Vitals - March 14th

The Spark (Jr. High) - March 14th
Message - "INVISIBLE KINGDOM: Cause and Effect" by Kurt Duggleby
Big Idea:
"Living in God’s Kingdom means that we care about the things that we cannot see, rather than just the things we can see."
Key Verses: Mark 4:10-12
Worship led by The Spark Band
Attendance:
Total: 85
1st Service: 39 (28 students, 11 leaders)
2nd Service: 46 (34 students, 12 leaders)

4ORTY 2WO (High School) - March 14th
Message - "INVISIBLE KINGDOM: Cause and Effect" by Kurt Duggleby
Big Idea:
"Living in God’s Kingdom means that we care about the things that we cannot see, rather than just the things we can see."
Key Verses: Mark 4:10-12
Worship led by The 4ORTY 2WO Band
Attendance: 68 (54 students, 14 leaders)

Purity Celebration - Friday, April 9, 2010

On Friday, April 9th, 2010, we will be hosting an incredible night of celebration and inspiration, as students pledge themselves to pursuing purity in their sexuality. This will be a great night for parents to stand with their students and express their words of challenge and encouragement and for students to be honored for making this promise. For more information, to learn how to have your student/family involved, or to buy tickets, please visit the Student Zone or contact us at students@pointofgrace.com or call the church office at 515.987.9595. You will not want to miss out on this incredible evening for your student and your whole family!

Vitals - March 7th

The Spark (Jr. High) - March 7th
Message - "PURE:: finding true love" by Katie & Kurt Duggleby
Big Idea:
"There is nothing you can do to make God love you less, and there is nothing you can do to make God love you more than He already does."
Key Verses: Romans 8:36-39
Worship led by The Spark Band
Attendance:
Total: 110
1st Service: 48 (36 students, 12 leaders)
2nd Service: 62 (49 students, 13 leaders)

4ORTY 2WO (High School) - March 7th
Message - "PURE:: finding true love" by Katie & Kurt Duggleby
Big Idea:
"There is nothing you can do to make God love you less, and there is nothing you can do to make God love you more than He already does."
Key Verses: Romans 8:36-39
Worship led by The 4ORTY 2WO Band
Attendance: 73 (59 students, 14 leaders)

(We had 23 students pray to start following Jesus this past Sunday! WHAT AN INCREDIBLE DAY! We are so excited for them as they join God's family and begin their own journey of following Jesus!)

PURE Series Preview - March 7th

Pure [week 4]... What Now?

This week we will wrap up the series by really focusing on God's forgiveness and the immense power there is in His grace to remove our guilt from past sexual mistakes. We want every student to know, whether they have sexual mistake already in their past or not, that God's forgiveness is big enough to cover all. We want them to understand that while different sins have different physical and emotional consequences, nothing to too big for God. Many students experience immense guilt after a bad sexual decision and often they feel like they are too far for God to reach them. We want them to know that God is not only looking and longing for them, but is actually chasing after them to bring them back to fullness in His forgiveness.

The first week of this series, we learned that purity is bigger than we think. It is important to remember that even though purity is big, and that sexual decisions are important and have far-reaching consequences, there is nothing bigger than God. Often people feel or talk about sex and God as if there is some eternal disconnect between then, but in fact God is intimately connected with our sexuality, He created and designed it, and He is always willing to help us back onto the path of pursuing purity. Virginity is a one-time reality, and when that is gone, it’s gone, however it is never too late, no matter what choices you have made in the past, or what you have done, to begin to pursue purity and allow God’s transforming love to begin to heal and direct you from this point on in your life.

It is important that while we make every effort to pursue purity at all costs, that we also know that God is not looking to us to fail, but rather took it upon Himself to make a way for us to be forgiven. God loved us so much that He allowed His Son to suffer and die a horrendous death in order to be able to reconnect with us. Therefore, it is important that we all know that there is nothing too big or too small to bring to God and ask Him for forgiveness, nor is there any sin that is unforgivable.

“Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture… None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing - nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable - absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.”

Romans 8:36-39

The idea of purity is because God is holy. Holy means set apart. He is totally pure.

