H2O Student Update!!!

We finished our third week in our "Days of Elijah" series. We talked about how we need to follow Elijah's example and both pray and listen, and we played an all group game.

Announcements:

1. Speed The Light offering is on September 29th. Students are challenged to bring $10 or more to give to STL!!!
2. September is the 1 Month Challenge. Remember to carry your Bible, visibly, with you where ever you go.
3. S.N.O.T / S.N.O (Sunday Nights Out Together / Sunday Night Out) is Sunday September 26th from 5:30 to 8 pm (Doors open at 5). We will watch the movie "To Save A Life" and free popcorn. This is an awesome night to bring your friends.
4. H2O Stock Holders Program. This is the one and only Fundraiser to raise support for H2O. Each stock costs $5 per month for one year. Each Stock holder will receive a frameable Certificate, a quarterly news report, and will be able to attend an annual Stock holders banquet. Please contact Pastor Adam if you would like to become a H2O Stock Holder.

Shout Outs!!!

Jordan~

Welcome back to H2O

Batool and Gina~

Thank you for bringing cupcakes for us. They were awesome!!!

Anthony~

Congratulations for becoming a Campus Missionary and for receiving your Fire Bible. We are so proud of you!!!

Leaders~

You are all awesome!!! Thank you for your desire to help out with students.

The Days of Elijah Week 3

Lets take a look at what God taught Elijah about prayer and listening.

1 Kings chapter 18. We will start in verse 41 and will work our way through chapter 19 verse 18.

Because God sent fire from heaven and licked up the bull, the altar, the water, and the soil the people of Israel saw that the drought wasn’t an accident. They realized it was a disciplinary measure that was provided by God through his prophet Elijah. (Isn’t it awesome that we serve a God that loves us enough to discipline us, and teach us while we are living, so we can turn to him and won’t spend eternity in Hell!)

Lets look at what happens after God sent fire from heaven and the false prophets were slaughtered.

1 Kings 18:41-42
And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”  So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.

Elijah tells Ahab to “Go and celebrate. Look what God has done by bringing fire! Now the rain is coming, God is truly the One True God!” This is Elijah giving Ahab one more chance to turn back to God. We see Ahab ride off to party, but Elijah climbs on top of the mountain to pray for rain. The posture that he prayed in shows his intensity to see God’s glory through the rain.

1 Kings 18:43-45
“Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.” The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”  Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.

Elijah said that rain was coming, but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. So Elijah sent his servant to look toward the sea, and he began to pray persistently. Elijah understood the power of persistent intercessory prayer. Intercessory prayer is pleading the case for others through prayer. Elijah stood in between the people of Israel and God so that God’s glory and power would be revealed. Due to Elijah’s persistent prayer when the 7th report came there was a cloud in the sky the size of a mans hand. It quickly grew and became a storm. (Think about how awesome and powerful our God is that he can control the weather). When the rain starts we see Ahab riding off towards Jezreel, and we see Elijah turn Super human.

1 Kings 18:46
The power of the LORD came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

God turned Elijah into the Flash. Instead of a science lab explosion, it was the Holy Spirit that caused him to become super human. Ahab was riding in a chariot. History tells us that kings typically rode in chariots with 2 horses. Basically what I’m trying to get across is that Ahab was going fast. He was going fast to out run the flood. When there is a long drought and it starts raining again there are flash floods, because the ground can’t soak up the water fast enough. All though Ahab was riding in a chariot going as fast as he  could to out run the flood, Elijah still was able to run ahead of him and beat Ahab to the city of Jezreel. God gave Elijah super human speed.

In chapter 19 verses 1-5, we see that Ahab tell’s Jezebel everything that Elijah did. This makes Jezebel extremely mad and now she want’s Elijah’s head. So Elijah becomes afraid for his life, and runs to the desert. Elijah came up on a tree and sat down under it. “I’ve had enough!” He told God. “Take my life, I am no better than my ancestors.” He said.

Elijah said that because he is exhausted, discouraged, and was grieving. The rain storm was a huge victory for Elijah, but he felt like a failure because there were some people (Ahab, Jezebel, and a few others) who didn’t turn back to God. He felt like he stood alone, because he thought that he was the only one of God’s prophets left. And, he was physically exhausted from the journey. Elijah asked God to set him free from the weight and pressures of his life. Then Elijah falls asleep under the tree.

