"Afterlife" - Switchfoot

"Change My Life" - Ashes Remain

Beginning Your Experience With God

  You may have been frustrated in your Christian Experience because you know God has a more abundant life for you than you have experienced so far. Perhaps you have been a believer for many years, but your Christian life has become dry and monotonous, and you deeply desire to walk in faith the way you once did. Maybe you have heard others excitedly talking about what God is doing in their lives, and you long to have a dynamic walk with God too. These are all signs that God is leading you to a closer walk with him.

So how can you get to where you want to be?

First things first, check yourself! We must make sure our heart is pure, by rededicating our life to him. Read the following scriptures:
- Romans 3:23: All have sinned.
- Romans 6:23: The wages of sin is death, but eternal life is a free gift of God.
- Romans 5:8: Because of His love for you, Jesus (by dying) paid the death penalty for your sins.
- Romans 10:9-10: Confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead.
- Romans 10:13: Ask God to save you, and He will!!

How awesome is that!!

  You may feel like you are in a place where nothing you do is working in your life. You just feel like you have a big hole inside of you, an emptiness inside of you that you can't fill no matter how much alcohol you drink, drugs you do, or people you sleep with. NEWS FLASH! God placed that hole inside of you, and it's a hole so big that it could only be filled by Him. God wants you to seek Him. Jesus said that those who seek him, would find him.
Make that choice today, by following these easy steps:
1. Recognize you have messed up and need a saving relationship with Jesus Christ
2. Tell God that you know you have messed up
3. Leaving your sins and turn to God
4. Ask Jesus to come into your life and save you by His grace
5. Turn over your life to Jesus, allowing Him to lead and guide you through whatever comes your way

If you have any questions or just need help... please leave a comment, or email us!

Faith and Deeds

  Is there someone in your life you think is beyond the reaches of God's love and grace? You may not speak it verbally, but deep down in your heart you just don't think that person will ever come to know Christ.
What are some things you could do to show that person God's love and grace?


  Is there someone in your life that you feel doesn't deserve to be saved from the eternal pain and torment of hell?
Maybe what that person really needs is for you to show them the love of Christ... in the same way that Christ showed you love and grace, even when you didn't deserve it.


Remember being a christian is about combining both Faith and Deeds, you have to both believe in Christ and choose to follow Him. People who don't choose to believe in and follow Christ will go away to the eternal punishment of hell.


James 2:14-19
   What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that and shudder.


Next week at Souled Out Youth we will cover,
Beginning your experience with God.

What is hell like?

Think to yourself about some of the characteristics of hell?
  What is it like? What does the bible say specifically about hell?
Hell is a place of torture and torment. A place that is worse than your worst nightmare, and a hundred times scarier and more spin-chilling than any movie could describe it.

So if hell is that bad, why don't we tell people about the love of God?
  A love so strong and so deep that he sent His only son (Jesus Christ) to die on a cross so that we may live. A love that can save them from a place where there will be weeping (describes deep sorrow) and gnashing of teeth (describes a strong anger or fierce pain).


  That's just a few things we discussed in class last Wednesday, as we began an in-depth bible study that (if we allow it) will change our lives!


So who the bible say goes to hell?
  We will cover that next week at Souled Out Youth.

God's View Of Things

I am sure glad that God looks at us from a different point of view than everyone else does, including ourselves. Sometimes it's not others that cause us be discouraged, it's ourselves. The enemy whispers in our ear that we are not good enough, and we believe it. Why is it so easy for us to believe a lie from the enemy, and so hard for us to believe the truth from God?

God did not say to Moses, because you killed that Egyptian, you will never do anything for me. God did not say to David, because you slept with Bathsheba and had Uriah killed, I will never speak to you again. When the disciples left Jesus, God did not say to them, you might as well go home because you will do nothing else for me. That's not how God is. He loves us!

Psalms 103:12 says that He will cast our transgressions as far the East is from the West. That's pretty nice, but 1 John 1:9 goes even further. 1 John 1:9 says if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Take a moment to ask for God's forgiveness, accept it, and then allow Him to cleanse you from all unrighteousness!

Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice

In 1 Samuel 15:22, Samuel tells Saul “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams."

- Why is it better to obey is better than sacrifice?

  You can sacrifice something to the Lord, without having a relationship with him. You can give up watching TV for a week, and after that still be living in the same amount of sin as you were before you started.

  But in order to obey the Lord, you must spend time with Him and listen to him; which naturally requires sacrificing your heart and will to the Lord's.


In the end, the Lord doesn't want your stuff, he wants you!

Who Fills Your Void?

In this life there always seems to be things we want. If I can just have ________ than life would be perfect. Oh God, I need this. I have to have it. It is a good thing. I have to have it. God answers our prayer, and then we move on to the next thing. Our next desire. The next thing we have to have.

So many times in this life we look to things to fill the void in our life. That void is for only God to fill. What ever you are "lacking" today, seek the Creator of all. What ever your desire is today, seek the one who fills our desires. God is the one who will never let us down, who loves us unconditionally, and who is our ALL in ALL.

Love on God tonight, not for any other reason but because he is the lover of our soul.


Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Bought For A Price

Last Wednesday, we discussed Numbers 22. In it Balak sends messengers to summon Balaam. Verse 7 states that the messengers went "taking with them the fee for divination". Balak wanted Balaam to curse the Israelites, and he knew that Balaam could be bought for a price.

Has there ever been a point in your life that you could be bought?
Maybe, someone bought you gifts to get you to help them with something you knew was wrong? Maybe, someone buddied up to you so they could cheat off you during a test?

Remember:
God bought you for a price, so that you wouldn't have to be bought for a price!

Are We Really Following Christ?

Sometimes there is a big difference between Following Christ and "going to church".

Which one do you do?

Change Is Coming!

2012 is a New Year!
I am encouraging everyone to begin to read the bible in one year. If that is a little too much for you, start by just reading the bible everyday. We need to take every opportunity to get the word of God in us. The WORD OF GOD will change you!
Romans 10:17 - "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Hosea 4:6 - "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."

If we take the time to read the bible, which is the living word of God, we will see change in our lives!

What does it mean to be SOULED OUT?

This is sort of our unofficial Youth Group song, Souled Out by Lacrae. Saying that you want to be SOULED OUT is not something that is to be taken lightly. Lacrea asks God in the song to Break him, Shake him and Mold him.

That is an awesome prayer that we should all be asking God on a daily basis....
- Break me, of the chains that are holding me back from being closer to you!
- Shake me, so that all the junk I collect on a daily basis is removed!
- Mold me, into the image of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Do you want to be SOULED OUT for God?
If so, ask God to help you..... to break you, shake you, and mold you. Start your journey by reading one chapter of the bible a day, then make it two. Or start by devoting 15 interruption-free minutes a day to God in prayer, then make it 30. Before long, you will be well on your way to becoming SOULED OUT!

The Seed And The Sower

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the parable of The Seed And The Sower. Jesus tells how seed was sown on different types of ground. About a month ago, we took learning about this parable a step further. We took seed and gave it to a few youth members. The first, threw seed along a path. The second, planted their seed in a pot with rocky soil. The third, planted their seed in a pot with high grass and weeds. The fourth, planted their seed in a pot with very good mulch, but was not to take care or even water their seed. The fifth, planted their seed in a pot with very good mulch as well, but was asked to take very good care of it. We asked the youth members to take home their seed project and bring it back in a month, so we could gauge the results.

The results were as follows:
- The seed along the path: No harvest at all. We could not even tell there was seed that was sown.
- The seed in the rocky soil: A small plant sprang up quickly, then died when a dog knocked over the pot. In the end, we could not even tell that there was anything planted in it.
- The seed in the weeds: A small plant sprang up quickly, but then died almost immediately. Like the bible states the plant was not able to draw enough nutrients, water and sun from the soil to survive.
- The seed in the good soil, not cared for: A tiny plant sprang up quickly, but also died quickly. The moisture in the soil allowed a tiny plant to spring up, but without consistent water the plant died. In the end, we had a hard time finding the seed/ plant in the soil.
- The seed in the good soil, cared for: A plant sprang up quickly, and continued to grow with very good results.


