ALL NIGHTER

I am so stoked for the all nighter that we are having on this thursday at 9pm till 9am and its only $3 per person at the door. were gonna have Wii, PS3, XBOX360, ARCADE GAMES, BBQ'S (YES I SAID BBQ'S NOT BBQ), POPCORN, SPARKLING CIDER, PROJECTOR SHOWING "DICK CLARKS ROCKIN NEW YEARS EVE ON THE SIDE OF THE CHURCH BUILDING, OUR WORSHIP BAND KICKING IT OFF, GAME GALOR, A PHOTO SHOOT, GAMES, GAMES, GAMES, AND MORE GAMES.) It's going to be the best new years party you have ever gone too, make sure you bring ALL your friends, the more the better were hoping to get 150 students there to party it out but if we do then that means we need all of you to bring your friends, lets pack this place out and have the best new years party EVER!. POST A COMMENT OF WHO YOUR BRINGING AND WHAT YOUR LOOKING FORWARD TOO!!!


In Him,

Pastor Brett

Mistakes

So today I was thinking about my past.... & honestly I thought of how ashamed I was and the meaningless purpose I used to live for. I thought about some times in college when I totally rejected what God wanted in my life and I did what I wanted, I acted like how I wanted, I pursued the things that I wanted, I dealt with things the way that I wanted..... WOW!.... the sad part about this, I still told people I was a christian, I still acted like I was a man of God. A lot of times I will look at my past and I will be so ashamed that it almost brings me to tears, I feel as if I don't deserve to minister and to be called a pastor. I feel as if I shouldnt even be allowed into a church. Praise God that He forgives and restores. Praise God that he loves the sinner. PS. 139:17.... .PRAISE GOD! STOKED FOR TONIGHT!!


The Sinner,

Brett

Etnies

Find what color the cat is in this blog and be the first to comment and you will win etnies gear

My brother once said "Brett i am so tired of people just being consumers of the church rather then being a contributor of the church". Now when I say church I am talking about the body of believers in this world (you and me) and the people that attend "The church". This statement always hits my heart about people that go to church and all of us Christians that are referred to as The church . There are two types of people in the church , consumers and contributors. Let me explain more...

"The Consumer"

There are the people in the church that just take in everything and really do nothing with what they learn and think that it is "all about me". These are the type of people that think that the church is there for "me". When they go and learn something new at church, they do nothing with it, and they sometimes just sit on the knowledge they gained. As well in their relationship with God they don't think of others or how to further the kingdom, rather they think that the cat is green God is just there for them.These are the type of people that when someone talks about serving, going out and letting people know who God is, or just taking part in what is happening, they ignore it and expect someone else to do it because they don't "feel" like it or they are just to concerned about their own life and their own agenda.

"The Contributor"

 There are people in the church that are contributors. These are the type of people that when they go to church and learn something about God they apply it to the people around them and they reach out to the people around them. These are the type of people that when at church they know that God cares about them and that they are important in his eyes, and that they should strive to let people know that God cares just about them as well.These are the people that don't think that it is "all about me", rather they think "it is all about the kingdom and being a part of God moving in peoples lives". These are the people that go to other countries and witness to people about God, these are the people that when they see someone in need they drop their agenda and help that person, these are the type of people that want to serve in the church and instead of thinking "someone else will do it" they jump to action because they know that God has called us to go out and live for Him, not to stay in a bubble and just be concerned about ourself.

Philippians 2:3-4

3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

 Matthew 28:19-20

¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

 It's not wrong for us to concentrate on our relationship with God or to even be concerned about ourselves. The church (that we go to) was designed for us to learn and to be in fellowship and to grow. But when that is all we do, we are not living the purpose that God has for us, That is to serve one another and to go out and tell people about Christ and his forgiveness and love. We all do this in different ways, maybe its being a good example and when people notice, you give Glory to God, or maybe its talking to one of our friends about God and encouraging them, or it could be serving at our church or helping someone when they are in need, or it could just be inviting people to church, or it can even be going to another country and ministering to people. There are so many ways that we can be a contributor of the church (the kingdom of God).

My question for myself and for you is, are you a consumer or a contributor?

In Him,

Brett

Blankets and CoCoa

BLANKETS AND COCOA

I am so excited for this thursday, we are going to have our first blankets and cocoa for middle school. This thursday we are going to have couches, lawn chairs, blankets, heaters and of course hot cocoa. Bring some friends and lets learn about the prophecies that told about Christ, i know it sounds boring at first but I promise, you and your friends don't want to miss out. BRING FRIENDS, AND BRING A BLANKET :)

In Him,

Brett

THANKSGIVING FEAST!!!!!!!

