Theobibliophiles Rule!

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This is a bit of a follow up from our last Blog post. The title of the post is meant to get people thinking ‘what does that mean?’, ‘what are they talking about?’ Let’s break it down…

Theo – God or of God.

Bibiliophile – lover of books.

So the title is saying that people who love God’s books (The Bible) rule. They’re ok. It’s an encouragement for people to get into the Word of God, just like the Bereans in the book of Acts chapter 17 (read it here).

At our ‘Monthly Meet‘ we had a great time looking at some up to date research on youth work ‘small groups’ from ‘Youthscape’ – “A  national youth work organisation working for the good of young people of all faiths and none”. Check out their findings here.

Then we looked at John 2:1-12 and spent time in groups underlining, highlighting, circling and writing on the handouts to really try and get to grips with the passage we were studying. It was great!

My handout with its myriad of scrawls is just here ->

It was great to read, study and discuss the Bible, with no other agenda than to let the Bible speak for itself. Not have a Bible Study with leading questions and tailored results, but rather be open to letting God speak to us as a group and as individuals from the passage we are studying. It’s something I would really encourage everyone to get into. Let’s be Theobibliophiles in 2017 and beyond!

I also love our ‘Monthly Meet‘ training nights. They are an invaluable resource for youth workers in the North Wales area, and I really get a lot out of all of the training that is done at these events.

Our theme for next month is looking at how to get kids involved in church more. Looking at how to help them engage with church life in their community; and we have a fantastic speaker for this; Andy Hughes, the director of Urban Saints in Wales. He has a wealth of experience in youth work and this is a not to be missed night. Do come along; Monday 20th February, 7pm @ Ty Llywelyn Community Centre.

If you want to come to our ‘Monthly Meet‘ and be kept informed about when the next free training evening is being held, then subscribe to our mailing list on our Blog post homepage (top right hand corner of the screen) or email us in the office asking to be added to the ‘Monthly Meet‘ mail-out. Also, please let anyone you know that you think would benefit from this great resource know about it.

Finally, in-order to continue to hold such great training evenings for free, we need on-going financial support from our local community and beyond.

We love it when someone generously gives finance to support the work that we do at LLYFC, and especially if it is a monthly direct debit or standing order; as it assures us of regular income for the various ministry work we are doing; like the ‘Monthly Meet‘ training events.

Thank you to all of our regular givers, we really appreciate all of your support for what we are doing to impact generations with the good news of Jesus. If you want to support us financially, you can do this by filling out a support form and sending it to our office; or via our ‘Give.net‘ online donations page.

LLYFC Financial Support Form 2016

Thank you!

 

 

God has spoken!

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“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.” – Hebrews 1:1-2

A really big thank-you to everyone who came to our monthly prayer meeting for the work we do at Llandudno Youth for Christ. Last Sunday night (22nd Jan) was really great, and it was so encouraging to see so much support from so many different churches in the area.

Thank you!

Interestingly, last Sunday night, we also looked at ‘Prayer’ at our youth Bible Study. I love it when God orchestrates things so beautifully.

This coming Sunday within our ‘God is…’ series; we will be looking at ‘God is a speaker’, looking at the Bible.

Hence the title of this blog post.

God has spoken to us in His word.

Also, just as with last Sunday, God has again orchestrated things beautifully.

This Monday 23rd Jan, we held our ‘Monthly Meet‘ training night. We hold our monthly training evenings normally on the 3rd Monday of the month, from 7-9pm. It’s a great training night for youth workers, church ministers, parents, teachers to come along to; to be trained and resourced with how to better share the gospel with young people and help them grow in a relationship with God.

There is always tea, coffee and snacks to be had, and good fellowship and networking opportunities too.

The theme was a ‘Bible Study’ Masterclass: how to help young people study the Bible in such a way that they do not need copious amounts of text books, study guide and commentaries; simply the time and availability to read the Bible and hear what God is saying to them.

it was a great evening; and I personally loved it. So good getting into the Bible and seeing new things.

Hearing from God is always good. It is always life changing; and often we keep asking God to speak to us, when He already has through His word; the Bible.

This year, let’s be great listeners to God – let’s get into His word.

