Youth were involved in each aspect of the worship leading songs, prayers, scripture readings and the message.  With help from the Conference youth office they decorated the church and made scripture themed bookmarks for the congregation.  They contacted poet Tiffanie Shanks from the Warmth in Winter program and received permission to use one of her poems for the call to worship.  After reading the focus scripture, one of the youth asked the congregation, “Are you ready to let God work in you beyond what you can imagine?” and while the youth group passed out pieces of scrap paper she instructed the congregation to ponder what God might be asking them to do in their spiritual journey or the journey of the congregation and to write that down as a prayer to ask God to help us all think big.  The prayers were collected in the offering and given to the youth to pray over, committing together to ask God for faith to do great things as a church.

The service culminated with a special celebration of communion with the DHUMC youth performing a silent skit that reenacted the last supper and then the youth portraying Jesus went out into the congregation and brought folks up to take the disciples’ place at the table, reminding us of our call.  Pastor Jim Hamilton came forward and blessed the elements and distributed them while the entire congregation went out into the aisles to form a circle within the sanctuary and the bread was passed from person to person while two DHUMC youth came around with the cup.  The service ended with a benediction taken from speaker Megan Hutchinson’s y320 prayer followed by a clip from the Warmth in Winter DVD.  Each person was given a Think Big bookmark as they left as a challenge to go from the service open to God’s power in Christ.

For $15 this professionally produced DVD will help you remember what happened as well as help you tell the story of WnW2012:thinkBIG320.  This DVD contains all four complete messages by Megan Hutchinson, music from UnNamed Servant, poetry from Tiffanie Shanks, and much more.

Call 615-327-1533 today or pay online at bit.ly/wnwpayment.

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Rules are made for reasons that normally are incredibly rational, like the ones we have at  the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro this weekend. These rules are around to keep you safe and make it easier for the adults keeping track of you to do their job. Murfreesboro is a big place and it does have its “bad part of town”.  Remember, safety first! Rules aren’t made to restrict you, but to help you have a better time this coming weekend. Say you break the horseplay rule; do you think you would enjoy spending a few hours of your free time in the ER with a broken arm or worse? Imagine having to explain that “Hey, watch this!” moment to your parents. Or what about the throwing things off the balcony? How bad would you feel if you hit someone in the head and caused them injury? There’s one way to ruin your retreat.

In addition to benefits to yourself, what about your duty to God? Most of us wear crosses, or something equivalent, and we are representing God at this point. Do you want someone who is missing out on Jesus and his love to see all Christians as people who cuss others out even though it was only one time and you were just really upset? That may be their only interaction with a person of your faith and it might just turn them away completely. We also have to remember that everyone here is a sibling in Christ and everyone deserves respect and kindness.

The Golden Rule is always a good thing to keep in your mind. Sure, it’s the hotel staff’s job to clean up after you in your room, but that doesn’t mean that you have to leave it a mess. Or maybe that clerk may have gotten your coffee order wrong you don’t have to be rude about their small mistake. Do the rules seem so stupid now?   Following the rules will not only keep you safe, but also help your faith further itself in the world. What could be a better reward?

by Elizabeth Roten, CCYM Journalist.

Hey like Warmth In Winter 2012:thinkBIG on Facebook and you could win a prize at the BIG event January 27-29, 2012. Register at www.warmthinwinter.com. Visit Facebook – Warmth In Winter 2012:thinkBIG

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