// Infuse

Check out this new video from Invisible Children.

Joseph Kony is one of the world's worst war criminals, but we can do something real to stop him and change the lives of the children and families he has hurt across Central Africa.

For more information, go to the Kony 2012 homepage at: http://s3.amazonaws.com/kony2012/kony_new.html

Help make Kony famous and end the war in 2012.

Interesting answers to that question on this film shot in St. Kilda. What would your one question be?  Post your comments to let us know.
 

InFuse groups are the best way for young people at Syndal Baptist to grow in their faith and understanding of the bible.  The groups have between 8-15 members and are led by 2-3 committed teachers and leaders.

Sessions aim to be creative, interactive and fun and help young followers of Jesus connect with one another.

These are the groups running in Term 1, 2012.

GROUPS:

YEAR 7s:  Sunday Mornings 10.30am-12.00pm.  Leaders: Fiona, Jonny and Adam D. Meet at the Foodbank house.  NOTE: This group will start to meet separately to the Year 8&9s because of high numbers.  We will start meeting in the Clack Room after this Sunday (Feb 19).

YEAR 8 & 9s: Sunday Mornings 10.30am-12.00pm.  Leaders: Tim W and Alice H. Meet at the Foodbank House.  NOTE: Due to high numbers this year, the Year 8&9s will meet separatly to the year 7s.  They will continue to meet in the Foodbank House this Term.

YEAR 8 BOYS: Tuesday nights from 7.15pm-9.00pm.  Leaders: Tim W and Mikey. Starting from Tuesday 21st  Februaury.  Meeting at Mikey's house. For more info or to join the group call Tim (0430 090 228) or Mikey (0401 824 658).

YEAR 9 & 10s: Monday nights 7pm-9pm.  Leaders: Jess L, Jase M and Aaron C. START DATE MONDAY 13th FEB. For more info of to join the group contact Jess (0423 933 301) or Jase (0438 893 319).

YEAR 11 & 12s: Monday nights 7pm-9.pm.  Leaders: Fiona B, Greg J and Alice C. START DATE MONDAY 13th FEB.  For more info or to join the group contact Fiona (0402 375 335).

Please contact me if you would like to be involved in a group!

Email to fbrown@sb.org.au or call 0402 375 335.  Please include name, mobile number/home number and Year Level.

Definitely worth a watch.

Do you agree?  Disagree? Let us know! Comment below.

Ben Breedlove's story.  This 18year guy passed away on Christmas day, but his story is really interesting.  Also good to watch the eulogy his sister gave at his funeral recently.  Good to make you think about faith and what is to come.

The Eulogy Ben Breedlove's sister gave at his funeral recently.

This is a pretty cool and pretty cute representation of the Christmas story as played by kids.

Check it out!!

Knowing how to approach a person is tricky business.

So often I am unsure what is appropriate for greeting people - is it ok for girls to shake hands or is that a guys only thing?  When is it ok to hug?  My family do the whole 'kiss on the cheek' thing, and so do some of my friends - but then I get confused about which ones and you end up doing that whole weird 'kiss or hug or handshake' dance and no-one really knows whats going on!

I love it when you get to know people well enough that its just easy.  You know exactly what's ok - and even if you get confused for a second and do something abnormal for your relationship you can just laugh about it afterwards!

Its getting pretty close to Christmas, and I'm trying really hard this year to make sure I don't get so caught up in wrapping paper, trees and baubles that I take my eyes off Jesus.

When Jesus was born, it was the beginning of God's answer to mankind's problem: our separation from Him because of our own self-centred (rather than God-centred) nature. 

Jesus broke into human history, and brought the Kingdom of God with Him.  He got the Kingdom rolling.  In some senses, it was the beginning of the end.  With Jesus, God introduced the Kingdom into the world and it has been spreading quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) ever since, always moving closer to its completion when God will wrap things up with this earth and make 'everything new' (Revelation 21:5).  It is growing through those who accept Jesus' as their Lord and the one who has rescued them from the penalty of sin, those who are made new with the Holy Spirit and who live their lives in obedience to God's Word and His Spirit.  That is the Kingdom of God and it is growing.

As I read through the Gospels (the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) I realise how people really didn't know how to respond to Jesus when they met him.   I'm not talking hugs and high-fives, so much as attitudes and actions.

In Luke 5:12 a man with leprosy (a skin desease) falls at Jesus' feet and says 'Lord, if you are willing you can make me clean.'  He approaches Jesus recognising Him as great, but unsure that Jesus would want to help someone like him.  Jesus simply says 'I am willing' and heals him. 

The Pharisees responded to Jesus with suspicion, as in Luke 6:7 - always looking for a reason to doubt him and shame him in front of others.  Yet Jesus could never be outwitted, out-reasoned, or outshone in terms of his knowledge of Jewish history, and also never proven guilty of any sin or wrongdoing.

The Centurion in Luke 7:6 didn't even see himself as worthy to go to Jesus and personally ask for help, yet had such faith in Jesus that he believed Jesus could heal his sick servant with his words.

Jesus' disciples often were more concerned with themselves and their own status than with knowing the true identity of Jesus.  In Luke 9 they argue over who of them would be the greatest.

Some even flat-out refused to give Jesus the time of day - as the Samaritan towns did when he planned to visit them (Luke 9:51-53).  And they missed out on meeting face-to-face the saviour of the world when he came.

Today, so many people still don't know what to do with Jesus and how to approach him - whether to approach him at all.

How do you approach Jesus? Do you assume he would never want to help someone like you?  Are you suspicious of him and looking for any reason not to believe? Maybe you recognise Jesus' status and power far outweighs your own and are completely humbled and grateful for his love? Are you more concerned with yourself and what Jesus can do for you than approaching him in love and respect?  Maybe you simply refuse to even meet with him at all or have never given him a second thought?  Maybe you approach him in a different way altogether?

