Salt Bowl

Friday night kicks off High School football! Yes sir!

And this Friday, no better way to kick things off than the Salt Bowl. The bitter battle between Benton & Bryant.

We will be meeting at NLBC at 4:30 PM on Friday to caravan down to the stadium. There will be a tailgate with food & some pre-game festivities until kickoff at 7:30 PM. Bring some cash for concessions.

Then, after the game, we're headed back to NLBC for our first 5th Quarter! A time just to hang out & fellowship at the church with our friends.

So be sure to come & be sure to invite your friends! It's game time!

JV

Love God. Love Others. Love the Lost.

Over the next couple of weeks we're going to be diving into the Fruits of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control. It's important we live & show these fruits because the world will know we are Christians by the fruit we produce. And if we do not produce fruit, the Bible tells us we will be cut off & thrown into the fire. So we have to produce fruit. We have to live by the Spirit & produce the life we are called to show the world.

The first is love. Love is the foundation for all we do as Christians. And love is basically a call to do three things: Love God. Love others. Love the lost.

LOVE GOD
Jesus summed up the law in Mark 12 by stating "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." We are called to love God with EVERYTHING we have. Everything inside of us. Love God.

How? Obedience. Jesus tells us in John 14 "if you love me, you will obey what I command." We show God we love Him by obeying Him. By doing what the Bible says. And if we deliberately disobey Him, don't follow His commands, intentionally live a lifestyle of sin - then clearly we don't love Him. We either show God we love Him or hate Him by the way we live. Love God. Obey God.

LOVE OTHERS
Jesus added on to the command in Mark 12 by stating the "second is this: love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these." After we discover a love for God by obeying Him, we show God we love Him by obeying the call to love others. To love ALL people. It's impossible to love God & not love others. And it's equally impossible to love others & not love God. They go hand-in-hand. Love comes from God, and God is love.

And it's because "God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John is full of the command to love others because God first loved us & John also informs us that if we hate our brother, we don't love God. Again, it's IMPOSSIBLE to love God & not love others. In order to love God, we have to love EVERYONE.

LOVE THE LOST
And because we love God, we in turn love others. And when we love God, obey God & love others, then we share God's love. And when we share in the same love of God, then we also share the same love for the world. The same love for the lost & hopeless. Share this love for the lost "because God so loved the world" in John 3:16.

Just as God demonstrated His love for us, so we too must demonstrate our love to the world. Love God. Love Others. Love the Lost.

JV

Music Spotlight - Chris August

Chris August has just released his second album & first national release, No Far Away. This album is full of great melodies, vocals, & spiritually charged lyrics. Chris has certainly emphasized living a relationship with the Lord in this release & the importance of coming back to Him. Chris felt convicted for no longer feeling convicted & this album captures the importance of remaining close to the love of Jesus & remaining strong in our commitment to Him.

Chris August is also a great friend of mine & was a fellow student in my youth group growing up. So props to my FHBC & Garland native brother!

Hear his song "Starry Night" on the player on the right.

Great album. Great sound. Great lyrics. Pick it up NOW! Only $7.99 on iTunes.

JV

Friends

As school starts today, one of the biggest things facing you is choosing friends. This is a huge area in our lives & one that affects us more than we realize. And because it is so important, we have to be sure we are choosing the right friends & people to surround ourselves with.

First off, don't be deceived. 1 Corinthians 15:33 tells us "do not be misled: bad company corrupts good character." Don't be fooled. Don't buy into the lie. If you surround yourself with the wrong crowd, you will be brought down. You will be pulled away. Jesus tells us about this in the parable of the seed. The seed that fell among the thorns had a fast growth but was quickly choked out. You, as a seed of Jesus, if surrounded by "thorny" friends, will be choked out. You will not survive. You are not strong enough. And you will not grow in the wrong soil.

