DAN GOULD

FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Author: dgould77

  • 1 Kings 10:1-13

    “She exclaimed to the king, ‘Everything I heard in my country about your achievements and wisdom is true! I didn’t believe what was said until I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of it! Your wisdom and prosperity are far beyond what I was told. How happy your people must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your wisdom! Praise the LORD your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness.’” v.6-9
    As God started working in Solomon’s life, people took notice and stories began to spread about him. The queen of Sheba came to see for herself if everything she heard about Solomon was true. Contests using riddles or proverbs were often used to test wisdom. The queen may have used some of these as she questioned Solomon. When she realized the extent of his riches and wisdom, she was overwhelmed and no longer questioned his power or wisdom. No longer a competitor, she became and admirer. Her experience was repeated by many kings and foreign dignitaries who paid honor to Solomon.

    Taken from the NLT Life Application Study Bible

  • Overnighter Music Video

    This premiered at the Group Conference for Youth Pastors on Saturday!!! Great Stuff!!!

  • Weekend Review – SEX

    Well today we finished our 6 week sex series. (Praise Jesus) It was a good series that I feel the student enjoyed. We held a panel today with 5 adult men and 5 adult women and two students. We allowed student to jot down questions they had a bout sex and the panel on the fly answered those questions. Here are the questions our teenagers asked:

    * How old should you be before you have your first serious boyfriend?
    * Why does God allow people to use sex in an unholy way?
    * Is constant lust for your wife wrong?
    * Why is homosexuality wrong?
    * How do you date while putting God first?
    * Since love is so powerful, how would you get out of a situation where you want to do stuff sexually?
    * Why do people give up their children after they have had sex?
    * Were you a virgin before you got married?
    * Was is weird/awkward or bad the first time?
    * How important is it to have Christian friends to keep my behavior within God’s boundaries?
    * Did you regret losing your virginity before marriage?
    * How do I handle myself at parties where some teens are touchy-feely?
    * Once you are married, is it ok to have complete sexual freedom with your spouse? (any kind of sex)
    * Is oral sex within marriage wrong? Outside of Marriage?
    * How often do old people have sex?

    Our panel did a great job answering these questions. What a great way to end a series leaving students with many answers and some action steps to navigate through relationships safely and successfully.

  • SEX SERIES FINALE

    Tomorrow we will end our 6 week sex series with a panel of adults answering questions from students about, sex and relationships. I let you know how it goes!

  • Announcement Video from NYWC

    I don’t know if this is creative, or a late night without creative ideas. Anyhow, Andy, don’t get any ideas!!!!

  • 1 Kings 6:1-38

    “Then the Lord gave this message to Solomon: ‘Concerning this Temple you are building, if you keep all my decrees and regulations and obey all my commands, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father, David. I will live among the Israelites and will never abandon my people Israel.’”v.11-13
    Solomon put great detail in constructing the temple. From the stones, wood, gold, statues and tools, all of these were used in a way to show reverence and awe to God.

    The temple had a purpose. God promised to that his eternal presence would never leave the Temple as long as one condition was met: The Israelites had to obey God’s law. Knowing how many laws they had to follow, we may think this condition was difficult. But the Israelites’ situation was much like ours today. They were cut off from God for failing to keep some small part of a law. Forgiveness was simply provided for all their sins, no matter how large or small. As you read the history of the kings, that law breaking was the result, not the cause, of estrangement from God. The kings abandoned God in their hearts first and then failed to keep his laws. When we close our hearts to God, we soon lose his power and presence.

    Taken from the NLT Life Application Study Bible

  • Blogs from C3 Conference

    Tony Morgan has been posting outines and zingers from the C3 Confernce at Fellowship Church. Here is some great stuff that Perry Noble said Thursday.

    Here are some of the insights from Perry’s session. Thanks, Joe, for sharing your notes.

    Environment matters
    -Matthew 17:1-3
    -If you are preaching at or working for a church that you would not otherwise attend, WHY?
    -The fire starts in the Senior Pastor’s heart. If the Sr. Pastor is not fired up, why would anyone else be?

    Vision matters
    -Matthew 17:4-7
    -Peter wanted to stay on the mountain forever. He couldn’t see past the current events.
    -You’re only as deep as the last person you served.
    -You may say that we are not deep. What you really mean to say is “You don’t confuse me enough.” I can confuse the crap out of you.
    -Listen to the one God gave the vision to – and God gives that to the Senior Pastor!
    -Matthew 17:7 “Get Up!” – Get up! “Don’t be afraid!” Operate by vision and not voting.
    -We want the back door of the church to stay open. The church is the body. If the back door of the body stops up, it is not good! We want the back door to stay open.

    Jesus matters
    -Politicians can’t help the nation, Jesus can!
    -Matthew 17:8 – When they looked up, they saw no one but Jesus. That is our goal – that people show up to our church and see no one but Jesus!

  • Will Friday’s Lights DIM?

    This is one of my families favorite TV shows. We DVR it every friday night and watch after our festive nights if we go out! Great show if you aren’t watching it!

    First it was a talent show. Then it was a Friday night time slot when most high school football fans are well, at a high school football game. Now, it’s the recently ended writer’s strike, not the suspension of Brian “Smash” Williams that is threatening to upend the Dillon Panthers’ chances to repeat as state champions.

    Like Tim Riggins, one of the show’s strongest characters, Friday Night Lights just doesn’t seem to get any breaks.

    READ MORE

  • 1 Kings 3:16-28

    “Then he said, ‘Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!’” v.25
    Solomon’s settlement of this dispute was a classic example of his wisdom. This wise ruling was verification that God had answered Solomon’s prayer and given him an understanding heart. We have God’s wisdom available to us as we pray and request it. But, like Solomon, we must put it into action. Applying wisdom to life demonstrates our understanding.

    Taken from the NLT Life Application Study Bible

  • Teens who watch wrestling take more health risks

    I grew up on this stuff and I am pretty normal, but that was back in the day. I wonder what they say about the UFC?

    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Teenage fans of TV wrestling are more likely than their peers to be aggressive or take chances with their health, a study suggests.

    Researchers found that among 2,300 16- to 20-year-old Americans, those who watched professional wrestling were more likely to be violent, smoke or have unprotected sex — and the more they watched TV wrestling, the greater their odds of taking such risks.

    However, he told Reuters Health, it is “definitely possible” that TV wrestling affects teenagers’ behavior. In an earlier study, Wolfson and his colleagues found that teenage girls who watched wrestling were more likely to get into fights or carry a weapon at a later point in adolescence.

    In general, researchers believe that children can become desensitized by violence in movies, TV and video games — particularly when those portrayals downplay the consequences of violence. A steady dose of media violence may also influence young people’s perceptions, priming them to take other people’s words and actions as hostile and to react aggressively.

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