WELCOME TO THE VINYL EXPEREINCE

How does the Vinyl Experience work?

 Refuge will kick of the week with one of the songs from Vinyl being the focus.

 Thursday to Monday you will have 3 days’ worth of devotionals in this booklet to dig a little deeper into the theme, artist and song

 Tuesday Morning 7:30 am at the church we will have a time of discussion, encouragement and accountability. (and breakfast)

Where can I find the Vinyl Expereince playlist? On Spotify, which you can set up a free account, you will search for chrisandtahrea. Click on my profile. At my account you will find VINYL which are the 14 songs we will do at Refuge each week. You will also find a playlist called The Vinyl Experience which is an extended playlist with all the songs mentioned in this devotional book. You can also find the playlist at: f-pc.org/refuge/the-vinyl-experience

The Vinyl Experience Bible Study Jan 6th … Week 1: The Dance Party Song: OBB - Who Cares If We’re Dancing Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Rebirth of Joy Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: All Eyes on You by OBB Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Jan 13th … Week 2: A Black Night Song: 12 stones – World So Cold Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: A Look at The Darkness Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Broken Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: A Look at Our Personal Darkness

Jan 20th … Week 3: Chaos Song: Twenty one pilots –heavydirtysoul Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Salvation from the Voices Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Stressed Out Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Dealing with Stress

Jan 27th … Week 4: Dear Wormwood Song: The Oh Hellos – Dear Wormwood Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Who is our enemy? Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Truth by Lecrae Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: World View: Knowing what you Believe

Feb 3rd … Week 5: Written On Your Heart Song: Francesca Battistelli – Write Your Stories Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: The Word Writing Project Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Run to Jesus by Francesca Battistelli Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Holy Spirit by Francesca Battistelli

Feb 10th … Week 6: Making Me Knew Song: Royal Taylor – Making Me New Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: New Creation in Him paul Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Ready Set Go by Royal Tailor Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Walking Daily with Jesus

Feb 17th … Week 7: Radical Life Song: S.O – Radical Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Living a Radical Life Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Best Thing I have ever Found by Saigon feat Lecrae Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Sharing your Faith

Feb 24th … Week 8: Worship Song: Benjah – Left Right Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Anywhere Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Rainbows Life of Worship Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Living Worship

Mar 2nd… Week 9: Wake Up People Song: Andy Mineo - Uncomfortable Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Staying off David’s Roof Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Vendetta by Andy Mineo Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Remote Parents

Mar 9th … Week 10: Made for This Song: For King and Country – Run Wild …. Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Running Free Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Messengers by Lecrae Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Ambassadors for Christ

Mar 16th … Spring Break

Mar 23rd … Week 11: The Light Song: Brett Nicole – Glow Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Being the Light Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Brave by Moriah Peters Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Courage and the Light

Mar 30th … Week 12: Be Different Song: Dillon Chase – Do it anyways Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: The Attacks of the World Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: BDFFRNT by Dillon Chase Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Living Different in our World

Apr 6th ... Week 13: Week 11: D.E.A.T.H. Song: Social Club – Cops Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Staying Quiet Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Martyrs by Social Club Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Death and Life

Apr 13th ... Week 14: P.A.R.T.Y. Song: Shonlock – Beyond this World Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Heaven Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: I can Only Imagine by Mercy Me Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: What to Remember from the Vinyl Experience

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WEEK 1 Jan 6th The Dance Party Song: Who Cares if we’re dancing by OBB

Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Rebirth of Joy Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: All Eyes on You by OBB Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Week 1 - Day 1 Devotional written by Chris Smith

Bruce Larson once wrote “A conference at a church in Omaha. People were given helium filled balloons and told to release them at some point in the service when they felt like expressing the joy in their hearts. Since they were Presbyterians, they weren't free to say "Hallelujah, Praise the Lord." All through the service balloons ascended, but when it was over 1/3 of the balloons were unreleased.

If I were to do this experiment at Refuge, would you let your balloon go? Well, it would depend on your sermon Coach. Or did Jacob play my favorite praise song during worship! Or did my friends say hi and include me in their conversation?

In our world today we confuse happiness and joy. Happiness is feeling pleasure and enjoyment because of your life, a particular situation, etc.

Read Lamentations 3:16-18. Thoughts?

The author forgot what happiness was because of his circumstances but read down a few verses. Read Lamentations 3:22-27

Joy is a state of happiness that does not depend on circumstances.

Are you ready to detach your happiness from the circumstances you face?

Not Ready 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ready

What are some the things that rob you of joy?

What are the dangers of living for happiness?

Read and summarize:

 Psalms 16:11

 Psalms 71:23

 Romans 15:13

What is your favorite lyric of Who Cares If Were Dancing by OBB below?

Who cares if we dance all night 'til the sun comes up If we lose ourselves in Your crazy love This ain't religion, no We've been forgiven, yea With no conditions, woah oh So who cares if we're dancing

How great our God That he came for us That he, that he came for us 'Cause the more we fall And the more we break The more He shows us grace So how could we just sit down With the love that we've found Come on lets go all out, all out

Love is the reason, love is the reason Love is the reason that we dance, that we sing

Habakkuk 3:18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

Remember our balloon from earlier? According to Habakkuk 3:18, those of us who are saved should not have held onto our balloons at all because of the amazing grace of Jesus in our lives. Because of His salvation we have joy.

Pray that the Lord will begin a rebirth of joy in your heart because of the sacrifice of Jesus. How amazing is the Love of Christ!?!

Week 1 – Day 2 Devotional by Chris Smith

Watch this lyric video of the song All Eyes on You by OBB https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv1s7kcz2EU for a live link go to The Vinyl Experience webpage

What is your favorite Lyric below?

All Eyes on You Everything else fades away You've taken over me When You step on the scene Let me be a reflection of Your truth In my heart take center stage And turn. And I'll follow Your lead So let me step aside All eyes on You x3 and put Your name in lights Headline this life Yeah I was blind But now I see You gave it all To set me free All eyes on You In everything I do So everyday Till my time is gone Everywhere I move I'll live my life Let Your love shine through Turning eyes on eyes on You So all the world can see You've taken over me No matter where I am So let me be a reflection of Your truth No matter who I'm with And turn. With everything I do Let it point to You All eyes on You x3 All eyes on You In everything I do You burn brighter than a million stars Everywhere I move And nothing can compare Let Your love shine through Let me shadow who You are So all the world can see Every second and everywhere You've taken over me Let me step aside Let me be a reflection of Your truth And put Your name in lights And turn. Headline this life All eyes on You x3 All eyes on You In everything I do Everywhere I move No matter where I am Let Your love shine through No matter who I'm with So all the world can see With everything I do Let it point to You

Here are a couple of my favorite verse:

In my heart take center stage And I'll follow Your lead

Is it easier for you to lead or to follow?

How do these verses encourage you to follow?  Luke 5:11

 Acts 20:22-24

 Mark 8:31-38

Headline this life One of the names God gives us in the Old Testament for Himself is Jehovah Nissi or in English “The Lord is my Banner”

Exodus 17:14-16 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner, saying, “A hand upon the throne of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

When you hear that name what do you think about? Draw a picture or word picture to describe it.

You gave it all To set me free How does 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 encourage us toward freedom?

Pray John 8:32 over your day today and ask him to keep you in the word all day.

Week 1 – Day 3 Devotional by Trey Shultz

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus O soul, are you weary and troubled? Through death into life everlasting No light in the darkness you see? He passed, and we follow Him there; There’s light for a look at the Savior, O’er us sin no more hath dominion— And life more abundant and free! For more than conqu’rors we are!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, His Word shall not fail you—He promised; Look full in His wonderful face, Believe Him, and all will be well: And the things of earth will grow strangely Then go to a world that is dying, dim, In the light of His glory and grace. His perfect salvation to tell!

Are You Looking into the Light?

As a young church goer, hymns were part of every Sunday. Chorus and “praise music” did not really come along until the 80’s. I love the new contemporary music but sometimes it is good to reflect on the songs of our past. I am a very visual person so I like to imagine what a song looks like. This is a story of Faith and the struggles of life, looking into light and darkness.

Matthew 6:21-23 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Where is your treasure? Where are your eyes looking, into light or darkness?

What kind of things are you looking at on you tube? Are you looking into light or darkness?

What kind of things are you watching on TV? Are you looking into light or darkness?

What kinds of things are sharing on snapchat, Instagram or twitter? Are you looking into light or darkness?

Read these words, then close your eyes and meditate on them for a few minutes:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.

After spending time looking at Jesus in your mind, are you looking into light or darkness?

Which of the verses below most encourages you in the battle of light vs darkness?

 Psalms 139:12

 Luke 12:1-3

 Luke 11:33-36

I would like to leave you with John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Are you looking into the Light, Jesus, or are you pushing Him away to look at earthly things?

Pray this prayer from Psalms 121 [1] I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? [2] My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. [3] He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. [4] Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. [5] The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. [6] The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. [7] The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. [8] The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

WEEK 2 Jan 13th … Week 2: A Black Night Song: World So Cold by 12 stones –

Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: A Look at The Darkness Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Broken Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: A Look at Our Personal Darkness

Week 2 - Day 1 Devotional by Chris Smith

12 Stones start their song World So Cold with these lyrics: It starts with pain Followed by hate Fueled by the endless questions No one can answer A stain Covers your heart Tears you apart just like a sleeping cancer

I think this is a great place to start this week’s study on the effect of sin in our lives. The darkness that seeks so swallow us whole. The lyrics above are an example of several patterns of darkness that create a pathways to depression, Anger, Stress and other destructive sin in our lives.

It starts with pain –

Pain is the physical or emotional suffering or discomfort cause by something. Our ability to deal with pain is vital to our walk with Christ.

C S Lewis stated “We can rest contentedly in our sins and in our stupidities, and everyone who has watched gluttons shoveling down the most exquisite foods as if they did not know what they were eating, will admit that we can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

Our pain, physical or emotional, screams out for our attention. The question is whether we go to our Father, the Great Physician, or is we try to hide the pain under a mountain of distractions. Alcohol, drugs, cutting and other escapes never deal with the thorn of sin that has penetrated our lives. Listen to the scream of pain and give it to Jesus.

What pain are you facing right now in your life?

Followed by hate If our pain goes undealt with it one of the emotions that will erupt out of the pile of distractions is hate. Hate for whatever is causing the pain. Hate toward ourselves for trying to hide it. Hate towards anyone who happens to be near us when we erupt.

If you were to honestly look into your heart and mind, what do you hate right now?

Pause and pray for the Lord to take away that hate.

Fueled by the endless questions No one can answer

Often time in our lives hate is fueled by doubt. When we doubt the plan of God in our lives, we handle the pain we experience improperly.

James 1:2-4 [2] Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, [3] for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. [4] And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James, the brother of Jesus, says that we should face our trials with joy because of the work that Jesus is doing inside of us? Maturity in Christ only comes through testing. Are we genuinely in love with Jesus or will our love for Jesus be divided by the hate we have toward our circumstances.

A stain Covers your heart Tears you apart just like a sleeping cancer

Read these proverbs on sin:

 Proverbs 5:22  Proverbs 13:6  Proverbs 10:16

What kind of world do we live in Where love is divided by hate Losing control of our feelings We all must be dreaming this life away In a world so cold

Often when sin takes hold of our lives, we feel the pain and consequences and turn that into hate fueled by doubt. The byproduct of that is a loss of control in our lives and often it begins with our feelings and emotions. Let’s take back control and break the cycle of pain by taking it to Jesus immediately through prayer and accountability.

Over the course of our weeks together, we are going to take a journey from sin to heaven. The Vinyl experience is designed to parallel our lives as we discover Christ anew and walk faithfully until we reach heaven. I pray that you will not grow tired of doing good but that you will accept the challenge to grow in Christ.

Can you make it to the end? Yes No

Week 2 - Day 2 Devotional by Garrett Smith

Start your devotional by listening to Broken by 12 Stones on the Vinyl Experience Spotify Playlist or look it up.

Do you feel: alone? sad? despaired? *deep screamo singing towards the end of the song* ‘brrooookkennnnnn’? We all have at one point or another. Whether you’re: friends, peers, teammates, fellow Christians, parents, children or whoever admits it or not... We are all broken people due to Adam… Whether that’s from losing some one, being lied to or lying to others, being deceived or deceiving others, struggling in: school, life or whatever… There is no way around it… It’s a season and we all go through it. Sin has made its way in and we all feel this at one point or another. Don’t fret… You are loved. You are desired. You are wanted. We desire you. God is passionate for you.

A broken heart is a moldable, workable and impressionable. He wants us this way so that we can do amazing things for His Kingdom. A cold, hard, ruthless, bitter heart is not. God cannot make what He desires with that, well… He could… but that’s beside the point. Think about it… When we are brutal, unforgiving, harsh and/or cutthroat we tend to be very stubborn, unteachable and difficult. Pause and let that set in………

When you’re closest to God, it is not in a time of being stubborn, unteachable and difficult. We, Christ Followers, can be close to God/the Holy Spirit in: up times, down times, hard time, laughable times, sad time and many other seasons of our life… But when you are broken, without much hope, you are closer than any time spent with God like no other.

Again, don’t fret: 8 We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” -Isaiah 64:8b.

We are the clay, not the potter. We do not control this life, He does. It is not until you realize this… That letting go of life, for Him, and letting him bring the beauty out of us for His glory do you really grow close to him…

24 For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall…” -1 Peter 1:24

Yes, this life is short... Why destroy that life with our own desires and wicked by nature minds? We have a Creator that has a vision in mind for our short lives. Something above us and not for us to immediately understand. ETERNITY.

28“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” –Matthew 11:28-30.

