New Year's On It's Way

Hey everyone...I hope you all had a great Christmas! It was good to see you today at service and I pray that God will give you strength and wisdom in setting and fulfilling your New Year's Goals!

Just a reminder. . .
* Service on Wednesday @ Drive Student Center
* Jr. High New Year's Eve Bash @ Drive Student Center (please bring money for food in the cafe) - Ultimate Blacklight Dodgeball @ 11pm
* Hot Hearts - Jan. 22 & 23 (TobyMac, Lincoln Brewster, Clayton King and more!)
* "Landmines" Series starting in Jan.
* Screening of iBilly Movie - 1st Wednesday in January


See you guys on Wednesday!

- MC

Christmas Is Almost Here

As one of the greatest holidays in the world draws nearer, Brittney and I spent another night with family for yet another Christmas party. What's great about these things is that there is always tons and tons of good food to eat! And not to mention presents!!! ;)

I hope that this Christmas your day will be filled with lots of joy and happiness and I can't wait to see you all again next Wednesday at youth! Be blessed!


- MC

Mary Did You Know?

Luke 1:26-28 "In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.'"

Mary ranks as one of the greatest people in all of Scripture. She must have been one amazing girl for God to select her to be Jesus' mom. From the passage above, we see a number of things about Mary that make her great. She was probably in her early teens at the time (people married as early as thirteen in those days), but she displays a faith and commitment far beyond her young years.

- What's in the Bible for Teens

You've Got A Friend In Me

Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 4:10

Big Idea: We need each other to expose and defeat the traps of the devil

How many of us would say if polled, that we prefer to spend all of our time alone? If I had to guess, I would say that none of us want to be that way. I see people all the time who purposefully avoid contact with others and it makes me wonder what caused them to be that way. Why do they want to shut themselves out of the lives of others? Is it ok to be this way?

I’m not talking about whether or not a person chooses to be married. I’m referring to people who choose not to allow others to be a part of their lives – such as friendships.

One thing I have learned over the years is that Satan attacks in many different ways. Every time that I have been attacked by Satan and been alone, I’ve seemed to always fall into the trap he has set before me. So what does that have to do with having friends? Well, I was reading in Ecclesiastes 4 and it talks about this very thing. Verse 7 says “I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can.” It goes on to say “But then he asks himself, ‘who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?’ It is all so meaningless and depressing.”

So basically this guy is a work-a-holic and he obviously has no wife, children, or family. He works and works and works, but doesn’t have anyone to share his wealth with. Now I don’t know why he is in this situation, but he seems to recognize that something is missing. Verses 9 – 12 says “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” If you haven’t caught on to this yet, God is telling us that we NEED other people! How can we withstand the attacks of the enemy by ourselves? We can’t! The quarterback of a football team doesn’t win the game without the other players protecting and supporting him and then they win as a team. Likewise, we NEED people in our lives to help protect and support us during the good and bad times.

Next week we are continuing with our series - "ROAD SIGNS". It will be Part 3 entitled "YIELD".

Happy Thanksgiving!

We want to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving holiday and hope that your tummies will be filled!

There are no services this week at the Drive Center, but we will be having Sunday Morning Velocity in room A109 on November 29! Youth services will resume next Wednesday!

We love you!

Matt & Brittney Chandler

You can’t get to the south beach by driving north, and you can’t get to the top of the mountain if you are walking down it. In this series we will examine the book of Proverbs for wisdom to help each of us navigate the choices of life, because we know that each choice determines the direction of our lives. And it’s our direction, not our intention, that ultimately determines our destination. Where are you heading? What path are you on?

New November/December Calendar

I know it's been a while since I've updated...but here is the latest schedule for Velocity Jr. High!

I can't wait to see you guys tonight! I'm very excited about the Word God has given me to share with you at Velocity!

Starting today we begin our journey reading through the Bible.

Sept. 16, 2009
Genesis 1:1 - 16:16

NEWS

Keep your eye out for pics from Back To School Bash 2009!

Also, September calendar will be posted later this week!

