Music Spotlight - Lecrae

This music spotlight goes out to all the hip-hop fanatics out there. Bringing us his freshest release, Lecrae has just dropped his 4th studio album "Rehab".

The album name plays on the idea of checking ourselves into the rehab of Christ. Admitting our addiction to sin & the fact we need help. Help defeating our sin & getting it out of our lives. Help only Jesus can offer.

The album is seriously tight with some legit tracks. Solid lyrics offer you spiritual guidance & encouragement secular hip-hop artists can't offer.

Get all that Lil Wayne, Ludacris, & Kanye West garbage out of your life & check yourself into some Lecrae.

JV

5th Quarter

This Friday night we will be having a 5th quarter after the football games! Here are the details you need to know:

WHEN: Friday / 10:30 PM - Midnight
WHERE: New Life Baptist Church
WHAT: All girls bring a snack & all guys bring a 2 liter
WHO: All 6th-12th graders & as many friends as you got!


So be sure to come out & kick it with us! We'll have some awesome food, some awesome fellowship & tons of fun! See you there!

JV

Death Brings Beauty

Fall. My favorite season of the year. Cooler weather. College football. And of course, the beautiful scenery. Nothing compares to the rich colors of Fall. The leaves change into the most beautiful colors & give us yet another reason to worship our creator.

A college professor of mine, Dr. Ron Habermas, stated his take on Fall like this: "Only can God take something dead & make it more beautiful than when it was alive."

God takes this season & makes the leaves so much more beautiful than when they were full of life. And I think there's a huge spiritual implication within that thought: God takes us dead in our sin & makes us beautifully alive!

You see, we are dead in sin. We stand no chance. Have no hope. But God demonstrates His love for us by sending His one & only Son to die for our sins. And when we accept the salvation & life He offers, He makes us beautiful. When we choose to die to our sin, He takes away our sin. He makes us clean. Gives us hope. Gives us life.

Death brings beauty. And ONLY God can take something dead & make it more beautiful.

JV

Patience

Living in a fast-paced culture that demands instant-gratification, patience might be one of the toughest fruits for us to produce as Christians in our world today. It's tough. We know what we want & we want it now. No questions. No waiting. NOW.

But Godly patience in our lives calls for us to have faith in God's timing. It demands we trust in His perfect timing & understand He will deliver perfect results.

And trusting in that timing often calls for waiting. Isaiah 40:31 tells us "they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." By waiting upon the Lord's timing, we will be strengthened. We will be taken care of. We have to understand we serve a perfect God that provides in perfect timing & delivers perfect results. 


But waiting doesn't call for laziness. Sometimes I think we relate waiting to sitting around & just doing nothing. But God has a purpose in our patience: preparation. While we are patiently waiting on God's timing, we are still called to be faithful. To be faithful during those times to continue obeying the Lord. To continue doing what God has called us to do. To be faithful during those times to prepare ourselves for God's results.

However, too many times I think we force God's timing. We become impatient & rush what God has in store. When we do this, the outcome is not perfect. The results are not near as great or perfect had we waited on the Lord's timing. Look no further than Abraham rushing God's timing to provide him a son. He rushed it, bore a son with a maidservant & completely screwed up things to come. Had he trusted in the Lord's timing, he would have received perfect results.

Wait upon the Lord. Be strengthened in His promise to provide. Trust a perfect God to deliver perfect results in His perfect timing.

JV

SYATP

See You at The Pole is tomorrow! All students head to your school flagpole at 7:00 AM for some student-led prayer & worship.

It doesn't matter how many students show up or how organized it is - just go & pray! You can set an example for other students in your school & be faithful to call out to the Lord to see CHANGE. A change in your school. A change in your teachers. A change in Christians. A change in our culture. A change in our nation. A change in YOU.

Be strong & courageous. And be faithful to cry out to God to see Him move & work.

JV

Peace

Rest. Calmness. Confidence. Assurance. These are expressions I believe all find root in PEACE. Peace gives us this unquestionable assurance & confidence everything is going to be okay despite any circumstance. But, make no mistake, peace is impossible to have or experience outside a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

In fact, the world does everything it can to offer us peace. AND we do everything we can to find peace in the things of this world. Peace in money. Friends. Relationships. We try so hard to find peace in everything BUT the source. 

And the source is Jesus himself. Jesus tells us in John 14:27 that He does "not give to [us] as the world gives" but rather "peace I leave with you; my peace I give you." Jesus gives us MORE than this world could ever offer. He clearly states He doesn't offer what the world does, emphasizing that He has something far better to give us. Far more perfect. 

And when we find Jesus to be the source for our peace in this world, we must turn everything over to Him. Romans 8:6 tell us that "the mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." 

We can't find peace on our own. We can't find peace within our own mind, thoughts or decisions. And we certainly can't find peace in the things of this world. Only when we submit to our God do we find the perfect peace He has to offer. 

Peace He gives us. Confidence He leaves us. Find rest & peace in the fact God is at work in your life & God is there despite any circumstance. Perfect peace. 

JV

Magic Springs Saturday!

This Saturday, we'll be headed to Magic Springs for "upRising" sponsored by the ABSC. Otherwise known as Baptist Youth Day at Magic Springs, the park will be open exclusively to youth groups.

So we'll hit the rides. We'll splash around. And then we'll gather to experience God with an awesome worship service! Here are the details:

WHEN: meet at NLBC at 10 AM. Will arrive home around 7 PM.
WHO: Rapture Ruckus (concert) / Klayton Seyler Band (worship) / Jon Randles (speaker)
COST: $30+ for tickets / Bring money for lunch!

So get ready for an awesome day of fun, fellowship & worship!

JV

Camp at the Mount 2010!

Camp at the Mount 2010 from John Venable on Vimeo.

Finally posted! Enjoy!

JV

BIG Blowout UPdate

What an amazing night of worship! Last night was the BIG Blowout 2010 & the Lord provided 83 students to experience Him. To God be the glory!

We kicked everything off with awesome praise & an amazing skit. A skit that challenges us to question where we're going when we die & directly charges us to TELL others before we get there. Check out the video of the skit HERE.

After our skit, Robyn Cloud provided us with some incredible worship through art. Her painting depicted our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ bruised & beaten for us. Bruised & beaten to become our SOURCE. Our source of salvation. Our source of hope. Our source of eternal life. He is EVERYTHING. Is He your source? Find all things in Jesus & Him alone. Check out the video of the painting HERE. 

Overall, God really moved & spoke within our students. I look forward to see what the Lord does moving forward & feel blessed to be a small part in what He's doing at NLBC. AMEN!

JV

The FRIDGE

What to do with the broken refrigerator? Push it down the stairs of course! Enjoy. 

JV