BACK 2 SCHOOL SURVIVAL GUIDE PART 2- Friday, October 12, 2018

After a few unexpected weeks off because our church was hit by a tornado (crazy, right?), this week we continued our series, "BACK 2 SCHOOL SURVIVAL GUIDE" by talking about work. Most teens dread school because there's a lot of stress and they have to do tons of homework, projects, essays and exams that are sometimes worth 30% of their grade. For some of our teens, they might be working at their very first part-time job (or they will be soon), so this week we focused on what the Bible has to say about the way that we do our work.

We focused on Joseph's story and read Genesis 39:1-6. Here we find Joseph doing a job that he hated. Why? Because he was actually sold into slavery and forced to do it! This wasn't what he wanted to do! But what's amazing is that Joseph is known as someone who did his very best and worked hard, and because of that, he succeeded in everything that he did.

There might be some days when your teen might REALLY hate doing chores around the house, when they have to do piles of homework or spend hours studying for a test when they would much rather play video games or watch Netflix. There might be days when your teen might even have a "dirty job" and has to do work that he/she doesn't enjoy. In fact, your teen might be tempted to grumble and complain or not do their best. Well, the Bible reminds us of a few important things that might help:

1. GOD IS WITH YOU WHEN YOU WORK
This passage reminds us that God was with Joseph, helping him, changing his attitude, giving him the strength to do the job that he hated doing. When you're facing stress over school work or aren't thrilled about a chore you've been given, you can talk to God. You can ask him to help you to do your best. You can ask him to change your attitude towards the work that you're doing!

2. PEOPLE WILL NOTICE THE WAY YOU WORK
Genesis 39:3 says that Potiphar noticed Joseph's work. Even though he was in a lousy situation, he earned an amazing reputation as someone who did his best....and because of that, he got promoted into better positions-- eventually becoming the guy in charge of Potiphar's whole house! This reminds us that when we work hard and do our best, even if we might not really enjoy what we're doing, our hard work and attitudes will be noticed! People will think highly of you!

I shared about how, when I was a teenager, I worked at Canadian Tire and earned a reputation of being a hard worker who could be trusted (unlike the person who would find a secret place in the warehouse to sleep through his whole shift). Because of the reputation that I earned, I was trusted to work overnight when nobody else was around, they continued to hire me back every summer, and the owner of the store even thanked me personally, knowing that I was someone who did my best because I loved and followed Jesus. Having a reputation of being a hard worker is something that will benefit you your whole life....and it can start right now with the way you work at school or the way you help around the house.

3. WE CAN WORK AS WORSHIP
Ephesians 3:23 says that we should work at everything we do with all of our hearts as if we were working for the Lord. This reminds us that we can work as worship! Worship refers to anything that we do that shows that we love God. That could mean singing songs in church, making the right choices in life, showing kindness to someone, or working in a way that would make God proud of you! I shared about a time when I was a custodian in a church building that had a Montessori school, so there were 70-80 preschoolers using the building every day. There were days when I dreaded going into clean the washroom. I remember times when I would be sitting in my office when a teacher would ask me to go clean up the mess after a child threw up. It definitely wasn't a glamorous job. But, I made a decision. Instead of grumbling and complaining and hating the work I had to do, I decided to do my very best as if Jesus himself had asked me to do it! When I did that work (no matter how disgusting it was) as worship, I found that it was a lot easier. It was far less painful. In fact, I even ENJOYED doing it! Whether it's schoolwork, chores around the house, or cleaning the bathrooms at McDonalds at your very first job, you can do those things as worship! You can do those things as if Jesus himself asked you to do them! You might even find that you'll work even harder and actually come to enjoy those "dirty jobs"...because you're doing those things as worship to God.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR HOME

1. Parents, share a story of a "dirty job" that you once had to do. Talk about how you did your very best and did your work as worship. You can even share about a time when you got fired for not being a hard worker if that's applicable.

2. Remind your teen that EVERYONE has to do things that they might not enjoy. That might mean schoolwork, chores around the house, or working at a "dirty job", but that if we have a reputation of being a hard worker and doing our best, that's something that will benefit us in the future.

3. Is there something at school, at home, or at a job that your teen is finding really difficult and stressful? Take the time to pray for your teen, asking God to help them to do their best and to work hard when they might not feel like it.