Then an angel came and told him to eat. Elijah wakes up looks around and nobody is there, but there is a loaf of bread cooking on some coal and a bottle of water. So Elijah ate the bread and drank the water and fell back to sleep. Then the same thing happened again. The food gave him enough strength that he was able to travel for 40 days and nights to go to Horeb, which is known as God’s Mountain.

This is the same mountain that God talked to Moses on. Its on this mountain that God begins to help, teach, and encourage Elijah.

1 Kings 19:9b
And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

God asks that because He didn’t send Elijah there. Elijah went there because he was afraid. After hearing the question that God asked him, Elijah tells God everything.

1 Kings 19:10
He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

There are times when people need to talk to someone to get things off their chest. This was one of those times for Elijah. Elijah was exhausted, discouraged, and grieving about what happened. He needed someone to talk to, and when God asked the question Elijah let it all spill out. Elijah didn’t need anyone to talk to because he was able to tell God all about is problems and issues.

Now we are going to see God teach and comfort Elijah.

1 Kings 19:11-13
The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.  When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

While Elijah is standing on top of the mountain, there were tornado sized winds, a earthquake, and a fire but God wasn’t in those things. Instead God came to Elijah through a gentle whisper, breaking the silence. Elijah found himself in a desperate situation and was looking for God to show up through extraordinary means. What ended up happening is that Elijah got alone with God, quieted himself, and took his mind off of lives distractions. That is when God spoke to him.

Verse 13 is finished by God asking Elijah the same thing for a second time.

“What are you doing here?”

We see in verse 14 that Elijah gives the same answer that he did before, but this time God was able to respond. God was able to respond because Elijah wasn’t distracted by lives problems and because he set in silence anticipating that God was going to speak. At this point God knew Elijah was truly listening for Him, so He spoke.

1 Kings 19:15b-18
“Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.  Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.  Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu.  Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.”

While Elijah was listening, God was able to comfort him and tell him what his plans were. God wasn’t finished with Elijah, He had more work for him to do. God told Elijah that there were 7000 more believers in Israel that had never bowed to Baal, so Elijah knew that he wasn’t alone. And, now God is going to have Elijah train his successor… Elisha.

There are a few things we need to take note about from Elijah’s life. Elijah understood the power of complete and persistent prayer. He pleaded the case for other people which is called intercessory prayer. We can see this from 3 different accounts: ). Elijah prayed to restore the altar and honor of God. 2) He prayed and engaged the false prophets in spiritual war fare to prove who’s god is real. 3) And to night we say how Elijah prayed for rain to come and refresh the drought-plagued land.

There are 3 kinds of intercessory prayer. The first is for God’s honor and glory to be revealed and restored among God’s people (this is Spiritual Revival). Second, is prayer during times of spiritual warfare against demonic powers and strongholds. The third is the praying for the outpouring of God’s Spirit through spiritual awakening (this is for an individual person or group of people).

Elijah’s prayers accomplished a lot of stuff. Why is that? When Elijah prayed, he knew that he was a man with human limitations. His faith in God was so great that he prayed and anticipated that God was going to do something. Elijah lived a righteous life, that is that he lived according to God’s standards, and this made God take notice of him. And Elijah also waited and listened for God.

Thank about the prayers that you pray. Do they accomplish anything? Most of the time you pray for things like a new TV, camera, car, to do good on a test, or what ever. Those kind of prayers really don’t matter in the long run, because 5 years down the line you’ll want a new TV, camera, car, etc.

Other times you pray for things that are important. Things like a sick family member who is in the hospital, that one of your friends will come to know Jesus like you do, that you will become a better person, that God will show himself in your life, or what ever the prayer. Sometime you are praying for something that will accomplish many things, like Elijah did, but God doesn’t answer it. Why is that? Well compare your life with Elijah’s…

• Elijah knew that he had human limitations, and knew that God was the one who had to do things. Have you come to that realization that you are nothing without God, and its God who answers prayer and not yourself?
• Elijah had faith in God to where he anticipated that God was going to move. When you pray, do you have the faith that God is going to move, or do you doubt that God is going to do anything?
• Elijah lived a righteous life. Are you living a righteous live and doing your best to live according to God’s word?
• Elijah got by himself in silence to wait and listen for God. Are you getting by yourself to pray and read God’s word, and are you turning off the TV, radio, or what ever noise that can be distracting so you can wait and listen for God?

