JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

Topic: Don't get caught sleeping
We talked about how Jesus will return, at a time known only to the Father. We talked about how we can be ready for his second coming.

Jesus told his disciples (and us) how to live while they (and we) wait for his return. We're not to be misled by false information or be of persecution. Jesus says not to speculate on the date and time of the Second Coming but to focus on living for God as a witness to peers who are ignoring him.

Our main text was Mark 12:32-37
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+13%3A32-37&version=NIV

JUNIOR HIGH YOUTHQUEST

Tonight we watched a video about a group of people from World Vision who spent 5 days living with a family in Africa and eating as they did (basically 5 days without food). It reminded us to be thankful for what we have but not selfish with what we have. We have an opportunity to change the world!

 Next, we watched Chris Tomlin's, "How Great is our God" - World Edition.

We played some games (Zoom)

We had recess and ate some doughnuts (they were pretty crusty looking)

We had a getting to know you activity.

We ended our time by doing a "Living By Faith" exercise:
Come up with 3 or 4 personal "statements of faith." These might be things you believe about God, about Jesus, about yourself, or about life in general.

1.
2.
3.
4.

Of course faith isn't just about what you believe. It's who you're trusting in. Do some thinking about how your faith will impact your life.

Because of my faith, here's how I will act...
... when I see someone in need:

... when tragedy happens:

... when I face temptations

... when people mistreat me.

CORNERSTONE YOUTHQUEST BASKETBALL

Tonight we had our final night of basketball (next week is our awards ceremony). We had a great night with over 40 boys plus adult and student volunteers. Congrats to our MVC's (Most Valuable Character) who showed optimism on and off the court.

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

Topic: Great Lengths
Text: Mark 12:1-12 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+12%3A1-12&version=NIV

We talked about sacrificial love - Welles Crowther - The man in the red bandanna
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6929979

For the parable (the Parable of the Tenants) some main points were:
- The owner demonstrated amazing patience - symbolizing God's patience
- Great lengths were taking to send messenger after messenger to reach the workers - far more than we show in our lives
- In the end, the owner sends his son to appeal to the workers - to turn them from their wicked ways. Instead, thinking the vineyard would now be theirs, they killed the son.

Real - Life Connection: Will you respond?
- Write a message from God to you with a specific warning or instructions about what God wants to see change in your life. After you've written it, either ignore it, by ripping it up, or believe it, by taking it, reading it aloud and putting it in a safe spot.

SENIOR HIGH YOUTHQUEST

Tonight we continued our passion from the 30 hour famine by watching a video about a group of people who went to Africa and didn't eat for 5 days to identify with the average family in a rural area.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfUQgT_W3bU&lr=1&uid=fsv3EyjLNEu07AsF_kn1QQ

We played some games and then continued our series, "I Am - Getting to Know God" - Part 2 (When Bad Things Happen).
How can I have a relationship with a God who is invisible?

How can God love me when I've done so much wrong? How do I know God is speaking to me? How can a God of love allow bad things to happen? We talked about these difficult questions.

Our worksheet had us coming up with personal "statements of faith"
We used those statements of faith to talk about how it would impact how we act:
... when we see someone in need
... when a tragedy happens
... when we face temptation
... when people mistreat me

Our main text was Luke 9:23-26
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+9%3A23-26&version=NIV

YOUTHQUEST BASKETBALL

We had an absolutely full house tonight with over 50 boys in attendance. We continued our Character Matters talk by focusing on courage, "... We do the right thing even when it may be unpopular..."

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

Yesterday we looked at Mark 11:12-26
Topic: That makes me mad!

We talked about what it means to possess righteous anger for injustice in our world. We talked abut ways to show compassion to others in our community. We asked ourselves, "am I angry enough about injustice?"

The community around us has real needs and issues that need to be addressed. As Christians we are called to actively respond to the needs of people. When we hear about injustice in the world, we should feel angry. Anger is okay when it is for the right reasons. Are you angry enough? Anger can incite change if it's built on God's compassion and our desire to end injustice. If our anger has not sparked change in us, if it has not helped us see God's compassion and work to heal the world, then we are not angry enough. Anger doesn't always have to be destructive; it can point people to a desperate need for change. We should be angry that people are suffering in the world, and we should allow our anger to keep us proactively seeking God's justice through prayer and faith.

JUNIOR HIGH YOUTHQUEST

On Friday, we spent some time reminding ourselves about the facts of World Hunger. Our group just raised over $2300 for World Vision's 30 hour famine, so we want to keep it fresh in our minds. Every night, 925 million people go to bed hungry. That's roughly three times the population of America. These aren't just numbers though, they are people. What if this was our best friend, our brother, our sister... what would we do to help them? This was one of the discussions that we had.

We also prayed for Bradley since it was his birthday and played some more student led games. We ended our time by doing a short study called, "Looking for God" (Pt. 1). We looked at passages including:

Exodus 18:5-26
Judges 6
1 Samuel 3

We learned that there are many ways God speaks to us - through dreams, prayers, others people, circumstances...
We were challenged to make space for him to speak to us and step our game up in terms of reading the Bible.

CORNERSTONE YOUTHQUEST BASKETBALL

Tonight we had a full house of students! We continued our discussions on the character matters trait of courage. We even had a student demonstrate courage and share a story with the group! Congrats to our MVC's of the night. Remember, courage is like a muscle. It's grows as it is acted upon.

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

Topic: Changed... for real
Text: Mark 10:46-52 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+10%3A46-52&version=NIV

We gave the class a chance to see Jesus for who he really is and challenged them to follow him without reservation.

Blind Bartimaeus demonstrated a changed life - healing from physical and spiritual blindness.
He:
had a revelation of who Jesus was - "Jesus, Son of David..." (a title for the promised Messiah)
had a recognition for his need - "Have mercy on me..."
had a refusal to let anyone discourage him - "Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more..."
had a removal of all hindrances - "Throwing his cloak aside..."
had a response of faith - "Rabbi, I want to see..."
received his sight and had his life redefined.

Real Life Connection
1. How do you see Jesus today? Who is he to you?
2. What is your greatest need/burden?
3. Picture Jesus standing in front of you. He asks: "What do you want me to do for you?" What would you say?

SENIOR HIGH YOUTHQUEST

Last night we hung out at TMC for Snack 'n' Chat. We continued to learn more about world hunger with some youth reporting on their 30 hour famine experience.

We then celebrated a youth's 16th birthday with some cake and a blessing and spent the rest of our time watching video based on our topic, "Looking for God" (How can I have a relationship with a God who is invisible?).