbing his fellow Jews. He was hated. This lowly sinner didn't go out in search of a Savior. Jesus went out in search of Matthew. This brings us to a foundational truth of the Bible...Jesus is the friend of sinners.

Can you imagine yourself in Matthew's shoes? Imagine yourself sitting at your place of work during a normal business day. You are approached by what appears to be a lower class citizen whom you barely know. This man then commands you to follow him. What would your response be? Would you say, "NO!!" or would you yell, "Stranger Danger!!!" Not many of us would jump to our feet to follow this man.

Question

What made Matthew want to follow Jesus?

What do you think it would take to make you follow Jesus?

Later in the story, we find Jesus reclined at the table of Matthew's house. At the table, Jesus is mingling with the filth of society. It would be the equivalent to eating dinner with the local crackheads, whores, pimps, murders, and abusers. Do you know any people like this? Could you imagine eating a meal with people like this? I couldn't either and I think that is a problem.

Questions

Whose house was Jesus staying at? (Matthew's)

Who invited the guest to meet Jesus? (Matthew)

Jesus is the friend of sinners. He is close to the people who are willing to admit they have problems and that they need help. In Matthew we find a man who has truly realized Jesus has the power to change lives. Why would he have invited his friends to meet Jesus is he wasn't able to change them?

Question

Are you bringing your friends to meet Jesus?

Jesus is reclined at the table enjoying a meal with the people who are the filth of society. The local religious sect, the Pharisees, walk by and spot Jesus chilling with these hoodrats. It would be the equivalent of spotting your youth pastor hanging out with the drug dealers downtown. They begin to question Jesus. "What are you doing with these people?" or "They're going to make you dirty!" or "We don't associate with people like that." or "If God can save them, He can save anyone, but I just don't think it's going to happen." Jesus is the friend of people who are willing to admit they have problems. The religious heart just cannot understand how Jesus could recline at the table with such people. The religious heart just cannot understand grace. Jesus is like a doctor. He only sees two categories of people: sick & well. The Pharisees thought they're efforts to remain pure and clean made them well. They didn't think they needed a doctor. The men and women reclined at the table with Jesus understood they needed help. Jesus is close to those who can admit they're sick and need a doctor.

Questions

Are you sick or are you well?

Are you willing to allow Jesus to heal you?

If you would like to watch the sermon from Wednesday night, please visit our YouTube page. Click HERE!

Parent Newsletter December 2010

We will be printing a Parent Newsletter every month. You can get this month's newsletter online.........................HERE.

-Daniel

Two Trees

We had an awesome service last night at Cultivate. We played Fishing for Worms & Word Up!

This week has been an amazingly fruitful time. We have had several students make first time decisions for Christ and we look forward to plugging them in!

Sermon Notes: Two Trees-Matt 7:15-20

Have you ever heard of a Lukewarm Christian? In Revelation 3, God calls out a church. He says they're lukewarm. They aren't hot; they aren't cold. Have you ever tried to drink lukewarm water? Doesn't it taste nasty? Hot water has a purpose. It's good for something. Cold water has a purpose. It's good for something. But lukewarm water is a waste. God goes on to say that he will spit out the lukewarm water. This carries the idea of gagging or vomiting. Imagine God saying, "You make me want to throw up!" Jesus doesn't want your idle religion. He wants your all or nothing.

In James Chapter 2, we read...

"Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?" The Message

Have you ever met someone who claims to know Jesus, but they don't act like it? You can't say you met Jesus but nothing change about your life. When you meet Jesus, everything changes. You won't be perfect. You will still make mistakes. But if you meet Jesus, you will slowly become more like Him. Ask yourself the following questions:

1.) Have I met Jesus?

2.) Has anything about my life changed?

3.) Are there areas that need improvement?

Matthew 7:15-20

"Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don't be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned." The Message

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus you will recognize them by their fruits." English Standard Version

We will encounter people who try to give your shortcuts to God. "Call now and donate $29.99 and you'll receive God's blessings!" Or people will tell you there are many different ways to get to heaven when Jesus said there was only one way. God says watch out for those people. Those people are easy to spot sometimes. How do you recognize a poser? Ask them questions and observe their reactions. Jesus tells us that our actions will match our beliefs. He then goes on to describe a healthy tree and an unhealthy tree. A good tree produces a good fruit and a bad tree produces a bad fruit. Ask yourself the following questions:

1.)What kind of tree am I?

2.)What kind of fruit am I producing?

3.)Do my actions match my beliefs?

We now have video of sermon content. Please check out Part 1 & Part 2 of Wednesday night's lesson.

-Daniel your friendly neighborhood youth pastor

The Narrow Road

We had an excellent service at Cultivate. Thanks to all the students who came out! We played the Oreo Challenge. You can check out some live footage on the our YouTube page. Greg Sumner shaved his head in honor of our high attendance and students made a few prank calls to friends!

