Why God Mandates Rest and a Sabbath - Reason for the Cosentino Baby Moon!

Genesis 2:2-3
"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done."

The God of the universe instituted rest during the creation week. Now, do you really think that God NEEDED to rest? If He is omnipotent (all powerful) then He should have the stamina to finish seven days of creation, right? God rested on the seventh day to be a model and to set an example for all of human kind.

Did you know that researchers have found out that a perfect work week constitutes six days of work and a seventh day of rest? They have experimented with different lengths of work weeks and have found that people accomplish and feel productive while still being refreshed when they work six days and rest a seventh.

Rest refreshes you and reenergizes your soul. It helps you get perspective back.

Most importantly, rest allows you to hear from God. The God of the Universe speaks loudest during the quietest of times.

Psalm 46:10
"He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

To best know God one needs to be still. To be quiet. To be refreshed in the tranquility of being in the hands of a loving God.

If you are having trouble hearing from God may I suggest that you may be too busy listening to the voices and noises of life so that you've drowned God out. Don't run away from silence, embrace the quiet times, because He is listening and speaking!

During the first week of August my wife and I had an opportunity to refresh and listen from God. We spent a week on a small cottage overlooking a lake on Manitoulin Island. Manitoulin Island is the largest freshwater island in Lake Huron within Canadian waters.

During our week we had an opportunity to do some sightseeing on the island, fish on the lake, enjoy each other's company, (and the company of our little one as I felt our baby kick for the first time there), and refresh in God.

Simply put the week was good for our marriage and for our walk with God. We learned to enjoy playing late night card games which we've continued to do and found out that we were taking a 'Baby Moon', (vacation before the baby arrives).

Most importantly, while sitting on a boat amidst the expanse of a great lake I had the opportunity to cry out and hear from God. It was an opportunity to hear from my Daddy that I'll never forget.

Are you being refreshed in God? Are you looking to hear from God's voice or has it been drowned out?

A picture of the view from our cottage. What a scenic and beautiful place!

Ready for Prime Time - Axis Kickoff Recap '15

After two years of laying a foundation and pushing forward I believe our Axis youth program is ready to take the next step in physical and numeric growth. It's obvious that God is up to something.

 

Here's why:

1. We had the best summer of youth ministry since I've been here. We sent 36 teenagers on mission trips. We sent 104 teenagers to the Momentum Youth Conference. At Momentum we had a break-through youth group time where sins were confessed and a hunger was bore to reach lost friends for Jesus!

 

2. God is molding our youth staff. We continue to add good Godly adults to our team. Adults are the glue to any youth ministry. Without them you can't properly disciple teenagers.

 

3. We had the best Fall Kick-Off since I've been here. We had 200+ teenagers in attendance. We had an awesome worship set, concert from hip hop artist 3CK, giveaways, and a time of testimony. We also have a large incoming 6th grade class that is hungry.

 

After our opening set when I was giving instruction from on stage the energy was overwhelming. The teenagers weren't talking but I could barely hear myself talk into a microphone because the energy of the room was that loud! Just think what can happen when all of that energy is channeled in a positive way!

 

We ended our night with Slip N Slide Kickball and all you can eat ice-cream. You can't go wrong with either.

 

4. Most importantly we've structured ourselves for future growth. We have a student leadership team that will meet before youth group every Wednesday to pray and receive instruction as to how they can be on mission and have a greater role within our youth group. This past Wednesday I had teenagers staying late to clean-up and to even put chairs back. God wants workers in His harvest field and many of our teenagers are ready to get their hands dirty. We've also changed our youth group times making it easier for families with Sr. Highers to keep their teenagers plugged into the action. I've learned that you need to start acting and structuring yourself for future growth, even before growth occurs, otherwise why would God bring those teenagers to you if you aren't ready?

 

This has the opportunity to be a huge year of numerical and spiritual growth for our teenagers. It's generation NOW time.

 

Even though I may be a veteran youth ministry....I still got some Slip N Slide Kickball game!