Salvation

Discussion questions :
1. When did you get saved and who lead you to Jesus Christ?
2. How has your life, or attitude changed after you have been Saved?
3. How do you feel God’s grace working in your life lately?

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Ephesians 2:4-8
“4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”

1. What is God’s mercy?
Its the way he shows us love. Its his forgiveness for the way we hurt him, when we don’t deserve to be forgiven. God’s mercy is His compassion and forgiveness shown towards us when we deserve punishment.

2. What does “dead in transgressions” mean?
Transgression is where we overstep the limits of God’s law (Aka. when we Sin). When we are dead in transgressions we are really dead in life because of our sin.

3. What is God’s grace?
God’s grace is God’s free or unearned favor, or God showing His kindness towards us.

4. Where will God raise us?
To be with Jesus in Heaven.

5. Why does God show us grace and want to save us?
God wants to show us His grace and wants to save us because of His great love for us.

6. What do we need to have to be saved?
We need to have faith in Jesus Christ in order to be saved.

7. What did God express through Jesus Christ?
God expresses his kindness through Jesus.

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1 Timothy 1:15-16
“15Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”

1. Who did Jesus come to save?
Jesus came to save sinners

2. What is a sinner?
A sinner is someone who rebels against God, breaks God’s laws, turns away from God, miss’ God’s purpose for their life, and gives way to the power of evil rather than to God.

3. What are some of the things that we do that makes us sinners?
By breaking any of the 10 commandments, when we run away from God, etc...

4. What is patience?
Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate people that are annoying, or suffering through something without getting angry or upset.

5. How does Jesus show His patience with us?
Jesus shows us His patience by forgiving us of our sins, even the ones that we haven’t even committed yet.

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1 Timothy2:3-6
“3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.”

1. Who does God want to save?
God wants to save “All Men.”

2. What two things does God want for everyone?
For everyone to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

3. What does a mediator do?
A mediator stands between 2 people in a dispute, argument, or disagreement in order to bring agreement or bring peace between the two people.

4. Why is Jesus our mediator to God?
Jesus is our mediator to God, because he died as a sacrifice for our sin, so that we can be reconciled with God.

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1 John 5:11-12
“11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

1. What is Eternal Life?
Eternal Life is life that has no end, and a hope for the future. It is based on our faith in Jesus Christ and the opportunity to experience a personal relationship with Him.

2. How do we obtain Eternal Life?
Eternal Life only comes through our faith in Jesus
Christ.

3. What does it mean by saying “He who has the son?
Jesus is the Son of God. People who have the Son have accepted Jesus into their hearts

4. Salvation is referred to what two things in this passage of scripture?
Salvation is referred to as Eternal Life, and Life .

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1. What is Salvation?
Salvation is God’s way of Providing us away to be delivered and forgiven from our sinful nature.

Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

2. What is a wage?
A wage is payment for doing something.

3. When we do something bad and sin, what should our payment be?
Our payment should be a punishment.

When we sin and do something bad we rebel against God. Sin separates us from having a relationship with God. God loves us so much that he desires a relationship with everyone.

4. What is the gift God wants to give?
God wants to give eternal life through his Son Jesus Christ.

Fun Times

We had an exciting night at H2O last night.

We talked about the 4 biggest questions that skeptics have about Jesus, and we challenged the student to tell 3 of their friends about Jesus and to give their friends the answers to the 4 questions.

We played 2 new games last night. SPUD and the team game BLANKET FLIP. It was a fun time and we will play those game in the future.

Congratulations to Ashley, Alyssa, and Anthony for being the winners of Sword Drill over the past 3 weeks!

Summer Camp is coming up. It is from June 28th to July 1st. The cost is $140 per student. We have 5 students who have signed up. If you cant afford to go please see Pastor Adam. We are also going to be doing some fundraisers to help lower the cost. Fore more information see Pastor Adam or click here!

Human Videos: We are trying to put together a human video and drama team for this summer! We want to help Kids Inc with their summer outreaches through this ministry. We have 6 student who have already signed up. If you would like to be a part of this team please let Pastor Adam know! Click Here to see the National Fine Arts Winning Human video of 2008!

