CORNERSTONE YOUTHQUEST - JUNIOR AND SENIOR SOCIAL

Tonight, the junior highs along with some of our senior highs went bowling at Markham Bowl.

CORNERSTONE YOUTHQUEST BASKETBALL

Tonight we had a full house with over 30 boys in our first session alone! We continued our character matters talks about Fairness. Tonight we focused on being aware of human rights around the world. Congrats to our MVP's of the night. They showed fairness on and off the court.

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

Today we had a chance to review the materials we've done from September until now. This is what we've done so far:
The Good Fight - Family unit
40 Day Bible Adventure
Never Ending Story - Christmas
Daniel - unit about integrity

We also gave the students space to share where they are on their spiritual journey, and write down some questions for our sex unit next month.

We ended the class by having the students talk about their extra curricular activities so that we can continue to get to know each other as well as encourage each others gifts. Here's a list of some the activities we are most interested in:
Fencing
Spirit of Math
Rep Volleyball
Football
Writing, Poetry, Lyrics and Parodies
Grade 8 Piano
Gymnastics
Volleyball (school)
Guitar
Cheerleading
Competitive Swimming
Art
Choir
Sewing
Inventing
Math
Fishing
Karate
Biking
Trumpet
Drums
Snowboarding
Badminton
Basketball
Chores
Homework
Fieldhockey
Dance

SENIOR HIGH YOUTHQUEST - FRIDAY JANUARY 20TH, 2012

John 2:1-11 New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Changes Water Into Wine
¹ On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, ² and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” ⁴ “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
⁶ Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
⁸ Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, ⁹ and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside ¹⁰ and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
¹¹ What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

We talked about what it must have been like for the servants in this story. They didn't know a lot about Jesus so it was quite a risk to fill the jars with water to the brim, but they did. Their faith was rewarded.
What risks do you need to take for Jesus?

YOUTHQUEST BASKETBALL

After a long Christmas break, YouthQuest basketball was back in action. We had over 30 boys out tonight and continued our Character Matters discussions. This month, we talk about fairness. Congrats to our MVC's (Most valuable character).

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

SUNDAY JANUARY 15TH, 2012 - INTEGRITY: STANDING FIRM IN TOUGH TIMES
Week 3: Integrity Can Lead to Blessing

Daniel chose to honor God first in his life. He placed his personal relationship with God above everything else. Because of his desire to live out his faith, he made choices and took actions that were influenced by God, not by his culture’s standards. Although he faithfully served the king, Daniel cared more about God’s opinion than anyone else’s view.
Read Daniel 6:18-28.
Notice the influence that Daniel’s life had on a king who did not follow God. We see that King Darius remained up all night troubled by the punishment against Daniel. Because of the way Daniel chose to live, God was able to use him to affect the most powerful person in the entire kingdom.
Daniel had no idea what was going to happen as he was being thrown into that pit, but it didn’t matter. He was only concerned about honoring God. Once Daniel was in the pit, God sent angels to shut the lions’ mouths and keep them from even touching him. Daniel’s faithfulness to God resulted in King Darius sending out a decree to everyone in his kingdom to tremble and stand in fear before God. This is significant because the kingdom was full of all types of pagan gods, and this set Daniel’s God, the true and living God, above all others.
1.     Blessed by friendship                                                                                            When we choose to live with integrity, people around us will notice. Your life can become a testimony that will help friends understand who God is. It is amazing that when we make our choices based on honoring God, many people will be drawn to us—and then drawn to God through us. Those who are close to us will notice that we are different, and even if they are non-Christians, they will want to be around us because they know we are trustworthy and respectable
2.     Blessed by protection                                                                                           When we are willing to step out in faith, God shows up in incredible ways to protect us. God may not send angels to close the mouths of lions, like Daniel needed, but God has promised to watch over and protect us (2 Thessalonians 3:3). It’s worth noting that King Darius was hoping God had done something incredible. Most people would automatically assume that if you’d been thrown into a pit full of lions, you would be killed, right? Not King Darius. He went to the pit first thing in the morning and called out to Daniel hoping to hear his voice—and he did.

