What's your story?

Hey guys. I really want you to check out this video. It's people telling their testimony with few choice words. It's actually really powerful and I found myself relating to a number of the people even though they were from a different ethnic background than me.

As you watch, think. Do you have a testimony? A story of where God has brought you from? A time when you saw God's awesome power clearly on display? A changed life? A changed perspective?

After you think about your story, think about how you express to God that you are grateful that He brought you through. Leave a comment and tell me what your cardboard would say.

P.S.-I really liked 3:29, 4:46, 5:57, 6:30, 7:49. How about you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX4VQmcaGiQ

Youth Conference Meeting

We had a great meeting yesterday. The enthusiam and excitement was very high in anticipation of a great upcoming youth conference. We discussed all the rules for a succesful youth conference. We are going to the Marriot in Irvine this year. Even though it is not far away, we are looking for forward to a great retreat from the day to day routine.

I am hopeful of having at least 30 people attend the youth conference from Crenshaw alone.

2010 California State Youth Conference

It's that time again!

The 2010 California State Youth Conference is coming up soon. It is the first weekend in April. The registration packets are available for pick up and completion. The mandatory meeting to discuss the details and arrangements for the conference is January 24th at 1pm in Rorex Hall.

The meeting is mandatory for all youth, parents of youth, and youth workers who are planning on attending the youth conference this year.

The registration packets will passed out at the meeting; but they are also now available for pick-up in the foyer of the church, or by requesting one by sending an email to : "hjohnson@crenshawchurchofchrist.org"

Daily Bible Readings for December 2009

Daily Bible Readings
December 2009

God
December 1 Exodus 18:11
December 2 Deuteronomy 30:15-16
December 3 Psalm 116:5
December 4 Psalm 139:7-10
December 5 Isaiah 45:5-7
December 6 Romans 11:22
December 7 I Corinthians 8:6
December 8 II Corinthians 13:11

Jesus
December 9 Matthew 1:18-21
December 10 Matthew 28:20
December 11 Luke 23:44-48
December 12 John 1:14
December 13 John 8:12
December 14 John 10:9
December 15 Acts 4:11-12
December 16 Romans 5:1-2
December 17 Colossians 2:5-7
December 18 II Timothy 1:9-10
December 19 Hebrews 1:2-3
December 20 Hebrews 2:17
December 21 Hebrews 4:15-16
December 22 Revelation 1:17
December 23 Revelation 22:20

Grace
December 24 Nehemiah 9:16-17
December 25 Psalm 78:37-39
December 26 Psalm 84:11
December 27 Psalm 103:8-10
December 28 Isaiah 30:18
December 29 John 1:16
December 30 Ephesians 1:7-9
December 31 Ephesians 2:5

Sudden Impact

Be Transformed By the Renewing Of Your Mind

It is really sad. Janie walks down the hall between classes. She goes to her locker and stands there alone. As she goes through every school day no one stops just to hang out and chat for awhile with her. Why, because she is not physically attractive at all. As a matter of fact she has over heard people calling her ugly. She has overheard boys kidding each other about going out with her. She has never done anything to hurt anyone; she is just not physically attractive. Oh, she tries to do better but quiet frankly it is hopeless. Janie finally admitted that her looks were her problem and she comes to you for help.
How would you handle this situation?

Use the verses below to help with your answer:
Isaiah 52:13-53:12; I Corinthians 1:22; II Corinthians 5:16-21; Romans 12:1-8. I Timothy 2:9-10

Daily Bible Readings for November 2009

Daily Bible Readings
November 2009

Christian
November 13 John 13:34-35
November 14 II Corinthians 3:16-17
November 15 II Corinthians 5:17
November 16 Galatians 3:3
November 17 Colossians 2:6-7
November 18 II Timothy 2:19
November 19 II Peter 1:5-8
November 20 I John 1:17

Lifestyle
November 21 Proverbs 10:5
November 22 Ephesians 4:1-3
November 23 Ephesians 5:1-2
November 24 II Timothy 3:2-5
November 25 Hebrews 3:14
November 26 II Peter 1:5-9; II Peter 3:11-14

Church
November 27 II Timothy 2:19; Hebrews 13:7
November 28 Psalm 122:1; Ephesians 2:19
November 29 Matthew 18:20; Acts 2:42-47
November 30 Ephesians 1:22-23

September Friday Night Live devotion

A day at UCLA

The youth summer camp visited UCLA two weeks ago. the campus was huge. But it was a great experience.

