The Meaning of Worship

Introduction, Worship, Offering, Communion, Sermon, Worship, Outro. We always have worship in our church services. The band is on stage singing out their hearts and people are lifting up their hands. What are they doing?

Worship is such a beautiful response to God's character and his being and all that he has done for us.

I remember when I went to a Soul Survivor Youth Conference and there were around five thousand youth just praising God and dancing together. It's so amazing when we, the body of Christ can come together and worship God in unity. 

There's one verse which I think sums up why we worship very well; it's Romans 12:1, which says:

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

Faith + School

I've gone through High School. I've gone through Post-Secondary. I've been in school my whole life. Basically, all I know is school.

High school is a time of decisions: What should I do when I graduate? Is that friend going to be a good influence in my life? Should I go to that party? Should I do this? Should I do that?

and...surprise! Post-secondary is pretty much the same thing!

So how do you make your decisions? And how do you integrate your faith and school?

In my life of school, I've picked up a few things....

MORALS & ETHICS & VALUES
Self check: When that exam is too hard, do you look at your neighbour's answer to 'double-check' your own? You procrastinated or you stayed out too late the night before. Do you give your teacher a made up excuse or do you frantically copy what your friend has written? Is it obvious to others that I value honesty and integrity?

[What the bible says]

CHOICES
Self check:

INFLUENCE
How others influence you
Self check: Are you constantly trying to keep up with the current trends? Do your friends persuade you to do stuff that you know is wrong? What motivates you?

How you influence others
Self check: When people look at me or talk to me, can they tell that there's something different about me? Do I encourage my friends to do the right thing, or do I encourage them to do what everyone else is doing, even if it's wrong?

PRIORITIES
Self check: What do you put first? School? Friends?

3D CAMP!

The four of us went to Camp Charis over the weekend (june 28-30); a beautiful camp in Chilliwack jam packed with fun! It was really exciting as there were many activities, games and free time where we could get to know each other better and take a break from our daily routines. Furthermore, Joshua Cruz, a teacher at Trinity Western came to talk about the Holy Spirit and Spiritual Fillings. We all learned something from this, whether big or small and we are grateful for him coming to speak! 
I just want to share with you some things we learned this weekend on this topic~

First Session - The Battle for Your Soul
Starting off, Joshua drew a triangle on the board. He labelled the corners; thoughts,  feelings, and behaviour. All three are linked together and are influenced by each other.
He told us this story:
Imagine you are on a coach and there are 2 toddlers running up and down the aisle hitting the chairs as they pass and they accidently hit you too. The father is sitting in front of you and you are just wondering why he cannot keep control of his children.

Main messages were that we should not let our faith and thoughts be influenced by our feelings. Neither should we let our desires be driven by them, but by the holy spirit.
If our thoughts are grounded in the Word, then they will guide our actions too.
Like the saying goes: rubbish in, rubbish out. If we ingest the word and understand it, then we can learn to act and behave more as the spirit leads

QOTD #4: Are you scared of the boogie man?

QOTD #4: Imagine this, you are trapped in a room with mirrored walls. It's dark and the lights are flickering. Suddenly, something pops out and scares the crap out of you. What is it?

Howie: Michelle

HP: Michelle

Michy: Clowns

Sim: Michelle

QOTD #3: If you were a candy, which candy would you be?

QOTD #3: If you were a candy, which candy would you be?



Howie: I'm the wrapped candy from candy crush...because I'm...the bomb :D

HP: Gumballs because they taste better the closer you get to the middle

Michy: Pop Rocks because I want to be a rockstar (like Hannah Montanna) (y)

Sim: Black Licorice because no one would eat me. 

QOTD #2: Which High School Musical character do you most relate to?

QOTD: Which High School Musical character do you most relate to?


Howie: none. I'm lame. I don't know what High School Musical is. Never seen it.

*Expert opinion: Howard would most relate to Ryan. Ryan is chill and laid back but he's not afraid to stand up for what he believes in (ie. telling his sister that he's joining the Troy and Gabriella's group). And don't you think he looks like the asian version of Ryan?






HP: Kelsi Nielsen: She's musically talented and doesn't bother a direct confrontation with Sharpay. However, she works behind the scenes with Troy and Gabriella to help them sing their song and beat Sharpay. She sings (okay) and plays the piano =) (Like me). And I prefer Kelsi's version of "You are the Music in Me" to Sharpay's version.




Michy: Sharpay. All the way. (See what I did there? haha). Sharpay knows what she wants and goes after it. It's all about the confidence - she believes in herself and pursues her dreams and passions, even when certain obstacles (ie. Gabriella) get in her way.








 Sim: ummm I've never watched High School Musical.

*Expert opinion: As a self-proclaimed nerd, Sim would most relate to Taylor McKessie. She is smart and competes in science competitions. She is also Gabriella's sidekick and voice of reason.

Faith + (fill in the blank)

We're starting a mini series called  "Faith + (fill in the blank)" where we will talk about some of our experiences, challenges, and what we've learned.

We're all university students so we are by no means life experts but we're gonna use what God has given us to encourage you all :)

In the upcoming weeks, we'll focus on:

Faith + School
Faith + Friends
Faith + Relationships
Faith + Family
Faith + Me
Faith + Us
Faith + the Future

Stay tuned :)

-Mich