Sermon Notes

Series: Red Letters

Passage: Matt 7:12-14

Title: The Narrow Road

There are very few times that you can separate the bulk of humanity into two categories. In this passage, Jesus offers the world two options. Two paths. You can only choose one. We see that which road we choose places us in one of two categories. There are no other options. Jesus did not give us the option of straddling the fence or playing in the median. We must choose one or the other.

In verse 12, Jesus reminds us of the Golden Rule. In Matt 22:34-40, a man ask Jesus what the greatest command was. Jesus gave two great points. 1) Love God with all you've got 2) Love people with all you've got. The second point flows out of the first. You will not love people if you do not love God. God is love and is therefore decides how that love will be practically displayed.

Jesus also reminds us that we should treat people the way we would like to be treated. We tend to want to dismiss this command because it sounds like something our mothers would say. We can't ignore this truth. Do you enjoy being made fun of? Do you enjoy feeling like the outcast? If we are honest, we have all felt like the outcast at some point. Jesus makes this statement because he wants to correct this great problem that we all face. The student sitting alone at lunch needs love. The student who walks into the youth room for the first time needs love.

In verses 13-14, Jesus tells us of two paths. The broad path that leads to destruction and the narrow path that leads to life. Is it not strange that people don't choose to get off the path that leads to destruction? Here are some questions that we asked about each path....

The Broad Path That Leads to Destruction

Why do people choose the broad path?

1.) They don't see the coming destruction

People are blind to the fact that they is an eternal judgement. Some are blind to the fact that they need God. Some are blind to the fact that they are sinners who cannot save themselves. How can we help? We can humbly and lovingly share the truth of God's word with them. We can invite them to a church service to hear about God's love. We can invite them to experience Christian community.

2.)It's easy.

It's easy to do what everyone else is doing. If most of your friends are on the broad path, which path are you most likely to choose? It's easy to get drunk, have premarital sex, and do what the world is doing. A real challenge is going against the flow.

The Narrow Path Leads to Life

1.) Why is the gate narrow?

Not many will walk this path. It's not because the path is hidden or because the path is limited to only a few. Anyone can choose to walk this path. There is a teaching known as Universalism that teaches that everyone will go to heaven. You have celebrities like Oprah telling the world that everyone is on an individual path that leads to God. She will tell you that all religions are the same. I agree. All religions are the same. All religions require you to work your way to God by deed and morality. The Gospel is nothing like religion. In religion, you have man trying to gain favor with God. It's as if God is on top of a mountain and you must create a path and climb up to the top in order to meet God. In Christianity, God comes down the mountain and gets us. There are not many paths that lead to God, only Jesus. In John 14:6, Jesus makes it clear that he's the only path.

2.)Why is the path hard?

It calls you to step out from among the masses. The call to salvation is literally a call to die to self. You have to repent and place your faith in someone other than yourself. You have to place your faith in someone you can't see. It is a call to come and die. But it is a better path.

3.)Why will few find it?

They are blind to their need of a savior because they bought into a lie and because living as the world is easy. Few will find it because they reject it.

4.)How do I know if I've found it?

Go back to the Great Commandment. Do you love God with all of your heart, mind, and soul? Have you repented and placed your faith in Jesus. He is the only path that leads to life.

It is a narrow road, but it's wide enough for all.

-Daniel the friendly neighborhood youth pastor

watching- Alice Cooper's testimony

Room at the Table

Last Wednesday we had our costume party and started the evening off by celebrating Martin Luther and the Reformation. Martin Luther is one of my favorite heroes of the faith. His boldness and dedication to God's word changed the world forever. He also set a great example for believers. Martin Luther did not have sex until he got married. Martin Luther didn't get married until he was over 40. Teenagers find that strange.

When had many students test their creativity with costumes. We had characters ranging from the Geico Caveman to Jack Sparrow. I tried my hand at dressing up like Sheriff Woody.

We were caught off guard. There are days that feel like few students will show up. It felt like one of those days. And then they started coming and coming. A quick count of the room revealed a new attendance record.......101. Congratulations to all the students who worked to hit their goal of 100. I commend those who made the commitment to invite their friends week after week. I'm encouraged by your actions.

Love Our World- Light During a Time of Darkness (Halloween)

In 1 Thes 5:5, we're told that we are the children of the light and not of the darkness. That tells us that we don't have to be afraid of the darkness anymore. We are given the commission to shine our light into the darkest regions of the our home, schools, world, and even our churches. We have many visitors who attend our services on a weekly basis. Many of these students don't look like your typical church kid. Our youth groups draws a large variety of students: the jocks, the preps, the goths, emo kids, geeks, nerds, band kids, the country bumpkins. We have a little of everything. It would be very easy for these groups to ignore one another. That would not be a good example of light. By God's grace, we can love the things that are different form us. We are given this huge task of loving others. Why? Because God loves. God, in his mercy and kindness, can even love us. The creatures who are broken, messed up, depraved, and even enemies with him. What if Jesus would have said, "Clean yourself up, stop all sin, live the perfect life, and then try to find a way to me." The beauty of the gospel is that Jesus meets us right where we are. We are told to come as we are. You don't get cleaned up to take a bathe. God loves you right where you are, but he loves you far too much to leave you there. If meet Jesus, we will be changed. We must create an atmosphere that allows people to meet Jesus, just as they are. We must give them the opportunity be changed, not change them in hopes to creating an opportunity. We accomplish this by shining our light into the darkness. We accomplish this through love. Real love that loves the things that it hurts to love.