BACK 2 SCHOOL SURVIVAL GUIDE- PART 1 (Sept 14, 2018)

For our fall kick-off at CATALYST, we started a new series called BACK 2 SCHOOL SURVIVAL GUIDE. This week, we took a closer look at the events of Daniel Chapter One. In this chapter, four teenagers had their city attacked by enemies and then were kidnapped and brought to Babylon.  These teens grew up loving and following God, but now they were in a foreign culture where NOBODY else shared their faith or values.

While in Babylon, they were enrolled in a "high school" that would train them to be servants for the king. At this high school, they faced a lot of pressure to conform and be like everybody else. They had their names changed, which was significant because all of their names reminded them of their faith. For example, Daniel's name means "God is Just" and his friend Hananiah's name meant "God is full of love and grace". The new names they were given all paid tribute to the idols the Babylonian's worshipped (Daniel became Beltechazzar- meaning "Bel protects his life", Hananiah's name was changed to Shadrach- meaning "Commanded by Aku"). Their names were changed so that they wouldn't be reminded of their old way of life and so that they would leave their faith behind them.

These four teens experienced even more pressure when they were expected to eat whatever the King gave them, and most of the food that was served was considered "unclean". In Bible times, food was considered "unclean" either for health reasons (to prevent disease from spreading) or because it had been used as sacrifices to false gods. Daniel and his friends REFUSED to eat the food and only ate a diet of veggies and water for 10 days. Even though they didn't eat the king's food, miraculously, they were found to be stronger, wiser, and better than anyone else in the school. This even impressed the king, who gave them important positions in his kingdom.

This Bible story reminded of our teens of the importance of resisting the pressures that they might face in school. At school, teens are surrounded by others who don't share their faith or values and might encourage them to do things that aren't right. They might feel pressured to do what everyone else is doing just to be accepted (from gossiping and being mean to others to experimenting with drugs). Here, Daniel and his friends stood firm against the pressures they faced and refused to do what they knew wasn't right. As a result of this, God took care of them and helped them! This reminds us that there is always great value when we follow God. When we're committed to doing the right thing and following His directions for living (even when nobody else is) he will help us and be with us, just like he was for these four teens in the Bible.

DISCUSSION QUESTION FOR HOME

Talk to your teen about what some of their biggest challenges are at school, Is it school work? Finding good friends? Resisting pressure? Take the time to pray with them and ask God to help them this year at school.

PANIC ROOM- CATALYST YOUTH June 1, 2018

This week at CATALYST youth, I (Pastor Ben) spoke to the teens about how to deal with stress and worry in their lives. All of us go through stressful situations, whether it be tests or exams, dealing with bullying, public speaking, stress at home, or worrying about the future. I shared my own story of how, when I was a teenager, I worried so much about stuff that I was physically sick and had to get lots of weird medical tests done to figure out what was wrong with me. I wasn't really dealing with stress or worry very well, and it was taking a toll on my health. This was especially the case when I was about to graduate high school, and had NO IDEA what I was supposed to do with my life or what my next step should be. All of my friends seemed to have it all together and have their future's planned out, but I had nothing. So, what do we do when we're feeling stressed or worried? What do we do when we're scared about something? Who do we turn to?

My message title this week was "PANIC ROOM". A panic room is a specially designed room in a house or building that you run to when you have an emergency. I’m not sure they’re super common anymore today, but rich people (or people who were in super powerful positions—like the President), used to have them so that if there was an emergency (for example, in the case of a terrorist attack or burglars), they could run and lock themselves into the panic room. Usually, these rooms would be fire proof, bomb proof, and invincible, you would be safe and secure even in the middle of a scary or stressful situation!

This week I talked about how GOD should be our panic room. That when we’re feeling stressed, when we're super worried about stuff, when we start feeling beads of sweat on our foreheads and our hearts are racing, when we’re tossing and turning in our beds, we can RUN to GOD for help! We can run to God for peace and security!

The Bible has a lot to say about worrying about the future and what we should do when we are stressed…and when I was going through my own panic experience, there’s a passage in the Bible that really helped me.

In Matthew 6:31-34 Jesus says, “Don’t worry. Don’t say, ‘What will we eat?’ Or, ‘What will we drink?’ Or, ‘What will we wear?’ People who are ungodly run after all those things. Your Father who is in heaven knows that you need them. But put God’s kingdom first. Do what he wants you to do. Then all those things will also be given to you. So don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”. Based on those words of Jesus, there are just a few things I want to look at that might help you when you’re in a panic.

