December 2009 Youth PresbyNotes

December 2009 Youth PresbyNotes

Many Things A’Coming

Mark 13.32-37

The Necessity for Watchfulness

32 ‘But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Beware, keep alert;* for you do not know when the time will come. 34It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 36or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.’

If you take a minute to stop and think, there are many things coming. Many exciting days to spend with family, many days to spend with friends while there is no school, many days to eat good food, and many days to be at church.

Yet there aren’t many days left for some things. For instance, there aren’t many days left for nice, warm weather. Or, there aren’t many days left your first semester of the school year and we’re running out of time to get our grades up if need be. Better yet, we’re running out of days before we lose the single digit to the end of our years and 2009 will soon become 2010. Which to be honest, will be weird to write and get used to.

We’re running out of time, it seems like. This time of year means things pick up, right? More homework comes, more chores come as we prepare, as our parents, prepare for family members and friends to come over for the Holidays, more stress, it seems like. Lots of people everywhere, running around franticly, and even at times it seems like they don’t care about others. People act as if they are running out of time and so they live irresponsibly, carelessly, and maybe even inconsiderately. To me this is funny because people can become quite rude and self-absorbed when they are out “doing” things for “others”, like shopping and what not.

Many thins are coming, like a time for us to stop and think about the things we are thankful for. If you remember right, we have a practice in our group we often do before we eat and give thanks for things we are grateful for:

Family…
Friends…
Food…
Sports…
Pets…
Life…
Laughter…
Water…

When we actually do stop and no longer go about living like we have to constantly be doing something, we can realize there are lot of things in our lives we are grateful for. A hug from a friend when we are in need of one, comforting words from our family when we need them, a stranger accidentally making us laugh when we least expected it, or other little blessings which come to us when we least expect them.

Many things are coming. One thing especially: the coming of Christ our Lord. Yea, that is right, Christ is coming…again. A great celebration is coming, soon. Before we can celebrate though, we must do a little waiting, remembering, hoping, and expecting.

Waiting—It is calm. It is dark. It is quiet. We wait for the movement of a pregnant mother and father to break the calmness of the night. We wait for the Light of the World to begin shining. We wait for the cry of a baby to drown out the quietness of the night.

Remembering—Where have you been? What are those things which shape you? Remember those who have loved you? Remember those promises which make you hopeful? We remember our story to help us see where this Christ child has already come to us!

Hoping—We hope for laughter. We hope for happiness. We hope for the day when there will be no more pain or sadness. We hope for enough to be made available for everyone. Hoping for a better year.

Expecting—We go into a new year expecting a fresh start. We go into a new year expecting new things. Expecting the best. After all, a newness comes to us when a new year comes, right?

For a nation, a chosen people, they too found themselves waiting some time ago. Now, we join in the waiting, remembering, hoping and expecting. God reached into our lives and began to put into action God’s redemption of the world. Through a small child. He was to be, is, and will be the Messiah. We, as followers of this King, this time of the year prepare for his coming, preparing ourselves by examining our lives. As we wait to greet this Son of God, we clean up our lives, interior and exterior, and we make ourselves ready to meet this hero, the one who has, is and will save us. In our expectation of what is to come, we become joyful for the good news we will soon receive.

Many things are coming. Like the hero, a baby. Not like what we think, like King Ali Ababwa in Aladdin, with horses, elephants, fancy dressing, and trumpet players. Actually it’s quite the opposite, really. Christ came as, you ready for this, Christ came exactly like we did: weak and needy as an infant, totally dependent on his parents. People saw the time was running out and then in the story entered the Hope, Peace, Joy and Love of God for the world, in a completely human birth.

Many things are coming and because of this, we are hopeful, expectant, mindful and excited! It is because of that event which happened, is happening, and is going to happen, we rejoice!

Friends, take time and give thanks for what is soon to happen. Be patient. Be mindful. Be optimistic. Be anticipative.

For he is coming.

Keep awake.

With hope, peace, joy, and love, He is coming again and again and again and again….

