UPPER ROOM

Winterfest 2009

2009-10-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

Winterfest is December 27-31. Here is all the info that you need in case you missed it out youth group. Contact Pastor Al if you have any questions. Hope to see you at Winterfest 2009!

Winterfest Brochure

Winterfest Honeyrock Permission Form

Winterfest Medical Permission Form

2009-08-14T09:57:00.000-07:00

Adventure Camp Pics

2009-08-04T08:58:00.000-07:00

Fast Food Frenzy

2009-07-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

This is a friendly neighborhood reminder that tonight is fast food frenzy! Please come to youth group with $5 buckos, and be prepared to eat tasty if not greasy food. Please get there as close to 7 p.m. as possible so we can leave on time and return by 9 p.m. See you there!

BBQ and BASEBALL has been postponed

2009-06-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

Due to the heat wave we have been experiencing, the baseball game has been canceled. I know many of you were looking forward to that, and so we decided to postpone it one week. BBQ & Baseball will be July 1 at 5:30 p.m. at the Fullers house, please bring a side dish, and a couple of bucks for shaved ice after the game. We will be done by 9:00 p.m.

Soooooo instead we are going to beat the heat by swimming at Hotchkisses. Bring a modest swimsuit and a towel. Al will be bringing the soda, and some Popsicles. The time is going to be 7-9 p.m. Hope to see you there, and be sure to spend the news.

D2S March 27-28

2009-03-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

Free Youth Ministry Resources

2009-02-25T11:07:00.001-08:00

"Joyful Noise" Official Music Video - FLAME feat. Lecrae & John Reilly (Cross Movement Records) from Cross Movement Records on Vimeo.

Concert this Friday

2009-02-23T08:06:00.001-08:00

Moody Founders Week

2009-02-16T13:59:00.000-08:00

Check out this site that has all the main sessions from Founders Week. But hurry, because it is free only till March 1. click here for Founders Week

SCHOOLS OUT! - SLEDDING IS IN!

2009-01-27T20:19:00.000-08:00

That's right time to wax up your sled and hit the slopes. Well Truman Park anyway. We are meeting up at Maxwell's house at 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. The house is open to non sledders, and as a warm up to those that seek warmth. There will be snacks and goodies! Bring your sled, grab a friend or vice verse. Don't miss it! Call Al if you have any questions.

View Larger Map

Cultivate Love

2009-01-23T13:01:00.000-08:00

So are we going to apply it. Remember this is a selfless love, that does not expect anything in return.

1. Meditate on love as the most distinguishing mark of a Christian
“He who does not love does not know God.” 1 John 4:8
Review scriptures:
John 15:12, John 15:17,Romans 12:10,Romans 13:8,1 Cor. 16:14,Galatians 5:14, Ephesians 5:2,1 Thess. 4:9,Hebrews 10:24,James 2:8,1 Peter 4:8,1 John 3:11,1 John 3:23, 1 John 4:21,2 John 5,1 Cor. 13:1-3
2. Let your heart be warmed by the fire of God’s love.
3. Delight in imitating God
4. Identify those relationships where you need to grow in love
5. Take the initiative in showing love, especially where there is little or no expectation of love in return.

What is most precious?

2009-01-16T13:27:00.000-08:00

So we all know that formulas hardly work when it comes to spiritual change, so here are some suggestions as you look to what is most precious. Hang in there we are all in this thing together.

1. Deepen your desire for God’s Word
- Feast on it. Nothing makes us desire more scripture than scripture.
- Pray through scripture
- Meditate on it
- What do the words tell you about Christ?
- How can you experience deeper fellowship with Christ because of what is written?
- Rewrite it in your own words
- Read less if necessary, and meditate more
- Example: Pray through or meditate on Psalm 119

2. Make time for God’s Word
“Resolved, To study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently, as
that I may find and plainly perceive myself to grow in knowledge of the
same.” – Jonathan Edwards

3. Daily spend time, don’t close until you know of one response to your reading.
- Read the Bible for application not just information

4. Ask always, “How does the Bible speak to this?”
- Finding His glory and our joy by living in accordance with His loving design

Do you Thirst for God?