Which is why it is so important you choose your friends wisely. You surround yourself with the right crowd. Invest your seed in the right soil. Proverbs 27:17 tells us "as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." This means our friends should make us better. Our friends should help make us stronger. Encourage us. Keep us accountable. Build you up. Challenge you to be a better Christ follower.

And as a Christ follower, we know that Jesus set the ultimate example for us to follow in ALL areas of life. Including friends. Jesus' best friends, the 12 disciples, were essentially Christians. They were walking, talking imitators of Christ. We must do the same. Our closest friends need to be Christians. Now, that's not to say "don't be friends with sinners." Because Jesus definitely hung out with the wrong crowd - but everytime He did, He spoke TRUTH. He changed lives. It was all for ministry.

Notice in the Proverb it is IRON sharpening IRON. They are of the same essence. They are of the same elements. You need to be of Christ & so do your friends. We are called to be different. We are called to "no longer follow the pattern of this world." And that includes ALL areas of our lives. Including our friends.

Are you being sharpened? Are you sharpening others? Live it.

JV

The World

As Christians, we often find ourselves in the midst of the "the world." Not just in the midst of people, places & jobs. But caught up in the desires of the world. Caught up in pursuing dreams of this world. Caught up in chasing money, popularity, friends & satisfying the desires of our mind & body.

It's crazy to think how often we think about those things. How much time we spend focusing on those things. How much effort, sweat & energy we expend to get what we want. When it simply DOES NOT LAST.

John calls us in 1 John 2:15-17 to "not love the world or anything in the world" because the "world & its desires pass away." Clearly, pursuing the things of this world makes no difference. Clearly we can have all the money, the best stuff, the most popular friends & none of it matters. We can do whatever it takes to be like everyone else in the world & it will lead us nowhere. Give us nothing. Satisfy nothing. BUT it will pass away. It will leave you empty. It will be gone.

John finishes his statement in 17 by telling us the "man who does the will of God lives forever." What we're doing in this world is eternal. Either it is eternally worthless, or offers us eternal life. We either pursue the eternal worthlessness of this world, or we obey God, pursue Him & live forever.

So we're left with a choice. Love God or love the world. Who will you serve?

JV

Camp UPdate

35 kids. One week. Camp at the Mount 2010. AMAZING.

Last week was such an awesome week for our youth group. We took 35 kids down to Camp at the Mount, located at Mt Lebanon Baptist Encampment in Cedar Hill, TX. The Lord moved so much throughout the entire week & our group was greatly effected. We bonded. We grew. The Lord knocked down some walls.

Overall, 17 students decided to recommit their lives to Jesus. 3 other students confirmed their salvation in Jesus. And 3 more students met Jesus for the first time. AMEN!

It was simply incredible to see the Lord moving & at work within our students' lives & I'm just blessed to have been apart of that. Our group has a ton of excitement & momentum coming back from camp & this is truly an exciting time to be apart of New Life Student Ministries. I can't wait to see what the LORD has in store!

Thank you all for your support, prayer & encouragement. To God be THE Glory!

JV

Agape Attire

So while at Camp at the Mount last week, the drummer of the KalebMoore Band wore some pretty sick clothes. One shirt in particular caught my attention so I asked him where he got it & he pointed me to this clothing line: Agape Attire.

It's a progressive TShirt company that sends out a positive message of peace, love & God. It gives you the kind of attention that will open doors so you can share the love of Jesus with someone. And you look pretty cool while doing it.

So I encourage you guys to wear something that will make you stick out instead of just blending in with the crowd. Prompt people to ask you what your shirt & life is all about.

Check it out: http://store.agapeattire.com/

JV

"Why Come to Camp" Videos 3-5

So there seems to be a spot of trouble loading these videos onto the Blog for some reason, so if you've missed out on the last 3 "WHY Come to Camp" videos, just follow the Facebook links below:

"WHY Come to Camp 2010" Video 3:  http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=524425651201

"WHY Come to Camp 2010" Video 4:  http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=524582586701

"WHY Come to Camp 2010" Video 5:  http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=524758923321

Enjoy!

JV