STUDENTS: remember to invite your friends to H2O! The more People that come the better it will be!

Who Is Jesus?

Last night we talked about the 4 biggest questions that skeptics have about Jesus.

1. How do you know Jesus ever existed?
2. Did Jesus really claim to be God, and if so why should I believe him?
3. Was Jesus really born of a virgin? and aren't there legitimate objections to it that make it not true for today?
4. Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

We know that Jesus existed because of the eyewitness accounts from the people who wrote the New Testament. There were also Jewish and Roman historians who wrote about Jesus as well. All of the eyewitnesses who actually followed Jesus and believed in Him were put to death. Who in their right mind would make up a story and stick with it if they knew that the story they were telling would lead to their death. If you look at the historical facts, we know more about Jesus through the eyewitnesses than what we know about any other person from Ancient times. Its amazing that these same skeptics who refuse to believe in that Jesus ever existed, believe in stories of Pharaoh's and Kings that have never been found, but were written about thousands of years after they lived by people who didn't even know them. The account of Jesus were written with in just a few years after his death by people who knew him personally.

Jesus is the only religious leader who has ever made the claim that he was God in human flesh. Buddha, Moses, Muhammad, and Zoroaster never claimed to be a god. In all the major religions the teaching is what is all-important, not the teacher. Muhammad was a prophet for Islam who thought he was revealing the true god, and Buddha emphasized his principals, not himself. On top of teaching the truth, Jesus claimed that he was the truth. Jesus made claims that he was God. John 14:9 I am in the father and the father is in me; John 8:58 he existed before Abraham; John 5:17-18 he is equal to the father; John 1:3 he claimed that he is the creator; John 14:6 I am the way the truth and the life…; and Mark 2:5-7 he said he is able to forgive sins. Jesus friends and enemies alike, heard him claim to be God. What Jesus taught was important, but what is more imporatnt is who Jesus is. Jesus was either a lire, a lunatic, or God. I believe he is God because the Bible is full of reasons and fulfilled prophecies that prove that Jesus is God, and that he is who he says he is. Take a look at John 20:30-31.

The virgin birth has kept many people from believing in Jesus. God wanted his son to have a miraculous entry into this world. Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." The New Testament is this prophecy being fulfilled. The story of Jesus birth was recorded as a historical fact by both Matthew and Luke. Both were eyewitnesses of Jesus' life, but it was Luke who wrote the account of Jesus' birth from Mary's perspective. Jesus needed to be born of a virgin because of his sinless nature. If he was born of man then he would have been born into sin. He had to be perfect without defect so he could be the ultimate sacrifice. Because of the human race being contaminated by sin, Jesus had to have a miraculous entrance into the world through the virgin birth. Yes, God could have choosen a different way, but he didn't. God chose to use the virgin birth. Science doesn't matter here, because it was a miracle that happened. The Bible treats the virgin birth as a supernatural act of God, not some ordinary everyday occurrence.

Christianity will die if Jesus did not come back from the dead. Jesus resurrection from the dead set him apart form anyone else who has ever lived, and has proved that he is the Son of God. Luke, who was an eyewitness of Jesus' life wrote in Acts 1:3 "After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke to them about the Kingdom of God." The Apostle Paul recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that over 500 people witnessed Jesus' resurrection at one time. We know that the New Testament was written by eyewitness who knew Jesus, so that alone should be enough evidence to prove that Jesus was raised from the dead. Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:16 "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

These 4 questions are some of the biggest reasons why people don't believe in Jesus. In fact, you probably know people who have asked those questions. Hopefully we have answered these questions clearly enough that you can give the people around you the answers to them. I dare you to tell your friends who Jesus is, and if they ask any of these 4 questions then give them the answers. Then try to get them to come with you to church.

If you want to know more about who Jesus is, please read the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the Bible, then call us at Sunset Chapel.

SUMMER CAMP

Summer Camp is coming soon. June 28th through July 1st (4 days, 3 nights).
Cost is $140, and all registration MUST be in by Wednesday June 2nd.

