Busy Week

Its been a really busy week for me guys and gals. I hope evberything is going great for you all. DO NOT FORGET this sunday is FREE pizza at Powerhouse (as long as you bring a friend) if you don't it's $5.... So... bring a friend get free pizza and have fun. I will see you all there.

Invasion - continue The Takeover

Invasion was an awesome week full of the passionate praise and worship, dynamic preaching and, fun with friends. It can be one of the most lifechanging weeks of a person's life, but only if you make it that. It is important to implemement the changes that you swore to yourself and God that you would make. Friday night if you declared war on the devil (like I know that I did) it is important that you take your woal with God seriously, because what you did was not a joke. You need to take this seriously, the Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8 "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." The devil will come after you, and you need to be prepared. "How can I be prepared?" you might ask. Its simple the Bible also says in Luke 9:23, "If anyone desires to come after me (Jesus is talking here), let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me." This means that we must follow Jesus everyday. We cannot be fairweather Christians if we do not follow Jesus we are giving the devil an oportunity to come after us. I am not saying this to make you afraid, but there are only two options serve God or serve the devil. Living every day for Jesus may seem like a difficult task, but Jesus says in Matthew 11: 28-30 "Come to Me all you who labor and and are heavy laden (loaded down), and I wil give you rest. Take My yolk upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yolk is easy and and my burden is light." Jesus does not want to complicate things for you he wants to simplify it for you. Trust him, and seek him this week. Do not let the fire die in your heart this week, next week, or the week after. Invasion may be over, but your passion for Jesus does not need to be done too. Keep in the Word, take up your cross, and live your life as if Jesus was standing next to you, because in all truth Jesus is with you right now. He will not abandon you.

Invasion Night 4

I think the best way to describe tonight is the web-abreviated term...... OMJ (Oh my Josh for those of you who aren't Invasion Savvy :-D). Tonight war wasdeclared on the very devil himself. As we all raised our right hands before the throne of God we invited Jesus to take over our lives, and then we threw the devil out of every aspect of our lives. We declared that we were going to tear his kingdom to shreds. This years theme is the takeover, and it does not take going to Africa or Asia or a third world nation to change the world. You can be a world changer by changing the life of ONE person. If you can change the life of a single person you have already changed the world. Now its time to bring them to church, bring them to youth group. This is not a time to be ashamed of Jesus this is the time to stand up and be ready to say "I LOVE JESUS AND I DON'T CARE IF YOU THINK I'M WEIRD!"

Night 3

Once again its WAY too late to think straight. On the good side of things I ate incredibly healthy for invasion. I actually ate an awesome breakfast. The day was awesome the volleyball team , The Mexican Sand Lobsters got third place. The service was as incredble as it always is. Maybe even better. Josh was really encouraging people to press in to Jesus tonight. God really showed up today. The Holy Spirit was really heavy at the altar. On a funny note Josh forgot about coming to Invasion and the staff had to run to his house and pick him up.... He even missed his typical explosive entry.
Don't forget you can watch Invasion at home you can catch the feed feed online at http://www.invasion.net. On a side note they said that there was roughly 1500 computers watching the feed. Hit me up on my Facebook http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=50612538.

Invasion Day two

Well it is the end of day two, and its about 1AM so excuse the wierd typos that are bound to ensue. Morning session was good we learned about worship from Daniel Groves, and aftert hat his worship band played for us. Afternoon's are a time of bonding generally in the pool, or at the sporting events set up by the swell folks at Invasion. No one played any sports today so the pool was rather busy. Jeremy Pearsons was the evening speaker, and if your not familiar with who he is; I'm pretty sure that he is the grandson of Kenneth and Gloria Copeland. Jeremy taught on I Timothy 4:12' "And don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity." He said that this does not give people an excuse to look for a fight with some "old person" that is looking down on us over our age. Rather he suggested the scripture is asking us to prove ourselves to our elders and show them that we are deserving of the trust and authority given to us. We can do this by living a clean and pure life.
See you all tommorow I have some fun to have... looks like it will be another long night.

