Small Groups and Emotion

Small groups are now underway at The Hype, and we are all excited to get rolling! If you haven't gotten into a small group yet, or aren't sure what the big deal with small groups is, come on out on Wednesdays and find out!

With that in mind, and with God pulling on my heart, I've been really thinking quite a bit lately about emotion and how we deal with it. I sat in on a Sunday School class where we discussed emotionally stressful times, and of course the one recurring theme we have when we face obstacles or problems we think we can't overcome: "Why is this happening to me God?"

We can find all through Scripture that God has a plan for us, we just can't see the full scope of it. Also we know James chapter 1 says "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness."

As comforting as it is to know the Lord is in control, it can still feel like God is just piling on tragedy after tragedy and there's no plan behind it other than to make you feel awful.

Looking through the Bible, we see all sorts of people who truly suffered through tragedy. Job was put through all sorts of trials. David succumbed to temptation. And ultimately, Jesus was beaten, mocked, and gruesomely killed on a cross.

If you look at the reactions of these three men, a pattern is clearly seen. Job cried out to God asking why all the things were happening to him. David wrote an entire book of Psalms in worship of God. Even Jesus cried out on the cross "Father, why have you forsaken me?"

All three of them cried out to God with raw emotion. They didn't spare anything, worry about what they said, or make sure they had their manners. They cried out with what was on the hearts.

As we get more comfortable in our small groups, I'd like to challenge everyone, not just the students but adult leaders as well, to express that raw emotion that is found all throughout the Bible. God has granted us our emotions, not to bottle them away, but to express them. In joy we should be excited to praise and worship, and through tough times we should be able to ask God why.

-Mike Meade

Parents Meeting

Parents only!

We are having an informational meeting on Sunday September 13th, this will be at 6pm and will be done at 7:30pm. We are going to share with you why the Hype is moving and the purpose behind our ministry. We would love to have you there. Thanks!

Ernie and Rory

Illinois Christian Teen Convention (ICTC)

Sr. High students and parents

We are going to ICTC again this year. We are very excited about the conference this year. They are partnering up with the National Missionary Convention (NMC). The NMC welcomes people from all over the world to come in and share what they are doing for the Kingdom of God. The NMC and ICTC has set up an event that will get our High School students involved in helping in the mission field from Peoria IL.

They will have times where students get to help pack clothes/food and build walls that are going to all be sent into the mission field. Not to mention worship music from Kristian Stanfill

http://www.kristianstanfill.com/

and speaker Jason Epperson who is a director over youth from Champaign IL.

We are excited about this fall trip but money is due by September 30th.

The cost is only $50 and if that is hard to pull by Sept. 30 talk to Rory or Ernie.

ICTC is November 20-21st. We leave that Friday 20th at 4pm. Return Saturday the 21st at 10pm.

Love and Knowlege

I recently finished a four week sermon series on the book of Hosea at NHCC. I found that not too many people know much about the book of Hosea, probably because it is the first of the Minor Prophets and no one really likes reading those books all that much (honestly, how many of us can say we love reading books like Nahum or Obadiah?). As I spent time reading over and over the message of Hosea, it dawned on me once again that the message God spoke through His prophet is still SO relevant to us in today's culture.

In the book of Hosea, God speaks of coming judgment upon the nation of Israel because they continually turned away from Him. Israel had time and time again turned to false deities and idols in order to find protection and provision, instead of looking to the one true God who had led them out of Egypt! So throughout the prophecy, God warns of impending judgment on the nation of Israel because of their unfaithfulness and unrighteousness. Israel found themselves in a terrible spot.

Throughout the entire book of Hosea, there is one verse that constantly stands out to me. Chapter 6, verse 6 says, "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowlege of God rather than burnt offerings."

Here's the scary thing: The two things that God desires from us are two of the things that we often hate to do!

1. Love God. Not only are we called to love God, but to do it in a steadfast manner. Two verses earlier, God said that Israel's love was like the morning mist, that it simply vanishes. When God calls us to a steadfast love, this means that it is something that will remain, even through the difficult times. It's easy to say that we love all the time, but love implies obedience. If I say I love someone, then it means that I will show obedience and willingly do what they need. Though God doesn't need anything from us, we show our love to Him through obedience. This is where we often stray. Ever find it difficult to live a life of obedience to God? I know I do.

2. If love through obedience is difficult, the second half of the command might be even harder! God requires us to "know" Him. This is a difficult task because it requires a few steps. First of all this means that we need to know about God, which comes from some pretty serious study of Scripture. However, this also means that we must communicate with Him through prayer. Some people love to study Scripture yet hate prayer, while others might be the exact opposite. Rarely do you find someone who thoroughly enjoys both steps of getting to know God

May we as a youth group strive to both LOVE God and KNOW Him as well! This is Rory and my aim, that we can equip you so that you can develop a personal relationship with Him that involves both your knowlege as well as your steadfast love!