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Some Wise Stuff (Thanks Bradley Anderson)

1. There are plenty of ways to enter a pool. The stairs is not one of them. 2. Never cancel dinner plans by text message. 3. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it. 4. If a street performer makes you stop walking, you owe him a buck. 5. Always use ‘we’ when referring to your home team or your government. 6. When entrusted with a secret, keep it. 7. Don’t underestimate free throws in a game of ‘horse’. 8. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. 9. Don’t dumb it down. 10. You only get one chance to notice a new haircut. 11. If you’re staying more than one night, unpack. 12. Never park in front of a bar. 13. Expect the seat in front of you to recline. Prepare accordingly. 14. Keep a picture of your first fish, first car, and first boy/girlfriend. 15. Hold your heroes to a high standard. 16. A suntan is earned, not bought. 17. Never lie to your doctor. 18. All guns are loaded. 19. Don’t mention sunburns. Believe me, they know. 20. The best way to show thanks is to wear it. Even if it’s only once. 21. Take a vacation of your cell phone, internet, and TV once a year. 22. Don’t fill up on bread, no matter how good. 23. A handshake beats an autograph. 24. Don’t linger in the doorway. In or out. 25. If you choose to go in drag, don’t sell yourself short. 26. If you want to know what makes you unique, sit for a caricature. 27. Never get your hair cut the day of a special event. 28. Be mindful of what comes between you and the Earth. Always buy good shoes, tires, and sheets. 29. Never eat lunch at your desk if you can avoid it. 30. When you’re with new friends, don’t just talk about old friends. 31. Eat lunch with the new kids. 32. When traveling, keep your wits about you. 33. It’s never too late for an apology. 34. Don’t pose with booze. 35. If you have the right of way, take it. 36. You don’t get to choose your own nickname. 37. When you marry someone, remember you marry their entire family. 38. Never push someone off a dock. 39. Under no circumstances should you ask a woman if she’s pregnant. 40. It’s not enough to be proud of your ancestry; live up to it. 41. Don’t make a scene. 42. When giving a thank you speech, short and sweet is best. 43. Know when to ignore the camera. 44. Never gloat. 45. Invest in good luggage. 46. Make time for your mom on your birthday. It’s her special day, too. 47. When opening presents, no one likes a good guesser. 48. Sympathy is a crutch, never fake a limp. 49. Give credit. Take blame. 50. Suck it up every now and again. 51. Never be the last one in the pool. 52. Don’t stare. 53. Address everyone that carries a firearm professionally. 54. Stand up to bullies. You’ll only have to do it once. 55. If you’ve made your point, stop talking. 56. Admit it when you’re wrong. 57. If you offer to help don’t quit until the job is done. 58. Look people in the eye when you thank them. 59. Thank the bus driver. 60. Never answer the phone at the dinner table. 61. Forgive yourself for your mistakes. 62. Know at least one good joke. 63. Don’t boo. Even the ref is somebody’s son. 64. Know how to cook one good meal. 65. Learn to drive a stick shift. 66. Be cool to younger kids. Reputations are built over a lifetime. 67. It’s okay to go to the movies by yourself. 68. Dance with your mother/father. 69. Don’t lose your cool. Especially at work. 70. Always thank the host. 71. If you don’t understand, ask before it’s too late. 72. Know the size of your boy/girlfriend’s clothes. 73. There is nothing wrong with a plain t-shirt. 74. Be a good listener. Don’t just wait for your turn to talk. 75. Keep your word. 76. In college, always sit in the front. You’ll stand out immediately. 77. Carry your mother’s bags. She carried you for nine months. 78. Be patient with airport security. They’re just doing their jobs. 79. Don’t be the talker in a movie. 80. The opposite sex likes people who shower. 81. You are what you do, not what you say. 82. Learn to change a tire. 83. Be kind. Everyone has a hard fight ahead of them. 84. An hour with grandparents is time well spent. Ask for advice when you need it. 85. Don’t litter. 86. If you have a sister, get to know her boyfriend. Your opinion is important. 87. You won’t always be the strongest or the fastest. But you can be the toughest. 88. Never call someone before 9am or after 9pm. 89. Buy the orange properties in Monopoly. 90. Make the little things count. 91. Always wear a bra at work. 92. There is a fine line between looking sultry and slutty. Find it. 93. You’re never too old to need your mom. 94. Ladies, if you make the decision to wear heels on the first date, commit to keeping them on and keeping your trap shut about how much your feet kill. 95. Know the words to your national anthem. 96. Your dance moves might not be the best, but I promise making a fool of yourself is more fun then sitting on the bench alone. 97. Smile at strangers. 98. Make goals. 99. Being old is not dictated by your bedtime. 100. If you have to fight, punch first and punch hard.