Night 1 Invasion

"Wonderful, Beautiful, Glorious, Matchless in Everyway." These were the words to the song that we sang for 2 hours. Josh challenged everyone in the auditorium to take charge of our world. He said' "This isn't your parent's world It's your's. This isn't your parent's future its yours This isn't your parent's church its yours. This isn't you parent's Jesus it's your Jesus." This year's theme is The Take Over, and the challenge is that we, the youth of America needs to take over our own life. The night was awesome. We need to take responsibility for our lives we need to choose a life for Jesus. We need to take responisbility for spreading the good news of Jesus, the love of God, and the fire of the Holy Spirit. This is the challenge that we have been charged with and we have more fun to come. Travel was fun, and I'm sure the website http://powerhouseyouth.org/ will have plenty of awesome pictures of all the fun that was had. Right now its going on one AM and we will be up somewhat early in the morning so yay. post on my wall when you can...

This Week INVASION

Tonight was amazing! I probably could have done that all night. Anyone who wasn't there God came with praise and worship and He was moving to get everyone ready for Invasion. I must say that I am feeling really ready for things this year. I know that God is going to show up and show himself powerful. The Bible says in II Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." God will do this for us God will heal you nad forgive you no matter what. Not to mention he said he will heal the land. Just think what would happens when God heals the land. There will be peace, unity, and any enviornmental problems could be fixed by God.

Well on a more business note I am going to try to update this every day of Invasion to keep the folks at home up to date on how things are going. As always hit up my wall on Facebook let me know what you think of the blog. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=50612538. If you don't have a Facebook........... get one.

Jerks

I've always tried to hang out with a crowd of nice people, but then even in the nicest group of friends there is always the jerk. Whether you hang with them by your choice or your meshed in with him/her through some other chain of events a jerk can really be a test of patience on everyone. The thing you have to remember is that most of the time jerks just REALLY want attention, and if you give it to them by being obviously annoyed then they will keep annoying you. Instead try doing something that will catch them off guard; be nice to him or her. That will be the last thing that they expect and sometimes it softens them up and makes them less of a jerk. This doesn't always work, and sometimes it takes being nice to them for a long time before your hard work shows.
This isn't just a piece of practical advice its comanded in the bible that we as Christians are kind to those around us. Luke 6:35 says, ""I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You'll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we're at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind. " I know this isn't an easy task, and this is definately not God telling you to be like Ned Flanders, but more often then not you can turn your enemies to friends through your kindness without being stepped on and walked over.
I hope everyone has a great week this week hit me up on Facebook, and write on my wall or something. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=50612538

Super Summer Celebration

Hey I hope that everyone had a good fourth of July and saw a whole lot of fireworks. Anyways, Super Summer Celebration was this week. I saw a lot of you there and to those who did not go it was a lot of fun to hang with the kids. I hope to see you on Sunday remember that love is important and the way we treat each other is a vital aspect of our Christian life. The Messege Bible puts it this way in I Corinthians 13
"Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end."
Everytime I read this I try to think of ways that I can follow this better, because I always see so many places that I fall short. So just some encouragement to walk in love towards everyone you see.

Also I'm on Facebook check me out http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=50612538

Revival?

God is doing some amazing things around the world, and specifically in Florida at the moment. To be honest this can seem kind of firghtening at first, but God isn't out to scare you or hurt you or make you look stupid. He is out to help, bless, keep, and protect you. The fire of God is a time when God shows his people the extent of his love for us. As a result people are healed, and lives are restored. If you've been around any of the leaders lately no doubt you have heard of the revival in Florida. If not here is one of the main websites about it http://www.god.tv/florida. Now, believe it or not there is a revival in the Bible. Just read the book of Acts, and you will see what a worldwide revival looks like. In specific in Acts 2 is where the Holy Spirit was recieved by the followers of Jesus. Its a great read you can read the it at this link http://bibleresources.bible.com/passagesearchresults.php?passage1=Acts+2&passage2=&passage3=&passage4=&passage5=&version1=65&version2=0&version3=0&version4=0&version5=0&Submit.x=30&Submit.y=8. Anyways it would be the coolest thing ever if God moved here at Faith Christian Center in the same way he is moving in Lakeland Florida, but God cannot move if we won't let him. So be open and ready to listen to what God is saying and he will bless you for it.

