2/12/12 – Week 1 – God’s Original Design

It’s the month of love… in fact, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and so we are going to use the next few weeks to talk about love…… MS Series// By: Todd Veleber

2/12/12 – Week 1 – God’s Original Design

It’s the month of love… in fact, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and so we are going to use the next few weeks to talk about love… and relationships, dating and sex.  There is no doubt that there is quite a bit of confusion when it comes to these topics.  And the problem is not a lack of information… it’s just trying to figure out what is the correct information.  And so my big goal for you in this series is not just to present information, but I really hope that you will engage and even dialogue with me each week.  Now, I have plenty to say and could spend and hour each week just talking and still not have enough time to share all God says.  But I want this series to be a conversation where we can learn together.  Read More

2/19/12 – Week 2 – Guy Talk/Girl Talk

In case you never thought of it before, let me tell you something huge tonight… guys and girls are different.  I’m going to share with you some of the stereotypical differences between guys and girls tonight.  Now, I understand that these are stereotypes.  Some of you will come up to me and go “Oh, that’s not me.” And I will go, yeah, okay, sure!  But this isn’t for 100% of guys and 100% of girls, but I think you will find that these are pretty true.  They are pretty true because most have been proven true since God created Adam and Eve.  And I think that is a great place to start.  God created us with differences.  Look at what the Bible says in Genesis 1:27 Read More

I told you I would share a bit of what God taught me while on Sabbatical and one of those areas He really pushed in to my heart was regarding my communication with Him.  We know this as prayer.  Here’s the short story… 1/18/12 – HS

I told you I would share a bit of what God taught me while on Sabbatical and one of those areas He really pushed in to my heart was regarding my communication with Him.  We know this as prayer.  Here’s the short story – I really enjoy reading the Bible.  In fact, I really enjoy reading the Bible and all kinds of other Christian books and books on ministry.  And I would rather read than pray.  And so even though I’ve always been consistent in meeting the Lord in the mornings, a lot of my time with Him centered around reading His Word.  Not bad, I guess, other than this tug on my heart to pray – and pray more.

I’ll be honest – it is always awkward to teach on prayer.  First, because I don’t feel all that confident – not even like I could teach as an “expert” but that I have so much room to grow in this area that I don’t feel all that confident teaching on it.  And if I had to guess, most of you may say the same thing.  Because we know the Bible has a lot to say about prayer and we know we should be praying – but I would guess most of you are frustrated that you don’t pray enough.  Or even at all.  Am I right?

And so know my heart – I’m not up here to tell you what the Bible says and then try to put a guilt trip on you to pray more.  Because chances are you know what it says, you’ve been coming to church, you’ve known that you are to pray, and yet you’re probably frustrated on some level about your prayer life.

So let me tell you what God has been teaching me.  And in doing so, hopefully you will have a shift in your thinking when it comes to prayer.  Now I can’t really do that.  As always, my goal is simply to present God’s Word as truth and then you have a decision to make.  But I’m always praying that the Holy Spirit will do a great work here in our high school ministry.

I think there are really three categories when it comes to praying.
1.  Duty
Chances are most of you view prayer as something you need to do or half to do.  And to a degree that is true, right?  But what I’ve learned is that there isn’t much joy in duty.  Think of it this way.  I love my wife.  But what if my response was – “Hi honey I’m home (because that is the right thing to say) and come here so I can kiss you (because that is what all good husbands are supposed to do) and please tell me about your day (because I really am not that interested but I know I’m supposed to ask).  How successful to you think our relationship would be?  How many would see that and go, “Wow, there’s some real love going on in that marriage there.  I hope to have that one day.”

Let me throw out a question and hear your responses.  Do you think God would rather us pray out of duty or not pray at all?  Now that may seem like a bit of a trick question and at times I think I have not really known the right answer.  Years ago I would have probably said “Duty”.  But I stand here today and would actually say that I believe God would rather us not pray at all, than to simply pray out of duty.  Why would I say that?  1 Samuel 16:7, “The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Motives matter to God.  In fact, they matter greatly.  So then the question becomes, “How do I get the right motives?”  Good – we are going to get to that one after the next category.

2.  Discipline
That word scares most of us unless you are type-A, hard-charging personalities that actually enjoy discipline.  Now let me say from the start that I want to be careful with this category because obviously discipline is not a bad thing.  But I do want to show how in prayer it isn’t the best thing.