When something impure comes in contact with the pure God, his purity transforms what is dirty, into something that’s clean, sinful into something that holy, old and broken in to some that is new and restored. I have this really annoying habit, and it’s something I know bugs me but for whatever reason every time I tell myself I’m not going to do it, I continue to do it… many times when I do my laundry, I leave the clean clothes in the laundry basket and tell myself I’ll fold them later when I have more time, for whatever reason I never remember to come back and fold them and I end up putting dirty clothes on top of the clean clothes and they end up getting mixed in with the clean ones. Ugh this is so annoying because then I have to end up washing them all again because the dirty clothes got the clean clothes dirty… This happened again the other day and it got me thinking about how God’s love works in the exact opposite way. See God is so pure, but what is interesting about God is that he loves being mixed in with dirty, impure, imperfect, flawed people. Unlike my laundry pile when God comes into contact with our dirty, sinful lives, he makes us clean, not the other way around. When we open our impure lives to a perfectly pure God, the power of His love transforms us.

Guilt drives us to maybe just change our behavior, but experiencing God’s forgiveness drives us to a freedom in Christ’s love. This freedom is the confidence of knowing that nothing can separate us from God, that when he sees us he sees us pure as we are meant to be, this doesn’t mean we won’t still struggle or be tempted sexually, it simply means that God has started a process in us to change us from the inside out. This security in Gods love comes down to a simple truth that is your Big Idea for the day that There is nothing that you can do to make God love you more, and there is nothing you can do to make Him love you less.

Vitals - February 28th

The Spark (Jr. High) - Feb. 28th
Message - "PURE:: what girls wish guys knew.../what girls need to know about guys..." by Katie/Kurt Duggleby
Big Idea:
Guys: "Are you willing to show true strength by revealing your weaknesses to others?"
Girls: "You are designed to improve creation so don't settle for 'good enough.'"
Key Verses:
Guys: Jeremiah 17:9, Hebrews 3:13, Ephesians 5:25-26
Girls: Genesis 2:18-21, Colossians 3:17
Worship led by The Spark Band
Attendance:
Total: 125
1st Service: 48 (36 students, 12 leaders)
2nd Service: 77 (62 students, 15 leaders)

4ORTY 2WO (High School) - Feb. 28th
Message - "PURE:: what girls wish guys knew.../what girls need to know about guys..." by Katie/Kurt Duggleby
Big Idea:
Guys: "Are you willing to show true strength by revealing your weaknesses to others?"
Girls: "You are designed to improve creation so don't settle for 'good enough.'"
Key Verses:
Guys: Jeremiah 17:9, Hebrews 3:13, Ephesians 5:25-26
Girls: Genesis 2:18-21, Colossians 3:17
Worship led by The 4ORTY 2WO Band
Attendance: 79 (64 students, 15 leaders)

PURE Series Preview - Feb. 28th

Pure [week 3] - What Girls Wish Guys Knew...

Last week Kurt talked to you guys about some of the struggles guys face when it comes to sexual purity and how to please God instead of give in to the pressures you see around you that simply lie to you about what it means to be a young man. Becoming a man of God is not easy, it’s a battle, and it requires God’s strength not just your own will power. I’m really excited to talk to you guys today and hopefully give you the girl’s perspective on what we’ve been talking about the last 2 weeks.

So as many of you have probably figured out, girls and guys are very different and as guys this probably confuses you quite often to try to figure out why girls act the way they do. Trust me I’m a girl and I love being a girl, but sometimes I can’t even figure out my own kind. When it comes to relationships girls by nature are much more in tune with their feelings and they are much more driven by their emotions. Not that guys don’t have feelings too, but usually guys tend to be more driven visually. What you see is what you get, most guys like to keep it simple. Girls usually seem much more complex than guys because the relational and emotional parts of their brain develops faster than guys do. They actually like to analyze details and talk to each other about their feelings… I know, weird!

[Girls are like spaghetti, Guys are like waffles]

My goal today is not to give you a bunch of smooth moves to help you get a girlfriend, but I’m going to try to help you see why it is important to become the kind of guy who knows how to respect girls and how to keep yourself in check so that you honor God in your relationships with girls.