It's Been Awhile

Hey everyone I know its been a little while since I posted last. I have been studying really hard in the past couple of weeks, and I just finished finals yesterday. I will be posting some awesome stuff in the near future so keep your eyes wide open and check back soon! I'm really excited about what is going to happen this summer at Powerhouse so I will see everyone at youth group on sunday night.

Entertainment

Okay so anyone who plays video games, or watches the news should know by now about the latest and (reportedly) greatest video game to be released this year. Thats right Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV) blew onto shelves with the distinct bang pf weapon's fire. Many gaming professionals are touting the game as the top selling, and best game of the year (keep in mind they said this before the game's official release tuesday). The GTA series has been in news in the past mostly for its extreme violence especially since the game goes to great effort to mirror reality, and immerse gamers into an expansive and deep world. It has also been in the news for an obscene mini game that was hidden in GTA III the "Hot Coffee" game, as it was called lost the company a great deal of money when they had to pull it from the shelves of Gamestops and Bestbuys all accross the nation. So the question becomes is this game a good idea to buy? I can give you a short answer, but I'd rather explain a bit about the game first, for those who may still be unfamiliar with the series.

Grand Theft Auto games are hailed as "revolutionary" for immersing gamers in a close to real world. The game places the gamer in the shoes of a hardened criminal who is working for the mob. As the player walks around Liberty City he can follow missions, side missions, or just go around killing everything that moves. Players can solicit prostitution (in GTA IV prostitution has been made to be much more indepth then in the past games). They can rob people, steal cars, and kill Police Officers. This game encourages players that while they are in Liberty City to yosstheir morality out of the window of the car they just stole.

Now that you have an idea of what the game is about let me ask you something. Is this the kind of game that you would like to play? The only standard that this game has set for decency is..... Ummm oops their isn't a standard of decency. My apologies... The Entirity of the game is based on-- sex, murder, and thievery-- thats just the tip of the iceberg. The Bible tells us in Philipians 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Nothing in any of the 5 GTA titles contain anything that is noble, right, lovely, or pure. I relize this game is major, but this is one that you can't afford to take part in. Jesus said in Matthew 5:21, "You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.' I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill. " If thinking you'd like to kill someone is as good as murder then, what may I ask is Grand Theft Auto? I can't say it any other way this game will interfere in your relationship with God. He cannot stand the sight of sin and this game helps people to do what is really in their heart.

Simply put Grand Theft Auto IV gets resounding thumbs down.

Confession

To be honest with everyone who is reading this post. The past couple of months have been very difficult for me, and I have really felt my relationship with God slip. This is true, but that is only the beginnning of the story. Their have been things in my life that don't belong, and I have naively ignored them. Until tonight, God showed up at church (not that he doesn't come) and he moved powerfully in the lives of everyone. Mine included. God and I have reestablished our relationship. We are reconciled, and the things that were in my life are gone. They won't come back, because God has delivered me from it. If you didn't get to church tonight, then you missed out, but God still wants to move in your life. The things that seperate you from your relationship with God can disapear. The bible says in Mark 11:22-25
"Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, 'Go jump in the lake'—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it's as good as done. That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything. And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it's not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive—only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins." (The Messege)
The mountain in your life can be gone. I know this because the bible says so, and the mountains in my life are gone. Call on Jesus right now and you will be saved from whatever it is you are facing. Don't let this pass you by because if God will do the impossible in my life then he will do it in yours as well.

What God is doing in my life!