We have plenty of great resources at our disposal to help us do this. Christian bookstores such as Kingdom Krafts in Llandudno. Who I really must thank for donating a great resource to the work we do at Llandudno Youth for Christ: they gave us numerous copies of the ‘Action Bible’s’ book of Genesis.
A great resource to help get young people reading their Bibles. So thank you

The Bible Society is another great place to go for inspiration to encourage people to read the Bible. If you are a Welsh speaker there’s the Beibl.net.

And for those that are younger or young at heart, there’s the ‘What’s in the Bible‘ DVD’s and the funny but  Fabulous Bentley Brothers.

However you do it, let’s get to grips with God’s word in 2017!

God is a listener!

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‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ – Jeremiah 33:3

At Llandudno Youth for Christ, we are currently working through a teaching series at our Sunday evening Bible study ‘Redefine‘; titled “God is…”

In this series, we are focussing on certain aspects of the nature and character of God; and how God call us to walk in His ways; and demonstrate more of His nature and character to those around us.

Last Sunday night, we looked at “God is a fighter“; how God fights for us; how He champions us and fights battles for us that we do not have the strength to win. The main passage we looked at was..“Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” – Exodus 14:13-14. Here we see that God is going to do all of the fighting for the Israelites; all they had to do was be still and see God’s deliverance. Psalm 46 God says to us “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”(In fact the whole of Psalm 46 is a song of praise to God for His greatness, and well worth reading)

One of the best ways for us to ‘Be still and know..‘ is in prayer. In taking time to speak with God; to pour out our hearts to Him about what we are going through. To share with Him our hopes, dreams & struggles. To talk openly and honestly with this amazing all-powerful god, who knows us intimately and loves us unconditionally.

Prayer is us, stopping all that we are doing. Sometimes getting off the merry-go-round of life and all its busyness and making time to spend with our ‘Abba’ Father. He loves to hear us and listen to us. He is never to busy for us, or asleep, or unavailable. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” – 1 John 5:14-15 God enjoys listening to His children.

He also loves speaking to us. Giving us words of encouragement, love, rebuke, correction & peace. His is our number 1 ‘go-to’. He is our harbour in the storm. He is our all in all.

This coming Sunday night with the young people at Redefine, we will be looking at how God is a listener; and then putting that into practice by spending time with Him in prayer.

We will also be holding our monthly prayer meeting for all of the work we do a Llandudno Youth for Christ. This, just like our Redefine Bible study, will be held at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre, Ffordd yr Orsedd, Llandudno, LL30 1LA. We will be meeting at 7pm for an hour to spend time with God talking with Him about all of our needs as a ministry that wants to see the lives of young people changed by the good news of Jesus.

We would love it if you could come along and join us in prayer to the God who listens. The God who hears. The God who responds to our whispers of faith.

We hope to see you here: Sunday 22nd January, 7pm at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre.

Be still and know….

“To boldly go where no-man has gone before…”

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The above quote comes from the opening lines of the original TV series ‘Star Trek’. I chose this title, as on this day in history in 1909, Sir Ernest Shackleton, leading the Nimrod Expedition to the South Pole, planted the British flag 112 miles from the South Pole, the furthest anyone had ever reached at that time. He boldly went where no-man had gone before.

At the Youth For Christ National Conference we were challenged to be very courageous with our faith in God; being ready to trust Him as He calls us to step out into new endeavours; for us to boldly go , just like where we haven’t gone before. Daring to believe God for even greater things in 2017.

Trusting Him for provision for the vision that He gives us. Trusting Him for new creative ideas and ways to relevantly reach young people with the good news of Jesus.

To be like the Apostle Peter, stepping out of the boat to walk on the water with Jesus (see Matthew 14:22-33); not playing it safe by sticking in the boat; staying with what we know, what we have always done; but being open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to lead us into new ways of reaching out with God’s love. “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” – 1 Peter 3:15.

The other encouraging challenge from the conference was for us to get back to the basics of our walk with Jesus. To keep the main thing the main thing.

What has He called all Christians everywhere to do?

What has He commissioned all those who follow Him to do?

“ Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” – Matthew 28:18-20

We are called to share Jesus with those around us, and make disciples; not converts, but people who make a life-long commitment to follow after Jesus. Everything that we do in life and as local expressions of church in our communities should be focussed and clarified by this ‘Great Commission’ and also by Jesus’ ‘Great Commandment’ – “This is my command: love each other.” – John 15:17.

At Llandudno Youth for Christ we are taking this onboard and seeking more than ever before to be open to hearing God’s promptings and looking out for the opportunities to serve our heavenly Father in our communities. Sharing His love and making disciples.