These are tough questions that only you can answer for yourself. If your not like Elijah then chances are God isn’t answering your prayers, but if you are like Elijah then your prayers are being answered.

Prayer is necessary for us to know and understand God’s plans, receiving his blessings, and experiencing his power and purposes. Matthew 9:38 leads us to believe that God releases his power to accomplish many of his purposes only when people sincerely pray for those things to happen.

From Elijah’s story, we can see that there are some Requirements for Effective Prayer.

1. We must have true and sincere faith that God hears our prayers, that he has the ability to accomplish what is needed, and that he will do what he knows best in the situation.
2. Prayer should be made in Jesus’ name. Elijah prayed things using “O Lord” which acknowledge God power. We need to acknowledge Gods power today through praying in Jesus name. This helps to make us aware of Jesus’ power, compassion, and desire to respond to our needs and requests. This gives Jesus control if our prayers are made in harmony with His will.
3. Prayer ultimately is effective when its in line with God’s perfect will. God told Elijah about the rain, and wanted to show the people of Israel who the true god is. 1 John 5:14 says “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” We know God’s will because he has revealed it to us through the Bible. (That’s why its so important that we read the Bible everyday.)
4. We must be living in God’s will if we expect Him to respond positively to our prayers. God gives us things we ask for only if our desires are in line with his (Matthew 6:33). Elijah was a righteous man, he lived according to God’s word. And that is how we need to be as well. We need to strive to live according to God’s Word which will set our desires on the things that God desires.
5. If our prayers are going to be effective we must be persistent. Praying persistently means that we won’t worry about the situation because we take it to God and acknowledge that he is in control and will do what is best.
6. If we are going to pray, we need to listen. When we take the time to listen we will hear God, and no matter what the outcome is we will be OK with it because its God who made the decision.

Book Review: Developing the Leader Within You by John Maxwell

Over the past 4 weeks Pastor Russ and I have been reading through John Maxwell's book "Developing The Leader Within You." This is like the 4th or 5th time Pastor has read it, and is my 2nd time to read it. Over the past 4 weeks, I have taken 32 pages of notes. Those 32 pages of notes are in addition to the highlighting I did in the book the last time I read it. This is an AMAZING BOOK!!! Thanks John Maxwell for being an awesome person and sharing this book with people.

The entire premise of this book is in the title… "Developing the Leader Within You."

In the book, Leadership is defined as Influence. It is the ability to obtain followers. Now the question is: How do I influence people to follow me? The rest of the book talks about how to influence people to follow you as a leader. This is where having a mentor (Pastor Russ) comes in.

There are 5 levels to leadership, and each of the levels stands on top of the level before it. If you forget or fall off of one level then you have fallen out of Leadership. The 5 levels are: 1. Position (people follow because they have to; 2. Permission (people follow because they want to); 3. Production (people follow because of what you have done for the organization); 4. People Development (People will follow because of what you have done for them); 5. Person hood (people follow because of who you are and what you represent).

As a leader, there are 2 things we need to do. First we need to think for ourselves, and second, we need to do things in order of importance. Thinking ahead and prioritizing responsibilities makes the difference between a leader and a follower. In order to do this we need a strategy to enable us, as leaders, to think and prioritize.

Leaders must also be men and women of integrity. Our words and our deeds must match up, we must practice what we preach, and it isn't what we do but who we are. Integrity is who we really are when nobody else is around.

Creating positive change is the ultimate test of leadership. In order to create positive change the first thing we have to change is the leader (aka Me, Myself, and I). The quality of our leadership depends on our ability to evaluate new ideas, to separate change for the sake of change from change for the sake of me. If you want to continue to lead, you must also continue to change.

Problem-solving is the quickest way to gain leadership. We all have problems, and those problems give meaning to our lives. Problems are only ours when we can do something about them. Leaders must have the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency. The biggest thing here is that as a leader we must know the problem-solving process.

