Sunday 12/11

High School
Have you ever been uncomfortable? You know, like really uncomfortable? I'm sure we all have amazing stories from our lives that involve us being a little out of our element. This past Sunday we looked at an obscure biblical character who was asked by God to do something really uncomfortable. He was asked to reach out in the name of the holy spirit and heal Saul. Doesn't seem too bad, right? Wrong. Saul persecuted Christians, that was his thing, some times even ending in death and this man Ananias was asked to seek him out because God had big plans for him. We see from the story of Ananias, that following Christ may result in us having to do things outside of our normal comfort zone. I shared a story of an experience I had that brought this passage of scripture to life. I had taken a group of students to YWAM (Youth with a Mission) San Francisco. Upon arrival, a fight had broken out directly in front of the building we were staying at. My students were nervous, myself included, we parked the car and settled in. We were met by staff that shared all the do's and don't's of the tenderloin district. We spent the weekend serving the people of the district and when it was over, we couldn't wait for God's next uncomfortable challenge. God, if you allow Him, will grow you in ways you never thought possible. Being uncomfortable for the Kingdom of God not only brings you closer to Him, it teaches you about yourself.....   


Key Scripture:
Acts 9: 1-19a
Philippians 4: 10-13


Junior High
This Sunday the JH Students had a question/answer time with Caleb. He opened the floor for them to ask any questions they might have relating to the Bible or God. Caleb was very surprised at some of the things the JHers brought to the table. This was an awesome ice breaker and all around win for student ministry. My suggestion, ask your kids what their questions were that day and ask if they might have anymore on the subject. They might surprise you the same way they surprised us.


In His Grips,
Kevin Hasenfus
Pastor of Student Ministries
First Christian Church SM
805-922-8479 ext. 107

Sunday 12/4

 Don't be an elephant 

That was our student focus on Sunday. We took a deep look into the world of shame. Shame, it just weighs us down and if we allow it to can eat away at our hearts til one day we take a good look at ourselves and we don't know how we got to this point. I shared some stories of people I knew that discredited themselves, they thought that because they were holding onto this shame that they weren't worthy of being used by God. God gives us freedom from this in the death of Christ Jesus, we are meant to learn from our mistakes and short comings, not dwell in them. Philippians 3 says it best, " Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Don't be an elephant because an elephant because an elephant never forgets. 


Key Scripture:
Isaiah 65:15-16
Philippians 3:13-14
Ezekiel 39:26


In His Grips,
Kevin Hasenfus
805-922-8479 ext. 107

Final Surrender Video 11/30

WOW!!! That's all I have to say. Over the last month, we have had the pleasure of watching a video series put together by Francis Chan on the topic of Surrender. The 4 topics were as follows: stuff, status, sin, and self. This was amazing, thought provoking, and life changing for some of us. If we got anything out of the series my hope is that it is this. God's love is so overwhelming, He doesn't want just a piece of us, he wants the whole thing. We all need to start each day thinking not what can I get done today but what can I do for God today.


If your students have any questions or you would like to read over the material yourself. it is available to you. Just contact me and I will get it into your hands. Have a blessed day.


In His Grips,
Kevin Hasenfus
805-922-8479 ext.107

Sunday 11/27

Message by Caleb Smith,


We focused on the fact that we, like it or not, are an example of Christ. Not just on Sunday or Wednesday but everyday. We are called to live in this manner in order to glorify God not ourselves. I AM 3, God first, others second and I am three. This is a principle that we all need to build into who we are in Christ Jesus. We need to do this today, we don't know how long we have to bring the light to the darkness, don't take this time for granted.


