Our Epic Journey

Preparing Your Heart for Worship

ryansmith — Sat, 19 May 2012 20:01:49 +0000

This coming Sunday night, May 20th, at EPIC, are attempting our first worship night.

In thinking about the evening I have been wondering how I should prepare my heart. I believe there are three things we should all do in preparation for entering any worship environment:

Be honest about my relationship with God. Where am I at with God? I have recently been reading the book, The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller. The book has been really messing with me and making me ask the question, ” Am I more like the younger son (the one that ran away) or the older brother (the one that was self-righteous)?” Either way, in order for me to approach the throne of God appropriately, I must be honest about my relationship with God. Not so much about how He views me, but how I view and/or use Him.
Be in the Bible to hear from Him. I am currently studying the book of Psalms and I marvel about the numerous songs reminding us to worship and sing to the Lord for He is both good and to be feared. Reading Psalms 95-97 has been very good for me as a reminder that I need to DAILY be in a worshipful mindset toward God.
Be aware of how God designed me to worship. I love observing people in a worship setting. Most people have know clue how God designed them to worship. Scripture is clear that there are varying ways we express worship to God and all of these should be a part of my life but not all of them is how I am necessarily wired to worship. For me, I love standing with arms lifted up to God. Though it might me “out of my comfort zone” it reminds me that I need to surrender to God. I also enjoy just sitting, praying the words in my heart toward God. I’m not sure how you are designed to worship but it is important to find that out. We are not all “singers” but we are all called to express our worship to God.

New Incoming 6th Graders Event

ryansmith — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:33:00 +0000

On May 31st, EPIC Student Ministries would like to welcome all incoming 6th graders with a fun, get-to-know-you event at Magic Mountain. The event will start at 6:00 with dinner and an orientation meeting to discuss what students should expect when they come to EPIC. After the meeting, students will then be sent out to spend the next 2 hours riding go-carts, bumper boats, playing mini-golf, or laser tag. The event cost $10.00 per student. We would love to have as many 5th . . . I mean, 6th graders, as possible.

Please go to http://www.gracepoint.cc/index.cfm?i=8595&mid=26&fid=7573 to register for the event.

EPIC Worship Night

ryansmith — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:35:50 +0000

STUDENTS–Join us on May 20^th for an EPIC Worship Night @ Grace Point. Pastor Aaron and an all-star team will be leading us in worship that night. Come and worship God through songs and personal stories.

Student Serve Team

ryansmith — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:33:35 +0000

Starting in July, we are going to have a student leadership class on Saturday nights for any student (6^th-12^th grade) who is interested in serving in EPIC or in Grace Point. If this is you, please keep alert for upcoming information.

No EPIC

ryansmith — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:30:11 +0000

We have a lot of Sundays in the next two months that we will NOT be having EPIC. Here are those dates:

May 13^th—Mother’s Day
May 27^th—Memorial Weekend
June 3^rd—Graduation Sunday
June 17^th—Father’s Day

We don’t take these weekends off because we don’t want to do student ministry that night. We take them off so you, as a family, can spend time together doing family stuff! Use the time to grow your family.

Senior/Graduation Sunday

ryansmith — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:28:11 +0000

If you are a graduating senior, please send us three photos by email that we can use to recognize your amazing accomplishment (baby picture, elementary picture, and senior picture). If you’re heading to college or the military next, let us know by telling us where you are going and what you plan on studying and we will include that as well. June 2,3 will be Senior Recognition Sunday along with a special sermon by Pastor Ryan.

Consumed Series

ryansmith — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:25:04 +0000

We are only meeting twice in June but during those two weeks we will be focusing on Consumerism and how to not be consumed by what the world offers but to be consumed by God.

To help our students work through this we have ordered the devotional Stripped Clean which is a great devotional geared for students that goes through the book of Ecclesiastes. The cost of the devotional book is $10.00 and I highly recommend that each student has a copy. You can purchase and pick up a copy by catching me during the weekend services or getting them at the EPIC table on Sunday nights.

EPIC FUSE Night–April 1

ryansmith — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:00:01 +0000

FUSE Night

Our next FUSE night is scheduled for April 1st (NO JOKE!!!). Our FUSE night is designed to bring the whole family together for dinner and a game and then to break out into groups (MS, HS, Parents) for teaching and discussion. Please join us for this great night of fun, food, fellowship, and growth!

EPIC Western Theme Night

ryansmith — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:00:21 +0000

On April 22nd, EPIC will be turning into a suburban rodeo (minus the cows, horses, and the smells that come with them!). Join us for a fun-filled night.

Here are the details:

When: April 22, 2012 from 5:00-7:00 pm
Where: Grace Point Community Church
Who: All Middle and High Schoolers (6th-12th grades)
What: Food, Games, Prizes for Best Western Dressed

Bring your friends and gather with us around the campfire!!!

Media Monday: School Shootings: What Can Parents Do?

ryansmith — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:35:41 +0000

I know it isn’t Monday but I read this post this morning concerning the school shooting in Chardon, OH yesterday. This is a must read for all parents!!!

There is no doubt that today is a very sad day for our country, public school systems, and most of all for some parents in Ohio. This morning a very clear and stark truth became a blinding reality: “our son is a killer.” T.J. Lane the young man who is now in custody for shooting 5 fellow students, killing one of them, was just another “normal” kid with normal “parents” yesterday, right? There is no way that we can even begin to truly feel or understand what those parents are feeling right now. Surely questions like: How did this happen? How did our son become like this? Where did we go wrong? What should we have done to prevent this? All of these questions and more are floating in the minds of T.J.’s parents and loved ones.

Time will reveal all the details that we can only speculate about now. And with those details we will be able to make more sense of such a seemingly irrational act of violence. Even though there are many reasons and things that could have led T.J. to an act like this, I’d like to offer parents some helpful reminders of what to do to help keep your kids from becoming what no one would ever want them to be.

1) Love on your kids daily. As much as it can feel and be uncomfortable at times, show appropriate forms of affection and love to your kids. Kids and even teenagers want to feel loved and accepted. Making this part of your daily mission as a parent is paramount in helping prevent your kid from acting out in aggression and violence. A heart-core of unconditional love, value and worth is something that every parent needs to convey to their children. In so doing, you help shape and cultivate a proper sense of respect and value on all human life. So even if you are not a “hugger” get over it and give your kid a hug. Even if your teenager acts like you have the plague, enter into their space. Show that you care! Click here to read more . . .