THE YOUTH ORGANIZATION

YOUTH ORGANIZATION

GOOD SHEPHERD BAPTIST CHURCH, IGANDO

THEME: SEASON TO DOMINATE      TEXT: GEN 1: 26, PSALM 8: 6

  

DATE	PROGRAMME	TOPIC
4Th  January	Theme interpretation	Season to dominate Psalm 8:6, Gen 1:26
1st February	Just Worship	Banquet of Praise  1Peter  4:7-11
1st March	Exchanged Visitation	Friending John 15:9-17
4th May	Prayer towards  Youth Week
7th June	Youth Week	Follow me
4th July	Digging deep plus youth week report	Where do you stand
1st August	Exchanged Visitation
5th September	Business summit academic session	Managing your Finance, Managing your time
4th October	Message	Dealing with delay  Isaiah 26:1-9
7th November	Prayer session	Let my gates be opened Deut: 33:23
6th December	End of the year report	Accountability

10 Great Quotes from Jesus of Nazareth

Here you will find 10 sayings of Jesus that I have collected together. Finding quotable passages from Jesus was not that easy, as most of what is recorded of what he said (in the gospel books: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are either metaphorical stories, or Jesus responding to particular questions that had been put to him. Neither work very well when taken out of context.

Of the more direct teachings of Jesus, most of them are contained in what is known as the sermon on the mount, which is a veritable goldmine of counter-cultural wisdom.

1. Love Your Enemies!

OK, you have to admit this is a pretty radical concept...

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? (Matthew 5:43-47 )

2. Don't Worry About The Future

Sometimes insightful sayings seem obvious once you hear them - I think that is the case here. Live in the moment you're in!

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:34)

3. How To Treat Others

“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. (Matthew 7:12)

4. The Most Important Commandment

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

5. Spiritual Greatness

In the topsy-turvy world of the Kingdom of God it seems the usual understanding of things is reversed. Here is yet another example:

“You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45)

6. Gaining The World, Losing Your Soul

Here Jesus highlights that the eternal and spiritual dimension is more important than the temporal physical one. Those who choose to follow His teaching will make physical sacrifices for spiritual rewards.

Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:34-38)

7. The Kingdom Of God Is Not Physical

Christian faith should not be militant, things like the crusades were not in line with what Jesus taught, or even the concept of christendom. He also taught that the Kingdom of God was in the hearts of men.

The statement below was said in response to questioning in his trial before the roman govenor.

“My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36)

8. God Loves Everyone

This very well known passage is actually a quote from Jesus.

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)

9. Ask, Seek, Knock

“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10)

10. His Claim To Be God

While it seems Jesus didn't make a point of telling everyone that he was God, he did make it clear on a few recorded occasions. This quote is taken from Jesus' court trial, from which the resulting conviction of 'blasphemy' led to his crucifixion.

I include this quote, not because it's a great teaching, but because it affects how one perceives his teaching. It's hard to think of Jesus as [just] a good moral teacher when you know that he thought himself to be God. Either he is a weirdo, or he is God!

Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:63-64)

Bible passages are quoted from the New Living Translation

THOU SHALL NOT MARRY

• Thou shall not marry an unbeliever, because if you do, you will have Satan as your Father-in-law. (II Cor. 6:14)
• Thou shall not marry when you are not physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually ripe.
• Thou shall not engage in premarital sex, wait till your honeymoon.
• Thou shall not rush into marriage, “If rush IN, you definitely rush OUT” John Maxwel
• Thou shall not fall in love with anyone without informing God. (Gen. 24:12-14)
• Thou shall not neglect the counsel of your Parents, Pastors and Elders before entering into marriage.
• Thou shall not marry a partner, who is inconsistent, unfruitful and unfaithful during courtship. (I Cor. 15:33)
• Thou shall not marry your girlfriend/boyfriend but marry your Soulmate.
• Thou shall not marry a partner that did not respect or appreciate you, if you do. You may live the rest of life like Tom and Jerry.
• Thou shall not marry someone you don't know his/her family background. (Judge 16:4)
• Thou shall not marry an NFA (No Future Ambitions) partner.
• Thou shall not marry someone who is older to be your Father/Mother, because you will soon become a widow.
• Please, thou shall not marry someone you don't love whole heartedly (Gen. 24:67) and as you are praying for a life partner, open your eyes and “seek, you shall find” (Amen)
• It is well.

By: A. Oludayo Peter
culled from: Purposeful Vessel Bulletin 2010 edition

Two Keys to a Happy Marriage

Almost every marriage starts out as a huge celebration. Together with their family and friends, each couple is full of hopes and dreams for their future life together. But the road to a happy marriage is far from easy. And as today’s divorce statistics demonstrate all too well, many couples opt not to complete the journey.