Enjoying a meal at the conference

Us at the 2009 California State Youth Conference

What if you only had Six Months To Live?

What would you do if you only had 6 months to live?

Would you live differently?

What would you change?

Would you treat people differently?

Would you live life to the fullest?

Most of us waste our lives with “when and then” thinking, believing that “when” this or that happens, “then” we will really start living and do something for God that really matters. That approach is guaranteed to leave you with regrets.

If you think that you are too young to think this way, Jesus was just twelve when He said, “I must be about my Father’s business.” Just twenty-one years later, He could say to the Father, “I have completed the work You gave me to do.”

If we all had that kind of focus and dedication in our lives, there’s no telling what God would accomplish in our the world!

Your time on earth is limited.

Most of us, if we knew we only had one month to live, would live differently. We would be more authentic about who we are and more deliberate about how we spend our time. But such a contrast begs the question: What keeps us from living this way now?

Why can’t all of us live more like we’re dying? Isn’t that how we were meant to live in the first place? To discover what we’re made for and to utilize our unique gifts in the limited amount of time we’re given?

I believe that the 6-monts-to-live lifestyle is unique. If we all live as if we only had a short time left on this earth, we would spend it differently, in ways unique to us, and yet I believe we would all experience more fulfilling lives that could leave a legacy for eternity.

Will you try it with me?

Submission equals sacrifice

One of the things that I think disturbs me the most about Christians (including myself) is that we think that Christianity is about what we can get from God.
Our prayers are slanted that way, “Bless me…give me…help me...forgive me...protect me.”
Our motives are slanted that way, “If I do this for God then He may bless me by giving me…”

BUT…the Scriptures teach so clearly that when we become a follower of Jesus we are saying to Him, “I will submit to what YOU want me to be…I will do what YOU want me to do.”
AND…MOST people do not have a problem with believing the sentence above–UNTIL it requires us to actually make some sort of sacrifice.

We will follow Jesus…UNTIL it impacts our dating life or marriage.
We will follow Jesus…UNTIL it begins to impact us financially.
We will follow Jesus…UNTIL it begins to impact our time.
We will follow Jesus…UNTIL it begins to impact our social schedule.
We will follow Jesus…UNTIL it begins to impact our sleep
BUT…one of the things I am seeing over and over again in the Scriptures is that a true follower of Jesus Christ held nothing as sacred (Look at Acts 4:32-37 as an example -- WOW!!).

When someone in the Scriptures was submitting their life to Christ, it was complete and total surrender and not “submission based on convenience.”

The question I am praying and wrestling through personally right now is, “Is there any area of my life that I have declared ‘off limits’ to God?”

I challenge you to do the same.

Jesus SACRIFICED …and He calls us to do the same (you know, the whole “take up your cross and follow me” thing!)

Submission equals sacrifice!

Conference call annoncement

Announcing a conference call for our youth group today at 8:00pm. The call will give us a chance to make sure everyone is up to date on the upcoming event this weekend and in the coming weeks.

We will also take prayer requests and just take a minute to see how everyone is doing. The phone number to call is 1-605-475-6333, and the access code is 44141.

This weekend at the senior event, we will serve hotdogs, hamburgers, chips, water, soda, and other snacks to be offered to attendees. We will discuss our needs from everyone. We need to know when people can help. The event starts at 11am and ends at 3pm. We need help with setup at 9am and breakdown and clean-up when the event ends.

This event is a fundraiser and a service event also. We will assist the senior ministry with whatever they need and we will work to make sure the youth ministry’s refreshment stand gives us the vital funds we can use for future youth events.

Let me know what you think we should have at the refreshment stand.

Talk to you on Thursday at 8.

Please call on time.

Ladies at the youth conference

Some of our ladies at the Youth Conference. Don't they look nice!!

