Last night Waters Edge hosted an event called One: A Student Experience. It was for 6th - 12th grade students and it a great night to kick off off the school year.
160 students laughed, sang, and learned about how to be a Jesus Freak. Here's a snapshot of what the talk was about.
freak (frēk)
noun
• a person or animal that is markedly unusual or deformed
• freak out: lose one's nerve; "When he saw the accident, he freaked out"
• addict: someone who is so ardently devoted to something that it resembles an addiction; "a golf addict"; "a car nut"; "a bodybuilding freak"; "a news junkie"
"Nobody wants to be a freak when it comes to the first two definitions of the word, but the third definition says, "ardently devoted to something." We are all freaks about something. Whether it's sports, a hobby, or Justin Bieber everyone is ardently devoted, but if you believe in God then how do you become a freak for Him?"
From there I shared the story of Peter from the Bible. He wasn't perfect, and yet he followed Jesus. He made a lot of mistakes including denying that he knew Jesus 3 times. The key is that he didn't stop following Jesus, and by the end of his life he was such a freak that he preached about Jesus no matter if it meant he would get arrested or even killed. I love what Acts 4:13 says, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." I challenged the students that even though they may be unschooled and ordinary when they live for Jesus people will be astonished!
The night ended with well over 100 students boldly standing on the stage declaring that this school year they were going to be a freak for Jesus. It was a very powerful moment! Here are some pics of the night...
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| Pictured Above: The night started with Phil Poteat and the Waters Edge Band melting our faces off with the song Jesus Freak |
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| Pictured Above: Lead Pastor Stu Hodges leading a game from Minute to Win It |
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| Pictured Above: Mike (rock'n so hard he's blurry) Larry (on keys) and Rob B (on rhythm guitar) |
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| Pictured Above: Waters Edge Students |
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| Pictured Above: Rob speaking to the students |
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| Pictured Above: Students singing "I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned, in awe of the one who paid it all. I'll stand my soul Lord to you surrender, all I am is yours." |
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| Pictured Above: Stu twitpic'd this from backstage. |
News and pictures like these make me all warm and tingly inside. This really is so cool.
ReplyDeleteIt was such a blessing to be a part of the whole thing!
ReplyDeletethats incredible to read about, and even more to visualize with seeing the students up on stage... surrendering completely in worship. i'm so amped to see how much W.E. has grown, and especially amongst the youth
ReplyDeleteInspiring!
ReplyDelete