Hey I just wanted to let everyone know some awesome stuff that is going on in my life. I recently was accepted into Otterbein University, and some of you will realize that college is expensive. Well Otterbein is private, and that means its way more expensive then like OSU is. Well, I didn't want to let the price interfere with my education, and so I trusted that God would take care of it. God has always supplied me with the money that I have needed for my tuition at Columbus State, and I have never had to take a loan yet! Praise God. So I trusted that God was going to help me pay for Otterbein, and now I am pleased to report that God has supplied over $11,000 in scholarships for school! This is amazing for me, and I am so happy that God did this for me. I know that I still have more money to come up with for college, but I know that no matter what God will supply all of my needs. The bible says in Malichi 3:10-12,
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty."
This is a cool scripture, because I have tithed, and I have given offerings since I was about five years old, and now I am seeing this paying off. If you don't tithe you really should even if you don't make a lot of money, it doesn't matter, God will honor the fact that you are following the cammand he has given. Have a great week everyone!

I have been Busy

Sorry it has been a bit since I last posted. My quarter started out with a bang. I know almost everyone is back in school and the school year is winding down. I want to encourage everyone, including myself, not to slack off. It's really easy to put school work off for things that are more fun, but often times its the last quarter that is most difficult. So don't quit, and keep up the good work! We also need to remember not to forget our relationship with God in the process. I Corinthians 9:24 says "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. " We have to keep our relationship with God up. If we don't make time for God there won't be much of a relationship. It is really easy to lose sight of God in all the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I know that often times it is the first thing that I will cut out of my schedule. It's something that I've been working on. So I would like to encourage everyone to actually take the time that they should for God and his word this week.
On a side note Dr. Mark Barclay is in town tonight through Tuesday! If you can make it out I highly recomend it he is one of the best speakers you will ever here.

Spring Break has Sprung!

It's that time of year for Spring break again, and it seems that everyone is going crazy. People are eager fo summer as the fourth quarter begins. Its very easy to "forget" about school work and opt out for something that is more fun. I know its what I did best in highschool.... It wasn't good because my grades went down and with it went my GPA. This made me less eligible for things like scholarships. In the end. I sincerely regret not working harder in school. I've made up for it in college, but I've spent a lot of money doing it. I Corinthians 9:24 says "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." (NIV) . This applies not only to your walk with God, but in everything that you do. So as you run out this last quarter, or last half of the semester run for the prize. Set goals for yourself and figure out how you are going to accomplish them. Then once you meet these goals get excited and tell everyone you know. Most importantly talk to God about your goals He will guide you and help you accomplish them.

Finals week

This week is the one thing that I do not like. Finals. College is great its no picinic but I like it. Finals seem to be the one thing that I really cannot stand about college. They almost seem to be designed to trip you up. Good thing we dont serve a God like that. Jesus promises us that he wont leave us, hurt us or trick us up. He does not give trick questions you can either say yes to him or you can say no. It is as simple as that. The bible says in John 14:18-20 "I will not leave you orphaned. I'm coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you're going to see me because I am alive and you're about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I'm in my Father, and you're in me, and I'm in you."
Jesus won't abandon you, and he won't trick you in the way my chemistry professor seems intent on tricking me. Have a great week everyone.

Fellowship night on friday the 29th!!!!!

Dont forget friday night the 29th is the fellowship night. It will be a lot of fun so come out and get ready to enjoy some great food, fun , and hanging out with everyone from church.


As Miss Sue is talking to everyone about making good choices it is really important to pay attention to what she is saying, because it will make a big difference in your life. The book of James talks a lot about listening to the word of God. In James 1:22-24 it says "Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. " If you find yourself doing something that isn't right it needs to change, or you really arent listening. Listening to God is probably the most important thing that anyone can do. So listen to the word of God and make decisions based off of what the Bible says.

This week

I hope everyone is starting there week off well. Miss Sue did a great job teaching in youth group last night about maintaining a pure life. So this week think about what you are going to do and as she always says, "Make the right decisions." That statement is similar to what my dad always told me when I was still in high school anytime that I was going out he would tell me, "Charlie I trust you to do what is right in your heart." That was something that always made me think about what I was planning on doing, and whether I really should follow through with it. It saved me trouble several times and praise God that my dad was willing to care that much.
The Bible says in Romans 12:1,2 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. "(NIV). This means that we as Christians need to pay attention to what we do in our daily life and do what is right. Even if it is not fun. It is not always easy to be a sacrifice so if you are having trouble talk to God, and if you still are having trouble be sure to talk to me, a leader, or even Rev. Brandon and Miss Sue. We all want to help you and to see you do well in your Christian walk with God so let us help you, that is what we are here for.

