First Baptist Asheville Youth

Labels: Choir, DC09 Tour, FBCA, Youth

The group is headed home today - come to the concert tonight at 6pm in the Sanctuary!

Reflections from Elizabeth Blackmon for Friday:

As our tour drew to a close with an entire day of screaming and fun at Busch Gardens, we tried to avoid losing our voices in order to perform our best concert for our home church the next day. The newest ride the Griffon offered a terrifying 90 degree 200 foot drop at 75 miles an hour. Somewhat reluctantly, I followed my friends and strapped myself in for what I thought of as the ride of my life . . . or death. Being the tallest attraction in the park, the coaster rose above all else and offered an amazing view at the top prior to the drop. Just before I plummeted, I found myself indulging in the moment when I witnessed the breathtaking masterpiece of God’s creation, the sight of the water in the distance and the mountains permanently painted in my mind, the soft blue outline that made me miss home. The day’s opening devotion spoke the words of We Sing the Mighty Power of God and the view from the top finalized the true and deep meaning behind the lyrics.

God is truly mighty, beautiful, powerful, merciful, and awesome. He proved this to all of us with every moment of our trip. From seeing the history of our country, its accomplishments in the museums of the Smithsonian and our capitol’s monuments to witnessing the joyful faces of those graduating to a new step in their rehabilitation program, we witnessed his grace, his forgiveness, and his love. I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart for the opportunity he has given me to experience trips like this choir tour with each person he has blessed the youth group with as we raise our voices to praise him in our opportunity to minister to others and for others to help us grow in our faith in Jesus Christ.

Labels: Choir, DC09 Tour, FBCA, Youth

The Youth Choir is headed home from tour today, and will present their Homecoming Concert at 6:00 p.m. tonight in the FBCA Sanctuary. Here is their devotional reading for today:

Come Follow Me

Remember

The kingdom of heaven is near.

As you have received, so then must you give.

Be not afraid with the Lord at you side,

For Jesus died so we may live.

He said, “Come follow me.

Come by yourselves to a quiet place.

Come follow me, that someday we may see His face.”

Those who are weary, take rest.

Look to Him for comfort and He will sooth your soul,

For He is gentle and humble in heart,

And Jesus died to make us whole.

Read

Luke 9: 23-26

Reflect

What is the one thing you do best? It might be a hobby, school subject, sport or special skill. How did you get to be so good at it?

Consider

Several years ago Earth witnessed the beauty of the Hale-Bop comet. Back in the late eighties the infamous Haley’s Comet passed earth. The phenomenon of a comet is brilliant and exciting. Trouble is a comet as bright as Haley’s Comet only comes around every seventy-five years.

This morning we are witnessing another phenomenon. We also experienced it yesterday and the day before that. And we will see it tomorrow and day after tomorrow. In fact, this astrological event has occurred every day of history and will continue until the earth is no more. I’m talking about the rising of the sun. It gently warms the earth and shines its light every day. It doesn’t make the papers or the newscasts, but what an unbelievable difference it makes!

You know if we’re not careful we can become “comet Christians.” What I mean is that our faith can easily become a sparkling-brilliantly-for-a-short-time-only-to-fizzle-out-and-not-to-be-seen-for-another-seventy-five-years kind of faith. Instead we need to try to mimic the sun in our Christian walk. We need to be consistent, reliable Christians – that’s the only way we can be good at it. It’s easy to be a part of the big exciting things as a Christian and church member- retreats, choir tours, mission trips. But what about weekly Bible Study, Worship, Choir, and Koinonia? What about daily spiritual reflection and prayer or seeking to help others all year long? These are just routine things, sometimes exciting, sometimes not. However, it is in the discipline of routine things that real faith is developed. You have developed skill at a sport, hobby or school subject because you have practiced over and over again. Sometimes that practice or studying wasn’t much fun, but you did it anyway because you knew what the result would be. Being a good Christian requires the same consistent, daily consistent discipline. That’s why Christians are called disciples.

Pray

Think of ways you can develop your faith every day. Ask God to guide and help you as we go back home, enjoy the summer, and start next fall in college or high/middle school. Ask God to let you feel the Spirit everyday and to follow Christ’s teachings in all you do.

Labels: Choir, DC09 Tour, FBCA, Youth

The Youth Choir is enjoying a day off at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA. Here is their devotional reading for today:

We Sing the Mighty Power of God

Remember

We sing the mighty pow’r of God, that made the mountains rise,

That spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies.

We sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day;

The moon shines full at God’s command, and all the stars obey.

We sing the goodness of the Lord, that filled the earth with food;

God formed the creatures with a word, and then pronounced them good.

