how about the fact that 25 students came and chose baptism this year!?  we’re excited about that truth and so thankful and excited for God to continue to speak and move in this generation!!

we thought you should know…

Time: 6:30-10:30 p.m.
(doors open at 5:30 / photo shoots begin at 5:45pm)
Grades: 6 – 12
Attire: Suit/Sportcoat & tie for dads
Dresses for daughters—tea length or formal
Cost: $15.00 per person

Sign Up: Tickets will be on sale in the Foundry office (building behind the main church building) beginning January 5th,
or can be purchased at the Purity Ball table in the lobby area of the main auditorium between weekend services from
January 15th – 31st.

CLICK HERE: BigStuf Brochure 2010

When?
July 18-22, 2010

Where?
Panama City Beach, Florida
Boardwalk Beach Resort

Why?
a week on the beach…with friends.
experiencing God through teaching and worship…why not?

Cost?
$50 deposit and forms will hold your spot (non-refundable)
Cost: $ 339
$50 SCHOLARSHIP FOR FIRST 50 SIGN-UPS. HURRY!!!
Remaining balance due by May 13th

How?
Download the bigstuf brochure from risingtolove.com or grab it from the info table

Bring?
Bible
Journal and pen
Beach towel
Sunscreen
Flip flops
One-piece bathing suit
Spending money

Transportation?
we get to Panama City Beach, Florida by way of American Coach Services…  professional drivers in plush charter buses who get paid to know how to get there in the safest way possible.

Contact?
Brent Bramer  bbramer@mynorthside.com  812.542.4010
Barb Williar bwilliar@mynorthside.com 812.542.4009

Rising Parents Please Read!!!!

It is our desire to grow students through serving and to create an opportunity for life group students to put their faith in action.  Starting on November 1st your student’s life group will be serving outside of their life group home once every 5 weeks.  We know you see the benefits of this plan, but may have many questions at the same time.  We have taken the time to make a video that shows each service location and explains all the details surrounding the life group service plan, and our heart for leading students to become the hands and feet of Christ.

Check out the web link below to see and hear all that you need to know:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPrjXxhpnB4
you can also access this video through a link on our life groups page LIFE GROUPS PAGE

If you aren’t able to check out this link please see the information below:

Where will my student be serving on their Wednesday?
There are 3 different service locations that we’ve lined up for the semester.  They are the New Albany Boy’s and Girl’s Club, the Jeffersonville Boy’s and Girl’s Club, and the Haven House feeding center.  Your student and their entire small group will be assigned one of these locations and will serve there the rest of the semester.  The addresses for each location are:

New Albany Boys and Girls:

1721 Ekin Ave
New Albany, IN 47150-1745
812.944.4343

Jeff Boys and Girls:

1423 Pennsylvania Avenue
Jeffersonville, IN 47130
812.218.9581

Haven House:

1613 E 8th St
Jeffersonville, IN 47130-4749
812.284.3373

How will I know which place my student is supposed to go to?
Your student’s small group leader will inform you and your student of which service location to go to.  They will also be sending home a schedule with your student with the dates that they will be serving for the rest of the semester.
What adult supervision will there be at my student’s service location?
Each small group leader will be with the group the day they are serving at each location.  Additionally, each location will have trained staff that direct the students and leaders as they serve.
What if I am unable to take them to the service location?
We understand that transportation may become an issue from week to week.  Your student’s small group leader will be glad to help with this.  (meeting at Northside, your student’s small group home, etc.)
Is this safe?
Absolutely.  We’ve personally visited each of the serving locations.  We’ve also taken the time to build relationships with the leaders from each of the places listed above and place full confidence in our leaders to serve them

let us know if you need anything!

-the rising

give you a heads up going forward…

we are in the middle of a series on THE BEATITUDES .  It’s been really cool so far…you can listen in on the MEDIA page on this site.

as a ministry we’re really striving to take the next step…pouring into our leaders…pouring into student leaders…being more and more intentional with every moment that we have with your student.

God has opened our eyes that we need to dream bigger…there are thousands of high school students in our community (around 9,000) that need the life and love and hope that Christ is.  we believe that the next step looks like a generation of leaders (both adult and student)pursuing a radical – real faith…one that moves and doesn’t sit still…one that says and then does…one the loves without judgment.  we’re excited.  things are shaking.

we begin serving in the local homeless shelters and boys and girls clubs on November 4th.  each RISING LIFE GROUP will serve alongside their leader and peers to bring life and peace to the students of our area.  each of you will receive a letter, THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT (OCTOBER 28), showing you what the deal looks like.  we’d love for you to partner with us!

we’ve also had the opportunity to eat lunch in most of the local schools…we’re excited about what is ahead of us…

ONE LAST THING. please feel free to come and join us on any Sunday night.  we want you there.  believe it or not…even if your student tries to act too cool…the motion to invest into what they are a part of would be huge for your student.  and i promise you that you will be blessed by seeing your student engage with God through worship and our discussion…

hope that you are well and swine-flu free!

