DNOW CASWELL WEEKEND

Check out schedules, speakers, and the band:

DNOW CASWELL WEEKEND

September 18-20, 2009

GUIDANCE

Dancing With God
When I meditated on the word Guidance,
I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word.
I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.
When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.
The movement doesn't flow with the music,
And everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.
When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,
Both bodies begin to flow with the music.
One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back
Or by pressing Lightly in one direction or another.
It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.
The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness
Gentle guidance and skill .
My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.
When I saw "G": I thought of God, followed by "U" and "I".
"God, "U" and "I" dance."
God, you, and I dance.
As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust
That I would get guidance about my life.
Once again, I became willing to let God lead.
My prayer for you today is that God's blessings
And mercies are upon you on this day and everyday.
May you abide in God, as God abides in you.
Dance together with God, trusting God to lead
And to guide you through each season of your life.
This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached.
If God has done anything for you in your life,
Please share this message with someone else.
Interceding in prayer is one of the best gifts
we give and receive.
There is no cost but a lot of rewards;
So let's continue to pray for one another.
And I Hope You Dance !

SACPC Confirmation Class 2009

"Be still and know that I am God."
Psalm 46:10

Metamorphosis 2008 Notes

This life, therefore, is not righteousness but growth in righteousness,
not health but healing,
not being but becoming,
not rest but exercise.

We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it;
the process is not yet finished but it is going on;
this is not the end but it is the road.
all does not yet gleam in glory but all is being purified.

-Martin Luther

Every day we are changing...He is changing us if we are in relationship with Him. If not, the world and Satan may change us. We never stay the same. We are constantly "striving toward the goal of Heaven" which He has promised.
Philippians 3:13-14

He intends for us to live in this world with nonbelievers and other sinners. He did not intend for us to separate ourselves so we can sit on the side and judge others. We should be living with and communicating His love to adults and kids who do not know Him. That is not to say we are supposed to engage in their behavior so we have to be discerning. This means, when the behavior starts that does not honor God...we walk away...but without judging, belittling, or feeling superior...because it might be us next week. We are to "make disciples of all nations" and we can only do this if we have a relationship with others.
Matthew 28:19

We have to take time to talk with God daily to be in relationship with Him and to know and understand the plan He has for our lives...and so He can help us to understand how to interpret things that are going on around us.
Mark 1:35

The Sixth Grade Metamorphosis 08

Curbside Cafe

Dates for Curbside for fall semester are:
September 11, 25
October 9, 23
November 6, 20
December 4, 18

Meet at the kitchen at SACPC at 5:30!

Back to School

1 Corinthians 12:7

• Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people!

We had an awesome summer: church trips, mission trips, camps, sports, sun, water, jobs, and low stress! Now it is time for us to get back into it: school. Just like the forgiveness of Jesus, our slate is clean. We start anew!

Maybe we should think of school in the context of 1 Corinthians 12:7. In addition to all the family, church, and cool summer activities, school is a place where we can find "something to do that shows who God is!" Maybe it is academics...maybe it is sports...maybe it is leadership...maybe it is activities...maybe it is writing...maybe it is photography...maybe it is enthusiasm...maybe it is speaking...maybe it is the way we act toward others...maybe it is encouragement...maybe it is teaching. Whatever our gifts, each of us is given "something to do that shows who God is." That is an awesome gift and He expects us to develop and use our special skills to His glory in the service of others.

So think of school not as a place of pressure, competition, busy work and boredom. Think of school as a cool place where you get to try out all that God has to offer. School is a place to discover your talents and passions...things you are really good at and move your heart. Maybe we should be really excited to start school...God is there. And God has big plans for us if we stay connected. Imagine what it would be like if we thought about school like we do about Great Escape or Fun in the Son. What if we expected to find God and were looking for Him to work everyday at school.

"Something to do that shows who God is!" Wow! What's your thing?

Welcome to the FOLD

Chasing the Wind

To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 2:26

Have you ever chased after the wind? Have you ever caught it?

Eight times in the Book of Ecclesiastes the writer, most believe it was King Solomon, uses the phrase "chase after the wind" to describe useless human activity: wasted time and effort. He was a keen observer of people and wrote a lot about our relationship with God...how it is and how it should be. It was true then and it is still true today. We spend a lot of time "chasing the wind."

When we are out of relationship with God we waste a lot of time on the things of the world. We worry about whether we are popular, how others view us, and whether we are cool. We worry about who likes us and who does not. We worry about how we look, what we wear, and who we hang with. Do we look like others, do we act like others, do we fit in, do we belong? Are we cool?

Our parents worry about making money, living in the right neighborhood, driving the right car, or going to the "right" church. Do they know the right people, are their children in the right school, on the right team, and in the right group. Adults spend lots of money on looking younger, looking thinner, or climbing the social ladder. They worry about how they look, what they wear, and who they socialize with. Do they look like others, do they act like others, do they fit in, do they belong? Are they cool? They seem a lot like us.

Maybe we should start when we are young working on pleasing God rather than ourselves. You know, that part about loving God and loving others...like it says in Matthew. Maybe if we spent more time pleasing God and loving others we would spend less time worrying about our own needs. Perhaps if we work more on walking in His LIGHT we would not feel the agony of chasing after things we can not see or feel. We might begin to feel the overwhelming peace and encouragement of the "wind of God."

If we spend less time "chasing the wind" of ourselves and more time "riding the wind" of God we will begin to receive the wisdom, knowledge and happiness that is promised to all of us.

Fun in the Son 2008

Welcome Tara and Nathan Tuttle!

