Service Project '10

Enjoy some of these pics from the Service Project last Saturday. We had a blast as we picked up trash at the Bob Woodruff Park in Plano, Tx!

Matthew 25:34-40

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Blurred Vision - Modesty

Last week at Vibe we had the privilege of having Tracy Parlin visit to talk to the ladies in the house! We continued our series of Blurred Vision, so often the world gives out a picture of how we should act or dress. We hear so many different opinions, read so many magazines, where can we find the truth! When it comes to deciding what to wear, the Bible seems to be the last place we look. Surely, the Bible doesn't really say anything about what we should wear. If you look closer, you will see that it does!

The definition for modesty is 1. the quality of being modest; freedom from vanity, boastfulness, etc. 2. regard for decency of behavior, speech, dress, etc. It means a lot more than it sound, and it doesn't sound that pretty either. Wish it sounded as great as beautiful, just as I wish we would seek it as much as beauty. And we sure do seek "beauty"! just take a look at any women magazine! What are some words that stick out? You'll probably see "fashion", "beauty tips", "Dos and Don'ts"

Tracy led us through some great verses that help guides us to choosing wisely when it comes to the closet. 1 Timothy 2:9-10 talks about a godly woman dressing modestly, not wearing braids or gold or pearls or expensive clothes. I know what you might be thinking. I can't wear jewelry or braid my hear! That is not what the Bible is saying, during these times, these are what women would do to bring attention to themselves. When we are getting ready, are we dressing up for special attention? Are we dressing for a guy?

In 1 Peter 3:3-5, the Bible says instead of the clothing drawing attention, our inner self should be where the beauty is! Are we pleasing God by the way we act or by the way we dress?

Have you ever thought about what kinds of people you will attract? If you dress "sexy", you attract the "macks". Rather than attracting the "man" with the inner beauty!

So how do we dress, this verse is a great verse as we seek the beauty of modesty! Colossians 3:12-14 (the Message) "So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment, Never be without it." This is what we should seek! The wardrobe of God!

By wearing these things we are being more Christ-like and even loving our possible future husband!

~Ash
Vibe Intern

Blurred Vision - Mack

Hey Guys!

First off, what about that snow??? Kinda crazy right?! I don't think I've ever seen snowfall like that in Texas. I was driving to work today and it was tough to see very far ahead of me. Speaking of obscured vision, we started a new series last night (like the transition?). The title of course is "Blurred Vision". Last night we talked about the biblical view of a man and how often that get's eclipsed by our world's view of what a man is. We called that view the "mack". Our society often sees a man as someone who is in constant pursuit of a physical relationship with females.

Last night we talked about how bogus that was. The Bible doesn't see a man in that way. As a matter of fact we took a look at 1 Timothy 5:1-2 where Paul encourages Timothy to treat "younger women as sisters with absolute purity." So we talked about how a real man is dedicated to purity and sacrifice. Once you do that, you are a true man and you are preparing for a real marriage relationship when you get older. One of the big ideas from last night was "Commitment comes before the benefit of that commitment."

To call the men in our group to action we said that a godly man does the following:

1. M - Makes a covenant with his eyes. That means when you are talking to a girl, you look her in the eyes. It means that you don't look longingly or lustfully at a young lady. It also means that you set parameters for yourself when you get on the internet. Don't look at pornographic sites and don't look at other sites where females are dressed inappropriately.

"I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl. (Job 31:1)

2. A - Aim your sites differently in a relationship. I repeated several times last night, "I'm not saying that you need to be in a relationship, that's between you and your parents." So don't get me wrong, I would highly suggest you not be in a relationship but if you do or when you do, your focus needs to be on getting to know the person. You cannot make your intent or focus on making it to the next stage of physical contact. That makes the person you are dating feel used and it makes you a "mack" instead of a man. Friendship should be the focus.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,” (Ephesians 5:25)

3. N - Name your boundaries - If you don't set physical boundaries at the beginning of the relationship, you are doomed to failure. I know that it doesn't come naturally but that's precisely why you need to put them there. Once you communicate those boundaries (like "we're just going to hold hands"), stick to that plan and get accountability from a Christ like friend, you will be on track to living life like a man.

Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit. (Prov. 25:28)

Matt Snellings

Junior High Pastor

Chase Oaks Church

In the House - Come As You Are

Matt started the night off by telling an old story of meeting his then girlfriend's family and eating dinner. They were at a table full of lots of food. His girlfriend's sister was stuffing her face with all the food she could. And right in the middle of a nice, polite conversation, the little sister just busted out the loudest burp one has ever heard!!! Everyone looks like her expecting her to say something along the lines of "excuse me", but instead she says "that felt good". She definitely felt right at home and was being herself! Just like this little sister, we want you to feel like you can be yourself when you through the doors at Vibe!