HEY EVERYBODY!!!

TONIGHT IS THE THANKSGIVING FEAST, WE ARE SO STOKED TO BE DOING THIS, LOOK AT THE PICTURE ABOVE, WE ARE EXPECTING SO MANY PEOPLE AND SO SO SO SO MUCH FOOD, WE HAVE A TABLE AS LONG AS A BASKETBALL COURT. BRING ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS AND LETS ALL HAVE A GREAT NIGHT CHOWING DOWN SOME FOOD AND BEING TOGETHER!!!

IN HIM,

BRETT

Thanksgiving feast

'Haha I love this old typical picture of a thanks giving feast. The mom, the dad, the two kids and a grandparent prayng over picture perfect food. Anyways thanksgiving feast is going to be nothing like that, tomorrow night we are going to CHOW down on some awesome food that is being provided by the parents. Its a time where we can all sit at a table and have a great time and just chill with each other and have our own thanksgiving as a youth group. I am so excited. Make sure you bring your friends and this is a great night to bring friends because they can get to know people so they will come back again.

In Him,

Brett

Etnies (Free clothes)

This first two people that comment on this blog at 7:00 pm will win!!!! you get to come to youth group thursday and pick out free etnies clothes, 1 item per winner. So at 7:00pm tonight make sure you leave a comment, first 2 comments win :)

In Him,

Brett

focus

Alot of times I get distracted from what I am doing...... if u have ever seen me preach you deffinatley know what I am talking about. It is so easy to get distracted. For instance when you are in class and the person next to you starts to talk to you, you automatically concentrate on that person and not the teacher, and like always that's when the teacher calls on you.... at least that is what always happens to me. But I have found that when I make sure and try hard to concentrate and to not let myself get distracted and I be intentional about it, there is no limitation on my focus. I say this because lately I have noticed that in reading my bible and in prayer I get distracted because im not being intentional. its the same thing when we feel close to God at church or we make big decisions for God and then during the week we allow ourselves to get distracted.

My challenge is this, start being intentiona about your prayers and reading your bible. find a spot in your house or backyard that will be designated as your prayer and reading your bible spot. Be intentional about your relationship with God and you will see such a change in your life.

In Him,

Brett

Etnies

This first two people that comment on this blog at 4:30 pm will win!!!! you get to come to youth group thursday and pick out free etnies clothes, 1 item per winner. So at 4:30pm today make sure you leave a comment, first 2 comments win :)

In Him,

Brett

Pride

So in the last couple weeks after talking with a bunch of our students at our youth group, I have realized something. We all have way to much pride and not enough humility and forgiveness. When given conflict with another person some of you get mad and think its time to attack that person that has wronged you in some way, and you are even able to justify why you are acting in such a "un-christian way". Some of you are angry about someone that has wronged you but you think your taking the high road by just ignoring the person even though your still angry about what they did, and you justify ignoring them to resulting in resolving the conflict because if you ignore them there is no conflict but yet they know and you know that there is anger on both parts. And some of you just let yourselves be walked on and you really don't talk about the conflict with the person and you just let it go, to where there is so much uncertainty in the air as to what is going on.

When did we as Christians forget why we are Christians? Why are we able to come to youth group? Why do we have so much joy when it comes to God?  BECAUSE HE FORGAVE US!

We all were the person that was doing something wrong to God, we were ALL the person that we might be having conflict with but our actions and our sins were towards God not someone else. God loves us and gave His Son for us so that we can be with him. And we sit here as christians and think we have a right to hold a grudge against another person?!?!?!?

Matthew 6:14-15
¹⁴For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

I want us all to think about this verse........................ Why do we think we should have pride and hold a grudge to someone and not fix the problem. I wonder what the bible would have been like if Christ held a grudge against people or he just ignored the conflict and didn't deal with it. I couldn't sleep this morning because of this and I have some versus for each person and there is two types of people I want to address....

1st person: These are the people who hold a grudge against people and either are mean or ignore the person they are having conflict with.

Matthew 18:23-33
 ²³"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents^[a] was brought to him. ²⁵Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
 ²⁶"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' ²⁷The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
 ²⁸"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.^[b] He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
 ²⁹"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
 ³⁰"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
 ³²"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?'

What this verse is about is God forgiving us (the king represents him, the first servant is us and the debt is sin) and us not forgiving others for the wrongs that they have done.  When we look at this Christ is telling us that if God forgives us of the wrong we have done, we have no right to not forgive others.