Place your worries and burdens on Him (Matt 11:28-30). Make your burdens known to your Brothers, Sister or Elder in Christ (Galatians 6:2). God loves us now, while we were still sinners and Christ His Son died for us - in that Love for us – an undeserving people (Romans 5:8). Don’t worry about tomorrow and the troubles it may bring (Matt 6:34). Have hope in the Lord, Walk with the Lord daily, Run with your Lord when He tells you. With Him, He will give you the strength and will soar on wings like eagles.

Now a couple of questions to reflect on:

1) Are you a moldable heart or a cold hard heart?

a. If you have a cold hard heart… Do you really think this scripture isn’t for you? It is!!

b. Pray to Him, repent (ask him for a changed heart) and turn from those evil deeds.

2) When your being molded into something beautiful can’t it hurt when God press’s on you?

3) When was the last time you have been asked by God to do something difficult?

4) When looking back, did you ever imagine what God had been molding in your life?

5) Where do you stand for Eternity? If you are not a Christian and desire to be one, please, please, please talk with your small leader or Coach to become our brother or sister in Christ.

Week 2 - Day 3 Devotional by Demi Floria

Do you believe that people are born basically good?

Most people would like to think that they are. Many people pattern their whole lives after a vague idea of what it means to be ‘good.’ We want to think that we’re good if we appear to be living better lives than the people around us.

Take a break and go to the Refuge website at f-pc.org/refuge and click on sermon podcasts. Listen to the poem The House by Lyric Floria

Well, I will be the first one to admit defeat. I have tried to keep my house looking clean and tidy. I’ve repainted, put up new curtains, and even remodeled rooms that didn’t look nice enough. I have learned the best ways to answer questions and the easiest ways of avoiding honesty. I am very good at this. But, the truth is that most of the time, I feel very inadequate. And I feel very broken. I don’t invite you over to my house very often because I’m afraid you might accidentally venture into one of the rooms I haven’t cleaned. It’s hard to admit, but this is who I am. I am the broken one.

"Broken" could be defined as something that is not complete or whole. Broken means something is missing. Something is damaged. Look up Isaiah 59:1-2 Where do we see brokenness in this scripture?

We know that by definition, sin separates us from God. Separation from God is essentially what brokenness boils down to. Romans 3:23 says, "All have sinned and fallen short of God's glory.” If we are born into sin, and sin is literally a brokenness inside of us, then are we not fundamentally broken?

But our brokenness is only half of the story.

Look at Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

I think we forget that God understands what it feels like to be broken.

When we were separated from God, we were not the only ones who experienced the pain of that brokenness. Not only was God rejected by the ones He loved, he allowed Himself to be broken down, cracked open, and poured out by our sin. He knows the pain of our choices as intimately as we do.

When we try to stage our houses to make them look shiny and new, we are disregarding the pain and brokenness our separation from God causes.

Look up Matthew 23:27 This scripture calls our ‘clean’ houses whitewashed tombs. What do you think that means?

Look up Psalm 51:17 Have you even offered your brokenness to God?

In the light of this scripture, I've started to think of my own brokenness as the tools God is using to rebuild my house. I have tried to paint over faded walls and replace old, stained curtains. But when I welcomed God into my house, he tore it down. He wasn’t content with my version of “a good life.” He didn’t die so that I could cover up my brokenness. He died to tear me down and make way for something new. But wholeness can only become reality when my very self, which is fundamentally broken, is broken. Ironic, isn't it?

What rooms do you have in your life that you need Christ to remodel? Feel free to draw your heart floor plan below.

WEEK 3 Jan 20th … Week 3: Chaos Song: heavydirtysoul by Twenty one pilots

Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Salvation from the Voices Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Stressed Out Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Dealing with Stress

Week 3 – Day 1 Devotional by Chris Smith

We're a product of that generation that has access to everything,

One of the most challenging things about vinyl is picking songs. I spent nearly a month picking songs and praying as I was researching music. I spent the most time researching and praying about Twenty One Pilots. There is so much incredible music out in the world today at our fingertips. We are a product of a generation that has access to anything and everything.

Can a band that does not outwardly declare Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior make Vinyl? Apparently!

Read the Lyrics of Ode to Sleep off of the Vessels album… What Christian clues do you see in these lyric?

On the eve of a day that's forgotten and fake, And the trees they await and clouds anticipate, The start of a day when we put on our face, A mask that portrays that we don't need grace, On the eve of a day that is bigger than us, But we open our eyes 'cause we're told that we must, And the trees wave their arms and the clouds try to plead, Desperately yelling there's something we need, I'm not free, I asked forgiveness three times, Same amount that I denied, I three-time mvp'ed this crime, I'm afraid to tell you who I adore, won't tell you who I'm singing towards, Metaphorically I'm a whore, and that's denial number four.

Now to our song, listen to the song heavydirtysoul once again as you read along with some of the lyrics.

There's an infestation in my mind's imagination, I hope that they choke on smoke 'cause I'm smoking them out the basement, This is not rap, this is not hip-hop, Just another attempt to make the voices stop, Rapping to prove nothing, just writing to say something, 'Cause I wasn't the only one who wasn't rushing to sayin' nothing, This doesn't mean I lost my dream, It's just right now I got a really crazy mind to clean. Can you save, can you save my— Can you save my heavydirtysoul? Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit.

We have two topics for today’s study: How to make the voices stop and can God really save my soul?

I read a quote today that said, “We have always assumed we were the originators and creators of our own thoughts. It might be time to rethink that theory.”

Where do our thoughts come from? Three Choices: Our Soul, The Holy Spirit or the Enemy namely the demonic

Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

Notice that we are not waging war against chemical reactions in our brain but we are to discern every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Read 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

We must test our thoughts and ideas to see if they are from:  Our soul, the seat of emotion and personality that is uniquely ours. These thoughts are often times self-serving even doing the things of God but to stroke your own ego or identity.  Our enemy the devil and his team. These thoughts oppose scripture and lead us towards sin. They are often subtle compromises that lead us close to the edge while our pride and idolatry beg us to jump off the edge. We will talk more about our enemy next week.  The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit always uses scripture to lead us to follow Christ. The Holy Spirit will lead us to love God more and love others more. The Holy Spirit also leads us to righteousness and away from sin.

The key to unlocking the discernment abilities is the word of God. I know you always hear this but it is truth. For example, if I was to tell you “Ranger Right Over Cross Check and be sure to package when you see the mike favor.” You might think I has lost some marbles. You might think is was a clue to a scavenger hunt but actually it is a play I used to call in football games. Ranger Right is a formation with a lineman(the big guys) moving over to the right. The play is called cross and the QB gets to check or call the side at the line of scrimmage based on what the middle linebacker(mike) does. You would know that if you had been through 2 a days with me. Watched film of our opponent and practiced 3 times during the week. why do we think the war for our souls should be any different.

Do you study the plays? Do you watch other Godly peple live to learn their strategies? Do you practice the strategies now so that later in life for the huge decisions you will be ready? Somehow our enemy has tricked us into thinking this is not a war.

One of the tricks the enemy has used since the beginning is the idea of not trusting your coach.

Read Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

The serpents question… Can you really trust God? Does he really want the best for you because it looks like he is holding back the best tree from you?

In today’s world the same repackaged lie: Can God really save your soul? Does He even want to? It is your choice not His?

We often forget the Might God we serve. Spend some time today looking through these verses and underline words that remind you of our Mighty God.

 Deuteronomy 10:17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.

 Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

 Isaiah 45:7 I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things.

 Nehemiah 9:6 “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you

 Deuteronomy 32:4 “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

 Romans 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Week 3 – Day 2 Devotional by Chris Smith

Listen to the song Stressed Out by Twenty One Pilots on the Vinyl Experience Spotify playlist or look it up however you can and read the lyrics below.

I wish I found some better sounds no one's ever heard, I wish I had a better voice that sang some better words, I wish I found some chords in an order that is new, I wish I didn't have to rhyme every time I sang, I was told when I get older all my fears would shrink, But now I'm insecure and I care what people think.

My name's 'Blurryface' and I care what you think. My name's 'Blurryface' and I care what you think.

Wish we could turn back time, to the good ol' days, When our momma sang us to sleep but now we're stressed out. Wish we could turn back time, to the good ol' days, When our momma sang us to sleep but now we're stressed out.

Sometimes a certain smell will take me back to when I was young, How come I'm never able to identify where it's coming from, I'd make a candle out of it if I ever found it, Try to sell it, never sell out of it, I'd probably only sell one, It'd be to my brother, 'cause we have the same nose, Same clothes homegrown a stone's throw from a creek we used to roam, But it would remind us of when nothing really mattered, Out of student loans and treehouse homes we all would take the latter.

My name's 'Blurryface' and I care what you think. My name's 'Blurryface' and I care what you think.

Wish we could turn back time, to the good ol' days, When our momma sang us to sleep but now we're stressed out. Wish we could turn back time, to the good ol' days, When our momma sang us to sleep but now we're stressed out.

We used to play pretend, give each other different names, We would build a rocket ship and then we'd fly it far away, Used to dream of outer space but now they're laughing at our face, Saying, "Wake up, you need to make money."

Tyler Joseph explains the inspiration behind the album Blurryface. “Blurryface is this guy who represents everything I'm insecure about. Honestly, we all know that we're insecure about certain things, but what we don't totally understand is how those insecurities affect our day-to- day life. So it's helped me give my insecurities a seat at the table, so I can stare across at him and give him a name and face and personality. I can kind of retaliate and I can see these insecurities for what they are, and so this guy named Blurryface is someone that I'm trying to understand -- but also defeat every day.”

Often times our greatest enemy is Self! Can we face the mirror in all honesty and defeat our version of Blurryface. I want to use this analogy to identify the features of our own Blurryface to defeat him.

The two top areas of battle I see in teenagers today are dealing with stress and self-image.

The American Psychological Association surveyed 1,900 teens and 1,800 adults and the findings are enlightening. Look at these statistics:  Teens deal with more stress (5.8) than adults (5.1) during the school year  Over 30 percent of teens feel depressed, overwhelmed and fatigued although 54 percent of them say that their stress level has no impact on their physical health.  Teens sleep far less than the 8.5-9 hours recommended by the National Sleep Foundation.  The number one coping mechanism for stressed out teens is social media.

Stress is an epidemic for teens in the high pressure world of school performance. We will talk more about dealing with stress tomorrow but here are a couple verses to encourage you in your battle against stress.

 Philippians 4:6

 John 14:27

 Psalms 55:22

Lastly, we must find our self-image in our relationship with God not our performance with the things of this world. God is our Creator and knows us better than we know ourselves. Look at these verses and let them encourage you.

 God Sees Beauty Differently Than the World - 1 Peter 3:3-4

 God made you perfect – Psalms 139:14

 God set eternity in your hearts so be joyful – Ecclesiastes 3:11-12

 Beauty is found in fear of the Lord – Proverbs 31:30

Week 3 – Day 3 Devotional by Daniel Taylor

As I’m sure we all know by now, sometimes life is straight up stressful. Sometimes, we put so much on schedules that we don't leave time to enjoy where we are actually at in life because we burden ourselves with stress. Stress can flood us from other people, parents, friends, teachers, family members, classes, practice, and most often, ourselves. The question is 'how do we best deal with stress?' Stress makes us yearn for a calmer, simpler, more chill time. Take the lyrics from Twenty One Pilots, "wish we could turn back time, to the good ol' days, when our momma sang us to sleep, but now we're stressed out.” When I get stressed, I just want a way to find peace, a place of quiet stillness in which I can retreat to and just relax and rest. Lucky for all of us, we know that we are children of God, Our Father, who offers us true, unprecedented peace. Jesus says in John 11:28-29

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls". Where do you go to find peace?

Jesus invites us to come to Him to find peace, true peace. We belong and were created by God who longs for us to rest in His presence and be free of stress. Stress is so often a precursor to so many negative things (actions, motives, attitudes, ect.) for us today. Satan uses stress to catch us and entangle us daily. Be reminded today that we follow the Prince of Peace, the one who offers us abundant peace when we commit our lives to Him and align our paths with his.

Here are some practical ways that I have found to deal with and manage stress:

Plan time to complete things: Some of us are planners, others of us aren't. Learning the basis of being able to plan and organize our schedules can go a long way in dealing with stress. How can you plan things in a better way this week?

Don't Procrastinate (that much): Procrastination, also defined as Netflix binging. We all do it. It is in some ways the new age American dream. It comes in all forms, from TV or game marathons to hours spent in the gym/on the field to hours of practice or reading or whatever. We are the kings and queens of wasting time. Find ways to better use your time and not procrastinate as much of it away. Make a schedule, use alarms, notes, accountability partners, whatever it takes to learn to use your time better. Are you a procrastinator? Do you think procrastinating is causing stress in your life?

Commit to Pray About It: It's not just the cheesy Christian answer, I promise you it will change your life. We follow and serve a God who wants us to share what is going on in our lives and what is stressing us out with Him. He invites us to bring things to Him and lay them at His feet. Read these verses about prayer:

 1 Thessalonians 5:17

 Romans 8:26

 Matthew 6:5-14

Lastly, Trust God: Again, it’s not just the cheesy Christian answer, it’s a life-changing choice we are all afforded. When we trust God with the things our life, we become more aligned with Him and we allow the true Captain to steer the ship instead of fighting to steer for ourselves. When we lay down our lives, our days, our plans, our busy-ness, our stress, we are able to find the relief of God's peace and presence.

 Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  Psalm 56:3-4 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?  Psalm 13:5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

WEEK 4 Jan 27th … Week 4: Dear Wormwood Song: Dear Wormwood by The Oh Hellos –

Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Who is our enemy? Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Truth by Lecrae Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: World View: Knowing what you Believe

Week 4 - Day 1 Devotional by Lyric Floria

Dear Wormwood, I first heard this song last April. It took about 7 months for me to get to the point of complete and full understanding of what it means. The title of the song is taken from one of my favorite C.S. Lewis books called The Screwtape Letters. This song explores the idea that we each have a “Wormwood,” or deceiver that spends his time sowing temptation and deception into our lives.

