Doubt, THELO Conference, and Calendars

This Sunday at VIBE
Have you ever had doubt about your faith, about God, about what you believe?  I think that at one point or another most of us have some kind of doubt.  I remember having doubts when I was a teenager.  But then I remember feeling terrible about having doubt and that I had somehow let God down.  I thought that maybe I fell out of favor with God when I began to doubt, so I kept my doubts a secret, not letting anyone help me reason.

Would it make you feel better to know that even Jesus' own disciples had doubt?  The disciples saw Jesus as he took his last breath.  They watched him die and new where his tomb was.  Yet, just days after his death, Jesus appeared to his disciples.

"Why are you frightened?" he asked.  "Why are your hearts filled with doubt?  Look at my hands.  Look at my feet.  You can see that it's really me.  Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don't have bodies, as you see that I do." (Luke 24: 38-39, NLT)

 It was more plausible for the disciples to see Jesus and think that he was a ghost than for him to really be standing there.  That defied all logic and understanding, yet there he was.

We're going to be talking about doubt this week.  And by we, I mean all of us.  What kind of doubts do you have?  What are some things that are hard to believe about God, the Bible, Jesus?  Is it OK to have doubt?  What do you do with your doubt?  Those are some questions we're going to be asking.

THELO Conference/Calendar Fundraiser
Registration forms and money for THELO Conference are do next week at VIBE.  If you are unsure of how much you owe check with Ingrid or me this Sunday night.

Calendar forms are due this week at VIBE.  Bring the order form and the money.  Calendars will be ordered this week and will be available by December 9th.

Well, that's it for now.  Boom-shaka.

Legacy

At some point, this thing that we call life is going to end.  There will come a time when some of the things we thought were important are no longer valuable.  The only things that matter after you are gone are 1) did I know and follow Jesus, and 2) what did I leave behind to help others know and follow Jesus?  When you are gone, what will you leave behind.  Will you leave hurt, anger, bitterness, selfishness, or just a bunch of stuff that doesn't mean anything to anybody?  Or will you leave love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and an example of what it means to follow Jesus?

The thing about leaving a legacy is that it starts now.  You current actions will dictate the legacy you leave when you are gone.  Far too often we think, "I can take care of that later.  I have a lot of time to figure that out."  But then, in the blink of an eye, it's all gone, and the only thing left here on earth is your legacy.  What will people remember of you?

Leaving a legacy has everything to do with how you live your life.  Paul left a pretty awesome legacy.  He lived his life in a way that everyone observing him could tell where his allegiance was.  He summed up his life in these words:

For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).

For Paul, if he was breathing, his whole life would be devoted to Jesus.  And he knew that when he died the troubles of this world would be over and he would see Jesus face to face.  Later on he urged people to follow his example (Philippians 3:17).  I read and re-read his words, that we should follow his example, and I asked myself, "Could I encourage others to follow my example?"  Then I asked myself, "What kind of legacy would I leave if I felt comfortable enough with my walk with Christ that I could tell others to follow me?"

What would the impact be if you lived in a way that you felt comfortable allowing other people into your life, comfortable enough with yourself and your relationship with Jesus that they could follow your example?  What kind of legacy would you leave if everything you did was for Christ?  You only have one life, one chance to leave a legacy.  Will your legacy help others to know and follow Jesus?

We took a few moments in VIBE this past week to write our own funeral speeches (what we hope others will say about us when we die).  What do you hope people will remember you by?  I encourage you to take five minutes and write those thoughts down, then ask, "Am I living in a way that people will remember me by what I just wrote down?"  If not, what things need to change in your life?

Long Time - No Write!

It's been quite some time since the last blog, and I apologize for that.  A lot has gone on in the last couple months.  We've been busy, from the Girly-Burly retreat, the Fish Fry, a great night with Andy Collins as a special speaker at VIBE, to our current VIBE series YOLO.  It's been a great time, but now we are getting into a new season.  It's a busier season for many, so we slow down just a bit.  But there are still some things coming up you should be aware of.

THELO Conference - December 28-30
Every year there is some type of conference on the exact same dates, December 28-30.  Mark your calendars for 2016 that there will be a conference.  But which conference may change.  3DYC is the conference that we used to participate in every year.  A couple of years ago the 3DYC staff announced that it would only be offered every other year.  So we decided to do our own conference on the off years, and we named it THELO Conference.

THELO Conference is $130 this year.  It includes transportation, food while we are there, and lots of fun!  We will stay at Camp Michindoh in Hillsdale, MI.  There are many things to do while at THELO: Floor hockey, dodgeball, tubing, hang out, and eat lots of good food (fried macaroni and cheese anyone?).  There will also be times of music and digging into the Word.  If you're like me and don't just have $130 sitting around, you could....

Sell Calendars!
We are right in the middle of our calendar fundraiser.  The calendars are high quality and, of course, pretty!  They sell for $7/calendar, and $4 of each sale goes into your student account to help pay for THELO Conference.  It doesn't take long for the calendars to start adding up.  Money and order forms are due back by DECEMBER 2ND.  The calendars will be ordered during the week, and you will receive them on December 9th.  All money has to be in by December 2nd in order to secure your calendars.

YOLO
We are going to be wrapping up our current message series YOLO this week.  We've been looking at part of Paul's life at a time when he was writing to the Philippians.  Paul was someone who had courage and was not ashamed of Jesus, even when he was in prison because of following Him.  The main question through this series has been, "What if I lived my life with courage and not ashamed of Jesus."

So we'll be wrapping up the series this week, then we have a week off because I'll still be sleeping off the turkey.  Then we meet on December 2nd and December 9th, and that is it for 2012!  We will have a Christmas party on December 9th, so plan for some chaos!  Well, this has been long enough, so I'm going to sign off now.

Boom-shaka