  Thanks and Kind Regards to Bradley Anderson, from whom I stole these 100 things  (see his original post here https://www.facebook.com/BradleyJAnderson/posts/10151850530709359 )

xxx 2.0

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An amazing song from the new Hillsong United album, Zion. If you have a chance, go check out their other songs as well. Enjoy!

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The Power of a Whisper

When last

did you unplug your ears of noise

did you lose yourself in the joy

of hearing God’s earth

  When last

Did you sit upon God’s gentle green carpets

And listen to the creatures

butter up their meadows with love

and gentle care

  When last

did you revel in the gift of hearing

and sit in the naked world

exhilarating your senses

as the sounds of water and breezes

gently caress your ears

  When last

did you inoculate yourself

against the sounds of the place

we call ”home”?

-  the dissonance of traffic

and music and electronics

  Relish your senses!

let earths silence engulf you

treat yourself

to a selection from God’s soundtrack

-  the cui cui by Pauraque

or the drone by the crickets, perhaps?

  For God was not in the wind,

God was not in the earthquake,

and God was not in the fire,

but God,

was in the gentlest of whispers.

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Midweek update

Wow, you blink and its already Wednesday! I hope it is still going well with those writing exams :) I will send out an sms tomorrow letting you all know whats going on this weekend, but there will definitely be Amped on Sunday :) Hope to see you all there! And if you have anything to share, please do share! There is a section especially for that called "Your Submissions", and it just waiting to be used! If you need help with anything or just want to go out for coffee and talk, please contact us so we can help you! That is what we are here for! You can email us (ampedgw@gmail.com) or phone us or facebook us or mention us on twitter or whatsapp us or even bbm us! 

See you soon!

xxx 2.0

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Hi All!

I hope you all are having a great Sunday, wherever you are :) Good luck to all those who are writing exams! There is no Connect on a Friday until the 8th of August, so hang in there, and in the meantime, join us for Amped on a Sunday morning upstairs! :)

xxx 2.0

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These are plates we broke a while back. The pictures might be old, but it was a pretty fun night :) So take your problems, write them on a glass or plate, and go smash it! Make sure to get permission from your parents before you break their favourite china though, and don't forget to clean up the broken pieces afterwards! Its a good way to break through issues you might have, and even a pretty cool party / hanging out idea :) Have fun!

xxx2.0

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I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

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Another cool song that sometimes plays as you come up to Amped :)

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Awesome song that I got from 1.0 earlier this year :) enjoy!

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Main Service with Bradley Anderson

We had the awesome Bradley Anderson take our Youth run main service. He told us all about Grace - as our name is GraceWell... Here are my notes on what he said -->

Grace is for everyone. Gods love is for everyone. God loves everyone before we even have the chance to love Him back.  Then, when we love Him back, we have the awesome opportunity to live in and live out His grace and practice His grace and love on other people, thereby blessing them. 

1 Titus 2:11 - For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

Ephesians 2:4-5 - But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. 

Sometimes we consciously walk towards sin, but Jesus pursues us with His love and His grace. He is like the lifeguard who comes to save us. But just like the lifeguard who comes to save us, we have to accept his help - His grace. When we accept it, we can be saved. Jesus runs after us and catches us with His grace, love and salvation.

Some people just dont want to be saved. They get comfortable where they are with things that make them worldly happy (if that makes sense). For example, you could give a guy rooted in the world a big TV with a sports channel, some not-so-appropriate movies and beer, and he would probably be happy for a long time. Because he doesnt know he can get better. He thinks this is as good as it gets. (Theres literally a movie about that.)

Imagine a little kid sitting playing in the mud. Their mom comes along, and says "lets go to the beach", but the kid doesn't want to, because they have never been to the beach and assume that the mud is better. Jesus wants to take us to the beach, because it is so much better than where we are at right now - we just don't know it yet.

Ephesians 2:8-10 - "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared for us in advance to do."

1 Corinthians 7:23 - "You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings."

Gods grace regenerates us and helps us live new lives.

Grace is the basis for these things:

Our Christian Identity - 1 Corinthians 15:10 "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them - yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me."

Standing before God - We are able to stand before God and speak with Him because of the grace that is Jesus Christ

Behaviour -  2 Corinthians 1:12 - "Now this is our boast - our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God's grace." 

Living - Romans 5:17 "for if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!" 1 Peter 3:7 "Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers." 2 Timothy 1:9 "He has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us by Christ Jesus before the beginning of time." Hebrews 13:9 "Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened with grace, not by eating ceremonial foods,  which is of no benefit to those who do so."

