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Wednesday, July 20, 2011 @ 11:30am We will be leaving the church to go help out at the Joelton Hope Center. They need our help sorting clothes and helping around the center. The summer has brought many donations but not many helpers. So if you are a youth who’s hope is contagious…Join Us!!!

Make sure to come by and see Jesse for your SOY youth shirt! They are awesome!!

We are back to our summer schedule as of this Wednesday night (June 22). We are meeting at 5:30 to 8:00! Hope to see everyone there!

Our church has suffered a loss of loved ones this week. Please keep the families and friends in your prayers. Due to this, Pastor Jeremy and I have decided to cancel all Wednesday night activities.  This does include confirmation class as well.

We will be back to our regular schedule next week.

Tonight we talked about prayer, the power in prayer, the need for prayer and the misuse of prayer.  “Did she just say misuse of prayer?”  Yes, I did!  Before you get upset with me let me explain what I mean.

We were discussing Matthew 6:5-13 where Jesus teaches how to pray.  He warns us about using prayer falsely.   Sometimes, we tend to pretend to pray because that is what people expect us to do yet, we are thinking about something other than prayer like…lunch.  Sometimes our prayers are spoken to impress the person we are praying with or around.

You see, Jesus taught us that God knows our need and he knows the heart we pray with.  Our pray is to be God focused and centered…not for show. It is important for students to know that heartfelt prayer is powerful.  We are to be in a spirit of prayer and devoted to prayer.

Take the Lord’s Prayer, so many students know it by heart.  Yet ask them what it means?  What are you saying to God when you pray the prayer?  You might find yourself surprised by the answer or lack of an answer.  It isn’t meant to be just another thing we can recite to say “I know it”.  Is reciting actually praying? What if you don’t really understand what you are saying?

How about when we say “I’ll pray for you.” and we don’t?  Is that misuse of prayer?  The message paraphrasing teaches us in Matthew 5 that we are to keep our word.  Not to use statements like these to sound more religious.

We took time to talk about each part of the Lord’s Prayer.  What it means.  The students took part in a prayer path that had them take each part of the prayer and reflect on it.   It was a great night of prayer and discussion.  You will find the scripture references below from tonights lesson.

Matthew 5:33 (The Message)

^33-37“And don’t say anything you don’t mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying, ‘God be with you,’ and not meaning it. You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.

Matthew 6:5-13

⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,^[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.^[b]’

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After a round of sickness this past week, I’ve realized I don’t have everyone’s email or cell numbers for sending out notifications. I am working on a email list along with updating all my cell phone numbers for parents. I know not everyone text these days but if you do…I would love to add you to our parent text. I will use the text and emails to communicate any upcoming activities, time changes, youth group cancellations, updates on how retreats and trips are going, etc. There will be cards coming home with the youth this Wednesday. If you could fill it out as quickly as possible and return it to the me at the youth office by April 13. This should help us communicate better and keep you all in the know on everything going on.

I also want to thank you for all the support you have shown our ministry. If you have any questions please feel fee to give me a call or drop me an email. You are welcome to email the information to me at jfleck@att.net.

Just a reminder: We have our PJ Party this Saturday from 6pm-10pm. Everyone has been asked to bring at least one pair of kids/adult(for teens) PJ’s. I’ve been told that walmart has them on sale for $3.00 a pair. These PJ’s will go to support local foster care homes and their children who don’t always have PJ’s to sleep in.

April 30th Mission Day

Register by April 13, 2011

$30 per person (Registration fee will pay for all supplies needed for the day, breakfast, lunch, snacks, drinks and dinner.)

We will be leaving the church at 6am

Nashville experienced a major flood on May 4th, 2010. The city has made amazing strides to get Nashville back on it’s feet, however, volunteer efforts are not as strong as they were this last summer. 1 By Youth Nashville is a chance to bring beautification to an area of  West Nashville that is desperate for it. We are looking to provide a full day of service to make a HUGE impact to the community of West Nashville.
Not only are we going to bring beautification, we are also asking participant to bless this community with your SHOES! 1 By Youth is partnering with Soles 4 Souls to bring shoes to the neighborhood that YOU are impacting. As a Nashville 1 By Youth participant, we encourage you to bring shoes with you to donate. We will provide the total number of shoes donated at the block party, so bring as many pairs as possible! We can donate in a very deep way through this opportunity with Soles for Souls!
Every change that you and your teens make to this Nashville neighborhood with 1 By Youth will inevitably lead to more change and eventually a better place for people to live.
Nashville is just one of the cities in the movement that is 1 By Youth. Imagine neighborhood after neighborhood and block after block, these changes will multiply and change not only local neighborhoods…but entire cities!

Everyone needs to bring with them:
Water jug/bottle

Work gloves

Rain gear (just in case it rains)

Sunscreen

Long pants

Close-toed shoes

Thanks Again!

Jesse Fleck