Summer Challenge will start up on Thursday, May 24th at 8PM in the Crosspoint Building. We will be reading the book “r12 True Sprirituality” by Chip Ingram. It will be a good in-depth look at what it means to be a Christian through the perspective of Romans Chapter 12.  If you’re staying in Salina for the summer or coming home for summer break, be sure to join us every Thursday night! The book is $5- we hope to see you there!

This year we will be having our Goodbye BBQ on Thursday night at Jerry Ivey Park on the North Side at 7PM.

All you need to bring is a SIDE DISH.  It will be a good finale to Finals Week- so come on out for an evening in the park!  If you have some lawn games, feel free to bring them!

Here’s the Google Map- hope to see you there!

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Sign up tonight at Challenge!  Stay posted- more info to come!

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• L earning Biblical Truth
• I ntercession
• F ellowship
• E xtending LIFE to others

Our goal in these LIFE groups is to glorify God through learning truth, praying for each other, deepening friendships, and reaching out to others. These groups cater to real life issues that young people face in their post high school years.

Men’s Wednesday LIFE Group

Led by Logan Henry
When: Tues, 8pm – 9:30pm
Where: 122 S Penn (map)

Men’s Tuesday LIFE Group

Led by Aaron Kaufmann
When: Wed, 8pm – 9:30pm
Where: 324 South Center Street (map)

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What is “us”, you might ask?

Well, why don’t we talk about what Christian Challenge Salina isn’t…

Christian Challenge isn’t Church. In fact, we aren’t even directly affiliated with any particular church or denomination.  We do have area churches that support us in their different ways (which we couldn’t exist without) but as for us pushing a particular agenda, we only have one:  Christ’s agenda.  We are simply a college-aged ministry that focuses on the college campuses and workforce of Salina.  We don’t share communion, have a pastor, or even take an offering.  Feel free to come to Challenge regardless of whether you’ve had a good or bad past experience- because a church; we are not!

Christian Challenge isn’t a Pizza Party. Yes, we know how to have fun and our website is full of pictures & videos from past events but our main focus isn’t on just having a good time.  Every Thursday @ 8 p.m. we get together to sing with the band then sit down and spend some time trying to better understand the magnitude and guidance of God in each of our lives.  We also have small group Bible studies called LIFE Groups that meet throughout the week at each group leader’s home and dig into different studies with a small group.  If you have questions like who God is or why He should care about us, come to one of our meetings or just ask.  We’d be glad to see how we can help on your journey.

Christian Challenge isn’t for Goody-Goodies. We’ve all got problems- none of us are perfect.  That’s why we are always talking about Jesus.  All we have to do is come to Him- even dirty!  Jesus’ job is to make us clean.  There were goody-goodies in the Bible and surprisingly, they weren’t Jesus or his disciples- they were the Pharisees.  These were the “religious guru’s” of the era.  They stayed away from anything they considered unholy & unclean.  In fact, since Jesus ate, talked, and slept in the homes of “tax collectors and sinners,” they decided Jesus was unclean and wanted nothing to do with him!  Mortal men telling the Son of God he was unclean and wanting nothing to do with him… who are we to condemn?

Christian Challenge isn’t a Country Club. No membership fees, expensive food, or dress code.  Just come be yourself!  You don’t need to fit into a specific mold to come to Challenge.  You don’t have to act, talk, dress, or be raised in the same way.  We are simply a diverse group of college-aged people coming together with one similarity: a curiosity about God.

We meet every Thursday night @ 8 p.m. at 1100 west Cloud street in the Crosspoint building.  We look forward to getting to know you.

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“My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene.” [John 13:10b MSG]

I was reading the Scriptures this morning and I’m headed through the gospel of John. At this point, Jesus has just filled a basin with water and put his apron on to wash the disciples’ feet. This quote from the Message doesn’t actually appear in the other versions that I translated it into, so I’m not sure about the absoluteness of what it says. However, even as a line from Eugene Peterson’s own God-inspired mind, I think this idea of holiness versus hygiene is a rather interesting comparison.

How many times do I try to get clean by washing the outside of me? I’m not referring to taking a shower–I do that fairly frequently–this is more a spiritual sense of cleansing. I’m an actions driven kind of person, so mostly when I feel distant from God because of my sin, I’ll try to do more to make myself feel cleaner. I’m trying in my own strength to be holy.

God desires us to be holy, like Him. But holiness cannot be self-proclaimed if it is genuine. The state of holiness that God expects His followers to possess can only come from God Himself. I read earlier this month that God wants a change to happen in us so much that he died so that we could be changed. The answer to changing though lies in letting Him change you. Keyword: letting.

Synonyms for let: allow, accept, consent, allocate, give, comply, be game for, enter into, give the go-ahead, give the green light, go along with, grant, permit, play ball, subscribe, throw in the towel, yield

Antonyms for let: reject, deny, refuse, protest, hold, keep

I think the words that stand out the most in that list are “throw in the towel” and “hold.” The concept of throwing in the towel is a boxing term. When a boxer decides he is done with the fight, he stands in his corner and throws in his towel indicating the conceding of the fight. What a parallel to what I have to do in my own life! Give up the fight alone. This world is too strong, it throws too many powerful punches for me to get in the ring without God. Let him change me.

Hold. This word gives me a great mental picture of what it’s like when I don’t allow God to shape and change me. When I hold tightly to  my life and don’t allow Jesus to change me, I’m spiritually bottle-necked. Not much comes in, and what’s worse, not much is flowing out either. Ain’t nothin’ gonna make it better unless God comes and takes the blockage away. The key to coercing Him to do that: let go.

In the end, it’s not about how clean I can get myself. I will continue to sin and have messed up tendencies until I die. It’s got to be about giving God the green light into my life. That’s the only way any of us will see even a scrap of holiness in our own life this side of heaven.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1OA2mQeAtY