Weird is Better!

Jonathan Cockrell — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:49:00 +0000

Talking through the message during the week helps you turn what God is saying to you into action steps. These talking points, questions, and scriptures are designed to help you take the next step.

• Who is someone that you would describe as being weird in a God way? What have you learned from them being weird?

With your Bible or YouVersion, read Psalm 69:9-12.

In this Psalm, David describes being insulted and ridiculed for being different for his faith in God.

• In what ways have you been insulted or made fun of because of your faith in Christ?

• How do you typically respond when people insult you because of your faith? How can you draw strength and encouragement

from these situations?

Read 1 Samuel 15:24-25, John 15:18-20 and Matthew 5:10-12.

These passages show us two barriers on the road to being weird: the need to please and criticism.

• How consumed are you with what people think about you? How has that influenced your actions?

• Why is it so important that we not become obsessed with what others think about us?

• How can being criticized for your faith be good for your relationship with Christ?

• Who is someone you admire for handling criticism for their faith? What did you learn from this person?

Read 1 Thessalonians 2:4 and Proverbs 29:25.

These verses show us that we can’t please everyone, but we can please God.

• What are some of the blessings you have experienced as a result of your pleasing God?

• What are some things you can do this week to help you focus more on pleasing God instead of others?

Do something weird this week!

Wierd in a God way

Jonathan Cockrell — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:30:11 +0000

Talking through the message during the week helps you turn what God is saying to you into action steps. These talking points,questions and scriptures are designed to help you take the next step.

• In what ways would you classify yourself as being weird?

With your Bible or YouVersion, read Matthew 7:13-14.

Jesus explains in this passage that His way is not the common path taken by most people.

• How would you define what it means to be normal in today’s world?

• In what ways is being normal not working out for you?

Read Romans 12:2.

Paul encourages us in this verse to not think like normal people think and instead focus solely on God.

• What are some of the causes of your normal way of thinking?

• What one or two areas in life do you need to start thinking differently about immediately? What is your next step to

changing the way you think?

• What you think determines what you become. Who have you become as a result of your thinking?

Read 1 Peter 2:11-12.

We are encouraged in these verses to not live like normal people live.

• How have you seen your life become weird in a God way the more you pursue Christ?

• What do you think is the custom weird God has designed just for you?

• What are some things you can do this week to start living weird in a God way?

It’s time to be weird!

crazy idol making factory

Jonathan Cockrell — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 12:14:28 +0000

Sense the beginning of time man has always had the innate desire to build idols, manufacture gods, build monuments to make their name great and their legacy last. It’s about building a dynasty right! Truth be told, that will always exist, it’s in our DNA, it’s how we have been created. God created all things for his glory and has a result of sin every person is in need of a savior. We are going to worship…it’s what we do. We praise what we value, we celebrate what we value, we give attention to what we value, we give money to what we value…our worship is centered on what we value. Because we are all in need of a savior…we build function gods that save us from our needs, pain, suffering, or that deliver us to a place we desire to be. I want you to think about this for a moment. What do you value the most? Be honest! What functional saviors are you in the middle of building? For many your idol is a relationship….it consumes you. The savior of self image….your personal image consumes your every motive and thought. The list goes on…what are yours?

What consumes us controls us.

When a good thing becomes a god thing it’s a bad thing.

Read these verses and see how they may apply to what we have been thinking about.

Colossians 1: 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together

Genesis 11:1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.³ They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴ Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves;

Ezekiel 14:¹ Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. ² Then the word of the LORD came to me:³ “Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? ⁴ Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When any of the Israelites set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet, I the LORD will answer them myself in keeping with their great idolatry. ⁵ I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.’

⁶ “Therefore say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!

towers

Jonathan Cockrell — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 21:52:42 +0000

We kicked off a new series called…eat.sleep.think! This series is wrapped around the constant battle you and I have on building towers…or gods in our lives. When something consumes us it controls us. The idea that when a good thing becomes a god thing its a bad thing. This series is intended to remind us that the GOOD things God gives us…relationships, music, jobs, athletic ability, success, arts, money, cars, and the list goes on…don’t become god things. We worship what we value, our hearts always move towards this because we have been created to worship. The call this week is to check and see if the affection of our hearts has been given to something other than God. Ezekiel 14: 1-6

Some of the leaders of Israel approached me and sat down with me. God’s Message came to me: “Son of Man, these people have installed idols in their hearts. They have embraced the wickedness that will ruin them. Why should I even bother with their prayers? Therefore tell them, ‘The Message of God, the Master: All in Israel who install idols in their hearts and embrace the wickedness that will ruin them and still have the gall to come to a prophet, be on notice: I, God, will step in and personally answer them as they come dragging along their mob of idols. I am ready to go to work on the hearts of the house of Israel, all of whom have left me for their idols. ”Therefore, say to the house of Israel: ‘God, the Master, says, Repent! Turn your backs on your no-god idols.

