Road Signs

In May, we did a four-week series on road Signs. Here is a brief summary of the series. We may put the highlights of each week up soon.

You cannot get to the south beach by driving north, and you can not get to the top of the mountain if you are walking down it. Road Signs looks to the book of Proverbs for wisdom to help each of us navigate the choices of life, because we know that each choice determines the direction of our lives. And it is our direction, not our intention, that ultimately determines our destination. Where are you heading? What path are you on? And how do you get to where you want to go?

Here is a breakdown of the weekly sessions:

Session 1: One Way
Bottom Line: Your direction, not your intention, determines your destination.

Session 2: Caution
Bottom Line: When you see a warning sign, turn around.

Session 3: Yield
Bottom Line: Divine direction begins with surrender.

Session 4: Rest Stop
Bottom Line: When you give something your attention, you move in that direction.

A Busy Day

Yesterday was a busy day for many of our students at Christ The Savior.

We started the day off with our pancake breakfast. The breakfast was before the early service, in between both services and after the 2nd service. During the same time the pancake breakfast cooking was going on; we were cooking food for Meet Me Under The Bridge which is one of our service projects in Indianapolis (serving the homeless).

We also had many students who bounced back and forth as peer guides in confirmation. Confirmation is wrapping up and it was great to see them in there with their students.

Then, we finished up the pancake breakfast and Meet Me Under The Bridge preparation and headed downtown Indianapolis to serve the homeless. There were approx 110 individuals there this Sunday.

For Oasis On Sunday, we were "off-campus" and we went to Mexico City Grill. It was a great time of fellowship and the food was excellent.

If Only ....

What's your "if only"? Every one of us has one, two or a hundred different scenarios in which we would do or say something differently. That e-mail we wish we would not have sent, that relationship that we should have avoided - or never began. We all have regrets, things we would do differently if given the chance. So if life inevitably brings those "if only" moments, how do we handle the regrets that haunt us? How can we turn the "if only" from our past decisions into something more, something that will help both us and others?

Here is a breakdown of the weekly sessions:

February 13: Session 1: Rewind - Bottom Line: Yesterdays regrets affect today.

February 20: Session 2: Haunted - Bottom Line: Freedom begins when we name our regrets.

February 27: Session 3: Redeem - Bottom Line: The regrets of yesterday can be redeemed for tomorrow.

Jan. 23: Discovery

We are in part three of our part four series on RHYTHM. This lesson will be the most difficult of the four in my opinion as we look at ourselves and realize that we must love ourselves and be rhythm with ourselves. The reason that it is difficult is because it is tough to be honest about our own self-perception.

We have changed things up just a bit on Sunday night. With the weather being colder, we are inside hanging out from 6:30 - 7:00 before we start at 7 pm. We have worship and then an interactive-game and then it is our message/lesson time. We are incorporating the message and questions (small group questions) all together. We have done this the past two weeks and do this in a attempt to bring "community" to all.

The Invisible Series

THE INVISIBLES:

Series Overview

We are surrounded by the invisibles. These are people who simply want to know someone cares, someone notices—people who want to know God cares. Some of us would even say we feel that way—invisible to an entire world, daily passing us by. Whether that feeling is a familiar one or not, the reality is that each one of us has felt invisible at one point or another. But we didn’t stay that way. God saw us. He sees the invisibles. And because God took notice of us, we are able to open our eyes to see those around us.

Session One: Can You See Me? (November 7)
Sometimes you can stand in a room or walk down a hallway or sit in a chair and no one notices you. It’s not that you have some type of special ability that makes you invisible—people just don’t see you. They know nothing about you—nor do they seem to want to know anything about you. It’s like you’re not even there, even when you are physically in the room. You’re invisible. The good news is Jesus sees invisible people—even those who never realized they were invisible.

Session Two: In Focus (November 14)

Some people go unnoticed. There are people in the background of our lives we never see. Maybe it’s the guy at the gas station or the girl at the coffee shop. Maybe it’s the girl sitting in the lunchroom, or the guy hanging out in the back of the youth room. There are people all around us who we treat as invisible. But because of how God has seen us, because of what we’ve experienced personally, our vision is changed. How can we begin to see the people in our lives every day that may normally go overlooked? How can we see the people halfway around the world that go unnoticed? What can we do to bring those around us in focus?

Session Three: Seeing Beyond the Seen (November 21)

Sometimes what we really want isn’t what we are asking for. Sometimes what we really need is invisible to us. Thankfully Jesus sees us, really sees us. He sees the obvious physical needs and the more subtle spiritual ones too. And not only does He see them, He cares enough to do something about them both. When it comes to reaching out to the invisibles, when we provide friendship, water, help—sometimes it just isn’t enough. There’s a deeper, spiritual need that can only be met through Jesus Christ. And because of that, we do both—we help with the physical need but point them to Jesus Christ for the spiritual one.