I love the Great Commission. I love as the risen Jesus fires up his rocket pack and starts to ride into the atmosphere (maybe he didn't have a jet pack :)) that he reminds his followers of their task. Remember, this comes after Jesus had performed miracles, healed the sick, gave life to the dead, rubbed mud and spit in a dudes eyes and magically he regained his vision (gross!), went to a cruel cross, was placed in a borrowed tomb, and then got up 3 days later. If you hadn't made up your mind before this point as to whether or not Jesus was God, I think it might sway your decision. If I see a guy raise from the dead, I want to be on his team. Even after all this, we see in Matthew 28:17 that as all the people gathered around the triumphant Jesus, some still doubted. There is room at the table even for those who doubt. Our church must be an open table. Before you label me a Universalist, I believe that only those who trust in Jesus have eternal rescue. I'm not saying everyone gets to spend eternity with Jesus. While that sounds cute, we see in Matthew 7 that the road is narrow that leads to life and few find it. But even this narrow road is paved with love. We will never win anyone to Christ by treating them as if they are worthless, as if we were somehow better than them. It is easy to hate and fear the things that are different than you. Try love instead.

Current Listening- Hillsong United- Tear Down The Walls

Current Reading- 11 Innovations in the Local Church by Stetzer, Towns, Bird

- Daniel the friendly, neighborhood youth pastor

YouTube Page

Thanks to one of our handy youth staff, the student ministry now has a YouTube page. We will be placing content online in the coming months for your viewing pleasure. Content will include but not be limited to: games, gross games, sermon clips, testimonies, and carnage! I will also be posting announcements and news (fair and balanced) concerning the student ministry online. Head on over to our page for some great content!

Currently Listening- Dave Barnes

Currently Reading- The Supremacy of Christ in the Postmodern World (the title alone makes me sound intelligent)

-Daniel

Saturday Night Live

November 20th will be our first of many worship nights. The event will kick off at 7p.m and run until around 9p.m. This event is not just for youth. We hope to have all ages gather together for a night of worship. I believe it is crucial for our youth to see their parents and other spiritual leaders worship and learn from their example. With that said, I hope you will make plans to join us and perhaps bring the entire family! My good friend Paul Eason will be leading worship for us. I'll be leading the discussion as we begin our look into spiritual disciplines. Tonight we begin with the foundation. Love. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to gather with you tonight and I'm pumped for our time of worship. Bring some friends who need to hear about Jesus.

Winter Retreat

We will be attending a Strength to Stand conference this winter. The event will be held in Pigeon Forge, TN on Jan 15-17. This falls on Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday and the students will be out of school and available to attend. The conference theme is TUG. You can find a link to speakers and bands here. The cost is $120 with a $50 deposit due on Wednesday, November 3rd. Signup for the event is now closed. Please remember to pay the deposit by the deadline or your name will be removed from the even registration. If you would like to be placed on a waiting list, please contact Daniel Beckworth.

High Attendance

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about our student ministry. God is good! It seems like we break an attendance record every week! When I first came to Union Grove, we had about 22 students in attendance. 22 falls within the normal attendance rates for youth of a church our size. I saw great potential in the group that we had. I set what I thought to be a giant goal........50 students on a Wednesday night. After a little work, we hit our goal. Awesome! Every good leaders knows that if you set a goal and reach it, you have to set a bigger goal. I thought it would be a challenge to hit 75. Last week week we had around 81 people in attendance. If you asked me how we made this happen, I couldn't give you an answer. If you asked me about our magic formula for getting teens to show up, I would have to disappoint you. We're not sure what we've done. Someone described it as a "God-Thing." I must say I agree. There is no other answer for this. If I could give tips for a service, I would say make them organized, have fun, put the right people in charge, have great volunteers, play outrageous games, be transparent, be honest, be bold, preach the word without fear. But none of these things translate into the kind of growth that we have seen in the past months. This really is a "God-Thing." Our group could drop back to 40 or even 22 kids overnight. That doesn't change anything. In the end, our student ministry is just a tool in the hand of God to reach a broken world. We're not the greatest student ministry on the market, we're not the next big thing. We're just a tool. We will continue to preach to gospel with passion. Our next immediate goal is 100 students. Can it happen? Maybe. I don't want to sell this thing short. I don't want to have small dreams. I'm tired of praying "safe" prayers. I want to see 150 students in the Student Worship Center on Wed. night. Many of you will say, "It's not about the numbers." What does that even mean? I want every student I can get to be in a local church service so they can hear the gospel. How can they believe unless they first hear? I've got a bigger prayer, I want to see every single student in our county involved in a local church, having their lives changed by the gospel. We won't rest until it happens. You may think that sounds crazy. You may think there is no way we can change the world. One man, the God-man, set out on a journey that would change everything. He left 12 nobodies to carry on his work, they changed the world. The same God sends you & I. Let's not pray small prayers. If we continue to carry on, laboring as if there were no tomorrow, we will reap a harvest. Do not grow weary of doing good! We have witnessed much fruit in our student group. We have witnessed a huge increase in attendance, but we have also witnessed many come to know Christ. Be encouraged to know that lives are being changed. God is good!

