Weekly Email

[Eric Sandberg]

Hello Parents, I hope you are all doing well!

It is good to be from vacation.....of course it was really nice to be on vacation....but it feels good to be back!

I am looking forward to being able to jump back into the youth ministry series; Alpha Youth Series. It has been a couple of weeks since I have been able to join the students on their Friday nights, but tomorrow night we will be looking the question: "How and Why Do I Study the Bible?"

There are two really good questions in the title; How and Why? It is hard to figure out which of the questions would be most relevant in the church...but I would have to think that "why" would be the most common question outside of the church.

It is no secret that in modern American culture, the Bible is seen less as less as God's Word, less and less of a voice of authority, and more and more like an antiquated book that might be helpful in areas of life but down right dangerous or regressive in other aspects of life.

Yet, we are told that all of scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching, correcting, and guiding (2 Timothy 3:16). So, how do help the students see the beauty and relevance of God's Word? Your youth will find out tomorrow night!

I also want to invite you to worship with us this Sunday at our "family worship" service. We will starting a new, short series in the book of Habakkuk titled: Trusting God's Justice in an Unjust World."

We will also have an opportunity from the director of WorkCampNE, Marc Terrian. The students have been participating in WorkCampNE's summer work weeks for 4 years now, the students have loved it!

Hope you have a great rest of the week and God bless!

Eric 

[Eric Sandberg]

 Hello Parents, I hope that everyone is doing well and keeping warm!

We are continuing our Alpha series this week by looking at the question "who is the holy spirit, and what does he do?" I am excited about this lesson because I think that we all can agree that we understand and talk about God's spirit the least of all the members of the God-head. 

It's a great question, isn't it? If your child asked you "what does the holy spirit do?" What would you say? 

If you're not sure, take a look at this video (that the students will watch) and be encouraged by the work of the Spirit in the life of the Christian!

Alpha Youth: Spirit Who is the Holy Spirit and what does he do?

Alpha Youth: Spirit Who is the Holy Spirit and what does he do? Hey y'all please watch this video before our meeting tomorrow. Read 1 Corinthians 4:11 for more insight. See you...

Hope to see you all this weekend!

Eric 

[Eric Sandberg]

Hello Parents, I hope you are all doing well and staying warm! Talk about a temperature change!

I will keep this email on the short side, there is not too much to announce.  I just want to let you know that we will be meeting tomorrow night to continue our Alpha Youth Series: Filled. What does it mean to be filled with the holy spirit. Tomorrow's section includes a time for us to pray together for any specific needs that you might have. I am going to encourage the students to think about the following:

If you someone were to ask you how they can pray for you...and you weren't "allowed" to say school*, what would you want prayer for.

What areas of your life, your character, your walk with God do you need prayer for?

*Because we will already being praying for school needs.

Hope you can make it!!!!

Eric

[Eric Sandberg]

Hello Parents, I hope you are all doing well!

This Friday will be our 4th Friday Game Night. We hope that your child is able to make it these special nights that are dedicated to worship and relaxing!

This Sunday will start our new series in the book of Nehemiah. For those who are unfamiliar with the book, it takes place AFTER the people of God (the nation of Israel) have started to return for their time in exile in the nation of Babylon. Why were they in Exile? Because God was responding to their generational rejection of God and sin against Him. God allowed the nation of Judah (the southern kingdom of Israel) to be conquered by the Babylonians and forcibly moved into a different country. 

God also promised, though, that he would bring the nation back into the land and heal them and restore them back into their former glory. But what happened? When they got back to Jerusalem, the walls and temple were still ruins. Nehemiah is part of a 2 volume set (Ezra/Nehemiah) that focuses on how God is working through Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of the city to provide safety as well as calling the nation of Judah back to their covenant relationship with God.

It is an inspiring book for us to read as we too try to figure out how to trust God when life has unmet expectations as well providing us a framework for how we see Jesus as the one who provides our eternal security and after by forgiving our sin through the shedding of his blood. 

Please join us if you are able!!

Eric 

"While this does not directly answer the burning questions of which job to take, which person to marry, or which church to attend, it does lift the veil of confusion that stems from a wrong view of God’s will. The revealed will of God is clearly displayed in his Word illumined by his Spirit.

With God’s indwelling Spirit to illumine his Word, we can wisely process the decisions of our lives. We also rely on the wisdom of others—particularly in our church—who also have the Spirit and know his Word. In this way, making decisions can become a sweet process, rather than a frustrating headache, that draws us closer to the Father’s heart."

How to Follow God Without a Pillar of Fire

How to Follow God Without a Pillar of Fire When it comes to God’s will, we are not in the dark. We have something far better than pillars of cloud and fire.