Grab a pen and some paper and spend some time with God today
 
We’re going to take a look at a funny clip from the movie Elf. Buddy is one of Santa’s real elves. In other words… he knows the real Santa. And in this scene, Buddy is about to discover someone else’s LIE! 
 
View clip at:  Elf Clip
 
Food for Thought: 
That was obviously a silly clip but it makes a point for today. When you REALLY know someone, like Buddy knew Santa, you can easily identify an impostor. 
 
Christmas time is filled with impostors, things that don’t accurately represent what true Christmas is all about. Don’t get me wrong…I’m not saying that gifts or sleigh rides are bad. Christmas is one of my favorite holiday times. I love the time with family and the spirit of giving. But let’s be honest. Sometimes the busyness of the Christmas season seems to almost replace the “Christ” in Christmas. Events, gifts, and holiday images are constantly telling us what Christmas is about… and it usually has nothing to do with Jesus, the greatest Christmas gift of all time. The way to identify the TRUE focus of Christmas is to intimately connect with the Christ of Christmas. Christ the living God. 
 
Why was Buddy so easily able to identify the Santa from the department store as an impostor?
 
The more intimately we know someone, the easier it is to identify the truth and spot impostors when they come along. 
 
There’s a passage in the Bible about sheep and a shepherd. It might help to understand if you know that sheep really do learn the sound of their shepherd’s voice. Once they know that voice, they will ONLY follow that shepherd, just like Buddy would ONLY support the true Santa. 
 
 
John 10:1-5 (NLT) says:  
    “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber!  But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
 
Jesus tells the people that He is the shepherd. Who are the sheep?
 
What does the shepherd (Jesus) do for the sheep (us)?
 
How do the sheep respond to the shepherd?
 
What does verse 4 say happens between Jesus and his people? What does that look like in your life?
 
Verse 5 says that the sheep (us) will run away from a stranger’s voice. What does that mean?
When have you “run away” from something that was clearly not Godly?
 
When you think of Christmas, and Jesus being born in the manger so that he would one day be our shepherd, how well do you know Him? How well do you know the shepherd’s voice? Rate yourself from 1-5 and explain why (1= I don’t know Him at all. 5=I know Him very well).
What can people do to get to know Christ better?
 
What is one thing you can do this Christmas season to get to know Jesus better?
 
Wrap Up: 
Most people would acknowledge that the true meaning of Christmas is in the birth of Jesus. But KNOWING JESUS INTIMATELY is more than simply saying “He’s the reason for the season”… it’s NOT knowing about Jesus, it’s knowing Jesus personally. We are meant to know Him like the sheep who know their shepherd and run away from impostors. Buddy knew Santa because he had grown up with him; he had spent tons of time with him. Do you know Jesus with that kind of deep attachment? 
 
Don’t let Jesus be a stranger in the manger. He came so that we could know Him up close and personally. He came because He loves us and wants to connect with each of us. 
 
Of course Christmas is filled with fun and traditions! Don’t throw those things away. Just understand that Jesus is here to invest in a relationship with you. God says you are worth it. Don’t let Jesus be a stranger in the manger.
 
Teddi Pettee Elf: Spotting Impostor [Online] Available http://www.thesource4ym.com/movieclipdiscussions/Discussion.aspx?id=164, November 14, 2011

Grab a pen and some paper and spend some time with God today

Remember the Titans is one of those movies that could stir you to become a better person if you let it. The movie follows a newly appointed African-American head coach of a high school football team torn up with racism. The players and the coaches themselves, have to learn how to get along with each other and play as an interracial team in its first season together. In the scene I am about to show you, all the players have been ordered to learn something about each other as individuals—and until they do, they’ll continue practicing three times a day in the summer heat. Let’s listen in on the conversation between Gerry (pronounced Gary) and Julius, a.k.a. “Big Ju,” to see what we can learn about them and their attitudes. 
 
View this movie clip at: Remember The Titans Clip
  
Food for Thought:

In this clip, we just saw two guys with really poor attitudes. Both of them are team leaders, and both of them allowed their bad attitudes to negatively affect them – and others – on the field and off the field. Attitudes always affect behavior, either for good or for bad. That’s true for you and me; therefore, we must make sure our attitude is like Jesus’. 


What’s wrong with these two guys’ attitudes from the clip?

In what ways are their bad attitudes affecting others?
 

