belief that behaves

as we continue on in our james study, we get to james 1:19-27. in the first two lessons, james focuses on our response to trials and temptations. we learned that trials are ways that God uses to strengthen our faith and that we have the power through the Holy Spirit to overcome temptations. in this section, we see james points to what our response to God's Word should be.

we learned that God's Word is used as a mirror to show us the areas in our lives that we need to change and to point out how God would like us to live our lives. now, a foolish person would be one who sees and hears these Truths, but ignore them. or, they would hear the Truths and forget them. basically, they are only a hearers. but, a wise person would be someone who sees and hears God's Truth and be changed by it. it would move the person to act differently. they would actually do something with the Truth that is presented before them. they are not only hearers, but does as well.

we do need to be hearers of God Word. we do need to spend time actively receiving from Him, but it shouldn't stop there. we should act on those Truths and live it out in our lives. our challenge is that we would not merely be hearers, but doers as well. we hope that we would have belief that behaves because we are convicted by God's Truth.

announcements 01.23-30

Hey guys, here are some reminders for this week:

Question of the week:
1.  Would you rather have a missing finger or an extra toe?
2.  What has God been doing in your life?

Here are the announcements for this week:

• FNF: Post Retreat Rally is this Friday @ EFCLA!! Come and join us for this event and be sure to bring your liablility form (attached).  All are welcome, even if you did not go to this year's retreat! We will be meeting @ 7PM to carpool
• Sunday CE: We will be meeting at the Cross for service in the morning and then continuing on our study in the book of James
• EFC EV Blogspot!: Explore our blogspot account!!  Check out our HS Logo and vote on colors for our HS shirts/jackets.  And feel free to share any prayers or reflections on this past year, winter retreat or anything else that has impacted your spiritual life in any way (: http://efcevhs.blogspot.com/

Notes:

• HS group: Our new high school name will be LOL4 (Lots of Lord, Love, Laughter, Life).  Our HS Logo is done!  Help us decide on the color of our shirts/zip-up sweaters!!  Your input is very much welcome and appreciated (:
• Home Visitations: Ask your parents about home visitations and let us know if you are interested and when would be a good time.

Grace;

HS CORE & Chris

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

understanding temptation

this past sunday, we continued our study through james as we looked at verses 13-18 of chapter one. in the passage, we saw that temptation is something that isn't from God. He is not the one that tempts us, but it is our sinful nature that pulls us towards sin. ever since adam and eve ate the fruit in the garden of eden, we have this propensity to do what our flesh desires. we are selfish and obeying God isn't something that comes naturally to us. however, as christians, we have the Holy Spirit that lives within us and we do have the power to overcome temptation. when temptation arises, we have the choice to follow our flesh or to follow the Spirit.

during this week, we will all face various temptations. i pray that we would heed the Holy Spirit and choose to live the godly lives that He wants us to live. remember that God lives in you and that you have the power, through the Holy Spirit, to overcome temptation!

Video and Poll

hey guys :D so Chris was talking about a video about kids and marshmallows :P

thats it i think :)

oh and Vote on what color you want the highschool sweatshirt/jacket thing to be :)
thanks! :D

poll -------->

announcements 01.16.23

Hey guys, here are some reminders for this week:

Question of the week:

1.  If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?  Why?
2.  What has God been doing in your life?
A Recap on Sunday's Message:

Background
     More Christians tortured this past 100 years for their faith than in all previous centuries
     Martyrs this past 100 years more than all who died in 20th century wars
     More than 100 million martyred for faith in Jesus last 100 years
     Persecution has increased since the fall of Communism
     Reason in rise of persecution is the growth of Islam
#1.  Even Apostle Paul was deserted
#2.  Apostle Paul needed an encourager
     Three things we can do for persecuted believers:
          a.  Pray daily
          b.  Read Fox's Book of Martyrs
          c.  Remember persecuted believers by signing up at:
                   1) persecution.org
                   2) opendoorusa.org
                   3) idop.org
#3  The encourager will be known and blessed

Here are the announcements for this week:

• Sunday CE & FNF: We will be finishing up our studies on Crazy Love on Friday (chapter 10) and continuing on our new study in the book of James on Sunday
  
• EFC EV Blogspot!: Explore our blogspot account!!  Check out our HS Logo and vote on colors for our HS shirts/jackets.  And feel free to share any prayers or reflections on this past year, winter retreat or anything else that has impacted your spiritual life in any way (: http://efcevhs.blogspot.com/

Notes:

• HS group: Our new high school name will be LOL4 (Lots of Lord, Love, Laughter, Life).  Our HS Logo is done!  Help us decide on the color of our shirts/zip-up sweaters!!  Your input is very much welcome and appreciated (:
• Home Visitations: Ask your parents about home visitations and let us know if you are interested and when would be a good time.
  