As part of this; at our Sunday evening Bible Study for young people – ‘Redefine‘ (Every Sunday during term time 6-8pm at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre in Llandudno) we have started a 9 week teaching series entitled ‘God is…’ looking at some aspects of the nature and character of God; and how that informs and inspires us as Christians in the way we live and follow Him.

We will also be restarting our school lunch club ‘Recess‘ (in Ysgol John Bright) and our after school drop-in club ‘Reverb‘ (4-6pm every Thursday during term time, again at Ty Llywelyn) this week, after the school Christmas break; both on Thursday 12th January.

Please continue to pray for the work we are doing in Llandudno and beyond in 2017.

Happy New Year!

The Last Post (of the year from Redefine in 2016)

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“For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and for ever.” – Isaiah 9:6-7

We celebrated our last Redefine of 2016 at Llandudno Youth for Christ in style.

We had a welcoming committee at the door offering weary, cold travellers…I mean our regular bunch of amazing Redefiners, a nice hot chocolate or other warming drink to start with. Then we had a table (top of a chest freezer actually) laden with good things to eat; clementines, warm popcorn, mince pies, chocolate fingers, chocolate pieces and biscuits. Yummy!

In another room we had a bouncy castle! Hurrah! Lots of energy was expending bouncing and jumping in this room. Then for those who wanted to relax and take it easy, we had a quiet room with loads of board games to play; Top Trumps, Trivial Pursuit, Cluedo, Battleships, Monopoly, Connects 4, Exploding Kittens, Bananagrams to name a few.

Finally we had a room laid out like cinema, with Christmas music playing to videos on a screen.

It was to this cinematic room we all adjourned after 1 hours worth of bouncy castles, games & food.

Here, after singing our Llandudno version of ‘O little town of Bethlehem’ – ‘O Little town of Llandudno‘, the Redefine leaders enacted their Harry Potter inspired nativity, which was received with much laughter and mirth, especially one of our volunteer’s portrayals as the villain of the piece ‘Volderod’ (a mixture of Voldemort and King Herod).

We then had a short time of Q&A; a regular feature at our youth bible Studies, where the young people ask us questions about the Bible; and we aim to answer them as clearly and biblically as we can.

We finished off the night with some great renditions of Christmas carols, especially our ‘O Come all ye faithful’ that had a descant sung by some of our resident trained sopranos.

It was a great and slightly quirky night, that everyone enjoyed.

They loved the silliness of the Harry Potter inspired Nativity, and it was great to hear Tim Gough explain the reasoning behind choosing this book/film series as the genre to set the Christmas story in.

In the world of Harry Potter, Harry is born to defeat a great evil (Lord Voldemort) and save the world by his death and when raised back to life, to defeat death itself. It is a story that taps into God’s great story, even if the author J.K.Rowling was unaware of this when writing it.

This is God’s story of redemption that we see throughout the Bible; from Abraham’s obedience to willingly take his son Isaac up the mountain of Moriah to sacrifice him as an offering to God (read the whole story in Genesis 22 – btw Isaac didn’t die), to King David’s psalms about the coming Messiah (such as Psalm 22).

God’s great story, was that He would enter into this world, born as a baby to defeat the evil one and by his death defeat death itself. To come and save the world and redeem mankind. “You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached – how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” – Acts 10:37-38. “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” – 1 Cor 15:22-26

Jesus truly is the reason for the season, and that’s not just a nice cliche; it’s the absolute, essential truth.

Jesus came to destroy all the works of the evil one, to save us and defeat death. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” – John 3:16-17.

May this Christmas you find Jesus amongst all of the fanfare and festivities, and in finding Him, may you find life eternal.

Merry Christmas!

Spark Christmas Epicness!

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“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” – Acts 2:42

Last Saturday night (17th December) we held our last Spark event of the year, and it was a roaring success.

We had pizzas coming out our ears, an indoor putting green, a selfie station, mountains of mince pies, our mighty Santa versus Elves Nerf battle and a short message about the Nativity inspired by the film series ‘Sharknado’ delivered by the Reverend Rob Beamish from Colwyn Bay.

It can’t be said that we do things like everyone else!