In John 6:37, we see that Jesus will never drive anyone away. So why would drive anyone away if Jesus didn't!?! All throughout the Bible, we see that there were all kinds of people that hung out with Jesus. Jesus didn't pick and choose with his friends; He accepted everyone as they were!

While Jesus accepts everyone, not everyone accepts Jesus. Jesus tells us a story in the Bible (Matthew 22:1-14) where a man put on a huge party, a celebration! He had a feast ready, but all of those he invited rejected the invitation. So he made a change of plans and sent his servants out to the streets to invite people to his party!

Can you imagine how he must of felt when they rejected him? Imagine you have a great feast like a wedding. You had tons of food. Normally, there are leftovers at parties, but what if no one even showed up! Talk about a lot of leftovers!

Are you rejecting the invitation God has given you? Is God calling you to a relationship but are you too busy? You put it off because you don't have time. Maybe you are angry at the messenger? Who are they to try to control your life?

God opened this invitation to EVERYONE! good or bad. It's for you. God is inviting you to join Him in eternal life (Romans 6:23). Jesus accepts you already, will you accept Him?

At our church, we have an open door policy. Like Jesus, we accept everyone. It doesn't matter how much money you have, where you were born, whether you've ever been to church before! What a great privilege to be a part of a church like that! But being a part doesn't mean just going to the church, you too have to accept whoever walks through the doors of the church as they are. Remember this is not just your church, it's God's church! So make sure you take some time to look at yourself and think about how you treat people inside and outside of the church. Don't be like the older brother in the parable of the lost son (Luke 15). He was angry and bitter when the lost son returned home; he couldn't even join in the celebration!

I personally want to invite you to come to church as you are! Don't fake being a Christian or say the things that you think people want to hear. Come As You Are! There is a great quote by Nash, L.L. that states as "A church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints." What does that mean for you? You don't have to clean up your mess before you come to church. You'll never come at all if you wait for that. Church is where you bring the real you! It doesn't matter how bad you think the real you is. Jesus talked and hung out with all kinds of "messy" people, tax collectors (people who stole money), murderers, thiefs, "sinners". (Matthew 9:10)

While we want you to come as you are, we do not want you to stay the same! Next week, we will talk about being transformed!

~Ash

Vibe Intern

The Gospel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ12Ry-hD6I


If you didn't quite understand what was going on in this video above, let me fill you in a little bit. A lady called in on 911 to report that she didn't get her cheeseburger! It's crazy to think that someone would call 911 so that for getting the wrong burger, but that's exactly what happened.


There are so many different rules and laws that we have to abide by. I'm sure you can think of your five least favorite ones right now. whether it's curfew, cleaning, school rules, etc. Rules have always existed. You can read about many laws that existed at one point of time that you may have never heard of. Some laws you may have heard because they were passed through the years. So often we think of religion as the same way, we think of the Bible as a big rule book we have to live by and religion as something passed down to us from our parents.


Matt talked about how that religion can be turned into something more meaningful, a personal relationship with Jesus. To start the night, he asked two questions:


1. On a scale of 1 to 10, how sure are you that you are going to heaven?


2. If you were standing before God at the gates of heaven and He asked you why should you go through, what would you say?


GIFT
Matt told us how his father-in-law recently offered him and his family a free car! How awesome is that!?! What would you do if you got offered a car for free? Often when we are given a gift like that, our first thoughts is like Wow! or Yay! Then immediately, we think why? Are there any strings attached? What do we have to do? We live in a culture where there are so many little, fine prints. There are always restrictions or tricks behind a great deal! That is not how God's gift is!


Romans 6:23 states that God's gift is FREE! not the kind of free that is asking for something in return! So what is this gift you might ask? God sent His Son to die for us so that we can KNOW that we are going to heaven! (Romans 5:8) Talk about love! that is true love, to give up your one and only son for someone else. That's exactly what God did for you! While God is loving, He is also just. Romans 3:23 states what we already know, that we are all sinners! We all miss God's glorious, perfect standards!


SIN
Sin actually means "to miss the mark" or "to miss the target". In fact, in archery this is the word they would yell out when the person shoots the arrow and misses the target. The target we have is God's glorious, perfect standard. So even when we are being good for the most part, we miss the target because we are not perfect! The Bible says that the wages (price) of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The only way to have everlasting life is to be perfect (we already missed the mark, that option is out) or to have someone who is perfect to substitute for us!