As Christians, we know this to be true based on 1 Peter 5:8. “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

The song is written in second person, as a letter addressed to Wormwood. It begins with the lyrics, “When I was a child I didn’t hear a single thing you said. The things I was afraid of, they were all confined beneath my bed”. This is the first kind of deception that the devil sows: fear. He uses fear to keep us in a state of blindness and isolation. The more the devil is allowed to speak into our lives, the more he feeds the lie of fear into our minds. The hardest part about fear, is that we don’t often recognize it for what is.

Have you ever struggled with anxiety or panic attacks?

Have you ever felt overwhelmingly stressed?

You wouldn’t automatically recognize that as an attack from the devil, but that is exactly what it is. The Bible speaks very clearly about fear and its roots. 2 Timothy 2:7 says “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love, and a strong mind.” The spirit of fear is not from God. This song emphasizes the importance of waking our minds up to see everything clearly: either it is of God, or it is not of God. I will say it again, the spirit of fear is not from God.

The most important line in this song is the repetitive refrain: “I know who you are now”. It is a declaration of strength and recognition. Once you begin to recognize the attacks of the devil for what they are, they begin to lose their power over you.

Take inventory of your struggles: are there lies that you have been believing? Call them what they are. LIES!

The devil does his best work in the background. He uses shadows to keep himself just out of sight. This is where his power lies, in the foggy gray areas. The Word of God has a lot to say about being sober-minded and alert. Jesus knew how easy it would be for us to fall into laziness, tiredness, and foggy-mindedness.

This is why He gave us tools and truths to combat the deceiver.

1. He has given us His Holy Spirit. This Spirit dwells inside of you, and should not be taken lightly. The Spirit of God is a mighty thing, and has the power to expel darkness at a word. It is important to pray for His Spirit to move in you.

2. He has given us authority. Luke 10:19 says, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you”. When Christ redeemed us, He gave us authority over death and the grave. We are no longer under the rule of the darkness, because “He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves”. Colossians 1:13. When you are being attacked and trampled on by the sin and darkness of this world, speak with the authority of Christ.

3. He has given us the truth that He owns us. We no longer belong to the world and its destruction. The devil has no power to steal us back from the Lord. He does, however, have to ability to sow doubt and fear into us, causing us to go against our Father. Believer, you must believe in the very depths of who you are that you belong to Christ.

My favorite line in this song is at the end. “I know who you are now, I’ve named you my enemy”. The Lord has taught me in so many ways that there is power in names. The name that your parents gave you is what you have always, and will probably always be known as. Your name is a big part of what you know about yourself. You may not realize this, or think about it very often, but who would you be if you didn’t know your name?

We also know how important it is to know the name of the Lord Jesus. Darkness trembles at that name. Jesus! It is the name that destroyed the grave. Jesus! We sing that name, and fall on our knees in worship. Romans tells us that if we “confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved”. That is a lot of power in one name. Because we have been given authority in Christ, we have the authority to call things by their name. We call each other brother or sister, we call God our Father, and we call the devil our enemy. Calling him our enemy is important. We are drawing a line of distinction between us, the redeemed, and him, the deceiver. Don’t allow the deceiver to live rent-free in your mind, sowing fogginess and temptation to sin. Fall on your knees before the Lord, and with His power, call out your enemy. This world is a battleground, and we are in the Lord’s army. Don’t allow enemy spies to make their way into your thoughts.

What does your wormwood look like?

For me, it is most often anger and pride. I am tempted to be lazy, to be selfish, and to be apathetic. Make a list of the things that “wormwood” has been sowing into your life. Pray for God’s clarity in those things. Pray that He will give you His strength and authority to combat the enemy.

Week 4 - Day 2 Devotional by Sarah Boyd

Look up the song Truth by Lecrae on the Vinyl Experience Spotify playlist. Truth "See, there's this thing called "Secular Humanism", it Night and Day I ain't scared to say that we different says man is the source of all meaning and all They play the prostitute but they like to say they just purposing. You know what I'm saying? We're just the intimate And Idols in their heart, they can't seem to result of a big cosmic explosion. We don't really have lose their grip on it See them walkin' in the direction a purpose or meaning, so we just come up with our that canned and crippled them Our World is own purpose. We're the source of our meaning and different like Whitley and Wayne man They say we our purpose. How can a man, which is the product of look the same but we ain't chasin' the same thing chance, a finite being be the source of purpose and It all boils down to they think everythings relative meaning? You can't! You're created with purpose Jesus might as well be a South American president man! Get with The Creator yo! " Very evident, they say that Jesus was heaven sent They lifestyle reflects they worship themselves Man, everybody got a problem with God when you instead of Him They don't acknowledge the Christ if mention the Christ Then they really get to turning they did they wouldn't worship themselves by the the knob But some say they roll with Christ But some way that they live All these rappers say they got guns rappers made it seem like He was cool With all the that spray off 16 I've got a Luke 9 that can take all 16 sin in their life NO! But then some say "How can That's the Bible the one they prop But they don't God exist when All this evil stuff in the world keep care about the author they think he's a joke. persistin'? Wrong question. Ask again. ”How come God ain't' let you feel the wrath from sin? " What "Man, It's just some folks say, "All truth is relative, it you thought last night deserved a first class flight To just depends on what you believe." You know, "hey Hell where God doesn't dwell. You got that right But man, ain't no way to know for sure who God is or He bought back life, on a cross that night Christ died, what's really true." But that means you believe your you ain't know that he crossed that price? All of own statement; that there's no way to know what's God's anger put on His son Then together, through really true. You're saying that that statement is true. all of eternity. Now He was shunned. Praise God for You're killing yourself. If what's true for you is true the life that was won for us Ain't got a beef with God for you and what's true for me is true for me, what if because the son was crushed my truth says your's is a lie? Is it still true? Come on man! " You look man, "Some people say that God ain't real 'cause they don't see how a good God can exist with I promise everybody is asking the same questions all this evil in the world. If God is real then He should "Who am I? What is my purpose and my direction? " stop all this evil, 'cause He's all-powerful right? What Y'probably believe that you exist for no other reason is evil though man? It's anything that's against God. Than Self-satisfaction, hedonism and pleasing things It's anything morally bad or wrong. It's murder, rape, Life's about you getting' yours and bein' happy Even stealing, lying, cheating. But if we want God to stop if it means a divorce and switchin' families? Your job, evil, do we want Him to stop it all or just a little bit of your house, your car, your spouse It's all for the it? If He stops us from doing evil things, what about glory of you, helps you out You go to school get y' lying, or what about our evil thoughts? I mean, degrees and get a job So you can make a whole lotta' where do you stop, the murder level, the lying level, g's cause' life’s hard You never thought of livin to or the thinking level? If we want Him to stop evil, we please a real God And that's the reason he made you gotta be consistent, we can't just pick and choose. See, he gave you breathe to breathe the chest to That means you and I would be eliminated right? breathe it. So you can taste and see He's the best, Because we think evil stuff. If that's true, we should believe it He made us for His glory and not for your be eliminated! But thanks be to God that Jesus own homey Our God is Holy. You should repent and stepped in to save us from our sin! Christ died for all die slowly evilness! Repent, turn to Jesus man! "

How would you define truth?

Read this story about truth: Once, when a stubborn disputer seemed unconvinced, Lincoln said, "Well, let's see, how many legs has a cow?" "Four, of course," came the reply disgustedly. "That's right," agreed Lincoln. "Now suppose you call the cow's tail a leg; how many legs would the cow have?" "Why, five, of course," was the confident reply. "Now, that's where you're wrong," said Lincoln. "Calling a cow's tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."

Truth is the state of being true… lame right! That is actually from the dictionary! And that is some of the problem in today’s world. How do you define truth?

I really like this following quote from the book The Influence by Matthew slick “you must understand that feelings and personal preferences are not what determine truth. You don’t create your own reality, nor do you create your own truth. You don’t make reality go away if it is inconvenient. You must face it because truth is tied to reality and reality is independent of you. Therefore, truth is independent of you.”

Can you think of an example where your feelings and personal preferences become truth over Gods truth?

Most of the time false truth is created by wanting to please the society that we live in. Such as the example of “you go to school get y’ degree and get a job so you can make a whole lotta’ g’s cause’ lifes hard.” This is the lie society places within us. There is a lot of pressure to go to college right after high school “What's your ten year plan?” Now I am not saying do not go to school, what I am saying is seek God, rely on his guidance for you future. When we base going to school so we can “get a job to make a lott’a g’s “ that’s living for ourselves and not God. When we base our truth from our creator our mind set changes. You must first ask yourself, “do I believe in God do you believe his Word as truth?”

Read the following scriptures. How do they relate to truth?  John 17:14-18  Romans 12:1-2

Are you conforming to the world in the way you live and make decisions or are you walking with God in your daily decisions?

Do you Trust God’s word as truth?

Because of sin we have a desire to fight Gods word. For some reason we think we will have the answers that make everything better and in return we tend to turn God into the bad guy and leave out the fact that our God is Sovereign and the Righteous Judge. Such as this song describes.

This quote from the book The Influence by Matthew Slick sums it up. “Truth does not control people! Lies do!!” Which Lyrics from the song truth are the best reminders that God’s truth is solid and absolute not dependent on man’s interpretation?

You see, following God’s truth is really simple but it may not be easy. We are hard wired to flourish in God’s plan for us to be loving towards one another, serve him, and worship him. Because we live within the world that is ruled by depravity, we sometimes fall prey to our enemies schemes and forget what truth is.

Let’s do an activity: I would like you to come up with two or three lies you live in or have lived in based on your feelings or personal preferences and put that under the lie section. Then find scripture that conquers those lies. Then find two or three lies of the world that you have been “controlled by” and then find scripture that speaks truth into those lies and spend some time in prayer.

LIES TRUTH

I will leave you with one last quote from The Influence. “The wise seek truth, no matter what it is. The foolish hide from it and seek their own comfort or try to distort truth to suit their own desires. Don’t be a fool. “

Week 4 - Day 3 Devotional by Joshua Haiker

What is a worldview? You may be very accustomed to this term, or this may be the first time you have heard the word. A worldview is simply the way in which you see the world. It is like a pair of glasses that interpret all of the information that you receive. Whether or not they will admit it, everyone you come into contact with has a worldview. It could be a secular worldview, also called secular humanism. Secularism is a pair of glasses that many Americans wear. It is the idea that all things come from man. Secularists go with the flow.

What is cool, what is trendy, what is the modern idea of what is right and wrong, whatever man says. When someone wears the secular worldview glasses, all the information they see is tainted by this idea. When they make decisions these lenses are the determining factors of what is OK or not OK. Many of your friends might be secularists. Even if they don't identify with a specific religion, worldview, or set ideas, everyone still wears, a pair of glasses in which they see the world. There are many many worldviews. Secularism, Buddhism, Hinduism, the Muslim worldview, the Mormon worldview, evolution, which can be under secularism, and many many others.

As followers of Jesus, we wear a specific pair of glasses in which we see the world around us. Our goal is to model our worldview after our Fathers who revealed his heart through his word.

• Spend a few minutes in prayer. Ask God to make his worldview clear to you through his word.

In our goal to model our worldview after that of our father we will examine some scripture. The first thing we will look at is what is God's view on himself.

Read the following scriptures and from these verses answer these questions. Who is God? What is he like? What can you learn about God in these verses?

Isaiah 43:10-11 Deuteronomy 6:4 Deuteronomy 10:17

Numbers 23:19 Exodus 34:5-6 Genesis 1:1 Psalm 86

The first major piece in the Christian worldview is understanding that there is one God. Understanding who God is, and what he is like distinguishes Christianity from other worldviews.

The second piece of the Christian worldview is who is man? What is he like? Read these verses and try to answer the next two questions.

Romans 3:10-18 Romans 3:23 Genesis 3:16-24 Isiah 59:2

The next piece in the Christian worldview is understanding that man is fallen, full of sin which separates man from the glory of god. Not only is man sinful, man is in need of a savior. The next piece in understanding the Christian worldview is who is Jesus? This question is what makes Christianity so different. Read these verses and answer the question, who is Jesus?

John 1:1-18 John 1:29 Colossians 2:9 Hebrews 1

When your glasses have these three parts in them, that God is full of glory and power, that he made the heavens and the earth, that man is fallen and deserves death, that Jesus is the son of God who made all things, you will see the universe how God see's it.

Listen to the song “Give Me Your Eyes” by Brandon Heath and ask God to give you his eyes as you go about your life.

WEEK 5 Feb 3rd … Week 5: Written On Your Heart Song: Write Your Stories by Francesca Battistelli – Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: The Word Writing Project Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Run to Jesus by Francesca Battistelli Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Holy Spirit by Francesca Battistelli

Week 5 – Day 1 Devotional by Chris Smith

Today’s devotional will be a little different. Today we are doing a writing project together. Let’s warm up with a little word association game. As soon as you read the words below write the first thing that comes to you mind. Don’t think or be clever just react.

Gift Lights Banner Social History Get away Thessalonians Blood Under

Alright, let’s reflect on last night. What did the Lord teach you last night?

One more warm up. Write a line that Rhymes with the lines below.

Once when I was young I saw a bee, …

When I walk barefoot in the grass I feel ….

Sitting in the chairs listening to him sing…

Alright, now that you are warm I want you to use the next two pages to do accomplish two projects. First, I want you to create a word picture for the word HEART (see my example below) and on the second page I simple want you to journal about your vinyl experience so far specifically focused on the love of Christ in your life.

HEART

H

E

A

R

T

What has been your favorite song of vinyl so far? Why?

What has been your favorite activity so far of The Vinyl Experience? Why?

