The Christmas Bird

Funny and Cheesy.

Christmelicious

I am pretty sure this song is a remix coming from a popular song that is itself a remix from a song in the 80's. Don't let the name throw you off. Check it out. Very creative. It is cool to see other students out there that love Jesus.

The Innkeeper by John Piper

This may take a minute to load. This is a poem by John Piper. This poem is from the imagination of Piper as he thinks about what really happened during the birth of Chirst. Sometimes we forget about the grimness surrounding the birth of our Savior. Please click on the comment button and let me know what you think about this poem.

The Gospel - not just for salvation, but for life and freedom.

I am currently doing a bible study over Galatians. I have already been through this study before when I lived in Thailand, when I had to depend on God because everything was hard, when it was clear that I could not do it on my own, when I saw that if anything great was going to happen among the Thai people it would happen by grace and not my performance.

Once again I am brought to that place of submission, the place of casting my cares on the One who is able, the One who is good and true, the One who is full of grace and mercy. How silly it is of me to ever attempt to rely on my own goods, my own understanding, my own wisdom and experience. Who am I trying to kid by acting like I have it all together, that I can lead my family, that I can lead others, that I can lead a movement of youth. I can not.

Grace busts in without permission, just when we are so filled up with ourselves here it comes, a truly beautiful collision, as Crowder says, "when depravity meets grace". Jesus wants me to see that He is able to lead me, my family, my friends, and a youth movement. He is not only able, which is a great big thing, He is willing. Wow, the creator of the universe is concerned with me, even with all my sin stained self. God overflows in love to me so that He can overflow in love through me.

This love is unearned. This is grace. What freedom! Grace lifts up the name of Jesus. Grace draws me out of myself to the greatness of God where He shows off in me. I do not, nor should I , need to aim at getting God to delight in my performance. Pride seeks approval by performance. Grace is free. Love is free. Unearned love is pure and electric. "Grace makes the law of God a thing of beauty instead of a burden."

Jesus wants to move in big ways and among us. Grace empowers us to run the race. Grace will always exalt God. Why would I ever seek to lift myself up and miss out on Him.

Contemplate Grace today.

Slamball accident

What not to do. Please, use your heads out there.

What not to do. Please, use your heads out there.

We will not have ROCK this Wednesday, December 20, 2006.

We will not have ROCK next Wednesday, December 27, 2006.

We will all meet in the Fellowship Hall for a "GATHERING" January 3, 2007 @ 6:30. Don't miss it. We will begin having GATHERINGS again every first Wednesday of the month.

December 13, 20o6

ROCK Christmas Party @ Starlite Skating Rink

Girls bring homemade goodies.

Guys bring Dr. Thunder and and drinks.

6:00pm - 8:00pm

$5 for Lottie Moon

See you there.

Middle School Retreat Pictures are online now.

Joel Osteen on the gospel cannot make up his mind

Be very careful in who you look to for guidance. Although God's Word makes it clear that Jesus is the only way to God, Joel thinks differently. I only post this to let you see what we must watch out for.

The Ski Trip is FULL.

You may turn you forms(without deposit) to be put on the waiting list.

Don't forget to bring your Ski Trip Forms to HS and MS Rock this Wednesday.

Link to Ski Form

The Nativity Story (PG)

(story review)

Over all- I really liked it.

I know that in writing a review I put myself out on the line for others to review my views. But I will continue on anyhow.

After having diner with some of my close friends and wife we met up with some more friends at the theatre to watch The Nativity Story. We were thinking that the place would be filled up with people the way the Passion was so we ordered our tickets early that day to secure a seat. Our group was half of the viewing population that night in our showing room. The one beside us was just as empty. I have comments on this but I will save them for whoever asks me. Just as it always happens, the ads looped over and over as we felt smart answering all the questions like we had just seen them for the first time, and then the lights began to fade and I began to get excited. "What will I experience tonight, will it change my life?"

As I watched the story of the birth of Christ unfold (according to this movie), I was greatly pleased with the fine details of the culture and behaviors. I must say that it helped me to re-examine some of my preconceived American interpretations of how things happened. I feel that the movie stayed true to the story* and where scripture is silent I think they inserted much liberty based off of the times, norms, and culture.

*Many scholars and nonscholars (me) believe that the Magi came later on after the night of Jesus' birth. The movie portrays the popular view of the Magi showing up that night. Also we know there were three gifts, but we are not certain it was three wise men.

I put the picture of Joseph on this review because this movie reminded me of how much of a biblical model of manhood Joseph was. His place in scriptures is small in words but huge in character, faith, and boldness.

Well, I hope that my life has been changed by seeing this movie and thinking on scripture about Mary and Joseph and yes, JESUS. I hope that I will take this deeper understanding of God's great plan to save the world by using a "nobody" family to play a part in bringing His Son into the world. I hope that I will be a better husband because of this. I hope that I will see the magisty in my humble KING. I hope that I will be filled with boldness to always step out in faith because of promises like Mary and Joseph did.

Go see it.