First we need to talk about a little truth about ourselves, now just to warn you this is not a warm fuzzy verse from the Bible to make us feel better about ourselves, but it cuts right to the point. Simple. Guy style:

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” Jeremiah 17:9

This is the plain truth about all of us—guys and girls—that outside of God’s grace none of us are naturally pure and none of us has what it takes outside of God’s help. The good news is that God doesn’t leave us stuck but actually guides us and helps us fix what is broken inside of us, but none of us can do it alone. The writer of Hebrews gives some wisdom to us about why its important to hold each other up:

“You must warn each other every day, while it is still ‘today,’ so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.” Hebrews 3:13

Here’s where your part comes in… See each guy has to get to the point where he realizes that there is something that matters more than just getting what he wants, or being popular, or having a girlfriend, or watching porn, etc. and he’s real enough with himself and others to admit that he needs help. You might be wondering what this has to do with understanding girls… well let me tell you a story about when Kurt and I just started dating.

When we first started going out Kurt and some other guys had decided that they were going to hold each other accountable in this area of sexual purity. And being the manly testosterone driven college guys that they were, they decided that the consequence for messing up was to have the biggest guy, we’ll call him “the enforcer,” and he basically punched whoever messed up in the arm. Now as a girl I didn’t really understand the whole punching part, that must be a guy thing, but one thing that did stand out to me was that here was a group of guys who cared more about what God wanted for their life than about what they wanted to watch on their computer while nobody else was around. They weren’t weak pansy boys who were okay with seeing women as objects… They were real men… and as a girl this was attractive. I remember thinking “Wow, that’s the kind of guy who is willing to make God his #1 priority, that’s the kind of guy I want to be with.” And I was not the kind of girl who would just date anybody, but I noticed this about Kurt. And here’s the other thing you guys need to know, when girls notice things that stand out about a guy, they tell all their friends.

When it comes to accountability, its important to know that true strength comes from acknowledging your weaknesses and being real with others. The goal is to become more like Christ, and the only way to do that is if we are willing to accept the truth about ourselves and our need for Jesus. There’s another verse from Ephesians that is challenging men to a higher level of love and sacrifice towards their wives and the writer, Paul actually compares the picture of husband and wife to the picture of Christ’s love for the church… it’s written to husbands, but I want to challenge you guys with this thought because this kind of love doesn’t just happen by putting a wedding ring on your finger, this kind of love takes years to learn and I want you guys to start thinking now about the ways you can selflessly serve the girls who God has placed in your life as practice for how you will treat your wife one day:

Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her Ephesians 5:25-26

Now think about the way you treat the females that are in your life, not just your crush at school, but your mom, your sisters, cousins, friends who are girls. Would you describe the way that you treat them as “everything you do and say brings out the best in her?” do you love in a way that is “marked by giving and not getting?” or do you put down your sister or disrespect your mom when she asks you to do her a favor? I would like to challenge you guys to think of ways that you can go out of your way to do something nice for your sister, or tell a girl how special they are or how beautiful they look (not just the girl you like because you want her to go out with you) or write your mom a nice note just to tell her you love her.

Maybe this surprises you, but most girls don’t know how beautiful they are… I know they’re crazy huh? But most of that is because of the ridiculous standard that is set by beauty magazines, or because they overhear guys at the mall rating girls on a scale of 1 to 10 based on their “hotness” not on qualities that really matter like being trustworthy, smart, a good friend, honest or for their love for God and commitment to purity. Now just in case it needs to be said… “Don’t be that guy!” Don’t be that guys who see’s girls for what you can get out of it. Maybe you think that this challenge I’m giving you is for the girls’ sake, so that they feel better about themselves. Honestly, that is not the point because they are hearing a message today about how they need to believe they’re beautiful because God say’s they are, not boys. This challenge is not to benefit them, it’s to benefit you. Because when you decide to treat women with respect and love, something changes in your heart. Something in you will start to see “that hot girl” that you’d used to lust after as someone’s sister, or someone’s future wife. And in the process of developing healthy friendships with girls you’ll start to learn how they think, and how each girl is unique and special, you’ll see qualities in certain friends that you’d like in a girlfriend and others that you don’t like, and you’ll help them learn too.

Your Big Idea for today is this:

Are you willing to show true strength by revealing your weaknesses to others?

Pure [week 3] - What Girls Need To Know About Guys...

As Katie discussed with you girls last week, girls face unique challenges when it comes to this issue of purity. Many of their challenges revolve around their issues with insecurity and identity. It is possible that the single most effective way to ensure that a person’s pursuit of purity is successful is to determine their trust and dependence on God. As you learned last week, without God strength, we cannot do this alone.