What is one thing the Lord has taught you during the first few weeks of Vinyl?

Write a couple thoughts of what you are looking forward to in the rest of Vinyl.

Week 5 – Day 2 Devotional by Chris Smith

Take a couple minutes to listen to the song Run to Jesus by Francesca Battistelli. You can find this on the Vinyl Experience Spotify Playlist or look it up on YouTube.

Hey, lonely, Hey, sad eyes, Hey, you who needs some sunshine, All you gotta do is open up the blinds, Hey, worry, Hey, heartache Help is not that far away Just open up your eyes He'll be there, every time

When you're all out of heart and out of hope And you don't really know which way to go Come on, come on, run to Jesus If you're lost and you don't know where to start It don't really matter where you are Come on, come on, yeah, run to Jesus, run to Jesus

Do you know that your story Starts and ends with mercy And it's waiting in His arms 'Cause He knows what you're feeling So don't you stop believing He's got you right where you belong

Which of the lyrics above is your favorite?

My favorite verse is Do you know that your story Starts and ends with mercy. I love this line but I don’t think most people understand mercy. Use the verses below to come up with a definition of Mercy.

 Psalms 40:11

 Romans 9:14-18

 Psalms 51:1

 1 Timothy 1:12-16

 Psalms 103:1-4

Your Definition based on the verses above:

My definition according to the verses above: Mercy is an unrestrained work of God done according to His steadfast love, a work of God’s patience to show His glory and to eventually crown us as sons and daughters of the King.

How can we exercise the definition of mercy in our own lives?

Well, I read a story about a mother who once approached a mighty ruler seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death. "But I don't ask for justice," the mother explained. "I plead for mercy." "But your son does not deserve mercy," the ruler replied. "Sir," the woman cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it.” How can we show mercy to those who have wronged us? The idea of fair and justice is championed by us when we are the ones wronged but grace and mercy are our plea when we are the wrong doer. Perhaps mercy is the better answer.

 Luke 6:36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.  James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.  Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.  Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Can you think of some times that you refused to show mercy?

Often, that unforgiveness can give birth to bitterness. The answer to bitterness is mercy. Remember the lyric: Do you know that your story Starts and ends with mercy. Our story began with mercy : while we were still sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8) and it will end not with judgment but with mercy by the blood of Jesus! Hallelujah!

Spend some time in prayer and use this Guide:

 First, Thank Jesus because of the joys set before Him, He endured the cross.  Secondly, confess any sin for which you need mercy.  Thirdly, ask the Lord to reveal to you anyone you need to show mercy to. Write it down.  Lastly, ask the Lord to reveal and take away any bitterness you have held toward that person. Ask the Lord for freedom from those thoughts and feelings.

Week 5 – Day 3 Devotional by Sarah Boyd

Listen to the song Holy Spirit by Francesca Battistelli on the Vinyl Experience Spotify playlist.

Every time I listen to this song the following scripture comes to mind.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. John 14:26

A few years ago while I was at work I felt God telling me to pray with someone in person at Refuge that evening. I was really tired from a stressful day and knew I was not going to go so I compromised with God. I thought “okay I will pray, I will call her.” I did not have her number. Then I said “I will e-mail her,” but I did not have her e-mail and I didn't even know exactly what he was wanting me to pray about anyways. I ended up ignoring the call to pray with her in person, prayed at home instead, and chose not to go to Refuge that week. I felt uneasy the rest of that evening and even into the next week. The next week I saw that person and said “I felt the Lord saying to pray for you can I pray for you?” After I prayed, and her not knowing my struggle between my selfishness and the Lord, she said, “that is exactly what I needed to hear last week!” Ouch! I will never forget the disappointment I felt afterwards. After this experience I started to understand what the fear of the LORD meant and what an honor it is to be a vessel for his work. There really is no greater joy than being urged by the Spirit into action and having a front row seat to what the LORD is doing.

Have you ever felt the Holy Spirit leading you?

Do you fear the Lord and obey him when he is telling you to get rid of sin or be bold for him?

Is the Holy Spirit really welcomed here in your life in your day to day or only when the circumstances are right?

Look up the following verses and reflect on the Holy Spirit’s role:

 John 3:5-8

 Romans 8:1-6

 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Use the lyrics below in your prayer time. Highlight, write verses or thoughts by them as you prepare to pray. If the Lord gives you the name of a person as you read write it down and ask the Lord why that name came up. Holy Spirit You Are Welcome Here There's nothing worth more That could ever come close No thing can compare You're our living hope Your presence Lord I've tasted and seen Of the sweetest of loves Where my heart becomes free And my shame is undone Your presence, Lord

Holy Spirit, You are welcome here Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for To be overcome by Your presence, Lord Your presence, Lord

Let us become more aware of Your presence

Let us experience the glory of Your goodness

Spend some time in prayer thanking God for this precious gift. Repent from the times you have

ignored the Holy Spirit calling you to get rid of sin and form the times you have ignored the LORD’s call to action. Pray that the LORD speaks to you and leads you in the way you should go.

WEEK 6 Feb 10th … Week 6: Making Me Knew Song: Making Me New by Royal Tailor –

Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: New Creation in Him Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Ready Set Go by Royal Tailor Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Walking Daily with Jesus

Week 6 – Day 1 Devotional by Paul Valdez A New Creation in Him

Take a moment and listen to Making me New by Royal Tailor on the Vinyl Experience Playlist.

Would you agree that we all appreciate "new" things in life? Think about your first new bike, those new pair of shoes, or maybe that new phone. Oh...how our eyes light up when we first see it! And why wouldn't we smile after getting that first glimpse of a shiny untarnished new device or smelling that distinct aroma of brand new leather? Let's face it, we like new things. That is a feeling I believe God has given us. He too knows the joy that can come from new things. And the amazing difference between our new things and His new "things" is that His are imperishable! Let's reflect on this statement as we meditate on the following verse:

John 10:28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand."

Through Jesus, we experience first the gift of eternal life, from which then by the Holy Spirit we can begin to exercise the spiritual gifts God has given to us in. Read 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Now let's turn the table, and consider that feeling you had when you were the giver of a new thing. Can you recall the joy you felt when the person you gifted smiled brightly with much thankfulness?

Imagine what it would be like if the gift you gave never rusted, broke, or was stolen from them. Now that is a gift worth celebrating! And Jesus, knowing just how special the gift of eternal life is, has given it to you and desires you to share this good news with others. Let's reflect on this statement as we meditate on the following verse:

Psalm 96:2 "Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day."

Now that you've had some time to consider the greatness of His gift, we can seek God's wisdom as we reflect on the song chosen for this devotion. Let’s play a little game of true and false as we consider the lyrics:

True or False When you open your heart to the gift of Salvation, you can hide it and keep quiet (read Romans 10:9)

True or False God's love is a miracle (read John 3:16)

True or False God won't let go of me (see John 10:28 above)

True or False We are dead until we receive Jesus into our hearts (read Ephesians 2:1)

True or False When we are in Christ, we are a new creation, and some things become new (read 2 Corinthians 5:17)

True or False Jesus would never come like a thief in the night (read 1 Thessalonians 5:2)

True or False Jesus gave it all for you (read Phil 2:5-11)

May you walk in newness of life rejoicing in what the Lord Jesus has done for you!

As you end your devotional, spend some time in prayer asking the Lord to bring back the joy of your salvation as you meditate on the gift of Jesus in your life. Pray the verses above in the True/False section and a guide.

Week 6 – Day 2 Devotional by Chris Smith Ready Set Go Start today’s devotional by listening to the song Ready Set Go by Royal Tailor on the Vinyl Experience Spotify playlist or look it up. Follow along with the lyrics below.

Lived so long with my eyes on me Too deaf to hear, too blind to see Oh, broken hearts on the city streets but I can hear that you’re calling me to Be the hope, be the light, be the love Right now, starting right now

Oh, you put my life in motion Your love makes me want to give my all Ready set go Ready set go oh So no, I’m not holding back anymore Like an engine ready to explode I’m ready set go Ready set go oh, oh

Can’t stop this clock is counting down, go down So many lost waiting to be found, oh yeah I would go where you’re leading me, God Reach my hands to the least of these I'll be the hope, be the light, be the love Right now, starting right now

Oh, you put my life in motion Your love makes me want to give my all Ready set go Ready set go oh So no, I’m not holding back anymore Like an engine ready to explode I’m ready set go Ready set go oh, oh

Give me the green light Show me the finish line No more spinning in circles No more wasting time So let it start today, where I flip the switch say You're my light, I won't fight, I'll go wherever you say To the top of the highest mountain To the bottom of every valley I'll be the spark that turns into the grand finale This love is something everyone needs to know Hearts are callin', no more stalling, it's just

Broken hearts on the city streets but I can hear that you’re calling me to Be the hope, be the light, be the love Right now, starting right now

What lyrics mean the most to you where you are today?

Yesterday Paul talked about being a new creation in Christ. Today’s challenge is to stop spinning in circles and stop wasting time. Let’s start our new life today walking with Jesus. How you ask?

You put my life in motion –  Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

 Ephesians 4:22-24 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Your love makes me want to give my all -

After we have been made new putting off our old self, Ephesians 4:25 says “therefore”. In other words, we have a responsibility to protect this new creations by

Speaking Truth Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

Control our Anger Ephesians 4:26-27 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

Avoid Idleness or laziness for generosity Ephesians 4:28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

Control our speech by avoiding gossip, crude joking [29] Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Be attentive to the Holy Spirit – I feel like I need to explain this one a little bit more. When we grieve the Holy Spirit, we are actively opposing the leading of the Spirit. We are willfully disobeying. We are hardening our hearts and mind so that we can no longer feel or hear the guidance of the Spirit. We are actively avoiding the word of God (God’s text messages to us). Keep your mind active and attentive to the Spirit! [30] And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Shield yourself from bitterness, anger and judgment [31] Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Display kindness to a lost world [32] Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Spend a few minutes with the Lord and today I would love for you so spend 5 minutes just trying to listen for the Lord at the end of your prayer. Read through Psalms 40 as a guide and listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Week 6 – Day 3 Devotional by Tahrea Smith Walking Daily with Jesus

Deuteronomy 8:3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

What are your favorite foods?

What foods seem to satisfy you?

We need God. As we need food. We need food daily (for the most part) for life. The way God has created us is that food sustains our physical body. The verse above teaches we should be humble because we see God’s power as creator. God created us with certain needs and food is a good example of one of them. Yes, we can debate how much food we need, what kinds of foods are best for us, etc. BUT the bottom line is that we all need food to live. That is how God set it up for us. God is so gracious to us that HE has blessed us with taste buds. Can you think of some foods you so enjoy because of the taste of them? God could have set it up for us to just give us food for only sustainment, but He didn’t. He lets us enjoy foods such as savory desserts, crunchy, salty and spicy foods, juicy sweet fruits, melt in your mouth foods etc. But this is still not the whole picture.

We cannot live a full life on just physical foods. We need HIS Word. Daily…for a real fulfilling life. In the gospel of Matthew when satan was tempting Jesus, he answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

I praise God that he ‘spelled it out’ for us. We cannot live on just physical food. Can you think of a time you were satisfied or even blessed with yummy food, but still felt void or sad? Pray and ask God to remind you of such a time.

He need HIS Word. Even though we think we can live a fine or even fulfilled life, God is telling us we must have His Word for true life. Makes me wonder what blessings I am missing out on.

It reminds me of CS Lewis’s quote, “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

The child thinks a little mud is awesome because he can’t imagine the vast sea. Can you relate to this. Have you ever wanted something, but did not get it to find out that there was something better?

God has so much to reveal to you. He has so much to bless you with in your soul. His peace, comfort, direction, JOY! When God teaches, reveals truth, and encourages me, it gives me hope and direction in my relationship with Him. As I walk with Him daily, reading HIs Word and praying, He builds my faith and I am blessed with such satisfaction, excitement, & joy that is unexplainable. My hope is that this brings HIM glory which is my goal!

Job 23:12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

What is it you treasure?

Does this bring you joy?

I am praying for each of you to treasure His Word more than you do your daily food and even more than the things you have listed above. God gives us freedom. He allows us to choose the foods we eat and He also allows us to determine how we spend our time. Walking close to Him is key. To know Him better is to spend time with Him.

How much time do you spend getting to know Jesus? In reading the Bible and being still before Him?

It is easy to relate our relationship with the Lord with our human relationships. Do you have a friend that you had a close relationship with that moved away?

Think of your relationship when he/she lived close and how it is now. Some people lose touch while others are better at making the effort to stay close. Regardless, I am going to relate that relationship to how ours can be with God.

When you spend time with someone, you know more about them. You share activities, feelings, and emotions. You talk, listen (hopefully) and do things together. After they moved, you probably do not have the same relationship. Yes, you may still talk some. Chances are the longer it has been the less ‘close’ you are. Some of you after not talking for a long time can still pick up where you left off as far as ‘closeness’ goes. Sometimes it is hard to make conversation, sometimes it is not. Sometimes there is guilt of what you should have done and sometimes there is not. It is the same with Jesus in how the relationship works, BUT HE IS PERFECT! His love is NOT dependent on how we ‘perform’. HE is always there! He wants to be close to us and does not hold grudges. The more we spend time with HIM the closer we are to HIM from OUR end of the relationship. When we do not, WE are missing out in the joy and excitement of HIM. HE satisfies us! We are so easily distracted by the worldly ‘stuff’ but HE has so much more!! Not that we cannot do any of what this world offers, but it should not take the place of the most important way to spend our time!

Psalm 89:15-16 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long they celebrate your righteousness.

Do you rejoice in HIM because you are walking with HIM?

Psalm 119:45 I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.

Do you seek His precepts? (His ways?)

