The Altar and the Door Study

Today, we are looking at the song by Casting Crowns, The Altar and the Door.....

Ok, here is a video of The Altar and the Door, from a Casting Crowns concert, sorry, it is taken with a hand held camera and is a bit shaky, but a great song, and concert!!!!!!! I saw them in concert, great concert, although I cannot take credit for this video, found it on youtube......ROCK ON !!!!!!



Casting Crowns

The Altar And The Door lyrics

Careless, I am reckless
I'm a wrong-way-travelin'-slowly-unraveling shell of a man
Burnt out, I'm so numb now
That the fire's just an ember way down in the
corner of my cold, cold heart

Lord, this time I'll make it right, here
at the altar I lay my life
Your kingdom come but my will was done,
my heart is broken as I...

Cry, like so many times before
But my eyes are dry before I leave the floor, oh Lord
I try but this time, Jesus, how can I be sure I
will not lose my follow through
Between the altar and the door

Here at the altar, oh my world so black and white
How could I ever falter
What You've shown me to be right

I'm trying so hard to stop trying so hard
Just let You be who You are
Lord, who You are in me
Jesus, I'm trying so hard to stop trying so hard
Just let You be who You are
Lord, who You are in me

Oh Lord, I

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Message:
I can be happy when things are going well.

I can love others when they show love to me.

I can be nice to those who show me kindness.

I can forgive those that forgive me.

I can be fully devoted to the work of Christ…on Sunday mornings.

However…

Can I be happy in times of trouble?

Can I love those that are hateful toward me?

Can I be kind to those that spit in my face?

Can I forgive those that may never forgive me?

Can I be a Christian on fire for God on a Thursday morning?

It’s Sunday, but Monday’s coming
It is easy to serve God with utmost sincerity and devotion on Sunday mornings. I can feel something ignite inside of me when I hear a stirring sermon. I feel moved to be more committed to reaching out to those that need Christ. I feel like a Holy Saint of God on Sunday morning, but then…

Monday morning comes. I’m still a Christian, but the fire is gone. It is out. No flames. No heat. No passion to do the work of Christ. Why is there such a disconnect from one day to the next?

Jesus moves into the neighborhood
On Sundays we’re around “church people”. Everyone is there for worship, to sing the songs and listen to the pastor. Plus, God seems closer in church than anywhere else we could go during the week. We associate the church with the place where God hangs out. When we walk through those church doors we can leave Jesus behind. Apparently He is just too big to fit through that small of an opening.

The truth is Christ should be with us wherever we go. John 1:14 is an important verse for this very subject. The KJV says “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us”. The New Century Version says, “The Word became a human and lived among us”. While the “Message” interprets it as, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood”.

Mastering the Sunday/Monday transition
It doesn’t have to be this difficult. Christ has promised he’ll always be with us. We just tend to forget it. We need to:

- Stay in “constant” prayer. Don’t walk around with your eyes closed or you’ll run into something, but be in a constant mindset of prayer. Be aware of each situation and be prepared to seek God’s counsel.

- Read God’s word like you eat meals. I heard this from a wise (albeit pushy) man at Praise’s one day. For every meal you eat read at least one chapter of scripture. Remember that “..man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD”. Deuteronomy 8:3

- Be in fellowship with other believers. Whether it is friends from church, your spouse, or even a family member you need to have that connection. Hold each other accountable. Stoke each others spiritual fire so you don’t go from being Fired-up Frank on Sundays to Lukewarm Larry on Mondays.

The above lyrics sum it all up perfectly. Casting Crowns’ The Altar and the Door:

The above is from Bob's website, I take no credit for the message above, just thought it needed to be shared.


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Tuesday Jr. High Live 9-9-08

WOW! We had a big crowd today! We had 10 or 11, thought 11 but now looking through the pictures maybe 10? They move around so much, hard to keep up. :) Here are some pictures. We had a good study, continuing on renewal and what the world tells us about renewal.

Jason

Tuesday Jr. High Live 9-2-08

We had a great study and activities meeting today. We had 6 Youth in attendance, we had two first time Jr. High students participate. We studied the first section in Renewal. We are using the same study that we use for Sr. High, but tayloring it to Jr. High.

After study, we had free time, playing pool (with 2 broken pool sticks now), foosball, Dance Dance Revolution type game and we also brokeout the ol stand by, Pac Man.

(Photo taken with camera phone, thus the low quality.)

Talked about the up coming Pool Party, bring back those Medical Treatment forms!

Jason

JR & SR HIGH POOL PARTY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

We will make another attempt at a back to School Pool Party, this time we will try it minus the hurricane, although, I was just watching the news, and there are 2 or 3 more storms lined up heading our way!!!! They should be gone in plenty of time for our party.

Where: Richard & Cheryl Archambault's House
(Call Jason for Directions 464-1556)
When: Saturday September 13th 1:00pm - 4:00pm
What: Pool Party and cook out
Who: All 6th-12th Grade Youth, that have turned in their medical treatment forms.
How: If you need a ride, call Jason @ 464-1556, we will work it out.

What do I need to bring?:
Bathing Suit
Towel
Signed & Notarized Medical Treatment form, if not already turned in. We will only need this once. It will be good for one year, so once we get it, you are good for all future activities.

See you Tuesday (Jr. High) or Wednesday (Sr. High)!

Jason

SR High Study RENEWAL Part 3

We had another great study, we finished the 3 part series on renewal. 7 Youth were in attendance. Here is some of the scripture we referenced.:

1 Samuel 12:21
21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless.

Proverbs 28:19
19 He who works his land will have abundant food,
but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.

Proverbs 12:12
12 The wicked desire the plunder of evil men,
but the root of the righteous flourishes.

Kings 17:15
15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the LORD had ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and they did the things the LORD had forbidden them to do.

Exodus 34:6-7
6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

Ephesians 6:10-18
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we[a] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.[b] 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.[c] 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

1st Jr. High Meeting a Success!

We had a great Jr. High meeting. We all meet at the Youth House after school on Tuesday. We had 6 Jr. High youth attend.

We got to know a little more about one another, went over the youth house rules, talked about the upcoming September 13th Jr & Sr High Pool Party. (MEDICAL RELEASES NEED TO BE COMPLETED, NOTARIZED and TURNED IN BEFORE PARTICIPATING IN AN OFF CAMPUS ACTIVITY, so be sure to return your forms to me ASAP!!)

We went over the prayer/praise easel. Closed in prayer and then had free time.

We all had a blast playing, foosball and pool (Down to one pool stick, anybody have a spare? Pool with one pool stick is interesting.)