3.     Blessed by prosperity                                                                                             Most Christians believe God wants to bless and take care of us. In our society, we often associate blessing with monetary gain; however, God does not always choose to bless us with money. Webster’s Dictionary defines “prosper” as flourishing or succeeding. Sure, God can bless us monetarily, but there are many other ways we can experience prosperity and blessing. God can bring good health, new friendships, a summer job, or opportunities to serve others—just to name a few examples.

Daniel found favor with several kings because of his personal integrity, resulting in his influencing countless people for God. Discuss some of the ways you are influencing these people in your lives:
a) Your parents?
b) Other family members?
c) Fellow students?
d) People in youth group?
e) Others?
What are three things you could change in your life right now to become a person of greater integrity? What would it require for you to make these changes?

JUNIOR HIGH YOUTHQUEST

Light In The Darkness

Tonight the grades 6-8's looked at John 1:1-5
 ¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
² He was with God in the beginning.
³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
1. The Light helps us see what is good and what is bad
2. Darkness can't overcome the Light
3. Darkness can't understand the Light

Background/Overview:

John 1 begins the story of Jesus and his coming as a light into the world. The story really starts before the world was created. Jesus was alive before time existed. John calls Jesus the Word and uses the Greek word logos. In both the Jewish concept and the Greek, the word logos was associated with beginnings. So John is saying that Jesus, as God the Creator, has always existed. This same Word is the Saviour we know as Jesus Christ. The Word became flesh so all the world may see the light and turn away from the darkness.

Real-life Connection:

Go home and find a flashlight. Make sure it works. Take it to your room and turn off all the lights. Sit in the darkness for a few minutes and think about some of the ways you’re living in darkness and not following God. Think about God’s offer to forgive your sins and give you eternal life. Ask God to shed light on the areas of your life you don’t want overcome. Turn on the flashlight and point it toward the ceiling. See what a difference that little light makes in your room. Point the flashlight at specific parts of your room and talk to God about the light of Christ coming into those parts of your life. Pray your way around your room and ask Christ to take over each part of your life. We live in the light now, so let us walk in the light.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o3Yplq7eKg (How Great is our God - Chris Tomlin)

 

YOUTH TALENT

Tonight, one of our youth participated in Unionville High School's musical, "13." Juliette not only performed in the play, but choreographed almost all of their dance pieces. Great job!

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

WEEK 2:INTEGRITY : STANDING FIRM IN TOUGH TIMES
Daniel 6:6-17 - Integrity Under Fire

1. Devotion is known
2. Devotion is planned
3. Devotion is unwavering
4. Devotion is impacting

• Daniel’s co-workers knew that no matter what, his faith was the foundation of who he was and shaped everything he did. When your non-Christian friends look at your life, how important would they say your faith is to you? Why would they answer that way?

• We see through this passage how non-Christians can be influenced by our devotion to God. What are some ways you are right now influencing your friends by your choices?

• What can we do as a group to make and keep prayer a priority in our lives? Let’s brainstorm some ideas. Which of these ideas will you commit to putting into practice this next week?

SENIOR HIGH YOUTHQUEST

This past Friday we started our study of John by looking at John 1:1-5. We had some great discussions.

John 1
The Word Became Flesh
¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
² He was with God in the beginning.
³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

JUNIOR HIGH SUNDAY SCHOOL

INTEGRITY - STANDING FIRM IN TOUGH TIMES - DANIEL 6:1-5 (Sunday January 1, 2012)

News headlines are filled with stories about noteworthy people who have failed to maintain personal integrity. But our teenagers don’t have to make choices that lead them down the wrong path; they can make a commitment to pursue, develop, and maintain personal integrity. God teaches us in Scripture that as Christ-followers, our lives can be defined by integrity. As we see in this week’s lesson, Daniel offers a clear example of what God can do with an honest, faithful, consistent life.

Having personal integrity can seem tough to do in today’s culture. We see people in the public eye saying one thing but doing something else. While some people in our world excuse certain forms of lying and dishonesty, God expects something different. We are called to reflect God to a world that experiences spiritual separation, so we can live as God would. People need to know that they can believe you. If your integrity is compromised, others may not be willing to trust you.

1. Hard work is rewarded

2. Hard work may cause jealousy

3. Hard work builds integrity

• When all is said and done, one of the few things that you have control of in this life is your personal integrity. How are you living this out daily?