Monday, 11-14-2011

Dear J2 Family,

I hope you are all doing great this week. I know it's a monday, which makes me want to go "RWAR!!!!", but thank God it's another day. (^_^). I hope all of you are doing well physically but more importantly, spiritually. 

NEWS:

Thank God Amber Chang's dad had a successful operation and now has time to spend time with his family.

The instruments of LIfefellowship are apparently available for usage but not by our council choice.... interesting. 

Today we discussed about the PARABLE OF THE SOWER. Please read Luke 8 and ponder the words. 

The seed fell along the path, the rocky soil, the thorns, and the good soil. We each evaluated where we honestly thought we were and the result was this: we felt we were mainly on ROCKY soil, on the THORNS, and well, one was .5 on good (nice willy, thank God (^_-). So take a moment and ask yourself, in complete HONESTY:

What Soil Am I On RIght Now? 

Are you focused right now? or do the pleasures and cares and riches of the world distract us from Christ? I had a feeling that this would be the big one but Thank God not everyone has problems with that. It's so easy to be carried away in pursuits in this world: to neglect faith for academics, for $bacon$, for "laziness", and fun. SO DISTRACTING!!! but keep in mind what soil you're in and where you want to go. The purpose of this exercise was just to evaluate where you think you are and get you back on right track.

ALSO I FORGOT TO MENTION: a way i feel to make things more bearable is to try to find the purpose in all that happens, because there is a reason.

if your computer is super slow, maybe God is training your patience

If you have giant red pimple on your upper lip, maybe God is teaching humility 

If you get a 70 on a test, maybe God is teaching you that failure in this world means nothing

if you fail at something, maybe God is teaching you not to dwell on the past and to move forward.

if everything is going wrong, maybe God is telling you to reevaluate your faith so you can grow.

If a borden milk  truck blocks your view of the past, maybe God is telling you to move forward.

if you are reading this, maybe there's a reason.

FIND the REASON in LIFE! That is our mutual goal and I hope we can share that this coming Sabbath!! (please remind me as i probably will forget)

p.s. Don't forget your health. School is important but your health is more important. Sleep, exercise, sweat, enjoy health! and thank God for the time you have to enjoy life on earth.

p.p.s - for those of you who have "smart" devices, and want to be exposed to the bible more, I recommend you get an app called "BIble.is" and before/as you sleep, listen to a couple of things. It's peaceful, not boring (if you get the dramatized) version, and very good. try it out! use your devices for good!

Take care, drink plenty of Strawberry, banana, ice cold smoothies,  stay happy, and pray for each other!

Your brother in Christ,

-Kenny Z

2011 Fall SC Group Photo

OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS!!

Before class:  the two bday stars had no idea about our secret plan! :) 

Pleasing God with an obeying heart

"So Samuel said:
      Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
      As in obeying the voice of the Lord?  
      Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
      And to heed than the fat of rams." 


(1 Samuel 15:22) 

Bully No More

What is the Christian approach to the bullying/oppression of others? Is it simply to avoid being a bully, to befriend the victim or do we have a greater responsibility?


Look at John 8: 1-11, the story of the Jesus saving a woman from being stoned to death, and   Luke 19: 1-10, telling the story of Zacchaeus, an outcast who Jesus befriends. How might these texts be related to the issue of bullying?  Who is the bully in the text?  (Even though this is not immediately clear, particularly in the Zacchaeus text.)  What do these scriptures say about how we might respond to bullying? How do we see Jesus using or not using "power" in these passages? Also consider: What was Jesus own response to being bullied by the religious leaders and government? Based on these stories, what might we argue is the Christ-like response when we encounter incidents of bullying?

Smile! :]

Hi everyone,
I found a joke in the Reader's Digest the other day and wanted to share it with ya'll/you guyses. I thought it was funny because it kind of related to what we learned last Saturday, about the different sects/denominations that have come out of Christianity. Enjoy~ :)

"Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, 'Don't do it!'
He said, 'Nobody loves me.'
I said, 'God loves you. Do you believe in God?'
He said, 'Yes'.
I said, 'Are you a Christian or a Jew?'
He said, 'A Christian'.
I said, 'Me too! Protestant or Catholic?'
He said, 'Protestant'.
I said, 'Me too! What franchise?'
He said, 'Baptist'.
I said, 'Me too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?'
He said, 'Northern Baptist.'
I said, 'Me too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?'
He said, 'Northern Conservative Baptist.'
I said, 'Me too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?'
He said, 'Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.'
I said, 'Me too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879 or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?'
He said, 'Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.'
I said, 'Die, heretic!' And I pushed him over."

