Cornerstone Cafe "Serving Christ by Serving Others"

Girls Night Out!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:00:00 +0000

A Sneek Peek into this Sunday's Youth Service

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:32:00 +0000

While planning a youth service once a month I try to pick new songs that hopefully most people know. This Sunday I was looking over the list of songs and came to the song "Trading My Sorrows" by Darrell Evans. At the church we are currently in a sermon series called Spiritual Warfare. Though there are many places where there are spiritual warfare, I believe one part of that warfare is in our sorrows. Whether it be financial, family, church, or health burdens they are ever occuring, day to day, problems we face. How we react to them is where the spiritual warfare begins.

On first read the song seems to contain a "prosperity gospel" message, that if you truly put your faith in Christ, you'll never have any problems, sickness, pain, sorrow, or struggle. Although this "prosperity message" is gaining popularity, it doesn't stand the test of Scripture. The world hates followers of Jesus Christ (John 15:18) and will persecute them for keeping His Word (15:20). Jesus promised His disciples "In the world you have tribulation..." (John 16:33).

But Darrell Evans' song isn't denying the first part of John 16:33. It's reminding the Christian that our hope is in the second half of the verse. "Take heart. I have overcome the world." The point of Jesus' comment, and my understanding of "Trading My Sorrows," is about attitude. When we face sorrow, sickness, shame, or pain, we have a choice. We can live life "under the circumstances," and spend our time griping, complaining, and feeling sorry for ourselves, or we can focus our minds on the promise of John 16:33 that Jesus has overcome the world!

John 16:33
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

(if you want to get a head start for next Sunday here are the lyrics and website to check out the song)
Trading My Sorrows
Darrell Evans

I'm trading my sorrows,I'm trading my shame
I'm laying them down
For the joy of the Lord
I'm trading my sickness,
I'm trading my pain
I'm laying them down,
For the joy of the Lord

I'm pressed but not crushed,
Persecuted not abandoned
Struck down but not destroyed.
I am blessed beyond the curse
For his promise will endure,
That his joy is going to be my strength
Though my sorrows may last for the night,
His joy comes with the morning

put this website in your url-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KsfwvpcQhY

New at the Cafe

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:20:00 +0000

Tonight at 7:00pm we start Girls Night Out. This is for girls in Junior High and High school. We will be focusing on becoming women of God mentally, physically, and spiritually. Most of our time will be focused on the book of Ruth and the Proverbs 31 woman. While we are studying to become woman of God we will also be having a ton of fun such as doing tons of girly stuff like painting nails, facials, etc. I'm excited to see where God will lead us, so come out and enjoy Girls Night Out.

~Proverbs 31:30 reads, "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."

Community Outreach event this Sunday!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:26:00 +0000

This Sunday after church the youth will be going around the surrounding area and handing out Angel Food menus. It should be a great time of fellowship and lunch will be provided. Parents and adults are more than welcome to join us in the fun!

Picnic Tomorrow!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:41:00 +0000

Don't forget the picnic at Miss Debbie's (one of the leaders) house!!! We will be leaving from the church tomorrow after the service and going hiking to go find Big Foot and have a picnic with him. (Those of you who were at the overnighter know about Big Foot.) Church starts at 10:15 am and we will be at Debbie's house till 3pm. Don't forget to bring a sack lunch and tennis shoes, and maybe even a light jacket. It will be a great time with food, games, and fun! Hope to see all of you there.