You guys know that I love to run.  And when I say I love to run – I really mean it.  I look forward to getting home, grabbing my iPod, lacing up my shoes and pounding the pavement.  Some days I don’t want to run, but I do it anyway.  That’s discipline and usually discipline in a good way.  But here’s what I know – I couldn’t run consistently just for the sake of discipline.  I don’t think discipline could sustain my running habit.

Have you ever been to a gym in January?  It’s the worst time for any gym or health club.  When I used to work out at Premier regularly, I hated January.  Why?  Because that is when everybody got on their health kick for New Years.  Waiting for a machine or the weights was horrible.  It was crowded, but here is what I always knew.  February was coming… and it would die down.  Most people’s discipline didn’t last beyond a month.  It couldn’t sustain them as a motivating factor for trying to lose weight or get healthy.

3.  Delight
So my hope is to try to move us away from duty or discipline and into delight. Because I think the best motivator out there isn’t duty or discipline, but rather it’s delight. If you delight in something, you will be far more apt to be disciplined at something rather than just trying to create discipline in your life in the hope that it will bring about delight. If you love something, if you love doing something, you’re much more apt to do it and actually build things into your life that enable and empower it. If you don’t delight in it, then regardless of what kind of discipline you put in place, you’re going to stumble, fall, fail and eventually give up.

I love coming home from work.  I open the door and hear “Daddy… Daddy (echo)” and then my two little boys in a full-on sprint around the corner to get to me.  They jump into my arms because they have been waiting all day for me to get home.  For a dad, there is no greater feeling in the world.  Now think this through with me.  As much as I love my three boys – none of them has ever perfectly pleased me.   There hasn’t been a single day when any of them haven’t sinned or failed to keep our rules (much less God’s rules) perfectly.  Yet, when I come home, they come running.  They still love me and want to hang with me despite their failures and shortcomings.  Why?  Because even though there are times that I can hurt them, say an ugly word to them or times that I have to discipline them – they know that I love them.  I delight in them.  I ask them every night when I tuck them in “How much does Daddy love you?”  Cole always says, “As high as the moon.”  Then I say, “Will Daddy always love you?”  Yes.  “When you are good?”  Yes.  “What if you are bad?”  Yes, Daddy, you will always love us.

The main issue in our prayerlessness is we have a problem believing and grasping that God likes us, enjoys us and delights in us. I don’t think we have any problem at all with the big idea that God loves us.  You’ve been singing, “Jesus loves me this I know” since you were little.   But if I pushed in to the depths of your heart, I bet you struggle with the truth that God delights in you, rejoices in you and loves you.  I think this is where some of you find yourself with Jesus.  You love the idea that Jesus loves you, but you don’t love Jesus.  You have a lot of head knowledge but very little heart transformation.  And God cares about your heart.  Jesus wants to transform your heart.  Give you new desires and a new delight.

Matthew 11:28 is a well known text and in it Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  This is an uncommon invitation. Jesus Christ says, “Hey, if you’re exhausted, if you’re bitter, if you’re lonely, if you’re angry, if you struggle, come here.” What an invitation!

Now, you’ve got to hear this invitation as it relates to prayer. Because the invitation isn’t, “Start doing what’s right.” The invitation is, “Come to Me. You’re not doing what’s right.” So the solution to our need – what weighs heavy on us and what exhausts us is not us trying harder at overcoming those things, but it’s rather us coming to Jesus, walking with Jesus, being in a relationship with Jesus that overpowers our affections.

I think it’s really important for you to dial in and understand that, when it comes to prayer – the answer isn’t to will yourself to prayer harder and not struggle in prayer anymore.  Because if that worked, you would have done that already.  So we have to start with delight.  We have to believe that Jesus is more lovely than anything else we can give our time, energy or attention to.  He is worth chasing after and communicating with because of who He is and the joy He brings to our lives.  And then as Jesus becomes greater and more magnificent in your life… as He becomes your greatest delight and love, your communication will follow your heart.  As Jesus becomes more spectacular, why would you choose a lesser joy over a greater joy?  Your prayers will reflect your desires – they will become a delight.

My heart for you, for me and for us as a high school ministry is that understanding the delight God has in us based and built on Jesus Christ would lead us to boldly approach Him in prayer.  That our lives and this ministry would be known by our fervency and devotion to prayer.  And my hope is that we might join God in where He is working – for that is where we will find our greatest delight and He will receive the most glory.