RUN TO DAD!
This passage reminds us that God actually cares about us. It says that he’s our “heavenly Father”—and just like any good dad—as the ULTIMATE GOOD PARENT, he loves us and wants the very best for us. When my kids are hurt or scared, they don't even think about it, they just run right to me. They know that I love them and will take care of them. They can count on me. When we need help, we need to run to our HEAVENLY DAD! 

There are tons of places in the Bible that refer to God as our PANIC ROOM- someone we can run to when we’re worried, stressed, or going through a difficult time. Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble”. A refuge is a place you run to for safety! Its where the word “REFUGEE” comes from- when people are escaping a nasty and dangerous situation and find help in another country. So this is saying we’re like refugees running to God! 58 times in the Bible, God is described as a ROCK, which doesn't mean He's a literal rock, but it describes how he's strong and dependable- that he's able to help us. There are other verses in the Bible that refers to God as our FORTRESS- he's like a fortress we can run to for safety and find peace!

SO, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO RUN TO GOD?

We can pray—we can talk to God about the stuff we’re going through, and ask him for help! (just like little kids ask their parents for help) We can be a part of youth group or church, so we’re reminded of God’s love for us and hear what the Bible has to say for our lives. We can look into the Bible on our own and think about what it says (read your 3 Minute Devotionals every day!) We can talk to Christian friends about what we’re going through so that they can give us decent advice and pray for us- that’s one of the reasons why we have small group time at CATALYST!

Running to God also means making the personal decision to follow Jesus with our lives and make right choices! Verses 32-33 says that people who aren’t tight with God worry and are stressed out, but if we put God’s kingdom first and do what he wants us to do (in other words make knowing and following him a priority in our lives), He’ll provide for us. He’ll take care of us! Isn’t that a cool promise? That doesn’t mean that all of our problems will magically get whisked away, but it does mean that he’ll help us and be with us in the midst of those problems…and he’ll work those things out for good in our lives! Generally, if you need help, it’s not strangers who’ll be there for you, but people who you are close to you and legit care for you (like friends or family). God doesn’t want to be a stranger to you! So, it makes sense that the closer you are to him, the closer he is to help!

DON’T WORRY!

This sounds like kind of crazy advice! How can we not worry, stress out, and be panicked? Isn’t that totally normal? Well, Jesus specifically says in Matthew 6: 27, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” He then goes on to say that we should “Stop worrying about tomorrow”. (Matthew 6: 34)

This is pretty wise advice. Worrying about stuff doesn’t actually help you at all—it just makes you focus MORE on the thing that you’re worried about, and then that thing looks even bigger and more impossible and makes you more worried…and then you start to panic even more, you start losing sleep and biting your fingernails and feel sick to your stomach. When I was graduating high school, I was worried about tomorrow. I was worried about my future and what I was supposed to do with my life, and this verse really helped me. It reminded me not to focus so much on the problems in front of me, but focus on God and trust that he would provide for me. And you know what? All of those health problems I was experiencing went away—and today, I handle worry and stress a lot better than I used to…because God really helps me!

Remember- GOD IS YOUR PANIC ROOM! If you want to experience far less stress and anxiety in your life, Jesus tells us to run to God (our heavenly father), to spend time with him, to follow him with our lives, and then to simply trust that he will help us through whatever kind of challenge or stressful situation we might go through.

DISCUSSION FOR HOME

1. Talk to your teen about things that they are worried or stressed about. Take the time to pray together as a family, asking God to help them and be with them through their stressful situation and to give them peace.

2. Encourage your teen to spend a few minutes a day in prayer and looking at what the Bible has to say for their lives (especially over the summer when there is no CATALYST). This might mean scheduling a 5-10 minute window into their day for them to do this where they aren't distracted by Netflix or a phone. If they brought home a '3 Minute Devotional', encourage them to use it (and perhaps reward them in some way if they do this consistently every day). The more time we spend with God and focus on him, the more we will depend on him and trust him with our lives.

About Water Baptism

On Sunday June 3rd at 10am, we're offering people the opportunity to be baptized in water. To help answer a few questions about what baptism is and why we do it, Pastor Ben has attached his notes from a talk he gave to the youth about a year ago on this subject.

Water Baptism is such an important part of the church that most churches actually have "baptismal tanks" installed somewhere near the stage. That's right- they actually work it right into the building design! Other churches will baptize people in lakes, rivers or swimming pools- wherever water is handy! But, what is water baptism? Why is it significant? 

