Amplify

2007-07-09T15:18:00.000-07:00

Tonight we talked about Spiritual Gifts. Isn't it amazing that God has not only given you natural talents & abilities but also spiritual gifts as well. Understand today you are gifted!

God wants us to discover, develop and use our gifts.
1 Corinthians 14:1a “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts,…”
1 Timothy 1:6 "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands."

Remember though that character is more important than gifting. God doesn't give us gifts to be spiritually arrogant. We are to use these gifts in love, to encourage and build others up. It's more important to know Christ than to use your spiritual gifts.
Jesus Himself explained this in Matthew 7:21-2. (Read it) Ultimately Jesus wants you to know Him and use your spiritual gifts to build up others in the most holy faith.

What are your spiritual gift(s)?
Try this online gift test. It's ONLY a GUIDELINE but it might start you in the right direction.
http://www.nebs.net/gifts/youth.htm

Most of all pray and ask God to show you want your spiritual gifts are. Ask your friends your family who know you well what they think your spiritual gifts?

2007-05-22T13:45:00.000-07:00

History Maker Memories

History Maker was fantastic this year! Tell us, what did you think of the weekend (either comment here or on our Amplify MySpace)? What was God talking to you about? Do you feel like you've been changed anyway from HM? Tell us!!! ... if you want to

ps. if you send me photos, I'll put them up for all to see!

2007-04-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

Teamwork makes a dream work.Monday night we had a great time playing a team game of soccer. Then we examined what 1 Corinthians 12:12-24 said about the body of Christ and how that relates to us. Just like a team we need everyone to contribute and work hard into order to win. Working together is crucial. Everyone is valuable and needed or the team will fail. Unity is absolutely important for success.

At Amplify we are working hard to make it the best event we can. But the leaders can't do it on their own we need your ideas, talents, abilities, and spiritual gifts to impact lives.

What do you think?
Have you ever felt like your contribution didn't matter?
Have you ever thought working with others takes too much time and effort and if we could just do I ourselves it would work better?

The Bible is clear we need you.

Let's continue the conversation.

2007-04-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

Here's some video that Alex took and edited from our Amplify Easter service. Check it out!

2007-04-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

Easter Monday Amplify

Here are some of the pictures from our "Easter Reflections" along with some of the write-ups and questions we had at the different stations. Hope you enjoy, let us know what you thought about the night, what was impacting to you, what was God talking to you about?

Jesus in the Garden

Jesus often spent time in prayer. It was His habit to get away from distractions to spend time talking with God. On this occasion he again gets away to pray before He knows He is betrayed and sentenced to death, but He also brings his disciples along to pray with Him in this desperate hour.

Some points to ponder:

- Jesus is willing to do whatever God calls Him to do, even though He knows it will be very tough. Has God ever asked you to something difficult? If He asked you to, would you be willing?

- The disciples had a hard time staying awake and focused during prayer. Do you find it hard to keep focused on God? What could you do to help keep your attention God focused?

Peter denies Jesus

Peter thought that he’d be the one who always stuck by Jesus’ side. However, Jesus knew that when the heat was on, Peter would deny that he knew Jesus. Jesus didn’t want to guilt trip Peter, or have Peter dwell on the fact that he messed up. This is why Jesus told Peter that he would need to repent, and then build up the other disciples when Jesus died. Peter could not think of a reason of why he would need to repent, and even when Jesus told Peter that he would deny Jesus, he could never imagine himself doing such a thing.

Points to ponder:

- have you ever felt that your faith was so strong that you’d always follow Jesus no matter what?

- have you ever felt like you let Jesus down?

- do you find it hard to forgive yourself, even though you know that Jesus has forgiven you already?

The Crucifixion

I don’t think I’ll ever quite grasp the horror of the cross. Not only the physical pain that Jesus went through, but the pain of carrying the sins of the world. The pain of being so sinful, that God was forced to turn His back on Him. The reality is: Jesus was on the cross for us. Our sin nailed him to the cross, and His love for us kept Him there. Because we were born into a sinful nature, Jesus knew there was no way to make us pure before God without His death. He could have chosen to be rescued from the cross, but He didn’t. He knew that his death meant that we had a chance to experience eternal life.

