Where are you in your Bible reading?

That’s a simple question I hope all of you can always answer. Not so you don’t have to feel bad when you’re asked… you should have an answer simply because you’re in your Bible! That’s a good reason.

I sure love our teens. I was with several other youth pastors last week, and I couldn’t help but be thankful for where I am. I preached in a chapel this morning and couldn’t wait to get to church with you. I want God’s best for you and I pray for you often. Thank you for being a blessing.

So, beyond being a blessing to me personally, are you making that a long-term goal? Do you want to always be a blessing to others?

If yes, then learn the discipline of reading and loving your Bibles. Men, speak up when asked. Ladies, continue to have your sweet and meek spirits. Love God. Love others. Do right.

-Bro. Ryan

CAMPING TRIP –FRIDAY & SATURDAY, MAY 4 & 5

Leaving church at 3:15, so come asap!

25^TH ANNIVERSARY SUNDAY – NEXT SUNDAY, MAY 6

10:30 combined Sunday school.

SATURATION SATURDAY – SATURDAY, MAY 12, 9:45am

MOTHER/DAUGHTER BANQUET – SATURDAY, MAY 12

If you plan on attending, please buy your tickets in the foyer asap.  The cost is $5 per person.

My wife, Abe and I just got back from the Youth Leaders Retreat. Yes… Abe is a youth leader. Your leader.

So anyway…

You were famous this week. We were able to show all the other youth leaders your good work with the Be Our guest outreach program, memorization, Home Missions Offering, Bible Study Series, various fund raisers, Preaching Rally ideas and more.

You’re awesome.

Want to know why? Because you made my last couple of days possible. I wouldn’t have gone to the youth leaders retreat without being a… youth leader! I wouldn’t be a youth leader without… youth! (Is this too deep?)

We LOVED showing you off. We ALWAYS love talking and thinking about you. We came away with some ideas that we hope will eventually end in spiritually impacting your lives. I really mean that. My heart is that YOU (yes, you… the one reading this sentence right now… YOU) are impacted spiritually today. I’ve prayed for you already this morning, as I always do on Sunday mornings, and I’m sure the same is said from all the youth staff.

We love you and want God’s best for you. So let Him!

Bro. Ryan

CAMPING TRIP – THIS FRIDAY & SATURDAY, MAY 4 & 5

Please sign up today if you plan on attending so we can make sleeping and travel arrangements.

25^TH ANNIVERSARY SUNDAY – NEXT SUNDAY, MAY 6

We won’t have Sunday school, but we’ll meet for a service that will start at 10:30 am.  After that service we’ll have a potluck and an afternoon jubilee and time of testimonies.  You won’t want to miss this special Sunday!

SATURATION SATURDAY – SATURDAY, MAY 12

Meet at the church at 9:45 am.

MOTHER/DAUGHTER BANQUET – SATURDAY, MAY 12

If you plan on attending, please buy your tickets in the foyer asap.  The cost is $5 per person. 

Sam has a good idea… rather than 2 verses at a time he’s going to quote about 6 at a time.

That will really help when you go to quote the whole chapter. You should at least have 6 verses ready by tonight… how’s it going? Got 6 ready? You can quote them after service.

Memorizing Scripture, according to Psalm 119:11, helps to keep you from sin. If you abhor sin, like we talked about on Sunday (Rom. 12), you’ll do whatever you can to keep from it. Accountability, memorization, reading your Bibles, etc.

Memorizing Scripture is a skill all of you can learn, and all of us should learn! It just takes discipline and work… kind of like anything else worth while in life.

By the way, for those who missed the Solies’ on Sunday night, you missed out on some amazing nachos. Aaaand, some amazing footage of Matthew face-planting over and over and over…

-Bro. Ryan

CAMPING TRIP – NEXT FRIDAY & SATURDAY, MAY 4 & 5

Please sign up if you plan on attending so we can make sleeping and travel arrangements.  $10 per person.

25^TH ANNIVERSARY SUNDAY – NEXT SUNDAY, MAY 6

We won’t have Sunday school, but we’ll meet for a service that will start at 10:30 am.  After that service we’ll have a potluck and an afternoon jubilee and time of testimonies.  You won’t want to miss this special Sunday!