Peace
Adam

December 2009 Calendar

Sunday the 29th (Nov.)—Pitino Shelter with Debbie Bowley, all youth are encouraged to go and make crafts with the folks there. 11am
Thursday the 3rd—6:30-8pm Sanctus Bible Study
Sunday the 6th—5-7pm Christmas Program and Kirk Night: ALL YOUTH EVENT
Thursday the 10th—6:30-8pm Sanctus Bible Study
Sunday the 13th—5-7:30 pm: A Night of Love: Waiting in the City
Thursday the 17th—6:30-8pm Sanctus Bible Study
Saturday the 19th—Senior High Christmas Party: A trip to Evansville where we will eat out, visit Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights and hang out in Evansville
Sunday the 20th—Christmas Concert and Reading Night 6pm—Church Wide Event
Monday the 21st—All Youth Christmas Party and Caroling 5-8pm
Thursday the 24th—Christmas Eve Service 6pm
Friday the 25th—Christmas Day! Celebration of the Nativity of Christ
Sunday the 27th—No Youth Group
Thursday the 31st—New Years Eve Lock-in 6pm-8am
Sunday the 3rd (January)—Youth Kirk Night and 2010 Summer Mission Trip Fundraiser 5-7:30 pm

Happy Birthday
1st—Anthony Free
7th—Maggie Triplett
18th—Ben Duncan
19th—Weston Hayden
Happy birthday to you all!

Calendar Break Down

Sanctus Bible Study—We continue to meet in our upper youth room to share our stories, to laugh, to sing on the occasion, to pray, and to worship as we share life together. Gathering time begins around 6:30 pm and the evening usually concludes around 8 pm. Friends are invited, too.

“On Christmas Day” Christmas Program and Kirk Night—Lore North is gearing up for what will be an exciting evening of our youth demonstrating their unique gifts through readings, songs, and music with a variety of instruments. This night will also be our church Kirk Night so come hungry and enjoy a great program put on by our youth! Please note that we’ll be practicing during the hanging of the greens (Sunday, December 6th @ 1pm!). All children and youth are invited even if they have not attended a rehearsal to date. They need to bring their music and instruments. We’ll put the whole show together for the first time that day. If there is anyone who does not want to sing or play an instrument, tell them to come on! We need people to help with lights, sound, etc.

A Night of Love: Waiting and Seeing IT in the City—We are coming closer to an end of our schedule on love and this night we will engage in looking for love in our city. We will break up in teams and like a scavenger hunt, we will go out into the city and find God’s love at work in our city. This will be on Sunday, December 13th from 4-7:30 pm!

Sr. High Trip to Evansville—For our Senior High Christmas party we, along with your friends, will load up in the bus and head to Evansville where we will dine out together (bring money for this), maybe do a little shopping in the mall, and then conclude the evening together by visiting the Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights. Come dressed warm, with some money for food and hot chocolate, and be ready to have a good time with each other!

Annual Christmas Concert—Sunday the 20th the church will have its yearly Christmas Carol and lesson song night. The evening begins at 6pm.

FPC Youth Christmas Party and Caroling Night—On Monday the 21st we will have our annual Christmas party and caroling night, along with some good food as well. We will make trips to different places where we will sing our hearts out and spread the Christmas joy for all to hear! Kids for Christ you too have a party this night with more information to come!

Christmas Eve Service—6pm First Presbyterian Church Christmas Eve Service

3rd Annual New Year’s Eve Lock-in—This night is for all youth as we celebrate bringing in the new year, 2010! Registration is required and more details are soon to come. Doors open at 6pm. Friends are more than welcome to come!

A Few Minutes for Mission—January 3rd, 2010 we the youth group will host the January Kirk Night. This will act as a fundraiser for our 2010 mission trip and all youth are required to be there. Our night will begin at 4pm as we set up the Fellowship Hall for the evening festivities and also, learn our roles for the night’s events. We will be showing pictures and videos from our trip to South Dakota, so all students who are a part of that trip must attend. Again, all youth are asked to come and help serve and volunteer this evening. Those of you who do come will have money go into your ‘account’ for 2010 trips. Parents, we will need your help with the prep work for that night.

Websites to Visit when you get a Chance:
http://www.adventconspiracy.org/
http://www.d365.org/todaysdevotion/
http://fpcowensboroyouth.blogspot.com/

Reminder!
Remember parents and students to frequently check our church’s website and the blog site for updated calendar events and news!

Attention All Students in Grades 8-12
Sandy beaches, quaint shops, historical landmarks are the things that we associate with the Outer Banks of North Carolina. In Hyde County, though, hurricanes and unemployment have led to poverty. Here is an opportunity to serve and restore hurting areas of that community!

Who: High School Students (including rising freshmen)

What: Travel to the Outer Banks; 4 days serving on work projects and with a Kid’s Club; nightly activities in the outer banks; worship and devotional time; Whitewater Rafting in the New River Gorge after our mission week is complete,

Cost: $400 per person Deposit Required by January 4: $60
Please note the following balance deadlines:
$170 due by March 1 2010; $170 due by May 1, 2010.

Congratulations!
A reminder to all parents and students to please let us know of your accomplishments so we can celebrate them with you! Congrats to all of you.