Water Baptism generally involves someone getting in front of the whole church and stepping into a giant tub of water. This is kind of an odd thing, considering we don't normally get into a tub with an audience watching, but don't worry- the person getting baptized will be fully clothed (we have tips on what you should consider wearing) and will be in the water alongside the pastor. The pastor will usually interview you and ask you why you wanted to get baptized and what it means to you, and then you will be dunked completely under the water. This sounds like a pretty fun perk of the job as a pastor, but he/she doesn't hold you under the water- it's a pretty quick 'down and up'. When the person comes out of the water—the whole church is usually cheering and celebrating! You’ll never forget the first time you see a water baptism because it just seems so bizarre! 

So, why do people get baptized in water? Why do people cheer and celebrate when it happens? Well, the first time we hear about baptism in the Bible, this person named John (who is actually known to us as John the Baptist) was telling people by the riverside that they needed to turn from sin and make their lives right with God. When people were deciding to do this, John was dunking them underwater in the river as a symbol that their sins had been washed away and they had, spiritually, been given a brand new start.

Matthew 3 (along with a few other places in the Bible) tells us that right before Jesus began to teach people about God and do miracles, he asked John to baptize him. At first John didn’t want to do it, because he knew that Jesus wasn’t just some ordinary person—Jesus didn’t have any sin to be forgiven---but Jesus told him that it was important. When John baptized Jesus, something amazing happened. The Bible says that people heard the voice of God, OUT LOUD, say "This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him" (Matthew 3:16-17). Next, the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove, which meant that people somehow visibly noticed the power and presence of God falling on Jesus. It's an amazing moment in the Bible.

In Matthew 28:19-20, it tells us that after Jesus died and rose again, he gave his disciples a special mission- “Go into the world, share the good news of God's love with others, and BAPTIZE THEM!" -so the disciples started doing that right away! In the Book of Acts alone, it tells us 6 different times that when people believed in Jesus, the next step was that they were baptized in water right away! (Acts 2:41; 8:12; 8:38; 10:48; 16:15; 16:33)

Baptism is a symbol. It symbolizes how through Jesus, God has cleaned us up and given us a brand new start. Getting dunked in water doesn’t actually wash your sins away, it doesn’t do anything magical, but it’s a symbol of what God has done on the inside! It’s also a way for you to make a public declaration that you’re a Christian- someone who has decided to follow Jesus. Most people who choose to be baptized find it to be a very meaningful, and spiritually rewarding experience. So, that’s the reason why people get baptized in church- that’s the reason why people will cheer and be all excited about it-- because it’s that person saying, “Jesus has forgiven me and I’m serious- I want to follow him with my life”. 

Now, there are some churches that baptize babies (including ours), but -FUN FACT- that’s more of a church tradition. Infant baptism is actually never specifically mentioned anywhere in the Bible. It does tell us in a few places that families were baptized after they came to faith in Jesus (Acts 16:15; 16:33), and while this may have included young children, it likely would have only been for children who were old enough to make a faith decision.

Usually, when a baby is baptized, the parents bring their baby to the front of the church and instead of dunking them underwater, the pastor sprinkles them with a little bit of water. In our church tradition, when we baptize a baby, it’s a way to ask God to bless that baby, that he/she would grow to know and follow Jesus, and it’s a way to welcome the new addition to the church community. It’s also an opportunity for the parents to make a promise to raise their child in a way that they would know and follow Jesus when they’re older and for the congregation (the people in the church) to promise to be a help and support to those parents and that child! 

Because it doesn’t mention anywhere in the Bible where infants were baptized, and because, in the Bible, water baptism always happened after someone made a personal decision to follow Jesus, most churches opt to do baby dedications instead of baptisms. Baby dedications have the same meaning as what was described above, but they don't involve water. The reason why we prefer to do baby dedications is that we don't want to confuse parents or others in regards to what water baptism actually means. Unless you go to a Roman Catholic Church, which almost exclusively baptizes babies and holds different beliefs as to what baptism actually does, you’re far more likely to see older kids or adults being baptized—something people do when they are old enough to understand the faith decision they’re making.That said, at Arlington Woods, we can do an infant baptism or a dedication, depending on what the parents would prefer. 

Water baptism isn't something that you need to do in order to be saved (to receive God's forgiveness). It's not something that you're required to do in order for you to be a part of heaven one day. No. Water baptism is a public declaration of the change that Jesus has made in your life. It was something that Jesus modeled himself, something that he told us to continue doing, and something that was done when people came to faith all through the New Testament. It's a way for us to show and tell others that we love Jesus and want to follow him with our lives. If you've never been baptized before, we would love for you to consider it!

