redletteryouth

camp fundraiser at surf sample sale

2008-08-06T12:18:00.001-07:00

join us on saturday at 1pm for a camp fundraiser. we'll be selling
double decker tacos at the surf sample sale from 1-5pm.
so you can help a little, shop a little, help a little, shop a little, get the point?

You've Got Hell?

2008-08-06T11:47:00.000-07:00

Ok so i now admit that
i'm way too totally
immersed in our new series
"30 days to live".
I've been scouring the
internet for all
kinds of sites
relating to death,
faith, and dying and i came
across this one..
called You've Been Left Behind
<http://www.youvebeenleftbehind.com/>
Essentially, these folks offer a $40 yearly service that allows you
to compose and store up to 62 e-mails that will go to your unsaved
friends and loved ones (should you be taken in the Rapture) - and
give you one more chance to share that Jesus is their only hope of
salvation.

In a word…wow.

Now I know that you're reheheheally thinking that I'm kidding.

Nope. Fer real - www.youvebeenleftbehind.com
<http://www.youvebeenleftbehind.com/>

OK - so people are concerned about what might
happen to their loved
ones and friends left on earth after the Rapture.
I get that. What I
do not get is the methodology here.
What about a letter like, right
now? And do you think that if millions of people
disappeared in a
flash that people would need a post-disaster
Captain Obvious e-mail
to let them know what happened?

And are we assuming that the internet will be
fully functioning on
the heels of the greatest human disaster in history???
Heck, mine
goes out every couple days in perfect conditions -
I'm thinking that
the Rapture might cause a few servers to go down.

My thought is this: take the $40 and take your friends or
family
members out to lunch. Tell them in a non-condescending and
non-judgmental way about how Christ has completely
changed your life
and given you the hope of heaven when you die.

Oh - and also let them know why Christians who
believe in the
Rapture aren't all crazy-as-a-sack-full-of-ferrets
trolls.

Unfortunately this reputation can sometimes be
well deserved, but
that's not because of a belief in the Rapture -
rather the point and
laugh behavior that ensues from mostly well meaning believers.

Maybe you're not sure why many Christians believe
in the Rapture?
Perhaps you've heard that the word ‘rapture'
isn't in the Bible,
and the whole idea of Christians disappearing
from the earth is just
a recent idea?

The word ‘rapture' is from the Latin ‘rapio' -
meaning to ‘be
caught up' - which is used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
So yes, it is
specifically used in the Latin translation
of the Bible, and the
concept is very clear.

So what about the idea of believers booking out of
planet earth in
one main event being a recent trend?

Well I guess, if you believe Jesus' teachings are
recent ideas:

And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man
is coming will appear
in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning
among all the peoples
of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man
coming on the clouds
of heaven with power and great glory.
And he will send out his angels
with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen
ones from all over the world —from the farthest
ends of the earth
and heaven. When the Son of Man returns,
it will be like it was in
Noah's day. In those days before the flood,
the people were enjoying
banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time
Noah entered
his boat. People didn't realize what was going to
happen until the
flood came and swept them all away.
That is the way it will be when
the Son of Man comes.

“Two men will be working together in the field;
one will be taken,
the other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill;
one will
be taken, the other left. Matthew 24:30-31; 37-41.

The Apostle Paul makes a clear statement about the
rapture as well:

We tell you this directly from the Lord:

We who are still living when the Lord returns
will not meet him
ahead of those who have died. For the Lord
himself will come down
from heaven with a commanding shout, with the
voice of the archangel,
and with the trumpet call of God. First, the
Christians who have died
will rise from their graves. Then, together with them,
we who are
still alive and remain on the earth will be
caught up in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
So encourage each other with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18.

At face value - it almost seems unbelievable
that an event like this
could take place. But of course, the idea that
the God of the universe
would wrap Himself in flesh, and die for our sins
is mind-boggling as
well - right? And the fact that ‘smart' and ‘rational'
people
poke fun at us for believing in the rapture
does not make it untrue.
The thing to remember is that the truth about
the rapture is intended
to be a source of hope and comfort for Christians -
not a way to judge
and condemn others.

Make no mistake - Jesus Christ will return - and the biggest
question you should be asking is not
‘should I get an e-mail ready
to send after I'm gone?' - rather it is ‘
how can I best prepare for
this incredible event?'. In other words,
live each day like Jesus is
returning at any minute.
What if you knew He was coming in 30 days?
and you only had 30 days to live?

