Teen Service ...

Here are a few pictures from our Teen Service, yesterday, March 16th, during our PM Service.The teens led in Worship;

Shared personal testimonies of how they are growing in Christ,

or being challenged in their relationship with Him,

and performed a skit called "The Crate Escape," portraying how we become "trapped" in our own sin. Here "Mr. Hunter" is luring his prey by their curiosities.

Alonna has been trapped by sinful desires. Her friend, Chelsea, says, "You got yourself into this mess, you get yourself out." Alonna is then met by several people who attempt to help her get out of her predicament.
Then she is met by a New Age "friend" who is trying to help her "believe" the box is not there, and then she will be "free."
The next "friend" comes along and tells her that if she gives him all of her worldly possessions, including her money, then he will "free" her. (Then he takes off, of course.)
Next, along comes a Preacher, who makes her feel that "God hates your kind, you sinner."
Along comes another person, also stuck in a box, who is simply choosing to deal with and live in her box, without hope of getting out of her "stinky" situation.
Another "friend" tries to convince her to burn up the box, so she can escape, which would harm her obviously, so she said NO.

Alonna's next friend is battling against Mr. Hunter, but she claims the power of Christ to defeat him, and he falls back away from her.

Finally, a believer, who has been freed from her "box" of sin, shares the Gospel with Alonna and encourages her to live in her newness in Christ. All of the other people tried to show her ways to become "free," but only a real relationship with Jesus Christ can set us free from our bondage to sin.

Alonna is so excited that she has been released from her "trap" of sin, that she can't wait to share the good news with others who are also trapped.

Bart concluded the service by a short challenge including Genesis 4:6-7, which says, "Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

Romans 6:1-2 says, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"

vs. 6 goes on to say, "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin."

Finally, vs. 11 says, "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."

The teens did a great job presenting the skit during the service! Several people were encouraged by this service. There was even one man there, who has never attended before I don't believe, that came up to Bart at the end of the service and said, "When that box came off at the end, I just about lost it, because that's exactly how it felt for me when I was freed from my past life of sin!" What a powerful testimony from a fairly new believer who was impacted by this skit, on the "chance" that he happened to be in our service Sunday night. (He was invited by another man who has been attending our church recently. This other man has recently been diagnosed with Lymphoma. He is only 29 years old.) God is so good! We give Him the honor and glory for His work that He is doing in people's lives.

Thank you for your continued prayers for us in our ministry. We really appreciate them!