TEEN CHALLENGE

    "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding." Proverbs 3:5 is probably one of the most well-known verses in the Bible. But do we really live this verse? When my youth leader was preaching recently, and he said that when we have a problem, we shouldn't figure out a solution first and then go to God having already decided what to do. We need to go to God first and let Him lead us to what He wants us to do.      Recently I was praying over something, and while I was, in the back of my head I was formulating a plan of what I was going to say, who I was going to say it to, and what I was going to do to solve my problem. Then it was almost as if God asked me, "Do you believe that I love you completely?". And I said, 'of course I do'. And He responded, "Then trust me completely." So, I did. I didn't say anything to anybody. I didn't do anything. I only prayed. And you know what? The problem was taken ...

            Today is the day set aside to remember the sacrifice that soldiers have made for our country. Veterans, fallen soldiers, and their families should all be respected and honored, because we owe all of them a great debt. The soldiers have given up their lives, their health, and their personal comfort to make sure that we can have and keep our freedoms. Their families have given up fathers, sons, brothers, and husbands to ensure that our country stays free.  Today, take the time to thank God for your freedoms and thank Him for the soldiers who fought for your freedom. Don't take them for granted. Without those soldiers we could live in a very different world.

Click the Link Below to watch the announcement for The Return of Lester Holmes The Announcement

       Last Sunday after our evening service, most of the teenagers from our church played soccer together. My brother was playing goalie. He's only played this position a couple of times. The ball was coming towards his goal, and the players who were supposed to be playing defense for him were out of position. One of the guys started coming towards him with the ball, and as an unexperienced goalie, my brother got a little scared. He started yelling, "Hey! I need defense! I need DEFENSE!!" I was playing on the opposite end of the field from him, and started laughing as I watched the players scramble back into position in response to his screaming. The defense successfully blocked the goal and the game continued.      So when's the last time you yelled for defense? Satan's trying to score on you, and you can't keep him from scoring on your own.  God is your defense! He's there to keep Satan away from you. God will never be out of position, but you ...

  Recently while my family and I were sitting in the living room together, my younger brother and I started teasing our parents a little bit. Every move that our parents made, we would copy it. Whether it was a gesture while they were speaking or turning a page in a book, we copied it. I copied our mom and my brother copied our dad. After a few minutes both my parents noticed and we all were laughing. But I learned something from our joke. Copying every move they made required watching them very closely.  The same is true with God. As Christians, we are supposed to be transformed to the image of Christ. This requires watching Him very closely. Now, we can’t physically watch Him, but we can study about Him. II Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Being ‘approved of God’ would include being transformed into the image of His Son. Study the life of Christ- how he acted in differ...

  Praise   ye the LORD.   Praise   God   in his sanctuary:   praise   him in the firmament   of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals. Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.   Psalm 150      Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord! Our God is so great- why wouldn't we want to praise him? He has given us so much- salvation, life, a relationship with Him, and countless other things!      Not only should we want to praise the Lord we are commanded to praise the Lord! ...

  “Something to Prove” This month's devotional comes from Pastor David Cialini from Heritage Baptist Church in Palmyra, N.Y.   1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.   Do you ever feel like you will never measure up? Well, let me be clear—you never will. So, you might as well stop worrying about it. Thankfully Jesus has perfectly measured up on my behalf!  That’s awesome!  Only the truth of the Gospel can free me from the fear of being found unworthy. The truth is that I can never do anything to make me worthy of the Father’s acceptance and affection.  Know this—I am not in the ministry because, by my own effort, I became a shining example of all that the Gospel can produce.  That’s a joke! I’m so thankful that I have been freed from the bondage of trying to convince myself and others that I am worthy! Jesus has already accomplished what is impo...