Brent

A great read to encourage your walk….

Peter watched Jesus make his way toward him, washing the feet of other disciples.

It had already been a confusing Passover. Jesus had been unusually burdened, close to tears all day. The atmosphere during the meal was charged with ominous anticipation.

Peter had grown used to Jesus doing and saying unpredictable things. But what Jesus was doing now was wrong. He was the last person in the room who should be washing feet.

All of Peter’s life he had been taught that feet were dishonorable members of the body. They were usually dirty, frequently smelly, and among the most likely members to come in contact with things that the Law declared unclean.

Outside of immediate family, feet were washed by slaves and servants—ideally non-Jews so as not to subject any of the Covenant People to such humiliation.

And one never insulted an honored person by pointing one’s feet at them.

But here was the Messiah, the most honored Jew to ever walk the earth, stripped like a common slave with a towel around his waist willingly handling the unclean feet of his disciples. This was backwards. If anything, Peter should be down there washing Jesus’ feet.

When Jesus got to Peter he smiled at him and reached for his feet. Peter pulled them back. “Lord, do you wash my feet?”

Jesus loved Peter. The Rock never did anything, right or wrong, without jumping in with—or in this case withholding—both feet. He knew what Peter was thinking. So he replied, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”

Unwilling to subject Jesus to such dishonor Peter said, “You shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus’ countenance became dead serious. “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”

The shock of this statement stunned Peter for a second. He was trying to preserve his Master’s honor. But Jesus was essentially telling him, unless you let me bear your dishonor, your uncleanness, you can’t be my disciple.

Well, he didn’t understand what this all meant, but Peter would leave no doubt about his trust in and love for Jesus: “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

Joy radiated from Jesus’ eyes and smile. And as he washed Peter’s feet he said, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean.”

Then he paused for a moment and looked into Peter’s eyes. This beloved man was unknowingly about to face the most difficult, grievous, and glorious three days of his life. He would benefit from this reassurance: “And you are clean.”

Then his eyes dropped back to Peter’s feet and he resumed washing. “But not every one of you.”

*               *               *

Two lessons from this account in John 13:1-11:

First, much of the Christian life is spent trusting Jesus now and understanding him later. Jesus typically does not feel it necessary to explain on the front end why he is doing something the way he is doing it. And, like Peter, when it looks wrong to us, we are tempted to object to the Lord’s will.

God understands and is patient with our confusion and even our deep wrestling or grief. But he wants us to trust him and not grumble. God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). His purposes for bringing or not bringing certain things to pass often extend far beyond us—maybe even generations beyond us.

So during those times we need to remember Jesus’ words to Peter: “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”

Second, what Jesus is bringing about in the sometimes confusing, sometimes very painful work he is doing in our lives is sanctification. He is washing our feet. He not only bathes us, completely removing the guilt of our sin in his cleansing work on the cross, but in love he keeps forgiving us (1 John 1:9) and disciplines us so that we will share his holiness (Hebrews 12:10-11).

Our understanding his purposes in a particular providence tends to be not as important to God as our trust in his character. So together let’s continue to “trust in the Lord with all [our] heart, and…not lean on [our] own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Because one day we will understand. And we will, with great joy, proclaim, “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works” (Psalm 145:17).

We would like to bring you up to speed on what’s been happening Sunday nights at the Rising.  We are in the middle of a sermon series called The Truth.  The series has been an amazing journey.  We started with why the truth is important and have moved through topics like, how we know God exists and why there is suffering in the world.  This week, and possibly next,  the sermon topic will be the Truth about Sex.

We will cover the idea that sex is a gift from God and that it is best understood and enjoyed the way He designed it to be.  Each week in this series we have allowed students to text in any questions that they have about the sermon topic.  These questions are screened by a high school minister and then discussed in the group setting.  We would like you to know we intend to do this for the weekends discussing sex (this weekend and next).

This message, as well as all of our messages, will be available for you to listen to at this web link: http://www.risingtolove.com/?page_id=7

Our motivation this week is to take on a subject that is being abused by culture.  Our society is constantly motivating students to abuse sex and use it in ways that God never designed it to be used.  You can see some of the alarming statistics that motivate us at:

http://www.familyfirstaid.org/sexually-active-teens.html

http://www.sadd.org/stats.htm#sexualactivity

These statistics drive us to be God’s voice in a misguided culture.  If you do not want your student to attend this service we understand, but encourage you to discuss this topic with them. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Brent Bramer: bbramer@mynorthside.com
Matt Allman:  mallman@mynorthside.com
Haley Schell:  hschell@mynorthside.com

wanted to pass along something we just discovered.  it’s this new website EXAMEN.ME …used as an online bible study/devotional/journal.  it’s really easy to use.  i want to encourage you to check it out…maybe use it for your personal time with God…and pass it along to your students and friends. here’s a preview of what you will see….

every year cool things happen…God moves. great worship.  great teaching.  life change happens.   sign ups have begun!

click here for a sign up: closerSIGN-UPform