Sabbath: Table of the Week

(Showing the position of the true Sabbath). Apart from Latin and English, unless otherwise stated the name of the Seventh day means “Sabbath.”

Make your absolute best

"My business is not to remake myself, but make the absolute best of what God made."  
- Robert Browning





Video 1 Description:  At five years old, Juliana has already been through thirty operations to mediate the severity of her affliction:  Treacher Collins syndrome.  Juliana was born with one sealed eyelid, a complete lack of cheekbones, no nasal passage and almost no upper and lower jawbone.  






Video 2 Description:  This is a documentary about a boy (Ben Underwood) who has taught himself to use echo location to navigate around the world.  Ben Underwood is blind, but has managed to do some truly extraordinary feats.  


[6:17]  "When he woke up from the surgery, and he said 'Mom, I can't see anymore! I can't see anymore!' I told him.  I said, 'Yes, baby you CAN see.'  I said, 'You can see with your hands.' And I put his little hands on my face and I said, 'See me?'"  

10/3 Monday Discussion Questions

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. "  (Matthew 6:33 NIV)

Questions: 
1) Being high schoolers, share an experience where you were tempted to seek other things first instead of God.

2) How can we avoid getting ourselves into situations that are not righteous in God's eyes?

3) How can you specifically seek God's kingdom in a school environment? And not only seek but also spread.

4) What are the hardest things to say no to in everyday life being a high schooler?

Forgiveness

The two verses that Amy shared with us yesterday:  

Mark 11:25-26

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” 

Ephesians 4:32

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

September 19, 2011 - Monday Discussion

Hey y'all and guyzes, 

I'm happy all of you could make it to the monday discussions! Really, thank God we could do this because I really learn more about you, especially when you share a lot of personal stuff. Shoutout to Kathleen and Vincent:  Is Monday a bad time?

News!. 

1.  Welcome Sarah Wong into this discussion group, I hope we can invite all the central region kids soon (that means Toby,  Willy, Kuan-Lin, Kuan-Hsuen, and anyone else who I might have forgotten.)

Summary:

So just to summarize for those who couldn't make it, Amy shared about the topic "forgiveness"; we talked about how sometimes it is hard to forgive but it is something very important to do. we discussed the small differences between just forgetting their offense and forgiving their offense. Thomas shared that we should be kind to those who offended us and this is a very good way to test your forgiveness. I hope all of us can put what we learned into practice and try to repair the relationships that have been stretched for too long.

Prayer Request: 

1. Keep ALEX, the nebraskan, in your prayers. She is sick with something. (probably some strand of corn virus :) ) . And i've noticed that a lot of us are getting sick, including Thomas, Amber Lo, and ____? 
2. Keep this group, this "United Body of J2" in your prayers because I feel like we have something good, something that will be edifying and constructive for the future of this church going on. Pray that we will continue to bond together and sharpen each other so that VERY SOON, when we our fellowship is strong enough with one another, we can have a fellowship and bring some of our friends.

Reminder: 

1. Monthly Dinner/"Hang out" Administration, we scheduled some form of fellowship near this coming weekend so keep us/me posted. Otherwise, I will call you myself, muhahahaha. (Amber and Ebone)

Proposal:

1. If no one gets far enough down this message, we'll just discuss at church or next monday but: after Thomas, Sarah, and I had a nice conversation after everyone left, we decided this was a great opportunity to really discuss personal weakness/viewpoints/advice in life. They are extremely applicable to daily life and attitude i feel. So here it is:
2. CAN WE HAVE THIS PHONE CONFERENCE MORE THAN ONCE A WEEK?????? :) (remember, they are voluntary, but it would be nice if that opportunity was just made available).

P.S. Polling question to test if you actually read all the way down here: 

* Your thoughts and comments MEAN A LOT TO ME! please please please please please dont hesitate to say anything you think, even if you think it's "dumb"

So...

do you like or dislike what we are doing? Do you want a different way to communicate (video chat, whale calling)? Do you feel like we are moving too slow are we "okay"? and finally, Where do you want this to go? just another chore or an opportunity to bond and prepare to fight in the front line? In your action packed life, if you have time, try to think of this and share it with everyone. 

Have a good rest of your week, keep each other in your prayers.

Your brother in Christ,

- Kenny Z.

First Monday Bible Study via Phone Conference

Thank God we just finished our first Bible study/ discussion together.  The topic was "Unconditional Love" based on James 2:1-4:


My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.  For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," have you not shown partiality among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?




Our discussion leader lead us into the following discussion topics: 

• How do you choose your friends? 
• What kind of people do you prefer to be with? 
• How much do you think your eyes influence your decision to befriend/ approach someone? 