How Are Our Kids & Youth Ministries Making A Difference in Our Community?

This past Sunday (January 21, 2018), Pastor Mike continued his series "Where In The World Are We Headed?", tackling the vision of our church and how we impact our community. You can stream/download the talk from our website or you can listen to it through iTunes.

Earlier in the service (not recorded on audio), I (Pastor Ben) spoke about some of the ways that our kids and youth ministries impact our community. If you missed what I said, you can check it out below along with some other things I didn't have the time to share.

Pastor Mike asked me to share for a few minutes about how our family ministries impacts our community. That’s a really important question. Churches should always ask, “If we were to disappear from our community, would we be missed?". Through some of the things mentioned below, I think you'll be able to say that this community needs and loves Arlington Woods Church.

KIDS MINISTRY:

• POP (Parents of Preschoolers) drop-in on Mondays- creates a community for parents and their preschool kids. We average about 50-70 people each week with a good 75% of parents and kids being from our neighborhood. This is one way we can show parents and kids that our church loves and supports them.

• Summer Blast kids nights- Each summer we run a few evening kids programs where at least half of the kids who attend aren't regular attenders at Arlington Woods. We provide supper, games and activities, crafts, music, and share a Bible-based lesson. Another advantage to this is that it allows parents to drop off their kids and go out on a date night!

• The Bike Rodeo- This is a HUGE annual community event that sees hundreds from our neighborhood come with their kids. The Bike Rodeo is also co-sponsored by Trend-Arlington Community Association (our neighbourhood community centre). Through the BBQ and bake sales, we've given THOUSANDS of dollars to help our local schools provide for kids/families in need (food, clothing etc...) and have supported other community organizations.

• The Royal Ball (coming on February 17th) is another community event that many neighborhood kids and families look forward to every year. It features snacks, crafts and activities, games, a dance party, a photo booth, and we try to share a very simple message- that God loves kids (we're sons & daughters of the King) and thinks they're amazing.

• Easter Sunday- Every Easter Sunday we have a community continental breakfast and easter egg hunt for kids before our service. Over the years we've seen many community families participate and stay for our KIDZONE program and Sunday service to hear a message about God's love and forgiveness.

• Family Movie Nights- Several times a year we host fun family movie nights and provide free popcorn and drinks to our guests. When we hosted one in January, the vast majority of those who attended were from our neighborhood. This is just a simple way we can help foster a spirit of community and provide a fun, free event for families.

• Community Involvement- We encourage people from Arlington Woods to be involved in community events. We often see several people from our church serving food or helping at the annual community winter carnival, and many of our families join in for our community clean up day.

• Other Community Initiatives- Just before last summer, we were vandalized, where a fair bit of damage was done to our building. We found out that three young kids (under the age of 12) were the ones who had done the damage. We talked to them and their parents (without getting the police involved) and Sam, our summer student, oversaw them doing clean-up work around the church all summer to help them take responsibility for what they had done.

• Restoring Hope- Restoring Hope is a youth shelter (specifically for teens) in downtown Ottawa. Over the year, kids from our KIDZONE program have donated toiletries, notebooks, small toys, snacks, and drinks, and created artwork, putting them in gift bags for teens who drop-in to the shelter. Each bag we've given sends the message that our kids (and our church) loves and values these teens. (see pictures below)

YOUTH MINISTRY:

• Over half of those who are a part of our CATALYST youth program on Fridays are teens who are not a part of our church. Each week we do crazy games, sing worship songs, hear what the Bible says about their lives, we share highs and lows about our weeks and pray together, we enjoy delicious snacks, and do a bunch of fun monthly events. Coming this Friday, we have a special guest from THRIVE (FIRST PLACE OPTIONS) who will be chatting about how to make good decisions when it comes to dating and relationships—which, I think we can all agree, is important stuff to learn BEFORE you’re dating!

• In February at CATALYST we’re running some of the  YOUTH ALPHA sessions, where we watch fun video segments about the basics of the Christian faith and get teens thinking and discussing what they believe. 

• Youth Offering- Each week at CATALYST we encourage the teens to give a couple of dollars in our youth offering. Every December, we get teens to vote on the needs that are most important to them as a whole, and then we use the money they've given to meet those needs. This year, the things that were, far and away, the needs our teens were most passionate about was providing emergency water and sanitation, and stocking a medical clinic with supplies through World Vision.