ONE LIFE!

Jonathan Cockrell — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:27:53 +0000

This weekend is the one-year anniversary of the tragic death of our dear friend Craig Marshall. That weekend had a profound impact on all of our lives. It allowed us to see the importance of making the most of the one life that God has given us. To be purposeful in the way we live out our lives and the increasable impact one life can make. Through the process of grieving over Craig’s death we learned much about ourselves, we saw our need for God and that our strength his found in Him. We grew close and it gave us a sense of urgency to make sure our one life counts for what matters most and to share Christ love with our peers. One year later we are reminded once again to take a close look at our lives and ask ourselves this question, are we making the most of the precious time that God has given us? Are you allowing the full expression of God’s love being seen in your life…ONE LIFE, ONE PURPOSE, ONE LOVE, ONE GOD!

love revo

Jonathan Cockrell — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:00:55 +0000

Are you ready to join the love revolution! We have begun a new series that explores the word LOVE…a word that is often over used, misused, not used enough, abused, thrown around, and as a result a word that has been lost. Think about it, we love everything…from Lucky Charms, cars, cell phones, facebook, relationships, concerts, bands, clothes, shoes, Rita’s, I love Chick-fila, stupid shaped bracelets, books, movies…the list goes on and onnnnnn!

Did you know love has never not existed…it’s the one word that has no beginning and no ending. The reason being is because God and love are inseparable. What I’m saying is God is love and without God there is no love.

Think about this…your understanding of love will have an impact on your ability to love. So for the next few weeks we want to increase our understanding of this amazing connection between God and Love and how that impacts our life.

I want to challenge you to take the time to read I John and every time you see the word love circle it. When you get to chapter 4 you’ll need to sharpen your pencil!

school back in session!

Jonathan Cockrell — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:37:52 +0000

Tonight is student stories which means school is back in session. Now that can be seen as a good thing or bad thing. For some who have set a goal to make it through high school you are now one step closer in reaching that goal. For others in means the end of summer freedom…the chance to sleep in, run out and surf whenever you get the urge, lay on the beach and enjoy the sun,sand, and whatever else happens at the beach…Rita’s…is OVER! For Detour it gives us a chance to hear how awesome and amazing our God has been in our lives throughout the summer months. What ridiculous months they have been…Bigstuf was a beautiful way of kicking off the summer. Rock band camp prepared a whole new group of musicians for some sick worship this school year, ummm, Camp Electric was a whole new experience for all of us who went to Nashhville…cool thing about Nashville two brothers gave their lives to Christ after David Nasser spoke to us. The big one….React Buffalo…hello that was one crazy week of ministry and God showed up in a big way each day. We had a slammen 40th b-day party that kicked off at midnight, I could not have had a better party with all my fav people there with me. So has our summer freedom comes to a end, tonight we get to celebrate all that God has done through your stories and some amazing music! Look forward to seeing you at Detour.

react buffalo

Jonathan Cockrell — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:16:48 +0000

I got to make this quick because I’m heading out on a hot date with my wife tonight but this past week was just……no word can be found! God was so good to us as he allowed us to partner with an awesome church called Renovation Church that is doing some crazy stuff in Buffalo. You will hear more about it in the near future but I wanted to thank all those who prayed for us and supported us financially to make this trip a reality. We got back safe and changed….thank you Lord!

black vs pink

Jonathan Cockrell — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 02:55:13 +0000

I got to say summer 2010 has been amazing in so many ways and we still have half the summer left! We just kicked off detour 500 and every summer you guys bring the energy and excitement to a whole new level. I had my good friend Justin Faucette come in and speak on the importance of knowing that God has called us to run the race for His glory and not our own…so proud of Justin…he was in my student ministry a few years back and now he is serving the Lord as a student pastor in Durham. Well the guys may have won the pit stops but the girls brought the numbers and lead with major vocals! Can’t wait to see what happens next week at Detour 500!

I’m gearing up for another crazy week on the road with our student band along with Matt…our stylen worship leader…to camp electric in Nashville. I have never beento this camp so I can’t wait to experience something totally new with these guys.

bigstuf

Jonathan Cockrell — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:57:55 +0000

We just got back from an amazing week at bigstuf. This was my 5th year going to bigstuf camps and this past week was the best yet. The theme for camp was ‘THINK” and that is what they had us do. Now you would think that the students were done thinking because school just got ut but when you think about God you become refreshed, encouraged and humbled. It was so great for me to have the chance to stand beside you guys in worship and sit with you during the teaching. I had a blast spending the days with you on the beach and playing team games…O…and chasing you guys around for towel fights! I got the chance to stay with our upcoming senior guys and we made the most of bigstuf…waking up for our morning swim and making you guys go to the lobby to drop off your “kids”! It was a great week and one I will always remember. Don’t forget…be transformed b the renewing of your mind. So take time to think today!