SURGE in Review 4/18/12

Last night was the reunion of the Hodson/Clark volleyball team.  I'll have to admit that both of those guys had longer shorts on then the ones in this pic that was taken a few years back!

Katie and the CYM Worship Band led us in "Undignified", "Blessed Be Your Name", "Awesome is the Lord Most High", and "Your Name".

Last night we talked about how sometimes God opens doors for us to be able to share the Gospel.  He did this for Paul in the city of Ephesus.  Paul was able to stay and share the Gospel for 2 and a half years in Ephesus.  We talked about when God opens the door for us to share Christ with our friends we need to be:
1. Curious...(ask questions)
2. Consistant...(we need to set and live by our Christian standards)
3. Patient...(sometimes trying to help our friends find Christ will be discouraging)
4. Sacrificial...(we need to live our lives so we can show our friends the heart of Christ)

SURGE in Review 4/11/12

The Game:

Finger Ninja you can check out the vid by clicking here.  A pretty crazy and fun game!



The Worship:

Last night Katie and the Band led us in "Marvelous Light", "Better is One Day", "Mighty to Save", and "Give us Clean Hands".  This was Ryan's first night on the big stage at CYM!

The Lesson:

Last night we wrapped up Paul's second missionary journey by talking about his trips to Athens and Corinth.  We focused in on how Paul didn't waste his spare time while he was waiting for his companions to join him.  He took to the streets, became distressed that the city was full of idols, and then began a dialogue with the residents to point them towards the one true God.  Our question of the night was basically, how would you introduce your God to someone if you had the spare time to engage in conversations with the people you meet?  How would you describe your God?  What did God create during the first 6 days recorded in our Scripture?  What was God's relationship with the Jews during the Old Testament?  Who is Jesus?  What did Jesus do while he lived on the Earth?  What was the most important thing Jesus ever did?  Paul's journey in Athens didn't lead to tons of people coming to Jesus.  But it did lead to some.  Acts 17:34 tells us "A few men became followers of Paul and believed.  Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others."  Did Paul's intentional dialogues revolutionize the church?  Maybe not...but they did revolutionize the lives of Damaris and Dionysius.  Sometimes we get too focused on crowds and numbers that we sometimes lose focus of the individuals.  In Corinth, Paul met some valuable Kingdom people in Priscilla and Aquila.  He spent a year and a half in Corinth, by far the longest stay by Paul thus far on his journey. After the year and a half, Paul went for a very brief time to the city of Ephesus before returning home.

SURGE in Review 4/4/2012

Last night was one of the best SURGE events that I have ever remembered.  We started the night off by playing the game "Caterpillar" and followed that up with a game called "Down, Down, Down"...check out the video below!

The CYM Worship Band lead us in "Happy Day", "Lead Me to the Cross", "You are My King", and "Here I am to Worship".

Last night we continued "The Journey" by traveling with Paul, Silas, and Timothy to the city of Thessalonica.  Here Paul and his companions set out to prove that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.  A great story to look during Holy Week.  Would we be able to prove that Jesus was the Messiah if all we had to argue with was the Old Testament?  That is exactly how Paul had to "reason" with the Jews and Greeks in Thessalonica.  We have to remember that when Paul was traveling he didn't have the New Testament to refer to.  We talked about some Old Testament Scripture that Paul could have used to prove that the Messiah had to suffer and die.  When that was evident by digging into the Scripture he could then point to Jesus and say that Jesus did suffer, die, and rise from the dead.  We talked about how Jason (Paul's host) was persecuted just for housing the man and he and other believers had to post bond so they could get out of prison.  We pondered why Paul was so willing to go from city to city, planting baby church after baby church, just to be persecuted, stoned, beaten, whipped, or imprisoned.  Why was Paul so willing to have his body broken over and over and over again?  Because his King, had once been broken.  Paul was following in the footsteps of his Savior.  We then transitioned into the night of the last supper with Jesus and His disciples.  We shared together in communion and foot-washing.  It was a great night to remember the King and one who was so willing to do anything to make the King known.  What would you be willing to do to follow in the footsteps of Jesus?

Surge in Review 3/28/12

As you can tell from the video...last night's game was Red Rover...and it was a knock out!!!!

Check out this video on our new small group called "Energize"...

You can sign up for "Energize" on the Glass Doors in the CYM Student Ministry Center.

We worshipped to the SURGE Worship Band singing/playing "Our God", "Mighty to Save", "Revelation Song", and "Lead Me To the Cross".

We focused in on the city of Philippi on "The Journey" last night.  We mainly talked about how Paul and Silas reacted to the suffering that they had to endure.  Read through Acts 16 and check out their response. We also talked about how we sometimes have to connect Scripture together.  For instance this church that was started in Acts 16 is the same church that Paul wrote a letter to later on in his life.  We find this letter in our Bible and it is known as the book of Philippians.  This is a letter that Paul writes to the church in the town where tells perhaps he suffered the greatest.  He writes,  "⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

SURGE In Review: 3/14/2012

Check out this Vid for a glimpse at our aWeSoMe game from last night!