2009-01-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

There is thirst in every soul. God did not make us to be content in our natural condition. In one way or another, everyone wants more than he has now. The difference between people is the kind of thirsty longing in their soul.

What do you think is used to fill this void? Money, sex, power, houses, land, sports, hobbies, entertainment, significance, education, etc.\

Thirsting and searching, the empty soul is blind to their real need. Nothing or no one on earth can completely satisfy, the empty soul does not know where to turn, but to someone or something else. Solomon comes to this point in Ecclesiastes, when he declares that “all is vanity and grasping for the wind” (1:14)

A believer in Christ observes the one with the empty soul and knows what they are looking for can only be found in the One that said, “whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.” John 4:14

Sometimes this soul searches for the more serious, or even the spiritual. Many who claim they are questing for God are not thirsting for God as He has revealed Himself in scripture, but only for God as they want Him to be, or for a god who will give them what they want

The difference of the dry soul and the empty soul is that one has never experienced “rivers of living water” (John 7:38), while the other one has and knows what they are missing. That does not mean that the dry soul can lose the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

How is it that a true believer in Christ can become a dry soul when Jesus promised, “whoever drinks of the water I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)

“What do you mean? I am so thirsty! My church is thirsty! The pastors whom I pray with a thirsty ! O, Jesus what did you mean” – John Piper

“When you drink my water, your thirst is not destroyed forever. If I did that, would you feel any need of my water afterward? That is not my goal. I do not want self-sufficient saints. When you drink my water, it makes a spring in you. A spring satisfies thirst, not by removing the need you have for water, but by being there to give you water whenever you get thirsty. Again and again and again. Like this morning. So drink John. Drink.”

Drinking the wrong thing makes it worse.

There are times when God floods our souls with a sense of His presence, and there are times we feel like we are wandering in the wilderness all by our lonesomes. The key is it is our perceptions. Hebrews 13:5 – Never leave you, nor forsake you. But we feel as the writer of Psalm 23 (Valley of the Shadow of death).

When the sun goes behind a cloud, it is no less near than when its rays are felt.

No sense of spiritual growth when burned out, you doubt your relationship with Christ.

Psalm 42:1-2 – deer pants for the water

Getting lost – when I was 6 at the worlds largest shopping mall at the time. Nothing mattered at that time, other than finding my mom and dad. That is what the cry of the dry soul should be. Other things have distracted you, but now the only thing that matters is a return of the sense of your Fathers presence.

The satisfied soul thirsts for God precisely because he is satisfied with God. They have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, nothing else will solve the cravings. “that I may know Him” Philippians 3

Piercing sweetness of Christ, that leaves you desiring more?

O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made thirsty still.

Dare 2 Share is coming March 27-28

2009-01-07T08:52:00.001-08:00

Free Youth Ministry Resources

White Elephant Party - Dec. 17, 7-9 p.m.

2008-12-16T08:27:00.000-08:00

View Larger Map
Don't miss out on the White Elephant Party at the Shield's. Bring a gift (remember a White Elephant is a gift that is hiding in your basement, garage, closet). Also bring a plate of cookies to share with the group, and there will be prizes awarded for the best cookies! See you there!

Jon from Switchfoot and the guy from Nickel Creek

2008-12-15T15:44:00.000-08:00

Fiction Family - When She's Near from ATO Records on Vimeo.

Advent Conspiracy

2008-12-09T09:16:00.000-08:00

Stop and Think

2008-11-17T12:38:00.001-08:00

The Advance

2008-10-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

Allyson's Cheer

2008-10-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

The Parade Float that never was paraded!

2008-10-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

John Pipers message to students

2008-10-07T10:42:00.000-07:00

Change?

2008-10-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

How many times will you hear the word “change” over the next month and a half? Presidential or gubernatorial. From senators, mayors, school boards, class presidents, etc. Personally, my ears are tired from all the promises of “change” coming from the candidates. Just so you know, I am not a politically charged person. I do not get excited over it, like some of my friends and family. Quite frankly, I’m ready for a viable third party in our political system. Republicans do not have all the answers. All the good ideas don’t come from the Democrats. Okay, I’m down from my soapbox.