Love A Stray

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:22:00 +0000

Tonight from 5:15pm-8:30pm the youth group will be going to Love a Stray in Avon. We will be playing with the cats, and probably cleaning some cages. One of our leaders, Debbie, has been volunteering there for quite some time and she enjoys it very much. This is just one of many volunteer opportunities we will be doing this year. This year we will be learning about the life of Christ, and one major aspect of Christ's life was to serve others. Therefore the youth will help serve our community while learning about how Christ served others. I will try to put up some pictures of the night for you to enjoy!
If you want more information on love a stray check out their website!
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/love-a-stray.html

Be Still

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:58:00 +0000

It has been awhile since I have written on here, but I thought maybe since it's a new school year I can start back up on my online duties. This summer was long and rough at times trying to get kids to come to youth group, but I'm hoping this fall semester will go better than before. Some new things have happened since the beginning of summer. I have become the Youth Ministry Chairman (or maybe it would be chairwoman?), and I gained a few new leaders to help out. Keep praying for the leaders and the new ones to come. It takes a lot of work to run a youth ministry, so pray for strength to make it through.
Why I wanted to start posting today was that on Sunday something hit me (not literally.) We were singing a song I forget what it was, but the next slide that was up was Psalm 37:7a. It reads, "Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him..." WOW it felt like a brick just hit my head! The first two words "Be still" rang over and over in my head. I felt that God was saying, "Alice slow down enjoy the journey. Enjoy being with the people your with and the times you have with them." Then there's me saying back, "yea, OK I guess I can take a few deep breaths." Then God saying back, "no Alice, be still!." After going back and forth with God and Him just saying back "Be Still" I stopped talking and was still. Now that God got through to me about being still there was something else he wanted to say through that verse. The phase I dislike the most "wait patiently for Him." Now to be honest God and me have been playing tug of war on this subject for some time now. I always enjoy a good game of tug of war, but let me tell ya when it's against God you're never going to win. I still wanted to play some more, but yesterday God just tugged more this time. I decided to wait patiently, whether it be my job or the youth ministry. I gave up playing the game and the final score was GOD 1 billion- Me 0. So to those who might be reading "Be still and wait patiently." It's a lot easier if you do it sooner than later, believe me my hands hurt.

Tonight at The Cafe

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 13 May 2009 21:34:00 +0000

Don't Just Give a Mother's Day Gift: Be the Gift

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 09 May 2009 14:13:00 +0000

I often get e-mails from teen life ministries and this week I recieved this very encouraging e-mail for Mother's Day. Enjoy!

Many years ago, Anna Jarvis advocated a special day be given to pay
homage and recognition to mothers.

Consequently, the second Sunday in May has been designated as
Mother's Day. It is refreshing to know that in a world that is
often negative, destructive and evil, a good wholesome influence is
still in existence. It is especially encouraging to see a whole
nation of people pause to honor mothers.

On this special day of honor and remembrance, we will take time to
do special things such as sending beautiful greetings cards,
cooking (or buying) dinners or purchasing special gifts. However,
if we really want to give a gift--either to someone who is still
with us or to one who is not--let the life you live be your gift.
Live a life that amounts to something positive. Live a life that
says to those to whom tribute, homage and honor are being paid that
their labor, love, prayers, teaching and sacrifices have not been
for naught.

The lives we live tell those whom we meet what type of an attitude
we have toward our mothers, their training, teachings and their
sacrifices. On this special day make a commitment that you will
allow the flower garden of your life to be pruned by the love of
Jesus so that the flowers may bud with the blossoms of God's grace.
Let the tree of your life produce fruits of repentance. Let the
life you live be a living Mother's Day greeting card, showing to
all that your name has indeed been recorded in the Lamb's Book of
Life.

To the mothers who have been, are now, and who will be--thank you
for life and love.
Proverbs 31:10-31

Youth Video

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 03 May 2009 01:11:00 +0000

Here is the video we showed at the last youth service. ENJOY!!

Youtube Tuesday..but it's Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:27:00 +0000

Ok I know I have been slacking on my posts, I have just been hired full time at my job, and it is hard to stay on trac sometimes, but by the grace of God I'm back and posting again. haha. Well back to my youtube video of the week. This video has been sweeping the youtube world like none other, and maybe you have seen this video already. I heard about Susan Boyle on the radio yesterday and thought wow this is the video I need to post. A couple weeks ago the youth was taught about not judging a book by it's cover, and how important it is not to judge others first. Matthew 7:1-5 reads, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "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? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Wow how often do we judge others, before we look at our own sleves. It is something that we struggle with everyday, and this video shows good proof of that. May we all strive to become more like Christ in this area everyday!

