Life After Death...And Taxes...

     New background! New format! And last, but certainly not least, a new NAME! Yes, I've changed the name of this blog, and for a very good reason--or, at least I think so.
     As you probably know, I haven't been very active on here for a very long time, over a year, in fact. The reason for that is simple, life got in the way. Before that I would use this blog to chronicle my life (in a way) for you guys to read. I would get on here and write when I got bored or felt particularly spiritual. However, this was before life began to jump up and down screaming, "pay attention to me! Please! PLEASE!" Well, I just had to pay attention, and it's been fantastic!
     In the last year some pretty big things have happened to me and to some of my friends. The last time you heard from me, actually heard from me (no a notice about "Messages from the Flock") was back in May of 2013. I wrote a devotional on...something; I don't quite remember what, but that isn't the point! That was a week before I would spend yet another (my third) summer at camp. Let me tell you about it....
     I went to camp and things immediately kicked into overdrive. Days blended into one another as I entered back into the hectic summer; though this summer would be almost completely different from the last. This summer entered a new relationship, an almost completely new group of friends, new responsibilities, and as always, new kids. It was a rough 3 months, but in some ways it was completely worth the trouble. Though originally only supposed to be the Paintball Supervisor, I ended up also being a Lifeguard, a part-time counselor, and a worship leader. It would be an understatement to say that it was difficult, but that isn't the point. This summer grew stronger friendships than I had ever had at camp, though I loved my friends at camp before also. This summer I made friends that I simply couldn't just leave behind.
     Moving on! Growth. When I came back to school I had left a new girlfriend behind at home, and entered into the most stressful semester of school myself and many of my friends had ever had. As those of you who know me are well aware, I am not the most studious person. I would much rather get hands on experience than sit and read a book or listen to a lecture for hours on end, this is why I love music, as it combines all of it together. Through the semester I began to realize how little I wanted to be there. I loved my friends at school, I loved the education I was receiving, but I needed time off. As the semester wore on, I eventually made the tough decision to leave school for a little bit, to give myself a rest.
     As of December I have officially left Multnomah University for a period of rest. To be honest I've had times where I've regretted the decision, but I believe it still necessary as I've prayed many times and I still feel I made the right choice. If I'm going to pay tens of thousands for an education, I want to be invested in it and get the most out of it. As of now I've returned home for a bit and have begun to help out at my home church as a worship and youth group leader.
   
     Now that we've passed that little story of where I've been, I'd like to explain why I've decided to change the name of this blog. When I started this blog, I wanted it to be an expression of myself. It was a place I could share my thoughts and things I thought people ought to know. With this comes a certain level of growth. From the time I began this blog in January of 2012 to last May, I've personally witnessed growth in my life. Since I'm continuing this blog again, I decided a name change would be a nice way to show some of the growth and that I think I've hit a new stage in my life and walk with God.
     When I started at camp in the summer of 2011 I was given the name "Nintendawg." Though at first thinking it weird, I came to love it, and soon after it sort of became a part of my personality. To put it this way, Nintendawg was synonymous of Josh. Since 2011 I would like to think that I've grown quite a bit, though you guys would have to let me know. I've been at camp for 3 years now and towards the end of this last summer I began to identify less and less with my given camp name. In years past, even when hanging out with close friends from camp, we would still refer to each other by our camp names. This last summer was different. We would often call each other by our parent given names, sometimes even mistakingly in front of campers.
     With all that said, when I came back to this blog, I couldn't easily keep it going under the same moniker. Nintendawg is who I was, and a huge part of who I am today, but the name no longer describes who I AM today. I've grown up. Though I will still answer to it, at camp and off camp, that awkward high school kid is now 20 and in a far better place than he was. It's not who I am anymore.
     The next step was picking a new name. This proved far more difficult then I would have thought....Just for kicks, here are some names I thought up then threw out: "Just Me and This Guitar...," "Once A Musician...," and "The Vinyl Countdown." These names all lacked something to me. The first seemed far too sappy for me; too much like a love song. The second seemed to sentimental, seeming to say that I've given up music, which I definitely have not. The third hit on something and was compared closely with the name I ended up choosing, "Life After Death...And Taxes...." Do you know where they are both from? Yes! They're both Relient K songs. I decided to play them next to each other and decide, and when I did that, the decision was obvious. Whereas one just talks about us not using vinyl records anymore, the other talks about how we are always forgiven, no matter what we do, by the one who forgave before we could even sin.
     There is a part in "Life After Death and Taxes" that says...

