Psalm 119:57-64

This passage was a hard one not to preach on. I'm just so struck by the first line: "The Lord is my portion." Have you ever heard of a breath prayer? A breath prayer is a type of prayer that you can say in a breath, one phrase or thought. It is used throughout the day for different reasons or if you are going through different circumstances, such as, "God, have mercy on me," or "Be my strength."

I think "The Lord is my portion" is a great breath prayer. We talked on Sunday about how being a Christian means truly valuing God above all else. The tough thing is, we forget about Him, a lot. So here is a challenge: try using "The Lord is my portion" as a breath prayer. When you find yourself wanting that next best product that's about to hit the stores (The Lord is my portion), when all your friends are chasing after that guy/girl and you feel left out or alone (The Lord is my portion), when you are lonely, scared, selfish, or whatever may be stealing your focus, just remember that God is more desirable than anything this world has to offer, and seek him.

I know I didn't get to the rest of the passage, maybe I'll have a chance later in the week.

Prayer 08/13/2007

Here are some things that you can be praying for:

• That God will be glorified through every aspect and every person of our student ministry.
• That God would bring the right mix of interns and adult leaders into the student ministry to that it can continue to grow in influence
• That God would bring the right HS students into our ministry and that he would challenge us to reach out to our lost friends

What are your prayer requests so that the group can be praying for them?

Psalm 119:41-48

As promised here is the first installment of the 11 parts of Psalm 119 I won't be getting to on Essential Sunday Nights. But first, let me just thank you all for being there last night. It was a great time of worship and I loved seeing you discuss God's Word and pray with each other.

Notice what happens right off the bat in this passage in verse 41. David asks for the salvation of God and for His steadfast love. He asks for this first. This is how we should all be oriented. The starting place for all aspects of the Christian life is the grace and love of God through Jesus. Then in the verses that follow, David is able to have an answer to those who taunt him. He is able to love God's commandments and keep them because of the love and grace of God.

Just like we talked about last night, the starting place is with God. In order to truly follow Christ and grow in Him, we must do so out of love and not obligation.

What are some questions you have about this passage or about this teaching?

Fall is Here!!

After a great summer I hope you're all gearing up for the fall! There are some big, exciting changes on the horizon, so I hope you're ready! First off: Essential Sunday Nights!! Starting this Sunday. Hang out from 6:00-6:30. Worship and Program from 6:30-7:45. DON'T MISS IT!!!

prayer

a couple of things you guy's can be praying for:

> leaders in the ministry to step up and set an example for the rest of the group

> adult volunteers to step up and fill the void in the sunday school groups, etc.

> that emily stays sane while and that i don't kill myself trying to make things perfect

essential notes 04/11/2007

here is a look at what you missed out on this past Wednesday when we had our spontaneous group discussion:

God and Man – April/May 2007

Part 1 - Holiness of God – Wednesday 04/11/2007

Intro. – Romans 8:1-11

Ø First things first, before we can deal with other stuff, we have to get straight on God, and where we stand with him. So we’re going to talk for about 5 weeks on God, then we’ll spend a week on us at the end.

Ø Today we’re going to deal with the Holiness of God

(Illus. Celebrity Fascination – Created to Worship)

Everything Begins with God – Genesis 1:1

Ø God is infinitely Holy and has an overwhelming love and passion for His name and Holiness (Ezekiel 36:21-23)

Ø He is infinitely more valuable, unique and important than any man or woman, He is supremely valuable. (Isaiah 40:12-17)

Ø He has an infinite love for what is valuable and beautiful and good and an infinite hate for what is sinful (Habakkuk 1:13 “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, and you cannot tolerate wrong”).

Ø God is separate and above everyone. He is dependant on no one. He is totally unique (1 Sam. 2:2, “There is none Holy like the Lord, there is none besides You; there is no rock like our God).

Ø God is, by His nature, completely pure and without sin (Psalm 145:17)

(Illus. The Mothman Prophesy)

Bad News for Us

Ø God demands that we be Holy, just as He is Holy (Leviticus 19:2, 1 Peter 1:14-16)

Ø You cannot see God unless you are Holy (Hebrews 12:14)

Ø God must and will judge and punish those who are not Holy (Romans 1:18)

Ø We aren’t Holy (Romans 3:10-18, Romans 8:8)

Good News for Us

Ø God took it out on Jesus by Killing Him (Romans 8:2-4)

Ø The justice of God is fulfilled by Jesus payment on our behalf

So What do We Do?

Ø Trust God and believe in and follow Jesus

Ø Stop spitting on the grace of God and start killing the flesh every day and relying on God (Romans 8:10-11)

Welcome

Welcome to the new Essential High School Ministry blog. We'll start updating things soon.