CollegeLife

The world series of poker is huge right now and many times we see people lose millions of dollars on this little phrase- “All IN!” No holding back, no stopping, no insurance, unabonded, unbridled, letting it all hang out, no turning back- I’m All In!

Our adrenaline makes our heart beat a bit faster when we hear those words- All In.  We get excited, our nerves are on edge, we sit on the edge of our seat- just waiting… I think there is something in all of us that wants to be the guy or girl who is “All In.” We repsect their courage and the fact that they are willing to hold nothing back.

Some people might look at going “all in”, not as courageous but as foolish, and to some extent they are right.  You can’t go “all in” and then ask for some back.  You can’t go “all in” and say “nevermind.”

So what about in following Christ, are you at the point to say, “I’m all in!” Of course we quickly jump to say, “Yes!” But really? 

Are you still holding on to some chips?

Do you still have an insurance pile? 

Are you waiting for someone else to go all in first?

Is there part of you that is just not sure if you can really trust Christ with EVERYTHING?

The final three weeks of the semester we are going to finish up with this question- What would my life look like if I held nothing back from Christ? My time….my money…my relationships…my heart…my dreams…my faith….all of it- All In.

Sunday Nights @ 7pm

So we got back from Passion late on Saturday Night/Early sunday morning.  I think that everyone who went had a really good time.  The worship was powerful, the speaking was honest, passionate and true, the production was top notch….But the challenge last night at collegelife was not to talk about “Passion”.  The world is not hungry to hear about a conference, your roommate is not interested in another retreat, your family is not dying to hear about another experience–the world is hungry to hear about CHRIST. 

We started the discussion last night with this thought, “God is teaching me….” So it doesn’t matter whether or not you went to passion- What is God teaching you? When’s the last time you shared with someone what God was teaching you? Are you confident in the power of what God is doing in your life?

You should be…because you’ve got Christ in you.  Your story is powerful.  Your story can change the people around you.  Your story is part of HIS story.

So tell your story this week.  Don’t talk about the stuff, talk about what Christ is teaching you.  Tell your story.

for those of you that missed it, we started a new series last night called tattoo.  the premise is, how would our lives be different if scripture were tattooed in our minds? So we started off saying, something is marking your life (tattooing it)- what is it? 

Many people say- i just can’t memorize scripture- but they have the top 20 songs memorized and the dance to go along, every sports stat is locked in their brain, celebrity gossip rolls off of their tongue like it’s nothing, and they can tell you all the characters on one tree hill.  So you CAN’T memorize, or you don’t want to memorize? The truth is that for many of us, we are not convinced we need to have scripture memorized. We go to three services a week, two small groups, got the latest cd, subscribe to 14 podcasts, and we have a new book.  So we convince ourselves we have “enough”.

So as we get started- what’s tattooed on your mind? Ask God to begin “taking off the old” so we can begin to “put on the new” this week.

We are starting a new series this weekend: Tattoo- do not be conformed…be transformed.

What would it look like for scripture to be tattooed upon your heart? What if your mind was filled with scripture? How do we remove the images, words, thoughts, etc…that are already ingrained in our thinking? Paul tells us- if you want to be different, renew your mind! So how do we do that?

Tattoo: A new series- 7pm Greenbrier Ridge Apartments. 

Thanks to all who went on the winter retreat.  I hope you have been able to get some rest and reflect a bit on the retreat.  I think a vital part of any retreat is reflecting upon what you experienced and heard.  What ever “sticks” with you, think about it, continue to pray about and ask God to continue to affirm certain things in you.  I pray for you all that you will continue to abide/remain in Christ and make wise choices. 

Hey Folks. Our good friend Bo is about to set off to hike the AT (appalachian trail). It’s only like 2100 miles!!!!  Here is a video of him preparing and a link to his website.  Let’s be praying for him as he has this amazing journey.  Pray that we would have some amazing encounters with others and with Christ. 

 http://www.bonothoe.blogspot.com/ 

So any of you that have heard my mad beat box skills will know that I am absolutely amazed by this guy…. enjoy

To our regularly scheduled program.

This weekend we are back to CollegeLife as normal. After a phenomenal Superbowl party, we will resume CollegeLife at Greenbrier at 7pm. It should be a great two weeks as we are led by two of our very own- Tim and Matt, I’m really excited about it.

Also don’t forget that there are only 2 weeks left to sign up for the retreat so turn in your $$ asap.

see you this weekend.

Oh you know! It’s time for a winter retreat and it’s coming up fast.  Pretty much if you watch the super bowl, go for jog after all the pizza and chips, get your “special someone” a Valentine’s gift, and celebrate arbor day- after that- it’s the winter retreat!!!!

February 22-24th!  Sign ups have begun, so you won’t be the first to sign up, but you definitely don’t want to be the last! It’s going to be a great weekend to get away and think, pray, worship, laugh and grow HARD! $65 dollars gets you in the door! But if money is a problem let us know and it won’t be anymore.

Email jneely@fefc.com if you have any questions. You can get a sign up sheet from him at church on Sundays or at Crossroad.  The dealine is Feb. 17th.

This week we are starting a new series in CollegeLife: The Bucket List.   There’s a movie out about two older men who have a list of things that they want to accomplish before they “kick the bucket”- hence the name, The Bucket List.  But Hollywood poses a great question for you and me, What’s our bucket list? What is something that you want to accomplish before you die? What’s something you dream of doing?

What if we narrowed down the question- not just your life, but this year!? What’s something you really want to happen THIS year? More specificially we are going to discuss spiritual disciplines! Where would they be on a list of things you desire to see happen IN you this year? On your list are there things like scripture memory? Authentic community?  Come the next two weeks as we discuss “The Bucket List”.