"Every breath that I inhale is followed by exhaling,

sure as the one who never fails, I know will never fail me..."

- Relient K

I thought this was brilliant! God will never fail us. Never. There's another part in the song that talks about living every day as if jumping off a cliff because we know that God will be there to save us. Later in that same verse it reminds us that though we all do stupid things, all of us, it doesn't matter because we've already been forgiven by the one who died to save us. As long as we believe that crucial truth, that Jesus came down and died so that we may see Him again, we are forgiven. 

     That is why I chose that as a title for this revamped blog of mine, because this is how I want to live my life. I don't want to wallow in self pity because I am a sinner, I want to acknowledge that Jesus has washed my dirt away and left me gleaming. Sin is death, but with Jesus we are given life after that death. Jesus died to wash our sins away and has left us gleaming with a light only He can bestow, so live like it! Live like everyday you're jumping off a cliff for Him, because Jesus will save you. Try and strive to be like Him and show this light to the world. The world is a dark place, and with Him we are candles in the night. 

     So, with that, I give you a new rendition of my old blog: Life After Death...And Taxes....And as usual...

     Thanks for reading these past 2-ish years!!! 

Life After Death and Taxes (Failure II)

The Church as the Body of Christ.

       Traditionally in western, protestant Christian society we usually think of the church as the body of Christ, am I correct? Saying this, what happens when the church, the body of Christ, fulfill the calling? What happens when the church, the body of Christ, bickers among themselves for power? What happens when trivial issues move people from the purpose of the church, the body of Christ?
     Anatomically, when part of our body no longer serves the purpose it is intended to serve, we can consider ourselves disabled, even if it is only slightly so. If not, for the purpose of this argument we can. When a part of our literal, physical bodies do not work, we suffer (if only slightly) in our daily life from it. If we lose a toe, our balance suffers, if we lose a sense, any number of things can happen, if we lose a finger, we struggle to find new ways to hold things we thought easy. We couldn't even comprehend the loss of an entire limb....You understand my point however, that if a working part of our body suddenly stops working or disappears, it throws off the entire body.
     Now, I want you to apply everything you've just read about our physical bodies to the church, the working body of Christ. Let's start small first: a single church, say an Evangelical church who prides themselves on putting the congregation as the head of leadership, having a board only to organize everything for the congregation. If the board loses touch with why they are there and want power, then the congregation becomes frustrated because their rights are being violated. Soon a war has begun. It has become disabled because the leadership does things behind the back of the congregation, and won't give the power back to the congregation. The church now suffers and cannot function as a part of the body because it's purpose is clouded by the trivial arguments.
     The sign of a flourishing body is its growth and learning capabilities, grouped into this category is the churches youth group if there is one, so this is what I will speak on. The ultimate purpose of a youth group is to nurture children of Christ so that they may go out into the world and fulfill their God given purpose in the world with His grace and will. An eventual effect of this is that the kids, while attending the church feed back into the church, spreading Gods energy and youth throughout the church. A flourishing youth group is a sign of a flourishing church. A flourishing youth group can breathe life into even the most stagnating church. If the children of Christ are ready to go out and do his work, they can energize the body and help the church group. Our youth are our future and our present. They will grow up to do great things, but only if we focus on them now and build them into humble servants of Christ.

     Thank you to those of you who made it through this post for listening to my rant. I just really wish to emphasize the importance of building our generations youth and helping them to become healthy servants of Christ.

Beloved: The Last Supper (Finale part of "The Marriage")

 Song to be played in worship...