7 students + 1 teacher participated tonight.  

A survey/ discussion for improvement will be given out in class this Saturday.  

Plans for a New Beginning

Plans for a New Beginning 

From the J2 Fellowship on September 4th, 2011.

At the start of the fellowship that cool summer day, the new J2 class of the year 2012 sat down around the glass table and discussed the following goals. These goals give insight as to where we are individually and where we plan to go. I hope by reading these, we can understand each other better and know that we are all one in Christ and we move forward as one body. 

Note: these are paraphrased 

There's not much contact with each other outside the church; we should spend more time together not only there, but outside to really get to know each other and be closer than school friends. - Thomas

We need to have a prayer life together, a stronger prayer life at home, in church, and everywhere, on a daily basis. It's not easy to find time together, even at church. - Ebone

We need to put what we learned in class in to our actions in daily life - practice what is preached. We should learn skills on how cope with peer pressure, how to communicate with others, and how to testify to others and answer questions proficiently. - Esther

We should learn to have a higher priority for God in our lives. Also, we should do more evangelism because the evangelism effort at Dallas is not enough. - Amy

We definitely need more fellowship, at least once a month, just so we can be on the same page. We should see each other not only on week ends so we can not only be church buddies, but also spiritual companions. - Kathleen

We need more fellowships, more out reach in church, picnics, carnivals, and activities to have opportunities to invite friends and let them feel comfortable. Also in class, we should have activities that edify us but are also molded for visitors; The lessons should have a combination of bible knowledge and interesting material. - Amber

We need more fellowship to really draw closer to one another so that we can work together as one body. We should get close to the point we can share about anything without awkwardness and feel comfortable to seek each other's advice. Also, it's time we accompany words with actions and be examples for the church. - Kenny

We need hands on learning; for example door to door evangelism. If we only go to church, we may become "churchy" and this makes our faith lukewarm; there has to be more than that. We need to go out to share what is learned. Faith without deeds is dead. - Brandon.

We should have weekly talks about how we all are; we can share our problems and see how God would help in those scenarios. In addition, we should give our selves challenges and goals for motivation every week. We could have bible challenges related to the lesson that Saturday and give ourselves deadlines to accomplish these tasks and at the end of the week, share our progress - Vincent.

We should get to know each other more than just church friends and help each other learn and like what Vincent said, every week we should have a talk about how our week went and our problems and tell each other how we can get over that. And for the people in Dallas, going to do action like door to door would be really good. - Alex (later after meeting).

So in summary, there were several words that left an impact: together, daily life, evangelism, fellowship, hands on learning, and others. This amounts to two simple, yet very broad goals:

Fellowship and Action.

I have high hopes for this J2 class and through love, prayer, and reliance on God, I hope we can become part of the front line that will do its part to transform this church into a powerful, living church. Thank you all for sharing and I hope we can keep one another in our prayers!

Prayer Request: Steiner Ranch Fire (Austin, Texas)

Please pray for the safety of our Austin family in Christ, Stephen and Angel Jang, and their two toddler sons, Austin and Gabriel as the fire is only 45% contained as of this afternoon.  The Jang's, along with other residents in the community, has been evacuated out of the area.  May our Lord give them comfort, peace and healing amidst the disaster.  


For more information of the Steiner Ranch fire, please visit: http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/steiner-rach-fire-information

Philippians 2:1-4

"Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."

Prelude: Tapping into the Source

At first I really didn't know HOW it happened.

How when one person said, "we should have more fellowships this year." someone else said, "Yeah!  Let's have one tomorrow!" and everyone just agreed to it.  How at 5pm my door bell rang, you showed up one after another, and I didn't have to wonder in an empty house if people were still coming. How we had a full attendance.  How not a single person was missing.  How you made finding a ride seem like a piece of cake, no matter the distance.  And how everyone had so much zeal and love for God, yet we didn't seem to notice before?  

At the end, when I reflect upon it.  I realize it was God who was in the works.  
Did you feel His presence, too?

The time is now.  Tap into the Source and find our strength together.  


"For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you.  For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus:  that if One died for all, then all died." 
(2 Corinthians 5:13-14) 

A New Beginning

Sunday 9/4 J2 Fellowship

Time: 5-9pm
Location: Chang's

1) Discuss goals and plans for 2011-2012.
2) Dinner
3) Outdoor activities in community pool, basketball & tennis court. Sorry I can't provide you with any equipments because we have a pretty unathletic household (except maybe Jeremy..) so please BYOB (B as in ball). I can lend you towels if you want to swim.

If you need a ride, please contact me through FB, email or phone. (214) 755-7372

See you tomorrow!