Kirkmont Youth Newsletter

YS STUDENT NEWSLETTER #315

November 12, 2007

Contents
1. Something for Your Heart
2. Surf Report
3. Forgettable Fact
4. Potent Quotables
5. Parting Shot

LEARN TO LOVE AS A WAY OF LIFE
In "Love This!" you'll read real-life stories of people like you who've found ways to love their neighbors. You can make a difference in the world by loving people who are often ignored or unloved--the homeless, the addicted, the elderly, those of different races, even your enemies. This book will help you discover tangible ways you can demonstrate that love.

Learn more and purchase "Love This!" here.

http://www.YouthSpecialties.com/linker/index.php?id=6537

Also available in your local Christian bookstore.

Find a Christian bookstore near you:

http://www.YouthSpecialties.com/linker/index.php?id=6536

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1. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART

Not long ago I met a man named Bob who is working to educate pastors in Africa about the AIDS crisis on that continent. As one of the leading AIDS counselors in Africa, Bob has many resources to help pastors understand the emotional, spiritual, and physical nature of the AIDS epidemic as it relates to members of their congregations in Africa.

I told Bob about my friend Harrison and the experiences we went through while he was dying. I wept as I told the story. Bob kept an open ear while I worked through some hard memories. At the end of our conversation, he said, "Andy, I want you to know I have AIDS."

"What?" I asked.

"I’ve been living with AIDS for the last 17 years," he explained. "The Lord is using my life to minister to many people who are dealing with this crisis. I want you to know, you did the right thing. Loving your friend to his death is the very act of compassion Jesus spoke about when he said, ‘Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends’" (John 15:13).

Laying down our lives doesn’t necessarily mean dying for our friends. In some cases it might mean laying down our pride for them--or laying down our preconceptions. It might mean extending a hand of compassion, even if it’s not popular with the "Christian" crowd. It might mean offering that bottle of water, even when it seems as if the other person isn’t going to drink it.

My friendship with Harrison taught me how to love my neighbor better. It taught me that neighbors aren’t necessarily the people I sit next to on Sunday morning. Sometimes they are people with different opinions, different experiences, and different outlooks on life.

Some of my neighbors have worldviews I don’t agree with. Some of them make lifestyle choices I don’t agree with. That doesn’t mean I should compromise my standards or change my beliefs to condone something the Bible speaks against. But it does mean I should look deep in my own heart at the sins I struggle with on a daily basis. That way, when I look around at other people, instead of condemning them for the lack of God’s grace in their lives, I can conjure up the love and compassion Jesus commands me to give.

Echoing the most famous love chapter in the Bible, I say, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13).

**

Taken from "Love This!" by Andy Braner, copyright 2007, Zondervan/Youth Specialties. Used by permission.

Order the book here:

http://www.YouthSpecialties.com/linker/index.php?id=6537

2. SURF REPORT

~ What Do You Know about AIDS? World AIDS Day is December 1. Test your knowledge and find out what you can do to help those with AIDS and HIV.
http://www.YouthSpecialties.com/linker/index.php?id=6538

~ Spot the Difference: A game to test your attention to details
http://www.YouthSpecialties.com/linker/index.php?id=6539

3. FORGETTABLE FACT

In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

4. POTENT QUOTABLES

"A Christian is someone who shares the sufferings of God in the world."
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Jesus promised the disciples three things--that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy and in constant trouble."
- G.K. Chesterton

5. PARTING SHOT

Never wear your best pants when you go to fight for freedom.

*All "surf report" internet links and "potent quotables" are provided for informational purposes, and do not imply endorsement by Youth Specialties.