2nd person: This is the person who is frustrated with someone and just ignores the problem to avoid conflict or just doesn't want to deal with it.

Matthew 18:15-17
¹⁵"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. ¹⁶But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.'^{[b] 17}If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

What this verse is talking about, is we need to address conflict and we need to be willing to talk to people that were mad at.

We are called to be people that honor the Lord and that when the world tells us to handle conflict a certain way, we should handle it like Christ would. And that in itself is what will change the world and the people around us for God.

In Him,

Brett

Respect for God

I think a lot of times we forget to fear and respect God, I was listening to this podcast of Chuck Booher (amazing pastor) and he was talking about the fact that as christians we have forgot how to fear and respect God.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13
¹² And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³ and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

 Where has the fear and the respect for God gone in our country and in our youth group. So many times I see kids on their phones during the message or I see kids flirting with each other during worship....... don't take Gods love for weakness.... He Is the Creator, The Love, and as well.... the Judge. When worship is going or someone is speaking about God, we should be showing respect, we should be concentrating on what God is trying to teach us. When we are worshiping we should be concentrating on praising God, the one who gave you life, the one who is there for you when no one else will be, the one who sent His Son to die so that way you could live forever in heaven.

This Thursday is going to be so awesome, I am excited, I am going to get heated up on stage and we are going to get into the nity grity of life. I am so excited to see God work and to see Him bring us all to the next level in our walk with Him and in our times at youth group :) Lets impact the world.. .remember don't be on the sidelines, be where God is moving

In Him,

Brett

God Moving

I am so proud of you all, I keep hearing people telling me about praying with people and I keep getting prayer request from you about your friends. There are students giving people pieces of paper at their schools and they are writing down prayers to be prayed for. Prayer is so powerful, if you are one of these people keep it up, God is going to move and you will be a witness of it. But for everyone i want you to see how true prayer is.

Psalm 10:17

 ¹⁷ You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;
       you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

Isaiah 58:9

 ⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
       you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

Hebrews 10:22

²²let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Isaiah 65:24

 ²⁴ Before they call I will answer;
       while they are still speaking I will hear.

Luke 11:9-10

 ⁹"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

PRAISE GOD FOR THESE WORDS OF PROMISE!! You see prayer is so powerful, God tells us that He will listen, He tells us He will answer if He sees fit, He tells us that it will build us closer to Him, He tells us that he will comfort us in it. PRAISE GOD!.

Everyday I pray that God moves in Moreno Valley among the students and so do some of the leaders, and every thursday me and the creative team pray for students to step outside of their box and live a passionate life for God and to let the world know they are loved by God.

Right now some of you at landmark are passing out prayer request cards, some of you at march middle school started a bible study and 20 kids attend, you also pass out prayer request cards. At our youth group no kids are sitting alone, at our youth group kids are coming for the first time and I see some of you welcome them with open arms, at our youth group I have seen you crying with each other and praying with each other, at our youth group I see you raise your hands to God in worship to Him, not caring about what people think, at our youth group I went from preaching 10 minutes to 30 minutes and you have told me how you want more and how you love it. You are inviting your friends to youth group, you are making a change in your lives and in the lives of those around you. I SEE YOU DOING THIS!! PRAISE GOD I AM BROUGHT HUMBLY TO TEARS. and all this is a result of prayer and God working!

God is moving at discovery and He is moving at our schools, we can't miss out and we can't settle down, we need to be on fire and passionate about what He is doing. We can't let people around us mess up our progress and our heart for God. I know that a lot of you are scared to step out, but God loves you so much, and prayer is a great way to do so.

This Thursday I am so stoked, we are going to talk about God moving, and God is definately going to move, Bring people from your school, let them know they are loved by God. Let God work through you. Let your friends come who don't know the Lord and let them experience true love for the first time. PRAISE GOD!

Amen,

Brett

Big Mistake

I wanted to put this movie up, 1) because its hilarious and 2) because we all need to realize that we make mistakes, but its not the end of the world. I know that a lot of you are truly trying to live for God and there are times when we mess up along that road. And the best thing we could do after getting knocked off the horse is to get back on and ride harder. I want to encourage all of you to not get discouraged when things don't go how you think they will. God is in control and He loves you so much, make mistakes... because that means your trying :)

In Him,

Brett

Hospital

So some of you might be wondering where I was on sunday and monday for the landmark bible study. Sunday morning around 2 A.M. I woke up with insane chest pains, I thought i was on the verge of having a heart attack, so I woke Raquel up and we rushed the hospital. When we got there the doctors hooked me up to all these machines and monitored me and gave me a bunch of shots and we were there for about 9 hours. It was a very long night, sunday and monday was a blur for me because I still had the medicine in me. Now the doctors want to run a bunch of test to find out what caused all the pain.

