Check out our Creation News Section!
Weekly articles, daily Q & A, and a Creation Comic!
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 If you enjoy this free email service, I encourage you to spread the word
to family and friends that we may bring inspiration into the lives of teenagers
everywhere! If you are not on the list and this has been passed along to you,
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Stop by our web site to view past stories or to browse through the tons of
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filter to you. We absolutely love it. To find out more and get your own FREE 10-Day Trial,
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Michael's updated book Heart Touchers "Life-Changing Stories of Faith, Love, and
Laughter," is finally here! ($13.95)
Visit the link below to preview the book. Autographed copies are available at
no extra charge and we will pay the shipping for you. An e-book is also available for $3.25.
http://www.Heart4Teens.com/books
Be sure to let us know who you would like it autographed for and then allow about two
weeks for us to sign it and send it on its way to you.Credit card, PayPal, Checks,
and Money orders accepted! The book is also available through Amazon.com,
Borders.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Booklocker.com
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CAN'T BUY ME LOVE -- BECOMING A FRIEND WORTH HAVING
John 13:14
"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash
one another's feet."
Start
Money can't buy happiness, but it can borrow a few friends. Outside your house you
could toss up a swimming pool with multilevel waterslides--and inside, carve out a
not-so-mini arcade and an eye-popping, ear-bursting home theater with multiple
game systems. With playthings like that, you'd be a real friend magnet. Until
someone else throws a better party.
What's the best way to get friends?
Read John 13:4-5, 12-14
" got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel
around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash
his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to
his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them.
"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that
I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet."
Think
You probably don't have the option of handing out cash or prizes to make friends,
but maybe you wish you did. Jesus unleashes a more dazzling, durable way to
win friends. As the clock ticks down the final hours before his crucifixion, he
shows his followers "the full extent of his love" (John 13:1 NIV). Then he
commands us to act the same way. If you want to be a friend worth having,
Jesus demonstrates how.
Jesus does a crazy thing to show love to his closest friends: He washes
their feet. Why do that?
Picture those disciples: burly, sandal-wearing men who spend their days
clomping down dusty dirt roads. It's a recipe for filthy, stinking feet. By
untying his guys' sandals and scrubbing their feet, Jesus performed a
practical, necessary deed. But foot washing was the job for a household's
lowliest servant. Unlike Jesus, none of the disciples seized this obvious
opportunity to serve. In fact, the book of Luke shows them hotly debating
which one of them is the greatest (Luke 22:24).
What does Jesus expect his followers to learn from his act of servanthood?
Live
Suppose you were God. King of the universe. Ruler of all. Tell how you'd
expect to be treated.
What do you think of what Jesus did?
People today won't get the point if you just snatch their shoes and socks
and powerwash their toes. But Philippians 2:3-4 tells what genuine servanthood
looks like in any time and place: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain
conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your
own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." Servanthood
doesn't mean you let others stomp on you. Instead, you make their needs as
important as your own.
True or false: Taking the role of a servant can help you make and maintain
friends. Explain your answer.
Wrap
Do you want a collection of friends who care about your needs as much as
they care about their own? That's the love God wants to grow among his
people, a kind of care that sticks people together forever. If you grow in
showing that Jesus-like mindset toward other people, you won't have to
buy friends. People will beg to be around you.
More thoughts to mull
- Do something today that honors another person, putting his or her interests
before yours.
- Who do you know--someone nearby or someone famous--who knows how
to serve like Jesus? How do people respond to that person's attitude and actions?
- What's the difference between being a chump and being a Jesus-like servant?
More scriptures to dig
- The mother of two of Jesus' closest followers once tried to score the best
seats in heaven for her boys by kneeling before Jesus and begging that
James and John be allowed to sit at the Lord's left and right. The guys
weren't embarrassed by their loud-mouthed mom, but the other disciples
roared. Jesus called them together and said the real path to greatness is
the low path, not the high road. He said, "Whoever wants to become great
among you must be your servant" (Matthew 20:26). Catch the whole story
in Matthew 20:20-28.
- While you're looking at Matthew 20, don't miss a couple more essential
truths from that event. In Matthew 20:25 Jesus points out that it's human
nature to rub your rank in other people's faces. But Jesus did just the
opposite. In Matthew 20:28 he outlines his one-of-a-kind approach to life:
"The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his
life as a ransom for many."
- Read Philippians 2:1-11 for a summary of Jesus' intense unselfishness.
It's woven together with details on how you can imitate him. You might be
surprised to learn this passage makes servanthood sound downright
beautiful, and the poetic words of verses 6-11 were probably lyrics sung
by early Christians.
- Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the Old Testament told of a
"servant" who would arrive on the scene to take up our pain and bear our
sufferings. Check out Isaiah 53:1-12 for an amazing description of Jesus'
ultimate sacrifice--his death on the cross for humankind's sins.
