Momentum 2010

By Pam Work

We have a saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. I think these pictures will generate more than a thousand words! Our Lighthouse Youth Group had a powerful week together with other youth groups from across the country as we gathered to worship God, pray for each other and listened to great speakers who spoke from the Bible to teach us valuable lessons from God. This event took place at Cedarville University in Ohio and there was as estimated 1,600 teens and adults gathered there.

The focus was “pursuit”…to pursue after God…to be a God chaser. Everyone was given the opportunity to look at themselves as either someone who wanted to be a servant for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, or someone who wanted to remain in their present state of heart. Teens and adults had opportunities to learn about ways to serve and then to actually serve the community around the university campus.

 

Our group chose to volunteer our time to work with an organization called Feed My Starving Children. We packed food to send to the orphaned children in Haiti. We packed enough nutrition to feed approximately 300 plus children one meal a day for an entire year!

As in the past years, we all came back to Frederick exhausted, re-focused, and energized to serve. God was present; the Holy Spirit was present and I believe not one person left Momentum 2010 unchanged.

Thank you to the GCC family for your continued support and love that you shower on the teens of our Lighthouse Youth Ministry.

Good Friday is GOOD!

By Pam Work

Easter is my favorite celebration. Easter, to me, is symbolic of new life, a fresh start. It is a celebration of hope and love for me. This day of celebration comes after a day we call “Good Friday”. My friend Matt Wheeland posts this question on his blog; “What is good about Good Friday”? I had to stop and think about this. My first thought was that I had to take the meaning of the word “good” a step further. I had to add dimension to this word. It couldn’t be a superficial meaning. It had to become deeper and personal. When you think about it, very little “good” is seen in the actual crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Jesus was beaten unmercifully. He was shamed and mocked. He suffered terribly for us because He is a faithful servant to His Father in Heaven. He was committed to the plan Father God set before Him. He didn’t look forward to the suffering; in fact He asked Father God to remove the suffering He was about to face. But then Jesus relinquished all His desire for the desire of the Father and said “not my will, but your will be done”.

I realized that this statement from Jesus, this plan of our Father God, this submission of Jesus is the good that took place on that day. It’s the good that will last for eternity. Can a believer look at the crucifixion and not be impacted by the brutality? I think not; however, I do think that a believer in Jesus can see the good that comes from the submission of Jesus.

Because Jesus loved us, because He is the Perfect One that carried out the Perfect Plan of Salvation, we can celebrate the good that follows His death. Without this day, Good Friday, where would we be today?