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Check out our Creation News Section!
Weekly articles, daily Q & A, and a Creation Comic!

http://www.heart4teens.com/

 

If you enjoy this free email service, I encourage you to spread the word to family and friends that we may bring inspiration into the lives of teenagers everywhere! If you are not on the list and this has been passed along to you, you can join Heart4Teens.com readers around the world by visiting: http://www.Heart4Teens.com/Heart4Teens

Stop by our web site to view past stories or to browse through the tons of resources we have there for teens!

 

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Looking for a great gift?

Michael's updated book Heart Touchers "Life-Changing Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter," is finally here! ($13.95) Visit the link below to preview the book! Personalized autographed copies are available at no extra charge and we pay the shipping for you! An E-book version is also available for just $3.25!

http://www.hearttouchers.com/books

Be sure to let us know who you would like it autographed for and then allow about two weeks for us to sign it and send it on its way to you.Credit card, PayPal, Checks, and Money orders accepted! The book is also available through Amazon.com, Borders.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Booklocker.com


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Is Love Your Drug... Or Your Message?


Question...what do you get when you combine a blond pop singer, the California desert, a semi-sketch looking bearded be-turbaned man, an elephant, and an assortment of visual and lyrical trippy/hippie references? 

Why Kesha's video for "Your Love is My Drug" of course! And after watching it and reading the lyrics multiple times...actually just once...I think I've stumbled upon the deeper meaning behind this multilayered production: 

The love from Kesha's video-dude is just like a drug addiction ! See how I put that together??? 

And here's how she rolls these concepts together- 

I don't care what people say
The rush is worth the price I pay.
I get so high when you're with me
But crash and crave you when you leave. 

I guess on some level she is correct. There is definitely a type of altered state feeling you can get from the chemical reactions caused by being around someone you *dig*...but I would hardly call that love. 

An obsession? Yes. A codependent addiction? Yes again. And unfortunately it is the way many teenagers try to classify one of the most difficult concepts in the universe: 

Love 

Think about all the ways we use this simple word- 

I love cheese. 

I loved that movie! 

I love my dog. 

Don't you just love an Iced Single Vente, 7 pump Peppermint, Caramel Sauce Top and Bottom, Light Ice, No whip, Mocha? 

Your love is my drug. 

See what I mean? So no wonder we're often confused and more often than not making poor and self-destructive choices in our relationships. If only there was a clear and concise definition of love that could be our foundation and filter for all of life. 

I have great news for you...there is! And it is not the work of a mere human; it is from the very mind of God and penned in His Word: 

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:4-7;13). 

I'm sure you can see the contrast between this beautiful description of love and a song about being a 'love-sick crackhead' - right? 

This is the kind of love that is the very opposite of a self-seeking desire to get relationally high, rather it is a focus and determination to seek out the best for everyone God brings into our world. It doesn't seek to 'get,' rather it is always on the lookout to 'give' to others. 

Can you imagine how different the world would be if everyone made this passage their game plan for life? 

So if you are confused about love, join the club. But trust me, if you internalize God's definition and live it out in your day-to-day life, love will go from being a drug to an opportunity to experience life in its fullest and most fulfilling way. 

And remember that God didn't just give us this definition of love...He actually demonstrated it: 

God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God (Romans 5:8, 11). 

The truest love in the universe was lived out when Jesus Christ gave up His own life so we could have a relationship with our heavenly Father. Now it is our turn to pay that love forward by not only seeking out the best for others, but sharing the message of John 3:16: 

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 

Sure I get why Kesha wanted to have some fun making money a video about obsessive affection, but as Christians we need to remember that the world is dying to see the love of God shine through us and hear the message of the gospel spoken by us. 

Is love your drug...or your message? 
 

Think through how you have treated your family and friends this past week, then compare it with the list of characteristics in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Pick out a few areas to work on, and pray for God to give you an opportunity to share how God showed His love to the world by sending His Son Jesus to die.

He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' " (Luke 10:27). 

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35). 

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).
 

Source: Dare2Share.org (Used by Permission)


 

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Creation Q & A



 

Q: Do women have more ribs than men?

A: One of the most persistent arguments used by many to "prove" the Bible is true is that women have more ribs than men. This "fact" is glibly repeated over coffee and donuts or innocently recited to children in Sunday School. After all, the Bible does say that woman was made from one of Adam's ribs.

