Kings Dominion

We had a blast at Kings Dominion on Saturday!  We hope you will join us next year.

See you this Thursday for our first Thursday in our summer Pixar movie series.

 

Then I will see you on Sunday morning for our combined summer school (7th-12th graders) which will meet in the downstairs youth room from 9:45-10:45am.  Then join us Sunday night from 7-8:30pm for FUSION Gathering!

Ministry and Game Night

This week we had the opportunity to be in ministry for our church.  We were asked if we could assist in cleaning up the social hall after it was used for various mission and ministry events.  Saturday evening, the Social Hall held a BBQ fundraiser for our mission team going to Haiti in October.  Sunday afternoon the Social Hall was host to a lunch before the memorial service for Ralph Haga.  Then Sunday evening the Social Hall held a dinner and meeting for our Honduras mission team!  It was a blessing to each of these groups to not have to worry with putting away all the tables and chairs after their events.

Afterward we had the special opportunity to write agape notes to a group of individuals.  I don't want to give away too much so it will be a surprise for them!

Then we played a great game of Gorgon!!!
Don't forget there will be NO FUSION GATHERING next week!  We will be going to Kings Dominion on Saturday, but not meeting Sunday night.  See you on Saturday!

Tuff Stuff: End Times

Lots of weird and strange images often come to mind when we think about the "end times".  We started our night on Sunday talking and displaying those words and images for our chalkboard reflection of the evening.  We thought of things like fire, destruction, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, explosions, animals taking over the world...basically pure chaos!  The topic of the "end times" is so fascinating to a lot of people for many reasons...one of which is the fact that it is really a mystery.  We know Scripture discusses it, but ultimately when it will happen and how are a mystery.  We took a look at Scripture like John 14:1-6, Matthew 24:36-42 and 2 Peter 3:1-12.  We see that though the details of the end times may be a mystery, God tells us not to be afraid, to trust in God and that God doesn't want anyone to be destroyed, but for all to repent. 

Then I read Revelation 21-22:6.  As I read, everyone wrote down words, phrases or drew images of things that stuck out to them.  Afterward we created a collage of what the "New Heave and New Earth" might be like according to this Scripture passage.

Despite all the things we don't know, there are three main things we do know:
1. The Bible tells us that Jesus will return someday.
2. The world as we know it will come to an end.
3. The end is really a brand new beginning!

Those who were not here last week learned about the 5/30 challenge, and for those who were here last week we checked in with each other on how it was going.  How's it going for you?  Comment on this post with your responses.

We also did some chariot racing!

Kings Dominion

Don't forget to sign up for our trip to Kings Dominion!

Tuff Stuff: How Do I Know What's True?

We started this week's meeting with a game of 2 Truths and a Lie.  Often it is difficult to figure out what is true or false and what is right or wrong.  Sometimes it gets confusing to sort out what's true and false.  There are many people we go to for help with figuring these things out...parents, mentors, friends.  We go to people we trust and people who care about us.  One place we can also go is to God!  Through prayer and Scripture, we can often find the answers to our questions.  So this week, we each committed to a challenge...the 5/30 Challenge!  Will you join us in reading your Bible for 5 minutes a day for 30 days?  Comment on this post if you plan on taking our challenge.

Tuff Stuff: Are All Religions the Same?

This week at FUSION Gathering, we talked about the similarities and differences between religions around the world.  We realized that while all religions have some things in common like a set of beliefs or values, and sometimes a text or set of writings they hold valuable, there are many differences among faith traditions.  We split up into groups and in 5 minutes, wrote down as many religions as we could think of.  We looked at some of the differences and similarities among these religions.  Then we talked about some of the things that make Christianity distinct from other religions.  We discussed faith in One God.  We talked about the trinity and the distinct characteristics of each of the parts of the trinity.  We talked about the Bible being our distinct text.  And we also talked about grace and our understanding of salvation through faith. 

It can be difficult to understand the beliefs of people around the world and of all the over 4,000 religions.  However, one thing we concluded is that Christianity is not just a set of beliefs, but it is a relationship and a way of life.  God calls us to know as much as we can about our faith, and then to live it out!  We each determined one thing that we could work on this week to further live out our faith.  What would your one thing be?  Comment on this post with your responses.

Then, of course, we played some fun games.