Grace Student Ministries

Mark your calendars as we have our dates set for our 2015 Summer Retreat. We will be heading up to Alpine Camp and Conference Center near Lake Arrowhead from August 9th - 13th.

Sending encouraging words to the orphans of Ukraine

"How mistaken are we when we think that, becoming Christians, everything becomes simpler, easier, less demanding. How can that be when we have entered a kingdom that is alien to the world in which we live and the life we used to have? If our King was tested, tempted, opposed, rejected and eventually crucified by this world, should it take us by surprise that belonging to his kingdom involves us in a heroic struggle? Not only that, we have to fight a battle within as well! We carry into the new kingdom some of the habits and ways of thinking of the old kingdom. It can be a monumental struggle for us to be rid of them." - Sinclair Ferguson, "The Sermon on the Mount"

THERE IS MORE TO BE LEARNED AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD. J.C. RYLE

"'I can do all things through [Christ] who strengthens me' (Phil. 4:13) is not an expression of confidence in oneself. Instead, it is an expression of sufficiency in Christ. No matter what happens to us, we are in Christ, and that is enough. If we are wealthy and prospering, we are in Christ. If we are poor and suffering, we are still in Christ. Ultimately, both economic statuses are of little consequence. What matters is that we are in Jesus, for Jesus alone can strengthen us to resist the temptations that uniquely attend wealth as well as those that uniquely attend poverty. To live is Christ and to die is gain (1:21); everything we do must be done in and through our Lord and Savior." - Ligonier Ministries.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice." - Phil 4:4 "Joy, unmitigated, untrammeled joy, is - or at least should be- the distinctive mark of every believer in Christ Jesus. The wearing of black and the long face, which so often came to typify some later expressions of Christian piety, are totally foreign to Paul's version; Paul the theologian of grace is equally the theologian of joy. Christian joy does not come and go with ones circumstances; rather it is predicated altogether on one's relationship with the Lord and is thus an abiding, deeply spiritual quality of life. It finds expression in 'rejoicing.' which is an imperative, not an option." - Gordon Fee

For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:18-21, ESV)

We talked about the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus last night... Here is a good video that I hope will encourage you to run the race to win the prize! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EewjnVv2QDI

Tim Keller: If Christmas didn’t happen, if God really didn’t become human, then the joy of Christmas, the partying and all that, is only temporary and the suffering of this world is permanent. But if Christmas really happened, and God really became a human being at Christmas, and he really broke into this world to redeem us, then the suffering of this world is temporary and the joy of the new heavens and new earth is permanent.

We watched this video tonight ast Youth Group. If you didn't make it please check this out when you have 30 free minutes... It's really good! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUH93pwFzDk