Beloved- Tenth Avenue North

     In scripture there are MANY, MANY times where God calls us His bride. One unordinary time is during the last supper. At the time they were celebrating the passover when Jesus, going about His duties as Rabbi, picks up the third cup, the Cup of Salvation. Now, traditionally you're supposed to set this cup aside, but Jesus instead says, "This is my covenant, take and drink it." Under ordinary circumstances this would be an action of no consequence, but to this group of tax collectors and fisherman Jesus was basically asking them to marry him.
     Back in this time when a man saw a women he was interested in he would go to his father and be like, "hey, dad, I really like this chick." So they would go to her dad and strike a deal with him for her. Before you overreact though, this wasn't for her hand, this was a bargain to simply ask if she would; she had the choice. At this point they'd throw a large banquet during which the man would pick up the third cup, offer it to the women and say, "this is my covenant, take and drink it." Now, the women could either go, "ew...no, you're a creeper and I want nothing to do with you," OR say yes.
     If she said yes, the man would leave and they wouldn't see one another for a time. She, from this point on, would no longer be known by her name, but rather as "one who is bought with a price." The man would go home and begin building her a mansion. However, before you get excited, the word mansion in Hebrew translates to "apartment." Oh, and to top it off, it was simply and extension of his parents house; it was called an Insula, or family dwelling. So, ladies, if you don't want this I wouldn't recommend marrying a Jewish boy...only kidding. The guy didn't get to choose when he was finished though, her father had to check off that it was good enough.
     If the "mansion" was good enough the man was permitted to receive his bride. At this point the man would gather his his posy with their Rams horns (Shofars) and run to collect his beloved. Upon seeing him she would walk down to him, essentially down the isle.
     Do you see the metaphor yet?
     After Jesus offered the cup the disciples looked at one another and realized that they'd been with Him that long, they might as well keep going. Jesus then looked at them and told them He'd be leaving for awhile, but while He was gone He'd be building them each a mansion of their own. He did not know when He would return, but when His father gave His blessing Jesus would return for His bride with His holy posy, the 4 angels, and bring us home. We are all disciples of Jesus though, He calls us all His bride. We aren't even a great bride that will give Him stuff and wait on Him, the Bible calls us an adulterous, unfaithful bride. But to foreshadow last weeks message, He knows our sins but He loves us the same.
     So, go now knowing that we are Jesus' bride. We are His lovers. We are His everything.

"This is my covenant, take and drink it." 

-

Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God. 

You Are More (Part 1 of "The Marriage")

Play video after worship, before message...     

You Are More-Tenth Avenue North

Who are you? 

     There's this saying these days, and I'm sure you've heard it, that goes "we are simply the product of our experiences." But is this true?
     I worked at Miracle Ranch for the first time last summer, as you all know. When working at camp you meet kids from all different walks of life; some have had rather trying lives, but others may have gotten everything they've every dreamt of. It's crazy. You begin to wonder how they can possibly connect with one another and worship together. We begin to think that our job is to get the campers' riled up and driven to celebrate and live for God. But what we sometimes forget is that, how can you live for God if you don't know how to live because of God.
   As Christians we walk through life trying to make the best choices in the name of God, but what we often forget is that the gospel tells us that the choices we make don't make us who we are, what Jesus did makes us who we are. Now, here I should probably specify that I'm not trying to undermine the consequences of our actions because the choices we make do determine where we end up, but it is very important to remember that where we end up does NOT determine who you are. And that connects us all, doesn't it? Campers, people who work 9-5 jobs, prisoners, it doesn't matter who you think you are because who you are isn't determined by your life, who you are is determined by the life that Jesus led, the life that Jesus gave up to give you yours back. Isn't that freeing? If you're good, there's more to you than your success, if you're bad, you're more than your failures. You are more than the choices that you make, you are more than the mistakes you've made, you're even more than the rights you have accomplished; you are the sum of our heavenly Fathers love for us.
     This is a short coming of almost everyone I know, Christians and non-believers alike, we all believe that who we are is equivalent to the sum of our successes and failures. We are deluded. Honestly, who are we to think that we have any sort of control over who we are if we have someone as great as God watching over us. We aren't who we are because of our choices because our falls and mistakes pale in comparison to the sacrifice Jesus made upon that cross.
     Have you heard the Parable of the Prodigal Son? Well, the Parable of the Prodigal son is about a father and his two children and their relationship when one leaves for a life of debauchery. Let me read it to you...

The Parable of the Prodigal (Lost) Son

^"11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

²⁸ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

     No matter how much the son disrespected the father and no matter how much he sinned while using the money given to him by the father, the fathers love for his son could not be dampened. Do you see the moral here? Gods' love for us is just as the fathers love for his son. Every day we go into the world with what God has given us and we sin against Him, but He loves us the same. God knows that we aren't the measure of our sins, we are who He made us to be in His infinite wisdom. When you come back to Him with an apology in your heart He runs to you and embraces you in an embrace that washes us clean of every sin. And it's all because He knows that YOU ARE MORE. 