As I was coming out of my daze from the hospital, I realized something. What if sunday morning the pain I experienced really was a heart attack and I passed away. It really made me appreciate my beautiful wife and the life that I have. It made a cool breath of air that I breathed in mean more to me. It also made me think "If I passed away sunday morning would I be proud of the life I have lived for the Lord when I would met Him or would I stand there ashamed" It really impacted me.

So here is my questions for you, and I really want you to think about this, we really don't know when we are going to die, we might think its not going to be for a long time, but what happened to me sunday morning at 2am could happen to any one of us and it could be fatal. We could be driving home and get in a car wreck and there we go. If you died today, would be you be ashamed of standing in front of God the way you have been acting lately or would you be proud?

After you answer your own question, think, how could you start living or what could you start doing in order to make God proud.

In Him,

Brett

P.s.

I really missed you all sunday and monday and I can't wait to see you tomorrow night, Which is going to be awesome by the way.

Principle of the path

So I am reading this new book called "Principle of the path". It is amazing!!! So let me break it down for you guys and show you guys what it means for all of us. So this author talks about how in life we all take a certain path, we might have good intentions but ultimately if we look at our life and what's happened to us so far we have started a journey on a path that we haven't even notice. For instance, we have the intention of getting good grades, but look back at the times you haven't studied when you should of and see the result of the grade. Do that with anything...... Girls, I hear you talk about how you want to marry this great guy but yet sometimes you date any cute guy that asks you out. One of you might say "I want to develop a deep and lasting intimacy with God".... so you get up every morning and spend your time watching tv or getting ready instead of praying.

Basically what this guy says is that if we have a destination that we want to be at, we need to really think about the path were gonna take, meaning the intention and the decision were gonna make. For instance, we have been talking about "telling your friends about Christ" and I am sure there is a lot of you out there that is all for it.. you have GREAT intentions (meaning to do something)... now look at how many times you have talked to your friends about Christ... you see intention doesn't always bring result, but looking at where we want to be and making sure were staying on the "path" we originally set out to accomplish, which could be doing better in school, being an example of Christ on campus, inviting our friends to church, getting along with people (family members, friends). Have a goal but realize that every decision you make directs your path and will give you the result that your looking for or that you were looking for regardless of what you wanted.

Today I just spent time in prayer for tomorrow night and for all of our hearts to just be open to the path that God has for us and for us all to be wise in our decisions so that way we can look back later on and see that we did the right decisions to get the right results.

I am so excited for what God is doing on thursday nights and I can't tell you enough how much I love you all and how blessed I am to see God working in your lives. Brandon is going to do a great job preaching tomorrow night and you should definitely invite your friends. Remember, good intentions don't bring results, making the right decisions and stepping up and out for God does.

In Him,

Brett

Advice

"Give a man a fish and he will wont be hungry for a day, teach a man how to fish and he won't be hungry for the rest of his life"

This is a quote that I thought of on the way home after meeting with a friend from our church. We went to breakfast and he gave me advice on the future. I was fascinated by his words of wisdom and the way he has lived his life and the love he has for God. And it made me think, as we grow in life there are many things we learn along the way and many things we need to be taught. It got me thinking, I have many mentors in my life and they all meet these guidelines and help me, and that we should have certain guidelines as christians to who we listen to and why.

Proverbs 12:15

The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.

Guidelines:

1) Find someone who loves God and who has a good head on their shoulders.
2) Find someone who is older than you and has been through some of the stuff you are seeking advice about.
3) Don't go to someone who will just agree with you because their your friend, go to someone who cares for you enough that they will disagree with what your doing or the direction your taking sometimes because they care for you.
4) Find someone who is honest about things and wont sugar coat them.
5) Find someone you trust, and that won't tell people your business.
6) Find someone who you feel comfortable being honest with, someone who you won't keep your brutal facts or actions from.

It is always important for us to have mentors or people that we get advice from, I hope this helps you

In Him,

Brett

Tonight

Tonight is going to be awesome, I can't wait! tonight were gonna talk about getting over our fears and comfort zones, I am constantly praying for you all that you can just live it up for God! only 9 1/2 hours till youth group ... I CANT WAIT!. make sure you invite your friends, were also a cool new game I learned while on the retreat.