Lord, how thy wonders are displayed where e’er we turn our eyes;

If we survey the ground we tread, or gaze upon the skies.

There’s not a plant or flow’r below, but makes thy glories known;

And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from thy throne;

While all that borrows life from thee is ever in thy care,

And ev’ry where that we can be, thou, God, are present there.

Sing hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

Read

Psalm 8

Reflect

Who do you consider to be beautiful? Has anything you have ever seen literally taken your breath away? What are the pictures or artwork hanging up in your room?

Consider

It is amazing how technology has changed the world in the last ten to fifteen years. Not so long ago cell phones were big, clumsy gadgets you had to plug into your car lighter. Most people thought they were just a stupid invention that would never catch on. Computers were big and fat, too, and were nothing more than just souped-up typewriters. The development of the internet has sure changed that! By the way, do you even know what a typewriter is?

Have you ever wondered how smart the people must be who have invented some of this stuff. (Like Al Gore?!!!) It really is mind-boggling to think how billions of pieces of data, pictures, music, and video are sent every day through tiny fiber-optic cables. How can a human voice fly through the air and be transmitted and perfectly understood by someone riding in a subway in another time zone half-way around the world? How can it be that an airplane which weighs 5 tons can move faster than the speed of sound? “Whoa,” and you were like “whoaa” and then I was like “whoaaaa….”

As amazing as these things are there is something else that makes them all look like kindergarten art. Look outside the window. Look around at the people beside you. Take a big, deep breath of oxygen. The most awesome invention of all time is God’s creation of the world and the people who live in it. The mountains, the sky, the moon and stars, a baby, a pine tree, a snake, a river, a seashell, a centipede, a grizzly bear, molecules and atoms and sound waves and eclipses and hurricanes and music and ideas and love and beauty and so on and so on to infinity and beyond…

‘Nuff said.

Pray

Thank God for the awesome world you live in. Remember the beauty of the world and the simple gifts of friends, laughter, and life as you enjoy this day of abundant living!

Labels: Choir, DC09 Tour, FBCA, Youth

Reflections from Lawson McDonald for Thursday:

Today was a very full, memorable busy day. We began the day with some sight-seeing, visiting four different branches of the Smithsonian Museum. We first visited the introductory branch that gave us all a taste of what the Smithsonian was all about, along the way we saw props from the recently released “Night at the Museum, Battle of the Smithsonian”. Our next stop was the Air and Space branch; we saw every craft of sky and space from the very first flight all the way to the most modern technological advances of our day. The third branch we visited was up to the group, some went to the American-Indian branch and others went to the Art Gallery branch. Both were very interesting, exciting museums, there is so much to see it’s almost too much to take in! We then ate a very good lunch at the Museum Cafeteria surrounded by breathtaking sculptures and a waterfall that was truly a work of art. Our final sight-seeing stop of the day was the Museum of Natural History. Surrounded by hundreds of animals, priceless jewels and so much more we found ourselves lost in all the Smithsonian had to offer. And while we only had an hour to spend there, for some it was an opportunity of a lifetime.

Our afternoon plans for the day were to visit the local mall which is a converted train station but still a fully active station as well [Union Station]. Then we were to head to our evening concert at the Harbor Light Mission’s rehab program graduation. Our devotion this morning was about hope and the Lord’s deliverance of His people, in this case Daniel from the Lions den as is stated in our song “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel”. It spoke of hope and how graduating from the rehab program was a new beginning for all of the graduates. It challenged us to be givers of hope tonight and show these people what it means to be forgiven and have a new start through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. After we spent some time shopping and eating at the mall we got changed and prepared to go to the concert, hoping to make a difference in these people’s lives tonight.

We arrived at the Mission at around 6:00, set up, and prepared to begin the service. From the very beginning we could tell this crowd was special, the atmosphere in that chapel from the very first word of our first song was one of hope, joy, and true appreciation. Every member of the audience was engaged and truly appreciative of our performance at this graduation. We finished singing our first two songs at took our seats for the handing out of certificates of completion. These certificates acknowledged sobriety for anywhere from thirty days all the way up to a full year. The crowd was instructed to wait to clap until all the names had been announced, but that didn’t last a second. The crowd could not contain their joy and pride to see their friends who had been through everything with them receive their certificates. It was a very humbling experience for all of us to see the crowd so selfless and truly joyful for one another. In the middle of the service we resumed our position in front of the congregation and sang another song. The rhythm was not one that was originally meant to be accompanied by clapping but it didn’t matter, we found a way! The crowd began clapping with the beat, they were so engaged in the music, they wanted to get up and move. It was an inspiring thing to see for all of us. Our final song was one that was very familiar to some of the members of the congregation and they were all invited to sing along, before long everybody in the chapel was moving and singing with everything they had. At times the crowd was singing louder than we were! It was a truly moving and inspirational experience.