HE gives Freedom! His precepts give freedom. May we learn to TRUST HIM more and more as we walk daily with HIM!

As I close, let me pray over all of us: I am praying we seek God in spending time talking with Him- Just pouring out our hearts. I am praying we hear from Him- that we spend time reading the Bible, being STILL before HIM, listening to the Holy Spirit, seeking Godly counsel & lining it up with THE SPIRIT in us!

WEEK 7 Feb 17th … Week 7: Radical Life Song: Radical by S.O

Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Living a Radical Life Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Best Thing I Ever Found Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: One Way to Follow

Week 7 – Day 1 Devotional by Stephen Burnham Living a Radical Life

What is your Christian definition of radical ?

The dictionary defines radical as: (especially of change or action) relating to or affecting the fundamental nature of something; far-reaching or thorough.

Are most Christians radical in their faith ? Why not? Are you?

Can someone be too radical? How can this harm the name of Christ ?

One of the key components in being radical for Jesus is being grounded in the truth. Otherwise we work in vain. Matthew 7:21-23 is frightening “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

However, God demands that we be radical about Him. Our fundamental nature is changed. The effects of Jesus in our lives is far reaching and thorough.

How can being radical bring glory to the Lord ?

Was Jesus radical ? What examples come to mind ?

Look at these verses & write the radical attribute or trait they show:

 Mathew 21:12-13  John 3:16  Hebrews 11  2 Samuel 6  Mark 1:40-42

Who are some people you know who are living a radical life for Christ? What makes them radical based on what we have learned today?

What are some steps you can take to be more radical in your faith ?

Spend some time reading and praying through Hebrews 11. As you read about these radicals of the faith ask the Lord to birth in you some of the same boldness and faith as these men and women of the faith.

Week 7 – Day 2 Devotional by Chris Smith Best Thing I have Ever Found

Start today’s devotional by listening to the song Best Thing That I Found by Saigon on the Vinyl Experience Spotify playlist or look it up. The song is labelled explicit but as you follow along with the lyrics below you will see it is mislabeled.

Another face, in the crowd Fall from grace, I'm comin down You're the best thing that I found You're the best thing that I found Lost your way, I lost my crown I'm still here, feet on the ground You're the best thing that I found You're the best thing that I found, that I found

Saigon: I used to get these feelings and think of these crazy things But when you shine your light on me it's like you gave me wings I thought I was depressed, you showed me how much more I was blessed I'm thankin you Lord, this I could confess You know more than anybody all that I had to go through I heard you when you said that's just somethin I had to show you For me to get to know you like I know you And when the Reaper tried to come to get me you came to save me, I owe you Some call you Jesus as Father, some say you the holy ghost I know you love me cause when things get ugly you hold me close This is why I try to live the life of just righteousness Feelin like the opposite, somethin you wouldn't like for us Coulda easily got addicted and couldn't kick it You told me to never try it, that's why I never did it Heavenly Father never forget it My life without you, I'd just rather not live it

Another face, in the crowd Fall from grace, I'm comin down You're the best thing that I found You're the best thing that I found Lost your way, I lost my crown I'm still here, feet on the ground You're the best thing that I found You're the best thing that I found, that I found

Lecrae: Yeah, not ashamed of my pain, not ashamed of my struggle I lost some battles but I'm still out here facin this trouble Facin my trials cause they only make me stronger Starvin in these streets will only elevate your hunger Beat me down and laughed at me, tell me that this is foolishness They can't take my hope away from me, nobody's movin it Faith ain't what you make it, faith is all I got to make it Tired of you forsakin, you naked left in the vacant Forget them naysayers and haters and stay at it Sometimes a dream broken is a dream worth havin Passions passed in my pastor, can't rewind it and back up Focus fixed on the future so tell my failures to back up Get back up after you fall when yo' back is up on that wall Ain't no backup that you control, just look back up at God and call Uhh, sometimes the pain is the motivation of trust And them scars are the evidence that the journey was rough Yeah, none of it was in vain, re-adjusted the aim Missed a couple of shots, still ain't out of the game

Another face, in the crowd Fall from grace, I'm comin down You're the best thing that I found You're the best thing that I found Lost your way, I lost my crown I'm still here, feet on the ground You're the best thing that I found You're the best thing that I found, that I found

Mark or underline your favorite lyrics and make notes.

When I hear this song the first thing that jumps out to me it the chorus and the best thing that I found. Jesus tells the people the Parable of the Hidden Treasure in Matthew 13:44 and it says this:

.

Is that the way you view Jesus? As a treasure?

I was reading about the great missionary David Livingstone. The body of David Livingstone was buried in England where he was born, but his heart was buried in the Africa he loved. At the foot of a tall tree in a small African village the natives dug a hole and placed in it the heart of this man who they loved and respected.

If your heart were to be buried in the place you loved most during life, where would it be? In your pocketbook? In your phone? On your social media page? Where is your heart?

When we truly see Jesus as our treasure we have two choices. Either to put Him on display for all to see or to bury Him in the back of our mind behind our true treasures which we display.

Tomorrow we will talk about how to put it on display but I wanted to leave you with a story.

While on a dig twenty years ago, Rob Cutshaw found a rock he described as "purdy and big." He tried unsuccessfully to sell the specimen, and according to the newspaper the Constitution, kept the rock under his bed or in his closet. He guessed the blue chunk could bring as much as $500 dollars, but he would have taken less if something urgent came up like paying his power bill. That's how close Rob came to hawking for a few hundred dollars what turned out to be the largest, most valuable sapphire ever found. The blue rock that Rob had abandoned to the darkness of a closet two decades ago -- now known as "The Star of David" sapphire -- weighs nearly a pound, and could easily sell for $2.75 million.

We are tempted to sell our soul cheap for the cut-rate thrills of the world. We sell out… To finish today listen to the song Sell Out by Lecrae from Church Clothes 2. I’ll do anything to gain your respect is the mantra of the world. Satan is the CEO of Lie A lot Records. Empty promises give death. The gospel of Christ brings life!!

Week 7 – Day 3 Devotional by Chris Smith Sharing our Faith

Why are we so scared to share our faith?

Many of us like to claim one-one-six but are we truly unashamed? Does our life reflect Jesus?

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Are you willing to share the gospel with people you know this week?

Here are some keys to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Tell your story. It is hard to argue with the work of Christ in someone’s personal story. It is ok if you have not arrived at the end of your struggles. God will use your transformation as an example of His power because His power is made perfect in weakness. In fact, if you were to wait until you were finished you would be dead.

Trust God because He is the author and perfecter of faith Ultimately your job is to trust God and encourage others toward Him. Someone’s eternity does not rest on your ability to share the gospel perfectly or your ability to live a perfect life. But we are honored to get to be a part of what God is doing.  Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Live out your faith in front of others. Talk the talk and walk the walk. Work out your salvation to make the name of Jesus greater as an ambassador for Him. Live out a life being transformed intot he likeness of Christ.  Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  Ephesians 5:8 For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

Don’t wait. Do not listen to the lies that you are not good enough or knowledgeable enough to share your faith. Just do it. Step out for Christ. Jesus endured the cross for our sin the least we can do is be unashamed to talk about Him. If we are unwilling to speak boldly for Him we have a love problem. Love is not quiet. Love is loud! Love is bold!

In the space below I want you to write out the names of some people you could share Christ within the next two weeks. Pray for God to give you an opportunity. If you are scared to ask God to give you an opportunity begin praying now for a greater love for Christ. People would say that is too harsh a way of thinking but I disagree. If someone asked me if I was married and I refused to answer… that is an answer. And that is a horrible answer. Why is it different with Christ? Perhaps you are the one that needs to hear the love of Christ but also the radical nature of our relationship with God.

 Matthew 10:32-33 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, "But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

The Lord is our Banner. Raise Him up! Speak of Him when you sit and when you rise. Tell the world about Jesus. Finish your time worshipping to the song Tell the world by Lecrae.

Don’t forget those names and opportunities below.

WEEK 8 Feb 24th … Week 8: Worship Song: Left Right by Benjah –

Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Anywhere Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Rainbows Life of Worship Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Living Worship

Week 8 – Day 1 Devotional by Chris Smith

Take me up down anywhere you want I’m just along for the ride…

Read Psalm 113 below: Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD! Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised! The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens! Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!

This week is all about worship. Worshipping the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! What is worship? Here are a couple definitions. Choose your favorite:

 A.W. Tozer – Worship is to feel in your heart and express in some appropriate manner a humbling but delightful sense of admiring awe and astonished wonder and overpowering love in the presence of that most ancient Mystery, that Majesty which philosophers call the First Cause, but which we call Our Father Which Are in Heaven.  James Packer - To worship God is to recognize his worth or worthiness; to look God- ward, and to acknowledge in all appropriate ways the value of what we see.  Warren W Wiersbe – For worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose -- and all of this gathered up in adoration,  Bishop of Canterbury, William Temple – quickening the conscience by the holiness of God, feeding the mind with the truth of God, purging the imagination by the beauty of God, opening the heart to the love of God, and devoting the will to the purpose of God

What were the key words that made you choose one of the definitions above?

How would you describe your personal worship?

How do you worship Jesus away from Sundays and Wednesday night?

One of the dangers we have as a modern day church is to separate performance / expectation based worship from worship based on spirit and truth. We often like the worship if our favorite song is played regardless of whether God is present or not. After attending church one Sunday morning, a little boy knelt at his bedside that night and prayed, "Dear God, we had a good time at church today--but I wish you had been there!”

Would you notice if God was not with you?

Read these verses about worship and mark down any key components of worship you see:

 Psalms 29:2

 Psalms 96

 Romans 12:1-2

 John 4:22-24

 Matthew 15:7-9

Spend a few minutes worshipping the Lord today. Turn up the head phones and sing out loud if you can. Look up praise songs on youtube there are many songs with lyrics so you can sing along. Don’t make an excuse to avoid this. Let the Lord calm you heart and mind as you pour out worship to Him. Worship is your spiritual exhale. The space below is for any lyrics of those praise songs that speak to you.

Week 8 – Day 2 Devotional by Jacob Hardman

To start your devotional time today, listen to Rainbows by Benjah on the Vinyl Experience playlist or look it up on your own.

We’ve been programmed to worship But the wrong gods we flirt with Run after all the glitters Deceived by smoke and mirrors It’s like a never ending maze Can’t see clear with this haze Need the Son to burn it off Before we go and get too lost

It's like, Everywhere i’m lookin’ man, still not satisfied Don't know why i lookin’ fam , wandering hungry eyes Im eating every day, but never really full Always wanting more, so i keep on chasing after

Rainbows, after rainbows, chasing rainbows They come out after rain Chasing Rainbows, after rainbows, chasing rainbows Always waiting for it to rain Rainbows every day, they come out after rain have you ever met a man that found the gold they give away they say, don’t u give up now, u almost got it found keep chasing and keep wanting, keep spinning round and round

Yea I need it need, gotta get it get it Can't live with out it, out it, so so where is it is it Thats such a prison, living living for thrills and getting getting what’s not that, yea such a mystery, is it not really, Will it give me this, Can't give me that, I feel it in my grip, I won't ever give it back I need it like I'm fending, I'm out here scheming, life can be a nightmare gotta keep on dreaming Gotta keep on reaching, scratching scheming, asking, seeking, grasping, needing, pleasing This thing to me man, like air, yea the only reason I'm breathing Help me please don't ever leave, till I get this in my life My everything I'll ever need forever be alright, right Don't believe the hype, fairy tales just ain't real life Dreams do come true, but don't be fooled, man what this world will push to you is...

Money money money, thats all they talkin' bout The richest man can’t afford rain in a drought 2x We’re all born with this thirst, but it's so far from a curse Drink the dirty water you’ll get merked, call the doctor and the nurse It's not the thirst thats wrong, it's what you turn to thats what harms. Hear the siren hear this alarm, and don't fall for the charm no.

What was your favorite lyric in the song and why?

In the first part of second verse of the song, Benjah describes chasing after his sin only to find that "it's not really a mystery." He then describes his soul-crushing need for Jesus.

Do you feel the same need for Jesus? If not, why don't we feel a need for Jesus?

Read through verse 3 of the song.

What do you think Benjah means when he says: "The richest man can't afford rain in a drought?

What do you think it means when he says: "It's not the thirst that's wrong, it's what you turn to that harms?"

As humans we are born with an innate need to worship. Be it worshiping a deity, a possession, another person, the Earth, our reason, science, or even just ourselves. Do you agree with this statement?

Throughout the song Benjah describes worshiping things that fail to satisfy him. What are some things we worship that don't truly satisfy? Why do these things not satisfy us in the end?

Worshiping Jesus Christ is the only thing that truly satisfies us in the end. Do you agree with this statement? If so, does your life reflect this statement? Why or why not?

What do you thing the difference is between worship, and living worship? Read James 2:14-26. How do you think faith and works relate to each other.

Living worship is faith being made clear to everyone by works. You are not saved because you have works, but works without faith are worthless. Living worship is living your life in a way that is pleasing to God, even with no one around. Living worship is living your life in a way that your life is one great work for God.

End your devotional time with worship. Listen to This is Living by Hillsong Young and Free on the Vinyl Experience Playlist on Spotify.

Week 8 – Day 3 Devotional by Chris Smith

Have you ever come into a Refuge “no feeling it” only to find yourself in an overwhelmed place of worship? Psalms 22:3 says that He is enthroned and dwells in our praises. This is the mystery and the miracle of the breakthrough power and presence of God when we worship! When we worship, we affirm the truth of God’s Word, and it is being rooted deep in our hearts.

Several things happen to us during worship. Here are a couple ideas:

Worship can minister to our souls. Music has an ability like nothing else to minister straight to our soul. It seems to bypass everything and begins to rebuild our trust and faith in Jesus. It seems to melt away the hidden things making room for the word of God to rebuild us.