-Daniel

follow me on twitter @danielbeckworth

See You At The Pole

Today was a great time to see our students step out and gather around the flag to celebrate their faith in Christ. I attended the event at BHS. I loved the prayers that our students sent up this morning. I hope that this will be the start of a movement that rock our schools!

Rally

In honor of See You At The Pole, we will be attending a rally at Providence Baptist Church. (Please click on the link for directions) There will be a worship band and a speaker. The event starts at 6p.m. A meal will be provided. We ask that students please meet us at the event if possible. We will be transporting students from UGBC at 5:30p.m. to Providence. The event should be over around 7:30p.m. Parents are permitted to pick up their students from Providence. This should be a great time to promote unity between God's people! Hope to see everyone there!

Check us out on Facebook

-Daniel

Follow me on twitter @danielbeckworth

Break Down The Walls

We currently in a four part series entitled "Break Down The Walls." In this series we will uncover ways that we can break down the barriers in our life that can hinder us from living out our faith. As followers of Christ, we should create opportunities for others to experience Christ. Many church goers will be an obstacle instead of an opportunity. We want break through the barriers of our culture, even our church culture, in order to reach out and help those who are in great need of love. Join us Wednesday night as we learn how we can break down the walls.

-Daniel

Ditch Your Life Now

No one wants to look back on their life and realize they've wasted it. We all desire to live a great life worthy of retelling. This carries the idea of leading a great story. One that can be shared and enjoyed. We all want to live great stories, but very few of us are actually committed to doing the work needed to complete such a task. No one desires to waste their life, but so many will. Our students are at a crucial stage of their development. This is a key time to take a stand and say "I will not waste my life." The unwasted life is one that places Jesus on display. Simply, we exist to make Him famous. We've been told our whole lives to go to college, get a great job, marry a wonderful partner, have kids, buy a huge house, own multiple cars, obtain the largest t.v. you can possible find, and start a 401k. At the heart of this American Dream is a lie. We are told to make much of ourselves. Seek security and comfort in all that you do. This seems like a bold contradiction to lives of early believers and the words of Christ himself.

In Hebrews 12:1-3, we see that we are not alone in this great battle. Many great men and women have gone before us. We have a great example in the faith that they have displayed. We even see our greatest example in Christ. We must be reminded to through off any weight that would hinder us from the ultimate goal of making Jesus famous. Roughly 75% of the students in our county do not attend any local church gatherings. We have a huge task ahead of us. Let us not be weighed down by selfish longings and greed.

In Matthew 13:44 we are reminded to treasure Christ above all things. The way we use money should tell the world that money is not our treasure; Christ is our treasure. The way the use our homes should tell the world that our home is not our treasure; our hope is in Christ. Christ is more valuable than any of the stuff we can hope to obtain. Does your life scream, "Christ Is My Treasure!"

Youth Sunday 2010

Youth Sunday

We will hold the annual Youth Sunday on August 15th. This will be for the 8:30 & 11:00 a.m. services. We will have many of the youth involved in the service & serving in areas such as: music, offering, announcements, testimonies & games! I have the great honor of bringing the message for this great time. I hope to issue a challenge to our students to be the change in our community. I am certain that our students can change the world. I am confident. If we are to do this, we must first put off our selfish ambitions and dive into the commands of our God. We must long for justice, mercy, and compassion. It is possible to change everything. That is the challenge. To be the change. This is not just for our students. This is for our church. I hope you are ready. I must also warn you that these services will look very similar to our Cultivate services on Wednesday nights. This means: loud music, loud rap music, funny videos, media, gross games, fun, jokes, & words old people don't use....such as dude. You have been warned!

-Daniel

Breakable: Alabama Youth Evangelism Conference

I just arrived safely home from yet another wonderful youth trip. This time we attended the annual YEC in Birmingham, AL. We experienced a wonderful weekend of worship lead by David Walker. David's worship sets were original and compelling. The theme was "Breakable." God wants to break in our lives, break through all that's holding us back & break out into the world. Our students were challenged to live out God's word in their schools & communities. The team from Wayfarer Ministries were the creative masterminds behind the event. They also provided the speakers for the event. We took 19 and report one first time response to the gospel.

