This Wednesday we wrap up our study from the movie Seven Days in Utopia. It has been a great study and I hope you have gotten a lot from it.  As we conclude this series, we will look at the legacy of our lives.  How will you be remembered when you are gone? Have you lead a life that is pleasing to God and those who you are close to?  When you are gone from this world will people talk about you as though they wish you were still around, or will they be glad to see you go?  This is the lesson that should really make you search your soul and discover the true you.  We always want to be remembered in a good way, but sometimes through life we tend to drift into the coma of sin and feel totally helpless to its power and can’t seem to wake up. Always remember, no matter how far you’ve drifted, God hasn’t forgotten who you are and is waiting for you to return to Him.  Come back to God and experience the newness once again.
S.F.T.
See it, Feel it, Trust it

THANK YOU!
A HUGE thank you to Ms. Teresa, Ms. Cherry and Ms Beth for the extra practice you put in for the music service this past Sunday.  What a tremendous gift God has given the 3 of you!  I also want to thank Brian Prochaska for leading out in the music and for Mark Jenkins and our students for their parts in both of our services and a special thank you for Grant Jenkins who brought us a terrific message on Sunday night.  What a wonderful day God gave us last Sunday!


 

As we continue with our study from the movie Seven Days in Utopia, lesson 3 looks at freedom.  Freedom is something most people take for granted, but it is something that we need to understand the importance of.  We are given something that is very real to us and that is the freedom of choice.  God entrusted this to us when we were created and how we choose to spend our lives is our freedom.  We do, however, need to realize that our freedom should be accompanied by responsible choices and we must accept and live with the consequences of the choices we make.  In this week’s lesson, we will learn that how we choose to deal, recover and move on from a bad past, loss, heartache, or disappointment will determine the next phase of our life.  Our past is one thing in life we can’t change, we can only learn from it and accept it.

“While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.” –Stephen R. Covey

 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”(Galatians 5:1)

MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS
Several years ago, Christian movies were hard to find, but with the movie industry changing, good clean movies are now becoming easier to find.  Here are several movies that are family friendly and can make an impact on our teenage culture:  Seven Days in Utopia, Soul Surfer, To Save a Life, Cutback, WWJD, and The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry just to name a few.

Bro. Trent and Ms. Rebecca

Our journey will continue this week as we spend more of our time in Utopia studying how to improve our lives as we see Luke improve his golf game. As we discussed how to deal with distractions last week, we learned how we need to find conviction in what we are doing.  In order for our lives to make sense, we must believe that we are living for a purpose and to focus on God rather than others.  This week’s lesson is dealing with controlling our emotions;   a lesson we all need to pay some attention to as we struggle through the pressures of life.  How do you manage yours?  Are you one who snaps under the slightest misfortunes in life, or do you stay composed and calm as you deal with adversity?  As we study emotional control this week, it is important that we learn to break from our routines and spend some quality time in peace with God.

JUST A THOUGHT!!!!
Let's not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it. ~Vincent Van Gogh, 1889

Feelings are much like waves, we can’t stop them from coming but we can choose which one to surf. - Jonatan Mårtensson

ENCOUR-age-MENT
Great job Main Event students inviting visitors and being faithful over the past few weeks.  I want to encourage you to keep it up and continue packing the place out.  It’s great to see a lot of students enjoying God’s Word and fellowship with one another.

Bro. Trent and Ms. Rebecca

We had an incredible night this past Saturday as we watched the movie “Seven Days in Utopia”. We had 27 students and parents come to the amphitheatre and enjoy great fellowship, food, and a fantastic movie.  Over the next several weeks, I am using the movie study guide and lesson material to put the movie into practice.  We will break down several scenes and discuss how they impacted the main character’s behavior as the movie went on. All of these lessons will impact you in some way or another, so I encourage you to take part as we spend the next several weeks in Utopia.

We are well on our way into the New Year and are excited about the upcoming semester.  With the spring semester comes our annual softball game, backyard service and other exciting activities.  We are in full swing planning our summer trip and would like to ask you to begin praying for our students as we seek God’s direction for this trip.  We have almost narrowed down a destination and are praying for God to lead us to a great mission opportunity. 

We are also in great prayer for our Youth Sunday on February 5.  We are excited about the opportunity to share God’s praise music, testimonies, and message with our church.  I know God will use our students to touch the hearts of our congregation.  Please join us in prayer as we prepare for this day!

Bro. Trent and Ms. Rebecca

Faith and Mercy Missions Church will be with us this week.  They are bringing their drama team to perform a skit for us.  There will be special music and their Pastor Bro. Scott Cockrell will bring our message.  Pray for our guests as they prepare for our service this week.  Please be faithful as we receive a blessing this Wednesday night. 

