The year 2007.

It’s a year that’s come aftecr 2006, and a wonderful forerunner of 2008. It’s been filled with 12 months consisting of 30 days each (on average), and has enjoyed 365 revolutions of the earth. 2007 has, in fact, done a superb job of being the middle year of the second half of the first decade of the 21^st century.

And in this year, one youth group(well actually I hope more than one but in this case I’m referring to only one) has undergone some massive growth and change. It’s enjoyed wonderful fellowship, has had some exciting new events and ministries start, heard the Gospel of Jesus and has spread that Gospel to teenagers in the central coast.

Ladies, Gentlemen and year 10 boys, take a brisk walk with me through 2007; the year that China somehow thought had something to do with pigs.

SUMMERFEST

The CCECYOUTH year started way before school returned with Summerfest! In an excerpt from the first ever edition of J-walk, Josh Bones describes Eleven 50:

This year Eleven 50 went off! Meeting for the second year in the youth centre at Erina Fair, each night about 60 teenagers and 15 leaders came to hang out, have fun, eat great food, and most importantly hear about our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I tell you what; it was certainly a week that I’ll never forget! Each night there was heaps of entertainment available for even the most demanding game junkie. It ranged from ping pong and table tennis, to foosball and pinball, and even a few decks of cards for the calmer people among us. When you add to that great coffee, even better cheese platters, and enough ice-cream and cakes to feed a small African nation, you got the makings of four fun nights!

PERMANENTLY MASSIVE

What was once a special treat once a term, in the dark ages of CCECYOUTH, became a permanent reality in 2007 as Juniors and Seniors merged their powers together and formed SUPER YOUTH GROUP! Ok so maybe not exactly like that but you get the drift. Each week at CCECYOUTH we’ve been able to spend time together singing to God and hanging out like a big happy family before breaking off again. Aaaaaw!!

YEAR 7

The once the big fish of Churn, year 7, have had a big transition into CCECYOUTH. Leader Alison Scott reflects on this year for the year 7 girls.

First term for year 7 girls was a very quiet with the girls sussing out what youth group was about and trying to work out Jacqui and me. Our first Break-it-Down saw the girls going down to the dell and having a fairy party where we all swam gracefully and ate enormous amounts of food, in particular chocolate, delicately. This is where our obsession with chocolate, in particular m&ms started. Our next break it down paid tribute to our chocoholic needs with a black and white night; with the girls dressing up in black and white with a visit from cat woman and a nun. The themes didn’t stop there and our other Break-it-Downs featured a Mexican theme and a fluro party, celebrating all the birthdays in the 2007 calendar year. PHAT was a great time for the girls as we became a closer group of friends, even though some were not aware of the traditions of PHAT. It was also at this time when the girls came out of their shells, becoming a very talkative group that loves to not only eat chocolate but to laugh, giggle, play jokes on the leaders (mostly Jacqui and me) as well as the other girls. Year 7 girls know when it is time to be serious with God and also when to have some serious fun balanced with ‘healthy’ amounts of chocolate. They say it is the quiet group you have got to watch, because they’re the ones that will cause the most trouble. I have found this to be true, so watch out for us in 2008 because we might play a joke on you!

J-WALK

In case you didn’t know, the magazine you are reading has only started its production this year. Our aim was to provide you guys with a biblical Christian perspective on the world around you as well as being an entertaining read. Over the eight editions issued over the year we sincerely hope we have met this aim. Feedback on J-walk has been positive and we hope to continue onto 2008!

PHAT PHAT PHAT!

Always a favourite time of the year, it’s hard to beat the award winning* youth camp- Phat. Behind the scenes organiser, Renae Godden gives the low down.

Phat as always was an awesome and encouraging time for all this year. We had great fun with Spies as the theme and, Japan taking the Phat mantle. More importantly Phat was a great time of reading God%

FRIENDS MATTER

Friends matter. My guess is that we all believe that statement. Friends matter.

The way that we use technology shows that friendship matters to us. Many of the websites that we use are all about social networking. What’s social networking? It’s about keeping in touch with friends. It’s about making new friends.

MySpace, Facebook, MSN Instant Messenger, SMS… all of these are about friendship, sometimes the friendship is superficial, but in the very least our use of these technologies shows that connecting with others and friendship matters.