• Over Christmas, our teens (and kids) helped create and decorate cards for some of our church’s seniors or people who are sick and can’t be a part of our church community on a regular basis--and just last week I received a nice note from one of those seniors expressing how much receiving that card meant to them.

• Capital City Mission- Every February, our youth group has a MISSION WEEK where we take two small groups of teens downtown to the Capital City Mission to serve coffee, cookies, and sandwiches to the guests that drop in. The guests range from people who are homeless, to those who are lonely and needing community. Leading up to that week, teens can be involved by baking and decorating cookies on one of youth nights or providing snacks or sandwiches that we can bring with us. This February we will also have one of the leaders at the mission come and speak to our group about what they do and why it's important.

Please pray for our kids and youth ministries. If something you heard or read about has you excited and you want to be involved in some way, email ben@arlingtonwoods.ca.

CATALYST Youth- "BEST PRESENT EVER!", Friday, Dec. 8, 2017

This week we talked a bit about some of the most terrible presents we've ever received.

I remember when I was a kid, my grandma knit me a pair of wool socks—which was super nice and thoughtful, and she put so much work into making them, but I’m allergic to wool. Another Christmas, my aunt couldn't get me the toy I wanted because it was out of stock, so she promised to get it when it came back in stock....AND I'M STILL WAITING FOR IT! There was one time when we told the kids' grandparents not to get any really big gifts for the kids because we live in a small apartment and don't have a lot of room...and they gave my boy an 8 FOOT LONG CATERPILLAR that played the alphabet song at ear-piercing levels!

Because we're only got a few weeks before Christmas, this week we talked about the BEST PRESENT EVER! The reason why gift giving is a thing at Christmas is because Christmas began with one AMAZING GIFT-- a miracle-- something incredibly supernatural and mind-boggling-- that Jesus, this promised saviour, was born!

1. A GIFT WE REALLY NEEDED

Getting something that you REALLY need is pretty much the perfect gift. Nobody wants a gift that they have no use for, that will gather dust on the shelf or never be worn because it’s made of wool.

The Bible tells us that this gift of salvation is something that we really need. It says that we all have this sin problem where we keep doing the things that are the opposite of what God wants for us…and that every time we sin, it’s like we’re building a wall between us and God—and we are in desperate need of RESCUE. So God decided to do something about this—he decided to personally make a way for us to be rescued from sin, find forgiveness, and to have a restored friendship with him!

Matthew 19:25-26 says that the disciples asked Jesus, “How can anyone ever be saved? Jesus looked straight at them and said, “There are some things that people cannot do, but God can do anything.”

We can’t save ourselves—we can’t solve our sin problem. We NEED God’s help. And that’s what Christmas is about!

2. SPECIAL DELIVERY!

The way he chose to rescue us is incredibly weird and mind-boggling. The deep theological word for this is INCARNATION—which describes this mystery of how the God of the Universe was born as a human being in order to take the sins of the world on himself, so that we could be saved! It sounds kind of crazy, doesn’t it?

In fact, it's so hard to believe that when Joseph learned that his fiancée, Mary, was pregnant…and that she claimed that it was something that supernaturally happened…and that she was pregnant with the saviour of the world—he didn’t believe her! The Bible actually says that he was going to call off the wedding because he thought she was either lying or insane (which is probably a pretty natural response in that situation).

Matthew 1:18-25 says, “While Joseph was thinking about this (how to quietly break things off), an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, the baby that Mary will have is from the Holy Spirit. Go ahead and marry her. Then after her baby is born, name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (The name, Jesus, literally means “saving one” or “rescuer”.) So the Lord’s promise came true, just as the prophet had said, “A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.”

Now, while this was enough to convince Joseph, it’s still really hard for US to believe this incredible story just because a guy had a dream that cleared the whole thing up a couple thousand years ago. But thankfully, we have more than a dream to convince us that this was a real, miraculous moment in history!

A) PROPHECY

Often times you might see a movie where they tell you that there are prophecies written that talk about something that’s going to happen in the future—that a hero is going to rise up and rescue the world. Well, those movies use the Bible for their inspiration.

You see, the Bible is a book made up of a lot of smaller books that were written hundreds of years apart by different people in history—so even though it’s all compiled in one book, the books of the Old Testament were written and recorded HUNDREDS of years before Jesus was born…and what’s shocking is that the Old Testament has a bunch of prophecies that all came true in Jesus. The author Josh McDowell says that the odds of even 8 of these things, written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, being fulfilled in one person, is over 1 out of a quadrillion! It’s just impossible!

