DEEP THOUGHTS

Being in meaningful relationships is life giving in the most literal sense. Harvard researchers found that most isolated people were three times more likely to die than those with relational connections - John Ortberg

YOUTHQUEST BASKETBALL

Tonight was a smaller night as the grades 7-8 at Greensborough had an overnight trip and the high school students have exams. We still had a great night of basketball and we continued talking about fairness (our Character Matters trait of the month). Congrats to Danny who MVP honours.

DEEP THOUGHTS

Human beings who give themselves to relational greatness - who have friends they laugh with, cry with, learn with, fight with, dance with, live and love and grow old and die with - these are the human beings who lead magnificent lives. When they die, not one of them regrets having devoted themselves to people: his or her friends, his or her neighbours, his or her children, his or her family. Not one.

- John Ortberg

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

Today we look at the parables of Jesus. Our goal is to expose ourselves to Jesus’ storytelling technique as well as to learn the ways that Jesus used parables to illustrate God’s Word and put things into the terms of the people He was trying to reach. We define parable simply as an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. The parables we look at include:
- Good Samaritan – Luke 10:25-37
- Good shepherd – John 10:1-18
- Labourers in the Vineyard – Matthew 20:1-16
- Lost coin – Luke 15:8-10
- Lost sheep – Luke 15:4-7
- Prodigal son – Luke 15:11-32
- Ten minas – Luke 19:11-27
- The sower – Luke 8:4-15

Reflection
· Why do you think Jesus taught this parable?
· Who was the main audience in the Bible for this parable?
· Why do you think Jesus chose storytelling to get His teachings heard?
· Does this parable apply today? How?
· How would you re-tell this parable to your friends at school? Would you change the setting and story?

Challenge
Write a parable of your own. Choose a lesson or a promise from the Bible and write a story that will illustrate the main points. Try telling it to a friend this week. Bring it to church next Sunday and hand it to yourfriendlyneighbourhoodyouthpastor for a chance to win a prize!

SENIOR HIGH YOUTHQUEST

SESSION 5 - HOW DOES BELIEVING IN GOD AFFECT HOW I PRAY?

On Friday, we continued our study, "Following After God - What difference does God Make?" We studied the Lord's prayer from Matthew 6:9-13

"This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

We talked about how the Lord's Prayer is prayed in many contexts, ranging from weddings to weekly worship services to funerals. It can be tempting to think that it is nothing more than a liturgical creed to recited in times of difficulty or celebration. But the Lord's Prayer was intended to have a much deeper meaning in our lives.

We also talked about The Lord's Prayer is kind of like a prayer template. It can show us how we can approach God, as well as what kinds of things should characterize our communication with God. If all we do is recite the Lord's Prayer without filling in the outline with our own unique information, we haven't really begun to use the Lord's Prayer the way Jesus originally intended. Jesus taught them 'how to pray' not 'what to pray.'

Self-Reflection
Accept the challenge to take a few minutes out of your day a couple of times a week to pray through the Lord's Prayer. It may feel awkward at first. If so, try writing out your thoughts as you go through each part of the Lord's Prayer. Or work through each part of the prayer in a setting that lends itself to prayer. Begin following this template that Jesus gave to those of who desire to learn about prayer.

* Taken from - "Following After God - What difference does God make?" - Daniel Hill

CORNERSTONE YOUTHQUEST BASKETBALL

Congrats to our MVP's for the night. They played a strong game and displayed our Character Matters trait of the month (fairness).

DEEP THOUGHTS

With billions of people in the world, someone should figure out a system where no one is lonely - The All Better Book

SPANISH WORSHIP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YVfEZat5xQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGnPmgISRhA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqAR_din91A&feature=related

STOP AND HEAR THE MUSIC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOPu0_YWhw

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time.
45 minutes:The musician played continuously.

Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while.

About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32. He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

The questions raised:*In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? *Do we stop to appreciate it? *Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made, How many other things are we missing?

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

Yesterday we looked at our image of Jesus in a lesson called, "Picture Perfect." We studied His character, pictures of the way He loves and who He wants to be in our lives. Our main verse was John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Here were some other verses we looked at: Matthew 11:19 (friend), Matthew 12:18 (servant), John 1:1 (Word), John 1:29 (Lamb of God), John 4:42 (Saviour), John 6:35 (bread of life), John 8:12 (light of the world), John 10:9 (the door), John 10:11 (good shepherd), John 14:6, (way, truth, life), John 15:1 (the true vine), Isaiah 9:6 (wonderful counselor, prince of peace).

God's word is full of pictures that illustrate who Jesus Christ is and who He wants to be in our lives.

How does this apply?
1. How do these word pictures make you feel about who Jesus wants to be your life?

Take Home challenge
1. Are there other pictures of Jesus in the Bible? Over the next week read your Bible and try to discover new pictures of Jesus that we did not talk about in class.

Next Sunday we'll be looking at various parables from Jesus

*Taken from Active Bible Studies

JUNIOR HIGH YOUTHQUEST

Tonight we started our "Quest" DVD series. Session 1 was entitled, "Wake up and smell the concrete." (why should we bother discussing spiritual issues?) Our next meeting will be January 29th @ The Main Connection. We'll look at whether or not there is an image problem facing the church today (bored at exite.com)

YOUTHQUEST BASKETBALL

Congrats to our MVP's who displayed our Character matter's trait (Fairness). We had another great night this past Wednesday at our program!

