Ryan Johnston shared an incredible message with the boys about being a

“Game-Changer”.  He talked about how there are so many people out

there chasing what the World has to offer, and pursuing all the wrong

things, and how the reality is that we were created to be in a

relationship with God and pursue the kind of life that He has for us.

 

Ryan showed an awesome video from the “I Am Second” website, featuring

Texas Rangers All Star Josh Hamilton who talked about his journey,

where he pursued a life of drugs and alcohol and was kicked out of

baseball, before giving his life to Christ who delivered him from his

addictions and then went on to get his life back on track and become

the American League MVP.

 

 

We then looked at Acts chapter 9:1-19, and

the story of Saul/Paul and his conversion from a person who hated and

persecuted Christians, to an incredible missionary and author of much

of the New Testament, all because Jesus got a hold of his life. Ryan

also talked about the guest speaker we had on Tuesday morning,

(Stanford Pitcher and projected first round draft pick Mark Appel) and

referenced his story, about how Mark wasn’t even starting on his high

school baseball team as a senior, but instead of getting upset, how he

kept a good attitude through it all, supported his teammates 100%, and just

trusted that God had a plan for his life.

 

We closed the morning talking about how all three examples, Josh

Hamilton, the Apostle Paul and Mark Appel were all “Game-Changers”

because they had trusted in the Ultimate Game-Changer, Jesus Christ.

The final challenge for the morning was to think about the difference

in our lives, that results from really trusting in Jesus Christ, and

how that affects our thoughts, our attitudes, and our interactions

with people.

 

We are encouraging the boys to bring Bibles every week,

and to get in their Bibles during the week and pick out a “Life Verse”

to memorize.  In the video we watched this morning, Josh Hamilton’s

life verse was James 4:7, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the

devil, and he will flee from you”, which is a verse that has been part

of our Sunday morning series at Willamette Middle School, on the full

armor of God from Ephesians 6.  It would be awesome if you could help

your boys pick out a verse to share next week, or in future weeks.