Youth groups came from as far afield as Holyhead to take part in this merry Christmas madness. Here’s what some of the youth leaders that brought their groups along to the event had to say: “Awesome night!!! Can’t literally wait to do it again! Thank you to everyone who put it all together!!” and “Thanks guys, everyone ‘survived’ the Nerf war and thoroughly enjoyed themselves!”

We really enjoyed planning and preparing for this event; making the costumes, decorating the game zone, cooking and serving the food; and it’s so great to hear that those who came to it had even more fun taking part.

As well as the fun, food and flying Nerf darts, we pray that everyone who attended went away with not only memories of a night that will remain with them for a long-time, but also that they went away thinking about the message of Christmas.  The message of Emmanuel – God with us.

And finally, we would not have been able to hold this fantastic event without all of the amazing volunteers that help us with everything. We also want to thank those that continue to support us with finances and in prayer. There are so many young people that have heard the gospel in 2016 because of your faithfulness.

We still need your continued and ongoing support in 2017 to see even more young people impacted with God’s love and the message of Jesus.

Once again thank you all, and here’s looking towards the next Spark event in 2017!

Merry Christmas!

 

 

God in a feeding trough….the mystery of Christmas

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“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” – Hebrews 2:14-17

At ‘Redefine’, our Sunday evening Bible Study we have been looking at the incarnation. God becoming man and being born as a baby. This is the mystery of Christmas.

As we’ve been preparing to celebrate Christmas and the celebration of God coming to earth as a man; we’ve looked at how Jesus was fully God and fully man.

We’ve wrestled with these truths and asked ourselves questions of how does the Bible show to us that Jesus was fully God? How does it show us that he was fully human? Why is it important for him to be fully God and fully human?

It has been a great time diving into the Bible to draw out rich treasures. A time to ask questions, seek out answers  and ponder the mystery of the incarnation.

Last night we focussed on 3 passages; Luke 2:1-21; Philippians 2:5-11 & Hebrews 2:5-18. It was really good to see the young people reading through and discussing the passages together. Engaging with God’s Word.

This is one of the things at Llandudno Youth for Christ we are so pleased to see. We love to help the young people engage with the Bible and discover more about their Creator and Saviour through this. We love putting the tools in their hands that will enable them to become lifelong students of God’s Word; and for them to become enthused about God’s Word and in turn encourage others to engage with God and His word.

Out of the last couple of ‘Redefine’ nights as we looked at the incarnation, we saw how Jesus has to be fully God and fully human in order to bridge the gap between us and God and pay the price fully for our sin.

As the passage above says; “that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”

This Christmas; amidst all of the traditions and tinsel; let us, like the young people at ‘Redefine’, refocus our eyes on the mystery of Christmas; God in the form of a baby, come to redeem, come to save.

Emmanuel – God with us.

Merry Christmas.

Happy Xmas (War is over)…or is it?!?!?!

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The title of this blog comes from “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)“, a Christmas song with lyrics by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released in 1971. This song has become a favourite Christmas song to be covered by other artists and bands such as Celine Dion, Sarah MacLachlan, Neil Diamond, The Fray & Shinedown.

I chose this as the title, because on Saturday the 17th December between 5-8pm at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre a grudge match that has been building for centuries is finally boiling over into all out WAR!!!!!!

I’m not talking about who will be the Christmas number 1 this year; the X-Factor contestant winner or Rage against the Machine; no I’m speaking of Santa and the Elves.

Fed up with poor working conditions; lack of recognition; low pay and virtually indentured servitude; Santa’s Elves have staged a revolution and will be attempting a coup to overthrow jolly St Nicholas.

However Santa is not going to be taken by surprise. He has secretly been amassing an army of Santa’s helpers. I’m sure you’ve seen them at Santas Grottos around the world. The very best Santa impersonators are going to be defending their figurehead on this night.

It will be a battle royal; with milk and cookies awarded to the victors.

You too can join in and support Santa in keeping his position as ruler of the North Pole and enlist in the ‘Secret Armies of Santa’; or you can join the ‘Rebel Elf Revolutionaries’ and seek to overthrow the red clad despot.

Contact us here at LLYFC to book your ticket to the Spark Christmas Party. Tickets cost £3. (At the time of posting this blog, we had approximately 10 tickets left.)

Along with the epic Santa v Elves Nerf Battle; we will have pizza, presents and a short Christmas message.

The event starts at 5pm and will finish by 8pm. As said earlier it is being held at Ty Llywelyn Community Centre, Ffordd yr Orsedd, Llandudno, LL30 1LA.