It would be easy to blame our high rate of marital failure on things like not spending enough quality time together, allowing bitterness and resentment to build in our hearts and failing to keep communication lines open. There’s no end to books, articles and seminars that tell you how to improve these and many other aspects of your relationship. But while quality time, forgiveness and communication are vitally important to creating a happy marriage, if such things aren’t happening, it’s usually a sign of a much deeper problem. And until this problem is addressed, no amount of external behavior modification will work.

To get a hint of what this deeper issue might be, let’s take a look at the following Scripture passage:

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him [Jesus] with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:35-40)

I believe that virtually every marital problem can be traced back to one or both partners failing to abide by these two laws. The same is true of any relationship. The minute we begin to focus on our own wants and needs over those of God or our partner; we’re destined for trouble.

Experiencing communication problems in your marriage? How often do you really focus on listening to what your partner (or God) has to say instead of insisting on more airtime? Feeling bitterness and resentment growing toward your partner? When was the last time you brought him or her before the Lord in prayer and truly thanked God for your relationship? Struggling to find quality time together? How about praying with your partner and asking God how he would like you to use your time?

As you begin to do these things, you’ll notice that your focus automatically starts to shift away from you and your desires and over to God and your partner. As a result, communication problems begin to improve, anger and resentment fade away and you naturally want to spend more time together. Of course, you can’t expect such changes to happen overnight. Your relationship is also bound to face financial pressures, childrearing issues and other problems that are beyond your control. But if you commit your relationship to God and make a conscious decision each day to put God and your partner first, your marriage will be able to weather any storm. Not only that; you’ll also have plenty of fun together along the way!

Have you struggled to find happiness in your marriage? Perhaps it’s time you and your spouse invited God to direct your relationship. If you would like to do so, we encourage you to pray the following:

"Dear God, thank you so much for bringing us together as a couple. We know that you have a plan and a purpose for our marriage, and we invite you to forgive the past self-centeredness, come into our lives and relationship and direct our steps from now on. Please give us the grace to put you and each other first every day. Make our relationship a blessing to others. But most of all; make it a blessing to you. Amen."

How to Overcome Challenges as a Christian Youth

Challenges are inevitable and as a youth you are faced with several challenges which include: who to trust, how to pick your friends and who to accept as friends, building your potential and abilities, forming your character and handling responsibilities.

When faced by challenges which you are exposed to on a daily basis, the challenges of alcohol, adultery, drug abuse, sexual abuse, lack of funds to sponsor education, sickness, troubled home, divorced parents among other numerous challenges you must first acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ over your life; you must invite Jesus into your life as a personal Lord and saviour. When you do this you have handed your life over to the Lordship of Jesus who alone can deliver you.

Then it is very important that you review the friends you have, keep friendship of people that are prayerful and can encourage you to pray. Do not chose friends prone to alcohol abuse and promiscuity, sexual abusers, thieves and pick pockets. They will only draw you away from your relationship with Jesus.

Read Ecclesiates 12 verse 1 to 2, which says," remember thy creator in the day of thy youth while the evil days come not nor the years draw nigh, when thous shall say I have no pleasure in them. While the sun or the light or the moon or the stars be not darkened nor the clouds return after the rain"

This verse encourages you to seek your creator now that you are young and strong and not when you are old and probably unable to do things for yourself.

Practical Tips on Living Life as a Christian

Develop a positive thinking pattern; do not always see things from the negative angle. Confess positive words over your life and endeavours, do not condemn your actions or activities even before you set out for them. The Bible says that as a man thinketh in his heart so is he. And from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Love others around you, do not run them down. Being secure in yourself and God's love for you will help you to accept others as they are. Be confident in who God has made you and always trust that he made you perfect. When you are sure you have been made perfect you are happy with yourself and who you are and you will not copy anybody or envy others

Be an avid reader of the Bible and books written by Christians. Listen to recorded messages and sermons as this will keep your heart and mind focused on God and on godly life. Find a Bible believing Church to join, attend a Bible study and fellowship, stand up for Jesus.

You must never throw in the towel, you can achieve anything you set out to achieve. See yourself as an eagle and not a chicken; eagles have clear vision and aim very high, chickens stay on the ground and struggle for crumbs.

Do you want to be respected? Then you must respect yourself and others around you, you must treat people with civility, you must not vent the frustrations of your challenges on others, rather bear your cross as a strong Christian.

Jesus is There Through Your Hardest Struggles

When the challenges overwhelm you, take them to God in prayers, he alone can lift the burden from you. Are you struggling to quit drug usage? Were you sexually abuse or even still being abused abused by your male relative, an intimate partner or a neighbour? were you recently raped and you feel dirty and used? Do you engage in robbery? Are you a cultist? Are your parents going through a messy divorce that is messing up your mind? What is it you are facing as a challenge? Are you at the brink of giving up? Contemplating suicide? STOP!!!! You can walk away from these challenges, develop the attitude of a winner and stay focused on Jesus, He alone will help bring you out of the mess. Remember He is there to help you face and tackle your challenges.

Written by: Akin Babatunde