Parents: Forward Motion

Forward Motion:

We’ve all made resolutions and set goals, but too often we fall short of what we expected to accomplish. Unfortunately it’s often the same when we try to become the Christian we really believe God has called us to be. We fall short of the goal and become increasingly discouraged. In this series, your student will learn that following Christ is more about the small steps we make every day, not about the huge leaps of faith that we think we need to make. They will set a goal, determine the first step and then make it. The series will end with a celebration!

Week One (October 3)

Following Christ is about steps, not leaps. This week your students will be introduced to the myth: that Christianity is all about taking big leaps of faith. They will encounter some of Scripture’s most daunting verses, and wrestle with what it means to have a life of spiritual growth. Each student will set a goal for himself or herself, and the next few weeks they will revisit their goals.

Week Two (October 10)

The way you get from where you are to where you want to be is one step at a time. This may sound ridiculously obvious, but we all forget it. We want to go to the gym one time and look like a model; we want to make one smart comment at work and be promoted right to the top. But we know deep down that isn’t the way things work. The good news is that in our spiritual development, God has not left us alone to work out the mess. He has sent His Spirit to guide us. This week, students will look at the power of the Holy Spirit to guide their paths, and they will make a plan for beginning to take the first step toward their goals.

Week Three (October 17)

Celebrate the steps you take in your relationship with God, and celebrate the steps others take as well. It’s all about celebration, not the cheap kind of celebration that comes from making a big deal out of nothing, but the real party that comes naturally when we know that we have made even the slightest move in the right direction. Your students will talk this week about what it looks like to encourage each other and celebrate with each other whenever they make progress toward one of their goals.

EXPERIENCE:

Many of you crave forward motion in your family. You know what you want your children to be. You want them to be kind, respectful, responsible, intelligent, creative individuals. You want them to be able to succeed when they grow up and leave your home. But sometimes you look at them and you think that it may never happen.

This month, think about helping your student make one step. Think of one new thing that you would love for your child to do. Maybe it’s to improve his or her science grade, learn how to do laundry, cook a meal or change the oil in the car. Once you have decided on one goal for your child, communicate your desire to teach this skill and let your child know why it is important to learn it. Then spend time during the month helping teach your child how to accomplish the goal.

If you want your student to improve his or her science grade, sit with him and study flash cards. If you want them to know how to do laundry, do a load or two together until he or she gets the hang of it. By communicating to your child why you want him or her to know or do a certain thing, you communicate respect. By spending time helping them learn, you are letting him or her know of their importance to you. You will also alleviate your child’s fear of disappointing you if they get it wrong.

The most important thing that fuels forward motion is celebration. Make sure that you celebrate your child’s step! Tell him or her that you are proud of them for working so hard or for learning something new. When your child knows that they can make you proud, they will be much more motivated to continue working on their new goal.

Forward Motion

On October 3rd, we will begin our 3rd Series: Forward Motion

You've heard it before: That one student who goes on a mission trip/youth group retreat/conference and makes a declaration to change the world. Sometimes it happens. But too often, after a few months, that same student is indistinguishable from the crowd. They were so caught up in the emotion of the moment and were ready to do something big. But following Christ is more about the small steps we make every day, steps of obedience, steps in relationship with Him. We call this series forward motion because the Christian life is more about the steps we take, not the leaps.

Here's the weekly breakdown of the Forward Motion series:

October 3: Week 1: To the Moon (Following Christ is about steps, not leaps)

October 10: Week 2: The Walk (The way to get from where you are to where you want to be is one step at a time)

October 17: Week 3: Party (Celebrate the steps you take in your relationship with God, and celebrate the steps others take as well.)

Oasis: September = PAUSE

Ever feel like life is moving, or rather, rushing forward at an unsustainable pace? It seems like more often then not, that is just the way things are. But in effort to keep up with everything and everyone around us, it may be that we are missing out on experiencing God's presence. What would take for you to pause? To stop? To just "be," long enough to take note of the living God in the midst of our spinning world?

September 12: Session 1: Breathe
Bottom Line: We need to pause in order to be present.

September 19: Session 2: Search
Bottom Line: We need to pause in order to see God.

September 26: Session 3: Discover
Bottom Line: When we pause, we remember that God hasn't left us.

WE Series

On August 15th, we begin a new series called WE. This series will help us discover the "why" behind community - why we need it, why we should pursue it, and why it is more than what you do every week.

August 15 - The Others
Following Christ was never meant to be done alone - we need community

August 22 - A Beautiful Mess
It can be a messy process when we are in community with other people.

August 29 - Up close
We learn about God through community

Please come an join us on Sunday nights. Come on over to play volleyball and hang out with friends at 6:30 and we begin worship/teaching/small groups from 7:00 - 8:00.

Any Questions ? Call Jeff at the church (317) 842-5649 EXT 223