Points to ponder:
- do you find it hard accept that God loved you so much that Jesus would willingly go through an extreme death like crucifixion?
- how do you respond to such an amazing act of love?
- have you decided to give your whole life in following Jesus because of what He has done for you?

Jesus is alive!

It’s proven through history that Jesus died. Where the step of faith comes in, is in believing after Jesus had been dead and buried, He conquered death by coming back to life. Jesus’ beatings, His humiliation, and His death on a cross would be only be a tragedy without Him rising from the dead.
Paul writes “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still under condemnation for your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ have perished! And if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world. But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again.” (1 Cor 15)

The resurrection is the most important event in all of history. It wasn’t enough for Jesus just to die, He had to defeat death so that we could be free from sin, we’re no longer enslaved to Satan, and we’re free from the grip of Hell.

Points to ponder:

- do you understand that without the resurrection there is no hope for you when you die because you’re still dead in your sin?

- have you taken that step of faith from just believing Jesus died to believing that He also rose from the dead?

Communion

The first communion took place when Jesus and His disciples had the traditional Jewish Passover meal, which later became known as the Last Supper. Jesus took elements of that meal, and asked his followers to use them to remember and proclaim his death until Jesus comes again. He is coming back!

Communion is a way of remembering Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Take some time to read this scripture, then when you’re ready take some bread and thank Jesus for His body that was broken for us. After that, take some juice and thank Jesus for his blood which cleanses us from our sin. You can do this by yourself, or with others if you want. Imagine being one of Jesus’ disciple, at the table with Jesus at the first Communion, and He gives you this bread and this cup to remember Him by.

Tell the world

Jesus has given us a mission. Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Mt. 28:18)

It’s absolutely crucial that we share what Jesus has done in us with others. Paul again writes For "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Romans 10:13

Points to ponder:
- does “preaching” the Good News mean that everyone has to preach sermons? Could we preach the Good News with more then the words that we say?
- do you realize that God has called you to share what He has done for you? Is there anyone you know that needs to hear that they can be forgiven of their sin?

2007-04-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

When Kiros had their concert here, Barry shared a devotinal. We missed the first points of Barry's, but we caught his last point. Check it out! It is fantastic!
Barry's Devotional

2007-04-11T11:19:00.000-07:00

The “S” word is worse than a swear word, the spread of SARS, more disgusting than salad, and more infectious than the latest sickness. Check out this message it could change your life.
Trevor Kempner, Associate Pastor
The "S" Word

2007-03-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

Feed the World
In case you missed it, here's the audio from Pastor Trevor's sermon:
Feed the World

So what can we do to make a difference? Alexis Park Church owns a 1/4 section of land in Sask, the grain that is taken off that land is mulitplied 4 to 1 by the Candian government because the grain is being used to help feed the poor around the world. You could contribute to that.

You could sponsor a child through ChildCare Plus, or World Vision.

The key is to DO SOMETHING!

According to the letter of James in the Bible, the Religion that God is sees as being pure takes care of widows and oprhans. What does that mean for us today? Who are the modern day widow and orphans that we need to be taking care of?

God Of Justice

God of Justice Savior to all
Came to rescue the weak and the poor
Chose to serve and not be served

Jesus You have called us
Freely we've received
Now freely we will give

We must go
Live to feed the hungry
Stand beside the broken
We must go
Stepping forward
Keep us from just singing
Move us into action
We must go

To act justly every day
Loving mercy in every way
Walking humbly before You God

You have shown us what You require
Freely we've received
Now freely we will give

Fill us up send us out
Fill us up send us out
Fill us up send us out Lord

We must go
Live to feed the hungry
Stand beside the broken
We must go yeah
Keep us from just singing
Move us into action
We must go

CCLI Song #4447128
© 2004 Thankyou Music
Tim Hughes
For use solely with the SongSelect Terms of Use. All rights Reserved. www.ccli.com
CCLI License #168738

2007-03-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

Ferris Bueller's Day Off Classic Teacher scene.