1/15/12 – Week 1 – It’s Not What You Think

Where do you go when you feel like the gas gauge on your life shows “E”?  Or when your spiritually battery is running low?  If you were here last week, you’ll remember… ms series//By: Todd Veleber

1/15/12 – Week 1 – It’s Not What You Think

Where do you go when you feel like the gas gauge on your life shows “E”?  Or when your spiritually battery is running low?  If you were here last week, you’ll remember that we talked about “Bulls-eye Living” and said in a nutshell that God created you with a purpose and your goal is to find your satisfaction and identity in Christ and to glorify Him in all that you do.  And I bet most of you would agree with that and may even say that you are living that way.
But what happens when you get disconnected from God as your source of power?  How do you get recharged?  Continue Reading

1/23/12 – Week 2 – It’s Easier Than You Think

So we started this series last week with the hope of learning what does it mean to live in connection with Jesus Christ.  If you follow Him, I’m sure you would say two things: 1. It is important to you to have a relationship with Jesus and communicate with Him regularly and 2. You try really hard at that connection, but don’t feel like you have much success.
As I told you last week, I am definitely speaking out of my own personal struggles, failures and even successes in this area.  It’s been a lifelong journey for me to try to understand how to walk in faith and live in connection with my Savior Jesus Christ.  And that desire for connection for me has come out of a joy and happiness in my Savior – who He is and what He has done for me and not some sort of duty. Continue Reading

1/29/12 – Week 3 – It’s Bigger Than You Think

So let’s jump right in tonight.  We are wrapping up this series called “Refuel” where the big idea has been that God not only created and loves you, but He desires to have a relationship with you.  And the God of the universe doesn’t want a distant relationship with you, but he wants an up-close, spiritual, and intimate relationship. You and I can have that and be filled with him. We can be spiritually refueled all the time because the presence of God is right here. Continue Reading

By: Todd Veleber

1/8/12 – Week 1

Here’s what I know about being an athlete, dancer, being super-smart, being in good shape and the list could go on and on.  It takes a lot of time, energy, discipline, and dedication.  Playing any sport… MS Wildlife Series

By: Todd Veleber

1/8/12 – Week 1

Here’s what I know about being an athlete, dancer, being super-smart, being in good shape and the list could go on and on.  It takes a lot of time, energy, discipline, and dedication.  Playing any sport or doing anything worthwhile in life is really tough.  But even in the midst of all that is required, people continue to train and play.

People train and compete for variety of reasons.  They value the reward of participation.  They enjoy the benefits of competition.  They like the company of their teammates.  And the thrill of winning is a “rush” that’s difficult to explain.  But people mainly train and compete because there is a goal.  There is something to accomplish. Continue Reading

11/6/11 – Week 1

Was there ever a time you’ve had to give up? This usually sounds like a bad thing. But you know what? Scripture tells us we’re called to give up…are you… Surrender// MS Series // Mikey Puckett

11/6/11 – Week 1

Was there ever a time you’ve had to give up? This usually sounds like a bad thing. But you know what? Scripture tells us we’re called to give up…are you ready for this??  Our lives.  The big word for this in the Bible is “Surrender.” But what does that even mean? We’re gonna be spending the next 5 weeks talking about this idea of surrender. Continue Reading

11/13/11 – Week 2

One of my good friends would constantly suck his thumb.  He would suck on his thumb so much that it started to look deformed.  His parents ended up every day painting his thumb with nail polish so it tasted disgusting when he tried to suck on it.  My friend made his thumb sucking habit into an idol.  Continue Reading

11/20/11 – Week 3

Do you guys have moments in your life that you want to hide?  Do you have moments in life where you just want to run away or where you have run away?  Why do you do this?  Why do you run away and hide?    Continue Reading

12/4/11 – Week 4

There is a battle going on between our flesh and our Spirit; a battle between our sinful nature and our life in Christ.  Are you willing to surrender the loves in your life that come before God?   Continue Reading 

12/11/11 – Week 5

Surrender is a big word for giving up, letting go, losing control. And here’s the big idea for this series: When we give up our lives, we end up finding TRUE LIFE. Jesus says this very thing in Matthew 16:25.   Continue Reading

11/2/11- Week 1

For a lot of people, the idea of spiritual warfare can be pretty scary. Most of that fear comes from the fact that we just don’t know very much about… HS Series//by: Joel Piedt & Randy VanWingerden