Because He just might!

i kissed a girl and she uhh...

2008-07-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

It's pretty much inevitable that sometime this summer you'll hear Katy Perry's hit single "I Kissed a Girl" blaring out of someone's car, at Pearl Ridge, or while you're pumping gas, or buying a smoothie, or tying your shoe, or picking out which cereal to eat for breakfast. I literally heard the song about 14 umpbillion times while in Vegas.
Now to be honest I wasn't even going to give this topic any of my time...
because there is so much media coverage about this song already, whether it be the fact that she was once a christian artist, that she is the daughter of not 1 but 2 pastors or the fact that the lyrics are so blatantly perverse
(if you haven't read the lyrics here they are...read them at your own discretion)
http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/k/katy_perry/i_kissed_a_girl.html
However, it stirred within me a spiritual need that so many of us often times don't think is really dangerous, the need is the feeling to belong...to anyone.
In a quote from 2004 Katy Perry says, "I'm completely outrageous and I'll do anything for attention!" now this just screams of someone who is unsatisfied with their pathetic life.
Here's the simple truth about what's happening to Katy Perry- she's selling her spirit of truth for a spirit of lies. It's no secret that "sex" sells, however- what is happening in today's culture is that "gay and lesbian" sex is being peddled to a much younger audience than it ever has in history. Now don't get wrong...I believe that all selling of sex is wrong. I don't care if sex between a man and a man, a woman and a woman, a woman and the color orange, whatever...it's the fact that Katy Perry knows it sells so she's selling to a market. Who could blame her? Her single is uber hot right now, she's gotten an elephant's ton of press and she's rakin' in the dough. But at what cost...? Personally, if I were gay, which i'm not, i would be totally offended that she is using the whole nuance of "bi-curiousity" to sell her records. The gay community has fought a hard battle to earn rights here in America. A lot of them claiming that, you cannot become "gay" but that you are born that way. Songs and people like Katy Perry are trivilizing the gay community saying that you cna be "bi-curious" which I believe does not exist.
However there is a light of hope...
On the same album as "i Kissed a Girl" is a song called Lost of which has the following lyrics...

"Have you ever been so lost
Known the way and still so lost ...
My mother says I should come back home but
Can't find the way cause the way is gone
So if I pray am I just sending words into outer space"

These words are from a person who doesn't know which way to turn.
These words are from a person who doesn't know who they are and are still searching.
These words are from someone who is desperate.

Where are you in all of this, are you disgusted? are you saddened? are you whatevers?
Taek some time today to pray for those who are searching like Katy is, to find her true self.
If you're one of those people, my prayer is that you would find Jesus and HE would help you find what's going on inside of you.
keep the faith, beck.

The Dark Night of Our World

2008-07-21T11:49:00.000-07:00

I can still remember my first
Batman
flick.
Before the movie even came out I had
read the book
a ton of times. I was so excited to see
Jack Nicholson play the joker and for
Michael Keaton to play the caped
superhero.
The first movie was great, but
inevitably
the franchise was
doomed as soon as George Clooney strapped on the cape
and "ahnold"
ruined everything.

Now it's 2008, and just a few years
after the new Batman Begins, we
have a decidedly different Dark Knight.
Christian Bale brings the
full power and range of his amazing acting skills
to create perhaps
the baaaadest Batman yet.

What makes him so bad? Well, as usual he has
awesome toys to help
his crime fighting skills, but he also does a
masterful job of
portraying the unflinching courage and
unrelenting sense of justice
that every superhero must have.

And then there's the Joker.

All due respect to previous actors who
played the Joker, but when
you compare them to Heath Ledger, they
come up…well…as clowns.

Ledger didn't play the Joker, he became the Joker.
A maniacal
borderline sinister villain who's only pleasure
is found in the pain
of others. He has no fear of death, and his
obvious goal is to bring
every other human being into the emotional
abyss where he dwells…or
simply to end their lives in the cruelest way possible.

Is it possible that in the real world there
exists a form of pure
evil? I would guess that most would
agree - citing examples like
Adolph Hitler or the 9/11 terrorists. But what about
an evil that is
even beyond that? Is there an entity that,
by comparison, lessens
even the specter of wickedness cast by Nazi's
and terrorists?