MOVIE: SEVEN DAYS IN UTOPIA 

COMING THIS SATURDAY NIGHT
6:00 PM IN THE AMPHITHEATRE
$3.00 ADMISSION

Bro. Trent and Ms. Rebecca

What if you could make any old thing you owned brand new again?  Perhaps your new shoes, computer, car, house, or even your favorite clothes?  All you had to do was make a wish and the old was gone and then it was like new again.  Sounds great doesn’t it?  What about you?  What if you wanted to make yourself new again? Do away with your old self and become like-new and not have to see the blemishes that you have.  Actually this can become a reality and it is offered by Jesus.  He shows us how to make all things new through our faith in Him.  By believing He is truly the Son of God and asking Him into our lives.  He can wash away all of our sins and leave us spic and span.  That’s how I want to start off my new year, by becoming like new……….how ‘bout you?
 
Revelation 21:5 “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.”

Upcoming Dates to Remember:
*January 11th- Skit team and speaker will be with us to share a presentation and the Word.
*January 18-Feb. 8th- Video lesson study on the life of Joshua.
 

Bro. Trent and Ms. Rebecca

Do you know an arrogant or prideful person; or are you one yourself?  You know who I’m talking about, one of those people who think they are always right, and perfect every time, and know every answer to everything about everybody, yeah, those kind of people.  The Bible warns us against a prideful and arrogant attitude, and instead tells us we should be humble to others and not set ourselves up on a pedestal waiting to get knocked over.  When we act in an arrogant way, we become low in life and our pride consumes us.  Don’t let this happen to you!!!

Isaiah 2:11 “The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.”

 
Is this the shirt that you find yourself wearing?  If it is, you need to look to the Lord for help, not the mirror.

Next Wednesday
Next Wednesday we will celebrate this Christmas season with Christmas snacks, music, and some testimonies.  It is good to hear from others how important Christmas is to them.  We will also have our UGLY SWEATER NIGHT; so find and wear your ugliest sweater and you will be judged on who has the ugliest sweater for a chance to win a prize!!!!

Bro. Trent and Ms. Rebecca

Do you have the Joy, JOY, joY, jOy down in your heart?  What makes a person tend to be frowning, grumpy, irritated, or just mean and cruel most of the time?  Is it a sign of unhealthiness, maybe their shoes are laced too tight, or maybe even a toothache….Hmmm, I’m just wondering.  I think the Bible has the best answer for this question.  Check out Proverbs 15:13.  It states that “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.”  When you know of someone who is a glumb-chumb, it’s more than likely a troubled heart and according to God’s Word, that makes us frown.  If this is you, you neeed to turn that frown upside down and seek God for a cheerful heart.  This way people will see you as a person worth being around instead of avoiding you as a “Dr. Feelbad”. 
This week let’s feel the amphitheatre with joy and excitement and praise the Lord for all He has done.  We are meeting at our regular time of 6:45pm and I look forward to sharing the Word, songs of praise, and lots of smiling this Wednesday night.  So keep your frowns in your pockets or throw them in the trash and let’s show the world through our smiles how important God is to us!!!

Shirt Orders
The Main Event shirts have been ordered so money is past due.  If you owe for your shirts, please get the money to me very soon.  If you forgot to order a shirt, let me know now and I will try and squeeze in your order. 

Bro. Trent and Ms. Rebecca

I want to take  a moment to say thank you church family, friends, and youth group for a wonderful Sunday afternoon this past week during my Ordination service.  This was a special day for Rebecca and me and we couldn’t have done it without your support.  We appreciate all you do and feel honored to be serving at FBC Mantachie.

Palmer Home Mission Work
Here is a thank you email received for the time we spent at the Palmer Home volunteering our students just over a week ago. We carried 8 students and 3 adults to help paint two bedrooms, clean and organize the attic, work in the flower beds, and watch over some of the children while the work was taking place.  We really enjoyed this opportunity and look forward to returning here in the future to do more services.

“Good Morning Trent. I just wanted to thank you and your youth group once again for your time and energy yesterday. It was a tremendous help to us and we thank God for your sacrifice. We look forward to seeing you again and invite you to visit with us whenever possible.”
May God Bless you all.
Tim & Marla Strother
 

Bro. Trent and Ms. Rebecca

This Wednesday is our camp fire service at Bro. Trent’s house.  Start time is 6:30pm and will end around 8pm. The van will leave the church at 6:15 for those who need a ride.  You don’t have to bring anything, all the food and drinks will be provided.  You can wear your costumes if you want to.  We are cooking hotdogs and roasting marshmallows around the camp fire and will have time for a couple of games.  We will also judge the best costumes and award prizes for the best dressed. Bro. Grant Jenkins will bring our devo.  Since it will be outside, make sure you bring a jacket in case it is gets cold.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 29TH
Our student ministries will volunteer this Saturday in Columbus at the Palmer Home for children.  Please pray for our students and workers as we reach out ot others.


Belk Charity Event tickets for sale.
$5 each. The event is scheduled for Saturday November 5th from 6am-10am.
Please see one of our youth or youth workers to purchase your ticket.


Bro. Trent and Ms. Rebecca