“Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy.  So stop telling lies.  let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. And ‘don’t sin by letting anger control you.’ Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.  If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.  Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. (Ephesians 4:24-29).

If we are honest, we tend to use our words to manipulate others rather than encourage them.  Johnson points out that, although we don’t always use physical force, our words are used in order to convince others.  We think the purpose of talking is to convince those listening that our way is right – that we are right – and we have lost any amount of love or appreciation for the person we are talking to.  It’s like we’re walking around looking for the next topic to debate so we can convince someone that we’re right.  We do this with sports teams (who’s the better one); taste in music; the kind of car we drive; what people should do with their free time or where someone should go to college.  This kind of attempt to always convince others drains our relationships.

There’s another damaging thing we do with our words: impression management.  We do this all the time, don’t we?  We attempt to  talk ourselves up so we look better than we really are – or we want others to be reminded of all the good things we’ve done.  We do this with the way we talk about the classes we’re taking, how busy we are, the awards we’ve received, or our knowledge of a certain subject.  Think about the last time you talked about how busy you are (schoolwork, homework, work, sports, church, etc) and just ask yourself, “why did I share all that information?  was it in order to make myself look good?  what if I didn’t mention ANY of it, how would that feel?”  Or think about how many times you can allow someone else to have the last word in a conversation.  When we constantly are trying to impress others with our words, they become hallow and really empty…and people see right through it and we become isolated in the process.

But there’s another way – a simplicity of words.

So, here’s a thought.  Why not trying to not speak for a certain period of time.  It might be for a designated period of time (after school – bed time; during lunch at school; etc) or it might be in a situation where you would typically speak up, you choose to remain silent.  See what that does to you.  In this experiment, see how we are tied to our words and use them to convince others or to manage their impression of us.  Maybe you might realize that in learning simplicity of words you actually begin to experience a better way.

Let me know your thoughts…

In this technologically changing world, how are we to keep our teenagers safe?  There is plenty of information of how teens can easily get caught up in the cyber world that they can begin to lose their real identity.  There are plenty of people who are enticing others to say/do things online that they might ever think of doing in person.

Given this new world and prevalence of the internet/social networking/gaming, are there things for us to know?  

We have invited an FBI Special Agent who deals with online predators and tracking them to come and share with us his perspective on how to keep our teens safe in this ever-changing world.  He will cover such topics as: cyberbullying, online gaming, social networking, and online privacy.

I encourage ALL parents of teens to come to this FREE workshop – Feb 24, 7pm @ Oak Hills Church – and begin the conversation.  This is a workshop for you to come with your teenager.  One of the purposes of these workshops isn’t to simply give information or dump a bunch of things on you, but really is to help spark some healthy conversation/dialogue around your kitchen table about real life issues teens are facing.

Take the step into understanding the world of your teenager — and I hope to see you on Friday, February 24 @ 7pm.

You can RSVP to me directly at: brian.robertson@oakhills.org

However you want to look at it, 2011 is almost at an end and for some of us, it has seemed like it just flew by… at least it does when looking into the past.  For some, 2012 will mean the last semester in high school…or middle school…or at home…or in elementary.  Sometimes having the “last” of something can be a bit sad and nostalgic.  But I’m also hoping that 2012 will bring new challenges that you can experience and that Jesus of Nazareth will meet you in ways that you hadn’t begun to imagine!  I believe that no matter what you may think of Jesus (Master, good guy, or unsure) his great desire is to continuously invite you into a deeper and more meaningful experience of your life … to actually lead you into the kind of life that you desire to live and were created to live.  My hope is that 2012 will be a year for you to explore what that life looks like and how you might begin to experience more of it.

InSight does have some great opportunities for you coming up as well, and I’d love for you to join with us for them.

NEW YEARS EVE FAMILY PARTY.  This Saturday, Dec 31, we will once again be gathering as families to celebrate together all the blessings God has given us in 2011 and looking forward to 2012.  Admission is FREE and there will be bounce houses, inflatable games, crafts, and our own “countdown”.  6-9pm.  Grab your family and come on out!

FUSION Winter Camp is Jan 14-16 (and early bird registration deadline is this weekend!)  This year’s theme for winter camp is becoming a person “after God’s own heart”.  We will explore together what it takes to intentionally and regularly put God’s priorities number one and live the kind of life that is lived well – the best, actually.

TRINIDAD MISSION TRIP: March 30-April 9.  Jesus teaches us that the way to find our life is to sacrificially give it away for the sake of others.  When we do that, we begin to experience life the way it was meant.  This mission trip is designed for HS+ as a practical way to spend 10 days sacrificially serving those in Trinidad and Tobago.  We will be finalizing our team in the next week or two.

Let’s be honest.  The Christian life CANNOT be done in isolation.  Which means that we need common experiences together to help form the necessary bond that will enable us to continue to follow after Christ.  I don’t have any romantic notions that something magical happens at every retreat, but there IS the raw material there for connection to happen — and often when we purposefully connect with others who are seeking to live life in God’s Kingdom and hear from God’s Word, our eyes can be opened to greater things.

I hope that you will come with us away to FUSION Winter Camp 2012…check out the link on the events page of the blog!

FUSION is Jan 14-16 and is open to ALL Middle School-High School students.