Please let Pastor Adam, Bethany, or the church office if you want to go! This will be an amazing week! Camp forms will be given out during H2O on Wednesday nights or Sunday Mornings (please see Pastor Adam to get forms)

The camp is located at:
Masterpiece Gardens,
3900 Great Masterpiece RD
Lake Wales, FL 33898
If you have any questions please contact Pastor Adam, the Church office at 305.271.4094, or go to www.pfyouth.com

H2O Desktop Wallpaper

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New desktop wallpaper for H2O Student Ministries. Be the first to download it.
Let me know what you think!

H2O

The ballots are in… The new name for the Sunset Chapel Youth Group is…
H2O (His 2 Own)
Thanks to everyone who voted this last Wednesday.

See you all on Sunday for Life Training at 9:30am, The Experience at 10:30, and a special Water Mark Experience after the Experience.

If you have not been baptized and would like to please come to Sunset Chapel this Sunday!

Steering Through Chaos

Scott Wilson has been nice enough to send me a free copy of his new book "Steering Through Chaos: Mapping a Clear Direction for your church in the midst of transition and change." All he asked in return is that I post something on my blog and a comment on amazon.com.

I started reading this book the last part of February and have made it to the 5th chapter. Had to stop because I became the Student Ministries Pastor at Sunset Chapel in Miami, FL. We moved from Springfield, Mo, and got to busy to finish it within the time line (Sorry Scott). I'm having to put it down for a little bit, but plan on picking it back up in a month or two.

So far, I really like what I've been reading in this book. It has helped me get started with my new ministry. It will help make positive change, cast vision, and build momentum within your ministry. I believe it is a must read for Student Ministries/Youth pastors just as it is for Senior/Lead Pastors.

Thank You Scott Wilson for blessing me and my ministry with this great resource!

Over Spring Break!!!

We had another Awesome night at Youth!

We continued talking about Joseph this week and looked at how he was tempted.
12 people showed up (9 students & 4 leaders)
2 Students made decisions for Christ
2 Students asked for prayer for the temptation they are facing
and 2 Students stepped out as spiritual leaders and prayed with leaders at the altar

We want to Welcome Jackie and Nicholas. Thanks for coming, and we hope you had a great time.

Shout out to Mrs. Shari DeBord. Calvin is on a business trip and she is filling in as worship leader for the next couple of weeks. She did an amazing job last night along with Michelle and Ashley.

Thank you to our Leadership team. You are all amazing people!

Joseph & Temptation

Over the past couple of weeks we have been talking about the life of Joseph. Remember Joseph was the son of Jacob, and he had 11 brothers who hated him because he was their dad’s favorite.

2 weeks ago we talked about Joseph’s 2 dreams, about how he was going to rule over his family. This made his brothers hate him even more. So much more that we talked last week about how they abandoned him. They sold Joseph off to the first person who came along, for today’s equivalent of $110. We found out that Joseph had everything he could ever want in life, but had it all stripped away because his brothers hated him. Genesis 39:1-12