SATURATION SATURDAY – SATURDAY, MAY 12, 9:45am

MOTHER/DAUGHTER BANQUET – SATURDAY, MAY 12

If you plan on attending, please buy your tickets in the foyer asap.  The cost is $5 per person.

Services at 10:30

Don’t forget that our services are starting at 10:30 instead of 10:00 am! We will have one combined service with all the adult Bible classes together in the sanctuary as we enjoy…

• Special Music
• Testimonies
• History Video
• Bible Preaching

Potluck

All guests and members are encouraged to stick around after the morning services for a potluck dinner in the Fellowship Hall. For our members, if your last name starts with A-M, please bring a main dish and a side dish. If you’re an N-Z, please bring a main dish and a salad. The church will be providing a beautiful 25th anniversary cake.  There’s plenty of food for everyone!

Afternoon Service

After the potlock is through we’ll head back up to the sanctuary for a very special service (in place of our evening service.) Stick around for a wonderful meeting where we’ll enjoy:

• Gospel Music Jubilee including a “Reunion Choir” (everyone who’s ever been in choir)
• Live testimonies
• Slideshow from all 25 years
• And… a special twist of roles!

25 Years

25 years is a long time, and a quarter-century anniversary only comes around once! Don’t miss this special day!

• Sunday, May 6, 2012
• Time: 10:30 am
• Combined morning service
• Potluck Lunch
• Afternoon Service – Gospel Jubilee, testimonies, slideshow and more!

This week my wife and I will be going to Ironwood for their annual youth leaders retreat.

Please pray for us as we travel up there, but more importantly, pray that God helps us as we learn how to better serve in the ministry. Times of sharpening, challenge and encouragement like this weekend are invaluable, and I hope you reap many benefits from our being away this week (just Thursday through Saturday.) MOST of what we’ll be talking about is… you. Some about your parents, some about our church, but mostly about how we can better serve, reach, encourage, strengthen and spiritually nurture teens.

You’re our main ministry. God’s called me to choir and other duties here at CBC, but the youth ministry is where we’re “at.” Know what I mean?

We sure love you and want God’s best. Please remember to pray for us this week and we’ll see you Wednesday!

Bro. Ryan

HOSPITALITY NIGHT – TODAY

We will not have YA Choir or Mixed Ensemble practices.

CAMPING TRIP – FRIDAY & SATURDAY, MAY 4 & 5

Please sign up asap if you plan on attending so we can make sleeping and travel arrangements.  More details to come soon.

We started last week on John 15. How far are you?

Got your 2 verses down this week?

At 2 verses per week, since we’re starting earlier this year, you can finish the chapter and quote the whole thing by the second week in August. Sounds easy, right?

I would love for everyone to do the whole chapter. Even easier… for everyone here… I’d love to see you do at least verses 1-17. That’s barely over a verse a week… and some of the verses are really short.

This whole text is amazing. Abiding in the vine is the only way to bear fruit. Or… like the song says… “There’s a grape on the leaf, and the leaf on the branch, and the branch on the vine, and the vine on the root, and the root in the hole, and the hole in the ground…” God’s the vine (the trunk). We’re the branches. We can’t bear fruit without being connected to Him.

How? Though His Word. That’s what the text says. I’m not twisting this and making it fit into our Bible Study series! It’s just that pretty much everything about the spiritual life boils down to… the Bible!

Love it and live it.

-Bro. Ryan

MEMORIZATION – John 15… if you’re tough enough!

CAN YOU HELP? – Garage sale pickups here and there over the next few weeks. I’ll probably be getting some tomorrow… can you help?

Yesterday was Saturation Saturday and silly sicknesses slimmed our saturators. Stink!

Okay, so…

I hope you’re all feeling better today! Last Sunday night’s testimonies were really good, and I appreciate your heart-felt communication of what God did in your hearts on the Heartland trip. I said it Sunday, but the best thing about youth ministry is just to see God working in you!

I can’t wait to preach today, and I hope it’s a help. Thanks for being here today. Show some compassion and love people today (as you always do!)

Bro. Ryan

MISSIONARIES DAN & DEBBIE MORRIS – TONIGHT

They are our missionaries to Chiapas, Mexico, and they’ll be here in the evening service.

HOSPITALITY NIGHT – NEXT SUNDAY, APRIL 22

We will not have YA Choir or Mixed Ensemble practices.