As we look this week at what girls need to know about guys, the main point comes down to compromise. As girls, your struggles often involve looking to other people to convince us that we are beautiful or that we are important. As we look at the Scriptures today, we hopefully will be able to understand that our identity and ultimately our worth comes from who God has created us to be. Now this is true for both guys and girls, but specifically for girls, it is easy to forget that God has made women for a purpose and that we need to be sure that we keep focused on God as we enter into the time in our lives as we look for relationships, specifically with members of the opposite sex. Girls, it's important to remember that you are the only thing God created to make a perfect creation better... Let that sink in for a second...

“God said, ‘It's not good for the Man to be alone; I will make him a helper, a companion.’ …God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.”

Genesis 2:18, 21-22

As we look at the creation account in Genesis 2, we see that the first thing that God said was “not good,” was the fact that the man was alone and that we are created for relationship with another person. This relationship is designed to be spiritual, emotional, relational as well at sexual. This is God’s plan for our lives. We also see that the first relationship Eve had was not with Adam, but was with God. Too often, ladies try to bypass the process of God forming and creating them into who God wants them to be, and just run over and find a man. Eve didn’t go wake Adam up and say, “Hey, I’m hot and you’re the only guy around, so lets do this thing.” This process is very important. We know that Eve sinned by eating the fruit from the tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. Notice that what caused Eve to sin was that she took her eyes off of God, and started to focus on what she wanted. Satan’s line is still the same, “Did God really say…?”

Too often we try to entice guys to be interested in us, by the way we dress, they way we act, what we show is important in our lives, the way we text, and the way we pursue boy’s attention. Here is the deal, if you begin to get in the habit of pursuing guys now because you don’t want to be lonely, eventually you will pursue a guy and get him to marry you, and then a few years into your marriage, you will still have to be the one working to get his attention, and you will be more lonely than ever! Some of you could ask your mom about how that works. Instead, what would it be like to become the woman God wants you to be, and be so focused on God’s plan for you life, that no guy could sidetrack you... that the guys would have to actually pursue you, like run after you, to get to you. That’s called a pursuit, and each of you know that that is what you all want in your life, because that what all fairytales are about. By the way, to have guy pursue you, that means you have to say “no.” As you become more of who God wants you to be, the guys that are interested in you will be more and more like the guys that God wants you to be with.

“Let every detail in your lives, words, actions, whatever, be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.”

Colossians 3:17

If you want to live the life that God desires for you, then you have to live life God’s way. Especially when it come to dating and relationships, we need to remember who we are and who God made us to be, and that if you love Jesus it will be displayed in your character. And, your character will be matched by the character of the guys that are interested in you. What would you life be like if everything you did, even your dating life and your actions regarding sexuality, brought glory to God and caused other people to look to God and thank Him and want to follow what He has to say about purity. That is the role that God is hoping for you to live.

BIG IDEA: You are designed to improve creation, so don’t settle for “good enough.”

Vitals - February 21st

The Spark (Jr. High) - Feb. 21st
Message - "PURE:: what girls need to know.../what guys need to know..." by Katie/Kurt Duggleby
Big Idea:
"Pursuing purity will take God's strength, not just your own will power."
Key Verses: 1 Corinthians 6:16-20
Worship led by The Spark Band
Attendance:
Total: 113
1st Service: 45 (33 students, 12 leaders)
2nd Service: 68 (54 students, 14 leaders)

4ORTY 2WO (High School) - Feb. 21st
Message - "PURE:: what girls need to know.../what guys need to know..." by Katie/Kurt Duggleby
Big Idea:
"Pursuing purity will take God's strength, not just your own will power."
Key Verses: 1 Corinthians 6:16-20
Worship led by The 4ORTY 2WO Band
Attendance: 73 (57 students, 16 leaders)

PURE Series Preview - Feb. 21st

Pure [week 2] - You can't do it...

So last week we talked about how purity is way bigger than we think it is. Pursuing purity is something that involves all of who we are for the rest of our lives, it’s not just for this short time while you are a teenager or when you’re single. Purity also involves your mind and the way you think; your heart and the way you feel; your spiritual connection with God; and how you chose to honor God and your future spouse with your body. Choosing to live pure now will actually prepare you for a great marriage in the future… Oh ya and great sex too! We’re going to talk more today about how you don’t really get one with out the other. For the rest of this message, we are going to assume that nobody in the room has a desire for a bad marriage in the future… is that a pretty fair assumption? Okay, cool just checking.