You think you love the Canucks...check this guy out!

Woody Allen interviews Billy Graham.

Drew Marshall on 100 Huntley Street Part 1.
This guy is out of the box. Good thoughts and questions. I like his comment that "It's easy to be negative but what am I doing about it?"

Drew Marshall on 100 Huntley Street Part 2.
Drew likes asking hard questions. Questions aren't bad if you are looking for answers or to help.

George Stroumboulopoulos from CBC's THE HOUR interviews Franklin Graham (Billy's son).
Interesting comments on AIDS and STD's, pressure being Billy's son, and meeting Jesus.

2007-03-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

The heart of worship

Here's a link to the audio of Trevor's talk this last monday:
The Heart of Worship

We are created to worship God. It could be said that is the main reason we were created! Unfortunatly if we don't worship God, we will find other things to worship. Here's the article that Trevor talked about that Vicky Beeching wrote:

We Were Created
Yesterday Today and Forever, 2005

It blows my mind to think that we were designed and created by God to worship Him. That is one of the primary destinies of the human race...to be God-worshippers. So when we stand together in sung worship, we aren’t just doing something we enjoy – we are fulfilling a huge part of our destiny as humans, and doing what we were created for.

When we look around in our culture, worship is everywhere. It’s pretty obvious that we were innately wired to be worshippers. Just look at the intense sports fan glued to the latest team game. Or the teenage girl with a wall full of Brad Pitt posters. Or the guy standing wide-eyed as he watches his favourite band rocking out on stage. We are worshippers. If we don’t go with God’s original plan (worshipping Him) we will always find substitutes. These will damage and destroy us, whereas worshipping God will bring us into the freedom and wholeness He intended us to have.

This song was inspired by seeing people worship so many things other than God, in the culture around us. It’s an exploration of the theology of worship; why we do it and what happens when we don’t. It’s a reminder that we are just dust shaped by God, that even our breath is a gift from Him, and when we breathe it back to Him in worship we are fulfilling our highest calling.

You formed us from the dust
You breathed Your breath in us
We are the work of Your hands
Now we breathe back to You
Love songs of gratitude
Adoring You with all we have

We were created
To worship Your name
We were created to bring You our praise

If we don’t worship You
We’ll search for substitutes
To fill the void in our souls
Worshipping other things
Destroys our liberty
But as we praise You we are free

We were created
To worship Your name
We were created to bring You our praise
So we will worship, so we will praise
You our Creator, for all our days

This is what we were made to do
This is what we were made to do
So we lift up our praise to You

Written by Vicky Beeching
©2004 Thankyou Music (admin. by worshiptogether.com Songs for the World, excluding the UK and Europe, which is admin. by kingswaysongs.com) (PRS)

Trevor's main points were:
1. Worshipping Worship - sometimes we are more in love with our music/ atmosphere/ favourite worship band then God Himself. Can you worship God when you don't like the music? If your answer is no ... then you don't know what true worship is. Worship is a choice. God never forces you to choose to sing, zone in, focus and express your heart to Him.

2. Worship is not about you! - maybe you don't feel comfortable worshipping around others? Understand, worship is for an audience of ONE ... God Himself. It's all for Him.

3. Holistic Worship - worship is not limited to a building or a time - worship is not just when we sing the slow songs during the music time, worship is a lifestyle. When you chose to honour God in every part of your life, that is worship to Him.

What do you think? Are there some areas that Trevor mentioned that you have to work on? How did you find worshipping on Monday without the whole "band"? Was it difficult?

2007-03-07T16:53:00.000-08:00

Information for History Maker
Click this link to download the INFO SHEET for History Maker:
History Maker Info Sheet

2007-03-06T18:49:00.000-08:00

The God Father

If you missed Trevor's talk on Monday, you can download it here:
The God Father
Trevor spoke about God as Father this Monday at Amplify. Here's some a crazy stats that he shared:

2001 Stats Canada identified 1.3 million single parent families in Canada.
16% of all families in Canada are single parent families.
85% of guys in prison grew up without a dad

Dads are important! Often how we view our earthly fathers reflect how we think about God. Trevor's main points were:

1. What is our heavenly Father like?
God is full of love and grace. He is just. He never changes, and He never changes the rules! There is no one more dependable then God!