And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. (Genesis 2:21-22)

These verses tell us how God made the first woman. But would women from that point have more ribs than men? No.

If someone accidentally cut off a finger or lost an arm or leg in an accident, would we expect children he had after the loss to be missing a finger, arm, or leg? If a man has an appendix or gall bladder removed, would his children be born without these organs? Of course, no one would even suggest such a thing. However, in the case of Adam and his rib, this unsupportable concept continues to be propagated.

Continue reading to learn why this idea is not biblically or scientifically accurate, in an article from our new web series, Arguments Christians Should Not Use at: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2010/08/10/women-more-ribs



Source: AnswersInGenesis.org  


 

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Creation News

Click on the Bible above or visit the web site listed below!

http://www.HeartTouchers.com/Creation_News

This new addition to our web site will give you an article on the leading news in the
Creation/Evolution controversy each day. This section also includes a rotating
Question and Answer feature and a weekly Creation Comic strip from the people
at AnswersInGenesis.org. Be sure to come back and visit each day for an informative
article that will help you keep up to date on the latest news in this controversial area!

 
 

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Thought For The Day

You see things and you say, "Why?" But I dream things that never
were and I say, "Why not?" --George Bernard Shaw


Verse for the Day

"Without faith it is impossible to please God."
Hebrews 11:6


Teen's Thought For The Day

"You can tell the size of your God by looking at the size of your worry list. The longer your list, the smaller your God."


Parent's Thought For The Day

"There's a time when you have to explain to your children why they're
born, and it's a marvelous thing if you know the reason by then."
--Hazel Scott


Coach's Thought For The Day

"It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares
who gets the credit!"


Writer's Thought For The Day

"If I don't have anything to say for three or four months, I just don't
write. When I read a book, I can always tell if the writer has written
through a block. If he or she had just waited, it would have been better or
different, or a little more natural. You can see the seams." --Toni Morrison


Deep Thought For The Day

"I locked my coat-hanger in the car. Good thing I had a key."


 

 
 

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http://srv.ezinedirector.net/?n=3373439&s=98471187

Over 210,000 people have listened to popular Chicken Soup Author Michael T. Powers' free inspirational message entitled: "Breathing Life into Others". If you aren't one of them just visit:
http://www.HeartTouchers.com  and click on the link to listen to the free streaming audio message.


 
 

http://www.faithcommunitychurch.net/Youth


ALL-STAR Youth Ministry

--The Youth Church of Faith Community Church in Janesville, WI

Check out our youth group! If you are in 7-12th grade and live in the southern Wisconsin/northern Illinois area come check us out!  Jr. High meets on Sunday mornings from 9:30 am - 10:30 am. High School age meets on Sunday night from 6:30-8:00 pm at Faith Community Church which is located at 2931 Lucerne Dr. in Janesville, WI. (About 3 blocks south-east of the Pontiac Convention Center.)

Currently we have students from Edgerton, Fort Atkinson, Milton, Janesville Craig, Janesville Parker, Marshall, Franklin, Edison, Clinton, Parkview, Beloit Memorial, and Beloit Turner. E-mail me back if you have any questions about our weekly meetings or would like to come to any of our events that are listed below... We have way too much fun and then, most importantly, talk about issues that are relevant to you as a teenager.

This Week:  October 3

Continuing our series called "The Gospel Journey Maui"

Jr. High -- 9:30 am - 10:30 am - "What is the Purpose of Life" Part 1

High School -- 6:00 - 8:00 pm - "What is the Purpose of Life" Part 1

Visit our youth website to see our topics up through the year 2011!

http://www.faithcommunitychurch.net/upcoming_topics


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http://www.faithcommunitychurch.net/Small_Groups

Teen Community Groups

6:30 - 8:00 PM Wednesday nights -- These groups are limited to no more than ten teens and are split into Jr. High and High School ages. This night is for those teens who want to dig deeper than what we do on Sundays. These cell groups will also be doing special activities with each other as the year goes on to build community.

Jr. High meet at 2109 N. Pontiac Dr. (373-0886)

High School meet at 1918 Liberty Lane (757-1938)


For more info on our small groups, visit:
http://www.faithcommunitychurch.net/small_groups


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