If you think about anything in your life that you’ve had to prepare for like a test at school or a big game or an audition for choir or drama, you probably remember some of the things you did to get yourself ready mentally and physically before the big day. If it was a test, hopefully you read the material you were assigned and studied really hard. If it was a big game you practiced, ran drills with your team, envisioned the plays/routine over and over in your head. For an audition you warm up your voice, practice your song, or run your lines for the play over and over again. Could you imagine how embarrassing it would be if you decided to figure it out as you go on the big day when it really counted. Most likely that would be an epic failure of an attempt to pass a test if you never read the book or studied, you’d probably lose the game or not get the part for the play. The sad thing is, is that this is how most people think about relationships, marriage and sex.

The truth is that more than half of marriages end in divorce, you all know that if you were to score less than a 50% that would be an F-. This is a really sad reality that more marriages fail than succeed, and the statistic is no different for marriages between people who claim to be Christians. Just believing in Jesus is not what makes a marriage successful, and it will take much more than just “loving each other a whole lot.” Just like anything else you care about, a great marriage one day will not “just happen” by accident.

Even if you’ve never seen a healthy marriage, even if your parents are divorced or separated or were never married to begin with, its possible to have the kind of marriage that will last forever. And just like any other goal in life the preparation for a good marriage will require a lot of effort now. I can’t think of a bigger decision you’ll ever make than the decision to spend the rest of your life with a person. One of the pictures the Bible gives us of marriage is that “two become one.” It’s a lot more than just a big white dress a cake and a paper you sign at the courthouse. God describes it as every part of you is connected intimately with one other person physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Not only is it a connection with a person, it is a connection with God. This is the purest picture of what sex was created to be.

“There's more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, "The two become one." Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever—the kind of sex that can never "become one." There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for "becoming one" with another. Or didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:16-20

There is an important question that jumps out from this passage. Do you see your body as something that belongs to you? Or does it belong to God? Do you treat your body as something that belongs to God? Or do you treat it however you want to?

Ultimately, if we you are committed to purity for real, it comes down to one main question… Have you given your entire life to Christ? Not just your body, but your entire life. Are you starting to see that this is so much bigger than “just wait ‘til you’re married, okay!”? Its okay if you’re not there yet, trust me we don’t want you to decide on a whim that you’re committed to purity… it can’t be for your parents, it can’t be for your life group leader, it has to be a decision you make for God… because it is going to take God’s strength not just your own will power to help you pursue purity. It is going to take a commitment to a community of other people who can support you and hold you accountable.

Girl’s Purity Commitment Questions:

Are you willing to dress in a way that shows that your body belongs to God?

-Ask yourself “who am I trying to impress?”

-Does this draw attention to a certain body part?

How are you going to develop a healthy view of your body?

-Pick apart everything you see as a flaw? or appreciate how God made you?

-Trust God to help you beat addictions: eating disorders, cutting, sexual, etc.

Are you willing to fight the desire to compare yourself to others?

-Pride has a sneaky way of making us feel better/worse than others.

-Humility is being content with who you are, no more no less.

Are you going to set appropriate boundaries with guys?

-Viewing them as Brothers in Christ not relational conquests

-Not going to far physically (How much can you save for your future husband)

-Only dating guys who are committed to Jesus & who are pursuing purity too.

How will you value other Girls who God has placed in your life?

-Not gossiping or listening to gossip! Especially no “prayer request gossip”

-Be willing to hold each other accountable

Guy’s Purity Commitment Questions:

Are you willing to fight for purity of your thoughts & guarding your eyes?

-Do you see girls as God’s prized possession or your eye candy?

-Will you do whatever it takes to keep yourself from the trap of pornography?

How will you develop a healthy view of Manhood?

-The most masculine thing you can do is RESPECT WOMEN!

-How do you combat the pressure to please others instead of please God.

Are you sending Girls the right message?

-Avoid playing games with girls’ emotions, flirting to get attention

-Can you genuinely compliment girls & try to build them up (selflessly)

Are you going to set appropriate boundaries with girls?

-Viewing them as Sisters in Christ not relational or physical conquests.