Titus

Tonight we will begin a 5-6 week series on the book of Titus. This was a pastoral epistle from Paul to his friend Titus. Paul wrote this letter of instruction to help his fellow worker. The book of Titus is much like a repair manual for us. We all have flaws and failures. Face it, we all need a little repair work. The theme of Titus is the inseparable link between faith & practice, belief & behavior. Titus is currently serving in Crete. Crete was a dirty & immoral city. Titus had his hands full. We have our hands full. Our city is not much different from Titus'. The South says you can believe but not practice. The book of Titus shatters that idea. We'll post content soon.

-Daniel

We Survived!

First, I would like to say that I am sorry for not updating the content of the blog until now. I've been busy.

Summer camp was amazing. We had such an amazing time experiencing God. The facilities were decent, the sun was bearing down, we were all short on sleep, but God was there. We so often ask God to "show up." I have found myself say in the past, " God it would be awesome if you would should up tonight. It would be great if you were here for this event." But I have learned some valuable lessons while working on this camp. God was there. He was there before we arrived. I don't need to ask God to show up, because He is already there. I didn't need to invite God to the party, He invited me! What we witnessed was God moving in the hearts and minds of our students. I am glad to report that several did commit their lives to Christ, several made recommitted, but what really rocked my world was the "church kids" who finally decided they wanted to be salt & light in a broken world. There are students who were wonderfully saved and they have such powerful testimonies. There are also students who would say they have been Christians as long as they can remember, but at camp they decided to live like it. God was there.

Our theme for the week was "Salt & Light." We challenged the youth to come home and live out their faith in radical ways. Don't settle for your best life now or becoming a better you. Ditch your life, die to self, and follow Christ. I watched a light go off in some of the student's minds. God moved. Pray that the students would continue to pursue this God who calls us to serve the broken.

Daniel

Reveal

A couple of weeks ago we finally revealed our new theme/identity. The identity is "Grow" and our mission statement is "Growing in the abundant life." This ofcourse matches the churches overall goal of reaching and teaching people how to live out the abundant life which is found in John 10:10. Our girls small group will be know as "bloom" and the guys small group will be known as "rooted." Our Wednesday night services for the student ministry will be known as "Cultivate." We wanted to have an organic theme. We see Jesus use the example of agriculture and growing in the gospels. Our key verse will be 2 Peter 3:18, here we are told to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

We celebrated by having a party in honor of the new theme. We had atleast 51 youth attend the service with a total attendance of around 65+ people. We had games, prizes, and pizza. By the end of the night, we had 3 students pray to recieve Christ!

I'm excited about what God is doing. If we practice the great commission I believe we will see students won to the Lord. I want to challenge all the students to grow in the Word. We live in a world where church kids are just as ignorant concerning the bible and spiritual matters as pagan kids. I believe this says much about our discpleship programs and even parenting. I run into many church leaders, deacons, sunday school teachers, and other church members who don't value the bible, doctrine, and knowledge. What a sad day! Let us follow Peter's instructions and GROW in grace and knowledge!

Daniel

Krispy Kreme!

We will be selling Krispy Kreme donuts in order to raise some cash for camp. If you placed an order, you can pick it up at the church on Saturday (April 24). We will also have a few extra boxes on Sunday if you would like to pick some up then. We will have a booth set up at the Auburn Wal-Mart on Saturday morning. Come hang out and sell donuts!

Daniel

Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness

The Declaration of Independence guarantees 3 things. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Do you notice anything different about the last item? No one is guaranteed happiness. We only have the right to pursue it. And we pursue it. There are 2 major areas that we are told to find happiness: Culture & Religion.

Cutlure says find happiness in people, money, possessions, fame, sexuality, television, etc....
If you look at the life of Solomon, you will find a man who had all of these things. He was the wisest man of all time, had more money than any person ever, and had 1,000 women at his service. He seemed to have had everything that culture says is important. What did Solomon think of all this? He writes in the book of Ecclesiastes, "Meaningless, Meaningless, It's All Meaningless."

What???

He had it all and says it was meaningless. I did not make him happy. It can't fill your soul.

We often think that if we can achieve/obtain certain things we will be happy, such as:
If I could only get that degree, then I'd be happy.
If I could only marry that girl/boy, then I'd be happy.
If I could only get that job, then I'd be happy.
If I could only have this car, then I'd be happy.
If I could only..................

What happens when we don't get those things? Will we become bitter? Or question God?

Or what happens when you do get that thing and it doesn't make you happy?


Religion: We are also told to find happiness in religion.

Some look to Oprah and her form of spiritualism.

Some look to "Christian" leaders for happiness. And where do we find the happiest preachers? Is it on Christian television? Is it the televangelist? Who's the happiest preacher? That would be Joel Osteen. The problem with many of these preachers, and Joel, is that they say happiness is found in the same place as the culture. They say that Christians will not be poor, will not be sick, will not have strained relations. They say that everyone will like you. Everything will be great. The problem with this view is that it excludes the God we worship. Jesus was poor, homeless, victimized, and had strained relationships. We worhsip a man that was murdered.

For those of us living in the real world, we know that life can be hard. People die, people are starving, and life is hard. We know that happiness can not be found in culture or spiritualism. It must be found in Jesus.