What we learned:
We must prepare our hearts to receive the word that is sown into our lives. But it doesn't stop there... we must continue to nourish the word that was sown in our lives with bible study, prayer, and fellowship. By continuing to nourish it, we guarantee it's survival and ours!

You Can Now Follow The SOULED OUT YOUTH Blog Simply By Typing In Your Email Address!!!!

You Can Now Keep Up With The SOULED OUT YOUTH Blog, Just By Typing In Your Email Address!!!

A newly added feature to the SOULED OUT YOUTH Blog, now allows you follow the Blog simply by typing your email address in and pressing submit. It can be any email address, from any provider! Once your email address is submitted, you will receive an email when new posts are added. It's that simple.... Awesomeness!!

Sowing Seeds

When we sow seeds, do we always realize what we are planting?
Many times we sow terrible seeds without even knowing what they are doing. When we make fun of the way someone looks or dresses, we are planting bad seeds in their life. No matter how harmless "we think" our jokes are, they can have a very damaging effect on people.

This week decide to have a positive effect on people's lives.

Try to let that old saying guide you.... if you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all!

Matthew 25:31-46 - Separation of the Sheep and the Goats

This scripture is very interesting, because it gives us some insight as to what will happen at the coming of the Son of Man. There is a lot of good knowledge here, but let me make just two interesting observations.

1) The sheep and the goats were both suprised at their deeds. The sheep said, "when did we see you hungry and feed you...." The goats said, "when did we see you hungry.... and not help you." Jesus said not be like the hypocrites for they love to pray on the street corners to be seen by men, for they have received their reward. Our good works should not be done just so we can be seen, but instead be done by the leading of the Holy Spirit, by the goodness of the God that is inside of us.

2) In verse 41 he says, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." We must remember that God's ultimate plan is that we would be reconciled with Him. We have the free will to choose whether we want to reunite in communion with God or not. If we choose not to commune with God, by default we are choosing to seal out eternal destiny in the eternal fire with the devil and his angels.

We should never be suprised at the path are actions are leading down. If you are at a point where you are not sure if you are on the right path..... stop, pray and ask the Lord to begin to lead you down the path He has chosen for you.

Remember: It's Our Choice, So Choose Wisely!

Who are you?

When someone asks you to describe yourself what do you say?
Do you say I'm too tall or too short, too fat or too skinny; what do you say?

Try describing yourself the way Christ would describe you....
I'm a child of the most high, the creator of the universe. I have been healed and set free from the bondages of sin and death. I am too blessed to ever be stressed. My Christ loves me an unconditional love, and I try my best to pass that love on to others.

Looking Good vs. Being Good

Abigail has a bib that says "Looking Good is Better Than Being Good." It got me thinking! So, is looking good better than being good? Well, a good Christian answer of course would be no way! But think about it? Would you rather look good, than be good? Do you spend more time looking good or being good? How long do you spend on your appearance vs. how long did you spend in the Word of God and in prayer.

Ask yourself this question,
Are your actions following what you desire?

Light Up The World!

Jesus said in John 8:12 (The Message), "I am the world's Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in." Why do we sometimes choose to stumble around in darkness, when we can walk in the light of Christ? Sometimes it feels easier to be in darkness. In the darkness we don't have to see ourselves for who we really are. We can cry, have a little pity party, and say how everything is not our fault. But in the light; we can see our deficiencies, that we need to repent, and we need to get closer to Christ (who provides our light). Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world."
This week make a choice to get closer to Christ. Be transparent with Him, repent of your sins, and allow His light to shine through you. Only then can we truly become the light of the world!

What'cha Thinkin'

What if God gave you what you thought about? Do you have stink-in think-in or are your thoughts pleasing to the Lord...

Philippians 4:8 (NIV) 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.