Last month the junior high youth group (S.W.A.T.) went through the book of James looking to apply God’s Words to our lives. And, as we learned, hearing God’s Word and talking about His Word cannot substitute for doing God’s Word.

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” -James 1:22 (ESV)

So how does this tie in to politics? Change does not begin in Washington. Change begins with us, believers in Christ. We need to be the ones leading the charge for change through Christ by being doers of His Word, not by placing all our hope in one man or woman. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is important to vote. This is a great freedom we have in our country. But we should not simply sit back and expect our candidates to make the necessary changes. Many believers want to see an end to legalized abortion in our country, but we can’t sit back and wring our hands ‘til the right judges, senators and president are elected. We do something now! We champion adoption and foster care. We support ministries like ThriVe or Faith and Freedom. We get involved, volunteer and give money to meet needs, helping pregnant women and their families.

Consider this...
“If God has given you a heart for the poor, or to see a reduction in the number of abortions, or to promote peace, or to help the sick, or to stand up for moral values, or to be a better steward of the environment, then your personal focus needs to be on that—whether or not the president shares your same values.”
-Cameron Strang, Editor, Relevant Magazine

James reminds me of the line between faith and works, and that works follow true belief because of faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross. Remember to keep that perspective throughout this election season. Remember this as you pray for the candidates (yours and others). Remember this as you pray about where God would have you involved in being an agent for change—not for a better economy, not for a “better tomorrow,” not for better jobs, not for the children, but for the glory of God! Extra Bonus Thought: Please remember Who you represent as a believer in Christ during this election. Too often we get wrapped up in the “Us vs. Them” mentality, and end up championing a political party and not the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We need to listen, we need to discuss, we need to question and we need to challenge
those running for office, and those who might not agree with you or me. I know this is harder than calling names, or lumping people into stereotypes, but it is what’s required of us. Even if the truth is difficult we are still called to speak it in love. And remember, regardless of who ends up in office, God is still in control. He is sovereign. Trust Him alone.

I’m Al Fuller, and I approved this article.

Got Faith?

2008-09-03T13:35:00.001-07:00

So you think you have faith? The writer of Hebrews says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (11:1) Faith is a funny thing, we can talk about it, and convince ourselves that it is strong, and that is good, but the true test comes in the trials, in the difficulties, in the unknown pitches that life throws at us.

Three days (seems like 3 weeks ago) my wife and I had one of those unknowns. I time of anxiousness, and feeling of not fully being in control. We are now parents of a kindergartner, and no amount of pep talks, and school orientations could prepare us for what is to come. So Monday morning a parade went down Leisure St. (yes the youth pastor lives on Leisure St., laugh it out, ok stop it now), there were no marching bands, no people throwing candy, just 5 Fullers marching to the bus stop up the street. This was a bittersweet occasion, excited because our first born is growing up, scared because our first born is growing up.

I am not a control freak, but I do like not being out of control (I know sounded crazy when I typed it, just bear with me). Watching my little big boy climb the stairs of the gigantic bus was harder than I thought. We shook hands with the bus driver, as to say take extra special care of our kiddo. He was gracious, and could easily spot the rookie parents. If it was allowed, my wife probably would have rode the bus to school that morning, but we had to wave as the big yellow bus, carried away our big guy to kindergarten. The parade home now had one less.

I think these are some of the defining moments in our lives. Times when we not only say that we have faith, but that we are able to trust Him, even with some of our most precious loved ones, after all the children that He has given to us, our blessings and gifts from Him. I don’t want to fear the unknown, I don’t want to worry about not being fully in control, I want a deeper faith. Not a faith that talk a good game and not one that only gets tested in the crisis, or the difficult times, but one that is strong day to day. I want a faith that doesn’t wilt in the dry times, a faith that continues throughout times of prosperity, one that is consistent.

We need to remember that God is in control, even when we feeling out of control. So what about you, where are the areas in your life that you are not trusting to God? Your family? Your finances? Your future? Your plans? As Solomon put it, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding.”

2008-06-30T13:25:00.002-07:00

Broken Voices was in town this past week to film some ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Check out the video about Broken Voices and what they are all about, then go to there blog as they travel across the country to film others doing amazing things for God! There will be more frequent posts, because blogs not updated are like .... dumb.

-Al