Goodness

This Tuesday, Dan Steiner came to Tuesday chapel to share about our fruit of the month, GOODNESS. I personally think it's a hard  word to really describe and sum up, and Dan did an awesome job of it.
First, there is conflict between what we believe is good and what God believes is good. The two questions he answered were: how do i make sense of what is GOOD in the world? and how can I live a GOOD life? Romans 3:10 says we are born with a sinful nature. The bottom line is, we can't be GOOD. However, He is perfectly good, all good things come from him. The only thing that can make us GOOD is God acting in and through us. A lie I know I've caught myself thinking is that "I'm not that bad". Not true, without God, there is no GOOD to be found in us. Dan used the example of kids - they need to be taught what is GOOD because their instincts aren't always to do what is best.
God's goodness, however, can counter out wickedness. Goodness is what God finds pleasant and favorable.
So, anything we do well at, HE deserves the credit. He wants us to be good because God helps us to be good. Don't be 'good' to please others, be GOOD to please God, and do it with his help.
In closing, we need to be willing to be ok with the fact that it's GOD THAT'S GOOD.

Cultural Awareness Week

Sooooo....this Thursday in chapel, we celebrated different cultures through videos, an offering for the school's ongoing fundraiser for Project Peanut Butter, listened to Caleb Ivanitsky share about the culture of Nepal, and heard students pray in other languages for our school.
It was eye-opening just to see how people live and all the differences in culture, food, living conditons, etc in Nepal. Caleb's talk was both informative and engaging. I also enjoyed hearing prayers in Korean, French, Cantonese, and German. It is amazing that God hears us in any and ever language because he created them all.

HS/MS Chapel 1/12/12

Jon Martinez spoke to us this morning about 4 chairs. He spoke about how each of us are in 4 different spots. Each of us are sitting in one of the chairs, but challeneged us to think if we are satisfied with which chair we are sitting in.

He challeneged us to think about which chair we'd like to sit in & to ask God about what He has called us to live like.

You can't just be on fire for God & to live your faith out loud without growing. Being in the Word, praying, getting around other believers, & being plugged into a church is just as important to keep going.

He also challenged us to not be lukewarm Christians that are neither growing nor looking for something to do for Christ.

“If you decide that it’s a bad thing to worship God, then choose a god you’d rather serve – and do it today. Choose one of the gods your ancestors worshiped from the country beyond The River, or one of the gods of the Amorites, on whose land you’re now living. But as for me and my family, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD!” – Joshua 24:15