Mission Trip BIG D

This Spring Break 2010, we will be traveling down to the Dallas Metroplex for a Mission Trip. The trip is sure to open your eyes as a servant & to really help build a bond with your youth group family. Don't miss out on this awesome trip that will hopefully make an impact on your life!

WHO --> 6^th – 12^th grade students actively involved in the NLBC student ministry

WHERE --> Garland, TX & the Dallas Metroplex

WHEN --> March 22^nd – March 26^th / Monday – Friday           

WHAT --> Service Projects at the ROC Mission Building of Freeman Heights Baptist Church in Garland, TX

WHY --> To go & answer the call of servanthood by meeting the needs of ROC Mission Building & local community

HOW MUCH --> With the fund-raiser & youth-fund price match, the target price is à $100 - $125

*Price includes all meals & activities EXCEPT meals/snacks on the trip down & back and any souvenirs/shopping done at venues visited

DEADLINE --> March 7th will be the FINAL deadline. Don't miss out!

JV

Love Christ. Love Others.

The Bible doesn't specifically give us a "section" to follow within the world of love & dating, but it does give us many principles & commands that should influence our world of love & dating. The Bible still gives us the foundation & is very clear on how it is to be done properly. So students, and adults, take note.

First, you have to have the solid foundation of love found ONLY in the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. 1 John 4:9-11 tells us just how much God loves us by sending His one & only son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. The perfect, unconditional love of Jesus. And in receiving that love, we are then called to love others just the same. To love everyone the same way Jesus loves us: unconditional & self-sacrificial. To love others by putting them ahead of us. To put their wants & needs before ours unselfishly. Jesus did it for us & we are called to love others just the same. 

Once we are loving everyone the way Jesus tells & shows us to, then friendship must be the next step. To have the brotherly & friendship love among others. This should only be a natural succession if we are truly loving like Christ, & a solid foundation must be set before progressing. ONLY after this foundation found in the love of Christ & friendship has been established can dating even be an option. 

AFTER the solid foundation, your first thought when approaching dating should be this: he/she is my brother/sister in Christ. Wow. Would that change things? You have to first recognize every boy & girl as your brother & sister in Christ. Especially when dating. Now, within that scope, let's take a look at a couple of other guidelines:

1. You need to date just that - a brother or sister in Christ. As a Christian, you need to date a Christian. Because if we are loving, within our foundation, unselfishly like Christ, then we know that a lost person needs Jesus. No matter how bad we want to be in a relationship with that person, no matter how perfect they are - they don't need you. They need Jesus. Again, let me repeat that. They don't need you. They need Jesus. So if we are loving like Christ, we will give others Jesus before we ever give them a dating relationship. 
2. Your relationship should be a thing of growth. Your significant other should be one that is challenging you spiritually & challenging you to grow more in Christ. If your relationship has made you feel distant or less involved with Christ, then it is not a relationship you need to be in. The most important thing you need to look for in a significant other is Jesus. One that challenges & helps you to grow as a disciples of Jesus Christ.
3. Naturally, if you are growing towards Christ with your significant other, then your relationship should be one that is pure, appropriate & pleasing to God. Sin is always crouching at your door, so if you are giving into a temptation here & there, Satan has you. We have to be extremely careful to protect ourselves by remaining pure in our obedience to Jesus. Basically, don't do anything you wouldn't do in front of your parents. Or how about don't do anything you wouldn't do at church? Do whatever you can to avoid temptation & appearances of evil. Remember, this person is your brother or sister in Christ.

Dating, just like every aspect of our life, should focus on obeying Christ. He should be the main focus of everything we do in this life & dating is no exception. Love Christ. Love others. 

JV

The Great Love Story

February. Valentine's Day. Love.

When it comes to the greatest love story, most of us probably don't think of the story of Hosea first. But it is. And it's meaning makes it so much more. Here we have a man, Hosea, who is bringing the Word of God to the people as a prophet. A respected, upstanding, God-fearing man. Yet, in obedience, Hosea answers God's call to take a prostitute as his wife.