-Not going to far physically (How much can you save for your future wife)

-Only dating girls who are committed to Jesus & who are pursuing purity too.

How will you value other Guys who God has placed in your life?

-Not putting other guys down. (search your heart if you are jealous)

-Be willing to hold each other accountable

Vitals - February 14th

The Spark (Jr. High) - Feb. 14th
Message - "PURE:: purity is bigger than you think..." by Katie and Kurt Duggleby
Big Idea:
"Purity involves all of who I am, for my entire life."
Key Verses: Matthew 5:8, 1 Timothy 4:12
Worship led by The Spark Band
Attendance:
Total: 114
1st Service: 43 (32 students, 11 leaders)
2nd Service: 71 (57 students, 14 leaders)

4ORTY 2WO (High School) - Feb. 14th
Message - "PURE:: purity is bigger than you think..." by Katie and Kurt Duggleby
Big Idea:
"Purity involves all of who I am, for my entire life."
Key Verses: Matthew 5:8, 1 Timothy 4:12
Worship led by The 4ORTY 2WO Band
Attendance: 67 (52 students, 15 leaders)

PURE Series Preview - Feb. 14th

Pure [week 1] - Purity is way bigger…

This week we are starting a new series called PURE. Its kind of timely for today, seeing as how it is Valentine’s Day and all, maybe you’re feeling like romance is in the air… maybe not. Whether love and romance sounds disgusting to you or whether it is your biggest desire to be in a relationship with a certain someone, we hope the next 4 weeks is a time for us to be real with you about what God—the inventor of love, romance and our sexuality—has to say about the thoughts and challenges we face on this topic of sexual purity.

It may be a surprise to you that the Bible doesn’t talk about dating relationships at all, but it does have a lot to say about the idea of living a life that is pure in our relationships with the opposite sex, and how we are to make decisions regarding the gift that God gave to each of us which is our sexuality. You might be thinking “What this is Church … are we really going to be talking about that word!?!” We want there to be no mistake about it, God invented sex, it was His idea! He created it to be something that is pure, beautiful and fun for one woman and one man to experience with each other for life. (aka Marriage) Everything that God creates is good, which means that we should not be ashamed to talk about it. Sex is not dirty, it is not shameful, it is not sinful. Most often the way we see sex in the world around us is a cheapened dysfunctional version of it, instead of what God created it to be. Maybe you’ve been led to think that sex is no big deal, that its just part of life, maybe your friends talk about it at school or have even experimented with it. The world around us give a pretty small view of sex, and how special God made it to be, and how big of a deal it is to God. So for today we will be talking about how Purity is way bigger than we think, it includes all of who we are, not just our physical bodies, but also our heart, our mind and our soul.

In the story that Matthew wrote about the life of Jesus, he includes an interesting time in Jesus’ life when he is teaching his followers about this idea of being “Pure in heart” the verses says:

"God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God." - Matthew 5:8

Jesus makes an interesting connection between the way we fight to keep our hearts pure and our ability to see and understand God. Not only that but those who’s hearts are pure will experience God’s blessing. So what we begin to see is that God’s desire for us to be pure is not because he wants us to miss out on all the fun that all our friends are talking about, instead it is because he wants us to experience HIS BLESSING! This blessing that comes from living pure is not having to worry about things like: a broken heart, regrets, comparison, guilt, shame, embarrassment, diseases, fear of getting pregnant, the list could go on but I think you get the picture.

As we seek to understand the fullness of what Purity looks like in our lives, we start to see that it is so much more than just “Not having sex until you’re married.” Purity is not just a physical thing, it includes all of who we are. As attractive as all of you are, you are more than just a body, you have thoughts, and feelings and a spirit that can not just be shut off or separated from what you decide to do with your body. You can’t say “I’m willing to honor God with my body but not my mind or my heart.” Purity is an all or nothing pursuit, it cannot be half hearted, it requires all of who we are. And it is something that God calls us to for life, not just while you’re a teenager, or only while you’re single, even as a married person I’m called to a sexually pure life that is pleasing to God. If purity was just about virginity then there would be a problem when we get married. The truth is that God cares much more about your purity than about your virginity. You can be a virgin and be impure, and you can chose to live pure even if you’ve made mistakes in the past.