There are a few scenes in which small children may not need to view. I would also, with the rating people, rate it PG and not G, pg-13 or R.

Will will not have Core Groups during the month of December due to the busy schedule.

We will start back up in January 2007.

We will have ROCK this Wednesday. HS in the Rock house, MS in the Fellowship Hall

High School Retreat Pictures Are Online


Operation Christmas Child Pictures Are Online

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2007 WE WILL HAVE OUR ANNUAL HANGING OF THE GREEN. WE WILL NOT HAVE HS OR MS ROCK. SEE YOU IN THE WORSHIP CENTER AT 7:00PM WEDNESDAY.

Official Nativity Trailer

Gabe and I will be be viewing this movie soon. We will let you know what we think about it.~marc

Lecrae - Jesus Muzik

Many of you have been asking about Lecrae. Well, here he is.

WE WILL NOT HAVE ROCK THIS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2006. HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING!!~ marc

WE WILL NOT HAVE MS CORE THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2006.
MARC WILL BE ON THE HIGH SCHOOL RETREAT. PLEASE PRAY FOR US!

As many of you know, I like music that has a message. One of my modern heros of the faith is John Piper. He has written many books on the greatness of God and being satisfied only in Him. This past week at his very culturally traditional church they stepped out of the box. check this out.

http://theologica.blogspot.com/2006/10/voice-bethlehem.html

If you want a Salem Hoodie (hooded sweatshirt) please sign up on the bulliten boards. The cost is $25. We will not order them untill we reach 24 paid hoodies. Make checks payable to Salem Baptist Church and please include "hoodie, attention Marc" in the memo line. Drop checks in Brandon's office door. These will make great Christmas presents.

We will have Middle School Core Sunday, October 29. We have been having a great time together going deeper with God and each other. I have really seen great growth in our students this year! Please continue to pray for our Core time. If you have not be apart of CORE, don't worry, all are welcome, come join us!~Marc

The messages from COLLISION are now ready for you to listen and download. Click Here.

We had a great middle school retreat this weekend. The talks from Collision will be online soon at salemstudents.com. Let us remember that Jesus has collided with us by His grace not only to give us salvation but also to give us a purpose to collide with the world by telling them of His glory.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ and have not been baptized and would like to be, please contact Marc and Brandon so they can talk with you about this significant act of obedience. We will be having student baptism night November 12, 2006.

Marc Lewis for middle school students marcusjlewis@gmail.com
Brandon Stanley for high school students bstanley@salemchurch.net

This Sunday, October 8th, all youth (6-12 grade) will be meeting under tent 2 at 9:00am for Sunday School. We will then meet with the church under the big tent for worship.

We will not have Rock Wednesday night 9.27.2006.

Please join us at Eagles Landing Baptist Church for our See You at the Pole Rally.

Be dropped off about 6:45 and picked up no later than 8:30. Look for Me and Brandon.

e-mail marc at marcusjlewis@gmail.com if you have any questions.

~Marc

Be INFORMED

If you would like to receive our updates in your inbox please put your e-mail in the box to the right of this entry and follow the steps below. It looks like this. Step 1. Decide that you want updates..you do.
Step 2. Enter your e-mail in the blank box under "e-mail address"
Step 3. Click the Subscribe button under the box that now has your e-mail address.
Step 4. Check your e-mail and click on confirm or what ever the e-mail tells you to do.
Step 5. Be excited that you now have done something cool and high tech.
Step 6. Tell all your friends and family about this new ground breaking way to keep up with salemstudents at Salem Baptist Church.
Step 7. Sit back and relax as updates come to you. wow.

Any Questions? e-mail Marc-- marcusjlewis@gmail.com

We will meet next week at Eagle's Landing Baptist Church for the See You at the Pole Rally. Be there by 7:00pm and be picked up around 8:30pm. For more information e-mail marc--marcusjlewis@gmail.com or call the church office770.957.4543

My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.

Proverbs 1:10

This is just a reminder for us to follow our good shepherd Jesus and not sinners. Sinners will entice you, they will tempt you, do not give in. The way of sin offers great pleasures but leaves off the painful results. Sins and Satan's untimate goal is to kill, steal and destroy. Let us not be fools. We must look to Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, for abundant life. Jesus can give us true pleasure and joy as we follow God's ways. Consent in faith to Christ every day. Believers, are you following Jesus or the ways of the world? Do not let your "friends" lead you into sin, but you lead your friends to Christ. Be the leader and let them consent to righteous ways. ~marc

Just a reminder that MS Core will meet this Sunday, September 10th at 6:30pm in the Rock House. All middle school students are welcome, even if you have not signed up yet you can come. We will finish about 7:45pm. Come find out about Core and Core-groups this year. You will not want to miss it! Bring your devotion book from Sunday School. ~Marc Lewis marcusjlewis@gmail.com

Middle School Fall Retreat--Collision--

Registration is Open! Don't miss out this Year

Special Speaker: Adam Walker www.askingy.com

Download and print out your Fall Retreat Form and 2006-2007 Medical Release Form* from
www.salemstudents.com

*If you went on the Tubing trip to Helen then we have your form. We need one a year for every student.