 Psalm 84:10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.  Psalm 63:1-4 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.

Worship can be a declaration of our weakness and God’s strength. As we breathe out our troubles and weakness, He will fill us up with a lyric from the song or even ministers to us through a flood of emotion that rolls over us.

 2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

 Psalm 34:17-20 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

Through worship, God can take away our worry and stress. God has told us to trust Him and worship is one of His reminders that He is in control.

 1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.  Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Worship can be a reminder of the unity we have in Christ. As our voices mix together, we can feel the worship of others encouraging us to worship with them. We are the body of Christ and unity is vital.

 Philippians 2:2 Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.  Ephesians 4:1-6 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

When we worship, the invisible God is at work doing invisible and powerful things. We get realigned, refreshed and refueled; we find unspeakable joy and indescribable peace. We discover the breakthrough strength of God, which enables us to walk in the truth, live in His presence and see Him fight our battles for us. It is how we can put the beauty of the Gospel on display, receive His many blessings and at the same time be a blessing to the world.

As we have done all week, let’s end this devotional with worship. Listen to the two songs below and write down any lyrics that God uses to refresh your soul.

From the Inside Out by Hillsong United - Live in Miami Album on the Vinyl Experience Playlist. Even So come by Kristian Stanfill on the Vinyl Experience Playlist

WEEK 9 Mar 2nd… Week 9: Wake Up People Song: Uncomfortable by Andy Mineo

Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Staying off David’s Roof Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Vendetta by Andy Mineo Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Remote Parents

Week 9 – Day 1 Devotional by Rudy Cedillo Staying off David’s Roof

God prepare me for the war Comfort be the thing that'll make a king fall Eyes on the Lord, gotta grip that blade of the sword – Andy Mineo in Uncomfortable

David gave into temptation with Bathsheba. The Bible tells us that sin begins in our heart with our desires. The sin of lust initiates with the eyes, our gateway to the heart. David tried to cover up his sin with lies and murder. King David you may remember he was King of Israel, writer of psalms, and mostly described by God as, “A man after My own heart” (Acts 13:22).

Read our story, found in 2 Samuel 11:1-5: 1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. 3 And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

David walked on the roof and he saw a naked woman in a bathtub! David knew all the ins and outs of his home. He knew exactly where the bath houses could be seen from his roof top. Look at James 1:14-15.

but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Our sin begins way before we realize it. It begins when we let down our guard of self-discipline and we start wandering from God. David’s sin started on the roof top not in the bed with Bathsheba. It starts with our eyes and it works way to the heart and emotions and then moves to the rest of our flesh.

Can you remember a time when your eyes led you to sin? When?

We should know that the sin of lust begins with your eyes, it then happens a second and third time. Before you know it your life is revolving around that sin. We need to remove ourselves from any situation that might cause us to sin. Remember God promises to give us strength to withstand temptation. (1 Corinthians 10:13). We need to do what David could have done.

GET OFF THE ROOF TOP!

What rooftop activity are you involved in right now?

Often times our “rooftop” is comfort. We are so used to the sin that is rampant around us that we don’t even notice ourselves looking over he edge. We need a wake up call. Andy wrote a song to try and wake us up. John wrote to the church of Sardis warning them to wake up because what we think is acceptable is not always up to Gods standards. Do these verses speak to you?

Revelation 3:1-6 [1] “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. [2] Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. [3] Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. [4] Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. [5] The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. [6] He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Pray that God will help you overcome temptation and wake up to the reality of areas where you are too comfortable. Pray these verses over your small group today:

 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

 Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Week 9 – Day 2 Devotional by Corley Johnson Tactics for the Angry Soul when you hold in your vendetta

Start your devotional time by listening to Vendetta by Andy Mineo on the Vinyl Experience Playlist on Spotify or by looking it up on your own.

I told you so I told you We are the ones Cause 'Pac did a lot more for me than Barack Salute La, da-da, da, da, da, da, da We're not afraid to lose everything we got Cause all we really got is our word, word, word The pen is greater than the sword La, da-da, da, da, da, da, da

By the people, for the people Seems like you only look out for your sort of people I look around, it's more evil God I see it in me You see, um Everyday we closer to that funeral Everyday a struggle, but the struggle still beautiful And doctors don't got patience for their patients So they just send them to that pharmaceutical We tell 'em that they need drugs But I know that they need love I ain't scared of that war or the violence The thing I'm more terrified of is [-silence-] I wanna snatch my generation out this apathy Gotta do that now 'fore this voice grow out of reach And what we feedin' people that's a tragedy So what you want, the chemicals or calories? Nobody taught us how to eat Momma gon' work the sixty hour weeks What's for dinner? Well, what's quicker and cheap You got remote parents, you'll be raised by the TV My momma worked the night shift Still made it out to every single game While my father sat at home I promise when I have my own that we will never be the same Vendetta

I told you so I told you We are the ones Cause 'Pac did a lot more for me than Barack Salute La, da-da, da, da, da, da, da We're not afraid to lose everything we got Cause all we really got is our word, word, word The pen is greater than the sword La, da-da, da, da, da, da, da

Look, Mr., Mr. or Mrs Government official, we just won't listen You can't relate to how we livin' from where you're sittn' That's why the artist got more influence than the politician This my generation We know the news never tell the truth so we go to Twitter for our information It's so fast, ya'll seem slow to us By the time you print it tomorrow it's old to us We are the ones that you used to be, brave idealists with a dream That went corrupted by the cream, yeah This pen is not for sale They nickel and dime'n We still throwin' quarters in a wishing well And I know you can't imagine losin' the lifestyle that you so used to havin' And, yo, we still make decisions for the fact that they awesome Not just for the profit margin Hold up, how i'm talkin? I got excess, others got need I gotta answer to God for all of these sneaks I got a hundred pairs, but only two feet God forgive me, I've been thinkin' 'bout me We point fingers at people who sin different, skin different But the same color we bleed You wanna know the real problem in America? Always has been and it always will be, me If you had any other answer you've been deceived We've been lookin' for salvation in education, money, leaders, and policies But we got a bigger need We got a sin debt that we inherited We divide ourself by class, skin color, and our heritage Well our Creator bankrupt the heaven so that we could all be there with Him Brothers and sisters

I told you so I told you We are the ones Cause 'Pac did a lot more for me than Barack Salute La, da-da, da, da, da, da, da We're not afraid to lose everything we got Cause all we really got is our word, word, word The pen is greater than the sword La, da-da, da, da, da, da, da

Read the verses below:

 Jonah 4 - But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the LORD said, “Do you do well to be angry?” Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the LORD God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” And the LORD said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

 Ephesians 4:26-27 - Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

 Matthew 5:22 - But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother(1) will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

“I told you so” must be one of the biggest roots of any vendetta. I personally struggle with judgment. I have said, “I told you so” too many times to count. In my life, I judge people and carried a vendetta over big things and even things that when you look at it was nothing.

What is a Vendetta? The dictionary says a vendetta is prolonged bitter quarrel with or campaign against someone.

Have you ever carried a vendetta against anyone?

As you listened to the song Vendetta what was your favorite verse?

One of mine was “We point fingers at people who sin different.” I remember when I was 14, I would go to church and at the end of every service we would end in a group prayer. I would keep my eyes open for part of it so I could see whose else had their eyes open. I wanted to see who the bad Christians were. Who would not close their eyes for praying to God? I mean come on! Then it hit me! I was condemning myself!

Now, I know that is silly. How could I think down on someone for that, something that small. But I want you to stop and think.

Have you ever been mad and holding anger for someone?

Have you been mad at someone for lying to you? Have you ever lied?

See this is how a vendetta begins. Someone wrongs you. YOU do not show grace YOU make the judgment against them. Something you can’t forget is that you are a sinner too. And everyone you know is a sinner. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus died for you both. How do these verses speak to you?

 Romans 2:2 Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.  Matthew 7:3 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

Something to think on when you get angry is that no one has lied more to you than you. Don't let your pride go to your head! Stop judging. Pray for them because they are in the same boat as you. They are stuck in there sin living with other sinners and they need your grace. You are going to stumble sometimes just like people are going to fail you. But God shows you endless grace enough for the both of you. If you want to live a Godly life and a more joyful life

show grace as much as you can. And when you fail, give it to the Lord and rest in your Heavenly Father.

Week 9 – Day 3 Devotional by Tahrea Smith Remote Parents

Prayerfully read Isaiah 55. What jumped out at you?

Here are the first 3 verses. Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.

God is teaching us that HE is our satisfaction! In the song ‘Uncomfortable’, Andy explains that there is the feeling of never being truly satisfied with the things of this world.

When it comes to our parents, we have expectations. We have a longing for someone to care deeply about us and to love us unconditionally.

Think about this a moment and write down some expectations you have for your parents.

God blesses us with other human relationships. Other adults (Aunts, uncles, youth workers etc), family and friends. Take time to thank God for those people now as you list them.

Do you have different expectations for them? Write some down.

Now think about how God is really the only one to truly satisfy these needs. Look up some Psalm 90:14. What does it teach about how God satisfies us and our response to this?

Read all of Psalm 91. I love how this Psalm teaches us about taking refuge in the Lord! What are your thoughts of this chapter?

Verses 14-16 state, “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

Sometimes it is hard to set aside expectations you have of others, especially your parents. I would like you to pray and ask God to heal you from hurts that you have from intentional things your parents have said/done. Write down things that come to mind and give them to the Lord.

Also, think of the times that you are disappointed because your parents seem ‘remote’ - distant, uninvolved, uncaring.

Are some of these your expectations that they may not know about?

Pray and ask God to heal you from these unmet expectations and ask God if He is leading you to talk with them about any of these. God is our healer. God is our strength to do hard things. Mostly, God is our satisfaction. I am praying for you as you seek God in these things.

WEEK 10 Mar 9th … Week 10: Made for This Song: Run Wild …For King and Country –

Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Running Free Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Messengers by Lecrae Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Ambassadors for Christ

Week 10 – Day 1 Devotional by Garrett Smith

Living Free

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1-4.

Let’s break this down…

“2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”

This world has only one fork with two paths essentially: sin and death (to Hell) or in Jesus Christ who gives eternal life (to Heaven). See Romans 6:23 or Romans 8:13…. Many, many, many other verses can be provided on this… These are just in close proximity to this bible study.

“3For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh”… The law is the law…. However, we all know that the flesh is weak – see Matthew 26:41 or Galatians 5:19-21.

“God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Also see Galatians 5:16-17 or Romans 7:5-6.

These two verses are key here. …He condemned sin in the flesh!!! In order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us! Us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit!

We, who have accepted Christ and are Christ follower are free of the flesh – Christ has condemned the sin in the flesh!

1) Are you living free or dragging that old ways and chain around with you?

2) Know that if you are a true Christian that Jesus is at the right hand of God and is interceding for us. Read Roman 8:32-39. 3) Look up “Newsboys – I am free” and worship him in song for the freedom He has granted us. You can find this song on the Vinyl Experience playlist.

Week 10 – Day 2 Devotional by Tahrea Smith DIVE DEEP: Running Free

Read 2 Corinthians 3:12-17 Summarize it below.

What does this passage teach us about freedom?

How do you get ‘The Spirit’?

How cool is it, that the moment you surrender your life to God, HE gives you His Spirit - so HE gives you true freedom! We are free to live without the burdens we often place on ourselves unknowingly.

Read Psalm 119:45 What does this verse teach is how to walk in freedom?

Sometimes we feel like the ‘rules’ God has instructed for us stifle our freedom. This is a lie from the enemy. The ‘rules/instructions’ God has given us allow freedom.

Think of a times you have felt free to be yourself without any pressure to impress others in anyway. Name a couple below.

This is probably because you feel safe. You know those people’s love is more unconditional and accepting. James also speaks of how the law gives freedom in James 1:25 and James 2:12.

Look up these verses! Summarize below what they say about the law.

If you are truthful instead of telling a lie, you do not feel the ‘worry’ of being found out. This freedom is because of the rule of honesty. If you do not have sex outside of marriage, you do not feel the ‘worry’ of getting an STD or pregnant.

You have the freedom to experience peace. Do you feel this peace?

You have the freedom to run in the gifts God has created you with. You do not need to feel the weight of any performance. You cannot earn God’s love and you cannot do anything to make Him love you less.

Sometime instead of running free for freedom, we can run from things as Andy raps in this song. Do you run from fear?

What are some examples of this?

One example I thought of was that sometimes running from fear can make us want to control situations or people. This is not freedom because it traps us instead of gives peace.

Andy also mentions that we can run our mouth. I laugh at this one because it is more of a struggle for some than others, but regardless we all need wisdom guidance in what we say, how we say things and when to say things. Take a few minutes to ask God to reveal sin and help guide you in how you use your speech.

I praise God for no condemnation. He offers forgiveness and help. If you have confessed sin and still think of it or get ‘down or depressed’ because of it, quote Romans 8:1-2.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Because of this, when the negative thoughts come, renew your mind, rebuke satan’s tactics of this and praise God for His Spirit and grace!

Praise God that HE has created you to run free. To experience HIM in amazing ways!

Week 10 – Day 3 Devotional by Josh Shultz

To start your devotional listen to the song Messengers by Lecrae on the Vinyl Experience Playlist on Spotify.

