Did you hear that Elevation Youth is landing on Mars this year? Mmm you probably need to catch up, right! Adjust your seatbelts and let’s get ready for take off!
We started 2021 talking about how we can reject the secular standards of the world and accept the gift God has given us, in order to fully embrace the Kingdom. This volume was a WHOLE OTHER LEVEL! The first week, our Youth Pastor Tim Somers blew our minds with a sermon called “WTF.” In the same way, mic check was insane! Cole and Josiah had us all laughing with their moves, Laytin and Mait spreading love in the air during Valentine’s day, and we wrapped up with Carlos and Eddie showing us “the drip.” Things got better and better, Elevation Rhythm dropped a new song called “IYKYK,” so if you didn’t know, now you know:) What are you waiting for? Go add it to your playlist! This volume was packed with an amazing Worship experience, we even had youth from all over the world worshipping with us on the big screen. Also, we saw an incredible real talk with Gina, where our youth shared their thoughts about the new outlook Jon Rush gave us on catching feelings. We concluded this volume with Will Wilson talking about integrity, the thing that holds everything together, maybe you are reading this, and you don’t know if your integrity has been torn. This is just the trailer, we don’t want you to miss the message God has for you, keep reading!
W.T.F (Where’s The Faith)
First Rhythm Night of the year! 2020 was a long ride, but we know our God does His best work in the middle of our battles. This year, we want you to reject the lies that the world has been throwing at you, and embrace what God wants to do in you and through you.
New resolutions, same distractions. You know those resolutions you write at the beginning of a new year and never look back at because you got distracted, or did you really drink two liters of water every day last year, like you wrote? (we see you!). Which direction are you taking this year? Like Pastor Tim said “until you seek the truth you will keep chasing after the wrong things.” Don’t go into 2021 following the same things you were in 2020, remember that your faith is where you put it, think about it, where have you been putting your faith?
Have you ever lost something and then figure out that you just misplaced it? Well, the same thing happens with your faith. You didn’t lose your faith, you misplaced it! And if you don’t want this to happen in 2021, you are going to have to put your faith somewhere else. The Spirit makes it clear, 1 Timothy 4:1 says that “as time goes on, some are going to give up on their faith...” (that is not going to be you!) Just like your New Year’s resolution, better said than done, so you’re going to have to fight for it, to reject what is offered to you and embrace God’s calling in this season.
Food For Thought…
- What does rejecting the empire mean to you?
- Whose approval has your faith?
- Whose influence has your faith?
Chosen or chased.
Have you noticed that in scary movies someone is always running FROM something, while in romance movies someone is running TO something? This happens because we like running away from things that scare us or will hurt us, and just like that we choose to live a life where we are constantly being chased. Before we know it -poof- we end up running to something. The truth is that you will always be chased, but you can decide if you let it determine your final destination or you learn how to deal with it. Start by identifying who’s choosing the direction of your life! When you choose the road to seek God’s Kingdom, use the obstacles as a tool to keep going, and you will see everything God has planned for you. If you want to reject the worldly things and embrace the Kingdom, you are going to have to understand who’s choosing the direction of your life.
Good news! You are already chosen by God and He has placed in your life amazing leaders and a community that’s here to let you know that you don’t have to be chased forever. Don’t live a life being chased, but a life being chosen. There’s a little extra spice when you are chosen; chosen people chase people! 1Timothy 4:11-12 makes it clear, “Get the word out… And don’t let anyone put you down because you’re young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity.” God is calling you to teach with your life now, you don’t need a degree to share God’s love with your words and reflect His kindness with your actions. You can do that around your family, your friends, at school… Start by saying yes to those small steps God is calling you to make this year and see where your little mustard seed faith can take you.
Food For Thought…
- Who is choosing the direction of my life?
- What action can you take this week to start teaching with your life?
Catching feelings.
Some of us are letting our emotions block us from the beautiful work God wants to do in our lives. Jon Rush (Youth Director at Elevation Ballantyne) preached about how we need to learn to catch the right feelings and throw the other ones away. Luke 10:40-42 says “But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.” She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” We can see that Martha was getting herself worked up over nothing, she was so distracted that she let her emotions take control over what she was supposed to do. Martha’s story is an example that what we feel on the inside controls what we project on the outside.
Don’t allow the emotions to interrupt the experience God is trying to build in your life. While you cannot eliminate those emotions, you can learn to handle them! How? You are going to have to reject the wrong emotions so that you can embrace the good ones. Also, pay attention to the thoughts that are not going away, maybe you say things like “I’m processing” when, in reality, you’re suppressing the feelings, and that triggers you to uncontrolled reactions. You can delay that reaction and give yourself time to respond as God would have you to, by talking about it with your egroup, your leader… Ask God to reveal to you who is that person or people you need to give permission to speak into your life. Remember that you can't fight your feelings by yourself and win!
