If you missed last night...

Hey guys, if you couldn't make last night's youth meeting, here's the video from devotion.  You'll notice that it coincides with yesterday's blog about monkeys...

So we had a gracious volunteer come on stage (Will Dake), and put his hand in a box.  The hole was just large enough for him to get his hand in and grab the ball inside...but not remove his hand while holding the ball.  Will served as our monkey for the night.  What's the point?  Until we decide to let go of what we'e holding, we are prisoners.  Until we decide to let go of our anger, our hurt, our attitudes, we walk around with a coconut (or box) on our arm weighing us down.

This week we continue our journey through God's most important commandments, and this Sunday we'll talk about "Do not murder."  Of course this is a command that most of us are pretty comfortable with..except that Jesus tells us that when we hang onto anger or seek revenge, it is as equally insulting to him as if we murdered.  So we'll look at how this Old Testament command relates to the new testament teaching.  For today, munch on this scripture from Leviticus.

Leviticus 19:18
The Message (MSG)
 18 "Don't seek revenge or carry a grudge against any of your people.


   "Love your neighbor as yourself. I am God.


Love you guys, hope your Thursday is one to remember.

are you smarter than a monkey?

I have a wish. I wish that there was a tangible way that you could tell which Christians are walking around full of bitterness, grudges, and anger.  I wish there was a way that you could easily see those things that we carry around.  We would look so dumb.

Allow me to explain.  In some areas of the world, it's a big industry to sell monkeys as pets.  Want to know the easiest way to catch a monkey?  Take a coconut and cut a hole just big enough for a monkey to put their hand in, then put a pebble in the coconut.  When the monkey shakes the coconut, he will find it irresistible to put their hand in and get whatever is inside.  BUT, when he tries to pull the pebble out, he cannot do it because hanging onto the pebble makes his hand a fist, which won't fit through the hole.  Monkeys are stubborn, so they'll walk around with a stinkin coconut attached to their arm rather than let go.  That makes them quite easy to capture.

And then there's us.  We walk around clinging to our grudges, our anger, our bitterness toward one another. We refuse to let it go.  Letting it go would force us to admit we're wrong or forgive someone we don't like.  Neither is easy for us to do...seeing as we're every bit as stubborn as a monkey.  So i wish everyone with a grudge had to walk around with a coconut on their arm.  When we hold onto grudges as Christians, we SHOULD feel ridiculous.  Jesus tells us that we shouldnt even bother coming to the alter without forgiving others and letting go of our anger.  I DARE myself and you to drop your coconut this week.  You know what it will take.

Youth Rewind

Happy Monday all!  Well, would be happier if we were on the slopes...but we'll make due.  Last night we looked at God's command that we not lie.  We asked the question, how might your life look different if you were physically unable to lie?  See, to hypothetically take something completely out of our lives and then see how different life would be gives us a pretty good idea of how much it effects us.  The average person lies 4 times per day (6 for men, 2 for women) - thats 28 lies per week, 112 lies per month, and 1,334 lies per year.  That adds up to 100,800 lies over the course of an average lifespan.  This raises some more questions.  Why do we lie so much?  What damage do we do when we lie?  Where do you draw the line between a lie being okay and not okay?  An interesting example of God being pleased about a lie is in Exodus.  Pharoh has ordered the midwives to kill all Hebrew babies during childbirth.  The midwives feared God, and lied to the Pharoh, telling him that the Hebrew women gave birth too fast, and that they were too late.  The next verse in scripture says that God was pleased with the midwives.  So what do you think?  Below are some of last night's small group questions to ponder over a second time, or if you couldn't make it last night, for the first time.  Praying for you all and love you all! Be blessed,

p.s. check out the pic of our newest veterinarians Cole, Chastan, and Bryan on the photos page

View the video in yesterday's blog first

1.)  If you were physically unable to tell a lie, how would your day be different?

a.     Yesterday?

b.     Today?

2.)  In the movie, the reason the main character can’t lie is his son’s birthday wish.  He has broken so many promises that he has broken his son’s trust.  Has a lie ever hurt you before?

a.     Have you ever hurt someone with a lie?

3.)  Have you ever been caught in a lie?

a.     What did it feel like?

b.     Ever caught someone else in a lie?

4.)  What’s the most damage you’ve ever seen a lie do?

5.)  Is it ever okay to lie?

a.     If so, when?

                                                              i.      Why is it okay?

                                                            ii.      Why is it not okay?

                                                          iii.      Where do we draw the line?

6.)  Why do YOU THINK this commandment is in the Bible?

The pen is Re Re Re Re....RRRRROOOYAL BLUE!

Ah, Jim Carey.  So, in this clip, our character is physically unable to lie.  As a background, he has let his son down over and over with broken promises, and for his birthday wish, his son wishes that for one day his dad couldn't tell a lie...which is quite a challenge, seeing as his dad is a lawyer, and a pretty despicable one at that.  So it begs the question, how might your days be different if you physically could not lie?  How about yesterday?  Today?  What if it was every day?  Is lying ever okay?  Drop by the youth cave tonight between 5:00 and 7:00 and talk it over.  See you tonight!

Ski Trip Update

Ski Trip Update:  Forecast is 50 degree and rainy on Monday, if forecast does not DRASTICALLY improve, we'll postpne until FEBRUARY 20th.  Look for offical annoucement tommorrow afternoon via text, email, on MoChapYouth FB Pgae, Twitter, and Blog.

Can You Find a Feather?

Proverbs 13:3
The Message (MSG)

3 Careful words make for a careful life;
careless talk may ruin everything.

Once there was a foolish woman in a small village, who spread some gossip about another woman in the village. Before long the foolish woman began to feel remorse about what she had done so she went to the wise man of the village to ask him what she could do to make things right. The wise man listened carefully to her story, thought for a moment, and then told her to go to the market and buy a chicken. On the way home from the market she was to pluck that chicken letting the feathers fall along the path. The next day she was to come back and see the wise man again.

The foolish woman did as the wise man suggested. She bought a chicken and plucked it on the way home. When she came to him the next day she told him that she had done what he asked her to do. The wise man said to her, "Now, I want you to go home today by the same road you took yesterday, and pick up every single feather you dropped along the path." The woman was distraught, and protested that there was absolutely no way she could find and pick up all those feathers. The wind would have surely blown them everywhere!

The wise man quietly responded, "You are correct...and you see, just as you can never retrieve all those feathers, there is no way you can ever restore the reputation of the woman whom you harmed with your words."

Tonight - Commandment 2

Good morning and happy Wednesday everyone!  Tonight at youth midweek we have an exciting night!  We'll continue looking into the 2nd commandment, "Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God."  Dinner is served tonight at 5:30 courtesy of Mrs. Jan Curling!  After dinner those interested in being a part of the youth worship service will be meeting to discuss and begin working on the musical component of the worship.  Check back later tonight for video of tonight's dinnertime devo.  See you all between 2:00 and 6:30!