2. God our heavenly Father wants us to be like Him
God calls us to be like Him in Eph 5:1-2 He says

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

How can we realistically be like God?
1. Love your enemy
2. Bless those who curse you
3. Do good to those who hate you
4. Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

We ended the night by discussing Galatians 4:4-7 which says:

4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

We asked everyone these questions:
1. What does this passage of Scripture speak to you about?
2. What kind of father or mother are you going to be?
3. How are you going to do that?

So, any feedback on those questions?

2007-02-28T10:41:00.000-08:00

How to live in a sexually sick world
In case you missed it, here is Trevor's talk from Amplify! Check it out!
How to live in a sexually sick world

2007-02-28T10:06:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Feet
Do you have beautiful feet? What does that even mean? Romans 10:13-15 says

... "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Here are the main points from Trevor's talk on Monday:

1. God cares about the lost
Jesus said that he came "to seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10) In fact, He said it was better to leave a whole group of people who were "found" to find one "lost" person. Do we have that same heart? Is our time spent with those who are "found", or those who are "lost" and need Jesus? Maybe you're the one who feels "lost"? If so, all you need to do is tell Jesus that you believe in Him, and want to follow Him for the rest of your life!

2. Are you sure footed?
Are you known for loving people? Jesus said " A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. Bu this all men will known that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35) Everyone is looking for love. Is that something people will find in us?

3. Do you have beautiful feet?
Beautiful feet are not silent, they speak. Are you talking about the greatest message ever? That God has made a way so that we can know Him, and spend eternity with Him because of Jesus? It's not enough to just live it, we need to also be ready to talk about it.

What do you think? How can we see lost people become found?

2007-02-18T11:08:00.000-08:00

Our service on Monday night's is named AMPLIFY...why? We want to Amplify God in our lives by living life loud. But not in an obnoxious way. Can loud not be obnoxious? Come and find out this Monday at Alexis Park Church at 7:00 PM.

2007-02-07T09:33:00.000-08:00

I am soo excited to say that Pastor Trevor Kempner is here! He is an incredible guy with a huge passion for God, youth, and sports! Make sure you come by Monday Night to meet, and hear from Trevor. (He is also speaking Sunday morning at APC - so you can here him there also)

2007-02-06T14:24:00.000-08:00

Here is the "Perfect Love" audio that we had Pastor Eldon lend his voice to for Amplify last night.
Perfect Love

2007-02-02T15:31:00.000-08:00

This Monday night at Amplify we are talking about a topic everyone wants to know about..."Is there really such thing as TRUE LOVE?"
7:00 PM @ Alexis Park Church we are going to have a blast in worship, with funny videos/pictures, and Pastor Trevor is speaking on True Love.
Have you seen the movie The Princess' Bride? It's old school for sure but stinkin' hilarious. It's about finding True Love.
Invite your friends to come. God totally wants to move in you and your friend's lives.
Do you know what's happening for youth on the Friday Feb 9th? Go to our churches website to find out... High School Outlet

2007-01-23T11:10:00.000-08:00

Here's some of the questions that we used for our discussion last night. Feel free to add you thoughts or comments!

1. How do you feel about the world?
Do you think the world is getting better or worse?

2. What does it mean to live how God created you to live?
If we believe God's way of life is the best way to live, why is it so hard for us to do it?

3. Do you believe that the Bible's story of creation is not just something that happened, but actually something that's happening?
Are we faced with the same choices as Adam and Eve?

4. How can we help God in taking care of the world?
Are you helping out?

5. Do you think that what we do today matters for eternity?
Are the choices you're making now shaping you into the kind of person you'll be forever?

6. Does your faith help you understand the world we live in?
Does it makd your life easier or more difficult on a day to day basis?

7. What are some places in the world where you see God?
Are you leaving some of your own fingerprints on the world? What are they?

8. What does it mean to be partnering with God in making the world the kind of place He intended it to be?
Are you partnering with God?