So, let’s just take at just a few of the things that came true in Jesus:

-The saviour would have a virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14- written 700 years before Jesus was born)

-The saviour would be God (He will be called Immanuel, which means “God With Us”- Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6-7- written 700 years before Jesus was born)

-The saviour would be born in Bethlehem—a small insignificant town—(Micah 5:2- written 700 years before Jesus was born).

-The saviour would have his hands and feet pierced- Psalm 22- (this was 400 years before crucifixion had even been invented as a form of capital punishment and was written 1000 years before Jesus was born!)

We don’t have time to look at them all, but just google “prophecies fulfilled byJesus” and it’s just mind boggling that all of these things recorded hundreds of years before Jesus came on the scene could come true in one person. Unless it really was God’s plan all along!

B) JESUS’ LIFE

If we’re still looking for proof about the truth of this Christmas story, we just have to look at Jesus’ life. He taught people about God and known for his wisdom. He was followed around 24/7 and no one ever caught him sinning. The people who followed him believed that he was God. He did incredible miracles in front of tons of eyewitnesses, including raising one person from the dead who had been sealed in a tomb for 4 days! These miracles were so incredible that crowds of people were worshipping him and ready to make him king...which is why the government and religious leaders of the day saw Jesus as a threat and killed him! None of that would have happened if Jesus had just been an ordinary person.

C) JESUS’ RESURRECTION

On top of that—Jesus didn’t stay dead! He was crucified and buried—and then three days later he rose from the dead (which is why we celebrate Easter). During that time, he talked and ate with tons of people. 1 Corinthians 15:6 says that he met with over 500 people just at one time, and that a lot of the people were alive at the time Paul that Paul wrote those words and could attest to it being true!

One of Jesus’ followers, Thomas, was super skeptical about the whole thing. He thought the other disciples were lying or insane (kind of like how Joseph felt with Mary), but in John 20, he actually talked to Jesus himself and touched his wounds. After doing so, he became so convinced that he not only said right there that Jesus was God, but he spent his entire life telling other people about his experience!

I wanted to highlight those things because Christmas represents an amazing moment in human history—where God became a person so that we could be saved from our sin problem and have a friendship with him! We’re talking one of the biggest miracles EVER!

3. A GIFT OF LOVE

Gifts are pretty amazing. Nobody owes you a gift. Presents represent the fact that somebody REALLY loves you and thinks you’re awesome. John 3:16-17, one of the most famous verses of the Bible, says this- “For this is how God LOVED the world: He GAVE his one and only Son, so that EVERYONE who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to SAVE the world through him.”

This whole master plan, all of these incredibly miraculous things, all happened because God loves us, because he wants a friendship with us, because he wants us to experience his forgiveness! He wants us to be a part of heaven with him!

The reason why we celebrate Christmas, is we’re celebrating how, even though we don’t deserve it and tend to mess up all the time—God loves us and offers us forgiveness!

If you were in a life or death situation, and somebody stepped in to save you, you would probably be pretty thankful. I’ve heard stories of how paramedics who saved people’s lives were invited over for BBQ’s or became friends with the people they helped because they just wouldn’t be alive if those paramedics hadn’t stepped in to help.

This is why Christmas is celebrated! Jesus stepped in to save us! Jesus stepped in to rescue us! This is the BEST PRESENT EVER!

No discussion this week, but please look over the email I sent to the group about the different opportunities we have to give as a group this year. Each December, we let teens vote on how they would like to give the money they've given in our youth offering. The email I sent out contains links to give more information about each opportunity to give. Thanks! PB

CATALYST Youth- Friday, December 1, 2017- "THE GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD: PART 3"

This week we continued our series "The Greatest Stories Ever Told" where we've been looking at some of the stories (parables) Jesus told that communicated some truth about God or life. As a fun treat, this week we had story time with Pastor Ben! He read one of his favourite children's books to the group (and one that's VERY similar to a story Jesus told). You can view it on Youtube below (but Pastor Ben's rendition was WAY better).

If you haven't guessed, the story we focused on this week was Jesus' most famous story- "The Good Samaritan"- found in Luke 10:25-37. 

In it, Jesus was teaching crowds of people when one guy stood up and asked Jesus a pretty important question. “How can I be a part of heaven one day? What is it that I have to do?”

