Archive for July, 2007

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03
Jul

Tuesday Devotional

By Alden 0 Comments
Categories: Student Ministry

Below is our Tuesday Devotional from our Booklet:

SCRIPTURE: Read - Luke 10:38-42, Matthew 7:21-23

THOUGHTS: Imagine this: You live in a busy city like New York or Tokyo. You get a job as an assistant to a powerful man, and he is kind and appreciative and treats you very well. You get his drinks for him, and you make sure he is comfortable and rush around always trying to keep him happy.

But he is not. He wants something more from you. More? you think to yourself. What more can I do? I do everything he asks of me.

One day, he asks you to sit down, to eat with him, to tell him about yourself. A little shocked, you do what he asks. He tells you some things about himself, and you are amazed. He lives such a grand life; everything about it seems perfect. And as you listen on, you begin to feel a little bit of his glory rubbing off on you. You are no longer worried about the food or the service you were giving him. You are just enraptured with how awesome he is.

Day after day, you sit with him, and your friendship with him grows. You know so much about him now that you can serve him better than ever before.

Christ calls those of us who follow him to something more than mere service. Even people who don’t know Him can say the right things and keep the 10 Commandments. What He wants from us is a relationship. His friend Martha became so focused on serving Him that she missed this important part.

Jesus takes it a step further, saying that only “one thing is needed,” which is to sit at His feet. He wants us to get to know Him the way we would get to know any other person-by talking with Him, listening to Him, reading his love letters (the words of the Bible), trusting Him, and just enjoying His presence. This “one thing” is the most important part of being a Christian.

He then gives us the promise that if we chose “that good part,” then no one can take His presence away from us. He offers His presence to us when we offer ours to Him.

By knowing Him first, serving Him becomes second nature. We know what He loves and what He wants from us, and we have His presence with us to help us make Him happy.

Tuesday was written by Tiffany Sellers. Tiffany is currently serving as one of our interns in our ministry. She is assisting ins several upcoming events and activities. She is rising sophomore at Clemson University and been with our ministry coming close to a year.

02
Jul

Monday Devotional

By Alden 0 Comments
Categories: Student Ministry

The past two weeks, the IGNITE staff has been writing devotionals for our students to read throughout the week. We have received a lot of positive feedback. We are continuing this project for the next couple of weeks, and at that time, we are going to reevaluate the usefulness, productivity, etc. of writing the devotionals.

With that said, I have decided to post the devotionals each day that our students are reading this week. Here we go with Monday:

SCRIPTURE: Read-Romans 1:11-12

THOUGHTS: Everyone loves to have friends. I know that growing up I had a group of about 5 of us that went everywhere together. Wherever you saw one, you saw the other. We were there to bail each other out when we got in trouble. We were there to not let one get in trouble. We were there through losses of family and friends.

I am so thankful for the time that I had with each of them. I know that it was through their help and love and encouragement that I even made it through my teenage years. Even though I rarely talk with some of them, I am continually thankful for their influence over my life. They had a profound impact on the person that I am today.

That is why the Lord has given us each other as the church. We are there to encourage each other. Show them Jesus. Show them love and acceptance when we don’t feel it from anywhere else. We are there for each other because others are there for us, but most of all, Jesus is there for us. When things around us don’t make sense, Jesus does. And through him living in another person’s heart, that person represents Jesus in some way.

I encourage you to build up strong, Christ-centered relationships. These people that love Jesus can challenge you, keep you out of trouble, and love you when it seems like everything else around you is going crazy.

PRAYER: Take a second and thank Jesus for the positive and uplifting people that he has put in your life, and keep building those friendships!

CLOSING QUESTION: So what do you need to do today? Are there some friendships you need to let go of? Still love them, but maybe their influence is not what you need in your life. Are there some Christ-loving friendships that you need to pursue?

Monday’s Devotional was written by Lindsay Owens. Lindsay serves as the Assistant to the Middle School Pastor (thats me!). She does a PHENOMENAL job of keeping up with everything that has to do with the Middle School Ministry. Not only does she keep up with my schedule, event signups, assist in caring for volunteers, but also is the occasional teacher at IGNITE. Lindsay is a veteran of NewSpring, but came on with the Middle School staff in October of 2006. Since that time she has quickly become a vital part of the staff.

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