Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." Mark 9:35

What does the verse say?
- The verse showed Jesus meeting with the 12 disciples, trying to explain to them that He will die on the cross soon. The disciples do not understand what Jesus means, so He tries to explain by using this verse--that those who will be first, will be the very last and a servant to all.

What does it mean?
- The verse says that we should prioritize others over ourselves. We can prioritize other people by serving other people. We want to be the first in what God calls us to be ... first in (loving others, serving others, praying, and worshiping God). We also have to know that Jesus chose to be the absolute very very least of us all by dying on the cross, serving all of humanity, but He is now at the right hand of God and has become first.

What does it mean for me?
- Because Jesus died for us, served us, and chose to be the very last, we should also follow what the example He has set. Here's an example about how you can put this idea into practice: Say you were the first in line for lunch, but you let everyone else behind you go before you...even if that meant you didn't get the good desserts-- that's what it means to serve all and being the very last.

What ways can you choose to be the very last, serving all others, so that you can choose to be first in God's eyes and not the world's eyes?




Until next time,

Sorry that I haven't had a chance to send a newsletter in a long time. I have moved back to Baltimore, moved into a new room, and started classes!

Some of you have mentioned that you would like more fun information and shorter newsletters, so I will be condensing my message (hopefully). Other than when I do special newsletters, I will generally choose a verse, explain what it says, what it means, and why it's important to us.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
Matthew 7:7-8

What does it say?
- The verse gives us three examples of when we reach out, we are given an answer. If we ask, we get an answer; if we try to find something, we will find it; if we knock on a door, the door will be opened.

What does it mean?
- The verse does not necessarily mean that we will get everything we want, exactly as we want it. However, it shows us that when we feel like we are in need, when we feel like we don't have an answer, and when we feel lost, we can always ask God for an answer. And God never ceases to give us what we request--He just sometimes decides to do it in a way that He thinks is best.

What does it mean for us?
- The verse means that when we understand, believe, and have faith that God can and does answer, we are never afraid to ask Him for help. This is known as prayer. When we pray, we should praise God and confess our sins, but we can also ask God for His help or His provision. We may ask for more video games and never receive them, but instead God may change our hearts so that we can live with a smaller desire to play video games. He always gives an answer to those who ask.
- He can even answer bold prayer requests. For example, we can boldly ask Him to bring more people to the church, and if we really believe that He can do it, He may answer with more people.

Until next time,

It's finally a new year! How did you celebrate the new year? Did you stay up until midnight? Did you watch fireworks? Did you hang out with family and friends?

Around this time, many people start making new year's resolutions. These are things that allow us to have a fresh start to a new year. January 1 is a clean slate. A time to improve upon mistakes and build upon the great things that happened in 2012. Have you made any resolutions?

In  the same way that we make resolutions to start the year anew, we can find the same clean slate when we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts. What that means is that when we accept that we are sinners and that Jesus (a human who never sinned because He was also God) came down from heaven and conquered death, signifying that He paid for our sins (since a sinless sacrifice was needed to repay all the sins that humans have and would commit), we are given new life. We are given a clean slate, we are white as snow, we are starting a new.

The Bible  promises us that we have new life in Christ, and that is like the new year. As  each year is a time to start over, accepting Christ is a time to restore what had been tainted by our sins. We then take on the righteousness of Christ and are able to live in freedom from our sins. Yes, we may still sin and we may still mess up, but that's not how God sees us after we have accepted Him.  Instead, He sees something new!

So since we are given a new year and a new life in Christ, let's make the most of it. Let's make plans or resolutions to follow His commands, to love others, and to live a life that is pleasing to  Him.

Romans 6:4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new  life.

Until next time,