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February 3, 2011
When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. Luke 7:13-15
I am a mother, a mother who has stared death in the eyes. I have seen the life of my child almost snuffed out. As a mother I have also seen God’s grace and mercy through that second chance that sometimes others don’t have.
Why did Jesus follow me until he saved me?
Why did he follow you, and now why is he following our children and youth?
It’s simply because he loves us and we are precious to Him!
The moment Jesus died on the cross he paid a very expensive price, not our worth but his in exchange for us. He went straight to hell to end the sting of death and get the keys that held us captive to commendation. He and only He gives us freedom and eternal life. Our part is making a choice, a choice and a commitment to accept and love God above all things and love others as we do ourselves. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” Luke 10:27
Right now we have in our possession the owners of the Kingdom of heaven (Luke 18:16). They are under our care and there are battles to be fought, wounds to heal, tears to dry and many decisions to be made. We can be the instrument that God uses to plant seeds for the growth of the Kingdom.
“We can finish writing the book of Acts!”
This world right now is filled with things that our children and youth will see on a daily basis and think that it’s normal, things like deception, cruelty, sex, witchcraft, occult, fantasy and many others that I don’t wish to name. These are the tools that the enemy uses to make the soil of their hearts sterile and hard. These are the seeds that are being planted in their hearts and minds on a daily basis. The teachers and leaders of this church have two hours at the most on a weekly basis to compete with this and try to prepare the soil of their hearts, and plant good seeds.
God is the one calling, He is calling on you to do what should come naturally when we are saved; lead others to Jesus and teach them in his word. Someone asked me what would you like me to do, because I don’t have a lots of time? My answer was “I am not asking you for what you don’t have; I am asking you for what you do!”
We are here today to join forces, to resist the feeling of helplessness and to wake up and answer the call. This call is coming from God, but it is also coming from young and small restless hearts that need to be filled with hope and salvation. I am asking for strength - the strength to do what is right and comes with the joy of salvation through the Holy Spirit (Nehemiah 8:10).
I’m asking for us to do whatever it takes for our children to enter the kingdom, this Kingdom that is very near.
I have four simple requests:
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Monitor what your children watch and judge what they are watching through scripture.
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Pray with them, not only for them; hold their hands when you do.
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Read scripture to and with them and listen to their questions and try to help them understand.
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Participate in this body of Christ by planting seeds in what still is fertile soil and set the example for them to follow.
As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. Matthew 10:7-8
December 29, 2010
Dear Parents of our t4 Youth,
Christmas break is almost over and I want to thank you all for your youth's and children's participation in our Christmas presentation. We really did not have many practice times but I do have to say that these kids really pulled it off! I am really proud of all of them; they did it without a hitch and lots of love. The ProDeo youth were very grateful and happy. Thank you for all your gift cards, it really made a difference in their Christmas this year. Our youth were friendly and inviting to them. My prayer is that the ProDeo youth can be part of our church someday and that our youth can be missionaries of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I am also including our snack schedule for Wednesday nights, please let me know if you are unable to provide snacks on your assigned date. We will start meeting again on Wednesday, Jan. 12 at 6:30pm as always.
t4 Snack schedule
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
Virginia Gabel
October 28, 2010
ATF
Acquire The Fire
Acquire The Fire is confronting collisions head on. Young people from coast to coast will hear that God wants to comfort, heal, and put them back together. Although the enemy continues to steal, kill, and destroy, Jesus binds up the brokenhearted and releases prisoners from the darkness.
Bands Speakers Drama Worship Life-Change
February 11-12, 2011
Kemper Arena
1701 American Royal Ct, Kansas City, MO 64102
Admission: $60.00 w/o food
Parents & t4 Youth:
Acquire The Fire is just around the corner, this is an event that we are praying both parents and youth will attend.
In hope of alleviating the financial burden we have created a payment schedule that is available for each youth that would like to participate. Starting the first week of November each participating youth can bring $5.00 a week when they come to church on Sundays or to t4 on Wednesdays for a total of $20.00 a month, that would bring us close to the amount needed for the purchase of the ticket. If they are able to bring more than the $5.00 or pay the complete amount at any time they may do so. The dead line for us to be able to purchase the tickets at $60.00 is 01/08/11, after this date the ticket price will be $75.00.
We are very aware that many of the youth may not be able to afford the cost of the ticket so we are also making preparations for a fund raiser and can ask for sponsorship for this activity. Please let us know if you need assistance with the cost.
We will also be requesting parental assistance for chaperons and drivers but will communicate that information after the Holidays.
If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us,
Virginia Gabel Whitney Wood
Youth Leader Youth Missions Coordinator
For detailed information on this activity please visit: acquirethefire.com
PARENTS INVITED. The event includes a parent session, and hundreds of moms and dads have raved about their experience at Acquire The Fire. See what other parents are saying. facebook.com/acquirethefire
Virginia's Letter to Parents, September 23, 2010
Dear Parents of our t4 Youth:
We are grateful for how God has been gracious to us all through this year. As we have commenced a new school year so has the focus on teaching, learning and sharing Gods word in t4. I have asked the youth to share with me questions and concerns about God, life, salvation and anything they may want to learn about. Because of their questions, and with Gods guidance, we have started a new series of lessons on Sundays. These lessons are all Bible based and begin with our spiritual journey, take us through God's plan for salvation and address our daily struggles. Our plan is to equip these youth with spiritual facts, tools and knowledge so they will know where to turn if and when hard times come and decisions have to be made.
I firmly believe that one of the greatest joys of being in God's plan is serving, and because of this our t4 youth will be working with a mission focus this year. In Lee's Summit we have a Christian based group called Pro Deo (For God) which works very closely in helping and providing for the homeless youth in this area. Yes, there are homeless youth in our community and we want to answer God's call and their cry for help. To begin this mission the t4 youth will prepare and serve a meal for approximately 35 homeless youth on Tuesday, October 19th. We request your participation on this day of service with the following:
Prayer Transportation Paper Plates
Cooks to help make the Sloppy Joes Ground beef
Onions Sloppy Joe Mix Napkins
Hamburger Buns Chips Dr. Pepper/ Sprite
Cup Cakes Coke/ Pepsi Cups
As the October date draws closer I will send out a signup sheet for these items and your participation. Please let me know if you have any questions about this mission.
In addition, these homeless youth will be t4's main focus this Christmas; our goal is that each of our youth will sponsor one of them. We will provide you with a list of needs and wishes for them in the hope that, through Gods grace, we can provide a blessing through the miracle of the message of Christ's birth. I pray that you will find it in your heart to answer this call and help lead our t4 youth in God's service.
Also the following are dates that there will not be t4 Youth meetings:
October 20th
November 24th
December 22nd
December 29th
January 5th
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
Virginia Gabel
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