Families were once the bed rock of our society. Our families would always be there. But for many people there is greater stability in our friendship group than there is in our family. Some studies have shown that teenagers today will prioritise their friends over their boyfriend or girlfriend. Boyfriend/girlfriend relationships bust up. But out friends are constant.

So for some people – without their friends – they have nothing… they have no-one.

Friends matter.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH US ABOUT FRIENDS AND FRIENDSHIP?

1) The Bible gives examples of good friendships

The Bible has some examples of great friendships that we can learn from.

David and Jonathan – 1 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. 1 Samuel 18:1-4

Dave and Jono had a great friendship – Jono was a very good friend to have! If you want to read a bit more about their friendship have a look at 1 Samuel 20.

Paul and Timothy – 19I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. 21For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. Philippians 2:19-22

There is a lot that we can learn from the gospel centred friendship of Paul and Timothy.

If friendship matters to you, it would do you well to learn from the example of some good friendships in the Bible.

2) The Bible gives great wisdom on how to be a friend

The Bible is full of good wisdom. Where do we turn for the book jam-packed with wisdom? Proverbs.

There are stacks of verses in Proverbs that give great ideas on how to be a friend and even what type of friends you should have.

Prov 11:13 – 13 A gossip betrays a confidence,
but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.

Good friends keep secrets.

Prov 17:9 – 9 He who covers over an offense promotes love,
but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

We are to love one another – forgive each other – not go behind our friends backs and bitch about them

Prov 17:17a – 17 A friend loves at all times,

Not much needs to be said about that one!

Prov 22:24-25 –

24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man,
do not associate with one easily angered,

25 or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared.

Be careful who you’re friends with and how they influence you. Peer pressure is big, if you’ve got friends who keep doing stupid things, be careful that you don’t join them in doing stupid things.

Prov 25:17 – 17 Seldom set foot in your neighbour’s house—
too much of you, and he will hate you.

Some times we can overstay our welcome at a friend’s house.

Prov 25:19 – 19 Like a bad tooth or a lame foot
is reliance on the unfaithful in times of trouble.

In times of trouble, when we trust in friends who are hopeless friends, it’s like trying to walk on a broken foot… painful!

Prov 27:9 – 9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
and the pleasantness of one’s friend springs from his earnest counsel.

There is great joy in friendship

The Bible has some great tips on how to be a friend and how to look for a friend.

Friendship is to be characterised by: love; sharing; concern; not gossiping; being reliable; being trustworthy.

What type of friend are you? If you weren’t you – would you be willing to be friends with you? Does that make sense?

Take encouragement from the Bible to both be a good friend and not be influenced by bad friends.

3) The Bible shows us what a friend we have in Jesus

From the third chapter of the Bible – we see that people are in a bad way.

In Genesis 3, we see people sin against God. This meant that they couldn’t be friends with God.

Romans 3:23 says that we have all sinned. We’ve all lived life ignoring God. Therefore, the Bible says that because of our sin, we can’t be in friendship with God.

The good news? Jesus. Look at what type of friend he is:

John 15:13 – 13Greater love has no one than this, that he [Jesus] lay down his life for his friends.

Do your friends suck? Jesus doesn’t.

Do your friends let you down? Jesus won’t.

Are you a bad friend? Jesus isn’t.

You will not find a better friend than the one we have in Jesus.

When the Lord Jesus willing lay down his life – he did it to bring us back into friendship with himself.

The cross of Jesus is God’s way of saying: LET’S BE FRIENDS.

When we look at the cross we see God reaching down his hand of friendship.

As the nails were pierced into Jesus’ hands, he did it that we could be brought back into friendship with him.

The context of John 15 is where Jesus is talking about him being the Vine and His People are the Branches. His point ultimately is to STAY CONNECTED TO JESUS.

You don’t just put your trust in Jesus once, you keep connected to him, you keep trusting in him, you keep speaking to him, you keep being friends with him.

FRIENDS MATTER FOR ETERNITY

Are you friends with Jesus?

The friendship that matters most, the friendship that will never be ruined, is a friendship with the creator of the universe. It’s a friendship that’s been made available through the cross of Jesus.

Jesus loves you so much that he lay down his life that you would trust him and be his friend.

Friends matter. Not just here and now, but for eternity. Keep trusting Jesus and you will be friends with him forever. Keep clinging to him, he won’t let you down.