**
Taken from "Stick" by Kevin Johnson, copyright 2008, Youth Specialties/Zondervan.
Used by permission. Order the book here: https://shop.youthspecialties.com/store/product.php?productid=571
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Creation Q & A
Q: Was Noah's Ark Big Enough?
A: One of the most frequently asked questions posed by Christians and skeptics
alike concerns how Noah could fit all the animals on the Ark. Secular evolutionists
mock those of us who take the account of the Ark and a global Flood as literal history.
They claim Noah couldn't have fit the supposed millions of animals needed on board.
But a little research shows clearly that Noah didn't need millions of animals. Only
representatives of each kind of land-dwelling and air-breathing animal were needed.
Creationists have shown that there can be many different species within each
kind--for example, dingoes, wolves, coyotes, and domestic dogs all of these
belong to the same kind.
Based on the dimensions given in Scripture (Genesis 6:14-17), the Ark was
huge. Only a third of the Ark's space was needed for the animals. Even though
there was plenty of room, only Noah's family believed and were saved.
Noah's Ark is also a picture of salvation that God offers through His Son,
Jesus Christ. Have you believed and been saved?
Source: AnswersinGenesis.org
Creation News
Click on the Bible above or visit the web site listed below!
http://www.HeartTouchers.com/Creation_News
This new addition to our web site will give you an article on the leading news in the
Creation/Evolution controversy each day.
This section also includes a rotating Question and Answer feature and a weekly Creation
Comic strip from the people at AnswersInGenesis.org.
Be sure to come back and visit each day for an informative article that will help you
keep up to date on the latest news in this controversial area!
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Thought For The Day
"The next time you feel like complaining, remember
that your garbage disposal probably eats better than
30 percent of the people in the world."
Verse for the Day
"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and
be content with such things as ye have..." --Hebrews 13:5
Teen's Thought For The Day
"You know what I wear to have safe sex? My wedding ring!"
-- Michael T. Powers
Parent's Thought For The Day
"I looked on child-rearing not only as a work of love
and duty but as a profession that was fully as
interesting and challenging as any honorable
profession in the world and one that demanded
the best that I could bring it." -- Rose Kennedy
Coach's Thought For The Day
"It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit
when you're tired -- you quit when the gorilla is
tired." --Robert Strauss
Deep Thought For The Day
"Heck is where people go who don't believe in Gosh."
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Author MICHAEL T. POWERS
Contributing Author to Chicken Soup for the Christian Teenage Soul and
26 other inspirational books.
Over 125,000 people have listened to popular Chicken Soup Author Michael T. Powers'
free inspirational message entitled: "Breathing Life into Others". If you aren't one of them
just visit: http://www.Heart4Teens.com and click on the link to listen to the free
streaming audio message!
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live
in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galatians 2:20
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ALL-STAR Youth Ministry
--The Youth Church of Faith Community Church in Janesville, WI
If you are in 7-12th grade and live in the southern Wisconsin/northern Illinois area and
would like to check us out, we meet every Sunday night from 6:30-8:00 PM at Faith Community
Church which is located at 2931 Lucerne Dr. in Janesville, WI. (About 3 blocks south-east
of Menard's.)
Currently we have students from Edgerton, Fort Atkinson, Milton, Janesville Craig, Janesville
Parker, Marshall, Franklin, Clinton, Beloit Memorial, and Beloit Turner. E-mail me back if you have
any questions about our weekly meetings or would like to come to any of our events that are listed
below... We have way too much fun and then, most importantly, talk about issues that are relevant
to you as a teenager.
This Week:
Starting a new series entitled: "Demolishing Strongholds"
February 10: War of the Worldviews - Part 2 Next Week:
SuperBowl Party! 2109 North Pontiac Dr.
Visit our youth website to see our topics for 2008!
Teen Community Groups
6:30 - 8:00 PM Wednesday nights -- These groups are limited to no more than ten teens
and are split into Jr. High and High School ages. This night is for those teens who want to dig
deeper than what we do in All-Stars, but may not be ready to be a part of the Xtreme Teens.
These cell groups will also be doing special activities with each other as the year goes on to
build community.
Jr. High age meets at 2109 N. Pontiac and are led by Kent & Rachel Martin
(Call 373-0886 if you have any questions!)
High School age are led by Tedi Knox: 1110 Nantucket Dr. (Call 774-2592 if you have any questions!)
Xtreme Teens: Xtreme Teens meet on Wednesday nights from 6:30 - 8:00 PM all year
round at the Powers' house. This group is very extensive with weekly homework,
memorization, service projects, etc. Students interested in this group will have to fill out an
application, provide references as to why others think they should be involved with this, and sign
an agreement as to what is expected of them. Admission into Xtreme Teens is on a case by case
basis. Contact Pastor Michael for more details!
This Week February 6: God's Proven Control
For more info on our small groups, visit: http://www.faithcommunitychurch.net/small_groups
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Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you?
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