Calling all the messengers Calling all the messengers (Can you hear it?) Oh, oh, oh, oh, hey

We've been given a call Been forgiven, risen, we livin' to give him our all Rise up from your past it's holding you down This moment is all that matters the future is now How will the people know if we don't tell 'em if we fail 'em They stumblin' in the dark but the light is what we carry Yea, don't have to wonder your purpose or what you here for Reflect his image and show the world what he cares for

And I know it's alright And you know it's your life And we know that time's running out Can't wait around cause The time is now

Calling all the messengers Calling all the messengers (Can you hear it?) Oh, oh, oh, oh, hey

I've been a lot of places where the scene ain't pretty I've seen plenty of hatred death and destruction where ignorance kills many The blind leading the blind we turning a blind eye That alone is a crime we got the power of life I know that we make mistakes don't let 'em keep you away Mercy love and His grace is the reason we move ahead Speak out though we never been qualified to do it I ain't earned it, I was loved into it I'm brand new, yea

And I know it's alright And you know it's your life And we know that time's running out Can't wait around cause The time is now

Calling all the messengers Calling all the messengers (Can you hear it?) Oh, oh, oh, oh, hey

This song reminds me of 2 verses:  John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  Matthew 27:18-2 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing

them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

One is the message we are to present to the world. Jesus is the way to salvation. The other is our charge as messengers. If you are a messenger, you must be a follower of Christ. If you are not a messenger then you need Christ. I love the message this song brings in that we have all experienced problems in life but we are called to spread the message of Christ.

There is a lot going on in our world right now and not much of it points to Christ. Christ will be coming back soon and we need to prepare the world for what is to come. Without Christ, our world is dying.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

Take some time to think about your relationship with Christ. If Christ were to come back tonight are you ready to meet Jesus?

Take some time to think about your friends? If Christ were to come back tonight would they be ready to meet Jesus?

Have you been the messenger that Christ has called you to be or do you need to respond to Christ’s message?

Take some time to pray for Jesus’ return. In that time pray for your friends that need Jesus. Remember Revelation 19:16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Pray for the return of our King!

WEEK 11

Mar 23rd … Week 11: The Light Song: Glow by Britt Nicole – Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Being the Light Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Brave by Moriah Peters Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Courage and the Light

Week 11 – Day 1 Devotional by Tahrea Smith DIVE DEEP: Being the Light

John 1:1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Who is The Light?

Jesus!! Yes!

Highlight some of the things John 1:1-14 says about Jesus.

He is the Light, but we have HIS Spirit in us as believers. SO, we are the light too!

Matthew 5:14-16 You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

What is the point of us being a light?

Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

We want to share the good news of Jesus and make disciples. Being a light is also loving on others. Can you name some ways to love on others? (think of things that make you feel loved)

He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ When you love on others, you are loving God.

What keeps you from being the light? Two main things:

Distractions What are some distractions in your life?

What things take time that you could be a shining light for Jesus?

What things do you put before in priority in being a light for Jesus?

What struggles or circumstances distract your trust in the Lord and hinder you being a light for Jesus?

Desires (that are selfish) What fleshly desires cause temptations in your life?

How do these desires keep you from being a light for Jesus?

Pray and ask God to help you to be a light. Ask Him what you need to confess and ask HIM to empower you to recognize distractions and change your selfish desires. Ask God to do a work in your life to love on others. He will put the ideas and power to follow through. Rely on HIM, not self to do this. It is not the ‘works’ from self, but the power of the Spirit that will enable you to love on others with JOY! I am praying for you!!

Week 11 – Day 2 Devotional by Chris Smith DIVE DEEP: Being the Light

To start your time today listen to the song Brave by Moriah Peters on the Vinyl Playlist.

No one ever told me This would be easy But I never knew That it could be this hard Oh the worry the worry the worry Is weighing on me Could you help me break down All these question marks And make me

Brave I'll fight like a soldier Brave Rise like a warrior Brave Won't stop till the final day Brave I want to be stronger Brave Gonna be bolder Brave Look up and I see the way You make me brave

I know I know I'm no superwoman But impossible is possible with You So no, no, no more running, no more hiding Strike the fire so I'll be fearless too And make me

Brave I'll fight like a soldier Brave Rise like a warrior Brave Won't stop till the final day Brave I want to be stronger Brave Gonna be bolder Brave Look up and I see the way You make me brave

None go with me Still I'll follow Through the joy And through the sorrow Cross before me World behind me There's no turning back

Moriah Peters in her live chat about the song Brave revealed some of her thinking behind the song. She wrote the song as a battle cry to help her overcome her own fears and insecurities. In today’s devotion we want to take a similar journey to discover this battle cry.

What are some of your deepest fears?

The problem with fear is that it blocks creativity, productivity and relationships. When you face your fears by grasping onto God's courage, you regain your capacity for experiencing these things as you live out your life purpose.

The most common fears that Christians face are the fear of failure, fear of rejection, financial fear, and the fear of death. We will study the first two today and the last two tomorrow.

The Fear of Failure Most people in today’s world struggle with the fear of failure not understanding the self- fulfilling nature of this fear. As Christians, we should embrace the pressure of performance because our identity is secure in Christ not our accomplishments. Deuteronomy 31:6 says “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” He will never forsake us because our relationship with Him is not dependent on our success. One of the reasons I excelled at calling plays at the end of close games was because trust in God allowed me to think clearly and quickly. Did we win every game? No! Did I call some bad plays? Yes! but those did not crush me. As Christians and leaders, you must embrace the opportunity instead of shy away from it. Look at 1 Corinthians 16:13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

Do you struggle with the fear of Failure? If so pray the verse above over your life!

The Fear of Rejection When I ask people to share their faith with others, the number one excuse I hear is “what if they won’t like me anymore?” Thankfully, Jesus did not think this way. If wa re truly going to follow Jesus we must be ready to handle rejection. It is part of being a Christ follower. But we can have courage because God will always be with us.  Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion

 1 Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”  2 Timothy 1:7 For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Take some time to pray today that the Lord will release you from fear and worry. Use the scripture above in your prayers.

Week 11 – Day 3 Devotional by Chris Smith

Financial Fear The fear of being poor and missing out on all that this world has for us is rampant in our world today but do you realize that according to Credit Suisse you are rich! 69% of the world has a net value of less than $10,000. That means if you went out and sold everything that you owned, clothes, car, PlayStation 4 and games, shoes, etc. and you got $10,000 then you would be in the top 30% of the richest people in the world.

We worry so much about money but Jesus said stop worrying! Look at these verses and be encouraged!

 Matthew 6:25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And

which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

 Proverbs 3:5-8 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones”

 Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus”

Fear of Death The fear of death is often hidden behind other fears. Death generally hides in the shadows. The fear of darkness, heights and many other things are all based in the fear of death. Jesus speaks very boldly about death in Matthew 10. Read it below:

 Matthew 10:26-28 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

When we have Jesus, we can see death differently. Jesus has conquered death. Where oh where is your sting death? Hebrews 13:6 says “So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’”

We can be confident in the Lord because we have eternal life. Although this might not be our best life now we face it with confidence because Jesus has given us eternal life.

As you face your fears, pray the verse in each section over those areas and claim victory. Be courageous! But don’t forget Psalms 27:14

 Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

If you continue to struggle, have faith and wait on the Lord. Be strong. Be courageous. Be Brave!

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WEEK 12 Mar 30th … Week 12: Be Different Song: Do it anyways by Dillon Chase –

Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: The Attacks of the World Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: BDFFRNT by Dillon Chase Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Living Different in our World

WEEK 12 – DAY 2 Devotional by Chris Smith Today, we will be talking about the schemes of our enemy. We will try to look at satan’s attack plan so that we can defeat it. First thing first. There are not really rules but there is a playing field.

2 Corinthians 10:3–5 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

The battlefield is our minds. Two of the strongholds satan tries to establish are Arguments and Opinions. Let me break these down:

Arguments: This is the onslaught of reasons given with an aim of persuading others that an action or idea is correct. Generally the exchange of divergent view turns heated or angry. The Basis of Arguments is the disagreement on what is truth. This is the source of the first attack in the garden of eden. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

Satan’s Resources in the realm of Argument: Doubt, Mistrust, Relative truth, Truth dependent on Circumstances, Apathy

The Second stronghold is Opinion. Opinion is based in idolatry. We decide our opinion is greater than truth. The difference may appear to be subtle but you cannot defend these attacks in the same way. You see, it is not that you doubt God, you just think your way is better. I see this all the time as people are confronted with the word of God that is different than their opinion.

Satan’s Resources in the realm of Opinion: Opinion-based Identity, Twisting the Truth to fit their opinion, lack of time in the word of God

I remember an occasion where I was talking with a youth about modesty. I love her to death

and she is right that boys should not be looking lustfully at girls regardless of what they wear. God has called boys to have not even a hint of lust in Ephesians 5:3. But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality or impurity or greed. I remember seeing the struggle when I told her that regardless of the boys God’s word calls us to dress modestly. In 1 Timothy 2:9 it says, “Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire,”

What was the battle going on her mind?

I believe it was a battle of submission to God’s truth over her own opinion. We all have this struggle in our own ways. How can we defeat it?

Look at Ephesians 6:10-20 [10] Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. [11] Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. [12] For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. [13] Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. [14] Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, [15] and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. [16] In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; [17] and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, [18] praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, [19] and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, [20] for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

What is the purpose of each piece of the armor and strategies listed below?

Courage Belt of Truth Breastplate of Righteousness

Shoes of Peace Shield of Faith Helmet of Salvation

Sword of the Spirit Prayer Perseverance

Spend some time in prayer that God would help you defeat the enemy with the armor of God and help of the Holy Spirit.

WEEK 12 – DAY 2 Devotional by Josh Boyd

On any given day I am working with inmates who have done wrong to others and are waiting to be taken to court for their crimes. I am not always treated nicely by the inmates either. It would be easy for me to be angry, rude and treat them unfairly because they hurt me with their words and actions towards me. However being changed and made different by Christ and my relationship with him, He requires me to avoid falling to what my flesh desires and filter my words and actions through him and his word the holy scriptures.

I have to constantly pray and search the scriptures about my interactions with inmates at my job and for Christ to work through me so that I do not let their actions cause me to react in an unbecoming or ungodly way. Christ is constantly teaching me that not all the inmates are bad and that they are people too that deserve to be treated fairly. I have ran into inmates that read the bible and attend church services provided at the jail chapel. There are times that I am to talk to inmates one on one about how I have been changed by Christ and the importance of staying focused on him while in jail and out of jail once they get out so that they might avoid getting arrested and put in jail again.

In closing even though I may not speak about Christ on a daily basis with the inmates or be leading any inmates to Christ, I know that God has chosen me to be a light in the dark world of jail. It is displayed in the way that I treat and speak with the inmates.

Listen to the song BDFFRNT by Dillon Chase on The Vinyl Experience playlist

As you listened to DFRNT by Dillon Chase think about how God is calling you to be different and how you might begin to embrace and act on his calling. Tomorrow we will be looking at the verses a little closer.

How do the following verses about being different or changed through Christ encourage you?  Proverbs 4:14-15 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.  Romans 12:2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.  Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in

me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Are you ready to be different? Are you ready to be the salt and the light? Pray for God’s strength today.

WEEK 12 – DAY 3 Devotional by Chris Smith

Jesus and his followers are in the world, Don't take them out, The world will perish They are like salt, They are light, Keep them there with all its mess and all its confusion Keep them there, But don't let them be of the world – John Piper

Today we dive deeper into the intro to the song BDFFRNT. Read the verse and then answer the questions that follow.

John 17:14-19 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Jesus prayed this over you and I as he was preparing to go to the cross. What does it mean to be in the world but not of the world?

Matthew 5:13-16 [13] “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.[14] “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. [16] In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that(1) they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Salt or light? Which would you choose and why?

1 John 2:15 – Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

What is John teaching about in but not of the world here?

1 Corinthians 5:9-10 – I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.

Paul is telling us not to withdraw but to discern your relationships. Are the people youa re close to leading you toward Christ?

Romans 12:2 – And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

What are the benefits here of not conforming?

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

James is challenging us to keeping ourselves unstained by the world. How?

This song also plays on the challenge of Christ which sometimes seems impossible. But God is calling us to be discerning and to have impeccable timing.

Adaptation and confrontation – should we adapt and be like the culture or rebel against the culture and confront it seeking to change it…YES! participation or separation – should we participate in the activities of the world or separate from some of it? YES! In the world not of the world – See the above devotional. do not be conformed or I become all things to all men – how can we not conform and yet reach people where they are at with the gospel. Only with God’s help!

Be indigenous or be a pilgrim – blend into the culture or push through the culture? YES!

These are the questions that Jesus faced with a perfect record. He followed the Jewish law until law hindered him from doing God’s work. He did not conform, He made all thing new. He changed the culture often by his actions more than his words. He participated in wedding and funeral and also went off to secluded places to pray and spend time with His Father. We are to be like Christ. DIFFERENT! Lord help us be like you!

WEEK 13 Apr 6th ... Week 13: Week 11: D.E.A.T.H. Song: cops by Social Club

Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Staying Quiet Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: Martyrs by Social Club Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: Death and Life

Week 13 – Day 1 Devotional by Demi Floria Staying Quiet. Have you ever chosen not to talk about Jesus because you didn’t want to offend someone?

Our world has taught us that we cannot speak openly about our beliefs to people who don’t agree with us. It has taught us that we all have a right to not be offended. And that if what you believe offends someone, you don’t have the right to talk about it. The world has taught us to accept each other. It would have us call this love. It would have us keep quiet, turn down the fanaticism, and peacefully silence any talk of absolute truth or sin. Coexistence is a myth. When we buy into this idea, we are watering down of our beliefs into something non-confrontational and impotent.

Revelation 3:15-16 “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” When you talk about Jesus, are your words hot, cold, or lukewarm?

The world pushes us towards coexistence, but it has not taught us to truly love. The world’s definition of love and the one we find in the Bible are very different. Ephesians 4 points out that if we are to become fully mature in Christ, we must speak the truth in love. John 15 paints Jesus as the greatest example of friendship there ever was by saying that “greater love has no one than this: that he lays down his life for his friends.”