2006-12-12T14:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas Prayer and Reflection

We had our second Prayer and Reflection night. The first one was centered around the cross, this one was all about Christmas and Jesus coming to earth. Here were the "stations" and some of the key questions that were asked:

Dreams and Angels

God used supernatural means to communicate to both Mary and Joseph. Using dreams and angels, He was able to lay out His plans for Mary, Joseph, and ultimately Jesus.

What plans has God laid on your heart?

How did He communicate them to you?

If you don’t feel like you have any direction in life, of feel afraid like Mary and Joseph did – pray and ask God to help direct your life and then to have the courage to follow through with the direction that He gives.

Manger

Why did God send Jesus to be born in a cow trough? There has to be a good reason, I mean you sending the worlds savior and you choose for him to be born in a barn. I mean the transition from heaven to a stinky stable? Why?

Maybe it was making a point that Jesus did not come to set up an earthly kingdom?

Maybe it was showing the humility of God?

Maybe it was so Jesus could relate to all people to be like that of the poor so he understands?

Maybe God thought right from the beginning I will show servant-hood and a willingness to be associated with “low class” things. It wasn’t about the outside for Jesus; it wasn’t about a royal birth. It was about coming to save mankind from their sin.

In what ways do we not want to associate with dirty places, dirty people, when all along we should prefer others before ourselves?

Jesus was born in a dirty place you would never wish any child to be born in. Jesus was very comfortable to be around people of low class and outcasts.

Do you judge people by their social or physical appearance?

Why don’t we desire to be with people who would be considered dirty and outcasts?

Maybe starting now be a friend to those with no friends instead of working your way up through the socially acceptable.

Shepherds

The Bible says that the Shepherd’s ran to Bethlehem to find baby Jesus. You may say well after seeing angels anyone would run. That may be true, but do you run after God, do you want to see Jesus work in your life. Are you anxious for Jesus? Are you anxious to worship him because he forgives you, and helps you to forgive, and allows you to go to heaven?

Run after God and give him thanks. Don’t just run when you see a miracle. Decide in your heart to run after Jesus, Day by Day.

Maybe you can’t run after God because you have so many things that tie you down. If you are running after God, it means you have to drop some things so you can run with some effectiveness.

How strongly do you feel that you’re running after God?

Do you feel like there are things that are getting in the way of your pursuit of Him?

Pray and ask God to help You leave anything behind that might be slowing you up from fully running after Him.

The Star

The star was a supernatural occurrence. Its purpose was to lead people to Jesus, which is why some people speculate that the Star was in fact the Holy Spirit, since pointing to Jesus is one of His main roles.

- what lead you to Jesus

- take some time to thank God for leading you to Jesus

- don’t you wish sometimes that your friends who don’t know Jesus could just see a supernatural star/ miracle that would lead them to Him? Do you think God could use you to help point your friends to Jesus?

Wise men

The Wise men came a long ways to worship Jesus. It wasn’t easy, they had to come a very long way, but they wanted to worship to King.

Through life you will have to choose whether you want to give God credit and thanks. You may not feel like it but it’s the choice of bringing God your thanks and worship.

The wise men also gave gifts of worth, something that was costly to them. They gave their best.

What do you give God? Your dreams, your future, your talents and abilities.

Don’t give God something that cost’s you nothing. Giving him worship only at Christian events is not your best, it means whenever you think about God, and wherever you are, in your room, at school. You thank God for all he’s done.

You also lay down things in your life that God doesn’t want you to do, that too is worship.

Any thoughts on the night?

2006-10-31T16:31:00.000-08:00

Last Monday night we heard a sermon from Loulie Giglio, the founder of the Passion Movement about defeating sexual sin, and the three lies that we as believers tend to believe:

1. You can do it - meaning that you are able to in your own strength keep yourself from sinning.

THE TRUTH: Is that it is impossible for us to live the Christian life, which is why we need Christ IN us, and living THROUGH us to live the life God is calling us to live.

2. You can't stop sinning/ you're just a sinner saved by grace

THE TRUTH: Through Jesus you have been transformed and are now a saint, and holy one of God.