One of the most beautiful things about purity is that it is a radical shift that takes our focus off ourselves. It’s a commitment to God that we are not okay with living to fulfill our own desires, but to please and honor Him and our future husband or wife. When you chose to pursue sexual purity now as a middle schooler or a high schooler you are choosing to be faithful to the person you will one day marry. You probably haven’t even met this person yet, and most likely you won’t meet them for another 10 years or so, but doesn’t it make you think about how cool it would be one day to be able to tell that person that “when I was years old I decided to pursue purity so that I would have all of my heart, mind and body to give to you, so that I can experience sex with only you for the rest of our life together.” Believe it or not, the decisions you make now regarding dating, and sexual purity will affect your future relationships and your marriage one day. This is why we HAVE to talk about it, It’s too important to ignore because we love you guys and want you to have a great marriage and a great future one day, most importantly God loves you even more than we do and he wants you to experience His blessings in this area of your life, He wants to protect you from the pain that can come from making unwise choices. Over the next 4 weeks we will be talking about how this affects the decisions you make as Middle/High Schoolers, and about how to deal with the pressures that are very real during this time in your life.

The cool thing about this time in your life is that you have a choice about the message you want to send to your friends, family and the people around you. You don’t have to wait until you are older to be an example to the world of what it means to live PURE. There was a young man in the Bible named Timothy who most likely experienced a lot of the same pressures as many of you. His mentor, Paul wrote some very powerful words to him to encourage him as a young follower of Jesus.

"Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith and your purity." - 1Timothy 4:12

We hope that encourages you as we discuss the Big Idea for this week:

"Purity includes all of who I am for the rest of my life."

Vitals - February 7th

The Spark (Jr. High) - Feb. 7th
Message - "Beautiful Losers - Paul" by Wade Mullen
Big Idea:
"No matter how much of a loser you feel that you are, God wants to do something beautiful with your life."
Key Verses: 1 Corinthians 15:7-11
Worship led by The Spark Band
Attendance:
Total: 127
1st Service: 48 (37 students, 11 leaders)
2nd Service: 79 (65 students, 14 leaders)

4ORTY 2WO (High School) - Feb. 7th
Message - "Beautiful Losers - Paul" by Wade Mullen
Big Idea:
"No matter how much of a loser you feel that you are, God wants to do something beautiful with your life."
Key Verses: 1 Corinthians 15:7-11
Attendance: 0 (Service Canceled due to weather...)

NO 4ORTY 2WO TONIGHT!! (2/7/10)

No 4ORTY 2WO tonight because of the snow storm.  Stay safe and see you next week for the beginning of our new series on dating and sexual purity called "PURE."

Vitals - January 31st

The Spark (Jr. High) - Jan. 31st
Message - "Beautiful Losers - Mary Magdalene" by Sarita Mullen
Big Idea:
"Regardless of your past, it's never too late to start faithfully following Jesus."
Key Verses: Matthew 16:1-2, 9-11
Worship led by The Spark Band
Attendance:
Total: 106
1st Service: 40 (29 students, 11 leaders)
2nd Service: 76 (63 students, 13 leaders)

4ORTY 2WO (High School) - Jan. 31st
Message - "Beautiful Losers - Mary Magdalene" by Sarita Mullen
Big Idea:
"Regardless of your past, it's never too late to start faithfully following Jesus."
Key Verses: Matthew 16:1-2, 9-11
Worship led by: The 4ORTY 2WO Band
Attendance: 73 (59 students, 14 leaders)

Vitals - January 24th

The Spark (Jr. High) - January 24th
Message - "Beautiful Losers - Gideon" by Brandon Pruitt
Big Idea:
"Am I just comfortably obeying or am I courageously following God?"
Key Verses: Judges 6:21-31
Worship led by The Spark Band
Attendance:
Total: 135
1st Service: 43 (32 students, 11 leaders)
2nd Service: 98 (84 students, 14 leaders)

4ORTY 2WO (High School) - January 24th
Message - "Beautiful Losers - Gideon" by Brandon Pruitt
Big Idea:
"Am I just comfortably obeying or am I courageously following God?"
Key Verses: Judges 6:21-31
Worship led by: The 4ORTY 2WO Band
Attendance: 60 (47 students, 13 leaders)

Student Ministry Parent Meeting This Sunday (Jan. 23rd)

If you are a Parent of a 6th-12th grade student, then you will want to be sure that you make it to the Parent Meeting on Sunday January 24th. It will be from 12:00-1:00p in the Student Zone. We will be discussing all of our upcoming events, like Big Stuf Summer Camp, as well as our new teaching series for the Spring, including our Sexual Purity series called "PURE," which will begin on Sunday, February 14th, 2010. Light refreshments will be served, so make sure you can be there. If you have any questions please feel free to email students@pointofgrace.com and we will try to help you in any way that we can.

