HALLELUJAH! Our son George has arrived! George entered the world this past Wednesday, June 20 at exactly 6:51PM. He must have taken after his father because he was HUGE! He weighed in at 9 pounds, 4 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. (And he was two weeks early!) What can I say – the boy ate well while he was in his mama’s belly! And if I say so myself, he came out pretty darn cute! You’ll have to judge for yourself when you meet him. I can’t really put into words what Gina and I are feeling right now. But one thing is for sure: we are so, so thankful to our Father for a healthy boy and a healthy mom! Thank you all for praying for us ...

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Finally! After another long school year, summer has finally arrived! FREEDOM! Believe me, I know you how you feel. Remember, I just finished a long school year myself. Now that summer is here, a lot of you have a whole bunch of extra time on your hands. If you’re lucky enough, your family will be using the summer months to vacation and do all kinds of fun stuff together. But a lot of you simply have a lot more time on your hands with not that much to do. That can be a dangerous thing – a VERY dangerous thing. The Bible teaches us that idle hands can wreck our lives. (Ecclesiastes 10:18) That’s because when we sit around with nothing to ...

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Seniors, today is the last day that you will be joining us for youth worship services. In previous years, you would have stayed with the youth group even after your high school graduations, but I’ve decided that it’s more important for you all to move on and join the adult congregation as soon as possible. After all, once you’ve graduated from high school, you are no longer considered youth anymore! That makes today a truly bittersweet day for me. The bitter part first. Having just started a year ago, and being a full-time student myself, I didn’t have a chance to get to know all of you seniors as well as I wanted to. I wish I had ...

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Persecution of believers around the world is still alive and well. I was painfully reminded of this when I read the story of three missionaries in Turkey who were recently ambushed, tortured and killed for their faith. The details of their torture are too gruesome to share here. They fell into the hands of Muslim extremists who believed it was their duty to commit such an unspeakable act, and they all died as martyrs for the sake of Jesus Christ. I share this with you for three reasons. First, I want you to know that even though it is relatively easy for us to be open about our Christian faith here in America, that is not the case in others ...

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Although not as frequently as before (especially our first year of marriage), Gina and I still occasionally have arguments with each other. They are more arguments than all-out fights these days, but we still deal with them here and there. What I am slowly learning from our arguments is this: there are always two sides to an argument, and it is crucial that I really try to understand her side before I react. This takes time, patience, and humility – three things that I do not always have. The same goes for you and your parent(s). It may not even be arguments – any conversation that you have with your mom or dad involves two sides or ...

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I’d like to share with you what I’ve been sharing with the youth shepherds and your parents recently. And that is this: there is incredible strength in youth ministry when the church partners with the parents. Not only does this partnership bring strength, it is a MUST if we really want to build a God-honoring youth ministry at SBC. Adolescence – what all of you are going through right now – is not an easy thing to deal with. Believe me, I’ve been there. I know how many of you feel right now. Some of you may feel misunderstood by your parents and so there tends to be a lot of conflict. Others of you are confused about your own ...

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All throughout the month of February, we will be focusing our attention on world missions. We will be hearing from missionaries from all around the world! Each of these speakers has obeyed God’s call to go and reach the world for Christ, and each of them has an incredible story to share with you. A brief description of each speaker is available for you to read in the special bulletin insert entitled, “Missions Month.” I hope that you will listen intently to what God is revealing to you personally as you hear from these speakers. Most of the world’s best known and respected missionaries began their missions work as teenagers. I pray ...

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