     

Read letter aloud...

Fathers Love Letter

     Our Father loves us more than we can possibly understand because He knows that deep down, despite how we sin against Him with the tools that He Himself sculpted from nothing, we are more than that. We are more, you are more than the weight of your sin. You are the measure of Gods love, of Jesus' sacrifice upon the cross. 

     Tonight if you want to accept your Fathers undying love for you and return His warm embrace, you need only pray. I want to spread out for about 5 minutes and give you time to think. You can either sit and pray to yourself or just sit quietly and think. There are prayer partners around the room that would be more than willing to sit and pray with/for you if you so choose, including myself. Please try your best to sit away from someone and resist the urge to talk, just dwell on what God is saying to you in His letter. Go.* 

Optional ending song: 

Strong Enough to Save-Tenth Avenue North

*Last paragraph is the conclusion to the Lakebay Community Church Youth Group delivery of this message. 

**To alleviate any confusion, speaker directions are included. 

Future Sermons!

     I just found out that I am speaking for my youth group not only twice in the coming months, but the LAST two meetings of this year for us. I knew I'd most likely be speaking at least once before the end because it was mentioned to me a couple weeks ago that there was a day open for me to speak, so naturally I began thinking and praying on what to speak on. Then just a few days ago I found out that there were two days and they were the last, and without even having to sit down and pray, God put two songs in my head, both of which by one of my favorite christian groups, Tenth Avenue North. The first song was You Are More from their second album, The Light Meets the Dark. This song describes the person who doesn't think they can believe because they aren't good enough, but God tells us that we are MORE than the products of our experiences, we are what HE created us to be, not what we've made ourselves. The second song was Beloved from their first album, Over and Underneath. The song Beloved quotes scripture in many places where God and Jesus call us His bride. There is a remarkable history behind it but it all boils down to the fact that Jesus bought us with the blood He shed upon that cross. He proposed to us during that scripture when He offered us His cup. We are His unholy bride.
     Needless to say these weeks are gonna be great. These will be my last weeks with the Lakebay Community Church Youth Group and I cannot wait to deliver these final messages as my farewell before I head off to Multnomah and the rest of Gods' plans for me. So stay tuned! In the coming weeks I shall be posting first You Are More and then Beloved, saying that God loves you for who He made you to be, not who you think you are and that's why we accept His blood because His love is undying.
     This year has been great and I can't wait for what's next!

You Are More- Tenth Avenue North

AND 

Beloved- Tenth Avenue North

High School: "The Glory Days" (A.K.A. What I've "Known")

