Life Group News

Peaches may have been an improvement over green beans.    But I had fun watching them eat the mushy, unflavored, slimy green bean baby food! 

If you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, that’s probably because you were in the wrong place last Thursday.  Hope you can fix that this next Thursday. 

Seriously, we had a great time playing some weird games (one that involved baby food), and then we sat down for a time of getting into the Word.  This past Thursday, we looked at how Jesus called the disciples to be “fishers of men” and at how Jesus was able to teach with authority.  One of the questions we sought to answer is … when God calls us to “follow Him” … what does that look like?  He may not talking to us about fishing since we aren’t fishermen, but He is showing us ways we can minister to those around us using the gifts and abilities He has given us.

We are all different for a reason!  Ask yourself, what is it that God is calling me to do?  How can I reach others for Christ by simply being who God made me to be?

Next Week:

Life Group will be meeting at the Downing’s house.  I plan on arranging transportation to and from their house.   I’ll be shooting an email out later about that.  Let me know if you think you’ll be needing a ride.

Check the website for more info:  http://students.lifecc.us/lifegroups.php.

Go with God,
Donald

*** LIFE GROUP UPDATE ***

Our meeting location is changing for May 29th!

We’ll be meeting at the Markle’s on Thursday, May 29th.

Times remain the same!

See the website for more info and directions!

If you have any questions or concerns, email me or call me!
(donald@lifecc.us or 703-919-5809)

Go with God!
Donald

Sunday Morning Highlights

Today, we looked at how King Hezekiah responded to the impending attack of King Sennacherib and the Assyrians in 2 Kings.

King Hezekiah faced a certain doom. The Assyrians had already defeated the Northern Kingdom of Israel and many other nations. They had many examples of how they had defeated the other nations. And King Sennacherib made sure to remind King Hezekiah of these other victories. How did King Hezekiah respond?

He prayed!

We learned that we will ALL face impossible circumstances in life. How we choose to deal with those problems is what really matters. Do we handle them in our own way? Or do we pray to God and ask Him to handle them in His way in His time.

God answered Hezekiah’s prayer by wiping out most of the Assyrian army Himself in one night. God can help us with whatever impossible problem we face just the same. Our only responsibility should be to have faith in God to help us and trust that He will and that He is able to take care of us.

Are you ready to face the impossible? Are you ready to demonstrate faith in God by taking your impossible problems to God in prayer? I hope so.

Go with God,
Donald

Life Group Recap

If you weren’t there … you missed out!!! And I’m not talking about the lesson (although you missed out on that too).

You missed out on Jon, Matt, Nick and Caleb blowing Cocoa Puffs out of their nose!!! But even better … you missed out on Matt eating them.

Maybe I should explain. We played a game … entirely voluntary. The winner got a $15 iTunes gift card. The loser got Cocoa Puffs. You placed a Cocoa Puff in one nostril, held the other, and blew as hard as you could. Whoever went the furthest won. Whoever didn’t lost. That simple!

Props to the 4 that were brave enough to play. I’m starting my wimp club for those of you who chose to sit this one out.

On a more serious note … our first Life Group message (first for me that is) was about Salvation and Evangelism. You may be saying to yourself, “Aren’t those the same?”. And the answer is … “Why, no.” Salvation is the free gift God provides to us so that we can spend an eternity with him. Evangelism is how we tell other people about salvation.

You may be thinking … I don’t know enough about the Bible to tell someone about Jesus. My answer … that’s no excuse. 2 things here. 1 – Tell ‘em what you know. 2 – Learn more.

I quoted a lot of verses from memory last night, and that may intimidate some of you. However, if you can just remember the Gospel story, you can tell someone how to get saved. I mean, if you think about it, Paul didn’t have Romans 10:9-10 when he told people about Jesus. He just told what he knew about Jesus. You can do the same.

Here it is in a nutshell:

Jesus is God. Jesus was sent to earth by God as God to live here as a man while being fully God. Jesus preached the Gospel message for 3 years. Jesus was crucified on a cross to pay for our sins. He died for us – sinners. Jesus was buried for 3 days, and then, He came back to life. He walked around on earth for 40 days teaching a little bit more, and then he went up into Heaven ALIVE!!!

You can have salvation by believing what’s written above, by confessing that you are a sinner and you need a savior, and by asking Jesus to be that Savior.

Here are some verses you can start memorizing that will help you use scripture to tell others about Jesus.

John 3:16
John 10:10
Romans 3:23
Romans 6:23
Romans 5:8
John 14:6
Romans 10:9 – 10
Acts 4:12

Also, check out the links under the “Answers?” link section up in the upper left column!

Go with God,
Donald

Sunday Morning Highlights

Today, we discussed the Rich Young Ruler.  Read the story here – Matthew 19:16 – 30.

The rich young ruler came to Jesus seeking eternal life.  He “truly” wanted to follow Jesus.  At least that’s what he said up front.  But as we quickly discovered, he was actually just looking for another way he could show all his friends that he was a “spiritual” man.

Jesus got to the heart of the matter with a few simple questions.  You see … Jesus knew that this young ruler had things in his life that he considered more important than Jesus.  And Jesus wanted to help the young ruler see that following God is more than just looking good on the outside … more than just putting on a show.

He told the young ruler to follow the commandments.  The young ruler asked which ones.  Jesus listed off a few of the commandments.  (See all the commandments here – Exodus 20:1 – 17 and here – Matthew 22:37 – 40.)

The kicker lies in the commandments Jesus listed.  They all had to do with how we relate with people here on earth.  And the young ruler was pretty good about those commandments.  The one’s Jesus left out were the commandments that had to do with God.  Because Jesus knew he hadn’t kept those.  And so, he asks the young ruler to do something that will show he’s kept the first few commandments.

Sell everything you have, give it to the poor and follow me.

He can’t!  He loves his stuff more than God.

What about you?  is there anything in your life that you are placing before God?  It could be anything … material possessions, activities … even sleep.

Take the time this week to speak to God about these things.  Ask Him to help you begin letting go of the things that are keeping you from a stronger and more committed relationship with him.

Go with God,
Donald

Let’s go …

Welcome to the new LCC Student Ministry blog! At this site, you will find devotional thoughts, announcements, updates, upcoming event information and more. So, add this link to your list of favorites and check it daily.

For more information about the LCC Student Ministry, send an email to donald@lifecc.us or check out our website at students.lifecc.us.

Go with God,
Donald