Our attitude is a huge plus when it comes to leadership. Our attitudes are our most valuable asset. With out a good one, you will never reach your full potential. Our attitudes are something that we are responsible for. People will catch our attitudes just like they catch our colds - by getting close to us. That is why we need to have a good attitude, not necessarily for ourselves, but for the benefit of those around us.

If your not developing people they your not leading very well. The more people you develop, the greater the extent of your dreams and influence. To develop people well as a leader you need to make the correct assumptions, ask the right questions, and give the right assistance to people. If you do then it will make a huge difference.

A vision is important for all leaders. Effective leaders have a vision of what they want to accomplish. That vision should produce energy that pushes our churches forward. Our vision as leaders is our rally cry, and a clear statement of what your there fore. Not only do leaders need to have a vision, they also need others to take ownership in that vision. If you have a vision, you will talk little and will do a lot.

When it comes to the leader, their price tag is self-discipline. This is the choice of achieving what you really want by doing things you don't really want to do, and is a responsibility when it comes to personal growth. Each leader needs to look at the process for developing personal discipline. The biggest benefit of self-discipline is that although your paying now, you will be able to live later.

The most important lesson of leadership is staff development. The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership. A leader who grows personally and grows people within their church will influence many and develop a successful team. Great leaders, pick good people, play to win, make others more successful, and keep improving.

The key to leadership is that "Everything rises and falls on the leader." That is a quote that Maxwell uses throughout the book. That is one of the reasons why he wrote this book, and is one of the most important things we need to know as a leader.

"Developing the Leader Within You" is an awesome book. It has tons of resources and ideas to help you become a better leader in your church or organization. This is a book that you can read time and time again and still learn new things that maybe you didn't catch the first time, or that you may have forgotten about. This book should be on every Pastors shelf. To purchase this book go to http://www.johnmaxwell.com/, your local book store, or at Amazon.com (Least Expensive).

Compelled by Love

Beginning in September each year, over 70,000 junior and senior high school students begin preparing their entries for the District and National Fine Arts Festivals. Students may enter as many as 35 of the 52 categories offered in 7 main divisions: Art, Communication, Drama, Exhibition, Instrumental, Vocal, and Writing. This years theme is "Compelled By Love".

This year we want H2O to compete with other students from the Pen Florida District in Fine Arts. We are going to help students Discover, Develop, and Deploy their gifts and tallents to use in ministry for the Kingdom of God.

Student, you have a head start. Pastor Adam was a National Fine Arts Judge, and Bethany worked for the National Fine Arts Office for 3 years. Pastor Adam and Bethany know what to look for, and can help you be all that they can be for both the District and National Fine Arts Competition.

There are a lot of ways students can compete: (these are how students competed in 2010. The 2011 division list will be out soon)

Art Division

• Graphic Design
• Digital Photography
• Traditional Photography
• T-shirt Design
• 2-Dimentional Art
• 3-Dimentional Art

Communication Division

• American Sign Language Group
• American Sign Language Solo
• Children's Lesson Group
• Children's Lesson Solo
• Puppetry Group
• Puppetry Solo
• Short Film
• Short Sermon
• Short Sermon Spanish

Drama Division

• Drama Ensemble Large
• Drama Ensemble Small
• Drama Solo
• Human Video Ensemble Large
• Human Video Ensemble Small
• Human Video Solo

Exhibition Division

• ASL Storytelling
• Human Video Ensemble Spanish
• Instrumental Ensemble Contemporary
• Performance Art
• Spoken Word
• Vocal Ensemble Spanish
• Worship Dance Solo
• Worship Dance Troupe

Instrumental Division

• Guitar Solo
• Keyboard Solo
• Percussion, Unconventional
• String Solo
• Wind/Brass Solo
• Instrumental Ensemble, Traditional
• Percussion Solo/Ensemble, Traditional

Vocal Division

• Chior
• Christian Band
• Christian Rap Group
• Rap Solo
• Songwriting
• Vocal Ensemble Large
• Vocal Ensemble Small
• Vocal Solo Female
• Vocal Solo Male
• Vocal Solo Female Spanish
• Vocal Solo Male Spanish
• Worship Team

Writing Division

• Book Chapter
• Children's Literature
• First Person Essay
• Poetry
• Short Story
• Script Writing

If your interested in Competing in one or more of these categories please contact Pastor Adam to get started for this years Fine Arts Fair.

