Nuggets or Strips?

Enjoy this footage from within the office of Matt Snellings as we discuss the important, ongoing discussion of which is better, nuggets or strips?

Spoonfed - Success

When it came around to Christmas time, me and my sister were BLESSED a.k.a. Spoiled! (I know you wouldn't have guessed from our cute pic with our granny!) Christmas morning we'd have the family sitting all around. Me and my sister would pass out presents to each person and everyone would have a pile of presents and would take turns opening a present. We'd go about two or three rounds before it was just me and my sister opening presents and then everyone would just watch us. You think we'd be happy with so much, but really we were watching each other and keeping track of the other person's presents. Did she have more presents than me? Were her presents bigger than mine? Every Year I would get more than I asked for, but I didn't just enjoy it, I had to keep an eye on my sister's pile.

In this series called Spoonfed, we talked about things we so often think that we are entitled to and those things are the things we take for granted, things like our own spirituality, safety, and success. Today we're talking about the idea of feeling entitled to stuff like success. I'm not just talking about being popular or the best at what we do, I'm talking about that role in the play we think should be ours, that spot on the team, or the phone or the iPod that everyone else has. This is something we all could work on.

If you look in the Bible at another pair of siblings, you'll find that the Bible talks about this same thing we struggle with! This story is about a father and two sons. The youngest son comes to his father and asks for his inheritance now. During these times, this was basically saying I wish you were dead! The story gets worse! The son goes off to another city and spends it all! but he runs out. He ends up wishing he could eat the food he was giving to pigs in his job. He thinks to himself, "My father's servants are better off than this. I'll go back to beg for my father's forgiveness and be his servant". But while he is still walking, his father sees him and runs to him. Doesn't even let the son get through his "I'm sorry" speech. The father calls for a party! This is where we are in the story. Now we're going to look at Luke 15:25-32

"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "

A lot of times, we look at the younger brother in this story, but I want to look at the older brother because quite frankly, I relate more with him. I wish I could say with certainty that I would be at that party celebrating with my brother, but reality is that I might be the one missing out on the party. We see that the older brother misses out on the party because he's focused on what he doesn't have and what his brother has. So much that he forgets the one gift that truly mattered in all of this story, also the one gift he had that his younger brother missed out on, all that time with his father!

I know there is a lot you can get out of this story, but I just want to share with three points I got out of it. First point is being good doesn't get you good things. We can't earn God's grace. That's why they call it grace. We don't deserve it, and it's a gift that free! The minute you start to think you can earn it is when you miss out on the party. You start thinking that you are entitled to things like that thing you have been asking for or that place you've been working for. This leads us into the second point. Enjoying what we have! Everything we own, everything was given to us as a gift from God. When we can realize that, we can enjoy it a little more. Instead of seeking for the next best thing, what we think will make us happy. Third thing I got out of this is when I'm missing out on the party, I missing a celebration! I've become too focused on what I don't have that I can't be happy for my friends or family in their blessings also!

So I want to leave y'all with some challenges from this topic...
1. Be Content
2. Be Thankful
3. Be Giving

Being content means looking at what you DO have instead of what you don't have. What a difference when you realize that you have so much, especially in a world where everyone else has so much less than you! Think about it, if your family owns a car, than they are in the top ten percent of people with money in the world. We have a lot to be thankful for! So write a list out, don't just write down things you own. Write down things that others in the world don't have like clean drinking water and an education. When you look at that list, you'll see a lot. Maybe there's something that you can give to others! God blesses us so that we can bless others! So how are you giving to others? Something as simple as saving toys from kid's meal and giving them to the kids we visit at mission trips! So I challenge you to these things.

I also challenge you to start thinking different about how we view stuff and success. Don't end up missing out on the party!


~Ash
Vibe Intern @ Chase Oaks
Agonzales@chaseoaks.org

Fuel - Seizing Divine Moments

As we start a new series, Matt talked at Vibe about Seizing the Divine Moments. This series is called Fuel. We are talking about things that fuel our spiritual life, things like prayer and reading the Bible. It's about having a great relationship with Christ.
Jumping to a completely different topic as Matt loves to do.