1 Peter 2:1-12


In His Grips,
Kevin Hasenfus
Student Ministries Pastor
First Christian Church SM
805-922-8479 ext. 107

Sunday 11/20

Continuing on the theme of worship, we looked at our prayer life. I asked the question,"How many of you think there in room for improvement when it comes to your prayer life." Needless to say, the response was unanimous. Fact is, we let other things get in our way. We know that the Bible instructs us to "Pray Continuously" but there are so many distractions, let face it, there are other things we would rather be doing. We talked about the idea of a Prayer Warrior, I shared of my boyhood stories of nun-chucks and shadow boxing, and looked at some biblical heroes when it comes to prayer. Overall, we came to the conclusion that prayer shouldn't be viewed as an obligation but as a privilege. We forget that we should be separated from God but yet we can talk to Him whenever we want because He loves us so much. This love that we can't even understand is extended to us day after day.


Key Scripture  

• Psalm 136

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and for all of you that were at the Progressive Dinner last night.............. TEAM #1 RULES!!!!!

In His Grips,

Kevin Hasenfus

Pastor of Student Ministries

First Christian Church SM

805-922-8479 ext. 107

Sunday 11/13

High School


On Sunday we focus of one of the aspects of worship that we had discovered last week. We focused on praise through song and music. To get to the Biblical history of this practice we looked first at the Biblical history of music in general. Music was present in all celebrations; birthday, dedications, feasts, and victories. We spent some time in the Psalms and got some instruction from the book of praise itself. We looked into the practices of the early church in the new testament, where community praise was practiced in daily/weekly gatherings. What it all boils down to is, the praise of God should be a celebration of the fact that death has been overcome through Christ own death on a cross. I can't think of a better reason to lift my voice in adoration. Yet so many of us won't allow our self and our insecurities to get out of the way, we are consumed by what people think and we are missing an opportunity to praise our loving father.


Key Passages

• Psalms 101:1, 61:8, 98:1
• Ephesians 5:19
• James 5:13
• Exodus 15:1-18
• Hebrews 2:14
• Colossians 3:16

Jr. High


Jr. Highers are doing a deep study into the book of 1 Peter. This week the focus was on the living hope that Christ has offered each and every one of us. As many of the new testament books do, 1 Peter speaks on the topic of trials. However, instead of focusing on the endurance aspect, the scripture calls for something greater. To find hope in trials, hope in Jesus, for we know he is living in the midst of anything we could possibly face in this life. 


Key Scripture

• 1 Peter 1:3-9

In His Grips,
Kevin Hasenfus
Pastor of Student Ministries
First Christian Church SM
805-922-8479 ext.107

Foundation Night Recap 11/9/11

What do you need to surrender? Last night we had another lesson from Francis Chan looking at the topic of status. We can all get so wrapped up in our status, who we want people to see us as, that we miss out on what God has made us to be. Francis talked about the fact that having popularity isn't bad, it's what you do with that popularity. Are you using it to build yourself and give yourself glory or are you on the look out for the ways that you can be using it to give God the glory he deserves. It was a great night, I'm sure it got a lot of the students thinking, who am I kidding it got me thinking.........


Key Scripture

• Isaiah 52:13-53:6
• Philippians 2:9

Who am I?

I know I'm more than an athlete or a brain, an outcast or a rebel.

But that's not the reality of high school.

I'm supposed to be discovering myself, finding myself, but somehow I've been given a label.

It feels like everyone is watching, expecting, waiting for me to fail.

I feel so desperate, alone, invisible, misunderstood, fake.

All I've ever wanted was to be accepted, but now I regret some of the things I've done.

And I'm tired; I'm tired of trying to be who everybody wants me to be.

God, I know it shouldn't matter what others think, but it's hard not to.

I know you want me to be real, to be who you made me to be.

But it's easier to be that way at church, than it is at school.

Lord, help me to surrender to you. Give me courage; give me strength, because I can't do it on my own.

Help me understand that what really matters is what You see, and who You designed me to be.

Help me to be........that me.

In His Grips,

Kevin Hasenfus

Sunday 11/6

High School
What's worship? When you hear "worship" what do you think of? What does the Bible have to say about worship and does its definition match our definition?
We dug into the topic of worship and tried to peace together a definition that held true to the design. We talked about the major aspects of worship, what is highlighted in today's practice and what is kinda forgotten. This was all capped off with the singing of "Heart of Worship". 


