Don't Be a Viper.

Hey Football fans! Come join us next Sunday for the middle & high school student Superbowl party! Food, fun, fellowship, friendly rivalries - You don't want to miss it. Come and bring friends to cheer on your team! We'll see you there!

Sunday Recap:

John the Baptist lived in the wilderness - He lived in the woods his entire life! You can imagine he looked a little hippie-like; probably a little rough or dirty. He didn't fit the cookie-cutter mold of someone with influence and spiritual authority. But He was the one that God chose to prepare the way for Jesus.

One thing about the woods - it's quiet. We can see this theme of silence before God in John's life. God silenced John's father, Zechariah, for 9 months before John's birth. And now, as an adult, God has placed John in the silence of His creation, where His words and direction can be spoken clearly to Him.

The truth is, God wants us to talk less and for Him to talk more. John had time to just sit silently before God. If you're patient, He will show up and talk to you. We want to encourage you to continue with the challenge of praying for 5 minutes a day and then listening to God for 5 minutes for the next 40 days.

He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. And the crowds asked him, "What then shall we do?" And he answered them, "Whoever has two tunics is to share with them who has none, and whoever has food to do likewise. Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Collect no more than you are authorized to do." Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages."

- Luke 3:7-14

In this passage, John is calling out these so-called believers. These people were claiming God, but weren't looking like Him. John called them "brood of vipers" - dangerous, poisonous snakes. The point he's trying to get across is that when you tell people you're a Christian, but you don't live out what you're saying, you are DANGEROUS.

God would rather have us live it than talk it. And God would rather us completely deny Him than to talk the talk without walking the walk. Don't be lukewarm for God.

A bunch of people in the crowd asked John what they should do and he gave three orders about how to live their lives in a way that glorifies God. Let us evaluate our lives based on these 3 questions:

1. How are you treating those in need? Are you giving of yourself, your time, your money, to take care of and support those who need you?

2. How are you handling the responsibilities in your life? Are you giving it all you've got? Even if it's something you don't want to do, are you giving it 110%? That is how people will know there's something different about you.

3. Are you satisfied with God alone? Are you content with what you've got?

Look at your life and search your heart for these answers. Are you being everything God has called you to be? If you're not living up to the standard God has called you to, you are not just impacting yourself, but you could be causing other people to not see God for how awesome and glorious He really is.

Have a good weekend, guys! We'll see you on Sunday for youth and small groups!

Whispers in Silence - Listening to God's Calling on Your Life

Reminder:

Here's a link to our permission slip form!

http://www.bcsm.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=yPeeS0mqMUs%3d&tabid=73&mid=396

If you could print it out beforehand and have it already filled out, that would help the check-in process move more smoothly! But we will also have copies there for you to fill out too if needed.

In other news....

For the next 40 days, our church is going to be talking about Transformation. We'll be going through the book of Luke, looking at Jesus' ministry and how we can apply that concept of growth and radical change to our lives.

If we look at Luke 1, we see Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, who "were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord." (v.7) But Zechariah and his wife were not able to have a child. Zechariah was a priest and one day, he was chosen to burn incense in the temple while the rest of the congregation remained outside and prayed. While in the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and told him that he and his wife would have a son that would be filled with the Holy Spirit and would do great things on behalf of the Lord, and his name would be John.

"And Zechariah said to the angel, 'How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.' And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home."

- Luke 1:18-23

Zechariah could not understand or fully trust what God was about to do in his life. So the angel silenced him until the baby was born. Could you imagine that? 9 months of silence! That would be TORTURE, right?

But I truly believe God silenced Zechariah to prepare him for what he was about to do in his life. So often, we don't have a clue what God wants to do because we have never stopped and listened to what God has to say to us.

If Zechariah, this extremely Godly guy who kept to the laws and obeyed the commandments of the Lord, if he needed to be silenced in front of God, imagine how much we need that time of silence and stillness before God as well.

If we're honest with ourselves, our prayer lives are probably pretty lacking. I tend to pray for what I want, or what I want God to do in my life. But what I tend to forget is that prayer is a not a one-way street; we're not the only ones doing the talking. We need to spend more time in silence in front of God listening to what He has to say to us.

This week, we're challenging you to pray everyday for 5 minutes, and then just be silent and still and listen to God for 5 minutes. This might be hard or awkward at first, but you will grow used to it and you can be sure that God will speak to those who are open to listen to Him. Let this brief period of silence be a time of growth and trusting God, just like it was for Zechariah.

We as leaders are praying for you guys, and praying that God reveals some awesome things to you this week! We'll see you Saturday night at Fun Depot! And don't forget to bring your bibles with you Sunday morning for youth and later that evening for small groups!

MSM Fun Depot Trip!

be there.

Something Bigger: Small Groups Kick Off Tomorrow!

Have you ever felt the need to do something more or to make a difference?
To make an impact on the world around you?
To live for something bigger?
We all desire these things, but how do you make it happen?
Tomorrow (Sunday) night we're kicking off our new small group series, Something Bigger.
We'll be looking at how different decisions open the door to God's work in their lives.
By drawing on the lives and experiences of biblical characters, we'll examine our own lives and take real steps to growing our faith.
You don't want to miss this!
Join us from 5 - 7 pm (Boys - student center, Girls - Blue Room (1st floor of worship center)
Middle School boys participating in Church League basketball: transportation will be provided from Rec. Dept. to Church)