HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

Today we had a special question and answer period. The students handed in questions and teachers answered them. Next week we are off for Christmas!

YOUTHQUEST BANQUET

YOUTHQUEST BANQUET

Last night we had our Christmas Youth and Family Banquet. With over 70 people attending, it was a great night of celebration.

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

Sunday December 11, 2011

The NeverEnding Story (2): participate in

The birth of Jesus demanded a response. Two thousand years later, the presence of God, the arrival of Jesus, still demands a response. Even people who have never set foot inside a church know the reason for Christmas—that we are celebrating the birth of Jesus—but everyone, us included, seems to sort of ignore it when it comes down to it. In our culture, Christmas is more of an event about who gets what and making sure we are clear when asking for what we want. The truth is, our experiences with Christmas are more cultural than biblical.

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35 NIV).

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38 NIV).

And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers” (Luke 1:46-55 NIV).

In sending His Son, God was doing more than just fulfilling His promise. He was sending a message: “Once you have responded to Me, will you now participate with Me?”

God’s vision is about making things the way they should be. The beautiful thing about the Christmas story is that God’s vision for the world is still ongoing. It’s a story that didn’t just happen thousands of years ago—it is still going on, it’s never-ending. We need to focus this year on what we give, on what we are able to offer, on how we are able to participate in God’s picture, and not on what we get.

Christmas can remain a relic of the past or it can be something more. We can participate, and we can give.

It’s a story that never ends.

SENIOR HIGHS - FRIDAY DECEMBER 9,2011

volunteering

VOLUNTEERING

Today a few of us volunteered with Anna Rossi at her warehouse. She has a charity called 5with Drive that supports people in Markham and beyond

CORNERSTONE YOUTHQUEST BASKETBALL

Tonight was a great finish to 2011! Congrats to our winners from both sessions: Krishna/Connor - MVP's, Krishna B and Din (won a book), Ivan - honourable mention MVP, Kishok and Sion - $10 gift card from Best Buy, Turab and Anushan - skull candy headphones - Thanks to Cornerstone Christian Community Church for donating the gifts!!!

YOUTHQUEST POETY

Here's some acrostic poetry made by the youth at one of our youth gatherings

Faith                                               Love
Awesome                                       Opportunities
Important                                       Vows
Thanksgiving                                 Eternity
Humility

Goodness
Oh so wonderful
Our Saviour
Does wonderful stuff
Never ends
Externally and internally pure
Saviour is Jesus
Sing his praise

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

Sunday December 4th, 2011
Series Overview
A manger. A baby. Shepherds. Stars. The Christmas story is one we look at with great reverence. The peaceful scene is recreated and plastered on everything from phone backgrounds to lawn decorations. But the Christmas story is more than a just a story we look back on and remember. It’s ongoing. It’s active. It’s a story that required a response over 2,000 years ago, and one that requires a response today. It’s a story that invites us to participate in it even today—because the Christmas story is the neverending story.

Session One: Invited to...

When a story is small and distant, it really doesn’t have much impact in our lives, does it? It solicits a nod, a smile, a “that’s nice.” But it doesn’t affect us. It doesn’t move us. It doesn’t shake us. And while many people, us included, tend to approach the Christmas story, the story of Jesus’ birth, in a familiar, typical and remote sort of way, it’s not that kind of story. The Christmas story, at its very core demands a response—good or bad—from you, from me—from anyone who hears it.

YOUTHQUEST MOVIE NIGHT

Tonight we watched soul surfer. A very powerful and inspiring movie. We also watched a clip of another young person making a difference in the world. Let's be world-changers!
http://www.churchleaders.com/outreach-missions/outreach-missions-videos/156542-twenty-one-year-old-adopts-14-girls-in-uganda.html

YOUTHQUEST BASKETBALL

Tonight was a good night. We had a full house and continued to focus on empathy. We prayed for a student who was injured and is in the hospital.

JUNIOR HIGH YOUTHQUEST

2011 Bedlam Youth Retreat at Muskoka Woods!

CORNERSTONE YOUTHQUEST BASKETBALL

Tonight we had around boys again. We finished up our talk on the character matters trait of honesty. Congrats to our MVC's (Most Valuable Characters) of the night. They showed honesty on and off the court.