BE A GOOD FRIEND

During the school holidays we spend lots of time with our friends. Here are two things you can do these holidays to be a good friend:

i) Remind each other of what a friend we have in Jesus

a Hang out with Christians.

b Remind each other of Jesus’ death and resurrection

c Encourage one another to keep trusting in Jesus

ii) Tell your friends who don’t know Jesus of the type of friend that he is

a Keep hanging out with your friends who don’t know Jesus

b Be careful you don’t do stupid things with them

c Point them to the cross

d Point them to the friend they can have in Jesus.

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*This article adapted from end of year FLUORO PARTY talk. Check the photos online.

How great are Christmas holidays! They’re a great opportunity to spend time at the beach; hang with friends and family; or perhaps chill out in front of the TV watching all the DVD’s you missed during the year. Not to mention sleepovers; Sydney day trips; Surfing; cycling; swimming; coffee and a touch of food shopping never goes wrong.

Oh! And spending time with God right?

Right?

It’s that hectic time of year and for some it can be the most dangerous. Our routine and structure, driven by school, is thrown out the window and all too often prayer and bible reading go with it.

Whilst all the above things are great and an integral part of holidays, our first priority should still be to Jesus. Work hard at ensuring the things you do these holidays are pleasing and, glorify him.

These holidays, spend time with he who loves you the most. Spend time reading Gods word to you and praying to him. Because coming back to these things after a 6 – 8 week break can sometimes be too much to handle.

Make sure you have a good Holyday.

“For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and for the life to come” 1 Timothy 4:8

Download 2 Corinthians Summer Holiday Bible Reading Notes (right click ’save as’)

WHY READ THE BIBLE THESE HOLIDAYS??

The Bible is like no other book.

In 2 Timothy as Paul is writing what is probably his last letter, he is keen to make sure that Timothy will continue the work of proclaiming Jesus. In chapter 3 he gives some key thoughts on how to get it right:

14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
(2 Timothy 3:14-17)

What is it that makes the Bible so special?

According to v15 it’s in the Bible that we are made wise for salvation. What does a cook book do? It makes you wise for cooking. What does the Bible do? It makes us wise for salvation. How does it do that? According to v15 it’s through faith in Christ Jesus. So as we read the Bible we are constantly pointed to Jesus. We understand that faith in ourselves will only bring death and judgment. But faith (or trust, believe, dependence) in Jesus leads to salvation… to new life… to an eternity knowing God!

In v16, the Bible claims to be the very breath of God. ALL Scripture is God-breathed. ALL Scripture is the word of God. As we read the Bible we are listening to the very words of THE Creator of the Universe! That’s seriously special stuff! We can trust that the Bible is reliable and trustworthy because God is reliable and trustworthy. What a privilege to listen to the God of the universe speak to us.

The Bible is useful. When I went to school I struggled to understand how anything in my mathematics textbook was useful! The Bible is different from maths. The Bible is actually useful! According to v16 it’s useful for teaching rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. And… not just in a superficial way. In v17 we see that Bible can thoroughly equip us to serve God.

Why read the Bible?

• It makes us wise for Salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
• Because It’s the very word of God
• It’s useful in lots of ways.

If you want to keep going and growing as a Christian these holidays: Stay close to the Bible. Read it. Delight in it. Learn from it. Study it. Pray from it. Share it. Remember it.

Maybe spend some time each week talking about the things that you have learned. Chat to your family, chat to your friends, your leader, leave a comment on the website. READ THE BIBLE… IT’S GOOD!!

Download 2 Corinthians Summer Holiday Bible Reading Notes (right click ’save as’)

A (very) Brief History of the Man in the Red Suit

Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Sinterklaas, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas. His names and guises are many and varied. The tales that surround the origins of Santa Claus are actually pretty fascinating. Germanic, Dutch and Nordic traditions each have there own version of a Yule-time gift-giver, and these traditions have melded with the figure of Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra (modern day Turkey), along with the British character of Father Christmas, to give us the jolly man in red and white and his eight or nine reindeer. There is no truth to the rumour that Coca-Cola invented Santa Claus, though they are mainly responsible for his red and white garb: he used to wear green, grey, and various other colours until particularly successful advertising campaigns in the 1930s.