3. You have to carry your past/ shame with you the rest of your life

THE TRUTH: Your past with all it's sins are nailed to cross, never to be remembered anymore. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Romans 8)

Any thoughts?

2006-09-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

Last week we heard about Passion and Purpose. Last night some of you shared what God has given you a passion for, and how that can achieve a greater purpose. I'd love to hear some of that! Comment away!

2006-09-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

2006-08-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

Kyle shared about enduring hardships last night. Here's a list of some of the questions that he asked, feel free to comment and respond - let us know what you think!

- Is God at fault for hard times? Or does God allow them to just happen?

- Do we want a God that will take away all hardship?

- Hardship makes us mature. Would we rather be immature then face hardship?

- Do you think God wants to punish you/ have a curse on you/ be absent from you?

- Hardship screams out “how much faith do you really have? How can James say consider it joy when you face trials?

- Do you feel like you’re out of God’s will when bad things happen? What about Job in the bible?

- Does abundant life with God mean little hardships?

- Share a story in your life when life sucked, How did you cope?

2006-08-23T11:01:00.000-07:00

2006-08-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

Another year of Teen Camp has come and gone. It was truly an awesome time at Chubb Lake. Everyone seemed really ready to jump right in, worship God, and spend time with Him! Eventhough it was tiring, I really felt encouraged by seeing how God was at work in teen's lives, and I loved that I was playing a part in that! Feel free to comment on what you thought of Teen Camp ... what did God do in your life? .... what is your favorite memory?

Pictures soon to come!

2006-08-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a story that Marissa Stace shared with us Sunday morning, it was awesome so I asked her if I cost post it. So, here it is ...

"God I want you to take control of my life, but I don't know if you want to." I said one day to God,
God turned his nailed scared hands to me and said, "My child why would I have died for you if I didnt want you?"
"But," I told God, "I'm not good enough, I'm broken, beaten down and traud upon."
God took my hands in his and whispered, "my girl, I love you, O knew when I died that you would be around, hurts and all, but girl remember, I came for the broken, the beat up and the traud apon, I didnt come for the perfect person, I came for you."
"But why would you want me, honestly I'm nothing." I cried out in anguish
"Exactly my child, you may feel like nothing right now but I have so much planned for you, you will love what i have in mind for you."
"What is it?" I asked brightening up
Jesus just laughed, and a kind smile formed on his face, He turned me around so I faced the mountians, and he said "You have so much potential, your life will be filled if you follow me, but I can't tell you right now what the plans are."
My face fell, he smiled kiindly again and said "Daughter, pick your path, go on an adventure, take me with you and you will find out in time what the plans are, if I simply told you now, the experiances wouldn't be so life changing for you."
"God," I started again, "do you really love me even though I'm broken and all and I have done things I know I shouldnt have?"
He looked me straight in my eye, his eyes seemed to see right into my very being.
He stared at me for so long, as if searching my heart. A single tear slipped out of his eye as he pulled me into his arms and said,"Daughter, I love you more than you will ever know, girl I forgive your sins, and I want to share your hurts, trust me, I love you, why else would I make a home where we will live together forever?"
I felt a peace slip around me. Jesus held me as i cried, but the tears of anguish were gone. Beacuase now I knew his love, He whispered into my hair "I love you, I love you, I love you."

2006-08-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

So we recorded some tunes last night, and it went great! Thankfully we decided to go through the set twice, since our first go through the songs was pretty rough! However, bigger then that - there was a really strong sense of God and our passion for Him in the place as we simply poured out our hearts to Him in worship. I think that's what matters most - but if we got some good takes on songs ... always a nice bonus! Thank you to everyone who came out and sung their hearts out :)

"here it is, my heart wide open!"

2006-07-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

Freedom. What does it mean to be free? Do you feel that you're free?

John 8:31-37

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, "You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." "But we are descendants of Abraham," they said. "We have never been slaves to anyone on earth. What do you mean, 'set free'?" Jesus replied, "I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free. Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because my message does not find a place in your hearts.

Thoughts?