Vitals - January 17th

The Spark (Jr. High) - January 17th
Message - "Beautiful Losers - Samson: by Ed Frederiksen
Big Idea:
"Choose the hard right over the easy wrong."
Key Verses: Judges 16:4-5, 18-22
Worship led by The Spark Band
Attendance:
Total: 135
1st Service: 54 (42 students, 12 leaders)
2nd Service: 81 (67 students, 14 leaders)

4ORTY 2WO (High School) - January 17th
Message - "Beautiful Losers - Samson: by Ed Frederiksen
Big Idea:
"Choose the hard right over the easy wrong."
Key Verses: Judges 16:4-5, 18-22
Worship led by: Elizabeth Hendricks and the 4ORTY 2WO Band
Attendance: 91 (77 students, 14 leaders)

Give to the Victims in Haiti this Weekend...

Imagine tonight without shelter. No light or water or toilets or food. You can't find your child. Death surrounds. Reality in Haiti.

It’s easy to watch an hour of CNN and be left worse than when you started. That level of intensity and catastrophe can tend to lead us down one of two paths:

• A numbed sense of powerlessness and detachment
• or
• A harried sense of temporary responsive activism

We are praying instead that God leads us and leads you to a God Given, Holy Spirit Driven, Sustainable and Responsible Response that reflects the way of Jesus.

We are asking that you

• Pray Now (For those suffering, for those serving, for families, new orphans, new widows)
• Give Some (This weekend, you or your student can, and should, bring some money to The Spark or 4ORTY 2WO for our special offering to give to Compassion International. Whatever amount you have in your head, add 25%)

We are praying for Haiti. We are praying that we would live a Gospel that has always been for the poor, the outcast, the forgotten.

Chick Night 2010!

Chick Night 2010!
Ladies, mark you calendars for Friday, February 5th through Saturday, February 6th! Student Ministry presents an event for girls only! Through fun videos, engaging discussion, lots of fun games and activities, and meaningful interaction between students and adult women of all ages and life stages, our goal is to help girls feel comfortable in their own skin and know how to survive and thrive as they navigate through adolescence. And it's a ton of fun! Grab a permission slip from the Student Zone, and get signed up! The cost is $10 per student, but any new girl friend she brings gets in FREE! It's going to be a phenomenal event that your daughter will not want to miss out on! Contact Katie at 515.987.9595 ext. 122 or email her at katie@pointofgrace.com for more information.

Parents...

If you are a Parent of a 6th-12th grade student, then you will want to be sure that you make it to the Parent Meeting on Sunday January 24th. It will be from 12:00-1:00p in the Student Zone. We will be discussing all of our upcoming events, like Big Stuf Summer Camp, as well as our new teaching series for the Spring, including our Sexual Purity series called "PURE," which will begin on Sunday, February 14th, 2010. Light refreshments will be served, so make sure you can be there. If you have any questions please feel free to email students@pointofgrace.com and we will try to help you in any way that we can.

Vitals - January 10th

The Spark (Jr. High) - January 10th
Message - "Beautiful Losers - Abraham" by Katie
Big Idea:
"God uses even our flawed lives to bring out His perfect plan."
Key Verses: Gen. 17:1-4, 15-17, Proverbs 3:4-6
Worship led by The Spark Band
Attendance:
Total: 107
1st Service: 41 (31 students, 10 leaders)
2nd Service: 66 (53 students, 13 leaders)

4ORTY 2WO (High School) - January 10th
Message - "Beautiful Losers - Abraham" by Katie
Big Idea:
"God uses even our flawed lives to bring out His perfect plan."
Key Verses: Gen. 17:1-4, 15-17, Proverbs 3:4-6
Worship led by: Elizabeth Hendricks and the 4ORTY 2WO Band
Attendance: 85 (72 students, 13 leaders)