GBC Youth

The above photo is of a t-shirt from "Voice of the Martyrs" that really caught my attention. It says "THIS SHIRT IS ILLEGAL IN 52 COUNTRIES." The front of the t-shirt also says "Restricted Nations: 38" and "Hostile Areas: 14." The back of the shirt quotes Romans 1:16 "I am not ashamed of the Gospel..." One reason this shirt grabbed my attention is because here in America, we get up and wear anything we want to wear anywhere we want to wear it (within reason of course). As of right now, we have no reason to be intimidated to proclaim Jesus out in public places, with our friends, etc. It is still totally legal for someone to stand on the street corner or public park and actually preach the gospel to people! (see the attached video) I believe the day is coming in America where more restrictions will be made on this sort of thing, but for now, we live in one of most religiously free societies that has ever existed. Don't take that for granted! Are you taking advantage of your freedom to wear a Christian t-shirt, to talk to a friend openly about Christ, to pass out some gospel tracts to strangers you may meet throughout the day, or even to stand in the park and do a little open-air preaching :) ? Another reason this shirt grabbed my attention was because most Americans are not made aware of the horrible lack of human-rights and religious freedom that exists in dozens and dozens of lands today. It's interesting that most of these areas happen to be Muslim or Atheistic. I find it ironic that the liberal media and public school and university system (which normally stir up public outcry over 'separation of church and state' when any hint of Christian values, God, or Biblical morals are presented in schools) have bent over backwards to make Muslims feel at home and have a voice here in America. A while back I heard about a public school in Oregon that even had the kids learning about the 5 pillars of Islam in one of the classes, and were encouraged to come dressed as a Muslim for extra credit (http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52335)! This class wouldn't have "lasted 10 seconds" if kids were encouraged to come dressed as a pastor or priest. I am not at all saying Muslims should not be granted religious freedom in this country. What I am pointing out is the lack of understanding many liberals and secular humanists have about religious freedom. Truth be told, it is mainly because of America's early Christian heritage and values that we have such freedoms. In my opinion, chances are that if our founding fathers were Muslim, they would have probably enacted Sharia Law and we would not have the economic and religious freedoms we enjoy today. If they were primarily Atheistic, we would have no doubt already gone the way of extreme socialism, Marxism, or communism (which is the direction we are headed now after God is slowly but surely being removed from our government, education system, and society). If the media and university system were truly concerned about religious freedom and 'separation of church and state' I believe they would do a much better job at pointing out the injustices, human-rights violations, and lack of true religious freedom in these 52 countries. Why don't you do your part in letting your friends and family know about this injustice!  

I recently received an brief Christmas story in an e-mail that I would like to share with you (I'm not sure if it's made up or based on a true event).

Who Started This Christmas Stuff?
A woman was out Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable; and after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her two kids.
She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year - overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, making sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.
Finally the elevator doors opened, and there was already a crowd in the car. She pushed her way into the elevator car and dragged her two kids in with her and all the bags of stuff. When the doors closed, she couldn't take it anymore and she stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up and shot."
From the back of the car, everyone heard a quiet, calm voice respond, "Don't worry, we already crucified Him."
For the rest of the trip down in the elevator, it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. This year, don't forget to keep "the One who started this whole Christmas thing" in your every thought, deed, purchase and words. If we all did it, just think of how different this whole world would be.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  (John 3:16)

