This is a really good site for information in making sure that you are safe on the internet. It is good for youth, parents and youth workers alike. It is so easy to think you are safe in your own home tapping away on your computer - but how safe are you?

www.thinkuknow.co.uk

Feb. 26: Num 7:48-9:14; Mark 6:1-13
Feb. 27: Num 9:15-11:23; Mark 6:14-44
Feb. 28: Num 11:24-13:33; Mark 6:45-7:13
Mar. 1: Num 14:1-15:21; Mark 7:14-37
Mar. 2: Num 15:22-16:40; Mark 8:1-21
Mar. 3: Num 16:41-19:10; Mark 8:22-38
Mar. 4: Num 19:11-22:14; Mark 9:1-29

I was reading Mark chapter 3. It says here that Jesus ‘glanced around at them with vexation and anger, grieved at the hardening of their hearts’

You know that look your mum gives you of disaproval when you have stepped over the line. I would often be on the receiving end of it and it meant if I dared go any further with what I was doing there would be serious repercussions! I bet that was nothing with the look Jesus gave the Pharisees. His look of disaproval would have shaken me to the core. Why was he angry? because their hearts were hard.

It is one thing to make mistakes, to have stupid things slip out of your mouth, to put your foot in it. We all make mistakes and fail in things. It is one of the ways we grow-by learning from our mistakes. God does not rebuke us for mistakes. What he doesn’t like is a hard heart. A heart that is so set on doing its on thing. A heart so hard that nothing God says can bend or shake it or change its course of action. it is a ’so what’ heart, a ‘am I bothered’ heart and a ‘yeah and…’ heart.

The opposite to a hard heart is a heart like Davids. Why did God love David so much? because he had a heart after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). This kind of heart loves Gods word, his voice and his touch. It drinks in his requests and does them with all its might. This kind of heart might make mistakes but it is mouldable and will in the end find God’s way of doing things. This heart ignores the shouts from its own desires and satisfactions because it has found a higher love that itself, it has fallen passionately in love with its God.

Try this great little game on Rogers Blog. He has written very clear instructions for you to follow. CLICK HERE

I was reading the story about the paralytic in Mark 2. How horrible to be a prisoner in your own body and not be able to do things for yourself. Jesus turns to the man and says “your sins are forgiven”. He doesn’t heal him. Does this mean that our sins are worse than being paralysed? The religious guys are mumbling “aha who does he think he is only God can forgive sins.” They are right, only God can take away our guilt and make us right with Him again. “Ok” Jesus replies “so you know who I am I will ask him to get up off the bed and walk.” So that is what he does, a fantastic miracle occurs andthe paralytic man gets up and walks.

Now Jesus has shown the people an amazing truth - that he is God. Wow - in their room they have in Jesus the almighty, everlasting, eternal God. It is incredible. You would think it would blow their minds. You would have thought they would fall on their faces to worship him. No. What do the people think is great? The miracle! We have to be careful we do not get so carried away with the effect of power in people’s lives we miss the point. It is great to see people healed, restored, saved, and our lives changed - but this is not the focus of our faith - it is God.

How sad it would be if we forget the awesome fact that God is with us. It would be tragic to get so caught up in the effects of God’s presence with us that we forget to worship God himself.

This is one of Sam’s favourite youtube clips. Sing along everybody. (Sorry Stephen it is youtube again!!!!) CLICK HERE

This is the wonderful piece of information my daughter told me first thing this morning.

If you trump consistantly for 9 years 6 months and 11 days there would be enough gas to blow up the world!!!

Feb. 19: Lev 23:9-25:12; Mark 2
Feb. 20: Lev 25:13-26:26; Mark 3:1-19
Feb. 21: Lev 26:27 - Num 1:31; Mark 3:20-4:9
Feb. 22: Num 1:32-3:10; Mark 4:10-20
Feb. 23: Num 3:11-4:28; Mark 4:21-41
Feb. 24: Num 4:29-5:31; Mark 5:1-20
Feb. 25: Num 6:1-7:47; Mark 5:21-43

WELL DONE FOR ALL OF YOU STILL UP TO DATE!! You have a week off school to catch up.

It is half term holidays - BRILLIANT. I know that some teens (not you obviously) will waste precious time moping aroung the house complaining they are bored. With so many things and places geared to entertain kids and teens (and even adults) boredom is now seen as an unnecessary evil. It is something we should never have to feel - WRONG.