That’s a question that a lot of people have. A lot of people think that if you're a good person (so you don’t kick puppies and you help old ladies across the street) that you’ll get a golden ticket to heaven when you die. And while Jesus DID say that loving others is important (and that's what we focused on this week), Jesus said that the most important thing is that we love God (that we accept his forgiveness, have a restored friendship with him, and follow him with our lives). Really, if we love God and follow him, a natural result is that we'll love others.

Jesus then went on to tell this famous story to the crowd about a man who was travelling on the street and was beaten, robbed, and left half-dead at the side of the road. As the man lay there, a couple of people who you would have expected would have helped the guy (they were both church leaders) actually crossed to the other side of the road or seemed too busy to help. Maybe they just didn’t want to get their hands dirty? But then, Jesus said that a SAMARITAN MAN—someone who was considered to be an enemy because, at the time, Jewish people and Samaritan people didn’t get along, stopped when he saw the man.

The Samaritan man didn’t just stop to think about helping. He actually bandaged up the man’s wounds. He then put him on his donkey and helped the man get to a place where he could be taken care of. AND THEN the Samaritan man payed the guy’s medical bills and said he would return to pay if there was anything else the man needed. When Jesus finished the story, he told the crowd—"I want you to go and do the same thing".

It’s really easy to be selfish and to care only about yourself and doing the things that you want to do. It’s pretty tempting to spend every night watching Netflix or playing video games instead of volunteering in the church or community. It’s pretty tempting to spend your money all on yourself instead of using it to help somebody else. We all have to fight against that urge to be selfish and greedy every day! It also might be pretty tempting to join in on making fun of somebody or gossiping because all of your friends are doing it- but, here, Jesus says that he wants us to be known for our love!

The thing I love about the Smartest Giant in Town is that this giant didn’t have a lot—he was known for wearing a pretty grubby gown. So, on the one day where he decided to spend money on himself—to get a bit of a makeover—as he walked, he kept bumping into people who needed help…and the guy LITERALLY gave the clothes off of his back in order to help others! Of course, the twist in the story is that while he spent money on clothes to make him look "smart" (a British term for being well-dressed and attractive), it was actually his heart—it was his love for others—that made him look good- not what he was wearing on the outside.

Similarly, in Jesus’s story of the Good Samaritan, this guy took the time to stop and help. He actually bandaged the injured man’s wounds (which probably would have been pretty gross and messy), and then he used the money he had to ensure that the man would get the care and help he needed! Jesus said that this guy should be our role model! If you love and follow Jesus—this is the kind of reputation God wants you to have.

Most young teens probably don’t have jobs right now, or don’t have a lot of money to give and be a help to others (one day they might!), but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be like the Good Samaritan or the Smartest Giant in Town. What I think is so cool about the giant was that, as he did his normal everyday stuff, whenever he encountered someone in need, he stopped and DID WHAT HE COULD to help. You don't have to have thousands of dollars to help people, you can simply do what you're able to do! Even the small things can make a difference!

Are you known for your kindness? If people were to describe you, would they describe you as someone who really cares about others? Would they describe you as someone who helps people—and not just around Christmastime, but ALL YEAR LONG? One of the best ways that you can show others that you love God and are serious about following him with your life is through the things you say and do—sometimes even the little everyday things. This week, (and hopefully every day after), I really want to challenge you to be on the lookout for people who might be in need or in trouble and then to DO WHAT YOU CAN to be some kind of help- to be the SMARTEST TEENAGERS IN TOWN.

DISCUSSION FOR HOME

1. Ask your teen about the "Smartest Giant in Town". What was the story about? It's very similar to a story Jesus told- do they remember what it is? What is the point of both of those stories?

2. Ask your teen to think of some simple everyday situations where they might be able to show kindness, helpfulness or generosity. (Examples- standing up for someone who is getting made fun of or not joining in on gossip, saying hi and being friendly to someone who looks sad or seems to be having a bad day, holding the door open for someone instead of letting it slam in their face, giving up your seat on the bus for an older person or a pregnant lady, doing your chores or helping your parents without grumbling and complaining- but being happy to help).

3. This month, get the family together and brainstorm some ways that you show generosity, kindness, or be a help to others as a family. While giving money to help people in need MIGHT be a good option, try to think of other simple, practical things you could do that are more "hands on". (For example- helping a neighbour, baking cookies and delivering them to someone, volunteering somewhere as a family, inviting someone over to dinner, buying food and giving it to the food bank).