Peter Nevland has been at Ben Davis’ 9th Grade Center the past couple days teaching creative writing workshops. Tonight he will perform at Chapel Rock with his wife, Vicki. Come experience Spoken Groove and interact with people from our community!

It’s coming! It’s coming! Our annual Fall Hayride is coming up two Sundays from now. Since it’s the day before Halloween, we’re shaking it up with a Costume Contest. Pick a theme as a small group this coming Sunday night (i.e. Star Wards, Ninjas, Breakfast Cereals, Super Heroes, ec.) and come dressed to win! There will be prizes awarded for the group that best rises to the challenge. We’ll leave Chapel Rock @ 4:00pm to catch the bus. We’ll return by 8:30. Guys bring a 2-liter, ladies bring a bag of chips. See you there!

 Registration is beginning! On January 13-16th, we’re joining other churches in the area and traveling up to Lake Ann, Michigan for a long weekend of snow tubing, skiing, worship, great teaching, getting to know your friends, and making some new ones, too! Register online or download the Registration Card. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Anne (awilson@chapelrock.org) or Nick (nwilkes@chapelrock.org).

We are starting a new series this weekend called RELEASE. We all want forgiveness, but we’re not always eager to give it out, are we? For some of us, there are some very big hurts that have a grip on our lives. Things that were done, or not done, that wounded us. Even the very memory of those things brings up the emotions as fresh as they were when they were new. So how do you move on? How do you get past the hurt and pain? And how do push past something you know you should do to the point where you can finally release it?

To access the Parent Cue for this series, click here. To see more resources on parenting, click here. And, as always, you are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings for our large-group time at The Vine. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact Nick (nwilkes@chapelrock.org) or Anne (awilson@chapelrock.org).

Parents & Jr. Highers! The Jr. High Journey deadline is THIS Sunday, September 26th. If you haven’t filled out a form, you can pick one up outside the Chapel on Sunday morning in the “Jr. High Events” slot. Turn it in to the lockbox in the back of the Chapel.

This past Sunday in The Vine, we learned that when it comes to growing our faith, doing, not knowing, is what makes the difference. During his lesson, Nick said, “Unapplied Scripture is like unapplied paint. You can have all the materials to pain a mural–paint, canvas, ability, paintbrush, etc., but unless you apply it–it’s pretty pointless.” When we read the Word, know the Word, but don’t apply it to our lives, what’s the point?

We then read 1 Timothy 4:12 (NLT), “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” As they looked forward, they saw empty paint cans spread throughout the room, each with a title on it: what you say, way you live, love, faith, & purity. Every can had different Scriptures inside that directly applied to those areas of our lives. Students had the opportunity to “apply some Scripture,” and after reflection and prayer, they came up and chose a verse out of the can and then wrote what area of their life they needed to “apply some paint” by writing that word on the canvas. God wants us to be an example in EVERY area of our lives.

So students, what Scripture did you memorize this week? And how have you applied it so far? Leave comments and let the conversation begin!

Come on out for theMIX tonight as we start out our school year learning what it REALLY means to GROW UP! We’ll be in the Chapel @ 7pm. Oh, and make sure your bring your Bible… and legos. Yep, seriously!

For more information on IHSAA Moratorium, click here.

“Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

Do you have a close enough relationship with the friends in our youth group that you could confess your sins to them? Would you trust them to treat your confession the right way? To keep it in confidence? To keep from judging you, but to instead lovingly help you deal with your sin? Would they do the same for you?

When James was writing to his audience, the Christ-followers in Jerusalem, they were an extremely close-knit group! They were meeting in people’s homes, and a small minority. The Book of Acts describes their fellowship as an intimate, personal group who were with each other constantly. In this context, confession of sin takes on something a little different than it can in a group that is not so close.

The early Christ-followers’ lives were so entwined with each other, they probably would know each other’s shortcomings before they even had to confess them. And they were compassionately concerned about each other. So they would seemingly have met their brother or sisters’ sin with grace and a spirit of help. Does this sound like you and your friends? If it does, awesome. If it doesn’t, it can. You can become closer spiritually. It is how God intends for us to interact.

As you continue this week in our challenge to only say things that build others up, we urge you to take steps in growing your relationships with one another.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4

What would you say to someone who told you the correct response to being dumped by a boyfriend or girlfriend was to laugh and smile? You’d probably tell them they were nuts.

Read James 1:2-4. Is James nuts? According to our previous example, he would be. Not so fast . . .

We would call someone “crazy” who had a reaction to something that was completely the opposite of a normal one. But what Scripture teaches us is that God’s ways are often the opposite of what you might expect. Consider it joy when face trials? How is that possible?

Facing difficulties because of being identified as a Christ-follower teaches us perseverance. It teaches us to take the hit and keep going. James says this perseverance is what helps us grow in our faith relationship with Christ. You want that, don’t you?

When you are made fun of or face trials because of your relationship with God, you are actually drawing closer to Him. So, embrace it. Don’t look for trials. And don’t run from them. Accept that being an outcast for the sake of Christ is part of following Christ. James says it’s actually a beneficial part of following Christ. Sounds nuts? Not quite . . .