Gomer. Possibly the most unattractive name for a woman. But she was indeed a beautiful bride & she gave Hosea three beautiful children. Then, slowly, Gomer slipped back into her old ways. Started living like she used to, started living her old lifestyle of sin, and eventually left Hosea & her children to pursue her lifestyle of sin as a prostitute. As time went on, Gomer lost her value & worth. So much so that instead of being paid for pleasure, she was being sold as a worthless slave. And in obedience, Hosea goes to the auction, lays everything down for Gomer, and buys her back. Pays the ultimate price not to buy a slave, but to accept her back as his priceless bride.

Sounds a lot like our life. We were meant to have this perfect relationship with God, but instead have turned our back on Him to pursue our own lifestyle of sin. A lifestyle concerned with our own selfishness, and a lifestyle focused on the things of this world & personal happiness. So much so that sin has taken away all our value & worth. We have become slaves to sin & are worthless.

Yet God pays the ultimate price! With His one & only son, God pays our penalty of sin by sending Jesus to die on the cross. To take our sins away & cancel them in Jesus' death so that we no longer live as slaves to sin, but live with Him as His beautiful & priceless bride. We are worth it! God lays it all down for YOU.

And that's the greatest love story ever told. The story of Jesus paying the price with His own life so that we can be free from sin & live in eternal life with Him. To be forgiven & redeemed is LOVE.

JV

To Save a Life - Movie Night

This Friday night we're headed to the movies to see To Save a Life. This is going to be an excellent film & you guys don't want to miss out! Bring your friends, a date, or anybody you want! Just come & bring someone with you.

When: Meet @ NLBC @ 6:00 PM (movie starts at 6:50 PM)
Where: Cinemark Tinseltown in Benton
How Much: $8 - $10



JV

Intentionally Significant

The story of Zacchaeus, found in Luke 19:1-10, reveals so much to us about both Zacchaeus & Jesus. First, take a look at Zacchaeus. He was a man, a Jew, who had become a tax collector for the Roman government. He was a man searching for significance in his life, mostly by becoming rich at his own people's expense. He thought he would find fulfillment in money, yet something was missing. Something in his life seemed so empty that he had to climb a tree to see what this Jesus guy was all about. So he sat there in that tree & Jesus called him down to go visit him at his house.

Now Luke tells us Jesus was just "passing through" when he found Zacchaeus in that tree. Jesus was on His way to another town, but stopped, found Zacchaeus & eventually changed his life forever. Zacchaeus repents of his sin after encountering the Savior & promised to live a new life. A life fulfilled & a life changed. 

What stands out about Jesus in this story is his intentionality. Jesus INTENTIONALLY stopped to find Zacchaeus & give him new life. As He was "passing through" Jesus saw an opportunity to make a difference. If Jesus wasn't living intentionally, He would have never stopped. He would have never looked up. He would have never seen Zacchaeus in that tree. And He would have never changed Zacchaeus' life.

So what's missing in your life? What's keeping you from significance? If we learn anything from Zacchaeus, we know that nothing will fulfill us like Christ. Nothing but Jesus can fill the void to become more & He can change your life forever. From Jesus, we know life is more than just living. More than just living everyday blended in & normal. We have to live our lives INTENTIONAL, looking for opportunities to be changed & to change others. 

As Christians, Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth & the light of the world. Salt & light are both difference-makers. When you put salt on food you can easily tell the difference. And when you shine a light into a dark room, the difference is significant. So again, how significant is your life? What difference are you making?

Live intentional. Live to make a difference. Live significant. 

JV

Music Spotlight - Phil Wickham

Phil Wickham's latest album, "Heaven & Earth", came out last November, but it is an album I have grown so much more fond of after seeing Phil Wickham perform live in concert. He is a tremendous performer & sounds just unbelievable live. That says a lot considering how good a studio can make someone sound & I honestly prefer to listen to him live over a studio album. So go see Phil!

"Heaven & Earth" is a strong effort from Phil Wickham. The title itself is telling of the content within the album, & the lyrics are so spiritually strong. It tells the story of our relationship with God & our desire to be back in that perfect relationship found in "Eden." We are here on Earth & because of sin we are not in the relationship with God we were created for. Phil then expresses his desire throughout the album to be back in that relationship, & the anticipation to have that relationship restored to it's original design in Heaven. It is an extremely well done album, & provides unbelievable images in vivid terms. 

