Well, for those of you who weren’t able to make it Monday night, KGSM had a great time worshiping together with Campus Choir.  The service was so awesome, and I was very proud to see our youth worshiping and praying at the “altar.” I saw a true hunger for God, and so did the choir members.  They told me so!

Tonight, we celebrated St. Patrick’s day by learning about the Trinity.  St. Patrick’s object lesson on the Trinity, using the shamrock, has become so famous that the shamrock is now globally recognized as a symbol of Ireland.  We looked at the heresies of Arianism and Sabellianism to see how the church has combatted misconceptions about the Trinity over the years.  Then, we looked at different analogies that Christians have used to try and explain this mystery.  Many thanks to Wayne for providing snacks, and some green Mountain Dew!

I guess that’s all for now…

Be there!

The last couple of Download sessions we’ve been discussing the issue of Moral Boundaries, specifically in regard to sex and intimacy.  Here’s a quick run-down of what the series has/will cover.

Paving the Way for Intimacy — In our first session, we discussed the fact that God created sex and our desire for it, and that He wants our experience of it to be the best that it can be.  We also covered the relationship between sex and intimacy, and how sexual impurity now can diminish our capacity for intimacy later.  Finally, we explored the ideas that sex is more than just physical, it is relational, which is why it is impossible to just “have sex,” and that we are each designed to be united with only one person.

Abstinence and the Culture of Lies — In our next session, we discussed what it means to be sanctified and why God asks us to wait.  We looked at how young men have a tendency to focus on the physical side of a relationship and that to have great relationship (and great sex), we have to learn to balance the physical and relational.  For the young women, we looked at how they tend to focus on the relational side, and will use the physical to secure commitment, however, this actually leads to a loss of security, sense of self-worth and self-respect.  Next, we looked at our society’s one-sided, physical view of sex.  We dissected six underlying themes that are woven throughout our culture, entertainment, & media and exposed them for the fallacies that they are.  Finally, we discussed the danger of taking sex outside of the context that God designed for it, the marital relationship.

Walking the Line — In our last session, we will discuss how to interact with members of the opposite sex without placing yourself in dangerous positions.  We will look at how the boundaries we set for ourselves will determine the arena and intensity of our temptation, as well as what the consequences will be if we give into the temptation.  To finish out the series, we will discuss how moral boundaries shape the story of our lives, and what the narrative will be that we share with our future spouses.

Come hear this group of young men and women as they glorify God in song!

Lee University's Campus Choir will be performing at the All Nations Church of God in Alexandria, VA.  The King George Student Ministry will be taking the white church van up, so if you would like to ride with us, meet at the church at 4:30pm.  This event is free, although you should probably bring some money for munchies on the way back!  Also, the choir will have CDs for sale after the performance.  

This event is open to any church member who would like to attend and can handle a little KGSM chaos!

Greetings, once again!

Continuing our Sync series on the Epistle to the Romans, we took a look at Paul’s instructions on how we should submit to the authorities in our life, from parents to teachers and even government officials.  We talked about the misconception that submitting to authority limits our freedom.  Instead, we discovered that the opposite is true, that maximum freedom is found under God’s authority. Ultimately, we must realize that those in authority over us have been placed there by God, and so rebellion against authority is rebellion against God, even when it is not a godly person or institution.

A note to students and parents:  The Sync will not be meeting this Wednesday due to the revival with Rev. David Smith.  We will resume our study of Romans on Wednesday, October 7.

On the Horizon

October is an outreach month.  To that end, we will be having tailgate parties before the high school football games on October 9 & 30.  The discount card fundraiser will also be beginning shortly, as will the coffee shop.

If you have questions about any of this stuff, just let me know!

Greetings, once again.

I apologize for the lack of updates recently.  I kept meaning to post updates, but something always came up.  Needless to say, I have quite a few things to talk about.  Here it goes…

Download (Sundays)

We are still plugging away at our first Download series, Bible Basics.  Over the past few weeks we have discussed how the Bible was transmitted to us, whether it is a trustworthy source, and the general organization of the Bible.  Now we are beginning to work our way through all of the books of the Bible, noting date and authorship, as well as major themes and emphases.  We will conclude this series with a lesson on how to study the Bible.  Feel free to join us for the final four weeks of this series…You can jump in at any time!

Sync (Wednesdays)

We just concluded a lesson series on Healthy Friendships called, “To BFF, or not to BFF?”  We took a look at how friends are a major influence on our lives and how acceptance & rejection play into those relationships.  We also discussed the difference between “Counterfeit Friends & True Friends” and how to distinguish between the two.  Finally, we discussed the Circle of Friends, a method of evaluating our friendships and methods of dealing with relationships that drag us down and cultivating healthy ones.  Throughout the series, students were reminded that your friends determine the direction and quality of your life.