In Him,

Brett

Jesus and today

I wonder what Jesus' ministry would have been like if He had a computer or a phone that he could text from. I wonder if he would have been busy doing myspace or facebook or texting his friends instead of loving on people. Imagine Jesus talking to people about God's forgiveness and those people were to busy texting their friends or even worried about how they looked so they put more importance on what they looked like and what people thought of them before they went to hear him.

Jesus was so revolutionary because instead of going with the social norm or worrying about what people thought of him (looks or actions). He wasn't wasting his time texting people or making sure his profile looked great. He was never worried about staying in his group of friends, because if He did, He knew that people wouldn't hear the message of God and that people would feel excluded and not experience His love. Jesus was all about making sure people knew that He loved them and that God has a plan for them.

I want you to think about some of these questions as I have witnessed them at youth group, at school, and on our profiles. When we come to youth group are we more worried about what we look like instead of coming and being excited about what God can do in our lives? Are we more worried about hanging out with our friends so we don't feel uncomfortable instead of making sure that no one is sitting alone and everyone feels loved? Are we more concentrated on our profiles and texting that we don't spend time with God? At our schools are we more worried about what people think of us instead of worrying about what God thinks of us? and on our profiles are we more worried about being cool instead of using it to show that we love God?

I wonder what would have happened if Jesus had an importance on the stuff we do, would his ministry been the same? would people have come and still come to know God?

In Him,

Brett

Actions

This video is hilarious, It is funny to see this kids reaction, and it's interesting to think that sometimes we can't help our reactions to things. Like if someone hurts us, or a situation at school. But there is something that we can control, the way we act and the intentions (the reason that we do things) that we have with life, the friends that we hang out with, the way we represent Christ and how we look at situations. Everday we are in school we have the chance to tell someone about God's love and we have a chance to pray for them. I want us all to think about the action of prayer and what we pray about. I want to challenge all of you to start praying for the people at your school, start praying for opportunities to tell people about Christ or for yourself to be more aware of how we portray Christ and that God will give us the courage to start talking to our friends about Christ. I truly believe that God answers our prayers (when He sees fit) and that we change from prayer and mature in our relationship with God. Start looking at yourself as an ambassador (someone who represents someone or something) for God and step out in faith and let people know who God is. I truly believe that God is changing the students of Moreno Valley, be a part of it, Pray that God will give you opportunities and step up to the challenge of letting people know who God is, invite your friends to youth group and love on the people at your school.


In Him,


Brett

challenge in prayer

so I am at this leadership conference for the high school students and I spent some time in prayer this morning for all the students in Moreno Valley that don't know God. I want to challenge all of you this weekend and everyday before thursday to take 5 minutes and pray for the people you know that don't know God or that aren't plugged into a church. Pray that God will give you an opportunity to talk to them and that He wll soften their hearts so they can come and know the Lord. I miss you all!

In Him,

Brett

Last night

Last night was amazing as I hurled glass bottles at a board that outlined a person and we talked about how we get distracted from Gods love for us and the purpose that God has for us and going out and telling people about the love of Jesus. I want everyone to really think about what hits us in life and what takes off the path that God has for us. I was so proud of all of you that came and worshiped with true hearts, never stop in your relationship with God, never settle for just doing good but in every situation honor God. Don't let life stop you from telling people about the Love of Christ.

In Him,

Brett

My dog Rocko

So lately I have noticed something about my cool dog Rocko. Everytime I have to go somewhere I put him outside, he hates going out side, in fact (it's funny) sometimes he will go hide so I won't put him out. But here is the thing, if I get a treat and take it outside he gets so excited about the treat he goes outside on his own not even thinking about the fact that he is getting put outside. Think about it, he is so concentrated on one thing that he forgets about everything else. And no I am not mean, because if he stayed inside he would pee everywhere haha.

Sometimes in life I think we get so caught up in the things that are going on around us that we forget or get distracted from what God wants us to do and the purpose that He has for us. It could be good things and bad things that distract us and take us off track.

Tonight we are going to talk about this and it is going to be awesome and a night of IMPACT, this is a great chance for you to bring your friends and for them to encounter God, we are doing something on stage that has NEVER been done before at discovery (no rocko will not be there just in case you were wondering)... its going to be awesome!

In Him,

Brett

Tomorrow night!

Tomorrow night is going to be amazing, it is going to be a night that you will never forget, we are talking about how we can get distracted from God and His purpose in our lives, this is a night for you to invite your friends as I am going to do something insane on stage and it will give your friends a chance to see what Gods purpose is for their lives.

Look at the see you at the pole(update) post below this!