2006-07-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

Do you want a revolution!! lol - that reminds me of an old (think bible college days late 90's) song that Darrin wrote for Skypilot. "We want to see a revolution, a revolution of the soul..." It was actually a pretty sweet song, and on a VERY limited edition cd!! lol

Defition of revolution: a sudden, radical, or complete change c : activity or movement designed to effect fundamental changes d : a fundamental change in the way of thinking about or visualizing something : a change of paradigm

I really feel like we have the potential to effect our society/ those around us by the way that we choose to follow God. From Colossians 3 I had three thoughts - keep focused on Jesus, turn from sin, and live as a representative of Jesus. Do you think you're up for the challenge of living a God-centered life, rather then the me-centered/ pleasure driven life that as part of the fabric of our society? It's not easy, it's going to be a struggle, but what revolution doesn't come without struggle? Is it worth it? I really belive so! I so want to see people deciding to follow Jesus after seeing/ experienced the difference that Jesus has made in us!

What does it look like to live, putting God first, to you?

2006-07-04T10:29:00.000-07:00

Kyle talked about treasure last night. Not the kind that we'll be seeing this weekend with Pirates of the Caribbean, but the kind of treasure that has a deep place in our heart. Where is our hearts at if our treasures are an indicator of our heart? God should be the treasure that we long to persue more then anything else, yet it's safe to say that He often gets crowded out by many other things that can take up our attention in this life.

Thoughts?

2006-06-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

It was fantastic to have Kenny Toews share with us last night! Kenny has been a friend of mine for quite some time. Darrin and I even got to be in bible college with him and his wife Charlene! So we were quite excited to have him come share his heart at Amplify. The two things that stood out to me where the his key words "eager" and "desperate". How eager am I to persue God? Where is my level of desperation of God at? Those are always good questions to keep before you, especially as the summer comes around and it gets easier to have a "holiday" mentatlity. Please - don't stop persuing and chasing after God this summer! Enjoy the sun, have a blast, but remember to that God wants to be first in our lives, not just an add on.

Another notes: If you're interested in being baptized in water please talk to Kyle or me! It's a great step of obedience to proclaim your faith and your desire to follow Jesus for the rest of your life by being baptized.

Also: please remember to pray for Brandon Moltzhan, after Amplify a guy ran a stop sign and T-boned Brandon's car. Brandon's not seriously hurt, however I imagine that he will be dealing with a bunch of pain in the next few weeks.

2006-06-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks, it's been a while since this site has seen any action. So, last night we had Pastor Garry share about "seeing". I thought it was a real amazing talk! I've even had those thoughts wondering: what do blind people think of since they've never seen trees, or mountains, or colours? But for us, spiritual blindness is a much widespread problem. I hope God has started to open you eyes to see things from His perspective, and not just from our limited perspective.

The week before James shared about the nessecity of having a strong foundation. I thought James did a terrific job, and we're going to try to expand on that theme of foundations in the weeks to come.

Kyle shared the week before James, but to honest I totally forget what it was about!! I remember it being good though lol! Ummmm ... oh right ... God's will for our life. Maybe God's not as interested in our destination, maybe He's more involved in our journey.

Thoughts on any of these? Please comment!

2006-05-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

Keeping focused may be one of the hardest things to do in life. We, in general, get so easily distracted by so many things! At least I know that I do. Saying that, I tried to encourage eveyone to keep the conversation going concerning God's heart for the poor, and what our response to that should be. Yet, a half hour later even I'd totally forgotten to keep talking about it lol. So, let try (me included) to work out what our response as individuals, and as a group,is to be to God's heart for the poor.

2006-05-08T21:38:00.001-07:00

OK, so it's time to get real about giving and about evangelism. What needs to happen? For sure we as a group at Amplify need to find someting to give to. To purpose as a group financially to change the planet, to change a life. Time to start praying, start using our resources and be purposeful and sacrificial.
Any thoughts...

2006-05-02T14:58:00.000-07:00

Kyle chatted tonight about what holds us back from really living for God, or from sharing our faith. We wrote those out and posted them on some paper, and we also wrote out "I will ___" statements to God. If you want, feel free to share those things again here. I'd be sweet to hear what kind of dreams God has put on your hearts!

