Sep
7
This Thursday we will continue to study and develop our own biblical worldview. Over the last two weeks we have discussed the importance of a biblical worldview as it is the source by which we speak, act, and make decisions. In order to have a biblical worldview we must have a correct understanding of God, man, truth, knowledge, and morality. This week we will be studying the view of man. We will examine four important questions about man: who is man? what is man’s nature? what is man’s purpose? And what is man’s destiny? We will spend time studying scripture to help form a correct biblical worldview to these questions. In addition, we will look at a few opposing worldviews to these questions and discuss how our belief about man has a tremendous affect on our speech, actions, and decisions in life.
Posted in Youth
Posted by Phil
Aug
31
This Thursday we will be examining the biblical worldview of God. We will be discussing what the Bible teaches about God to ensure that we understand and hold to a correct biblical worldview. In addition, we will contrast the correct biblical worldview of God with other common beliefs about God to help us understand how our beliefs differ from those around us.
Posted in Youth
Posted by Phil
Aug
23
This Thursday, we will examine the importance of a worldview. The American Heritage Dictionary defines a worldview as, “A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group.” All that anyone says or does derives from their worldview. Jesus described it best in Luke 6:45, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” All of our thoughts and deeds are produced from our beliefs held deep within our heart. Therefore, it is extremely important that we have an accurate belief system that is aligned with reality. Over the next month, we will be examining the major components of a worldview: God, man, truth, knowledge, and morality. In this process we will be challenged to develop a stronger biblical worldview and learn how to tactfully and respectfully interact with others who hold to differing and inconsistent worldviews.
Posted in Youth
Posted by Phil
Aug
17
Our middle and high school students will be meeting on Thursday nights from 7:00-8:30 in the youth room at EV Free. The campus is located at 341 North Lake Street, Hemet, CA 92544
Posted in Youth
Posted by Phil
Jul
11
The transition to Emmaus Christian Fellowship has involved some major changes for the members of our congregation and this has included students in our Youth Ministry. After leaving BFC we have since been meeting as the Jr. High group on Tuesday nights at the Zerebny household from 7-8:30pm and as a the Sr. High group at the Vanderschuit household on Wednesday nights from 7-8:30pm. It has been encouraging to see the commitment and flexibility of our students as we have learned to adjust to Youth outside, without projectors for worship through music, and sometimes sitting on the grass. However, as time has progressed we have realized that there are still changes that need to be made.
Starting Tuesday, July 19th both the Jr. High and Senior High Youth Ministries will be combining to meet on Tuesday nights at the Zerebny’s house from 7-8:30pm. One of the primary reasons for this switch is due to the fact that I will be leaving in the fall to start school at BIOLA University.
For the last two years I have been blessed to have the opportunity to work in Youth Ministry while attending MSJC, but the time has come for me to transfer to a four year university in order to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies. The university that I have chosen is BIOLA, located in La Mirada (1.5 hours outside of Hemet). As a result it would be difficult for me to serve as the Sr. High Director of Youth Ministry and perform well in school. So, starting in August I will no longer be in a leadership position with the Youth Ministry at Emmaus. Phil Anady will serve as the Director of Youth Ministry and oversee both Jr. and Sr. High on Tuesday nights. My goal is to stay in contact as much as possible while at school, attempting to come back to visit students on Tuesday or Sunday night at least once a month, as well as communicate with them through facebook and other medias. It is my hope to return to working in the Youth Ministry should my schedule in the future allow it.
This has not been an easy decision to make. I have enjoyed each moment with these students and I have been blessed to see many of them grow in their walk with Jesus Christ. I consider it a great blessing to be a part of the work that God has done in their lives. However, I am comforted in the fact that I know they are in good hands. Phil is an excellent teacher and a compassionate leader. I know that God will use Phil to continue the work that He has started in these students lives. I look forward to seeing and hearing what God is doing with the Youth Ministry at Emmaus Christian Fellowship in the years to come.
Posted in Youth
Posted by Phil
May
27
Recently, because of much talk about the biblical truths of Calvinism, there have been questions regarding our approach to these doctrines in the Youth Ministry at both the junior high and high school levels. Our approach is to rightly handle the word of God by teaching the biblical truths revealed in scripture while respecting the age and emotional state of our students. It is not, nor has it ever been, our intention to systematically teach our students the five points of Calvinism. Our junior high and high school ministries are centered on teaching God’s word exegetically, verse by verse, book by book; therefore, these topics arise and have to be addressed, to a certain extent. When this occurs, we must use wisdom and discernment on how to clearly and honestly present God’s truth while respecting the age and spiritual level of the believer, especially the junior high students. We believe that the junior high students should be taught the doctrine of totally depravity (sin has made man completely spiritually dead) while graciously and gently handling the other points, should they arise in a passage of study. With the increase in age and maturity, we believe these doctrines can be handled a little differently for the high school students. While remaining sensitive and respectful of their age, we believe that students should be exposed to these doctrines as they come up in our weekly study of scripture. Though these truths may be difficult to understand, we believe that respectfully and lovingly discussing these issues is an extremely healthy activity for our high school students. We want to have a youth ministry that spurs students on to thinking, asking questions, and learning how to come to their own conclusions through the combination of personal study of scripture and consideration of insights from other believers. Our desire for our students is that, upon their graduations, they leave our ministry having been thoroughly taught the word of God, having established a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and ready to be ambassadors for Christ at their colleges, in their places of work, and to their friends and families.
Posted in Articles Church Life Doctrine of Salvation Family Theology
Posted by Phil