Every year we get busy at Christmas time, and every year we have to be reminded about the true point of Christmas.  I realize that most of us just cannot help but be busy and run around like crazy in the weeks leading up to Christmas.  My advice for you is this; go ahead, be busy, buy gifts, celebrate, send cards, spend time with family, BUT make sure you keep Jesus central in each activity, thought, and conversation.  Do you think that vacation from school was the center of the first Christmas? How about time with friends, family and lots of food? What about a green pine tree all decorated up with lights and ornaments with presents under it? Of course we know that the center and focus of the first "Christmas" was totally about the worship of Christ, the Savior and King. Therefore, we should worship Him - not only at Christmas time, but every season and every day on the calendar.
Yes, it's great to get out of school, decorate a tree, visit family, go skiing and sliding in the snow, send cards and presents - but remember that these things are not what Christmas is about. We should be able to celebrate just the same, with or without them. Here's a question to consider: if you had no Christmas tree, did not get out of school, couldn't visit grandma and grandpa, failed to eat even one piece of lefse (Norwegians ),  and didn't get or give one Christmas present, would Christmas still mean something to you? Could you still celebrate Christmas just the same? As I think through that question myself, it looks like I've got to re-think through many of my priorities this Christmas.
So, how do you worship Christ at Christmas and keep Him central? I'd like to hear your ideas.  How do you think a person can celebrate Christmas today (i.e. family, gifts, decorations, events, presents, etc.) and yet still keep Jesus Christ as the center of it?  Please comment and give me your ideas.

Hey everybody! Lisa and I want to thank you for your patience, concern, prayers, and support during the birth of our son, Caleb Grant.  He was born on Wednesday morning, Oct 22nd at 6:03am. He was 20 1/2 inches long and 8 lbs, 2 oz.  Caleb is a testimony that our God knows what is best and he is in total control.  This is a reminder to us all that God is ultimately in control of giving and taking life.
Psalm 66:8-9 says  "O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard:
Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved."
What a tremendous encouragement to you and me; to realize that you will not die until God himself accomplishes his purposes for you! Missionary Tom Latham was recently at our church on a Wednesday night.  He told several stories about how he had been robbed (even at gunpoint) in Brazil. In each case, he was able to respond with boldness, calmness, and confidence knowing that God had a purpose for his life and he would not die until God was done with him.  One thing that he said really hit this point home.  He said "I am invincible unil God is done with me."  Of course, this does not mean we just go out and do stupid things with our bodies (i.e. Go skydiving without a parachute, play 'frogger' on the intersate during rush-hour, drink arsonic just for kicks, volunteer to be a moving target on Grandpa Schultz's shooting range, etc.  we can be just plain 'stupid' with our lives too )  It does mean that we should obey God's Word and do what He wants us to do in life - live for Him no matter what - and He will take care of the details of keeping us alive. Obey His Word, trust Him with your life, and He will hold your soul in life.  That should be comforting and encouraging to every believer!

More Stuff!
- Thanks to Pete and Cindy Zwart for sponsoring our last youth activity on Sunday the 26th! They led 17 teens down to Prarie River Camp for quite possibly the world's coldest corn-maze! I does sound like you all had a great time and I am looking forward to seeing some pictures.  Maybe we can put some up on the website!

Hey everybody! Sorry It's been so long since I updated this site.  I have been focusing a bit more on the Facebook thing since most of our youth group kids seem to that that.  However, what I had forgotten, was that most of you Parents do not have Facebook and this is probably a better way for you to stay connected.  I'll do my best to communicate information via e-mail, facebook, this website, church announcements, and the bulletin.

Now for my comments.
This past weekend, almost 40 of us from church were able to head on up to the Code Blue Rally in St. Paul.  It was a tremendous time of challenging speakers and good fellowship.  I left the rally with all kinds of emotions at once: I was encouraged, depressed, excited, angry, pumped up about truth, worried, annoyed, thankful, and motivated to act and put my trust in the Lord.  Why all of these emotions? I'll briefly explain.  The Code Blue Rally are basically a condensed version of what was called "Wordview Weekend." These 4 hour events focus on the importance of having a Christian/Biblical worldview in our lives today.  The sad reality, however, is that our culture, nation, and even professing "Christians" are moving away from a true Biblical worldview.
My plan for the next few blog entries is to share with you some of the things I learned (or was reminded of) that impacted me. It is my burden that each of you will not just be caught up and distracted by worldly thinking, but will measure each thought and action of your life against what God's Word says.