11/2/11- Week 1

For a lot of people, the idea of spiritual warfare can be pretty scary. Most of that fear comes from the fact that we just don’t know very much about it. So we don’t want to talk about it or learn about it. We keep away from it, which only serves to sustain our fear!!  So we need to move forward in confidence and see what God’s Word saysContinue Reading  

11/9/11- Week 2

So last week we talked about our spirits, and how they make up the essence of who we are. Pretty simple concept. God’s Spirit But this week let’s consider a more mysterious idea: God’s Spirit. Scripture speaks of God’s Spirit as being vital in creation (Gen 1), and essential to who God is (1 Cor. 2:11).  In the same way that only you truly understand and know your deepest thoughts, the same is true with the Spirit of God. Continue Reading   

11/16/11- Week 3

So far we’ve given a general overview of Spiritual Warfare, and last week we talked about the Holy Spirit. Now tonight we’re gonna be getting into some unfamiliar territory: the enemy.  Now this may be a little uncomfortable to us, and even a little scary. But the truth is, Scripture has no qualms talking about hard issues like this. All throughout the Bible we very clearly see that we have a spiritual opponent, called Satan,   Continue Reading  

11/30/11- Week 4

Sometimes the concept of spiritual warfare is so much for us to handle—we just don’t know what to do with it. So we don’t even think about it. Or we imagine that it doesn’t pertain to us. Or that we are somehow immune to it.  Continue Reading  

12/7/11- Week 5

Jesus says some pretty crazy things in Scripture. Most of the time, honestly, I just don’t get it. Here are two examples of verses I struggled for a while. John 10:3,5 & John 16:23-24. What do these things mean?  How could I possibly come to understand and tell the difference between God’s voice and the enemy’s voice? Continue Reading

10/16/11 – Week 1 – Weird in a God Way

I think if most of us are being honest, one of the values we all hold is to fit in.  We all want to be “normal.”  None of us… MS series// by: Todd Veleber

10/16/11 – Week 1 – Weird in a God Way

I think if most of us are being honest, one of the values we all hold is to fit in.  We all want to be “normal.”  None of us want to be odd or different.  None of us walk into a room hoping not to fit in.  I know I really struggled with this when I was your age and even into high school and college.  I was really driven by trying to be normal.  And I knew that as a Christian I was called to be different, but I didn’t want to be too different you know.  No one wants to be that radical, weird Christian Read More

10/30/11 – Week 3 – Weird is Better

We are in the third week of a series I’m calling “Weird” where our big ideas has been this: If you want what normal people have, do what normal people do. If you want what few people have, do what few people do!  We’ve been talking about a God kind of weird, because normal isn’t working Read More

Jonah: God’s Mercy is Relentless//HS Series// by: Todd Veleber

10/12/11 – Week 1 – The Jonah in the Mirror

I think most of us have relegated Jonah to being a kid’s story that you hear about in Sunday School, but the truth… –

Jonah: God’s Mercy is Relentless//HS Series// by: Todd Veleber

10/12/11 – Week 1 – The Jonah in the Mirror

I think most of us have relegated Jonah to being a kid’s story that you hear about in Sunday School, but the truth is, it’s a powerful story about a rebellious prophet and God’s relentless mercy that pursues him and captures him each step of the way.  I have a feeling most of you will identify with Jonah on some level with your own heart and journey, but more than identify with Jonah, my hope and desire is that you would see the God of Jonah – the same God who loves you and pursues you with His mercy Read More

10/19/11 – Week 2 – A Prayer in the Darkness

What do you do when you find yourself in the middle of a crisis?  What are your first thoughts?  Who do you typically turn to first?  How you answer those questions reveals quite a bit about your faith and relationship with God. Read More

10/26/11 – Week 3 – God’s Mercy is Relentless

It is such a great feeling when I rest in the reality that God is going to accomplish what He wants to accomplish.  This oftentimes happens (and I pray more so than not) with my willing participation.  But God is God and He will accomplish what He wants even if I’m not willing.  He is that loving. Read More

MS Series

9/11/11 – Week 1 – Good vs. Bad Fear

We talked about how fear is simply a part of life.  God equipped us with it so we would be wise enough to protect ourselves from the unexpected.  So… by: Todd Veleber

MS Series

9/11/11 – Week 1 – Good vs. Bad Fear

We talked about how fear is simply a part of life.  God equipped us with it so we would be wise enough to protect ourselves from the unexpected.  So fear can be good, but fear can also be bad.  Life can be risky and it is therefore filled with opportunities or reasons to fear or have anxiety.  When I use the word fear, I mean all levels of fear from general apprehension and worry to dread and terror.  Fear starts out when we are very young with fears of things like darkness, monsters, etc. and it continues into our teenage years with fears of things like rejection, humiliation and failure.  Adulthood is also filled with possible fears Continue Reading