Did you know just one fair trade purchase from every American churchgoer this Christmas would lift one million families out of poverty for one whole year?

This year, we want to encourage our church to make a difference with the way we celebrate Christmas and give gifts.

We encourage you to consider what gifts you might buy fair trade and give double the impact – meaningful gifts to your friends and family, and dignified work for the producers of those gifts.

Shop our Fair Trade Market (lobby) open Sundays, Nov. 20 – Dec. 18 after services, Nov. 25 (Black Friday from 8 am – 2pm), or after Cappuccino Christmas on Dec. 5.

If you shop online, be sure to use the code, “oakhill2011″ (By using this code, 5% of your purchases are donated back to Oak Hills. Monies received will be added to the 10% portion of our Year End Offering benefiting the Nehemiah Project.)

For more info, contact Stephenie, stephenie.carr@oakhills.org or 983-0182 x18.

…so check it out, either for your parents, siblings, friends, or awesome Youth Pastor!

We are asking each of us to give up one meal on Nov 9th (for the sake of getting a “glimpse” of hunger pains the world goes through) and instead pray for the condition of the world in which we live. We pray for others to love their neighbor as themselves and for cultures and governments to protect the innocent. We pray for people to have basic needs met

In addition to going without food for the one meal and praying throughout the day, we commit to bring $5 to church with us the following Sunday (Nov 13th). We will collect the $5 for each person and send all the money to Compassion International to build up their food crisis fund and help alleviate world hunger.

Simple. One meal, one day – Nov 9th. I encourage all of us to participate! On Sunday, see me and I will be collecting the money. If your family wants to participate, they can write a check payable to Oak Hills Church (just put “one meal one day” in the memo line).

Together we can love this world in the name of Jesus.

Our hope is that through the blog and our Facebook Group page: http://www.facebook.com/groups/102778791148/ we will be able to inform you quickly with what is going on!  If you are not currently a part of the InSight Youth Ministry Group on Facebook, you might want to, that is a great way to keep up to date with various announcements and such!

If Jesus was giving us a list of the kind of person we need to be as Christians (or in order to have God’s blessing) we would expect that Christians would be a sad/sorrowful kind of people — far from the kind of life of joy, peace, and abundance Jesus claims comes as a Disciple.  Let me give you an example: “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.  God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:3-4).  If we are to strive to be this kind of person in order to gain God’s blessing, we should seek ways to mourn??  Or are we to stay in a state of poverty (physical, emotional, spiritual)??

I believe we’ve missed the point.  Jesus is beginning his greatest sermon by stating that all kinds of people are blessed NOT because of what they’ve done or who they are (as many religious leaders in his day would have said…and sadly, how many religious leaders today communicate) but simply because in God’s sovereignty he has decided to make life with him available to all who will enter into this kind of life.  He says that these various people are blessed because the Kingdom of God is available to them through faith and trust in Jesus.

What does this mean for us?  How does that impact us as we walk through school, work, family, sports, etc?  I suggest that it means at least two different things:

(1) If Jesus is claiming that we are blessed because of his sovereignty and not because of what we have or haven’t done…it frees us up from the never-ending cycle of trying to earn God’s favor.

(2) If all kinds of people have available to them life in God’s Kingdom, it changes the way we view others.  Rather than looking down at others because of how annoying they are, or the kind of music they listen to, or the clothes they wear, or the family they’re a part of, we begin to see them as blessed because God’s great Kingdom is available to them if they would enter into it.

I believe this simple truth Jesus claimed — the availability of the Kingdom of God — can actually give us fuel to make a difference in our schools, families, neighborhoods, sports teams, and friendships.  I challenge you to read through Matthew 5:3-12 and hear Jesus stating the sacredness/blessedness of those who are gathered to hear his Great Sermon.  Hear him as he scans the crowd and makes a point to explain that true life in his Kingdom is available to all that would trust and believe in him.

How does that shift the way you see Jesus?  How does it shift the way you see others?

So, how does it work?  First, let us know that you want to be in one of these new mentoring groups.  Second, figure out which group will be the best for you (time/location/date) – each group is composed of students of the same gender but not necessarily the same grade or school.  Third, commit to the group.  What this means is that you make attending the group and doing the various exercises a priority in your week.  Fourth, celebrate at the conclusion of the semester with your group and consider when/where you might want to sign up for the next semester’s Timothy Group.

Currently, we have 4-5 girl groups and 3 guy groups.  They meet at various times/places … so check these out:

Daniel Martin/Justin Verseput – Sunday 6pm @ Church
Travis Carr – Sunday 9:30am @ Church
Derek Schmidt (D-Rock) – Thursday 7:30pm @ House
Doreen “Netty” Muscott – Sunday 3:30pm @ Church
Stephenie Carr/Marissa Jestice – Wednesday 4:00pm @ House
Veronica Griffin – Monday 4:00 @ Church
Joelle Collins – Sunday 9am @ Church
Tara “Diggity” Loorz –  TBD

These are great opportunities for you to connect not only with other students, but with also with a mentor.  Each week, the groups will go through the material (all the same) and be able to interact with each other.  I truly hope you take advantage of these new groups and sign up to be a part of a Timothy Group!