Tonight we split up into small groups and talked about when we thought God’s presence was strongest. When did we encounter God the most strongly throughout the week? How many times a week? Why do we feel His presence in some situations more strongly than in others? These questions aren’t easy to answer. They’re different for each person. Try not to take the easy way out as you answer these questions:

1. When is God’s presence the strongest for you?

2. Do you feel like you TRULY experience the full presence of God on a regular basis?

3. Who or what do you think has been the greatest influence on how you experience God?

Mission trips. The thought of them strikes fear into the hearts of some, and joy into the hearts of others. Some love them for the immersion experience, others hate them for…the immersion experience. It’s been my personal experience that mission trips pull groups together and make them more unified. I didn’t really get to be good friends with the Hampson boys until after the Mexico trip, come to think of it. So they also build new relationships and strengthen old ones.

As you probably know, Emily Greenplate and Esther Hampson are going away on separate mission trips soon (not sure of the exact dates). As they fly away on their respective planes, our prayers go with them. Remember to pray for these two! It’s kinda important.

Mission trips have been really good experiences for me; I’ve been to two so far: one to Mexico, and one to Belize. But I know that not everyone had the same great experiences as me. I have a couple different questions depending on your “status as a missionary”.

1. If you’ve been more than one, answer this: Which one did you learn the most on, and why?

2. If you’ve only been on one mission trip, what was the most important thing you learned?

3. If you’ve never been on a mission trip before in your life, why not? Would you if you got the chance?

EVERYONE gets to answer these questions:  What are you most scared of about mission trips? What’s your least favorite part?

Today was full of risks.

I mean, besides the obvious ones, like driving your car to church, or sharing something personal with a stranger, or breathing air.

I mean risks like our youth group worship team performing in front of the WHOLE CHURCH. Or Jason giving his teaching in front of the WHOLE CHURCH. Or me introducing communion in front of the WHOLE CHURCH. Or the youth group praying for people in front of the WHOLE CHURCH. Get the point?

Thing is, today was a great example of people applying the point of Isaac’s teaching to real life. Risks are a necessary part of life. If we took no risks, we would never taste new foods. We would never try anything new. We would never even love. That sounds like the type of life I, personally, don’t want. I applaud those who took risks today…but I alsochallenge everyone. Find a way to take a risk sometime this week. Share something personal with someone else, start a conversation with someone who might reject you, or volunteer for something you’re not sure you’ll like. Do something outside your comfort zone, and post a short summary here of the risk you took — and the outcome. I’ll be doing this too; you can call me out next week if I don’t post by Sunday morning. Go out and take a risk!

Tonight we talked a lot about what it means to love one another. Shane made the point that we often judge other people even before we know them. “Oh, this person’s a druggie. Stay away from them; they’re trouble!” “This person looks weird with piercings and tattoos; they must be violent!” We often form first impressions about people by how they look, act, or by what we’ve heard about them. These impressions may be right, but more often than not they’re wrong. To truly love one another, we first need to learn how not to judge. What are some ways that we judge others? How can we keep ourselves from doing so?