Mark your calendars and save the date:

• January 28 - Post-Retreat Rally @ EFCLA (7PM carpool)

Grace;

HS CORE & Chris

"Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." (Hebrews 13:3)

joy in trials

this past sunday we started a new study on the book of james ("james: guidelines for a happy christian life" by john macarthur). in the first 12 verses james explains that we should have joy in times of trouble because these trials are a way to test our faith to see if it is genuine. and as we persevere through these trials, it leads to spiritual maturity.

i like how james challenges us to have joy "when we face trials of many kinds" not "if we face trials of many kinds." life is not easy. we will face difficult situations in our lives. physical ailments. relational problems. struggles with our faith. but as christians, we should have joy because we know that they aren't pointless.

in our study, we saw that trials "test the strength of our faith; they humble us; they wean us from our dependence on earthly things; they call us to eternal and heavenly hope; they reveal what we really love; they teach us to value God's blessings; they develop enduring strength for greater usefulness; they help us better encourage others who are in times of trial" (pg. 3).

as you face different trials in your life, we pray that you would have joy!

Winter Retreat Stuff

Hey everyone!

Just to let you all know, the Winter Retreat '10 stuff [song sets/names, presentations, group picture, movie montage, etc.] is up and can be viewed at anytime by those who went as well as those who didn't go.

The link is: Winter Retreat '10 Stuff :D

or for those of you whose link clicking thing doesn't work :P :
http://www.efcchurches.org/wr/2010/postretreat.html [just copy and paste :D]

have fun :)


note: The session and workshop stuff is not there yet because Andy [i think] is working on the coding and stuff :)

did you know???

did you know that we have a poll on the side of our blog? ===>

please vote and comment to help make our blog more fun :D

Black on White or White on Black Logo

Which one do you like better?
Black on White or White on Black

broomball!

hey guys! come join us off campus with a little competitive fun :)

what: broomball! (its like hockey but with sneakers instead of skates and a ball instead of a puck.)

when: friday, jan. 14 (thats this friday) from 11:15-12:45

where: anaheim ice (in... anaheim... yeea.)

who: YOU! and all your friends. invite your friends!

why: cause its fun! :D

dress warmly but in layers, its cold at first but gets really warm after you start playing!

$5 optional. (dont charge your new friends.. thats mean..)

hope to see you there :)

announcements 01.09-16

Hey guys, hope you are all having a wonderful week!

Question of the week:

1.  Would you rather have a ketchup-dispensing bellybutton or a pencil-sharpening nostril?
2.  What has God been doing in your life?
Here are the announcements for this week:

• Sunday CE & FNF: We will be resuming our studies on Crazy Love on Friday and Sunday (chapters 8 and 9).
• Broomball!!!: Invite your friends to come and join us in this outreach activity! Bring an optional $5 to help offset costs.
• EFC EV Blogspot!: Feel free to explore our blogspot account!!  Check out our HS Logo and feel free to share any prayers or reflections on this past year, winter retreat or anything else that has impacted your spiritual life in any way (: http://efcevhs.blogspot.com/

Notes:

• HS group: Our new high school name will be LOL4 (Lots of Lord, Love, Laughter, Life).  Our HS Logo is done!  Help us decide on the color of zip-up sweaters!!  Your input is very much welcome and appreciated (:
  

Mark your calendars and save the date:

• January 28 - Post-Retreat Rally

Grace;

HS CORE & Chris

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (Colossians 4:2)

pray

1 thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

this past sunday, the sermon was about the need for us to pray continually. to pray without ceasing. prayer is so vital for us and our hope is that we will be rooted in prayer. if we really want to see growth happen in our lives and in our fellowship and church, we need to pray. and not just once a week at prayer meeting, but daily. constantly. we challenge you to set apart time daily to pray to God and that you would pray throughout the day. pray for yourself, for your family, for your friends, for our church, for this world. would you commit to praying this year?

in the comments section, please share with us some prayers God has answered so that we may be encouraged and that He may get the glory :D

share with us!

for those of you who went to the efc winter retreat, what were some highlights and/or things you learned? please share with us in the comments section. we would love to hear from you!

announcements 01.02-09

Hey guys, hope you are all having a wonderful week!

Here are the announcements for this week:

• Sunday CE & FNF: We will be resuming our studies on Crazy Love on Friday and Sunday (chapters 8 and 9).
  
• EFC EV Blogspot!: We have recently created a high school account on Blogspot!  Feel free to explore!  We will be making weekly updates on Blogspot to help keep you all informed.   http://efcevhs.blogspot.com/

Notes:

• HS group: Our new high school name will be LOL4 (Lots of Lord, Love, Life, and Laughter).  Our HS Logo is almost done!  Stay tuned for more information on our high school T-shirts!!
  

Mark your calendars and save the date:

• January 14 - Broomball!!!!

Grace;

HS CORE & Chris

"For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be the glory forever!  Amen." (Romans 11:36)

happy new years!

happy new years everyone!

2010 is now in our rearview mirror and we look forward to an exciting 2011. we are glad that each and every one of you has been apart of our HS group and we hope that you will continue to come out on fridays and sundays. we know that God is going to do something amazing in our group and we would love to have you be apart of it!

logo

thanks to lucas and horven, here is our new HS logo!