We just began a study on Paul’s Letter to the Romans.  This epistle was chosen for it’s clear explanation of the gospel message, as well as it’s historical importance.  Last night’s lesson was an introduction to the epistle, focussing on the context and intent of the letter and also some of the dramatic effects that this letter has had on church history and western civilization (Augustine, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and Karl Barth).  We look forward to digging into the rest of the letter over the coming weeks.

Other Matters

The emphasis this month is on service to others.  Students are being encouraged to find ways to get involved in the church.  Specifically, KGSM will be assisting with childcare at the Women’s Conference this weekend.  Also, we have volunteered to assist with the Drive Fore Education charity golf tournament next week.

On the Horizon

The KGSM will be launching a coffee shop in the fellowship hall that will provide refreshments before services in the form of coffee and tea and other scrumptious, home-made goodies.  The date for the launch has not been set, but it will be within the next couple of weeks.

Today, I received permission from the King George High School to have a KGSM tailgate party before one of the home games.  Look for details soon.

In October, we will be selling discount cards to raise money for the KGSM as a group, and to help students pay for upcoming trips and events.  Again, more details will be available soon.

I guess that’s all for now.  I’ll try to be more diligent about my updates so that they aren’t so long when they are actually published.

I was very pleased with how the Lock-In turned out.  We had 20 youth show up and had a great time!  The scavenger hunt went very well, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget watching Kyra, Claretta, and Junior rolling around on the floor with their heads taped together….Hilarious!  Also, many thanks to the fellas for taking it easy on me on the Xbox.  Click here to link to an online photo album, or play the video below for a super-high production value photo montage (Yeah, right).

For the past few weeks we have been discussing the issue of Identity Theft.  It is an issue that affects the lives of many people today.   However, we are not speaking about social security numbers and dates-of-birth or bank accounts and credit cards.  Rather, we were talking about issues of authenticity and character.  It is important that we know who we are and what it means to be true to yourself, but there are more important issues at stake.  We must know that God can be trusted and He will do all He has promised to do.  This is the core concept that underlined everything that we talked about.  Here is the breakdown of the specific lessons we covered:

Week 1 — Knowing God:  Priceless

From the very beginning, Satan has tried to undermine God’s authority.  He does this by getting us to doubt that God is trustworthy and by setting himself up in God’s place.  If we cannot come to the conclusion that God can be trusted, then there is no way that we can enter into any kind of relationship with him.  This is a foundational concept that we must get right.  Students were encouraged to learn more about God’s promises.

Week 2 — Discover Jesus

Who is this man called Jesus?  This has been the subject of debate for nearly 2,000 years now.  And Jesus’ identity is the pillar upon which all of Christianity rests.  Through the centuries and even today, scholars and theologians have provided many different depictions of Jesus.  So who was He really?  Rabbi or rebel, just a man or a divine miracle-worker?  Students were challenged to read the book of Mark to start finding out.

Week 3 — American Excess

How do we define ourselves?  Race, gender, political stances, social groups, musical preference and even possessions all provide ways of identifying who we are to the world.  However, despite society’s attempt to pigeonhole us into a variety of categories, Christians understand that who we are comes from a higher source.  Looking at the example of Jacob, we explored how our true identity comes not from ourselves or others, but from God.  Students were asked to consider what sort of identity they project to the world.

Week 4 — Heaven:  It is the only place you want to be

A common charge leveled against the church is that it is full of hypocrites.  This stems from a misunderstanding of what it means to be a Christian, a new person in Christ.  In this lesson, we discussed Christianity and the gradual transformation from sinner to saint.  From Repentance to Glorification, we covered the entire continuum of discipleship.  Students were challenged to apply this new perspective to their own lives as a means of evaluating where they are and where they want to be.

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One’s identity can be a compartmentalized, fluid thing in today’s society.  Blogs, social networks, forums and niche sub-cultures make it very easy for people to invent and re-invent personas that can be exchanged as easily as a chameleon changes colors.  However, we can stand firm on the fact that God will not do this.  God can be trusted; He will do all He has promised to do. This one simple fact gives us a solid foundation in an ever-shifting, ever-changing world!

Edit:  Some things that you might want to bring:  Pajamas, Blanket (or Sleeping Bag), Pillow, TOOTHBRUSH & TOOTHPASTE!, Snacks (I’m not paying for the beef jerky!)