9/18/11 – Week 2 – From Fear to Faith

We talked about the fact that we all have fears.  Every one of us, no matter how old you are, how young you are, how tough you are, how insecure you are, have fears. Maybe your fear is that your parents are going through a tough time and you fear they’re getting a divorce.  Maybe you fear the relationship that you’re in is not going to last.  Maybe you have fears about your future.  Maybe you have fears about losing a friend that’s headed in the wrong direction.  Maybe some of you have fears about being caught for something you did.  We all have fears Continue Reading

9/25/11 – Week 3 – Falling Forward

We are in our third week of this series I’m calling “kNOw Fear” and we’ve been talking about fears that we all face in life.  And the big idea has been that God is a good God who can be trusted, but when we fear we are taking our eyes off Him and looking only at ourselves.  Tonight I want to talk to you about a very common fear – the fear of failure.  We all know this one right? I’m not sure I will make the team, so I’m not going to try out.  I really wanted to meet them, but I wasn’t sure they would like me.  I was going to try __________ but I was too scared. Continue Reading

10/2/11 – Week 4 – Rejected

Today we’re talking about the fear of rejection.  I think there’s a big difference between the fear of failure and the fear of rejection.  Both fears are very real but the fear of failure focuses on my performance – what I do.  Then there is the fear of rejection that focuses on me as a person – who I am.  So we’ve got what I do and who I am.  I think this fear of rejection peaks during the teenage years.  Continue Reading
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10/9/11 – Week 5 – Commitaphobic

Well we are going to wrap up our “kNOw Fear” series tonight.  So far we’ve talked a lot about fear and how our relationship from God can free us from fear.  The big idea has been that when our eyes are on ourselves or our circumstances that it is easy to fear, but when we keep our eyes on God and His promises to us, then we can live in freedom.  Tonight we are going to talk about a very common fear that many of us face and that is our fear of commitment. Continue Reading

HS Series

9/7/11- Week 1 – Gain Through Pain

There is definitely truth to the statement, “No pain, no gain.”  Whether working out to build muscle, training in athletics or even practicing an instrument – the difficulty… By: Todd Veleber

HS Series

9/7/11- Week 1 – Gain Through Pain

There is definitely truth to the statement, “No pain, no gain.”  Whether working out to build muscle, training in athletics or even practicing an instrument – the difficulty of the practice most often sees the greatest benefit.  Could that be true of our lives spiritually as well?  Read More

9/14/11 – Week 2 – Relational Stretches

This week we talked about favoritism.  It plagues all of us, but it shouldn’t be a trait of those who follow Christ.  And on the corporate level, it shouldn’t be a characteristic of a ministry or a church.  The Christians that James is writing to were still plagued with this worldly view. Read More

9/21/11 – Week 3 – The Mouth Muscle

Our words reveal the truth. They express internal realities.  We rarely have to read between the lines on the things people say. Usually their exact words, combined with volume and inflection, communicate very clearly what they mean. We explode angrily; we slander ruthlessly; we sneer perversely.  And that is what is biblical about Freud’s theory. You see, the better part of two thousand years before Freud, Jesus made a simple but profound statement. Read More

9/28/11 – Week 4 – Competing Desires

It probably isn’t news to those who have been walking with the Lord for any amount of time that this thing called Christian faith is a tough journey.  There is no doubt that you could call it a workout – and a lifetime one at that.  And you know, in some ways, this journey of faith is even tougher than living life without Christ.  When we didn’t know Christ, we did what came naturally.  We satisfied our sinful cravings, we went for the gusto, we made ourselves king.  But as believers, we find ourselves with a war waging internally.Read More   

10/5/11 - Week 5 – Going for the Gold
So we have come to the fifth and final week here in our series “Faith Workouts” from the book of James.  My hope and prayer is that this series has been not only an encouragement to you, but has served as workouts for your faith as the Holy Spirit molds and shapes us more into the likeness of Christ.  Tonight we are going to talk about how we can “Go for the Gold” – it’s all about treasure, money, our possessions.  The Bible says more about money than about many other topics, including such biggies as sex and heaven.  Like our words, our wallets serve as spiritual indicators.  They tell us the condition of our hearts.  Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Read More