I thought we would try something new here at ignitemylife.com. I figure this will be our trial run and you can tell us what you think. My thought is that every few weeks I will give you the news of what is going on and what you can be praying about. In addition to this, we will give you a portion of God's Word for you to marinate on throughout the week. It is our prayer that God uses this to help you in grow closer to him and to each other. So here is some things for you peeps to keep in mind over the next few weeks.

All Student Ministry: Dec. 31st is our service at the Gospel mission from 5:45-7:15pm. Come and help serve the meal and minister to the people there. TJ will be leading in singing and teaching so be praying for him.

Pastor Josh will be on vacation from Dec. 23-Jan. 7th. Be praying for him and know that he and his family is going to miss you!!! Merry Christmas my friends!

I came across this verse and thought I would share it with you today. It is from Proverbs chapter 25 and verse 25. It reads, "Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country."

Here is what I love about this verse. Everybody knows what it is like to have a nice cold glass of water after you have been working, playing, or exercising. It feels so good and refreshing going down and it revives you. That is what good news does to someone who needs and longs for it. The reality for us is that the best news in the world is the message of the gospel: God became a man. He lived a life of perfection earning good works for us. He died on the cross in our place judging our sin. He rose from the dead to show that he is God and that sin has been taken care of. There is no better news than that. 

That is why today be praying that God will rescue peeps from every nation for his glory and their good. Be praying that God will give you opportunities this season to share that news with people who are thirsty and needy and don't even know it. Jesus said in John 6:35 that the one who comes to him will never hunger or thirst spiritually. What he is saying is that only he can satisfy a thirsty and empty soul. Is your soul satisfied in Jesus? If it isn't, run to him asking for forgiveness and help to find your satisfaction in him. If he is, continue to pray that God will ignite your heart every day to live and share the good news of Jesus.

The truth is that we all deserve God's judgment and should not enjoy any of his blessings from his common grace (creation, health, job, stuff, food, etc) to his saving grace (rescue from our sin). The amazing reality is that because of God's grace, we can and do enjoy these things. In light of this, let's remember this Thanksgiving to thank the one who has provided all of it: God. Let's also remember the most important truth to be thankful for: The gift of his son. 2 Corinthians 9:7-15 shows us that we are to give to others in light of who Jesus is and what he has done in giving up his life for his glory and our good. Each and every day we should remind ourselves of the fact that we have been rescued from our sin by Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection. As a result, our lives should be characterized by thankfulness to God and we should seek by his grace to display and share that to other peeps that God brings our way.

So this Thanksgiving and each day take some time to thank God for all his blessings, most notably for who you are in Jesus.

Last night at "The Gathering" our friend Trent Navarro shared with us the reality that sin and death have been defeated by Jesus' life, death, and rising from the dead. This means that because of what Jesus has done to rescue us from our sin, sin's penalty and power has been removed and we will spend forever with God in extreme eternal satisfaction and joy. While we still have sorrow over death and sin, it is different for us now because we know that Jesus has conquered and that one day both sin and death will be removed forever. 

In light of this amazing reality, our response should be to represent Jesus with our words, thoughts, and actions. Our desire should be to serve Him and persevere in our faith because we know that God is rescuing a people for His glory and that sin and death have been defeated and will be removed forever one day!!

Here are some verses that we pray will encourage you as you marinate on these truths!

1 Corinthians 15:51-58.

<p>Bloodlines Documentary with John Piper from Crossway on Vimeo.</p>

Psalm 119:9-11 says, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you, let me now wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" 

The only way to live this way is through trusting in Jesus for who He is and what He has done to rescue us from our sin through His life, death, and resurrection. Because He has given us His Word, we should get to know Him in it. That is why we have been studying Mark. With that in mind, let me remind you that when you come on Sunday's and Wednesday's to Ignition and Ignite, the goal is for you to have read the passages of Scripture and have the questions answered. We then will go over them when we meet. For instance, you should be reading Mark 4:1-35 for this Wednesday and answering the Wednesday questions in your book. Then for Sunday you should read Mark 4:35-5:43 and answer the questions for Sunday.Make sense? It's all designed for you to grow in the grace and knowledge of your Savior (2 Peter 3:18).

Please know we are here for you peeps and are praying for you. If we can encourage you in any way, let us know!

Josh Carrillo
Student Ministries Pastor
Santa Rosa Bible Church
work: (707) 538-2385 ext. 126
cell:   (707) 322-6392
web:   ignitemylife.com

Please take the time to read this interesting article about the reality of our sin and the amazingness of our Savior. Click here.

Here is a video that my friend and yours TJ Robert made for his school's "under the lights' soccer game. He's pretty good at this stuff. You should hire him.... or just enjoy the epicness of this video