1 Month Challenge

Today Bethany and I went to the Cracker Barrel in Homestead Florida with Pastor Russ and Shari, and we took our Fire Bible with us!!!

Where all have you taken your Bible this month for the 1 Month Challenge!!!

1 Month Challenge

Went to the Starbucks cafe at Barns and Noble today for a meeting with Pastor Russ, and I took my Fire Bible with me.

1 Month Challenge is to visibly take your Bible where ever you go for one month. (to the movies, out to eat, to school, to the park, to work, etc.)

Days of Elijah: Week 1

We have started our 4 week Study on "The Days of Elijah!"

Last night we studied the 3 lessons that Elijah had to learn, and that we have to learn in 1 Kings chapter 17. We are dried-up, empty, and dead with out God in our lives.

Now your probably thinking those are all negative things, they are bad things, and I don’t want to be dried-up, empty, and dead! Lets look to what the Bible teaches us in 1 Kings chapter 17. Hopefully it can be explained better with scripture.

Elijah is a Tishbite from Tishbe in Gilead, which is in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He is the son of Jeroham, and is know as one of the most wild and out there characters in the Bible.
Elijah shows up in such a dramatic way, that it’s like something we would only see in a movie. He walks into King Ahab and Jezebel’s house with out asking and makes an announcement or threat, which ever way you want to see it, right in front of all their guests, workers, and slaves.

Here is what he said, in 1 Kings 17:1
“As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

While saying that Elijah gives the impression that he isn’t going to say the word to make it rain for quite a while, and then walks out.

Why is it that Elijah said that? If you look back to 1 Kings chapters 15 and 16 you will see a list of kings. Under each king it says something like “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, walking in the ways of his father and his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit. This list of kings ends with Ahab, but under Ahab’s name it says something different.

1 Kings 16:30-33
Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him.  He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him.  He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria.  Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.

Ahab was a bad dude! The other kings were just full of sin, but Ahab set out to make God mad. And he married Jezebel who was known for killing God’s prophets and servants. Because of that God called Elijah to go and set them straight. Ahab and Jezebel were probably shocked when Elijah walked in. They never dreamed that anyone would have the guts to do that.

1 Kings 17:2-4
Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah:  “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan.  You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.”

That is exactly what Elijah did, and God sent the birds to feed him twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the evening.

This isn’t the first time that God sent someone to the desert. God did this with Moses, Abraham, John the Baptist, and the Apostle Paul. This is one God’s method of training his servants. Now God is going to train Elijah and teach him what he needs to know. Not only did God send Elijah out to train him, but He also did so that Ahab and Jezebel wouldn’t kill him.

So here we have Elijah, he is in the desert being trained by God, and having his needs provided by birds and the brook. Remember how Elijah told Ahab that it wasn’t going to rain? Well, it hadn’t raided for quite a while, and the brook dried up.

This is where Elijah learned that he is all dried-up without God. It didn’t take long for Elijah to realize that the brook was starting to dry up. He was probably able to do the math to figure out how long he had till the brook was completely dry where he couldn’t get any water, and die of dehydration.

He saw that his life was a dried-up brook. Elijah was nothing—he was just a channel, that the living water could flow through.

John 4:13-14 Jesus tells us…
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Elijah learned that he wasn’t a big strong person, he was no stronger or better than that dried-up brook. God used this experience to humble Elijah. Because of that, Elijah saw that when the water of life, the Word of God, flowed through him that he was blessed and able to be used by God.  After he learned the lesson, God moved him to another place.

1 Kings 17:8-9
Then the word of the LORD came to him:  “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.”

Elijah went where God told him to go, but where God had him go was a territory inhabited by Baal worshipers. This is really ironic because Baal was thought to be the god of the weather and abundant crops. But it was there in the middle of a drought that God provided for him through the widow. This experience helped strengthen Elijah’s confidence in God’s care and guidance.