POOL PARTY

The pool party has been CANCELLED for tonight due to the rain. Please don't forget to invite your friends to BACK TO SCHOOL BASH next week!

Coming up this week at Velocity. . .

"Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only" (Matthew 4:10, NIV)

God must be the center of attention in everything we do. Satan would love to distract and destroy the beauty of worshipping God. This week we are going to focus on what worship really means and how we can worship God in every aspect of our lives. You won't want to miss out on this incredible message!

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Also, this week during our game time we are bringing back my favorite game. . .

Be ready to get messy!

Back Home!

Hey guys! Just wanted to let you all know that Brittney and I are back from Orlando. We had a great time and our Fine Arts participants did really, really good. I want to congradulate them on a job well done!

I'm getting back in the swing of things, looking forward to seeing everyone Wednesday!

VELOCITY TRIVIA - 7.29.09

Trusting God means that the storm isn't the ______ of your story.

A. Beginning
B. Middle
C. End
D. Cover

**Remember to email the correct answer to matthewc@ccorange.org before next Wednesday**

Velocity Trivia:

Name one of the two Bible stories I mentioned in the sermon from tonight. [email me at matthewc@ccorange.org with the correct answer]

few pictures...

It’s unavoidable--every one of us goes through storms. Sometimes the storms are big and cause lots of damage. Sometimes they rumble through and then they are gone. So if a storm is going to happen--whether it’s a death, a diagnosis, a divorce, or a breakup--how do you weather the storm? What do you hold on to when the storm hits?



STORM WATCH is happening @ Velocity
7.22.09 & 7.29.09

Tonight is BOWLING! I'm not a very good bowler, but I'm hoping to improve my high score of 168. Don't forget to bring $3 for shoes and food money. I'm buying the lanes! We leave the MLK campus at 6pm sharp! See ya tonight.

http://www.markbeeson.com/mark_beeson/2009/07/ambidextrous-worship.html

Read this...it's pretty incredible.

"Fatal Distractions"

This week I'm going to be talking about the effects distractions can have on our walk with Christ. I know that in my life things have taken me off of the path towards eternal life. I let friends, popularity, and music have more value than Jesus. Once the storms came, I quickly realized who my Hero was to save me from the mess that was my life. That hero - Jesus - can do the same for you. He said that "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life". Only through Him can we experience the joys of eternal life. Following Jesus isn't something that takes place just on Wednesday nights or Sunday mornings. When you said yes to Jesus, you said yes to a lifestyle following Jesus' examples. The Bible tells us that Jesus gives life...so it looks to me like nothing else should matter. I want to live forever. Do you?

Summer

The boomtown trip has been postponed. I'm working on an alternative...stay tuned!

This is a schedule of fun things for the summer. The other schedule posted earlier is for sermon series and Thursdays.

Questions? Call 409-883-4498 or email matthewc@ccorange.org

Thursday Nights @ The Drive Student Center

While we were at Discovery Camp last week, we participated in Prayer Culture. Through prayer and direction from the Holy Spirit, I felt like I needed to bring that back to Velocity Jr. High. Every Thursday we are going to have "Thirsty Thursdays". It's a time for us to plug into God's presence through worship and prayer. It is optional - the gym, pool tables, etc. will still be open for Thursday Night Drive. It will be from 5pm - 9pm unless the Holy Spirit tells us otherwise.

Come check it out!

So this is my blog. Check out the summer calendar for 2009!


JULY

1 - Discovery Camp

8 - "Obey Your Thirst" (Velocity Wednesday Night)

9 - Thursday Night Drive/Thirsty Thursdays 5 - 9pm

10 - Chik-fil-a Night (bring money)

15 - "Distractions" (Velocity Wednesday Night)

16 - Thursday Night Drive/Thirsty Thursdays 5 - 9pm

22 - "Storm Watch" (Velocity Wednesday Night)

23 - Thursday Night Drive/Thirsty Thursdays 5 - 9pm

29 - "Storm Watch" (part 2) (Velocity Wednesday Night)

30 - Thursday Night Drive/Thirsty Thursdays 5 - 9pm


August Events Coming Soon!