Food For Thought...
- What are you letting distract you?
- Where in your life have you let your emotions shift your attitude?
(I’m adding another questions here later hehe)
Tell Me You Love Me Without Telling Me You Love Me.
You might be thinking of the TikTok trend where someone demonstrates their “love” to another person by doing/buying something for them. If you expect love to be like what you see in the movies, it’s time to start over with love. You need to go to the Creator, to the one that loved you first. If you want to be able to tell someone you love them without actually telling them you love them, you are gonna have to know what love really is! And in order to talk about love, you first gotta have the right foundation for it. Yes, a house can be built without foundation, but it won’t last long! The real story of love, the right foundation, is found in the Bible. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails...” This is the blueprint of the right love!
Love is a choice, not a feeling. Culture tells us that love is a feeling that comes and goes, but Scripture says that our hearts are deceitful (yet you can still love through it). The Word of God calls us to love even those people we find most difficult to love. So, whose feet have you washed lately? Every decision you make can reflect the kind of humility that Jesus teaches us with the act of foot washing; when was the last time you’ve shown them grace? Imagine the nastiest thing about a person right now, do you still love them through it?
The love of God is a free gift . The great thing about free things is that you don’t have to work for it, only accept it. Sometimes when you receive a new gift for Christmas or your birthday, you go and show it to everyone or when you buy new shoes you post it on your story. Things are different when you have the greatest gift in your life, the one that comes from your Heavenly Father. Why don’t you go and share that gift with others, let them see how good your God is, let them experience His mercy and kindness through your actions.
Food For Thought…
- How can you show your neighbor you love them without actually telling them that you love them this week?
- Is there someone in your life who you feel God is calling you to cultivate forgiveness?
Love, Sex, and Dating Interview with Tim Somers & Rebekah Somers.
Dating can be fun and beneficial, if you do it right, and it should be intentional. What do you do when you go to the supermarket thirsty? You grab the first thing you see, right? When it comes to dating, don’t be thirsty! Because when you become thirsty, you start lowering your standards, you just start consuming or accepting anything. We know that everybody brings baggage into a relationship, whether it is family baggage, relationship baggage, trust issues, etc. And you might be wondering, how do you distinguish what is and what isn’t tolerable? Rebekah Somers said it like this “When you start dating someone and you act [or the other person] out of a wound instead of a scar, that can be a little detrimental in a relationship, you have to had healed a little bit from some of the baggage that you’ve been through and be able to speak from a scar instead of a wound in the relationship. Because, if not, you will start pulling each other down, and the Bible says ‘Iron sharpens iron’ so we are supposed to become sharper, better with one another. And if it’s just bringing us down, and we are not becoming any better, that shows that you really are operating from a wound.”
During the interview, our Youth Pastors Tim Somers and Rebekah Somers talked about what the Bible says about sexuality, porn, dating, boundaries, and many other things that you might have questions about! Honestly, the truth they handed us cannot be summarized, you need to go listen to it (100% recommended). But, here’s a little sneak peek:
What are some red flags I should be looking for when dating?
- How do they treat their parents? How does he treat his mom?
- How are they around family and friends vs. when they are just with you?
- Find something that they believe in, then ask them why they believe in it.
How do I know how far is too far?
- Will I feel guilty about it?
- Is it wise for me to do that?
- Am I taking advantage of the grace of God?
Torn integrity
Integrity, honesty, kindness, respect. Familiar words we’ve all heard since we were toddlers. Maybe you’ve heard a million definitions of what integrity is. People usually say that integrity is what you do when nobody's looking. But, it is also what you do when you think nobody is looking, and they actually are.
Integrity is more than just healthy/right habits. Some people develop good habits and then squander them. What is the reason for this? Since, despite having good habits, they lacked the integrity to maintain those habits. Let’s say that your MCL is torn, you would go to the doctor, right? Many of us don’t go to our Egroup leader when our integrity has been torn! The purpose of going to the doctor is to heal something that’s affecting our health, in the same way, torn integrity takes healing. Usually, the process of recovering/healing from an injury requires treatment, and if you want results you’ve got to get through that hard phase first. Many of us are walking around with a torn integrity, therefore every time something happens it starts swelling. We feel it but the people around us see the swelling. Just like your MCL helps keep the knee stable and allows it to rotate, your integrity holds everything together! So, it is very important for some of us to stop hiding the fact that our integrity is torn, and allow it to heal properly/ heal all the way.
Food For Thought…
- Are you protecting your future or are you making it hard for God to bless you because of how you’re living your life?
- What’s an area where you need to begin practicing full obedience so you can live with integrity? and
