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