BIBLE SURFING by Kathy Collier
The Bible is an adventure. In it you will find sex, violence, hate, greed, love, power, forgiveness, compassion, winning the game against all odds, fighting ‘till you can’t fight any more, even saving a little boy from a government death warrant. It’s all there. The Bible is not something to be studied the way you study your boring biology textbook. It’s interactive and responsive. It’s more like surfin’ the Bible rather than studying it.
In the middle of all of the Bible stories is a common theme, “Become Christ like”. The more you study—I mean surf, the more you surf the pages of the Bible, the more you understand about God.
Read Hebrews 5:11-6:3
(Go on, get out your Bible and read it!)
This pretty much lays it out. When you are a new believer, you need milk—and you need someone else to feed you. Hebrews said that when you first begin surfin’ the Bible, it’s OK to count on church pastors and youth leaders to show you what’s in there. But notice that it’s also quick to say that you need to learn to feed yourself. You need to get into the Word on your own and stop being a baby.
So how do you do that? People do it many different ways. I’ll throw a few at you, and you find what works for you. NO MATTER HOW YOU SURF, START IN PRAYER ASKING GOD TO SHOW YOU HIS TRUTH IN HIS WORD!
1 Topic Hopping: Think about what you are interested in, and look up verses that talk about that.
2 Book Review: Start at the beginning of a book of the Bible and read it through asking yourself questions about what you read.
3 People watching: Look up interesting stories in the Bible. (David the cheater, a talking donkey, it’s all in there!)
Start Now!
Every day do some kind of Bible surfing. It may be a little weird at first. But like the Word says, it’s like learning to feed yourself. You’ve seen a baby when he’s just learning to use a spoon. Not the most graceful thing. But he will get better and so will you!
This devotional was taken from the book; Step Off- The Hardest 30 days of Your Life! By Justin Lookadoo (cool last name) I recommend it, it’s at Northwestern Bookstore, or you can borrow my copy.
SonShine Musicfest 2007
Rock. Pure, loud, flashing lights, pump your fist, all-for-Jesus rock.
Camping. Pure, in a tent, in a field, make-your-own-meals, face the weather camping.
SonShine Musicfest 2007 is like going to 100 concerts at once with your best friends. You will go. You must go. To miss it would be liking missing, well... 100 concerts at once with your best friends. Mark your calendars. More details coming soon.
WELCOME NEW STUDENTS
If you haven't had a chance over the past two Sundays to welcome our new students to our Youth Group . . . well what are you waiting for! We are pumped to have you and look forward to seeing all the ways that God will be working in your lives over the upcoming years.
Sam VanWalbeek
Dan Anderson
Grace Galbrecht
Kaycee Clark
Kayla Yahnke
Tyler Cromer
Zach Ya
Sex Doesn't Just Happen Out of the Blue, and Neither Does Purity
Rebecca St. James is a popular Christian singer from Australia whose ministry focuses on abstinence outside of marriage. Here's what she has to say about purity:
"I have a huge passion for the issue of sexual purity—so much so that I'’ve spoken about it at almost all of my concerts for the past 10 years. It’s an issue that spans all marital, economic, and age barriers. I’'ve written a song about it and a book called Wait for Me. My passion for this issue is fueled by seeing so many of my generation being ripped off by Satan. He has promoted his lies far too well, and far too few believers are talking about and living the truth that combats those lies. I’'ve spoken to college students in Kyrgyzstan, to a downtown club audience in Paris, and to thousands of people elsewhere around the world about the fact that I’m a virgin and I’m waiting until marriage for sex. Yet I could count on one hand the number of times I’'ve caught any flak for speaking up on this issue. I believe that deep down, most people respect those who stand for purity, and underneath it all, they know it’s the right way to go.
Sex doesn'’t just happen out of the blue, and neither does purity. Though temptation takes place all the time, sexual sin happens only as part of a descending process. A little of this, a little of that. You go here, you look there. You push the boundaries today, and you go a little further tomorrow. One small pleasure combined with one seemingly insignificant compromise, and before you know it, sin has taken over. You may be able to recognize the wrong moves you’ve made, but can you pinpoint the individual choices that led to them? If you can learn to see and resist the early compromises, you’re on your way to preventing the mistakes. Your goal, then, should be to become a good compromise spotter, to stay on your toes, and to defend your purity at all cost."
(www.cbn.com)