In Him,

Brett

See you at the pole (update)

What an amazing day, here are some updates that I have heard so far:

Landmark: I am so proud of everyone in the bible study and everyone from our youth group and other youth groups that came out. We prayed for 30 minutes in front of the school and staff joined us. It was so awesome to see students take a stand for their faith and pray for one another and for God to move at their schools. I am so proud of all of you.

March: So I got a call from a student from March and I found that God moved within see you at the pole, three students from discovery, not going to mention names but here are their initials (G.P., G.I., G.I.) asked the main office to announce SYATP, and they did!!! and then when people came to pray a teacher approached these three courageous girls and told them they could use his room for a bible study but they would have to get permission from the principal. So these three girls being obedient to God and living for God and for His purpose, waited and sought out the principal, got approval and they are now filling out a form to have bible study on campus. I was blown away by this story!!! this is exactly what we have been talking about on Thursday nights, going out and getting things done for God. I am so proud of these three students and all the other students that participated in SYATP. Also for all you students who go to March, when everything is in order, there will be a bible study at march on Wednesdays during lunch, and I will be there.

Homeschool: I read this in one of our comments, some homeschool kids from discovery went outside and prayed together, that is awesome!! I am so proud of you.

Mountain View: One of our students (A.C.) put God first and let the social standards not hinder him, and started the SYATP, 20 people joined in. Praise God, I am so proud of you dude. 

I see God moving in the students and the IMPACT that we are going to have from students stepping out in their faith and living for God is awesome. keep it up!

Is there any other stories that people have from see you at the pole? leave them in the comment and I will keep updating this blog of how God moved!

In Him,

Brett

Slip-N-Slide

Check this out.... is this real? what do you think?

In Him,

Brett

See you at the pole!!

 SEE YOU AT THE POLE

I am so excited about tomorrow morning. Tomorrow morning is see you at the pole, that means that everyone and anyone who wants to pray comes to the flag pole 30 minutes before school starts. I will be attending the one at Landmark. I want to encourage you all to take a stand for what you believe in and to invite your friends to take part in praying for your schools, the nation, and for God to move among us.

See you at the pole,

 

Brett

Honor who?

Lately I keep running into situations that require me to truly think of how I am going to act, these are things that have just been placed on my heart, but I have realize something that is very key to all these decisions. In life when we are faced with hardship or choices its easy for us to sway our thought to act selfishly. This is the battle that all of us are in, there are times where we try to stretch the truth of why we do things so we don't feel bad or we stretch the truth to justify reactions that we have had. If we are doing the right thing... there is no need for justification... God justifies us.

Matthew 22:37
Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

 Its simple when you finally have the courage to say it to yourself..... your either gonna honor YOURSELF or your going to honor GOD...... 

Who have you been honoring?

In Him,

Brett

Landmark Students

Hey Landmark students, Here is a picture of my wife and I like I promised, It was awesome hanging out with you today, I am so proud of you bringing your friends and living for the Lord, check out these blog posts and take your time, let God work in you as you read. If you don't have a youth group that you are attending, this Thursday night is going to be amazing at the middle school youth group come and check it out the church address is 27555 Alessandro blvd, Moreno Valley. Also if you have a myspace, Brett's myspace.

In Him,

Brett

With Everything

Watch this whole video and listen to the lyrics.... are you giving everything?

In him,

Brett

I was humbled today

I know this is a very funny video, but I want us to think about something. Take the thief and turn him into  situations in life or sin. Then take the car and turn that into ourselves. Now take the monkey in the back (which is awesome) and turn that into the church. Sometimes life hits us hard or just makes us loose focus on what is really important, sometimes it breaks into our window and tries to ruin us. The beautiful part about what the monkey did is what the church does for us sometimes. It helps us take back control, it helps us gain our focus back into the right direction and gets rid (or throws off a bridge) of the things that aren't good or that were messing up with.

Today at church I was humbled by  one of you, I am not going to mention names (but I will mention initials T.G.) this person came up to me and basically told me how sometimes on Thursday nights or Sunday mornings I am really focused on the "service" and I forget to take the time to chill with people and concentrate on what is important as well. Although preaching and making sure everything runs smoothly is a very important thing, spending time with people and knowing what is going on in their lives is just as important if not more important because it is the main reason why the church started in the bible. It was mainly about fellowship, accountability and encouragement.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Just as I might have lost some of my focus on something that is important at church, I wonder if some of you have ever done the same, when we come to church it should be about building one another up and growing in the Lord and then going out with that encouragement and letting people know about how Christ can change lives and the community and love that we share at church.