I believe there is such a creature. In fact
it is this being who is
directly or indirectly responsible for all the
pain, death, and
destruction we witness on a regular basis.

The Bible has many names and descriptions for him.
You would know
him by the title of ‘The Devil', or Satan.
Like the Joker, he comes
at you with a smile on his face - but murder in his heart.

Make no mistake - Satan is real,
or Jesus Christ is a liar. Here's
what our Savior said:

You are the children of your father,
the Devil, and you want to
follow your father's desires. From the
very beginning he was a
murderer and has never been on the side of truth,
because there is no
truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is only doing what
is natural to
him, because he is a liar and the father of all lies .
(John 8: 44).

This doesn't sound like a myth or a made up
personification of evil
to me. Satan is mentioned from Genesis through
Revelation, and
believe me, he loves it when people write
his existence off as a
medieval legend that only stupid people still believe.

What is stupid is to underestimate Satan.
The ‘joke' that he is
trying to play on you is to believe his lies.
For example:

There is no God.
There is no hell.
There is no price for disobeying God.
There are many ways to heaven.
There is nothing wrong with lying, cheating,
hating, lusting, or
anything else you feel will bring you
pleasure or happiness.
If there is a God, He doesn't love you
and can't forgive you.

And I could write a few hundred or even
thousands of other ways he
lies, and tricks, and deceives.

Why? Because he hates us. We are humans created
in the image of God
and the object of His special love. Jesus
gave His life so we could
live forever with Him in heaven, but Satan would
rather see us
accompany him to hell at the final judgment.

So if you end up seeing The Dark Knight - enjoy the film -
and let
the images and feelings of incomprehensible evil
that the Joker
imprints on your soul remind you that
the biggest Joker of them all
waits for you just outside the theater door.

But don't be freaked out, because you can (and should!)
defend
yourself every day. Here's the advice God gives us:

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his
mighty power. Put on
all of God's armor so that you will be
able to stand firm against all
strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against
flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers
and authorities of
the unseen world, against mighty powers
in this dark world, and
against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Therefore, put on every piece of God's
armor so you will be able to
resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then
after the battle you will
still be standing firm. Stand your ground,
putting on the belt of
truth and the body armor of God's righteousness.
For shoes, put on
the peace that comes from the Good News so
that you will be fully
prepared. In addition to all of these, hold
up the shield of faith to
stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on
salvation as your helmet,
and take the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.
Stay alert
and be persistent in your prayers
for all believers everywhere.
(Ephesians 6:10-18).

God's spiritual body armor is better
than any toy in any Batman
movie - and believe me, you'll need every piece
and every prayer if
you want to survive the dark night that
Satan has brought to this
world.
keep the faith: beck.

camp3 graphic number 1 revealed!

2008-06-12T19:38:00.000-07:00

ATARI movie? oh what a wonderful world...

2008-06-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

Leonardo DiCaprio has signed on to star in a biopic about the greatest man of the last 100 years: the guy who invented the Atari. No word yet on who's slated to play Donkey Kong, but my money's on Jordan Segundo ...

Surf Meet Community Outreach

2008-06-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone help us serve food to the men, women, and child of our HEROIC armed forces! we'll be hangin' out at barber's point serving food during the surf meet on JUNE 21st, 2008. You can sign up at service on sunday night.

NEW series Fanatic

2008-06-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

for the next 2 weeks we'll look at what is getting your worship...besides what should be.

Lego my lego!

2008-04-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

For your viewing pleasure, here are 33 of the most amazing Lego creations you'll ever see ...

only in jersey...

2008-04-15T20:43:00.000-07:00

thank God i'm from Philly because two teens from New Jersey were arrested when a teacher found what he believed to be a hit list from the two boys. The boys' first mistake: Targeting the Walker Texas Ranger. (Enter Chuck Norris facts.) ...

curious george?

2008-04-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

Swinging from trees, eating bananas, wearing diapers, potentially traveling to Mars; Why do monkeys get to have all the fun? This article talks about some of the tests being done to prepare monkeys for a Mars expedition ...i wonder what member of our youth group i'd like to send to Mars...sounds like a great new poll question to me...check it out...

fundraiser

2008-04-11T16:59:00.001-07:00

we have a fundraiser comin' up this week friday and sunday

new blogspot

2008-04-11T16:57:00.001-07:00

welcome welcome! feed this page to your myspace- so you can check out what's going on!