If you read the first two verses from Ch. 1 of Philippians, you will notice 2 important words. Servants & Saints. Everyone who is a Christian is a saint. It doesn't take much for me to convince you that you want to be a saint. The other word is a little harder to commit to. The word servant litterally means slave. Paul is telling us that our joy comes not from culture and is not of ourselves. Rather, happiness comes from Jesus, the cross, and in serving Him. I am joyful because I am His. I am joyful not because of what I have done, but because of what He has done for me.

PS.....Thanks for all the plaid. It looke like we were filming a Western!

To make Him famous,

Daniel

Philippians

The day is finally upon us! We start the book of Philippians this week. We want to encourage all of you to read Philippians as we study it on Wed. nights. Read ahead, dig deep, ask yourself the tough questions, find out what the Word is saying. I know that God has something for us in this series. We've all asked the tough questions: "Why is there suffering?" "Why did this happen to me?" "Are you there God?" We all want to know the answers to these questions. I feel the Bible has the answer and Philippians will begin our attempt to answer the questions that we have. No question is too hard, not question too tought. God is a big boy and he can handle our questions. We want to encourage you to dig into this series. Listen to God speak as you read his words. We also want you to tell us what you're learning. If you discover something for the first time, if you read something encouraging, if you hear God speak to you throught he text, let us know. If you read something and can't understand it, let us know. If you have any questions, let us know. You can reply to this post, or, you can post on our Facebook page . I'll use what you say to create a lesson that answers all the questions and highlights all the points you're interested in.

Parents: We would also like to encourage you to study allong with us. Ask your youth questions concerning the lesson, discuss the passage on your drive to school, around the dinner table, or in the car. Your youth will benefit from your interest in God's Word and their lives.

PS............This Wed. night will be plaid night. So join my lead and break out those plaid shirts, shorts, skirts, or whateva' you got in the form of plaid.

Praise His Holy Name!!
Daniel

Crash Course Evangelism

Here are a few verses that are excellent for sharing the gospel. These verses can be used as an outline for sharing the good news.

Joh 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rom 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Rom 10:9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Act 3:19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,


Romans Road To Salvation
1. Man's Problem
-Rom 3:23, Rom 6:23
2. God's Answer
-Rom 5:8, John 3:16
3. Man's Response
-Rom 10:9, Acts 3:19

Way of the Master

Here is a link to a promo video by Way of the Master
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SmEu8DaM58

and here is a link to the Way of the Master website and other free resources
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SmEu8DaM58

"Easy Start Questions"

These are a few examples of questions that I use to start a conversation and lead into the gospel.

1. "In the gospels, Jesus asked the disciples who they thought he was. So, who would you say Jesus is?"

2. "If you could ask God any question and you knew he would answer, what would you ask Him?"

3. "Do you think Jesus was sinless?"

"5 Step Questions"

1. Do you have any kind of spiritual belief?
2. Who do you think Jesus is?
3. Do you think there is a heaven?
4. Why would God let you in heaven?
5. If what you believe wasn't true, would you want to know?
Then lead into the gospel

Important Questions Before The Decision

1. are you a sinner?
2. do you want forgiveness of sins?
3. do you believe Jesus died on the cross and rose again?
4. are you willing to surrender your life to Christ?
5. are you ready to invite Jesus into your life?

The Bridge Illustration

Here is a link of Pastor Pete Briscoe showing us how to use this tool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LA6GgPlxes

Daniel
danielbeckworth@gmail.com

Sex & Dating: Part 2

We tried to answer the question "What if I crossed the line?"
Here is the basic outline of what we discussed.

Sin Affects Our Lives
+ Sin is like cancer
+ Sin wants to consume our lives
+ Sin will ruin your life and affect others

Paul warns the church in Corinth to guard itself against sin. He tells us that like leaven, a little sin has the tendency to grow and affect the whole. Sexual sin is like this.

Can This Be Made Right?
Many who fallen into sexual immorality often ask the following questions
+ Can I be loved?
+ Does God still care about me?
We find an answer to this question in this passage
+ The Story of David
- 2 Samuel Ch. 11-12 (please read)
We all know the story of David and Bathesheba. He spots a lady bathing on top of her roof. This leads into an affair, which leads into the murder of Bathesheba's husband. David then takes her as his wife in order to hide the pregnancy. The crime scene seems to have been cleared of all evidence. But, God sends a man named Nathan. We read of this in 2 Sam. 12. Nathan sets up a story of a poor man with only one sheep, whom he loves, and a rich man, who has more than he could hope for. Sound familiar? The rich man then takes the poor man's sheep for his own. Nathan has set the story up perfect. David takes the bait and replies, "Bring the man to me and we will kill him." and Nathan triumphantly replies, " You Are The Man!" David is immediately convicted. When we find ourselves in this position, we may ask, "What do we have to do to make this right? Name it Lord and we will do it. Whatever it takes we will do it. Name it and we will give it." and we find the answer to this question in Ps. 51. God doesn't desire our sacrifices. He doesn't need anything that we can do for him, he desires a broken and contrite heart.