     For this post I'd like to back way up to 7th grade for a bit. Back in March of 2007 I had finally figured it all out, I knew where I was going. I KNEW I was going to be a professional clarinetist. I KNEW I was going to attend the Peabody Conservatory of Music for a double major in composition and performance on clarinet and a minor in conducting. I KNEW I was going to go to the State Solo and Ensemble Contest my freshman year. Isn't it funny what we know?
     In the car ride home I began reminiscing about the last four years of my life and how I've changed. I've always been a pretty mature person, so I never imagined that I could get much more mature. When I began my freshman year at Peninsula High School I was the chubby kid that, though he had his little group of friends, didn't really fit anywhere in particular. I was shy around people I didn't know and obsessed with music, the unpopular kind. I had been one of four freshman to make into the schools top wind ensemble, and to top it off the only one of the now only six people in the last four years who made it in on such a popular instrument as clarinet. I spent most of my time practicing rather than out with friends. I had jet black hair, fake of course. I was a bit overweight. I listened to jazz and band music in my free time. I didn't feel quite adequate. Little did I know that the next four years would be the defining moments of my yet short life.
     The summer before I had gotten my first girlfriend, and that, sad to say, started everything. That year I kept listening to jazz, but I found that I wasn't the only one. I cut out the black hair. Oh, and I lost 60 pounds. I made it into the top jazz band on 2nd Tenor Sax, subbing also as 2nd Alto in the bottom jazz ensemble. I also began my first year in the Tacoma Youth Symphony Association playing 2nd clarinet in the Tacoma Debut Orchestra. Music had literally become my life, everything good had come from music so far. But it was just an avenue. Oh, and did I mention that I was now half deaf?
     That summer I went to my second (after having had ear surgery a couple weeks previous) Evergreen Music Festival (for TYSA) and had the time of my life, meeting some of the best friends and best musicians I've ever known. Unfortunately while there my appendix ruptured and I had my first, and hopefully last, battle with death and pain. I was told the following monday after my rush to surgery that if I had waited another day I would have died. Fun stuff. I missed both weeks of band camp, which wasn't good because I had also been made the new clarinet section leader for the PHS band. I also had little under 2 weeks and 4 rehearsals to learn a field show that the rest of the band had already learned. But I did it.
     Sophomore I challenged myself with AP Biology, but failed terribly. My life was on the rocks. I was no longer practicing much because my head had swelled. And my precious relationship was in tatters. Well, as you can probably guess, it ended. It was rough, my first breakup. But being stupid as I now realize I was, I jumped into another relationship which would actually change my life for the better. That year was my second year in the Tacoma Youth Symphony Association and on top of that, I had skipped a group and jumped the the second highest group. At PHS I was now Lead Tenor Sax in jazz band and principal clarinet in the symphonic band. The highlight of my year being that with my family and new girlfriend watching I had soloed with trumpet virtuoso, Wayne Bergeron--who can be heard in such movie scores as 2009's hit Star Trek and Pixars superhero hit, The Incredibles--with the PHS Jazz Band, May 15th, 2010. The end of that year was spectacular.
     That summer I travelled to Washington DC with the Peninsula High School Marching Band to march in the Independence Day Parade, had my second ear surgery, and spend three days on Orcas Island with my girlfriend as a sympathy trade from her parents for her having been working at Miracle Ranch most of June and July. It was a great summer.
     Junior year began rocky and didn't really get better until the end. I'll just run over a bit of it: I was no longer section leader, I still held my Lead Tenor position in jazz, and was still 1st clarinet, I dropped Tacoma Youth Symphony in exchange for a change of scenery, subsequently joining the Puget Sound Youth Wind Ensemble, oh, and I endured my second break up. Junior year kind of passed in a flash. It was good and bad rolled into one confusing torrent that leaves my mind wondering what exactly possessed me to do what I did. The really important stuff begins in March of 2011. My girlfriend and I broke up to my shock and dismay. Before this however she had convinced me to do something I didn't think I would ever do, something I did I believe just to make her happy: I applied to her alma matter, Miracle Ranch. Then I forgot about it. We broke up, kept talking, considered getting together again, and kinda just repeated the motions. I went to my interview in april for Miracle Ranch, there meeting someone who shocked me by shouting my name (forewarned by my girlfriend) as my first introduction to ranchers, my resident jewish friend, a friend I haven't seen in forever, and someone else a camper claimed I liked. Oh, and someone I would try to avoid. I was floored. In a year I had gone from just absent-mindedly believing in God to applying to a christian camp, and I was enjoying every second. I didn't hear back from them until June 6th, I was on edge the entire time. My boss called me in for a second interview and hired me on the spot two weeks before I was supposed to start. That summer changed my life.
     Do you remember everything I "knew" in seventh grade? None of it mattered. I barely practiced, music took a back seat. I worshiped every night, now the kid infront getting other kids involved rather than the guy awkwardly standing in the back. I danced around on stage. I made friends that I'm convinced will be my closest friends till I die. Everything I knew was forgotten, who I had once been was pushed aside as I realized what I had once taken for granted. God was here, in my life the whole time, guiding me along as my silent shepherd until I was bowing before his throne. I had more fun in two months than I could have imagined. It literally changed my life. I was doubting myself for all the right reasons. Did I want to be a musician? Did I want to stand on stage just to entertain people for personal reasons? Or did I want to make a difference?
     At the end of the summer I picked up a position helping to grow my churches youth group, now leading worship for a bunch of middle school-freshman aged kids. I've been doing that since October. In October also our marching band won 2nd place out of 15 bands at the Peninsula Classic Marching Band Competition and 3rd (correct me if I'm wrong) overall at the Tumwater Marching Band Competition even after our now well known band director for my first three years (though four years in total), Rickey Badua, left to pursue his doctorate and we were now under new leadership. I was made Lead Alto Sax in the jazz band and section leader once again. I had dropped PSYWE in place of a paying job as a Dinning Room Assistant at Miracle Ranch. For the first time in high school I've been single the entire year. In January I had my chance finally to audition (now for a music education degree rather than performance) for the Peabody Conservatory of Music, but I didn't go. It wasn't important. I had planned on applying to six schools (Peabody, PLU, UPS, CWU, Multnomah, and Northwest Christian), I applied to two, Multnomah and PLU, and got accepted to both; year before when I decided I wanted to teach I had decided PLU, but then switched to Peabody, then neither. I no longer had any interest in a degree in instrumental music, though music is still who I am. I'm attending Multnomah University this coming year for a double major in Music Ministry and Biblical Studies. I'll be moving to Portland at the end of August after my second year of camp, this time applying for High School Leader and Music Lead.
     I think we make plans when we're young so that we have some sense of purpose, but then life changes. I'm no longer the timid freshman, or even the cocky sophomore, or the stupid junior. I'm not even the person I was at the beginning of the year. Change is fickle friend, sometimes it can catch you of your guard, but it's times like those where you have to rely on God, I know that now. Over the years there have been many times where I've wanted to shout to the heavens "GOD! WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?!" But I don't, because I know now that God will never leave me. He brings you to trouble to learn; God will bring you, but he'll also carry you through.
     I guess what I'm saying here is that plans never met aren't necessarily broken promises or goals I've never met, it just means that on the way there I decided I'd rather not go, and instead took another road. Did you see that I never went to State? Never, I made it my goal each year, but I always had some seniors above me or I just wouldn't practice enough. I'm not a performance major at Peabody either. Instead I'm the dedicated christian that has devoted his life to ministry. I look back now and realize that every moment in my life has been just another stepping stone, and they were all important. I regret nothing, because if I had done things differently, I wouldn't be who I am now. Sure, there are things that I wish I hadn't done, I may regret them, but in a small way I'm happy I did them because I could grow from them. Now is the time to move forward. Life and God move every minute closer to the next change in my life and I cannot wait. I've loved every second of pain and happiness, and I've loved every person involved. It's hard to believe that I could have changed that much in just four years; and if I changed that much, think about yourself? How have you changed?