Key Scriptures

• Psalm 23:1-6
• Exodus 20:4-5
• Amos 5:21-24

Our ending definition of worship is as follows: Anything that we do, throughout our day, that takes the focus off of us and puts the spot light on God, for His glory and honor and praise. Amen!!!

Jr. High

Caleb gave the JH kids an inside look at how a temple was run in Biblical times. He then went on to talk about how we, as followers of Christ, are the Temple. That we have the Holy Spirit inside of us and that we as Christians need to allow that spirit to move and grow within us.

Key Scripture

• 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

In His Grips,

Kevin Hasenfus

Pastor of Student Ministries

First Christian Church SM

805-922-8479 ext. 107  

Foundation Night Recap 11/3/11

Surrender............What comes to mind when you think of that word? Does it carry a positive or negative weight? The next 4 weeks we are taking a deep look at the word "surrender". The study was put together by Francis Chan, author of "Crazy Love". 

Last night was the first segment in which we focused on the topic of surrendering stuff. Are you storing up treasures on earth or in heaven. The video was awesome, filled with interesting interviews with students and a presentation from the Word by Francis himself. Last night I gave the students "homework". A handout with a few keys verses and some deep questions, I challenged them to spend some time going through the passages and really digging deep for answers to the questions. I also challenged them to share what they learned about themselves with those around them and to encourage others to answer the same questions about their walk.

Questions

• Sum up the main message of the verses you've read in a sentence of exactly 10 words.
• How would you describe the attitude toward possessions that's reflected in these verses?
• What do you think is the most challenging statement in those verses?
• How would your life be different if you took this challenge? (Get specific)
• How do you think the original hearers/readers of this message felt about it?

Key Scripture

• Matthew 6:19-21, 24-34
• 1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19
• Proverbs 30:7-9
• Hebrews 13:5
• Philippians 4:12-13

Super stoked for the continuation of this study............

In His Grips,

Kevin Hasenfus

Pastor of Student Ministries

First Christian Church SM

805-922-8479 ext. 107

 

Sunday 10/30

High School
Wicked vs. Righteous. We focused our lesson on the first chapter of the Book of Psalms. This book gives us incite to the world of a righteous man and that of a wicked man. My question is, "Where do we fall?" "Are we considered righteous?" It's a hard question to ask and expect a real response. We all would like to think of ourselves as righteous to a certain extent, but do we live it?  We know Jesus paid for our sins but what, if any, responsibility do I have for my sins today, tomorrow, the next day, etc.? When it comes down to it, Jesus bring about a change in us, should we not have an overwhelming desire to make a change for Him? What does that look like? Removing yourself as number one in your life, doing this will challenge you to view your sins in a different light.........


Key Passages

• Psalms 1:1-6
• Matthew 7:13-14
• Ephesians 2:5
• 2 Timothy 1:9-10

Jr. High

We talked about the fact that many Christians fail to fully grasp Christ. We all have a basic understanding but for whatever reason we fail to dive deeper. We call this spiritual infancy. Infants have a very small view of the world, they know very little of how things work, good vs. bad, night and day, etc. We as children of God have a gift, Christ. Why don't we want to know everything about the greatest gift ever given? Why are we happy to remain as infants in our faith?  How do we being to step out of infancy and into a mature relationship with our savior?

Key Passage

• Hebrews 6:1-3

In His Grips,

Kevin Hasenfus

Pastor of Student Ministries

First Christian Church SM

805-922-8479 ext. 107

Foundation Night Recap 10/26/2011

Have you ever lost something? The answer is undoubtedly YES. We all have misplaced something throughout our lifetime. We always have that moment of panic when we realize we have misplaced something of value, we start looking under furniture, retracing our steps, checking clothing from the past week. We search high and low for this item until one of two things happen; we give up or we find it. 
In foundation teams this week we talked about the fact the people are searching in this life, some of them might not even know what exactly they are searching for. They're simply lost. We talked about God's attitude toward the lost, the fact that He refers to himself as The Sheppard. In the parables we see that the value of 99 sheep doesn't out weigh the value of 1 sheep, this is lost on our thinking but in God's mind it makes sense. The fact is, we might go tired of searching for our keys, wallet, etc but God will never go tired of seeking after the lost. Should we be any different?