Since they are leaders and play on the same team, what should their attitudes have reflected?


Do you believe Christians display bad attitudes from time to time?

When Christians show bad attitudes, what are some of the outcomes?


What should a Christian’s attitude reflect?

Philippians 2:5-11 (NLT) says: 
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.  When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Point blank: what should our attitude be like?  By now we know that attitude affects behavior, for good or bad. What did Jesus’ attitude cause Him to do?  
Does this sound like an attitude that you want to model? Why or why not? Do you think you can make your attitude like Jesus’ attitude? Why or why not?  

What will happen if you do?  What will happen if you do not?

  Specifically, what will you do this week to make sure your attitude looks like the attitude Jesus had?
 
Wrap Up:

Today we saw the damaging effects that poor attitudes can have on us and those around us. Bad attitudes are not restricted to the movies, though. Sometimes you and I can develop bad attitudes. When we do, our actions tend to mirror our bad attitudes. And when our attitudes and actions as Christians become poor, not only do we pay a price, but so do others! 

As Christians, we have tons of reasons to have great attitudes. First, we know that Jesus has died for us to forgive our sins. Second, we know the future God has planned for us in Heaven. Third, we are told to model an attitude like the attitude Jesus had. It’s that simple. 

As Christians, our role in the world is very important. Others desperately need us to live our lives like Jesus lived His so they’ll see Jesus in us and be more likely to place their faith in Him. For us to live like Jesus, we must have an attitude like Jesus had. In this short passage we see that Jesus was “humble” and “obedient” and was willing to give Himself as a sacrifice for others. If our attitude is like Jesus’, our actions will be like Jesus’, and the world will notice it. 
Let’s make sure we have that kind of attitude!   
 
The Source for Youth Ministry Remember the Titans - Attitude Like Jesus [Online] Available http://www.thesource4ym.com/movieclipdiscussions/Discussion.aspx?id=216, November 15, 2011

Another camping season here at Casowasco has ended for the summer, but that doesn’t mean the warm, fuzzy camp feeling that you have in the bubble needs to go away!

Now is the time to take what you’ve learned at camp and show the world how your life has been changed here. Are you taking the time to express thankfulness every day - to God and to others around you? Are you showing hospitality to your family, friends, and even strangers and ‘enemies’? Are you acknowledging that you have God-given gifts, and are you sharing them with the world? By doing all these things, you are worshipping God through your life, and are showing others that God has changed something inside of you.

Even though it came first in the week, I’m now asking you: are you ready?! Are you ready for what God has planned for your life? Are you taking the time to get to know God better and are you letting others see God through you? If not, it’s time to get started!

After all, the best way to keep the warm, fuzzy camp feeling alive is to keep showing others the changes that God, through camp, has made in your life. We hope to see you all next summer (or before then for Camp Echo [echo…echo…echo…], or SOLID). Stay tuned to your e-mail, mailbox, or The Bubble for more upcoming information from Casowasco and Camp & Retreat Ministries!

I went to Casowasco for 9 summers as a camper, and when I got older, I got to come twice per summer. Even with two full weeks of camp, though, it wasn’t enough. I loved the feeling I had when I was at camp, and I didn’t want to lose it when I went home. I just couldn’t keep that feeling going, though, you know?

Camp really was a bubble for me. It was this awesome place where I could live and people accepted me for who I was. I didn’t have to be the person others wanted me to be: I could be whoever I wanted to be. …I guess what that really means is that I could truly be myself here at camp.

The hardest part, of course, was having to come home. How do you take camp home? How do you keep the friendships alive and community and fun going? What do you do when the bubble pops?

Well, I wrote letters to friends from camp (I still keep in touch with some today, many years later), and as the Internet became more and more “the norm”, I chatted and sent e-mails to camp friends. I also came to Camp Echo (echo, echo, echo…) a couple times to get a little bit of that “camp feeling” halfway through the year. But doing these things were just like little Band-Aids: they might last for a while, but they’re just temporary solutions.

What helped the most was working on my relationship with God: reading my Bible, spending time in prayer and journaling, finding a local Christian community that I could belong to. It took me a while, but I realized that the feeling I had when I was at Casowasco was because of God’s presence there. I realized that when I was missing “camp”, what I really was longing for was the presence of God in my life. Work on that, and you’ll find your way back to the Bubble.