Santa is a Jolly Big Jerk: The Subversion of the Saint

According the ‘Christian’ tradition, Santa Claus can be traced back to the fourth century, to the Bishop of Myra in Lycia, a province of Byzantine Anatolia, which is modern day Turkey. This bishop, Saint Nicholas, was apparently famed for his generosity, most exemplified in his providing dowries for three young women to prevent them from having to resort to prostitution.

That sounds about right doesn’t it? Kindly old guy gives gifts to the unfortunate. That’s pretty similar to our modern Santa Claus, isn’t it? Perhaps not.

a. Santa perpetuates the oppression of the poor

Santa might once have been generous, seeking to give to the poor and alleviate the suffering of the needy, but I tell you, he’s changed. Santa is no longer generous; he no longer seeks to bring cheer to the poor at Christmas time. No, Santa has a new master, the almighty dollar.

Ever noticed Santa just doesn’t seem to make it to the developing countries (unless of course, there happens to be a television crew around)? Where are the extravagant gifts for poor children in Africa? Why doesn’t Santa give generously to the people who need it the most? If he was really such a good guy, surely he’d realise that many of us in the developed world can afford to buy our own presents, and so he’d use his miraculous and unlimited resources to spread a little Christmas cheer to kids who struggle to find enough food to last them the day.

No instead, Santa’s out there making the rich richer. He gives much to those who already have much, yet gives nothing to those who have nothing. Not such a nice guy after all.

It gets worse.

b. Santa seeks to usurp the throne of God

There are three main ways that Santa seeks to throw the Lord God off his throne.

1. Misplaced gratitude:

God is the giver of every good gift (James 1:17). In His sovereignty, He provides us with work and an income, which we use to buy food, clothes, housing and Christmas presents. Everything we have, we have only because God in His kindness has given it to us. Indeed, the whole point of gift-giving at Christmas time is to remind each other of God’s greatest gift to us: His own Son, Jesus. Immanuel: God with us. When we give and receive gifts at Christmas time, then, we ought to be thankful to the Lord God for His gracious provision to us. Instead, along comes Santa Claus, stealing the limelight, taking credit for fabulous presents, and seeking to distract us from being thankful to God.

2. Attributed with characteristics that belong to God:

Around Christmas I get very tired of people telling my two year old daughter “You’d better be good, Santa’s watching” or “Santa will know if you’ve been a good girl”. Apparently these days Santa is omniscient, that is, he knows all and sees everything. According to popular culture, Santa watches the behaviour of children, and rewards “good” kids with extravagant gifts. He used to give lumps of coal to naughty kids, but as far as I can tell, all kids must be pretty good; I don’t recall too many children receiving coal lately (either that or Santa’s gone carbon-neutral and is using less fossil fuels).

Santa is not God. He is not the one to whom we will have to give account for our actions. No, we will have to give account to the Lord of the Universe, Creator of Heaven and Earth! A lump of coal is nothing, nothing, in comparison to the wrath of God revealed against the unrighteousness of man. Praise God for the Lord Jesus, for who could stand before Him, but by the blood of the Son! Therein lies the joy and hope we celebrate at Christmas: no gift of Santa’s could possibly be as great and glorious as God’s gift of His Son! “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, ESV).

3. Suppression of the truth:

The place of religion (and Christianity in particular) in the public sphere has come in for much debate in recent times. Many shopping centres will no longer allow nativity scenes, and have weeded out the ‘religious’ Christ-themed carols they play from October onwards. Christmas has become XMAS, as secular society seeks to rub out any reminder of Christ from the holiday season. This isn’t actually that surprising; mankind has been doing this for ages.

Romans 1:18-23 tells us “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles” (ESV).

Humans have this nasty habit of always trying to take God out of the equation, so the gradual and sneaky usurping of Christmas ought not to surprise us. Santa’s hold on Christmas is just one of the ways we’ve tried to shove God off His throne, and stash him away, justifying it, because after all, in a civilised society, religion is a private thing, and if we celebrate Christ’s birth at Christmas time, we might offend people.

Reclaiming CHRISTmas

I heard a story recently about a shopping centre in Beijing that decided to put up some Christmas decorations (the Chinese don’t traditionally celebrate Christmas, but no doubt, this shopping complex figured it might be an advantageous marketing ploy). You can imagine the shock of Western tourists when they wandered through the doors one morning in December to see an enormous cross, with Santa Claus crucified upon it. This made me laugh at first, but I was sobered to realise that it’s really not that amusing. The meaning of Christmas has been obscured by the rampant commercialisation and materialism that has gripped Western society.