2006-04-19T12:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the Easter Monday Amplify. Thank you Brandon for taking them!

2006-04-17T22:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, Wow Wow...
Thats all I can say. Tonight was awesome.
What I want to know is what impacted you the most?
For me it was holiness. At station 1 one of the things to think about was regarding obedience and sacrifice. So as we moved along I couldn't help but think about God's sacrifice for me. In view of God's mercy I only have one response. To take seriously my choices and my life ambitions. To be obedient.

Either way the night overall was phenomenal. It was so exciting to see everyone spending time with God. Meditating on His word, taking in the clips from the Passion. It was amazing.

Please let us know what impacted you.
How did you like it?

We want to hear.

2006-04-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

It's a guarentee that in life we will face storms. There will be times when God seems like He's nowhere near us. However, Kyle shared last night that God does promise to with us throughout all of life, storms and all. God wants to bring peace to those storms in our lives, just like Jesus calmed the storm on the lake with the disciples.

What kind of storms are you facing in your life? Do you find that Jesus is making a difference in how you deal with life? Has He calmned a storm in your life? Let us know!!

2006-04-05T12:05:00.000-07:00

Identity: who are we? Darrin talked about our identity in Christ at Amplify this week. His main points were that we are the Bride of Christ, Children of God, Royalty, and Aliens. Any thoughts as to what was discussed on Monday night? Comment away!!

2006-03-23T11:49:00.000-08:00

Questions are interesting. I was reading a book this week called "Velvet Elvis". It's written by Rob Bell, the guy who does the Nooma Videos. He says "A Christian doesn't advoid questions; a Christian embraces them. In fact, to truly pursue the living God, we have to see the need for questions. Questions are not scary. What is scary is when people don't have any. What is tragic is faith tha has no room for them"

Kyle have us a bunch of questions this week, most of them seemingly simple. Yet, even the simplest questions can lead into really in depth conversation.

I liked the question (I don't quite remember how it went): If "church" as we know it didn't exist, what would you do to connect with other Christians? How often would you meet, where would you meet etc.

For me, it's been a joy to have some people come to my place during the week to talk about God and the Bible, chat about life, and pray together. In a big sense, I think us meeting together like that is church.

Were there any questions that Kyle gave out that stood out to you, or really made you think?

2006-03-14T12:24:00.000-08:00

Forgiveness is a strange thing. Kyle and I had a good conversation about what exactly forgiveness is. We felt that it wasn't saying that whatever someone had done to you was okay, and it wasn't that you have to try to be buddy buddy with someone who's wronged you, or someone close to you. But saying that, it was still tough to define what forgiveness is.

In a sense, it's giving a pardon to someone who's done something wrong. That's what Jesus did for us, took our sins which deserved death and forgave them - pardoned us from what we deserve. However, can you forgive someone and still seek that there is justice served? Lots of tough questions, and I'd love to hear what you think about it all. The bottom line is that we're commanded to forgive each other, it is not optional. For more reading about what the bible says about forgiveness check out: 1 John 3:11-24, 1John 4:7-20, Matthew 5:43-48, Matthew 7:9-15, Matthew 18:21-35, Luke 17:3-4,Mark 12:24-25,

2006-02-28T12:37:00.000-08:00

Last night at Amplify we took in a Nooma video on "Noise". I don't know why, but it seems that in times of corporate silence, God seems to speak very loudly. I was stoked to see so many of you hang around in the silence for soo long, praying and listening to God!

What did you think about this monday night? Was there anything particular that God was talking to you about?

There were two things for me. One was that I have such a hard time just spending time listening to God. Anytime that I do spend with God, is usually full of my prayers and songs, which is great - however I need to balance that out with times of listening. I also tend to full my life full of "noise", whether that be music or TV, or movies etc. I need to be more intentional about setting aside time to focus on God.

Also, the question about "do you find God's voice more interesting then the other voices around you" was really challenging to me. If I say that I do, what does that look like in my life?

So please, comment away ... what did you take away from this monday night?

What night, other then Monday, would you most prefer Amplify to be on?
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