So my question to everyone is, when you come to church what is your focus?

In Him,

Brett

Consumer or Contributor?

My brother once said "Brett i am so tired of people just being consumers of the church rather then being a contributor of the church". Now when I say church I am talking about the body of believers in this world (you and me) and the people that attend "The church". This statement always hits my heart about people that go to church and all of us Christians that are referred to as The church . There are two types of people in the church , consumers and contributors. Let me explain more...

"The Consumer"

 

There are the people in the church that just take in everything and really do nothing with what they learn and think that it is "all about me". These are the type of people that think that the church is there for "me". When they go and learn something new at church, they do nothing with it, and they sometimes just sit on the knowledge they gained. As well in their relationship with God they don't think of others or how to further the kingdom, rather they think that God is just there for them.These are the type of people that when someone talks about serving, going out and letting people know who God is, or just taking part in what is happening, they ignore it and expect someone else to do it because they don't "feel" like it or they are just to concerned about their own life and their own agenda.

"The Contributor"

 There are people in the church that are contributors. These are the type of people that when they go to church and learn something about God they apply it to the people around them and they reach out to the people around them. These are the type of people that when at church they know that God cares about them and that they are important in his eyes, and that they should strive to let people know that God cares just about them as well.These are the people that don't think that it is "all about me", rather they think "it is all about the kingdom and being a part of God moving in peoples lives". These are the people that go to other countries and witness to people about God, these are the people that when they see someone in need they drop their agenda and help that person, these are the type of people that want to serve in the church and instead of thinking "someone else will do it" they jump to action because they know that God has called us to go out and live for Him, not to stay in a bubble and just be concerned about ourself.

Philippians 2:3-4

3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

 Matthew 28:19-20

¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

 It's not wrong for us to concentrate on our relationship with God or to even be concerned about ourselves. The church (that we go to) was designed for us to learn and to be in fellowship and to grow. But when that is all we do, we are not living the purpose that God has for us, That is to serve one another and to go out and tell people about Christ and his forgiveness and love. We all do this in different ways, maybe its being a good example and when people notice, you give Glory to God, or maybe its talking to one of our friends about God and encouraging them, or it could be serving at our church or helping someone when they are in need, or it could just be inviting people to church, or it can even be going to another country and ministering to people. There are so many ways that we can be a contributor of the church (the kingdom of God).

My question for myself and for you is, are you a consumer or a contributor?

In Him,

Brett

Insane "shoes"

What are these?

So I came across these "shoes" and I thought they looked interesting, apparently they are the "shoes" of the future, they are called "fivefingers running shoes". I guess they improve your running ability, add less to injury and our feet are designed to adjust your stride, distribute your weight, and minimize the impact on your joints—on the fly. Unfortunately, when you encase them in modern running shoes, your feet lose contact with the ground. They don’t adjust. They aren’t free to do what they were made to do. So in essence, when we run in these expensive modern shoes they alter what our feet were somewhat designed to do.... isn't God amazing, think about this... we marvel at all the inventions that we have for footwear, but in all reality it's just what God gave us that works perfect. Now my question to everybody is, if these things work better, won't it give our feet soars and hurt more if there is not much padding? or does our feet compensate for the wear and tear over time? and I wonder what Shaq would look like if he wore these on a basketball court.... what is your opinion?

The enemy of great is good

So I have been reading this book, I know, I know, why would you read a book, they are sooooo boring. Not really, sometimes when we read books we get more insight to God or about life. So anyways, I have been reading this book called "Good to Great" by Jim Collins and its all about how a lot of times we settle for good and never go for great. and while reading this book the first part of it stuck out to me

"Few people obtain great lives, in large part because it is so easy to settle for a good life. The vast majority of companies never become great, precisely because the vast majority become quite good- and that is their main problem."

You see this author is really trying to portray that sometimes in life or companies, or anything in general, when we become good at something, or are doing good, we get comfortable in that, and then we never challenge ourselves to do great simply because we think its good to just be doing good. And it got me thinking.............

A lot of times I think that is our attitude towards God. Sometimes I ask people "hey how are you doing with your relationship with God?" and sure enough usually the answer is "good". Don't get me wrong, it's a great thing to be doing good with God, but are we just becoming comfortable with where we are and not striving to do better, not striving to be doing great. Colossians 3:17 says this

17"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

We need to always remember to keep striving for our relationship with God and what we can do to glorify Him. It's always good to be doing good with God, but it shouldn't stop there, we should always be striving to do better and to get closer to God. This could mean a number of things for a number of different people, maybe it's our prayer time with God, maybe we need to spend more time in prayer, or how much we read our bible, or how much we talk about God with people, maybe it's inviting our friends to church, maybe we need to reach out more and invite our friends so that way they can come to know the Lord, or maybe it's just in our daily self, maybe we need to challenge ourself to act more like Christ in situations. So my challenge is think of where you are with God, and then think of how you can get closer to Him and think of how you can turn the good things that you do into great things, because everything that we do, should be done for God.