In my anti-Santa, anti-materialism campaign this Christmas, I’ve actually had to remind myself of how fantastic Christmas is. I had to remind myself that although Christmas has been stolen, ransacked, abused, misrepresented and completely sold-out, it really is a day we ought to cherish with great joy.

The world needs to know about Christmas, it needs to understand what it actually means to proclaim “Peace on Earth” and “Goodwill to all men”. These aren’t token phrases used to convey a mild sense of nice-ness, and warm fuzzy friendliness to each other. These are great truths to be cherished. That God, Creator and Judge, should send His own Son, born as a man at Christmas time, to die for men at Easter time, is a profound and awesome truth.

This Christmas, remember what you’re celebrating. God’s greatest gift to us:

Immanuel “God with us”.

Isaiah 9:6 (ESV)
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Some people can’t stand carols. They find the music kitschy and old fashioned. The words are hard to understand (in exlcelsius Deo anyone?). Everything about Christmas carols seems irrelevant to our culture. I can understand this argument because we want to move with the times and keep making music for people now not people three hundred years ago.

Something that turns me off carols is the packaging. I hate green and red, I hate reindeer and I hate the Wiggles. These are the things that always seem to pop up around carols at Christmas time. The reason I hate all this stuff is that it all screams fakeness. There is nothing more hypocritical than having a bunch of pagans get on TV and sing about the great news of Jesus. I hate the way a nation that has spent the last twelve months breaking all kinds of commandments comes together to sing ‘Joy to the world the Lord has come’ and go back home to their lives of rebellion. I hate it when people don’t sing genuinely.

That’s why I love singing at our church and youth group. When we sing we mean what we say. The stuff we sing changes our lives and our hearts. I can see it in people’s faces when we sing together and I see it in people’s lives as they interact with each other and the world.

What about the guys who wrote the carols? Three hundred years ago were they just the rockers who were commissioned to write some songs about Jesus, or were they really on about what they wrote?

Some were. Isaac Watts wrote ‘Joy to the World’. He also wrote about 1500 other hymns and songs to praise Jesus. His songs stand out as being centred on Jesus and what he has done, the same way as the Bible is. He was totally blown away by the fact that Jesus would die in his place.

‘Twas for my sins my dearest Lord
Hung on the cursed tree,
And groaned away a dying life
For thee, my soul, for thee.’

Isaac Watts was sold out, genuine, on fire for Jesus. He would shudder now to think of the many who have used his songs but have not been moved to love Christ more. For many, his songs are just songs that are sung each year to keep us feeling good about ourselves rather than helping us to see our own sin and God’s grace more clearly.

Another Carol writer who was genuine was Charles Wesley. He wrote ‘Hark the Herald Angels sing’. He became a Christian while he was at uni. His brother and he were so convicted of their new faith that they gave up their careers and studies and traveled the world telling people about Jesus. Charles’ brother John would preach the sermon and Charles would write music to go with the sermons. Charles was also blown away by the grace God offered him through Jesus’ blood.

‘And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Saviour’s blood
died he for me who brought his pain
for me, who him to death pursued’

This is why I love carols. They stand for genuine joy, Joy that is seen in people’s hearts and lives changed by Jesus. Sometimes in all our newness and desire to have new music, we can lose the heart of many of the old hymn writers. They were guys and girls who stood for Christ and wrote songs that exalted him.

Some carols are rubbish. ‘Silent Night’ is a load of garbage. ‘Away in a manger’ has nothing to say and all it does is it makes me think of Jesus as being a little baby who doesn’t cry. But there are carols that are all about the real joy that can be found at Christmas. The joy that is found in a savior who has come. Keep singing carols and sing them the way they were meant to be sung. With joy. With love. With genuine sincerity. Perhaps then we can show the world what they are missing when they sing each year.

‘Let earth receive her King.’

The bumper Christmas holiday 07/08 issue.

Click here to download simple format (viewable on screen)

Click here to download fancy booklet (not for the faint hearted)

Click here to view and discuss articles online – more will be added over the next week