The Worship Set for last night contained "Song of Hope", "Sing, Sing, Sing", "Never Once", and "Lead me to the Cross".

Last night we continued "The Journey" by finishing our discussion about the Challenges of Ministry.  You can check out the first 3 challenges by reading last week's blog by clicking here.

4. Intensional Mentoring.  After digging into the first few verses of Acts 16 we quickly recognize Paul's passion for "Intentional Mentoring".  This a huge challenge for all Christ Followers.  Who mentored you along your path?  Who are you mentoring?  Who are you bringing with you on your journey?  We dug into 2 Timothy 4:9-12 and discovered just how much of an impact Paul had on people.  17 years after the events in Acts 16, Paul writes this letter to Timothy.  Can you count how many people Paul had mentored over the years in just these 4 verses?

After Paul and Silas pick up Timothy, they quickly discover that they don't know where they are supposed to be going.  Below is a video of their path but you can read for yourself about the trouble they had about their next destination in Acts 16.

5. In ministry there will be times of "Directional Confusion".  We must remember to continue to seek God's guidance and there is probably a reason that He doesn't show us the right destination immediately.  We also need to remember to "honor the mileage" as Paul, Silas, and Timothy would have walked to all of these destinations just to be redirected by the Holy Spirit when they got there.  We are talking about a ton of time before there was clear direction from God.

For a Review here are the Ministry Challenges:

1. Long Commitment
2. Intense Disagreements
3. Hard Miles
4. Intensional Mentoring
5. Directional Confusion

SURGE In Review: 3/7/2012

GAME:

Tug of War was the game for last night...There were not really any wars...but the team of Katie and Donya took out the Saldaña sisters... 

Worship:

The CYMSURGE worship Band led the students in "Forever", "One Desire", "How Great is Our God", and "You Never Let Go".

Last night we hit the mid-way point in "The Journey".  The focus for last night was preparing our students for meaningful ministry.  Here are the highlights that we learned from the end of Acts 15 and the very beginning of Acts 16 about ministry.

1. In Ministry, Long impact will require Long Commitment (Acts 15:36) - Paul and Baranabas had spent 2 years on the first journey and were talking about taking it again...The longer we commit to a certain ministry...the deeper the impact we will make...for instance in youth ministry we only have around 7 years with each students at the maximum...some churches throw in a different youth leader/youth worker every single year or quarter and sometimes this pattern results is minimal depth, minimal relationships, and minimal impact.

2. Sometimes in ministry there will be intense disagreements (Acts 15:37-40) - We just need to remember that when we disagree it needs to be done respectfully as I believe this disagreement was between Paul and Barnabas.  I believe they still deeply respected each other after the disagreement...There isn't any evidence in Scripture that shows us any negative conversations by Paul about this conversation with Barnabas (and believe me...he had plenty of opportunities).  When we disagree on direction we need to remember to not destroy each other's character.  

3. Sometimes in ministry there will be hard miles (Acts 15:41 and 16:1) - There are only 2 verses here that talk about Paul and Silas's trip from Antioch to Derbe and Lystra...but again we need to honor the mileage and terrain and realize this is a 300-400 mile trek all on foot through a mountainous country side.  In ministry, we will see  some hard miles...some fun miles...more hard miles...we need to remember as Christ followers doing ministry that for how far we've come on our Journey that there probably are still some hard miles ahead of us if we are on the path that Jesus has called us to.

To be continued...next week!

SURGE in Review: 2/22/2012

Pre-SURGE:

Last night at SURGE we started off with some Pre-SURGE Tweets!!!  For most Surge stuff coming up you can get your thought on our scrolling Twitter board at CYM but using #CYMSURGE.  We ended up having around 8 tweets rotating.  You can tweet about #CYMSURGE anytime during the week and we will post it the following Wed. night.

GAME:

We played some awesome rounds of mini-dodgeball last night in the CYM Student Ministry Center.  

Worship:

Katie, Corrie, David, and Scott led us in some really awesome worship last night!  The songs were "All Because of Jesus", "I am Free", "Shout to the Lord", and a brand-new one to us called "One Desire".

Last night (after some of the smell cleared the room! LOL!) we discussed the feeling of completion.  We talked about how Paul and Barnabas completed their first missionary journey and how the church gathered to welcome them back after a 2 year journey.  We talked about how there were some believers who approached the church in Antioch stating that the Gentiles would in a sense have to abide by all the Jewish laws before they could become Christ followers.  This took us into a discussion about the differences between the backgrounds of the Jewish people and the Gentile people.  Both came from sacrificing cultures but the Gentiles were used to sacrificing to multiple gods to "make them happy" and the Jews were used to sacrificing to God to "make Him happy".  However, the Jews in Antioch couldn't sacrifice to God very often because they were only allowed to sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem.  So in order for the Jews to make God happy they would have to obey every command in the Old Testament.  This brought on a plethora of rules and regulations that went far beyond what God had intended.  So the church in Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to seek out the wisdom of the Apostles and Elders.