When I look at these two scriptures together, it appears to me that learning how to love requires learning how to speak the truth. What if truly loving others means saying the things

we know they don’t want to hear? What if Jesus is so important that the only way of loving our friends is to make sure they know the truth, even if it offends them?

Ephesians 4:25 “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” What does this scripture say about the relationship between love and truth?

Zechariah 8:16 “These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace.” What does this scripture say about the relationship between truth and peace?

So, do you love your friends enough to challenge them?

Do you love them enough to speak the truth even if it’s not popular?

If you truly believe that Jesus is the only Salvation for this broken world, then you must learn how to speak up. Staying quiet is not an option.

Below write down a couple areas of compromise you have let slip by in your life or your friends life. Pray for the Lord to give you an opportunity to speak about them in love to you r friends. Start by asking them to point out things in your life when they see them and then gently challenge them to have the same openness in their own life. This depth will grow you closer than a brother.

Week 13 – Day 2 Devotional by Chris Smith Remember our conversation about being in the world but not of the world? Today we study this deeper in the lives of Christian Martyrs. Stop and listen to the song Martyrs by Social Club on the Vinyl Experience playlist. In order to have a heart ready to die for Christ, you have to understand that “In the world” is simply a reference to our location while “of the world” is pointing out where is our source of life comes from. Which is your source of joy? love? Peace? We are aliens here waiting for our true freedom from the flesh. Read the stories of the faithful that gave it all for Christ. Sum up each story with a 3 word summary. I will do the first one with you.

Stephen Acts chapters 6 and 7 give us the account of Stephen’s martyrdom. Stephen is considered one of the first Christian martyrs after Christ himself. Stephen was speaking the truth of Jesus Christ. However, his words offended the listeners. They put together a council that brought false-witness to the things Stephen was saying (Acts 6:11-13). Stephen proclaimed that God’s own people were at fault for suppressing the prophets’ call to righteousness. They even killed the Holy One, Jesus Christ. Their reaction was to gnash on him with their teeth. They ran Stephen out of the city and stoned him. Yet Stephen patiently accepted the persecution that was given to him. Stephen asked the Lord not to hold them guilty who had stoned him. He essentially repeated Christ’s words on the cross. Summary: FIRST BOLD WITNESS what’s your summary? Simon Peter Brought to Christ by his brother Andrew, Peter is known as the disciple who spoke often before he thought. After Christ’s death Peter was the fiery preacher prominently seen in the first half of the book of Acts. He founded the church at Antioch and traveled preaching mainly to Jews about Jesus Christ. Peter was martyred under Nero’s reign. He was killed in Rome around the years 64 to 67. Tradition holds that he was crucified upside down. Like Andrew, his brother, he is said to have

refused to be crucified in the same manner as Christ because he was unworthy to be executed in the same way as the Lord. Summary:

Polycarp As with many people in the early centuries, Polycarp’s exact birth and death dates are not known. Even his date of martyrdom is disputed; though it was some time between AD 155 and 167. Polycarp was probably a disciple of the Apostle John who wrote the books of the Gospel of John, the three Epistles of John and the book of Revelation. Polycarp may have been one of the chief people responsible for compiling the New Testament of the Bible that we have today. Because of his refusal to burn incense to the Roman Emperor he was sentenced to burn at the stake. Tradition says that the flames did not kill him so he was stabbed to death. Summary: Jim Elliot and Four Missionary Friends Jim Elliot, along with four of his missionary colleagues was killed on January 8, 1956 while trying to establish contact with the Auca Indians in Ecuador (now known as the Waodani people). Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Pete Flemming and Roger Youderian had been working to make friendly contact with the Auca tribe which they had seen from the air. Though they had only met one tribesman face to face, they had participated in trades with the Auca from a plane to ground system. When Elliot and his friends landed on a river beach on that fateful January day they were slaughtered by the waiting men.Their deaths were not in vain though. The widows continued to try and make peaceful contact and eventually won the hearts of the tribe. God has used this recent missionary martyr story to inspire new generations of missionaries willing to give their lives for what they believe. Summary: Justin Martyr "I fell in love with the prophets and these men who had loved Christ; I reflected on all their words and found that this philosophy alone was true and profitable." When Justin was arrested for his faith in Rome, the prefect asked him to denounce his faith by making a sacrifice to the gods. Justin replied, "No one who is rightly minded turns from true belief to false." Justin's Second Apology was written soon after Marcus Aurelius became emperor in 161. In these writings, Justin tried to show that the Christian faith alone was truly rational. Four years later, Justin and his disciples were arrested for their faith. When the prefect threatened them with death, Justin said, "If we are punished for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, we hope to be

saved." They were taken out and beheaded. Since he gave his life for the "true philosophy," Justin has been surnamed Martyr.

Summary:

For more in depth stories of martyrs see Fox’s Book of Martyrs http://www.biblestudytools.com/history/foxs-book-of-martyrs/

Week 13 – Day 3 Devotional by Chris Smith

If you look at the word picture above, you will see two words. (if you need help turn your book upside down to try and find the second word)

Today, we are going to talk about the difference between those two words.

Over The Vinyl Experience, we have walked from a look at our depravity in A World So Cold by 12 stones to life in Christ in Write on Our Hearts to Martyrs. Today our death and next week HEAVEN!

Death is a natural consequence of our sin. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 0And we all sin. Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

As a believer in Christ, death is the vehicle that takes us to heaven. Death was the path Jesus walked to buy our freedom. But He is not in the grave. HE has risen. He has risen indeed. Colossians 1:21-23 says, And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil

deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

But God does not call us to live in death. He has given us eternal life. On the next page are some implications of this truth.

If God has given us eternal life, then we should live heavenly minded. Look at Galatians 6:8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Our life should be about sowing words of encouragement leading people to the Holy Spirit.

How could you sow life into people through your words?

Remember our Romans 6:23 verse earlier. Look at the preceding verse. Romans 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. The wages of sin is death but grasping the idea of eternal life in Christ is key to our sanctification.

What is sanctification?

How are you doing with your personal sanctification?

Eternal life is a major part of our life as we fight the good fight. 1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

What do you think it means to take hold of eternal life?

The eternal life we have in Jesus should spark us to pray more. 1 John 5:11-15 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

Break down the above verse. What are the key components?

God’s gift of eternal life should have far reaching affects. Pray for the Lord to help you grasp his gift of eternal life.

WEEK 14 Apr 13th ... Week 14: P.A.R.T.Y. Song: Beyond this World by Shonlock –

Day 1 – DIVE DEEP: Heaven Day 2 – SING A NEW SONG: I can Only Imagine by Mercy Me Day 3 – DIVE DEEPER: What to Remember from the Vinyl Experience

Week 14 – Day 1 Devotional by Chris Smith

“Heaven is a wonderful place filled with Glory and Grace, I wanna see my Savior’s face cause heaven is a wonderful place, I wanna go there.” When I first became a Christian, we used to sing this song in a round, girls one part and guys the other. Heaven is a wonderful place…

Describe your picture of heaven:

Here are a couple of my observations from scripture and I will also try to answer a few of the questions you might have about heaven.

1. Jesus is preparing a place in heaven for you. Heaven is a prepared place for those who know and love Jesus. Also,  John 14:2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

2. It is a place, a city, that we should be looking forward to!  Hebrews 11:16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.  Hebrews 11:10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

3. There is no hunger or thirst but there are springs of living water and feasts. Those desires are fulfilled. There is not scorching heat or other trials. There is a throne and Christ is the center of it.  Revelations 7:13-17 Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?" 14 I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who

have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16 Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

4. There are cities and there is no need for a temple because God is all encompassing. Worship is all around us and His Presence is felt at all times. The city of God is open. Why? For us to go explore and discover the things of heaven. For us to go visit and enjoy God’s new heaven and the new Jerusalem.

 Revelation 21:22-27 [22] And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. [23] And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. [24] By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, [25] and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. [26] They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. [27] But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

5. The food will be natural and incredible. The trees will even heal and have properties different than our world now. All things will be new and different but we are living in the shadow so many things will have a similar form.

 Revelation 22:1-5 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

6. Our goal here should be to lay up treasures and crowns in heaven. What are those? Anything that brings glory to God is everlasting. Relationships build on Christ will endure, memories that are saturated by Christ will endure. Heaven is about God not you, to your treasures, trophies and memories apart from Jesus will perish. Those things we treasure in our hearts based in God will remain.  Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Do you look forward to heaven?

Pray that the Lord will give you a view of heaven that helps us endure the hard things of this world because in heaven our treasure, Jesus, is waiting eagerly for us.

Week 14 – Day 2 Devotional by Celeste Valdez

Set aside what you’re holding physically & mentally. Create a quiet spot & listen to I Can Only Imagine by MercyMe. But don’t just “listen,” feel the song, breathe the song, & imagine the song in your mind.

Now that you’ve heard the song, below this sentence write down any distractions you have.

Do those things keep you from worship? Why?

When we come before the Lord, many of us feel distracted, unworthy, & upset in some way. We come before God in an unstable state. Our mind & heart are absent.

Read Psalm 13.

David is everywhere in this Psalm. His mind is worried God has forgotten him while his heart is troubled with sorrow and the fear of enemies. He is unstable. Regardless, David has brought himself into the presence of God through worship. And no matter how unstable he may feel, God is faithful and shows his steadfast love.

Write down how God shows his love to you, no matter how big or small.

The whole purpose behind worship is to praise God for who He is. He is love. He is light. He is life. Coming to God in an unstable state, we should understand that we are broken and in need of God. But it doesn’t stop there. God will fill us in His presence. Can you picture what that looks like? Can you imagine?

Being in God’s presence, as unstable and broken as can be, we are still made holy by God. How would you react if someone were to pardon you and remove the punishment you deserve? Better yet, how would you respond if after being pardoned, you were blessed with a life in heaven?

Draw a picture or write a few words describing what you would do.

Now, read how David responded to God’s grace & love in 2 Samuel 6:5-15. Then, pray that you would submit to worshipping God with all of your being. Whether you dance, sit still, stand, fall on your knees, sing hallelujah, or keep from speaking at all, I pray you worship.

Week 14 – Day 3 Devotional by Chris Smith

If you are reading this page, you made it to the end of the Vinyl Experience. Here are a couple of questions of reflection.

Thinking back, what did Vinyl mean to you?

What was your favorite activity we did at Refuge during Vinyl?

What was your favorite week of bible studies through the Vinyl Experience?

As I think back, ahead of time , my favorite moments in the Vinyl Experience were the times where I felt like the bible study was written for me that day. Even though I wrote quite a few of the devotionals, it is different when you live them out.

The other thing I love is how music penetrates my hardened heart and takes me back to times where God was so faithful. It has been such a joy to experience Vinyl with you! I pray that the Lord has walked beside you through all of this. I pray you are closer to the Lord today than back January 6th when we started this journey together. Love you guys!

APPENDIX A Bible reading plan

APPENDIX B Spiritual warfare

Our Responsibility

Go to WAR!!!!

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

1 John 3:8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Daniel 10:2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. 3 I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. 4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris) 5 I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. 7 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. 8 So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. 9 Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground.10 And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. 13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, 14 and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.” 15 When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and was mute.

2 Corinthians 11:13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deed

1 Corinthians 10:14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one

bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

THE WAR

2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God

satan Job 1:6-7 adversary spirit of opposition 1 Thes 2:18

devil 1 Peter 5:8 slanderer spirit of gossip

lucifer Isa 14:12 day star spirit of pride shining one

baal-zebub Matt 12:24 “lord of the flies” spirit of gluttony/waste 2 Kings 1 God of filth belial 2 Cor 6:15 lawlessness spirit of disobedience

evil one 1 John 5:19 evil spirit of evil

tempter 1 Thess 3:5 one who tempts spirit of criticism

meririm John 12:31 prince of world spirit of ownership

accuser of brethren Rev 12:10 spirit of contempt

serpent Gen 3 leviathan spirit of deceit

dragon Rev 12

angel of light 2 Cor 11:14 counterfeit of God Spirit of false religion

NAMES OF GOD

ELOHIM 1 Kings 8:23 God spirit of unity :Trinity Genesis 1 (32)

EL SHADDAI Job (31) God Almighty spirit of power

ADONAI Genesis 15:2 Lord spirit of ownership Isaiah

JEHOVAH JIREH Genesis 22:14 Lord will Provide spirit of provision

JEHOVAH ROPHE Exodus 15:22 The Lord who heals spirit of wellness

JEHOVAH NISSA Exodus 17:15 The Lord Our Banner spirit of exaltation

JEHOVAH M’KADDESH Leviticus 20:7-8 The Lord Who Sanctifies spirit of wholeness

JEHOVAH SHALOM Judges 6:24 The Lord of Peace spirit of peace

JEHOVAH TSIDKENU Jeremiah 23:5 The Lord Righteousness spirit of justice

YESHUA Isaiah 43:3 Savior spirit of grace

GAOL Job 19:25 Redeemer spirit of payment

Revelation 2 12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two- edged sword. 13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who

conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

How you live your life within the armor as your defense?

2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

1 Corinthians 2:6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

ARMOR OF GOD Belt of Truth John 8:31-38 WHOLENESS Commitment to truth Breastplate of Righteousness 1 John 3:10 HEART Steward of spiritual gifts Shoes of peace Mal 2:6-7 WALKING Satisfaction in Jesus Shield of faith Heb 11:1 CONSIENCE Belief and no doubt Helmet of Salvation 1 Cor 2:6-16 MIND Dwell on Grace Sword of the Spirit Eph 6:17 WEAPON Sharpen your Sword False Religion 1 Cor 10:20-22 True Religion James 1:26-27 False Philosophy Colossians 2:8 True Theology John 3:30

1 Corinthians 10:18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? VS. James 1:26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Colossians 2:6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. VS. John 3:27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”