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

On Sunday we finished our 40 Day Bible Adventure. We looked at the book of Revelation.

Because of many persecutions, the church in the late first century was suffering. Many of the apostles had been martyred, and the apostle John had been arrested and placed in exile on the island of Patmos. The church needed spiritual, emotional, mental and physical encouragement and stability to get them through their trials. John's letter - the recounting of a vision he had while in exile - is meant to encourage believers experiencing suffering by highlighting the supremacy of Christ, God's ultimate sovereignty, and the promise of future justice and restoration. It is a symbolic book that uses a number of different images to communicate different points, but each section further illustrates that throughout time, even in the midst of great trials, God will reign supreme.

YOUTHQUEST BASKETBALL

Tonight was another full night! We had over 40 boys between both sessions! Congrats to our MVC's (Most Valuable Character) of the night. We continued to talk about "honesty" - our trait of the month.

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

Day 35 - Pentecost and the Arrival of the Holy Spirit

Prior to His crucifixion, Jesus told His followers that the Holy Spirit would come to replace Him after His departure (John 14:15-27; 16:5-16). Before He ascended to heaven after His resurrection, Jesus instructed them to go to Jerusalem and await the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4). The coming of the Spirit (on the day of Pentecost) unmistakably transformed the community of believers and began the rapid growth of the church.

YOUTHQUEST JUNIOR HIGH

THE POWER IS ON

Tonight we talked about the impact the Holy Spirit had on the first Christians and the impact the Holy Spirit continues to have in the world today.

We played a game called language barrier where the John 1:1 was translated into 12 languages (not including English and French) and talked about what it was like trying to figure out another language.

Our main passage was Acts 2:1-13
We talked about how God equipped the apostles through the Holy Spirit and how He equips us to in the same way. We shared stories about how Jesus works in our lives.

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

Day 29 (40 Day Bible Adventure) - The Miracles of Jesus

The miracles that Jesus performs in the four Gospels tell us much about His true nature and identity as both Messiah and Son of God. Many of His actions indicate the presence of the Kingdom of God in the world. Jesus is Israel's long awaited Messiah, the Christ, and His miracles confirm this identity (Isaiah 35:5; 61:1). They also demonstrate His power of pain, sickness, death, the natural world, and the spiritual realm. Jesus does things that only God can do, proving that He is both Lord and King

YOUTHQUEST SENIOR HIGH

This past Friday we had a great snack 'n' chat. Well... the youth said the snacks weren't that great. We each wrote down a question (anything we wanted), and then passed them around and took turns answering them (Dear Abby style). Some great questions like:
What colour is God?
We then talked about some more stuff as a group

Describe your perfect world: View out your bedroom window, 1st thing you do every morning, something you'd always eat, something you'd never do again... your soul would feel...

How do you know if someone is "doing well"? Riches? Physical health? How happy they are? Live long life? Good relationships? ...

The hardest area to let God's will happen in me is: my wants, my family, my friendships, my weekends, my work...

Some really good converstations were started...

YOUTHQUEST BASKETBALL

Tonight we had a FULL house with over 45 boys out between our junior and senior sessions! Congrats to our Most valuable Characters of the night. This month, we are focusing on honesty.

YOUTHQUEST JUNIOR HIGH

Yesterday the junior highs cancelled their Sunday school class so that they could serve in various areas. The youth helped with sound/av, nursery and toddler, preschool and schoolage departments.

 Conerstone's Got Talent!

More Talent!

Talent show!!!

 More pictures from the talent night

Some pictures from our Junior high Talent night! Oct. 29/11. We also did a spiritual gift inventory.

On Sunday October 23rd, we continued our 40 Day Bible Adventure. We looked at the Psalms (Day 22)
The Psalms were written by a variety of authors throughout Old Testament history. They demonstrate the witness of godly people confronting themselves, their circumstances, and the Lord with honesty and reverence. Many Psalms offer praise to God, but there are also psalms that lament wickedness and cry out for God's presence when He seems distant. The Psalms deepen our understanding of God and what it means to live as His servants in the world.

Today we had a full house with well over 40 boys in the gym! We finished talking about the character matters trait of responsibility. Congrats to our MVP's for the night.