|
______________________________________
{Heart4Teens.com} *Pumpkin Christianity* ______________________________________ If you enjoy this free email service, I encourage you to spread the word to family and friends that we may bring inspiration into the lives of teenagers everywhere! If you are not on the list and this has been passed along to you, you can join Heart4Teen.com readers around the world by sending a blank e-mail to: Heart4Teens-subscribe@myinjesus.com or visit: http://www.Heart4Teens.com Visit our inspirational web site and read all the past articles in our archives, and view the tons of resources we have there for teens! http://www.Heart4Teens.com/Teen_Stories ____________________________________________ Be sure to check out our other inspirational email list and web site! http://www.HeartTouchers.com To subscribe send a blank email to: HeartTouchers-subscribe@myinjesus.com _________________________________________ Author MICHAEL T. POWERS www.Heart4Teens.com Contributing Author to Chicken Soup for the Teen's Soul on Love and Friendship and 18 other inspirational books. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20 _________________________________________ Good afternoon Heart4Teens readers! This Wednesday night we will be carving pumpkins and baking pumpkin seeds with our youth group. After we have done that we will be going through a lesson called "Pumpkin Christianity" which I am also sharing with you below. If you are a youth pastor or youth leader this is a great way to have some fun with your youth, eat homemade pumpkin seeds and share the life changing message of the Bible all at the same time! From my family to yours, Michael _______________________________ Pumpkin Christianity "What is it like to be a Christian?" It's like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off you that may have gotten on you from the ground and other pumpkins. Then He cuts the top off and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc., then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see." God Picks Us From The Patch: "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." John 12:32 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:44 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession." Deuteronomy 7:6 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Colossians 3:12 He Washes Us Off And Cleans Out Our Insides: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. Matthew 23:27 "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:7 "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:12 "Remove the dross from the silver, and out comes material for the silversmith." Proverbs 25:4 "I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities." Isaiah 1:25 He Puts A New Face On Us: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10 He Puts A Light Inside Us For The Whole World To See: "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16 So the next time you are carving a pumpkin remember all that God has done for you and continues to do through you! _________________________________________ LET'S GO SURFING DUDE! Do You or a Friend Have an Eating Disorder? -- If you or a friend are dealing with an eating disorder, or if you want to know if you have an eating disorder, then click on the link below! http://www.heart4teens.com/eating_disorders __________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "The most disappointed people in the world are those who get what's coming to them." --Elmer Letterman Verse for the Day: "A man's own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord." Proverbs 19:3 Teen's Thought For The Day: When your dad is mad and asks you, 'Do I look stupid?' -- don't answer." Parent's Thought For The Day "If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much." --Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929 - 1994) Coach's Thought For The Day "Officiating is the only job in America that everybody knows how to do better than the guy who is doing it." Deep Thought For The Day: Forecast for tonight: Dark. _________________________________________ Reading Books, Changing Lives! For those of you who love to read or love to give out books as gifts... You can now order a number of different autographed best-selling inspirational books for the same price you would get them in the store, the shipping to you is paid for, and you are helping change the lives of teenagers and those they come in contact with! And best of all, every penny from the book sales are going to youth ministry! If you love to read inspirational stories, these books are most likely those you will eventually buy anyway. And how cool would it be to be able to buy books like those in the Chicken Soup series for your friends and family with a personalized autographed message by one of the contributing authors! How's that for a unique gift! Not only are you changing lives through supporting a youth ministry, but every book included on our website has the power to make a difference in the lives of those you give the books to. Check out this link to find out more! http://www.HeartTouchers.com/books ________________________________________ ALL-STAR Ministry --The Youth Church of Faith Community Church in Janesville, WI If you are in 6-12th grade and live in the southern Wisconsin/northern Illinois area and would like to check us out, we meet every Sunday night from 6:00-8:30 PM at Faith Community Church which is located at 2931 Lucerene Dr. in Janesville, WI. (About 3 blocks south-east of The Skating Place.) Currently we have students from Fort Atkinson, Milton, Janesville Craig, Janesville Parker, Marshall, Orfordville, Clinton, Beloit Memorial, Beloit Turner, South Beloit, and Hononegah. E-mail me back if you have any questions about our weekly meetings or would like to come to any of our events that are listed below... We have way too much fun and then, most importantly, talk about issues that are relevant to you as a teenager. THIS WEEK: All-Stars: 11/2 -- Never Waste Your Pain _______________________________________________ UPCOMING EVENTS: Jeremy Camp in concert (His song, "I Still Believe", is the number one Christian song in the nation!) Where: Faith Community Church When: Saturday, November 1 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $7.00 Advance $10.00 Door On Sale Now at Lighthouse Books & Gifts, Woodman's Plaza, Janesville, WI (608-754-2665), Bible Book Center, 2727 Praire Ave., Shopko Plaza, Beloit, WI (608-365-0066) and Lemstone Christian Books, Rockford, IL (815-332-5505) ****** Team I-Themba Where: Faith Community Church When: Sunday November 30th at 7 PM. (Free admission!) "Ithemba" is a Zulu word which means "Hope". They bring a message of hope and reconciliation through music, dance and drama. Appearing in many schools, colleges, and chruches across the United States the Team seeks to inspire audience members to raise money for a program in South Africa, which works with street children. Many of those children are living on the street because of the recent fall of the apartheid system in South Africa, and the HIV/ Aids epidemic, which currently affects all of southern Africa. ___________________________________________ Upcoming Topics: 11/9 -- "Small People, Big Things" 11/16 -- "Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide" 11/23 -- "OK Johnny, What Do You Say? 11/30 -- Team Ithemba will be performing at 7 PM. 12/7 -- "Never Fails" ______________________ All-Stars has extended its time to 6:00 - 8:30 PM on Sunday nights. 6:00 - 6:30 will be time for the youth to chat and discuss anything they want with the youth leaders or each other. 6:30 - 7:00 PM will be for games or fun activities and then 7:00 - 8:30 PM will be for the lesson and discussion time. Students are still welcome to "hang out" after 8:30 PM if they want, as the leaders are usually at the church until at least 10:00 PM, and some nights even later. (For the past couple of months the students have continually complained that we are running out of time before we get to really discuss the topics in full and asked if we could have longer teaching times... I know, most of you are probably now getting back up off the floor from the shock. have been most encouraged that the teens have been wanting to stay longer to be able to discuss the lessons more fully.) The Outlet: "Get plugged into Jesus Christ!" (Teen Cell Groups) Wednesday night community groups for teens. The groups are limited to no more than ten teens and will be originally split into Jr. High and High School ages. This night is for those teens who want to dig deeper than what we do in All-Stars, but may not be ready to be a part of the Extreme Teens. These cell groups will also be doing special activities with each other as the year goes on to build community. Extreme Teens" (formerly the Core Group) meets from 5:00 - 6:00 PM at the church. This group is very extensive with weekly homework, memorization, service projects, etc. Students interested in this group will have to fill out an application, provide references as to why others think they should be involved with this, and sign an agreement as to what is expected of them. (If your teen will also be attending All-Stars that night, they are encouraged to bring a sack lunch or snack to tide them over until 8:30.) We are very excited at what God is doing with our youth! |
 |
|
Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
|