I’ve been calling it the Bible Study series, but really you’re just learning about how to read the Bible.

As time goes on this stuff gets easier, and you get a little less lost each time… I promise! J Whether you’re “getting it” or not, I have to believe that this series has been a help to you. If I thought I was wasting my time I’d change series immediately, but I don’t know if there’s a better subject you could be learning than… the Bible.

I love you all very much and I’m passionate about your spiritual growth. The best way that I know to influence you toward Christ is not to motivate you, intimidate you or try to get you to do what I say (all those methods fail over time); the best thing you can catch from me is a passion for God’s Word.

Nothing else will matter in life. Sure, you might “make it” in life and be successful, but you won’t be satisfied outside of knowing God through His Word. Nothing is sweeter than a relationship with God. Abundance. Fellowship. It’s awesome!

Anyway, I hope you want it for you as much as I want it for you.

Love God. Love others. Do right.

-Bro. Ryan

NEW YA CHOIR SONG – you’re invited to join! We practice for 15 minutes on Sunday nights

SATURATION SATURDAY – This Saturday at 9:45

MORRIS FAMILY – Here this Sunday.

MEMORIZATION – John 15… if you’re tough enough!

First, Happy Easter! Next, God is a prayer-answering God.

We were on the way home a couple days ago and everyone started sharing their testimonies about how God blessed them on the Heartland trip. When it got around to my turn, I couldn’t come up with one favorite event.

Overall, though, I said that my favorite part was that God answered our prayers and allowed you to have a great time. Also, we asked God over and over for safety, and God answered those prayers. We just happened to pull over when we didn’t need to, just happened to have a flat tire in town, just happened to have a tire shop across the street, and just happened to fix it in 20 minutes. You think that’s a “hap?” (Remember Bro. Gaddis’ message?)

That’s no hap. That’s God’s hand.

We could have had a blowout on the road, had an accident, or been stuck in the snow changing a dumb tire. God’s SO good to us, and He acts on our behalf all the time. He’s SO high above us, and we’re SO low (Psalm 113), but He answers prayers and loves us. What a great God.

The trip was amazing. I think it was even better than last year, but that’s just my opinion. Thank you for praying for us while we were away. Teens who went, if you want to give a testimony tonight in the service, please let me know. We love you and were very proud of you this week! You’re our favorite.

Bro. Ryan

EASTER SUNDAY – TODAY

MEN’S PRAYER BREAKFAST – THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 14

This will be at 8:30 am in the Fellowship Hall.

SATURATION SATURDAY – THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 14

Please meet in the Fellowship Hall at 9:45 am.

MISSIONARIES DAN & DEBBIE MORRIS – NEXT SUNDAY, APRIL 15

They are our missionaries to Chiapas, Mexico, and they’ll be here in the evening service.

Last Wednesday we got through a lot.

First, with the Bible Study series I’ve been looking for a way to emphasize the application aspect of Bible study, and we did so with the message called “Music Paints Pictures.” The Bible part of it was from Philippians 4:8-9 and the whole context surrounding that.

Also, I’d really been wanting to preach that message on music, but while we were in the Bible Study series I didn’t know how to work it in. I hope it made sense to you, because it was a really good concept I stole from an evangelist named Steve Piggot. I forgot to mention on Wednesday that the message was not original to me, and I wanted to give credit where it is due.

Finally, in ramming through the interpretation part of the night I printed up that little handout for you. That handout is something I’d been working on for the Heartland trip and for future classes, and last Wednesday helped me finish it up in good time.

Anyway, I hope the message was a help to you, and I hope today’s sermon on spiritual gifts is insightful as well. If your strength is perhaps in giving, administration, or mercy, pay attention over the next couple of weeks. If your spiritual gifts are not giving, or administration, or mercy, pay attention over the next couple of weeks.

We love you all very much. Pray for our trip tomorrow!!

Bro. Ryan

HBBC ROAD TRIP – MON, APRIL 2-SAT, APRIL 7

The $200 cost and release forms are due today.  Don’t forget to bring everything for the trip to church tonight because we’ll be leaving bright and early (5am) tomorrow morning.

LORD’S SUPPER – THIS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4

We will not have youth group that night so that you can all be in the service to partake of the Lord’s Supper with the church.