When Elijah arrived at the widow’s house, 2 miracles happened. The first happened when Elijah asked the widow for some bread. The widow told him that she only had enough flower and oil to make one more loaf for her and her son, and that after they ate it they would have no more food and would die.

1 Kings 17:13-14
Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.  For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.’”

God knows the needs and the misery of the widow. Part of the reason God sent Elijah was to encourage her in her faith and to give her blessings in a time where she felt lost without hope. The other reason was for Elijah to see God’s provision and learn that God does provide. There was food everyday after that. Enough for Elijah, the widow, and her son. It was all due to their faith in God and that he would provide for them.

This is where Elijah learned the second lesson, he is an empty flour barrel. There is nothing that Elijah could have offered God. God already owns everything could possibly  be given to him. But take a look at the story where Jesus turns water into wine at the wedding.
What was the most important thing at the wedding? It wasn’t the brides dress, the rings, or the decorations. What the most important thing was, were some empty water barrels. Jesus filled them with water, and was able to turn them into a delicious drink. (No, I’m not encouraging you to drink wine.)

Elijah was nothing until God gave him the bread of life. We could say that the bread of life is the Holy Spirit. It was a gift to Elijah that he had to accept in order to use it. Elijah became more excited about God rather than just doing the religious rituals.

After sometime had gone by (a couple of years or so) the second miracle happened. The widows son had become sick and died. The widow went to Elijah and blamed him and God for letting her son die.

1 Kings 17:19-20
“Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed.  Then he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?”

Sometimes sickness or tragedy comes to people who live for God. Just like what happened with the widow’s son. It’s not God’s fault and isn’t our fault. Sometimes life just happens. When life happens people get sick, hurt, bad things happen, and people even die. When Elijah asked God if it was Him that made the boy die, he was just asking. Elijah didn’t blame God like the widow did, instead he wanted God to fix the problem. Its in times like that where people need to trust God even more. Because its God who can help and heal in those kind of situations regardless of how bad things get.

We see that Elijah stretched himself out on the boy, and prayed to God for the boy to come back to life. God heard Elijah’s cry and brought the boy back to life. This is the first time in the Bible where it was recorded that someone was raised from the dead. When the widow saw her son come back to life she fully, 100%, trusted in God.

This is the third lesson that Elijah learned, he was a dead body. He realized that without God he had no life, he was dead. Elijah had to make contact with God to be alive.

The 3 miracles here in chapter 17 demonstrate God’s power and love. They showed both the widow and Elijah that even in the midst of Chaos and despair, God is still actively working for the good of those who love him and are serving his purposes.

H2O Student Update!!!

It was a good night at H2O last night.

We started our first night on our new series "The Days of Elijah". There were 18 students that showed up last night. 2 of them gave their hearts to Jesus for the first time, and 2 others recommitted their life.

Gina and Grace faced off in a "Minute to Win It" game called "Puddle Jumping". Both girls were laughing so hard that they couldn't complete the challenge. Maybe next time girls!

The H2O Band sounded awesome. They have been practicing for the past to weeks in their time off due to the Church wide revival and our out reach last week. As they lead us in worship our students were actually worshiping God and lifting their hands in praise. IT WAS AWESOME!!!

Announcements:

1. Chick Flick Fiesta is this Friday in the Youth Chapel from 8 pm until Saturday at 9 am. This is a girls only event. Each Girl needs to bring $5 for pizza, and needs to bring a drink and/or snack to share with everyone.
2. 1 Month Bible Challenge. The month of September we have been challenged by Pastor Russ and the National Youth Department.
3. Tailgate Sunday. Come to Sunset Chapel at 10am on September 19th to take part in this fun service, eat some good food, and watch the Dolphins Game.
4. Schedules. We want a copy of all your Sporting and events that you are part of. We want to come and support you and your school!!!
5. See You At The Pole is Sep 22nd. Check with your school's FCA and christian clubs to find out more information

Shout Outs

Michelle, Ashley, and Max

You did awesome last night leading us in worship!!! Keep up the good work.

Anthony

Congrats on Signing up with the National Youth Office to become a Campus Missionary. I'm Proud of you!