Business and entertainment masks the state of our inner person. Some try to hide the sadness, loneliness, emptiness, uncomfortableness, lack of self esteem or challenges they face by keeping occupied. They don’t want to feel bored because it feels too uncomfortable.

Sometimes it is good to be quiet and on our own to find out what our thoughts and motives really are. We find out what makes us tick and what we really believe. It is in these moments we can find God. It is when we pour out the real us we find in these moments that we have the time and the honesty that God has room to meet us in.

Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God

There is even more….when we are bored we learn to dream, plan and get ideas for our future. I read an article in the Week magazine that argued most of the world’s transforming and creative ideas have come out of moments of boredom. Thoughts arose and were developed at times of nothing to do but think. This article encouraged parents not to entertain their kids all the time but let them have boring times to find out who they really were. To develop and find dreams, hopes and thoughts that will give them character, understanding and vision. Entertainment can produce empty headed and characterless people - boredom can produce something incredibly life changing and creative, it depends what you do with it!

There will be more of these to come!!!!

Want to impress your teachers? Try fitting these into a conversation:

discombobulated

elegiac lamentations

dactylic hexameter

fulcrum (used this week in the bible tour blog!!!)

penultimate

convoluted

If in doubt of the meanings of these words wikipedea can help!!!!

Today we see the launch of a new XCEL group on Fridays. This is due to the amazing number of friends that are asking questions about God and want something more. Quiet a few of these are the cool peeps that come along to the Wotsit (Christian Union) at Sallendine Nook High School. It is sooo exciting and I am really looking forward to it.

We are also launching a new XCEL in the nearby town Brighouse for a trail period of 6 weeks.

Please pray for the youth that come to these new groups and pray that we catch many fish!!

Winners 2007

• British Male Solo Artist James Morrison
• British Female Solo Artist Amy Winehouse
• British Group Arctic Monkeys
• MasterCard British Album Arctic Monkeys
  “Whatever people say I am, that’s what I’m not”
• British Single Take That “Patience”
• British Breakthrough Act Fratellis
• British Live Act Muse
• International Male Solo Artist Justin Timberlake
• International Female Solo Artist Nelly Furtado
• International Group The Killers
• International Album Killers “Sam’s Town”
• International Breakthrough Act Orson
• Outstanding Contribution to Music Oasis

So what do you think of the winners? Did they deserve their prizes?

 1 Corinthians 3:11-13 

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.  Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.

Imagine you have been asked to build a monument to last generations. It is to be a masterpiece of artwork to celebrate an international event. You spend all your life working on this massive structure. You get tierd, weary, but you know that the importance of this artwork will last for generations so you keep going. It has taken you every day for 60 years to build and on the proud day when the grand opening occurs. The veil is removed and everyone gasps in pleasure and the beauty of such a massive wonder. Then it starts to rain. At first it looks ok, but as the day wears on it is plain to see that the substance you have been given to make the monument with is water soluble and the rain is washing the whole thing down the drain. In a couple of days it has washed away!!! It has melted like a giant snowman!!!

Your life is a masterpiece to be created. You have gifts, talents, good deeds and a character to use, create and develop. Some would use their lives to build up for themselves money, respectability, fame, a good time, power or intellectual pride but all these things will not last. They are like building with straw and at the last days they will be burnt up. All this will be left behing when they die. How tragic!

Imagine, however, building your life with silver and gold. A good character, a serving heart, a love for others, a passion for God, a devotional worship, a responsive obedience to God…. all these things are solid and will gleam as precious riches on the day when you meet God.

Does the world think that these are precious? No way!! The world thinks that you are foolish for putting God before fun, love before self, obedience before laziness and giving before getting. They will not understand, but God sees what you do. He waits for a glorious day when he will be able to show those who laugh at you now the silver and gold within you sparkling in its true colours. You will be able to keep these treasures for eternity.

 (This is the picture of me n my dog. I wanted to show you that you can see something of the dog - a vague shape - but not the colour, breed, sex, the collar, nature or even the true height. Is she wearing a dog coat? Has she a bandage? You just can not tell.)

Ecclesiastes 6:12
For who knows what is good for a man in life, during the few and meaningless days he passes through like a shadow?

1 Chronicles 29:15
We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.

Without God our lives are meaningless and hopeless. We pass through this life so quickly. It may seem like you have ages ahead but go and ask anyone in their 70’s how fast has their life past and they will tell you. Time passes quickly. Before you know it our time on the earth is coming to an end.

We only get one shot at this life thing - so we need to make sure everyday counts.

 With God we can build with silver and gold that will last for eternity? How do we do this?

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