Let's talk about curling. Some of you may be like are you serious!?! Curling isn't one of those sports that we really get into like football or baseball. While we're talking about it, we probably don't get into speed skating or figure skating as much either. But these are the sports that we really, really get into for one time every four years, because it's the Olympics!!! We watch games that we would never watch because it's the Olympics, where the best of the best of each country compete to determine who really is the best. It only comes once every four years!

Read Patrick's Story You may not have heard of the German Skater Patrick Beckert. He wasn't suppose to be in the Olympics, but when one of the skaters couldn't skate. They began calling alternates; Patrick was the fourth alternate in line! No one could get a hold of him until 15 minutes prior to the the race, by then, it was too late! He missed this once in a lifetime opportunity, all because he turned off his cell phone! He missed it. He missed his date with destiny by a phonecall. We are talking about divine moments tonight. Divine moments are when God's will intersects with your life. The big idea is to follow the spirit in your divine moments and experience greatness.

Sometimes it can be hard to understand God. God is a complex God. He's mysterious. If you went to Camp Eagle, you'll know this story quite well. Camp Eagle is an adventure camp where we do a lot of things like hiking and climbing. There was one day where we had no water. We were getting dehydrated. We longed to have water so bad on that day. There was joy in finding water at dinner. No one even cared that there wasn't other types of drinks there. We just wanted WATER! In John 7:37, Jesus stand up at a feast and says in a loud voice "If anyone is thirsty, let him come and drink"

The first step to seizing the moments is to have that living water in us! We gotta have a relationship with Him! We all seek to be a part of something; we want to have meaning! People search their entire life looking for that something. They're looking for something to quench their thirst. Jesus invites us to take the living water, the water that will quench forever, just like He invite the woman at the well to do. Once you accept that living water and have that relationship with God, there's more for the Holy Spirit. In fact, He's got a lot more to do. Because the Holy Spirit also cleanses us from the inside out. As Romans 8:11 points out, we need cleansing because we have been stained! That living water will pour out onto your life and cause growth to happen. Through growth, the fruits of the Spirit start to show (Galatians 5:22-25)

Some Action Points from this leasson are...
1. Jump the Hurdle.  If you don't risk anything, you don't gain anything.
2. Seize the Day.  Pray, then seizing the moments; the Christian life isn't meant to be boring!

~Ash
Vibe Intern @ Chase Oaks
Agonzales@chaseoaks.org

Blurred Vision - Marriage

Jason Ganze talked to us about marriage at Vibe. A lot of us aren't even thinking about marriage right now, but almost 95% of us will get married eventually. We rarely think about it, but when we do, it's not a pretty thought. Our parents can be the ones we think about when we first think about marriage. We might think of it as something for old people. Or maybe our parents aren't married. Divorce can be an ugly picture of marriage. It's important that you understand that a good marriage is awesome!!!

Jason shared with us that a good marriage has many awesome perks to
it. You will see things like romance, best friends, love, respect,
stability, great stories and growing closer to God in a good marriage.
These things are all things that God intended for marriage. Some
verses that confirm this is Song of Solomon, Ephesians 5:22-31, and
Matthew 19:1-9.

Jason challenged us to dream big and do big. Part of that is acknowledging that you're still a teenager! As a teenager, you still have some time before you get married, but there are some things we can do now to help achieve that good marriage we talked about later! First, look for some cool married couples for you to look to. Remember they aren't perfect, but it's cool to find some other married couples other than your parents like your youth pastor or small group leader. What are some things you can learn from them? Second, set and keep some standards. For example, if you're a Christian guy, you don't need to date a girl that isn't a Christian. Girls, no dude should be putting their hands on you. Guys, don't let girls tempt you. Once you set the standards, you should keep it! That means if a guy is trying to break the standards, you break up! Third, if you fall away from the Lord, you should break up! It's important to love Jesus first and the most!

Make sure you take a look at yourself also. Be the type of person you
want to marry. If you want to marry a prince, be a princess.

Lastly and most importantly, give Jesus all of your love, He's the
only person worth it!

~Ash
Vibe Intern @ Chase Oaks
Agonzales@chaseoaks.org

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