Friday

Hey everyone I hope that you are having a wonderful Friday. This weekend will hopefully be a good one. This weekend don't be afraid of anything, remember that God is right next to you, watching your back. He will hold onto you as long as you let Him. Isaiah 41:9,10 says, "I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." God is with you and he will help you. So ask Him for help, and He will be there for you He will never let you down. More and more God has been proving this to me, and I can confidently say that God will do as much for you as He has been doing for me. I can't wait to see everyone at Powerhouse on Sunday for SUPER BOWL SUNDAY! Enjoy your Saturday.

No ministries tonight

There won't be any ministries tonight so please dont come out to the church tonight, because nobody will be there.

God really loves and cares about you, and no matter how much stress and how much trouble you are going through right now God wants you to know that "I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. " Romans 8:38,39. Remember what Andrew was saying on Sunday that Jesus is the Word, and the Jesus lives in you. The love that the Bible talks about will always be there for you, and all you need to do is get into God and He will overwhelm you with his love.

Happy Birthday Pastor Ed!

This morning was really fun to watch people pay respect to our pastor who is celebrating his 65th birthday. Thank you to everyone who wrote him notes and made the surprise special for him.

This is the time of year when a lot of questions about the future really begin to intensify. Questions about college or even what you will do over the summer. I remember being at my wits end this time of year when it came to the future. These questions are important, and they are ones that everyone needs help with. James 1:5,6 says, "If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally, and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind." If we ask in faith for God to help us with making these major decisions. He will guide us in the best way possible; you just have to trust him. So whether you are still deciding what college you are going to attend, if you need to start looking for a part-time job, or even if you are just looking for something to new to do. Ask God, and he will not let you down.

Don't forget youth group is tonight! I will see you all there.

TONIGHT

Tonight is Family fun night at the church bring your family if you can, but seriously if you can't get them to come we would love to have you come out anyways! I will see everyone there

Family Fun Night

Hey everyone just want to remind you all to comeout to the family fun night on friday night. Also tubing is the next day so pray for snow! I hope everyone is going!

Remember this week that God cares about you and is thinking of you. The Messege Bible says it this way in Matthew 10: 29-31 "What's the price of a pet canary? Some loose change, right? And God cares what happens to it even more than you do. He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a million canaries." You are extremely important to God so smile and have a great day I will see you all on Friday!

The Healing Service!

Wow! if you missed Sunday night then you really missed out. God was moving as we joined the adults in the sanctuary for a healing service. We saw people healed spiritually, mentally, and physically. God was present with us and it was awesome to see the Holy Spirit move so powerfully. Remember this as you go through your week that Jesus is willing and able to heal you like it says in Matthew 4:23 "From there he went all over Galilee. He used synagogues for meeting places and taught people the truth of God. God's kingdom was his theme—that beginning right now they were under God's government, a good government! He also healed people of their diseases and of the bad effects of their bad lives. Word got around the entire Roman province of Syria. People brought anybody with an ailment, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Jesus healed them, one and all."

Don't forget we go tubing at Mad River Mountain this Saturday details are at the website www.powerhouseyouth.org. Also the Superbowl party is coming up as well, but there will be more details soon!

This past week!

We had a great week this week at Powerhouse!! We had a guest speaker for the high schoolers, Ron Janetzke (Applause here). He had an awesome message about being the light in the world and making sure you are in the Word and walking with Jesus who is the light! Intensity met this week too and other than a little blood shed they had a good time. There is a lot coming up this month so be ready!!

Remember: This Sunday night is the Healing Service. So come expecting God to do miraculous things that night.