Challenge/Spiritual Accountability

• Tell one friend why you are a Christian this week
• Pray for an unsaved friend this entire week

Key Scriptures

• Luke 15:3-7
• Luke 15:8-10

Sunday 10/23

Hey ya'll,


We had another great Sunday in youth ministry at FCC. Big thanks goes out to all of you for getting your students up early enough to make it to youth service. God has been doing some amazing work and we are so proud of the spiritual growth that has taken place in some of the students.


High School
We covered the topic of spiritual pruning. Why does God "prune" us? What does that look like in our lives? Are we allowing this process to take place or are we reluctant because this might go against what we would desire for our lives? God is going to prune us, why? Because he desires us to produce good fruit. Simply put, we have a lot of things in our life that take up a lot of our efforts but produce nothing for the Kingdom of God, God wants to prune us back so that we can use our God given gifts to produce eternal fruits.


Key Passage

• John 15:1-8

Junior High

Our focus: God is into character building. God is so big, sometimes we don't understand him. We look at the things that he does in our lives and wonder why. In this message we see some of God's character revealed to us through His grace. We see that God desires that we be filled with the joy and hope that can only be found in Him. God is going to stretch us, there will be suffering in this life. However, we find our joy and peace in the knowledge that all things are meant for Godly character development. When a situation comes up, where do you place your trust? God or yourself?

Key Passage

• Romans 5: 1-11 

Foundation Night Recap 10/19/11

Have you ever seen a stereo-graph picture, you know, a picture within a picture? You have to look at it for a long time, focus hard and maybe just maybe the image will show its true form. I don't know about you but it is so difficult for me to ever seen the true image lost behind this pattern. Last night we talked about our sin and the fact that it can keep others from truly seeing the work of God in our lives. We are called to be the light of the world but that light is being muffled by the sin in our day-to-day walk. Can we get a hold on this? Can we truly be effective for Christ if we look/act no differently then anyone else? Heavy talk, Real challenge.........


Key Scripture

• Ephesians 5:15-17: ¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
• Philippians 4:8,13: ⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Key Questions

• If it is to possible to live a sinless life, is Philippians 4:8 just a suggestion from God?
• If it is possible to sin less, why don't more Christians strive for that?
• How does the challenge to "sin less" apply to you on your campus?

Challenge/Spiritual Accountability

Make a commitment to be an example of Christ to someone this week, ask God to give you the strength He has promised to accomplish this goal.

This was a great lesson and a difficult but positive group discussion.

In His Grips,

Kevin Hasenfus

Pastor of Student Ministries

First Christian Church SM

805-922-8479 ext 107

Youth Service 10/16

Jr. High

The Jr. Highers learned in their class what it truly means to unite as the Body of Christ. We talked about the fact that God has designed each of us in a unique way that is good and pleasing to Him but yearns for us to come together as one body. 

Key Passage:

• Ephesians 4:1-16

High School

We dug in to a word that carries so much weight. Obedience. All of us have a story of where we have succeeded in this practice and where we have fallen short, trust me, I'm no different than any of you reading this. We focused mainly on obedience to God, what he would desire for us. We looked at one of the many obedient figures of scripture, Daniel. By looking at Daniel's life and worship to God we concluded that Actions speak louder than Words. We have all said to God that we want to be different, put him at the front of our lives, treat others better than ourselves but we fall short. Why? Because our actions don't back up our mouths, we know the right answers but we fail to put them into practice. 