(on a side note: if other youth leaders or volunteers are reading my blog this is a great video to show your teens and teach them about not judging others!)

Coffee Break

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:15:00 +0000

Since the bank isn't that busy I find myself wanting to encourage you with these words:

We're coming up on Easter Sunday!

I Cor 15:1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

WOW! That is the essense of our faith.

It's awesome that Paul writes about priority of the death burial and ressurection.

Easter is by far my favorite holiday and this is the reason why. Hope you enjoyed this week's coffee break!!

Fun Friday- Jesus is a Friend of Mine

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:12:00 +0000

hmmm maybe this is what we are going to sing for the Youth Service. What do you think? I also really like their outfits!!

Where's Waldo?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:42:00 +0000

I know I haven't been able to write in awhile, but I thought I would do a post that I regularly do on Wednesday. Here are some clues of what we will be doing tonight.

Movie Night- Amazing Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:49:00 +0000

Hey tonight is movie night!!! For the youth group if you want to come an hour or so before the movie and just hang out and play fooseball and darts come and join in on the fun! Also this is a great thing just to do on a Friday and get out of the house, bring your friends and then you guys can go out to the mall or something!?!? What do people usually do on Friday nights anyways?.....go watch a movie that is what, but how about going to see a movie that is free and have free popcorn! Tonight at 7:00 we will be watching Amazing Grace. To see a review on the movie go to http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/reviews/2007/amazinggrace.html
This is one of my all time favorite movies! I'll write more about it later but check out this awesome music video of chris tomlin

A New What?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:17:00 +0000

Well we have a surprise at The Cafe. What? you might ask... Of course I can't tell you! You have to come tonight to see it. But here are some clues....

Youtube Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:57:00 +0000

Well for this Youtube Tuesday I would like to show you a funny video that always makes me smile. The Cafe wants to start getting involved in nursing homes and I was thinking what better way than to have them start coming to what I normally do on a weekly basis. I am in a band called the Good News Messangers, and we go to different nursing homes around the county to play for the elderly. Yesturday I had a few of the youth come with me to help out in any way they can. They did a great job with the shakers and tambourines, and even one dressed up with a cheese head! The nursing home residents loved how young kids are willing to help out and spend time with them. In the future there will be more of these and hey maybe we will even learn how to make balloon hats!

What we did

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:03:00 +0000

Wednesday was a lot of fun with silly games such as Big Booty and a very funny blinfolded taste testing which we then went into how God calls us to be Salt and Light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus tells his disciples, "You are the salt of the earth" and "You are the light of the world." In verse 13 we read, "You are the salt of the earth," and in the Greek it is "You and you alone are the salt of the earth. Why did Jesus say that to this small group of uneducated, poor, humble, Galilean disciples? He was telling them that although the world of men is rotting, they as Christians were to function like salt in the world. Why? They alone were different from the world. Like the world, they had also been dead, but from their depravity and spiritual death they had been delivered by the power of God and made alive by their relationship with Christ. )

We then listened to "World" by Five for Fighting. Recently I was really impressed by its lyrics and tone. It is hopeful and yet challenging. It asks us to consider what kind of world we'd want to live in and what we might do to make it so:

Got a package full of Wishes - A Time machine, a Magic Wand, A Globe made out of Gold - No Instructions or Commandments, Laws of Gravity or Indecisions to uphold, Printed on the box I see A.C.M.E.'s Build-a-World-to-be, Take a chance - Grab a piece - Help me to believe it, What kind of world do you want? Think Anything, Let's start at the start - Build a masterpiece, Be careful what you wish for - History starts now...

Full lyrics here. The writer and vocalist John Ondrasik says of the song: "What fed into this is that . . . many stand on their soap boxes and rant and rave without offering any solutions of their own. It's easy to complain. It's hard to do something or offer and alternative solution." How might you use this song? The Cafe used this song to portray on a board what the world looks like and how you think God would want the world to be. We cut out tons of magazines and had a lot of fun discussing different activities we could do for the community. Hopefully I can get some pictures of the other night to show you how much fun we had. Can't wait till next Wed.!