As we get closer to Christmas, remember that the whole point of it is that we are celebrating a God who came to earth to buy us a gift we never deserved - to be able to approach him.  

Some will accept that gift with the gratitude and love it deserves,  some will sing carols and then forget about Jesus - distracted by new phones, clothes and DVDs, and some will flat-out refuse to acknowledge him at all.

Which will you be?

Fuel girls who are in Year 10-12 are invited to attend 'The Makeover' - an event for women which will explore all sorts of fun girls stuff including hair, makeup, fashion and style as well as deeper things like our personality and strengths, and God's design.

The day is a day of fun and encouragment, and is taking place at Syndal Baptist Church on Saturday November 19th, from 10am-4pm.

Its $20 per person, which covers the day's activities as well as morning tea and lunch.

If you'd like more information or to RSVP (by 12th November) email Liz Bradshaw on lbradshaw@sb.org.au

Baptism can seem like this big, scary thing... 

A lot of people are committed to following Jesus for the rest of their life, but put off getting baptised because they don't feel like they're 'good enough' yet...

But by that logic, no one will ever be ready.

Baptism is something Jesus did himself, and something he instructed his followers to do.

Paul baptised people and taught other church leaders to do the same whenever a person became a believer.

It was something people did as soon as they made the decision to follow Jesus.

Baptism is an opportunity to publicly declare your faith in Jesus and your commitment to him.  You don't have to be perfect, or have it all together, but just need to know that you will try to follow Jesus for the rest of your life.

At United this term (Friday 18th November), you can get baptised. 

All you need to do is let me (Fiona) or your leader know that you are interested in finding out more.  You don't even need to make a decision yet!  We'll run a class where we talk a bit about baptism, and you can ask any questions you have before you decide.

So talk to your leader, or let me know you're interested by emailing fbrown@sb.org.au or messaging me on 0402375335 (just make sure you include your name!).

Haha Hot Kool Aid

"There is so often a great disparity between how we feel about faith and how we are meant to feel.  Why do so few people genuinely find joy and pleasure in their relationship with God?  Why do most people feel they have to pay God back for all he's done (buy his love) or somehow keep making up for all their inadequacies and failures (prove their love)....

...Lukewarm living and claiming Christ's name simultaneously is utterly disgusting to God.  And when we are honest, we have to admit that it isn't very fulfilling or joyful to us, either.

But the solution isn't to try harder, fail, and then make bigger promises, only to fail again.  It does no good to muster up more love for God, to will yourself to love Him more.  When loving him becomes an obligation, one of many things we have to do, we end up focussing even more on ourselves.  No wonder so few people want to hear from us about what we ourselves feel is a boring, guilt-ridden chore!...

...What's wrong with this picture? Are we just fooling ourselves that we can really be in love with God and that it is more satisfying than anything else?  I don't believe so.

God wants to change us; He died so that we could change.

The answer lies in letting him change you... The fact is, I need God to help me love God.  And if I need his help to love him, a perfect being, I definitely need his help to love other fault-filled humans.  Something mysterious, even supernatural must happen in order for genuine love for God to grow in our hearts.  The Holy Spirit has to move in our lives."  

(Excerpt from 'Crazy Love' by Francis Chan)

Church is a funny old thing. We sing songs, we sit and listen to people speak, read announcements, we pray, we sit, we stand, and so often we just wait until the service is over so we can go and hang with our friends. Sometimes we feel like it's great, sometimes we feel like it was dull and boring and irrelevant to us, and discuss with our friends how things really need to change if we want people to keep coming along.

It seems like the age-old question - what should church be like? I found a great paragraph in a book I'm reading which I wanted to share with you guys as something to think about when you're figuring out how you feel about church...

"Quite simply, the church needs to remember that this whole thing is not about us but about God. We should not go to church to get something, because church is not about us.... I have Christian friends who don't attend church because "it has nothing to offer me anymore."

Others have created their own house church or ministries where nothing ever annoys them because nothing is ever outside of their control. But this misses the point entirely! Church is not about us. Church is about God. He is the one who calls us into church and pulls us unto himself. When people go to church they should feel welcomed and loved. They shouldn't feel like they aren't cool enough, or that they are too cool to be there. They shouldn't feel like they are a prospective customer, waiting to be sold a product, but neither should they feel like an ambivalent passerby who can come and go with zero impact on the life of the church.

But mostly, they shouldn't feel like their feelings matter all that much. Rather, the experience should be about God. If people go to church and get the sense that church is all about them - their preferences and cultural patterns and desires - then churches are entirely missing the point. Not only does this not do Christ justice, but it leaves people with nothing to cling to or take joy in other than their own unsteady whims and passions."

(Hipster Christianity, Brett McCracken).

Gives you something to think about hey? Does this mean that we shouldn't care about how we do things in church and accept whatever comes our way? Do you agree or disagree that we can tend to make church more about us than God? Let me know - post your comments or questions up here! See ya, Fi

Infuse has jumped back into action this week, so brace yourself for another term of working through the crazy awesomeness that is the Old Testament!

We're all up to Chapter 16 of 'The Story' this week, and onto Chapter 17 next week , so make sure you're up to date on your readings.

Would love you all to post any thoughts or questions you've had about what you've read, or anything about life and faith!

Enjoy Term 4!!

In July 2012, a group of 16 youth and young adults are heading over to visit the Dagoretti Corner Community in Nairobi, Kenya. While we're there we'll be running a number of youth and children's outreach programs full of games, music, talks and testimonies. The rest of the time we'll be getting to know the locals and gaining a better understanding of the lives they live in the grasp of poverty.