Way of Speaking

Serving - 1 Peter 4:10 "Each of you should use whatever  gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." Grace comes to us through other people. Sometimes, letting others serve you also serves them.

Sufficiency - 2 Corinthians 9:12 "But He said to me, "'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect by weakness."' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 9:8 "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all things that you need, you will abound in every good work."

Response to Suffering - Hebrews 4:16 "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." 1 Peter 5:10 "And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

Our Participation in God's Mission - We were saved with a purpose. To grow and mature, and help grow our local churches. We all have a purpose and talents. Lets use them to work on the plan that God has laid out for us.

Future - We always freak out about the future because we don't have it in control. But we don't have to have everything under control - Jesus has everything planned out to the tiniest details for us. He has it under control - we have no need to worry. We have hope in Jesus, and to have hope is grace. We rest our hope on the grace of God. 

Romans 5:12 "just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." It is by grace that we get to spend eternity with God. 

Grace empowers us right now - at work, home, school, and family life. Don't block grace - let it empower you.

And don't take your grace lightly. It cost God His only son. A bigger price than we can ever imagine was paid so that we may have grace. SPend some time thinking about that. 

xxx 2.0

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Hi All!

I am SO sorry for the lack of communication! We have been having serious internet issues (no names mentioned...) but this Sunday I will update you on EVERYTHING! There is no CONNECT tonight, but there is Amped on Sunday, so please come join us for the next Twisted video with Andy Stanley! There is also a Highland Gethering on the go, so on Sunday you can bring some small change for pancakes up at the pavillion :)

Thanks for your patience!

xxx Mich 2.0

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CONNECT Tomorrow

Hi all!!

CONNECT tomorrow night from 7pm to 9pm at the GraceWell Ministry Centre :) Bring your bibles and please feed yourselves as there is no dinner :)

See you there!

xxx Mich 2.0

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Twisting The Truth - Mistakers vs Sinners

Yesterday we started a series called "Twisted" by Andy Stanley. The video was called "The Source of Deception" and was all about Mistakers verses Sinners. 

Satan likes us to twist sin into "just a mistake". You don't get punished for a mistake after all. You don't hold a mistake against someone; a mistake does not require forgiveness; and you certainly don't feel guilt over a mistake because, in a way,it wasn't even your fault . So we end up twisting everything into mistakes - from the smallest things to the biggest, we squish them into the mistake category.

If your a mistaker, then you don't need a saviour. People don't like to call themselves sinners. They don't like to think that they have been doing sinful things. It makes it easier on themselves to call those sins mistakes.    Mistakers dont need a saviour - they just need to try harder next time.

But "mistakers" have made intentional mistakes. They knew exactly what they were doing! They have done it before, and are probably hoping to do it again!

Read Matthew 5:17-44. Jesus was preaching a contradicting message - You're terrible but God loves you. Mistakers hated Him - Jesus made them feel really bad about themselves. But sinners loved Him because He gave them hope.

Jesus was telling them they they were worse off than they thought they were. He was telling them that if they even imagined committing a sin then they were guilty of it.  Jesus really raised the bar. There is no hope for you if it depends on you and your righteousness. 

We cannot live up to the laws of the old testament. Thats why we need Jesus - He fulfills the law. There is no way we can fix ourselves or make ourselves righteous on our own. There is no way into Heaven apart from through Jesus.

So are you a Sinner, or a Mistaker?  

xxx Mich 2.0 

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Hectic Week!

Hi all!!

So sorry for the lack of inflow into this blog this week - it was a very busy week for Cheeky and I!!

There IS connect tonight from 7pm to 9pm at the GraceWell Minstry centre :) No food though - so please feed yourselves either before or after!! (Don't want you all starving now...)

So go enjoy!! See you there :)

xxx Mich 2.0

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Anything to share?

Do you guys have anything to share? Songs, stories, testimony, favourite bible verse, anything? Please do share with us! You can share here, or on Twitter (@AmpedGW), or on Facebook, or email it to us (ampedgw@gmail.com) and we will post it for you! Don't be shy - If you really want us to, we will post it anonymously for you :) But please do share! You saw with Sunday's "Why Do I Believe" that it helps to encourage others :)

xxx Mich 2.0

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This is also one of my favourite songs. Kind of like a thank you from me to you for reading the last super loong post that took me 4 hours to write :)

xxx Mich 2.0

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Andrew Boake - Why I Believe

Good Day fellow youths!