SOLES4SOULS - HAITI

The news about Haiti’s disaster has surprised and shocked all of us. Please bring your gently used shoes to any SoftMoc location across Canada. SoftMoc has partnered with soles4souls to deliver your shoes to Haiti. Click on the link below for more details.

http://www.softmoc.com/

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

Yesterday our study was, "A Not-So-Random-Act-Of-Kindness. We looked at some simple, practical ways to demonstrate God's love and kindness to the world around them.

Our main passage was Matthew 5:43-48
Love for Enemies
43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

For our hands on activity we made thank-you cards and committed to doing something kind to someone in our lives in need of kindness. We tried not to pick our immediate family or best friend.

For thought:
Do you think something as simple as an act of kindness can point someone towards Jesus Christ?

Take Home Challenge:
1. Give your card (and present if possible) to the person you decided this week
2. Try to do one random act of kindness per day for the next week and report back.

SENIOR HIGH YOUTHQUEST

On Friday we looked at session 4 of our Following After God series. The topic was, "How does believing in God affect my morals?"
The scripture we looked at was
Matthew 25:31-46
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2025:31-46&version=NIV

Here are the questions for self-reflection:

1. What is it that determines your moral behaviour? Is it rooted in anything concrete, or (in all honesty) does the way you happen to feel today influence what you believe is wrong or right?

2. What stops you from looking to Jesus for moral guidance?

3. How would your life look different if you decided to follow Jesus' words?

4. Consider asking God to be the one who guides you. Then take a step to help care, "for the least of these."

* taken from: Following after God - What difference does it make? By Daniel Hill

CORNERSTONE YOUTHQUEST BASKETBALL

Tonight was our first night of 2010. We had over 30 boys out and lots of fun as usual. Congrats to Mostafa and Andrew, who won Raptor's jersey's from our welcome back draw. Congrats to Osei and Ajay who won Raptor's Tickets donated from Auto Niche http://www.autoniche.ca/ Congrats to Preston and Felix who won MVP honours for showing fairness (our character trait of the month) both on and off the court. We talked about how it's important to be fair, but more important to be generous and gracious as God as been generous and gracious to us.

DEEP THOUGHTS

When you deal with human beings, you have come to the "as-is" corner of the universe. Think for a moment about someone in your life. Maybe the person you know best, love most. That person is slightly irregular. That person comes with a little tag: There's a flaw here... One of the great marks of maturity is to accept the fact that everybody comes "as is."
(John Ortberg)

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

GOD'S VIEW VS. THE WORLD'S VIEW

The World's View: You're not good enough. You don't have enough. You don't have what it takes to succeed. You don't look right. You need... (fill in the blanks)

God's View: You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.

Dialogue:
1. What do you think the world (or our culture) thinks of you?
2. What do you think God thinks of you?

How does this apply:
1. What do you think the world wants you to be?
2. Can you admit that God created you to be a masterpiece?
3. What are some ways that you can learn to love who God created you to be and to take some pressure off yourself to live up to the world's standards?

Take home challenge:
Make a collage of words, pictures (you can draw or use magazines) that represent how God thinks of you from Psalm 139 and put it someplace where it can remind you how God sees you and what you are intended for.

* Taken from Active Bible Studies

STARTING THE NEW YEAR ON A SOLID FOUNDATION

As we enter 2010, a new decade and new opportunities arise. Here are some thoughts on the Bible - the greatest book ever written, to help build that foundation on which life can be lived the way it is designed to be lived.

How to study the Bible
1. Look for purpose - God's plan for salvation
2. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you
3. Read attentively (the Bible can be read from Genesis to Revelation in 80 hours)
4. Make a reading plan - do you want to read through the Bible? Leave 80 hours for it. Schedule that time. How much time can you give each day? How many days a week?
5. Appreciate the Bible's uniqueness - The Old Testament is the foundation; The New Testament is the superstructure. A foundation is of no value unless a building is built upon it. A building is impossible unless there is a foundation. So the Old Testament and New Testament are essential to each other.

One Book, One History, One Story
- The Bible is one book, and you cannot take it in texts and expect to comprehend the magnificence of divine revelation. You must see it in completeness.
- Each book has a message, and we should endeavour to discover what that message is.
- In one sense, we should treat the Bible as we treat any other book. When we get a book from the library we would never treat it as we do the Bible. We would never think of reading just a paragraph, taking some ten minutes, reading a little at night and then reading a little in the morning, and so spending weeks, perhaps months, in reading through the book. No interest could be maintained in any story by such a procedure.

Christ, the Living Word
- The Old Testament is an account of a nation (The Jewish nation)
- The New Testament is an account of a Man (Jesus)
- Christ lived the most perfect life ever known... Then He died... Then He rose from the dead. he is alive today. He is not merely a historical character, but a living Person - the most important fact of history and the most vital force in the world today. And He promises eternal life to all who come to Him.

* taken from "What the Bible is all About - Bible Handbook by Dr. Henrietta C. Mears.

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the [person] of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" - 2 Timothy 3:16-17