How does this effect us?  Well, we still have a tension between two factions in our churches today.  The Saints and the Sinners...We sometimes have a hard time blending the new Christ followers that still have a ton of sin baggage with the long time Christ followers who have created a ton of rules.  The most important part that we need to remember is that living the Christian life isn't about rules and it isn't about making cookie-cutter Christians...It is about remembering that we are all on different stages of "The Journey"but we all have been called to take on spreading the Gospel of Jesus.  His love and grace still covers both groups and in fact, calls us all to be unified as the CHURCH.

Surge in Review: 2/15/2012

Last night at SURGE we continued "The Journey" as Paul and Barnabas traveled from Pisidian-Antioch to Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.  We discovered that there has been a pattern emerging as to how the Jesus message was spread through the cities that Paul went to.  Here is the pattern: they went to the synagogues, spoke to the Jews, then to the Gentiles (sometimes signs and wonders), there was always a split audience (those who believed vs. those who did not), the animosity of those who didn't believe (mostly Jews) grew, Paul and Barnabas were persecuted, then they left town.  We have to remember that Paul's first missionary journey is only 2 chapters in our Scriptures but it was really a 2 year journey.  One key thought that we looked at was how close to home Paul was when they entered the city of Derbe.  He was so close to the city of Tarsus where he was from.  It looks as though the journey is leading Paul and Barnabas to a place of refuge except...when they leave Derbe they head right back to Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian-Antioch.  They head right back into the cities that ran them off.  Paul was even left for dead in Iconium after being stoned.  But this didn't stop him nor Barnabas from going back to strengthen the fledgling congregations that had just formed.  They went back to choose leaders and to let the new Christ followers know that the journey will be hard.

How about you?  Has your journey been hard?  If so...you are probably on the right journey!

Surge in Review 2/8/2012

Last night we continued "The Journey" series.  We devoted a great deal of time specifically to Scripture last night.  We traveled with Paul and Barnabas as they sailed from Paphos to Perga (This is where John-Mark left the team) and then traveled on foot to Pisidian Antioch.  We talked about honoring the mileage as we read from 2nd Corinthians 11 and wondered if any of these trials and persecutions that Paul faced happened on this trip.  After they arrived in Pisidian Antioch they went to the synagog on the sabbath.  We discussed how this was a pattern that Paul established on his journeys into different towns.  He went first to the people who had a similar background (the entire Old Testament) before he began preaching/teaching to the Gentiles.  During this particular portion of Scripture we read that Paul was given the opportunity to speak.  We related this to "Fear" and how we are all given or will be given opportunities to speak/act but may be too paralyzed with fear.  Paul had a glimpse of how these Jewish folks might act towards the message of Jesus.  He too had once been in a Jewish council that listened to a young man named Stephen preach about Jesus.  The outcome of that was the Jews stoning Stephen to death as Saul/Paul was watching their clothes and gave approval to the stoning.  Could it be possible that after Paul stands up that he is in line for stones being thrown at him as well?  When you read this portion of Scripture from Acts 13, honor the mileage.  Do not be afraid!

Scriptures to Check out:

Genesis 15:1

Numbers 21:34

Joshua 1:9

2 Kings 1:15

Jeremiah 1:8

Matthew 1:20

Matthew 14:27

Matthew 28:5

SURGE in Review 2/01/12

This past Wednesday at CYM we talked about the island that Paul and Barnabas first reached after setting sail from Antioch.  We talked mostly about the Elymas the Sorcerer and Sergius Paulus the proconsul who was governor in Paphos.  There were 2 main ideas that I hope were able to surface during our time together.  1. It was the Holy Spirit who called and sent Saul and Baranbas.  I believe He sent them because God wants to be known...He always has.  Would you want to serve a God that remains hidden?  2. There will always be competing voices in our life.  We must strive to discern which voices are coming from God and which voices are coming from the world.  Elymas was trying to turn Sergius Paulus from the faith.  Who or what are the competing voices in your life?

SURGE in Review 1/25/12

Last night at SURGE we began "The Journey".  This is a new series based off of the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul.  Last night we focused on Acts 7-13 as we looked at how we were first introduced to Saul in Acts 7 as he was giving his approval to the death of a Christ Follower named Stephen and how his life was totally transformed by the time he is set off on his first missionary journey with Barnabas in chapter 13.  Our key theme for this series and for last night was: Where have you been?, Where are you currently?, and Where are you going?

We also talked a bit at length about the fear that spread through Jerusalem by the persecution by Saul.  What if the government decided to imprison all Christ Followers again like they did during this dark time in Jerusalem in Acts 8.  I did some reflecting myself as I filmed some of my worldly possessions and wondered how much of it I'd leave behind.  You can check that video out here:

Last night we talked about 4 cities that either impacted Saul's life or was impacted by him.  The first student that can name all 4 cities in order will get a surprise next Wed. at SURGE!