Key Passages:

• Matthew 21:28-32
• Galatians 6:1-2

Shared a story about Tim Tebow at the end of the message. Like him or not, he is letting his actions and attitude show that there is something different about this guy (God's Presence).  I hope someday people will say the same about me. Here is at the link for that article, Enjoy.     

http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/football/ffl/story?page=TMR111013

Foundation Teams 10/12

Hey sorry for the delay

This week we talked about a very difficult topic. Trust, why is it so hard for us to trust others with what is going on in our lives? We would rather try and handle it ourselves or pretend like nothing is wrong. This is not what God would choose for us. He desires a relationship in which we find comfort in Him over ourselves.

Key Passages

^{John 10:27-29}
 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all^]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

1 Peter 5:7

⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Philippians 4:6-7

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Key Questions: 

• Why does the knowledge that God is in control seem to comfort me less when I'm stressing?
• What makes it so hard to trust God with our worries?
• How do you give your worries ove rto God?
• What is the benefit of doing it His way?

That's all for now..... Bye Bye :)

In His Grips,

Kevin Hasenfus

Pastor of Student Ministries

First Christian Church SM

805-922-8479 ext. 107

Sunday 10/9

Hey parents,
We had a busy day in the world of student ministry here at FCC. Let's start what our students learned during youth service.


High School
We covered the parable of the wicked servant.(Matthew 18:23-35)
We talked about how this is typical of humanity. The whole "glass half empty" mentality. We often forget that we as Christ followers have been forgiven of such an overwhelming debt, we also seem to forget that God has called us to forgive others with this same forgiveness. We asked the question: "What does it take to let things go?" To forgive with your whole heart and to let that grudge melt away. 


Other keys passages: Matthew 7:3-6, Colossians 3:13


Junior High
In Junior High we covered an aspect of God's relationship with us.
(2 Corinthians 11: 2-3)
We covered the idea that we are to be God's bride. Many students understand the relationship to God as Father-Son but fail to realize that God's word calls for more. The students had some difficulty grabbing this idea, they giggled at the idea of Caleb being married to God but at the end of the lesson, truth settled in.


Other key passages: John 14:1-3, Hosea 2:16


Car Rally
SO MUCH FUN!!!! We went everywhere. We hit the streets hard, ate strange things, solved puzzles, and worked as a team. Crazy good time had by all. We will have our pictures posted on our student ministry Facebook page later this week if you want to check them out. Good Stuff!


In His Grips,
Kevin Hasenfus
Pastor of Student Ministries
First Christian Church
805-922-8479 ext. 107

Foundation Night Recap 10/5/11

Question of the night: What is the hardest commitment that you have ever made in your life?


Matthew 16:25-26: For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?


John 15:18-20:“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

• We had the students list some of the things they were committed to and how much time they put into those things. 
• We then talked about how they decide what takes top priority.
• We talked about our commitment to Christ and Christ's commitment to us.
• What does God want from us in terms of commitment?

Challenge for the week: Evaluate your commitments this week. Where does God fall on the list?


Spiritual Accountability (on your own): Read John 10:27-29


In His Grips,
Kevin Hasenfus
Pastor of Student Ministries
First Christian Church SM
805-922-8479 ext. 107

The New Blog

Hello parents,
I made this as a tool for you. I know how you must feel, dropping your kids off on Sunday and Wednesday, not really knowing what they are getting out of the program. Only hearing about the games, food, other students, etc but never really knowing what the messages are. Well that is going to change. This blog is going to give you a re-cap of what we are studying in our student ministries programs. The point of me doing this is simple, I see the value of a student/parent discussion after a youth service. This will not only help you feel a deeper connection to your students spiritual growth but it allows your students to realize that you are there for any questions or after thoughts that they might have. Look you guys have a tough job as parents, I'm just looking to make this aspect of your life a little more manageable. Thanks for all that you do!


In His Grips,
Kevin Hasenfus
Pastor of Student Ministries
First Christian Church SM
805-922-8479 ext. 107