JESUS
This is why God sent His Son, for us! Jesus was fully man and fully God! He lived life on earth as we are doing right, except He did not sin! He lived a perfect life. Then he died on cross for us! Romans 3:25 says that we can be made right with God by believing that Jesus did sacrifice His life for us!

FAITH
The way to have a relationship with God is through faith! Faith is a lot like jumping off on the zipline. Have you ever been on the ziplines? What a experience! You climb up a ladder to a platform that is HIGH! Someone clips you onto a rope to keep you safe, but you still have to trust that the rope will hold you when you jump out into the air! Faith is taking that step off of the platform into what you hope will be a fun ride down the zipline! But faith isn't just saying you believe in something. Imagine someone going up onto that platform and saying "Yes, I believe that rope will hold me" and then climbs back down the ladder. You can say that you believe it, but until you trust in Him with your life, you won't experience that personal relationship with Him!
~Ash

New Years!

First off, HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!

What a great time to celebrate the blessings God gave us in the year 2009! Also, we get to look ahead to 2010 and make some goals for the new year. Those goals are what we call new year's resolutions. If you just think about it for a couple of minutes, this holiday is actually a weird holiday! It is one of very few holidays that all the countries celebrate on the same day. You can watch fireworks from all over the world, Syndey, Beijing, Paris, etc. We even get a day or two off work. So much celebration for one night/day, and after the celebration is done we start all over. A new year, a fresh start!

Matt led us through a talk about New Year's, and we looked at Leviticus 23. In this chapter, we read about the feasts of the Lord and the Sabbath. These yearly feasts were a remarkable event much like New Year's, but they were not to be observed more than what we call the Lord's day or day of rest. This Sabbath day of feasts was holy and a time meant to glorify God! How often do we think of New Year's as a time that is holy?

This new year, think some changes you would like to make in your life. Think of how you can glorify God with these changes. So as you think of what your new year's resolutions are... whether it's giving more, being more loving, or losing weight.. It can be done for the glory of God.

Acts 20:35, "And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive'"

Matthew 5:43-45a, "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven."

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

Happy 2010, a new start!

~Ash

The Conspiracy - Love All

Hey Tribe of Vibe,

It was another great night as Matt ended the Advent series at Vibe. After last week's gingerbread house story, you probably couldn't wait to hear what matt did this time. Yep, bubbles! So often we live in our own little bubble. We live in a culture where our needs are met. Also, our lives are so small when you put it to the world. Just like in any room, one bubble would be really small in comparison to that room. Matt literally made some bubbles while on the stage to show us this. He also showed us how easy it is to pop those bubbles too!

In Matthew 2:1-3, we took a look at the Magi, also known as the "Three Wise Men". They were indeed wise as they studed stars and much more. Guided by the star, they went to Jerusalem to worship the birth of the King, Jesus! The Magi came ready to worship a king by bringing gold, frankincense, and myrrh. I'm sure they were surprised when they got to Jerusalem because no one was celebrating like they were. So they went to King Herod to see if he knew where this King was. Herod tells them to come back when they find him because he also wants to worship the King. But we know that he truly wants to kill anyone who would dare to threaten his position as king. As God planned, the Magi did not return to Herod after finding and worshipping Jesus. This is why Herod ordered for all young children in Bethlehem to be killed. That's how determined he was to make sure he was the only king around!

Man, what a difference we can see in the kingdoms of Jesus and Herod. It's clear that they were opposite! In Jesus' kingdom, you will find love, grace, eternal life, etc. In Herod's kingdom, you will find fear, death, etc. It's clear that anyone would want to live under Jesus' kingdom, instead of Herod's. Jesus would have taken the time to listen and talk with you! That's how loving He is! Somehow, I just don't picture Herod doing the things Jesus did. What a difference in these two kingdoms!

Now how could we make a difference in the world!?! Especially, when we are the size of a bubble in a large room. It starts with thinking of others more! Get out of that comfortable bubble we live in and think about the needs of others that aren't being met! Don't go and put your life above God's plans! God's most important command is to listen to and love God! (Mark 12:29)

It is such a cool thing that we get to do this together at Vibe. Matt revealed that we have adopted a kid from Ethopia through Compassion. What a great example of loving others! Some more action points from the night is to give and serve! We are rich in so many ways, so share the wealth of hope, time, prayer, etc. Another one is to talk to friends about your faith! What do you love about Jesus most? What difference has He made in you?

Soon you will be opening presents from family and friends, celebrating the birth of Jesus, and many other traditions. Make a new tradition... give Jesus a gift, the gift of love!


Matthew 25:35-40
For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' "Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?' "And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'


Have a great CHRISTmas!
Ash