I will lift up my eyes

I will lift up my eyes.
Psalm 121:1

A woman who did a lot of research at home began to have difficulty with her vision, so she went to see an eye doctor. After a thorough exam, he said, “Your eyes are extremely tired. They need rest”

“But that’s impossible,” she replied. “My work requires that I use them all the time.”

After thinking for a moment, he said, “Do you have any wide views of the countryside from your home?”

“Yes,” she answered. “From the front porch I can see the peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains.”

The specialist replied, “The next time your eyes get tired, gaze steadily at the mountains for ten to twenty minutes. That will rest your eyes.”

What is true in the physical realm is also true in the spiritual. The eyes of the soul grow tired from focusing on our problems. But if we turn our attention to the far horizon of God’s love, we gain a new perspective. We experience the rest we so desperately need.

When your burden is too much to bear, trust God’s tender care.

Hang out before conference

Hello Crenshaw Youth,

Conference is coming real soon!
Are you ready?
Some of you remember that I like for us to leave for the conference with the prayers of the church with us. I would like for everyone to respond to the invitation from the minister for prayer requests on Sunday in the service by walking down to the front of the church.

You do not have say anything. I will make the request for prayer for the group.

To make this easier this year, I am requesting that all conference attendees meet at the house across the street from the building at 7:30am. Please be on time.

We will have a short devotion and refreshments before we head over to worship. We will sit together and worship as a group (just like we will do at the conference).

We will attend bible study and go bowling and have lunch together afterwards.
I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to spend time together as a group before we head off to conference on April 10th.

Don’t forget your essays are due April 5th. If you are not attending worship on Sunday, then it would be a good idea to email your essay Saturday night.

If you have any questions or problems, please let me know.

Horace Johnson

2009 Youth Conference Rally

Fontana Youth Day

Fontana Youth Day - February 15th. Fontana Church of Christ. If you want to attend, please put your name on the on sign up sheet in the front of the church by February 8th. We need to make sure we have adequate transportation.

Volunteering

Let me know if you are interested in Volunteering at the Los Angeles County Food Bank. Compton's youth group does it once a year. I thought would be a good thing for us to do as a group. Let me know what you think.

Something to consider

How does God know that you love Him?

Got Book

I hope you think this is funny...

2009 California State Youth Conference

Announcing the 2009 California State Youth Conference to be held on
April 10th - 13th, 2009 in Mount Hermon, California.

The cost is $185. The application will be passed out at the Jan. 25th meeting.
This includes transportation and the registration to the event.

To be eligible to attend the event you must be an active member of the youth group:
1. Attendance to at least 2 Friday Night Live events before conference
2. Attendance to at least 2 citywide youth events
3. Attendance to at least one bible class per week
4. Attendance to the mandatory youth conference parent/attendee meeting on 1/25/2009
5. Composition of essay due by 9pm February 28,2009 (topic to be named later)

If you have any questions or concerns regarding these new rules please let me know.

Christmas Linebacker

Check out the Christmas Linebacker

He keeps the "Christ" in Christmas.

You can save your parents life - early signs of stroke

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) .

She said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes.They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening.

Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6 pm Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today.

It only takes a minute to read this...A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally.

He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE.....Remember the '3' steps, STR .

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster.The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S.... Ask the individual to SMILE.
T..... Ask the person to TALKand SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently, e.g. It is sunny out today)
R ....Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

New Sign of a Stroke -- Stick out Your Tongue

NOTE: Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue.If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other,that is also an indication of a stroke.

Do We Really Honor God?

Do We Really Honor God?
God makes an important and very specific promise in I Samuel 2:30. The Bible says, "But now the Lord declares: I promise that I will honor those who honor me, and those who despise me will be considered insignificant." Eli was very old and he began to hear things that his sons were doing. They were having improper relationships with the women who served at the gate of the tent of meeting. Eli told his sons that the thing he was hearing about them was not good and the news was spreading fast. Eli's sons would not listen to him; they just ignored the warnings of their father and of God.

How are you doing with your attitudes and actions? I remember when I was a teen that I felt like my Christianity was fulfilled if I attended Sunday school and church and if I went on Wednesday nights I would get extra credit from God. Being a Christian teen is more than just showing by your actions it's showing by your action, your attitude and your heart.

Read I Samuel 2:22-36 and you will see the seriousness of God's promises.