Todays message was a longish one with Andrew, but you should all definitely read it!! It is titled "Why I Believe" :) There are references to books and such, but I will make that another post :)

1 Peter 3:15 "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."

Andrew is both a scientist (he often works with the University of Pretoria) and a local preacher. People often ask him how he can possibly do both. There are many important challenges that modern christians need to rise to, but don't. We need to find a way to clearly  give an answer with gentleness and respect, like it says in 1 Peter 3:15. 

We live in a world that is increasingly rejecting God. The world views religion as old-fashioned, narrow minded and unscientific. 

The book, "The God Delusion", says that Christians are satisfied with not understanding the world" and that"faith is belief in spite of the lack of evidence". They think that Christians switch off their brains, and are blind to the world. Thats not true at all! Many people, like St Augustine, C S Lewis, and Paul Little have shown the exact opposite. 

"I'll only believe it when I see it" is a common rebuttal nowadays.

Stephen Hawking is considered to have done the most important work on fundamental physics. (Just incase you didn't already know that). He believes, as many do, that science is on the way to explaining everything. He says "There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, and science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works."  "When we understand everything, we won't need God anymore". 

He accuses God of being the "God of the gaps". Scientists believe God is slowly disappearing as science fills the gaps. People are battling with this - they say they want God to prove Himself, as science has proved itself. People have even said to Andrew "You're a scientist. How do you reconcile your christianity with your science?"

How would you answer that question?

There is no need for a war between science and religion.

G K Chesterton said "the saddest thing about Christianity is not that it has been tried and found wanting, but that it has been found difficult and not tried". We have, as a world, found Christianity challenging and difficult, and are now rejecting it. We grasp onto things that we think will give us the right answers - remember the false vines we graft ourselves onto? Same thing.

They say to Andrew - "How do you achieve what you need to in life by living in submission to God, and in kindness to everyone? Life just doesn't work that way."

How do you share your hope, as in 1 Peter 3:15?

Heres an example from something you all should have seen at least one of - Big Bang Theory. Yes, this Big Bang Theory -

In season one, episode 4 (if anyone actually has this on like a hard drive or something, PLEASE share!) Leonard calls Sheldon's mom over because he got fired from his first job, and started going slightly crazy (well, as slightly crazy as Sheldon can get). Sheldon's mom comes over, and she is a caricature of a middle-aged American Christian, a lady who is absolutely sure that Jesus is the answer to everything, and that everyone needs to constantly be told. As they hold hands to pray, she tells Howard (a jewish raised guy) and Raj (a Hindu) that they don't have to participate unless the Holy Spirit moves them. 

I know they are mocking Christian mothers by putting her in the story like this, but she actually gets everything sorted out. She makes sheldon apologize to his boss and gets him his job back. But this episode is an interesting and funny example of science and religion colliding, again. 

There are levels of belief that God takes us on journeys through.

       1. The Prompting (Level One)                                                        We experience promptings/hints that there is something more in life. There are clues - fingerprints - everywhere in His creation. Psalm 19:1-4 says "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voices go out into all the earth, their words go to the ends of the world". We need to follow these prompts. Romans 1:20 says "for since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been so clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse". 

         2. Creator God (Level Two)                                                           Cosmology says the whole of science had a beginning - a creation period. Science and religion CAN be reconciled. The universe is carefully tuned to human life - it has fundamental constants that act like a "life" setting. People have argued and debated the Watchmaker Debate (you can google it and look at the wikipedia page - it has a lot of information), which can be summed up in one quote: "I cannot imagine how the clockwork of the universe can exist without a clockmaker". 

Science has some serious limits - it can only explain what we see around us. Einstein said "Physics cannot be held responsible for people falling in love. How on earth can you explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?" Science only explains how, it doesn't explain why.

So why do we believe? Its simple. We see God everywhere. We learn Gods word to be 100% accurate as we progress. 

           3. Personal God (Level Three)                                                        Scientists, as well as most people, talk about God, but rarely talk to God. God has us all in the palm of His hands. Gods word is the greatest source if truth we have. One of the best ways to do what is asked of us in 1 Peter 3:15 is to tell your own story as authentically as you can. 

We have to LISTEN to what God is saying to us. Its like God is saying "You've seen my handiwork - now its time to get to know Me personally!"

Share your story with other people. Tell them what God has done for you in your life. People need someone to tell them, otherwise they wont know who to trust. (Romans 10:14 "How then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?") 

Remember to share gently and with respect, so that people will find it better and easier to understand :)

I hope this has been helpful!! I know it was long, and I'm sorry if it was a little hard to understand in some places, but it was worth it :)

xxx Mich 2.0