Do you want Student Blog Updates to come directly to you? If so, put your e-mail address in the box under the Clock on the right side of the Blog page and then hit "subscribe". You will receive an e-mail in which you will need to confirm that you do indeed want the Student Blog Updates.

Click on the above image to go to MS Rock

AudioCasts. These are weekly talks for you to listen to if you miss MS Rock or just want to listen again. Parents, I encourage you to listen and talk with your kids/students about the message. Feel free to give me feed back.

MS Rock Messages are now online. (click here)

Picture from last weeks MS Rock message

Time Alone With God

This week we are starting our new Quiet time/devotional book. This book will last us through the year. This is one of six books that we will be using with our students over the years. The students will learn a lesson in Sunday school and then have Monday through Friday to study God's Word using this book that will help them to understand even more. They will have the opportuninty to talk with each other about what they are learning in Core groups. For information about HS Core groups contact Brandon. For MS Core groups contact Marc . For more information about these books please check out studentlifebiblestudy.com . Students, please use these devotions, we believe they will help you to see Jesus more clearly and fall in love with Him. Parents, please talk with your students about their time with God and encourage them in this life changing discipline. We will be praying for you!! ~Marc

Today around 4:30pm April Grant went to be with Jesus to rest in His strong and mighty arms. She was not a member of Salem but came to MS Rock a few times last year with friends from Salem. She and her family are members of a local church. Please be praying for Mr. and Mrs. Grant and her older sister. She was at a homeschool get together with many of her friends. I am not sure of the details of her death but we do know she had a heart condition. ~marc

"He will allure her
He will pursue her
And call her out
To wilderness with flowers in His hand"

(lyrics from shane and shane acres of hope)
taken from Hosea 2:14-16

MS Tubing down the hooch in Helen.

It was fun!

Remember:

...the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

like a spring of water,

whose waters do not fail.

Isaiah 58:11

Middle School and High School Rock have kicked off the new year with a great first Wednesday turnout!! Don't forget to invite your friends next week. And watch out for crazy cows out there.

MIDDLE SCHOOL TUBING
THIS SATURDAY AUGUST 12

FORM AND INFOMATION CLICK HERE
Medical Release Form Click Here

As you see, there is a new look to the salemstudents.com website. Some of you will love the look, some will not, some of you don't really care what it looks like just as long as you can do what you need to do. So why the change? Well, we will be able to work faster and serve you better by having it "inhouse". We will be having many audiocasts along with videos. We will also have many picture galleries for you to enjoy and select pictures to download. We have seen that one of the biggest uses of the site in the past was for downloading forms. We will be able to have forms in an easy to find spot.

By the way, EVERY STUDENT needs to fill out the new 2006-2007 medical release form and drop it into Brandon's drop box. Put your name and grade on the envelope and drop it in the box ASAP.

Parents: please take a look each month at our parent link page. We hope that this tool will assist you in bringing up your children.

I have realized that I have been able to link specific pages in this blog to the new site, this is something that we were not able to do in the past.

This Blogs existence will have much to do with you, the reader. Please make comments and let us know that you are reading and that you want us to continue the blog. As you have seen, the site look has changed, but the address is still the same. Our overall desire with this change is to serve you better this year online and this change will help us to achieve this. -Marc

We will be using this audio blog feature to keep you informed on how things are going while we are away on trips. Just click on the play button.

We hope that you are having a great first week at school. Just wanted to see if there have been any funny things happen to you so far. Let us know by commenting. This will also let us know if you are reading.


See you at HS and MS ROCK Wednesday August 9th.

HS in the Rock House
MS in the Fellowship Hall

We're back to the land of the living. As many of you have so kindly pointed out to us over the past few weeks, the student site has been experiencing technical difficulties and has been unavailable for viewing. However, we are pleased to announce that regularly scheduled programming has continued.

Give us a few days to update our information and "get our junk together" and we'll be back 100%. Check back soon - we'll have the DNOW videos and pictures posted.

Later.

SKI TRIP!
We hope you've all recuperated from our recent excursions to Winterplace, WV and Maggie Valley, NC. We had a blast...but we want to hear what you've got to say. Leave a comment and let us know what your favorite experience of this year's MS or HS Ski Trip was. I took the picture posted above on our HS Ski Trip - it's of Johnny Patterson as he was snowboarding down a double black diamond slope.
Also, look for pictures coming soon to the gallery at salemstudents.com.

ROCK STORE GRAND OPENING
Beginning in just a few short weeks, the brand new ROCK House store will be open. Located in the back of the ROCK House, the store will sale 2 new Student Ministry T-Shirts, as well as a number of recommended books, devotionals and CD's.

Opening with the ROCK store will be a cafe in the kitchen, where you can purchase snacks, cookies, cokes, hot chocolate or coffee.

We're excited about this venture and hope it will be a great resource for you.

So, be on the lookout - we'll be opening up for business soon.