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

In Egypt Joseph was sold to a man named Potiphar. Potiphar was the captain of the guard in the military. He was the top dog, his office would be in the pentagon of that day, and he answered only to pharaoh. When Joseph got to Potiphars house, it was obvious that God was with him. Because God was with Joseph it showed, Potiphar took notice and promoted Joseph to be his attendant. This meant that Joseph was Potiphar’s right hand man. Think about it this way! Because of the way Joseph served Potiphar, he was promoted from a slave to an attendant. That’s like being promoted from a fri cook at McDonalds to a chef at a 5 star restaurant! Life was starting to get pretty good for Joseph. He was starting to enjoy life again, and, WHAM!! He gets knocked down again by Potiphars wife. “Come to bed with me” she said. Joseph said there ain’t any way I’m doing that. First, Potiphar, your husband, has trusted me with everything he has. Second, Your his wife! And third, I’d be doing something bad, and would sin against God. Potiphar’s wife tempted Joseph everyday! Again and Again she tempted him! And everyday Joseph said the same thing… “No!” Then one day Joseph to do his job and was cornered. There was no one in the house, and Potiphar’s wife grabbed him by the shirt and tempted him again. Joseph said “NO!”, slipped out of his shirt because she wouldn’t let go of him, and he ran out the door.
Choices Spur of the moment choices are rare. We usually have time to think about the choices we’re about to make. There are times, however, that we have to make choices on the spot based on immediate action, stress, anger, and temptation. Our choices reveals who we really are, what we really are on the inside. Joseph had a spur of the moment choice to make when he was ambushed by Potiphar’s wife in the empty house. Even when no one was there, no one would have ever known, and Joseph could have easily given in. In that moment Joseph ran from sin. Due to his character, and his devotion to God, Joseph did the right thing. He may have lost another coat, but he gained more character, strength, and had a clear conscience. Think for a moment about who you are: This is the real you: You are the decisions you make in an instant. You are what you do when no one else is looking. Have you ever been in a situation like Joseph? Have you ever been tempted to do something you could probably get away with? What do you think Joseph was feeling as he tried to avoid Potiphar’s wife’s temptation? The first thing that probably ran through Josephs mind is “This is Potiphar’s wife. He is the captain of the Guard, and will have me killed!” Second, “God said this is wrong.” And third, “Where is the closest exit?” The Rest Of The Story After Joseph left, Potiphars wife saw that Joseph left his shirt. She called her servants and told them “Look what this guy has done! He came to make sport out of me. As soon as he did, I screamed, and he ran off!” So here is Joseph, a young guy, alone a long ways from home, and is being framed! Potiphars wife lied to everyone in the house, kept his shirt, and waited for Potipher to get home. When Potipher got home she told him the lie too. “This slave you brought home has come to make sport out of me. When he did, I screamed, and he ran off leaving his shirt behind.” This made Potiphar really mad. At least for a few minutes. Potiphar had to be a pretty smart guy to hold the position he had. He knew what his wife was like, and the kind of character she had. My thinking is that Potiphar had to know that his wife was a floozy and was hitting on Joseph. That is why he sent Joseph to prison instead of killing him. But that is what happened, Potiphar sent Joseph to the King’s prison where the king sent his prisoners. Can you imagine being punished for something you didn't do? Has that ever happened to you? How has your faith been shaped by unfair circumstances like doubt, fear, anger, stress, and anything else? Hebrews 2:17-18

“For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

How could this example of Jesus’ mercy make a difference in how we treat other people? Hebrews is the only New Testament book that refers to Jesus being the High Priest. High Priests were mediators between the people of Israel and God, and made sacrifices on Israel’s behalf. As a man, Jesus is our High Priest, our mediator to God. When he died on the cross, he became the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus removed God’s wrath, his justified anger and punishment, against us because of our sin When we are tempted Jesus sends his Holy Spirit who comes with mercy and sympathizes with us and comes to help. He does this because he know what its like to be a human and suffer through temptations. When we are tempted to do something wrong, we must pray to Jesus. Jesus rose above temptation and now he wants to give us strength and help us over come that temptation. However, it is our responsibility to ask Jesus for help when we are being tempted. Everyone has been tempted, and failed to overcome that temptations. When we follow through with temptation and do something bad, we deny God and Sin. We abandon God! Romans 3:23 tells us that we have all sinned, we have all fallen into the temptation. But God has made away out for us. John 3:16-18 tells us that God loves us so much that he sent his one and only son to die on the cross as a living sacrifice for the sin we commit. God didn’t send his son to point a finger, telling us how bad we are. He came to help put us right again. Anyone who trusts in Jesus, God will forgive and allow them to have eternal life in Heaven, but anyone who doesn’t is not forgiven and by their choice will spend eternity in Hell. God wants to forgive us all of every sin we have ever committed. Remember that the bad things we do makes us abandon God, but if we accept Jesus into our hearts it fulfills God’s dream of having a personal relationship with us. If you would like to be forgiven of all the sins, all the bad things you’ve done, and would like to have a personal relationship with God, Please pray this prayer from your heart:

"God, I’m sorry for all the bad things I have done. Please forgive me and come live in my heart. Please give me the strength and help I need to overcome temptation, and help me to love you with everything that I am. I confess that Jesus is Lord, and thank you for sending your son to die on the cross so I can have a relationship with you. Amen."

Everyone struggles with Temptation. If you are currently struggling with temptation or anything else pray that Jesus will send his Holy Spirit to give you strength and help you with the temptation your dealing with.