"We believe the most effective student ministries begin with relationships. After all, Jesus Christ himself gave us the perfect model of ministry to students. He not only taught His disciples the truth, but He was invested in their lives, cared for them like family and loved them through their sinfulness. Through the ministry and life of Jesus, we desire to emulate His blueprint for ministry by equipping students, encouraging families, enabling leaders and empowering the church."

"We believe in one God-Father, Son and Holy Spirit-to which Holy Scripture, the infallible Word of God, bears witness. Due to our sinful nature, our knowledge of God is limited and imperfect. Yet, through grace, we are called to grow in the knowledge and love of God and to serve Him by seeking to lead young people into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Through equipping students, encouraging families, enabling leaders and empowering the Church, we can glorify God and further His kingdom."

Tara Tuttle:
Regional Assistant, Tar Heel Region Young Life, Winston-Salem, NC
Director of Student Ministries, First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs, MS
Ministry Staff, Volunteer Leader, Asheville-Buncombe County Young Life, Asheville, NC
Program Coordinator, The Cove Camp, Billy Graham Training Center
Youth Ministry Intern, River Oaks Community Church, Clemmons, NC
Youth Ministry Intern, Covenant United Methodist Church, Asheville, NC
Bachelor of Arts, Bible and Religion/Youth Ministry, Montreat College, Montreat, NC

Nathan Tuttle:
Youth Minister, Bethany Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, NC
Director, Upward Basketball and Cheerleading Program, Bethany Baptist Church
Head Coach, Girls JV Soccer, Reagan High School, Winston-Salem, NC
Substitute Teacher, Winston-Salem Forsyth County School System
Community Relations Coordinator, Carolina Cobras, Arena Football League, Charlotte, NC
Sports and Activities Program Coordinator, Carmel Baptist Church, Matthews, NC
Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, University of North Carolina Charlotte
Divinity School, Campbell University
Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America

The Great Escape 2008

Get Out of Your Rut

"I believe the greatest trick of the devil is not to get us into some sort of evil but rather have us wasting time. This is why the devil tries so hard to get Christians to be religious. If he can sink a man's [or woman's] mind into habit, he will prevent his heart from engaging God."

Don Miller

Our Coach, Our Teammate, Our Gameplan

What if?

What if we get to Heaven and find out that there always had been solutions to all the problems of the earth? What if when we meet our Maker we find out that all the time we were on this earth there was enough food, clean water, shelter, and love for everyone but we just couldn't get it out? What if we thought we were too busy to get out the Word but He shows us that we had all the time we needed? What if there were plenty of resources to go around but a bad distribution plan kept them from being used? What if we find out that we had more than others because He trusted us to be His distributors...the ones to get out the message and the means?

His Church (us) should be the distribution center for needs of the world. The Church has been doing this work for centruries but has some human traits that hold it back. What if we reassessed how we used our time? What if we take a long hard look at what we use our resources for and prioritized the distribution of the Word, food, water, shelter and love?

What if?

Culture’s Song

Everyone has their favorite song for different reasons. The fact is like most everyone enjoys some form of music: Hip/hop, rock, Heavy metal, jazz, Christian…. People like music for different reasons some because of the arrangement, the lyrics or maybe because they just like the beat. For whatever reasons, we all enjoy music because it expresses us and our styles music is so versatile that it changes and evolves into different forms all the time. The music industry makes millions of dollars or even billions of dollars a year from CD and digital music sales, but how much of it is really worth buying, not just because of poor quality but because of a poor message? Or does it even really matter if we buy these albums? If everyone would post some lyrics of their favorite songs or songs that are currently popular at your schools and with your friends we can kick off this discussion.

Mikkel Lysne

God's Yellow Pages

Click on the image for help

How to Live!

Jesus, Others, and Yourself

The Greatest Commandment (Matthew Chapter 22)

36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

So who was your neighbor today? Was it your teacher at school who is having a rough time at home? Was it the lonely kid, the loner, the geek, or the dork in your class? Was is the kid in your neighborhood who never gets invited to anything? Was it the person in class who got laughed at today? Was it the shy girl who no one seems to know anything about?

Was it the homeless person you saw on the street? Was it the mother and children who checked into the Domestic Violence shelter this week? Was it the person you saw on the news whose house burned? Was it the guy who only has one set of clothes? Was it the lady who did not eat a meal today? Was it someone fighting cancer? Was it the kids in your school who can not read? Was it the kids who abuse substances so they don't have to face the truth about their insecurity?

Was your neighbor an African street kid? An HIV orphan from Malawi? Was it a girl from New Orleans who is still not back in school? Was it the kid from the Sudan who was maimed in an uprising? Was it the little boy in a Russian orphanage who has no hope for the future? Was it the Afghan family who is displaced from the war? Was it an illegal immigrant family from Mexico? Was it children all over the world who don't have clean water?

God made it pretty simple for us. We are supposed to love Him with everything we have got. And part of loving Him with everything we have is to love His people. He wants us to love our family and our friends but loving God means loving His family as well. His family is incredibly diverse and incredibly needy in our world. Ours is a world in need of so much and our love for God is demonstrated by our willingness to feel the need and to act. God calls us to care for "the least of these" in response to our thankfulness for His gift of grace. By caring for our "neighbors" whether they be in our home, our neighborhood, our school, our city, our country or our world we live lives that are holy in the sight of God.

Look around you. Who is it that needs you? Who do you need to serve? What is going on around you in the world that you can not stand? Where do you feel a passion for change? Who or what is God calling you to? Which part of His world is He asking you to improve?

Who is your neighbor? And how will you serve your God?