jesus culture rocks. that's the name of the youth ministry of Bethel Church in Redding, CA. here's one of my new favorite songs (although it's not their own, their version rocks!).



Verse 1:
See His love nailed onto a cross
Perfect and blameless life given as sacrifice
See Him there all in the name of love
Broken yet glorious, all for the sake of us

Chorus:
This is Jesus in His glory
King of Heaven dying for me
It is finished, He has done it
Death is beaten, Heaven beckons me

Verse 2:
Greater love no one could ever show
Mercy so undeserved, freedom I should not know
All my sin, all of my hidden shame
Died with Him on the cross, eternity won for us

Bridge:
Such love, such love
Such love is this for me (repeat)

our final TLC meeting was quite memorable.

first we had a delicious BBQ at a really nice patio. here's a pic of the lovely ladies of Alchemy TLC.



Top Row (L-R): Boae, Heesun, Julie
Lower Row (L-R): Mara, Yoonie, Erica, Jessica, Raine

next, we went to Jason & Heesun's place. they were kind enough to host us. they have a beautiful place. there, we gave out gag gifts to each member of our TLC. we assigned every member a body part; after all, we are all members of Christ's body. theresa did an awesome job and assigning body parts and writing something nice for each person. here are a few members and their gifts. can you guess which body part each person was?



that's kil & his moleskine notebooks. of course, he is the 'mind' of our TLC. always thinking, always writing.



theresa, our reliable core, got the twister game. hmm, i don't remember what body part she was- i guess she's just very flexible and quite fit as well.



my wonderful co-leader julie received twizzlers! darn it, i also forget what she was! but she was awesome all year, and she complemented me well.



this dude i remember. young represented the hands of our body because he's so good with them and he's always ready to serve.



haha. yes, i'm the bubbles man. i was chosen to be the lungs of our group. i loved how theresa said that i breathe life into the group. "just like the Red song," i thought. hehe, awesome!

afterwards, we taped our own construction paper to our backs. then we wrote encouraging notes on each other's paper. i was VERY encouraged by a lot of things my members wrote for me. some pics:



 



what a great way to end our TLC. it was my first year leading, and i'm so thankful that i had such wonderful brothers and sisters in my group. we had a lot of great memories and milestones. during the year, we had one marriage, one new baby, one sent off to missions, one new job, one new business-to-be-opened and many students finishing their school years!
here's to Alchemy TLC!!!!! God bless all of you

i just watched a very convicting sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church entitled "Worship: God Transforms."
here are the full notes.. the most convicting part is the set of questions he asked regarding the idols in your life..

i encourage you to go through them.. a few of them really hit me (i put them in italics). time to throw all idols down!!!

Who/what are your external idols?

• Who/what is my Lord that rules over my life determining how I live?
• Who/what is my Judge I am living to earn the approval of?  
• Where do you give the firstfruits of your wealth?
• Where do you give the firstruits of your time?
• What people and things take the majority of your life?
• What do you plan and pray for?

 Who/what are your internal idols?

• What false beliefs do you hold about God?
• Which parts of Scripture do you deeply doubt or even disbelieve?
• Deep down in your heart who/what do you love, cherish, treasure, long for the most?
• Deep down in your heart who/what do you despise and hate the most?
• Who/what makes you happiest? Why?
• Who/what makes you saddest? Why?

Who/what is your mediator between you and God?

• Who or what other than Jesus do you use to get closer to God?
• Who or what if taken from your life would cause you to not walk as faithfully with God?
• How do you define yourself, especially when introducing yourself to others?

Where is your functional heaven?

• When daydreaming about escaping this life, what does your functional heaven look like and how is it different from the real heaven?
• On earth, where do you run for your safety or comfort as your hiding place (e.g. the fridge, alcohol, the television, a person, a place, a hobby)?

Who/what is your functional savior?

• What is your picture of hell in this life (e.g. being single, not having children, being poor, etc.)?
• Who or what do you use to save you from what you fear (e.g. a relationship, children, money, shopping, sex, etc.)?

What good thing has become a god thing?

• Which idols are in your life that when appreciated and/or stewarded correctly are means of worship but have become objects of worship (e.g. work, family, health, friendship, pleasure, leisure, hobby, etc.)?
• If you could obtain or change one thing/person in your life what would that be?
• What idols am I selling to others?