If you have fallen into sexual immorality, you need to repent. Stop doing what you are doing. Repent.

1 John 1:9
+ Forgiveness
+ cleansing

What About My Guilt?
+Does your sin make you feel guilty or dirty?
+ Remember 1 Jn. 1:9
- Jesus will cleanse us
Out of this comes the doctrine of Expiation or
+ The cleansing work of Christ on the Cross
+ On the Cross, Jesus bore your sins, your failures, and your guilt and shame. Those things now belong to him. Don't try to hold on to them, they are no longer yours.

We closed with this:

Sin- It destroys us. Yours destroys you. Mine destroys me. And so God doesn't accept it. He hates it with all that is within him. To cut the cancer out of us, he will do whatever it takes- Like a surgeon. No, more than like a surgeon. If you let him, he will even take the cancer upon himself and die in your place. Budzwowski

Daniel

Sex & Dating: Part 1

Here are some of my sermon notes from this past Wednesday night. This is not a word-4-word outline, just the basics........

We obviously know that God has a standard for sex. We can look at 1 Cor. 6:9 and see that it matters to Jesus. But the question is, what exactly is sexual sin? What exactly is included? Is it just sex outside or marriage? Is it only homosexual sins? We find the answer in the Greek word "Pornea." This word is like a junk drawer of sexual sins. If God made a long list of sexual sins, He knows that eventual someone will create something that is not on the list and try to justify his actions. The word "Pornea"(where we get our word pornography) handles all these questions.

If you google the phrase "how far is too......." it automatically completes the statement with "......for Christian couples." Students want to know. Adults want to know. So, how far is too far? We find the answer in the Songs of Solomons where we are find that the real question is not how far, but when. We are told not to awaken love until its proper time. The only proper time is within the confines of marriage.

Many students also would like to know what my opinion is concerning dating. I will say that is not my decision. That right is reserved for the parents. The Bible doesn't specifically mention dating. Our concept of dating is relatively knew and a product of Western Culture. I will say this concerning dating....... 1. You should only date with the intentions of marriage. Dating purely for the purpose of having fun, fulfilling sexual desires, ego, etc... is evil. Please do not play with someone'e emotions or waste their time.
2. 2 Cor. 5 makes it clear that we should not be unequally yoked, therefore, you should only date Christians.
3. Since dating carries such great responsibility, I do not believe the majority of our youth group are prepared to handle the responsibility that comes with dating. Let's be honest, 98.99% or the 14 yr. olds will not marry their current middle school fling. Let's be honest, if they don't clean their room, pick/layout their own clothes in the morning, if they are completely dependent, what makes you think they are capable of handling the responsibility of dating? Some of the youth are capable of handling this responsibility. Most are not. Once again, this is a decision of the parents.
4. I will discourage dating within the group. When this teens break-up, and the most likely will, it will split the group, and potentially cause students to stop coming. It also offers a greater opportunity of distraction during services and events.
5. This is what I have noticed (and this is not true of all girls and boys, but it is true of most)
a. Guys date in order to fulfill sexual desires and ego
b. Girls date in order to fulfill a romantic fantasy (ex. Titantic, any other chic flick)

We also asked what the purpose of SEX really is???? and it is not pleasure. Pleasure is simply a by-product. The biological function is to have babies. We have plenty of biological functions; like eating, going to the potty, breathing, etc.....But this particular biological function requires 2 people. Obviously God is trying to tell us something.

Please read Matt 19:1-6. You see that God designed marriage so that the man and woman become ONE (keyword). This is crucial. You can't become one without marriage. You can't fully engage in this oneness without marriage and sexual intimacy, if practiced according to God. We tend to treat sex as if it were bad. We do this in our legalistic culture. If we see something that has the capability to be abused, we then treat that "thing" as if it were bad. Sex is one of those. Music is one of those. Alcohol is one of those. We learn in Genesis that God created ALL things in peace and rhythm with Himself. We as sinful man have fractured this relationship and thereby abused the things that God meant for good. Sex is great. You heard it here. Sex is awesome, if practiced according to God's standard.

The word "ONE" is important. We see this word mention in Deut. 6:4. The word used to describe the relationship between the Trinity is the same word used to describe the relationship between and husband and wife.

Remember... Your body is not your own, you have been bought for a price (1 Cor. 6) Jesus Christ purchased the rights to His church the night he died on the cross for our sins. You belong to Jesus. and Jesus repeatedly said, "If you love me, you will keep my commands." The real question is do you love Jesus? If so, live your life in a manner that honors Him.