3 of my favorite tracks are in the playlist on the right, so give them a good listen. And head over to iTunes to purchase this 12-track album for $12.99. 

JV

 

Reality Weekend

The deadline for Reality Weekend is this Wednesday, January 6th! Be sure to come on Wednesday night & bring your registration forms with you, and don't forget to turn in forms for your friends as well. The cost is $45 for the event, but don't worry about the money if you can't pay. Just come talk to me & we'll get everything worked out. Here are the details on the event:

The event is January 15-17 (Friday - Sunday), and will be much like a retreat format. The guys will all be in one home, and the girls in another. We will have discipleship & growth time as a group, and also will gather together with some other churches for worship 3 times throughout the weekend. This is a great opportunity to grow as a young Christian, as well as growing with our youth group. It's also going to be tons of fun, and spiritually challenging. You don't want to miss out!

JV

Music Spotlight - David Crowder Band

If there's one album I have worn out digitally on my iPod, it's David Crowder Band's latest release, Church Music. This album came out last fall, but has yet to lose it's hold on me. It continues to remain fresh, and I constantly hear new lyrics I don't remember hearing before. DCB is not only very creative & original in composition, but his lyrics are incredibly strong & spiritually solid. Here are a couple reasons why it should be on your iPod:

1. Spiritually charged lyrics. The words to these songs will leave you challenged, thinking, and full of praise to our King in worship. 
2. Fun & creative music. The music is awesome, and I love how he mixes things up. He'll have a slow song & then pump things up. And every track ends with the intro to the next. If you start from the beginning, it's like one REALLY long song. Super cool.

So head over to iTunes & pick up this 17-track album for only $11.99. I got 3 of my favorite songs from this album on the playlist, so be sure to take a listen.

JV

Christmas = JESUS > us

The time has finally arrived! Christmas! My favorite time of the year! I know all of us are excited to catch a break from school & work, and to have some time to spend with our friends & family. Don't forget all the great food, Christmas traditions, and BOWL SEASON. Truly the most wonderful time of the year!

But, most importantly, Christmas is the time to celebrate the birth of our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ. And to not only celebrate His birth, but to celebrate His death. To know that God sent His one & only Son, Jesus, for one purpose - to die. Jesus was literally born to die. He was born with a purpose, a mission, and a plan. And that was to die on the cross for our sins, take our place, and give us freedom & forgiveness through His death. And through His death & resurrection, Jesus cancels our sin & gives us eternal life.

AND just like Jesus was born to die, when we are reborn through His salvation, we are ALSO born to die. We have new life in Jesus, and when we are reborn, we are born to die. Born to die to our sins & old life, and to turn away from the way we used to live. And just like Jesus was born with a mission & plan, we also have a direct purpose in our new life.

Jesus gives us all a purpose in His call to "Follow Me." To follow Jesus is to live like Jesus, and to live like Jesus is to die. A daily death in picking up our cross, denying ourselves, denying our sin & what we want, and becoming more like Christ.

This is what Christmas should be all about, and we must daily think about our purpose given to us.
Christmas = JESUS > us

JV

New Year's Eve Lock-In

Come celebrate the countdown to 2010 at New Life this New Year's Eve! We're going to host a Lock-In, and party it up till morning light! We're going to meet at the church, and then head over to the Church at Rock Creek for a state-wide bash called New Year's Rush from 8 PM - Midnight. Then we'll head back to the church and celebrate the first hours of 2010 hanging out, playing games, & eating food until 7 AM. It's going to be awesome! Here's the details and what you need to know:

7:30 PM - meet at the church

8:00 PM - 12:00 AM - New Year's Rush ($15 if you signed up / $20 at the door)

12:30 AM - 7:00 AM - Lock-In at New Life

Call or email me with any questions, and be sure to sign-up! You don't want to miss out! And if you're doing something with family or already have plans, you can still meet us up at the church for the Lock-In portion of the night. Just come!

JV