In Him,

Brett

Americas Got Talent

Tonight is going to be intense with all the competition, I really don't know who to go for...i mean i really like Barbara Padilla, she is awesome with opera singing... but also there is Kevin Skinner who I think if he would sing songs that require a lower voice like his first performance he could take it... who do you want to win?

In Him,
Brett

Kayne West & Serena Williams

Wow what an eventful week for some celebrities. First of all lets talk about Kayne I was in shock when I saw what he did to Taylor Swift, in the middle of her speech he came up took the mic from her while she was about to give a speech for winning best female video and he told everyone that Beyoncee should have won because she had the best video... after that Taylor didn't have any time to finish her speech, in fact she was just shocked and didn't say anything. But good job to Beyoncee for when she won VIDEO OF THE YEAR AWARD, she invited Taylor Swift up to finish her speech. Great job Beyoncee, in your moment to shine you thought of others before yourself. I couldn't believe that Kayne did that, I mean here is Taylor Swift that worked hard for where she is and in her defining moment of a country singer getting recognized at the VMA's Kayne gave credit to someone else........................... You know that made me start to think.

In our lives how many times does God do some miraculous things, and then when it happens we give the credit to ourselves or to something else instead of Him. but I got to say I was really proud of what Kayne said on Jay Lenos Show.

He went on to say he was embarrassed and that he was sorry, and that it was a selfish act.... Sometimes I think we need to do that with God, and get back on track and realize that the great things in life are blessings from Him and to take responsibility in situations where we might have messed up.

Now now Serena Williams, woooo man was she mad.... but her getting mad may have cost her next years US open. Not worth it.... I wonder how many times we get mad and ruin our chances that we could of had to honor God. Maybe it was a time when some people were talking about us at school or maybe a time where we ruined our witness because we didn't handle a situation in a Godly manner. whatever the situation, just like Serena Williams we need to realize as Christians we are being watched by the world around us and its up to us to keep our cool and to glorify God, even in situations that don't seem fair, or that are down right wrong.

In Him,

Brett

This is sick

So i was reading this blog by a christian guy that has some interesting things to say about God and about living our life for him. And he has this video up in randomness but i still that the video was awesome becuase the guy was able to do the whole thing in one take, pay close attention to what happens, i think sometimes this is like life and our relationship with God if you really want to think about it, we start off small and then progress and eventually alll the things that we have been doing for God come together and make a cool thing happen. The hard part that we should do is find out where our starting point is, and think about where we want to be. You see its easy for us to just look back and go "oh cool I am in a different spot now" its harder and more beneficial for us to have a plan and be intentional with our relationship with God or just life in general. Find your starting point and where you want to be with God, really think about it and pray, God will reveal some cool stuff. Thats how I see thursday nights, Its slowly progressing but God is doing some awesome things, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

In Him,

Brett

Amazing night

What an amazing night! It was such a blessing to see all of you at Palm Canyon. I think it is amazing how much our ministry has grown and how last week we had over 75 students and 14 baptisms for middle school. I am so proud of all of you that are living for God, bringing your friends, and changing yourself so that you can serve God more. It was such a blesseing to see you all being examples and living for Christ tonight and being a part of the bigger picture. So now that we have a new blog i want to find out, What are some thoughts on tonight or on our youth group thursday nights, what are some thoughts on God, lets start blogging it up

Also know that we have a twitter account for the middle school as well. twitter for middle school , Just go ahead and click on it, with both twitter and the blog that you are reading, we need you to sign up for the programs and then you are able to comment on the blog and on twitter sign up for it and have the updates be sent to your mobile phone, that way you can follow whats going on and can be part of the community that we are building for middle school

In Him,

Pastor Brett

Connect

Connect is tonight, I am so thrilled that all of the middle schoolers are getting together to worship God and to prepare for next week. I think a lot of times we forget that its good to have an excited build up to a task, and the task is to take a stand for what we believe in and to pray for our schools and our nation. I am thrilled to be apart of it, when you log on tonight as it is our first night of having a blog, let me know what you think about tonight and what you are thinking about God.

In Him,

Pastor Brett