What is The Bridge?
“The Bridge” is our high school ministry. We meet Sunday afternoons from 4-6pm at RCC. Expect a relaxed atmosphere where you can have fun meeting new people, discuss relevant issues, and earn wisdom from The Bible. Bring your friends and your questions to “The Bridge.”
Fall 2009 Schedule
September 13 – Student Worship
September 20 – Photo Scavenger Hunt
DOUBT: Series Overview
Everyone has moments of doubt. We doubt if we are heading in the right direction when going some place new. We doubt if that low-fat snack is really as healthy as it claims to be. We doubt if the people in our lives really care about us—even in spite of the evidence that they do. And sometimes our doubts are about God. Can we trust God? Does God really have our best in mind? What does a particular Bible verse actually mean?
When questions arise, they can be a little unsettling, especially questions about faith. But what if God was big enough to handle the questions? He is. What if God was secure enough to handle our uncertainty? He is. And what if doubt actually paved the way to a deeper belief, a stronger relationship with Christ? It can.
DOUBT: Week One (September 27, 2009)
You know those nagging questions that seem to linger in the back of your mind? The ones you hesitate to ever speak out loud, admit you have or let anyone else know you think? Questions like: “Does God hear me when I pray?” “Does He have a plan for my life?” “Does God really have everything under control?” Questions and doubts can be unsettling if they are left unsaid. We begin to think we are alone in our doubt, and often our doubts only grow until they paralyze our faith. But when we learn to admit our doubts openly, we learn that we are not the only ones—that everyone deals with questions. And when we learn to live with doubt, doubt can be a tool that strengthens our faith.
DOUBT: Week Two (October 4, 2009)
It’s one thing to recognize that doubt can strengthen faith—but HOW do you get there? How do you handle a doubt that you just can’t seem to move past? One way is to look back. When you look back, you draw on the things you do know to help you live through the things you don’t know or can’t understand. When you remember the things that God has shown you, you remind yourself of a bigger picture that can help you deal with the close-up situation at hand. The ways you have learned about or experienced God in your past are still true in the present, and can be used to pave the way to belief now—in spite of and in the midst of doubt.
October 11 – Student Worship Event
ROAD SIGNS: Series Overview
You can’t get to the south beach by driving north, and you can’t get to the top of the mountain if you are walking down it. In the Road Signs series, we will examine the book of Proverbs for wisdom to help each of us navigate the choices life brings because our choices determine the direction of our lives. And it’s our direction, not our intention, that ultimately determines our destination. Where are you heading?
ROAD SIGNS: Week One (October 18, 2009)
You can’t get to the south beach by driving north, and you can’t get to the top of the mountain if you are walking down it. Why? It’s because our direction always determines our destination. While we all know this basic rule for navigating the roads we drive, we sometimes forget how the same rule is true in our lives. You can’t lose weight by shoving down quarter pounders and watching five hours of TV. You can’t have deep relationships by ignoring the living, breathing people around you. You can’t grow closer to God by shutting Him out of your everyday life or failing to make the effort to know more about Him. So what is the destination you desire for your life? Are you even on the right path to get there?
ROAD SIGNS: Week Two (October 25, 2009)
When we’re behind the wheel, most of us stop if we see a street sign that says “danger” or “dead end.” We put ourselves on alert if we see a “caution” sign. But when it comes to our daily lives and the choices we face, sometimes we ignore the warning signs completely. We trudge right through the “don’t say that” sign and deeply cut someone close to us with a wounding remark. We plow right through the “don’t date that girl” sign because we believe that having someone who’s not great for us is better than not having someone at all. The Bible warns us that when we see danger to take action, because when we don’t, things can get really ugly.
ROAD SIGNS: Week Three (November 1, 2009)
Everyone makes stupid choices—even smart people. Why? Because we’ve all had moments when we know the right thing to do, we have the right information, and we ignore it. We know we should order the fruit cup, but we order the mega-size fries. We know we should not spend all our money on that one shirt, but we do it anyway. We know we should avoid that one relationship, but we just keep coming back because it’s comfortable. So there has to be something more to it than just knowing the right thing to do. It’s not just about knowing the right choice, it’s about actually taking that first step. It’s the difference between knowing the right choice and trusting that the choice will lead you to a better path. It’s the difference between information and submission.
ROAD SIGNS: Week Four (November 8, 2009)
Have you ever been walking down the street, deep in thought, but oblivious to what was going on around you—that is until you snapped out of it and realized that you passed your destination two blocks ago? Your attention was elsewhere. Your mind wasn’t focused on what you were doing. The reality is this: what you give your attention to determines your direction. When something captures your attention, it will alter your direction and eventually lead you to a predictable destination—for better or worse. This week, we will wrap up the series by helping your child take a look at the things that capture his or her attention. We will challenge them to be intentional about paying attention to the things that will ultimately lead them in the direction they want to go.
November 15 – Student Worship Event
TIS THE SEASON: Series Overview
This Christmas, probably more than any other in recent years, we are hoping that life will get better. We are hoping that life will look differently next year, even if we’re not sure how. We realize that no one person or institution holds a solution, but we’re expecting something different, even if we’re not sure how that is going to work out. Words like hope, peace and love have a new meaning this year, don’t they? We’re waiting to have hope, peace and love in our lives, in our communities, in our world. Even if we’re not sure how it will all work out. And just like thousands of years ago, Jesus is the one who came to bring hope, peace and love to our lives then . . . and now. Jesus taught us how to find hope, bring peace and initiate love even when our circumstances are less than ideal.
TIS THE SEASON: Week One – Hope (November 22, 2009)
Christmas is a time filled with great expectations. (Just ask Clark Griswald.) We expect snow to fall on Christmas morning. We expect that Martha Stewart-esque gathering. We expect a gift from that special someone. And for many of us, we expect our lives to look a certain way. But what happens when life doesn’t meet our expectations? How can we have hope in something bigger than what we want or dream? And how can that hope in something bigger really affect our lives—for the better?
TIS THE SEASON: Week Two – Peace (November 29, 2009)
Why is it that Christmas is one of the least peaceful times of the year? Whether it’s the long lines at the stores or the stress of even how to make the holidays happen in this economy, Christmas can easily become something we just want to get through and survive. But peace, true peace, has little to do with what is going on around us. In fact, Jesus came to bring peace to our lives in a way that defies logic, and He also invites us to participate with Him in bringing peace to those around us as well.
TIS THE SEASON: Week Three – Love (December 6, 2009)
Love is a word that we hear a lot. People love Christmas time. People love carols. People love casseroles, cookies and candy canes. But when it comes to loving other people, sometimes we are all talk. The word “love” is easy for us to say, but really hard to back up with action. Sometimes loving other people is hard, whether that person is within our family, or living half way around the world. It’s why we needed an example, a living breathing visual for what love in action looks like—and that’s the heart of the Christmas story.
December 13 – Christmas Parties