This evening we went on a tour of the monuments of Washington DC. They were all beautiful and just breathtaking with this dim light of the evening. We made a quick stop at the Lincoln Memorial and couldn’t leave without seizing the opportunity to sing the National Anthem on the steps in front of the monument. We had a beautiful view of the Washington Monument as we sang and it topped off a great and memorable day. Now we head to the hotel and prepare for another full day tomorrow at Busch Gardens.

Labels: Choir, DC09 Tour, FBCA, Youth

Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel

Remember

Didn’t my Lord deliver Daniel?

Then why not every man? (woman)

He delivered Daniel from the lion’s den,

Jonah from the belly of the whale,

And the Hebrew children from the fiery furnace,

Then why not every man? (woman)

I set my foot on the gospel ship

And the ship began to sail.

It landed me over on Canaan’s shore,

And I’ll never go back no more!

Read

Jeremiah 29: 11-14

Reflect

What is the craziest dream you have ever had? What have you always said you want to be when you “grow up?” Where do you think you will be living in 10 years?

Consider

Daydreaming should be required in school. Maybe it shouldn’t be allowed in a classroom simultaneously with other subjects, but it should be a part of the curriculum. What I mean is...well...Martin Luther King said it like this, “I have a dream...”

Without a dream a person has no future. Without a future a person has no hope. Without hope a person has no life. Jesus’ entire life was spent trying to help people discover hope. He did this by helping them to look forward, not behind. He tried to help them see what they could be and he challenged them to get rid of potential-limiting sin. He knew the promise of the prophet Jeremiah that “God knows the plans he has for you, plans to prosper and not fail.”

However, simply having a dream and a hope is not enough. Jeremiah also said that we have to search and find God’s plan in everything we do. We have to follow the Christ-like way of living in order to fully realize God’s plan for a wonderful, dream-fulfilling life. Our hope is found in doing what God says.

Tonight we will be dream givers. We are going to sing for some people who because of life’s situation for them have made some bad choices. They have abused their bodies with drugs and alcohol. They have abused others out of insecurity or anger. Many of them have felt they have lost all hope and have bleak futures. We know differently. We know that all people, no matter what has happened or will happen in their life, are loved by God and that God has a plan for them. God wants them to prosper and not fail. We can be encouraging to them simply by our presence, our gift of time, our joyful music, our touch of friendship. Through us, the Spirit of God can show them a picture of abundant life. We can help give them dreams...and in the process we might become dream catchers ourselves.

Pray

Pray that God will allow you to be a giver of hope. Ask God to show you the plans he has for your life. And consider with God what dreams you should have as his follower.

Labels: Choir, DC09 Tour, FBCA, Youth

Reflections from Trellace Lawrimore:

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

7:30 a.m.- To Clark’s dismay, we have not yet left the parking lot of Comfort Inn, south of Baltimore. Finally, our Youngs bus starts rolling, and we head off for the Capitol Building. Soon, Clark comes over the intercom and instructs us to begin our morning devotion. This morning we studied the song “Pacem,” and concentrated on losing the prejudices we may hold against others who are racially, religiously or socially different from us.

As the day proceeded, I accompanied 51 of my friends through a tour of the Capitol building, an edifying and entertaining experience in Ford’s Theatre, a walk-through of The House Where Lincoln Died, a delicious lunch at Hard Rock Café, a photo op in front of the White House, and a pensive trip through Arlington National Cemetery. Feeling like the ultimate tourist, I enjoyed each of our adventures today; especially being able to use something I learned in Civics—seeing a senator filibuster a bill on the Senate floor.

But overall, I liked visiting the Ford’s Theatre the most. We entered the actual theater where former President Lincoln was shot, and sat down to watch a presentation performed by a National Park Ranger. He entertained us with the story and history behind the day Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth. After the thoroughly enchanting production by the park ranger, we went upstairs and took fantastic pictures of the box where Lincoln was shot. It was an amazing opportunity.

7:30 p.m.-Our choir prepares to sing in front of a Filipino congregation in Woodbridge, Virginia. We performed beautifully (as usual), and it seemed as though the members enjoyed our concert. After socializing with the worshippers, and packing up our instruments, we walked out to the bus and finished our day by spending the evening in the pool.

Visiting with the Filipino community was a perfect time to practice the devotion on prejudices we had studied that morning. I have already had a great experience in Washington, and can’t wait for Thursday and Friday!

Trellace Lawrimore

Labels: Choir, DC09 Tour, FBCA, Youth