   
With that I have but one last thing to say: 

     I'm ready to follow now, God. 

     I'm Yours. 

     

My First Semi-Sermon!

SIN = DEATH

     Sin tears me from God. I am now DEAD. I can't do anything if I'm dead! I'M DEAD! But God, in his infinite wisdom saw to sacrifice his only son to die on that cross so He could resurrect man from their SIN! To resurrect them from their DEATH! When God brought Jesus back from the dead, when He resurrected His son from the dead He brought you back with Him because when Jesus died He freed us all from the chains sin binds you with. He freed us all from our spiritual death. With Him we shall live forever. The guy in the video, Jefferson Bethke, says, "If grace is water, then the Church should be an ocean; it's not a MUSEUM for GOOD PEOPLE, it's a HOSPITAL for the BROKEN." A hospital for the broken, let's think about that for a second. What is a hospital? It's a place of healing. A place where doctors help people; where doctors save people from worldly death. Doesn't DEATH hurt people? The Church is a HOSPITAL for sinners, for us, because we're all sinners. It's a place where God and Jesus, our Holy doctors, can heal us from our death. 

     Sin is DEATH, the two are hand-in-hand, and death hurts people, and our doctors, God and Jesus, want to help you. But you have to know Jesus, don't you? You don't want some stranger healing you, do you? You have to know Jesus to be saved, don't you? Isn't the first thing a doc does when he or she enters the room is introduce themselves? Well, when you walk through the doors of this church, this holy body, Jesus' holy body, that is Jesus and God saying, "welcome, I'll be your savior today, and everyday." Jesus wants to save you from death just as a doctor does, except Jesus can offer one more: an undying, unquenchable love for you, whoever you are. Jesus died for you, He died to save you from an undeniable, impending death. It would be the equivalent of a surgeon seeing that flat line and plunging his hand into his chest to offer you his own heart telling you "I love you." Except, not quite cause your doctor doesn't know you, so how can he love you? But Jesus, He knows you like no other. He knows every sin, every blemish, every unrighteous though but He loves you the same. Just think about that. You may sin, and we all do, you may wonder "why me?", you may fall from His light, but He loves YOU for YOU. Not for what you want to be or what other people want you to be, but for who you are, who he, in his Love, Grace, and Wisdom made you to be. He loves YOU, and wants you to love him too.

Video to be shown before hand: 

Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word