 Here we go! There were four speakers at the rally. The fist speaker was Sean McDowell - the son of the famous Christian author and apologist Josh McDowel. Three main points about Mr. McDowell’s speech grabbed my attention, and I hope they will yours as well. This is a  brief summary of the speech, mixed with some of my personal thoughts. I hope you are challenged as I was!
God Bless!
Pastor Nate


"Equipping Young People with a Biblical Worldview"
My summary of a lecture given by Sean McDowell - mixed with personal thoughts

1. The Importance of a Biblical Worldview and Actively Training the Next Generation to Think Biblically:  McDowell began his session by giving some alarming statistics. He stated that according to George Barna research, only about 9% of adult evangelicals have a proper Biblical worldview, and the numbers are even lower for their children. A “worldview,” McDowell says, is a “mental map of reality,” or “a view of the world.” These are the ideas in our minds about what we think is right, good, acceptable, and the way to live our lives. A Biblical worldview therefore, is a view of the world with “a Biblically-informed perspective on all reality.” He referenced Judges chapter 2, which describes another generation that arose after Joshua’s generation that did not remember the things that God had done for them. This second generation went their own way, doing what was right in their own eyes. McDowell believes we are mirroring this very thing in American Christianity, and I wholeheartedly agree. Large percentages of our young people do not have a proper view of God. For example, they believe one of, or a combination of, the following ideas: they have some form of deism (God created the world and then just left it), they believe that God is not personal, but rather some cosmic force, they believe in reincarnation, they are not sure about the existence of miracles or evil spirits, they believe that many religions can be true, it is okay to pick and choose what to believe about the Bible, they believe Jesus may have sinned, and may not have risen from the dead. I would add to this the belief in evolution or theistic evolution.
Those young people with an improper worldview, are more likely to be angry and resentful about life, lack purpose in life, to lie, to cheat, to physically hurt someone, to use drugs, and to commit suicide, etc. McDowell’s point in saying all of this is that having a Biblical worldview is important. If we are not proactive in training our young people how to think and act like Christians, they will get their worldview from somebody else. He states, “If we don’t consciously train our young a people to have a Christian worldview, they will unconsciously have a worldview like everyone else.”

2. The Challenge of a Divided Culture: Society has deliberately divided our culture into two realms – the private sphere and the public sphere. Let me explain. McDowell makes the point that our private beliefs about religion and morality are considered a matter of “faith” in today’s culture. They are “not considered objective truths to which we submit, but only matters of personal taste,” or subjective preferences. In other words, they may be true for the individual, but not for everyone, therefore they should have absolutely no role in the policies and beliefs of our government or society.
     The other sphere – the public sphere – consists of the things that are considered objective: science, education, government, place of employment, etc. Liberals and our society as a whole have been cramming the idea into our heads that there are really two worlds that should never intersect – our private religious morals and beliefs, and the “real world” of society, science, education, government, etc. In response to this, we need to teach our young people that there is a Biblical perspective on everything!  Everything means everything: science, art, what is good to put into our bodies, politics, music, how to handle our money, who to date/marry, how to date, what kind of church to go to, you name it!

3. How do we teach a Biblical Worldview? McDowell closed the session by naming three principles for teaching a Biblical worldview.

• Teach that there is a Biblical view on everything, not just spiritual matters, and guide young people to think through how the Bible addresses each matter. Once again, this includes areas like health, science, and government.

• Teach that all creation comes from God. In fact, the first attribute of God the Bible introduces is that He is Creator of all things. If something is created, then it has a purpose. God has a purpose for such things as work, art, sex, marriage, language, etc. Ask (1) What is the original structure that God created, and (2) how is it being distorted and directed to sinful purposes?”

• Engage in worldview discussions with your kids. “Find moments where biblical ideas are shown to be true in the world, keeping in mind that what is true is Biblical, and what is Biblical is true.”

It's been a while since I updated the blog part of this website.  I hope you are enjoying the pictures and video links! (Note: If you are using the Safari web-browser, you will not be able to see the video links for some reason)  If you are more of a Facebook person, then look for our new group on Facebook - Grace Baptist Mankato Youth!

New Question of the week for you -since you all seem to be so good at answering my other questions :-(   I don't know why I keep asking questions if hardly any of you actually answer them, but here we go!
Question:  What about the summer or summer vacation do you like the most? - What don't you like about the summer or summer vacation?