Common Responses and my simple answers: More responses like these can be found in the book "Ask Me Anything" by J. Budziszewski
"I have always believed that I should wait to have sex on my wedding night, but due to our situation, I feel that it would be o.k."

answer: Everyone feels that their situation is special, everyone feels that they are the exception. Stop telling yourself stories. God's Word is clear. It's not o.k. and it will never be o.k. for you to lie to yourself

"I think it's o.k. to have premarital sex as long as you love the person"

answer: this is a classic response. We must first acknowledge that love is not an emotion, although an emotion may be a by-product of love. Love = Commitment. If marriage was based on emotions, and how I feel, I would want to get a divorce on a weekly basis, and then re-marry the very next hour. We know that Jesus loved the world so much that He laid down his life. Was it pure emotions that drove Jesus to die on the cross? No. Love is not, it has never been, and it will never be purely an emotion.

" My girlfriend and I feel that we are already married" or "We are married in our hearts"

answer: This statement is trying to imply that the couple is "committed" to each other. But if you were really committed, you would marry that person. Feeling married doesn't make it so.

"We've prayed about it, and we feel that God understands our situation"

answer: God will never contradict His Word. and His Word is clear. There is no need in wasting time asking God questions He has already answered.

"What's the big deal? It's not like it's hurting anyone else."

answer: This response implies that we should be able to do whatever we want as long as it does not affect others. After tens of millions of babies have been aborted, millions of men addicted to porn, divorces, fatherless children, diseases, and broken hearts, maybe, just maybe, it's time we redefined HURT. Sexual impurity does affect others, it does affect you, and it does affect your relationship with God.

I also included some quick tips to help stay holy.....
1. Don't be alone, not in the car, at your house, or on your dates
2. No Horizontal. Don't lay down just to talk, watch a flick, or any reason
3. No missionary dating. We are only allowed to marry/date Christians
4. Don't date unless you are seeking marriage.

more coming soon.......

Daniel

danielbeckworth@gmail.com

The Vineyard Retreat

We have selected the destination of our summer camp. We will be making our way to Ariton, AL to the Vineyard Retreat. The facilities are amazing and tucked away in the countryside. The Vineyard will only supply the facilities. We will be responsible for the lessons, sermons, activities, games, food, etc...... We are currently working on the theme for this event. After the theme is locked in, we will begin preparing the lessons and small group material which will be built around our theme and sermons. We're also planning some activities and games. This should be an excellent time to grow and get to know each other. I'm extremely excited about what God has in store for us. We are in charge of food, so I will ofcourse need to some talented volunteers that can work their magic in the kitchen. It seems that there will be no problem finding plenty of women who would love to go and be involved, but the tricky part is getting some men to go. So, I'm recruiting (let me know if you're interested). The camp will be in the price range of $130-140 (pretty cheap for a camp). The camp will run June 29-July 3, and yes, your kids will be back for the 4th.

If you have any questions, please comment on this post and I will respond.
If you are interested in going, please comment or see me.
If you have any great ideas for games/activities, please comment or see me.

Daniel
2 Cor. 5:21

Summer Camps

I need your help. We have yet to determine which camp we will attend this summer. I need you to vote on which camp you would like to go to. You can vote on this page on the column on your right. We will be doing some fundraisers to help you pay for this trip and scholarships will be available. (for more info email me danielbeckworth@gmail.com) Here is some information and the link to each of the camps....


New Camp at Dayton, TN. I have been to this camp and it is pretty. You get the beautiful hills of Tennessee, some good messages and music, activities, and white water rafting. This will be a week long trip with meals provided. Prices coming soon


Fuge/CentriFuge at Panama City Beach, FL. Who doesn't love the beach? This will be a high production event with great themes, great messages, and hopefully a good band. Did i mention it was at the beach? This will also be a week long event with meals provided. The cost will be $296 per person.


or

http://www2.lifeway.com/fuge/index.php/2010/events/centrifuge/


Icthus Ministries in Bryson City, NC. Many of you are familiar with this little gem. This camp would be more intimate. If you want time away with God, time with out all the distractions, this is probably the camp for you. This will also be a week long camp. I've never booked this retreat, so you all are more familiar with how much it cost.....




if you have anymore questions, please feel free to email me or call,

NOW VOTE!

Daniel
Youth Pastor
334.759.0320
danielbeckworth@gmail.com

BTW

Don't get used to this background or logo/pictures. We'll be updating this page soon with our new logo (being designed as we speak!) and pics, etc.

Welcome!

Welcome all to our new blog site. This page will be a great source of valuable information concerning our growing yout ministry at UGBC. I'll be updating this site regularly, so stop by often to find out what is going on from week to week. I'll also be posting my sermon notes online from each lesson on Wednesday nights for those who would like the content. I'll also be sure to provide a schedule of all upcoming events. Remember, we'll be unveiling our new theme/identity at the end of January. It's gonna be off tha' chain! Don't forget about our new series we'll be starting on the book of Phillipians, a book about joy during trials/hard times. I feel this book will really resognate with some of you. We all, at some point of time, face hard times, but it seems that some of us face these trials more often than others. That's exactly why we will dig deep and discover God's purpose during our suffering and His grace is all we need! Also, get ready for FM419. Sign up today if you haven't done so. Peace!

Daniel
2 Cor. 5:21