Check out our facebook events page for more information.

Prepare the way for the V.I.P

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“The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”— “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” – Mark 1:1-4

As we enter the season of Advent; that period of time before Christmas; which according to the high street shops starts on September the 1st! But seriously, Advent is a time when we prepare for the coming of Jesus; as the words from the gospel of Mark call out; “prepare the way for the Lord.”

Last Sunday night at Redefine; as part of the start of our advent period; we had a travel cot in the middle of the room; with ‘Police Line Do Not Cross’ tape around it, and two of the volunteers dressed as security guards with high visibility vests on. The whole idea was to pique people’s interests and for the young people to ask what’s going on. The response is that we are preparing for the coming of the King of kings.

Hence the security, hence the tape; but why the cot?

He would be coming as a baby.

Advent is the preparation of the coming of a V.I.P. Actually, the coming of the most important person. The Son of God. God in the flesh. Emmanuel. God with us.

Interestingly, though, Jesus didn’t come to a palace with guards and fanfare; celebration and celebrities.

He was born to a carpenter and his young bride. Placed in a feeding trough; with shepherds as the celebrants to welcome his arrival.

The whole birth of Jesus is rich with symbols and import; and over the next couple of weeks, we want to strip away all of the traditional nonsense; and get back to the awesome message of God coming to earth, coming to serve, coming to save.

I recently came across a great resource for Advent; for preparing for Jesus: God’s Story – Preparing for Jesus by Crosswalk Kids Club.

This Christmas let’s focus on the big deal of Christmas.

Let’s peel aside the turkey and the tinsel and gaze in awe at God’s greatest gift.

Jesus.

Climbing up the mountain with God…

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I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore. – Psalm 121

Over the past two weeks and with one more week to go; we have been looking at the gospel of Mark at Redefine, our Sunday evening Bible Study. The title of the Bible Study Series has been ‘Climbing Mt. Mark’

It’s all based around the first 9 chapter of Mark being about Jesus’ ministry leading up to his transfiguration on the mountain; and then the last 7 chapter after coming down from the mountain leading to his sacrifice on Golgotha; or Calvary.

Last night we looked at Jesus’ transfiguration; you can read the passage here.

As always it was a great night, with fun games, times of prayer, our Bible Study, some worship and good food and fellowship. We also had a special guest visitor. Our chairman of trustees Paul Hadley came and told us about a time that he had to rescue some climbers from a very high mountain in the Andes, whilst he and his family were working as missionaries in Bolivia. It happened up a high peak called Mt. Tunari (for a more detailed story of the event than I will give here, check out Paul’s blog post); which is about 5,023 m (16,480 ft) high.

Paul’s talk was epic and inspirational. It really demonstrated God’s faithfulness to His people. Paul mentioned the above psalm as one that God spoke to Him during His night-time ordeal to rescue the two trapped climbers. God kept on assuring Paul that He was with Him on the mountainside. Paul also said how He could see God’s hand in everything that happened during that day to not only keep him safe, but also keep the rest of the rescue team safe, and bring the lost climbers back home safely.

 

In the Bible we often see a lot of people called by God who meet their Creator on mountain tops; Moses, Elijah, Abraham are just some examples. Each time in the Bible, they don’t stay on the mountain-top; but come down it with renewed purpose, vision and direction. They  are on a mission for God.

That mission always involves saving people.

Jesus too came down the mount of transfiguration with a mission. His mission was to go to the cross and be the perfect sacrifice to pay for the sins of the world.

His mission was to bring salvation to the whole world.

God, in Christ, calls all believers to also get involved in this mission. A mission where we do spend time on the mountain-tops with God; but a mission where we do not stay there, but rather we go down the mountainside into the valley where the lost, the lonely, the least are.  Where the dying, the desperate, the downcast are and bring them the good news about Jesus.

That’s what our mission here at Llandudno Youth for Christ is; our goal is to relevantly bring the good news of Jesus to the young people of Llandudno and beyond. As part of this mission, we are looking for more people to get on board with us in this great mission. People to pray with us. People to help in our different events. People to help us financially with all the work we do.

Do you think you are one of those people?

Is God calling you down the mountain to join us in the mission of reaching the least, the last, the lost with the good news?

If you feel God’s prompting, please don’t hesitate to contact us.