Generation WE

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:18:00 +0000

I started this blog to show teens what is happening in The Cafe and for their parents who what to know more about what their teens are doing. I also wanted this website to look into the lives of teenagers in today's culture, and to encourage teenagers to be different. Different meaning to make a difference. History is now and we can and will make a difference. I am proud of those who have signed up by voulunteering their time and am hoping for more to make a stand. To the teens of The Cafe don't be like your friends who stay in their house and do nothing, but step out and start a revolution of change. Be an example to your parents and elders by making and difference. Every little bit helps! By serving others we are serving Christ.

-take note of Generation We, the "Millennials," those born between 1978 and 2000:

"The Millennials are a special generation, potentially the greatest generation ever. They are not pessimistic or vengeful. Rather, they are sober in their view of the world. They believe in technology and know they can innovate themselves out of the mess they are inheriting. They believe in entrepreneurship and collective action, and that each person can make a difference. They are about plenitude, and they reject cruelty. They are spiritual, responsible, tolerant, and in many ways more mature than their predecessor generations. They reject punditry and bickering, because they are post-partisan, post-ideological, and post-political. Most important, they believe in the greater good and are ready to dedicate themselves to achieving it."

From the book "Generation We: How Millennial Youth are Taking Over America and Changing Our World Forever" by Erich Greenberg. You can download a free copy the book here http://www.gen-we.com/sites/default/files/GenWe_EntireBook3.pdf. It's definitely worth a read. Let us know what you think.

March Madness!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 22:42:00 +0000

March Madness has begun, and no I'm not talking about basketball! I'm talking about all the things that are going on at Grace Community Church in the month of March. All the highlighted events are those for the youth group to go to, and as you can see we have tons of highlighted events. This month we have Angel Food Distribution, the Youth Service, Game Night, Candy Making, and most important The Cafe which is every Wednesday night. It's important to come Wed. night to see when these events are and also to sign up for them (an example would be tobogganing, but that's all I'm going to say.. you have to come to find out more!). It is amazing to see what God is doing in the lives of our youth group and I can't wait to see what He keeps on doing!

Youtube Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 12:59:00 +0000

In the past I've done funny and upbeat videos except for a few. As we continue to help others let us think differently by letting others help us it could be as simple as listening to another person and hearing their story by this we can be moved in so many ways. Instead of walking past someone who you usually don't talk to take time to listen.

1st Angel Food Distribution!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 23:57:00 +0000

Today was the youth groups first Angel distribution day at Cornerstone United Methodist Church. We had a blast and can't wait till next month. One of the girls even said she wished she could do it everyday! We had 4 teens from our group show up and we are expecting even more next time. If you missed this Saturday don't worry the next one will be March 21 from 9:30am (for volunteers) and 10am for pickup till 12pm. We had fun serving the community and have pictures to prove it!

Serving the Slums

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:54:00 +0000

Psalm 82:3-4 "Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." Tonight it's all about helping others. It might help, if you have time, to read Psalm 82 before coming tonight. We will be going over different ways to get involve with outreach ministries at the church. This Saturday At Cornerstone United Methodist Church in Elyria we will be helping Angel Food Ministry with distributing food. Afterwards there will be a pizza party in the youth room to discuss what we did and play games. Come tonight for what time we are leaving the church and what time parents pick up.
VOULUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE:

Youtube Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:35:00 +0000

Here's something that the teens will like!

Teens at the Park

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:55:00 +0000

This Saturday from 10 a.m.- noon Carlisle Reservation Center is holding a get together for teens to learn about volunteer opportunities at the park. As the youth group gets more involved in ministry and volunteering around the community we are excited to see different places where we can serve. The parks can be just another opportunity to do just this. So come out this Saturday to learn more about what teens can do. Pre-register at http://reservations.loraincountymetroparks.com/programs/index.shtml?id=14317&sid=743009.89078&uid=