youth retreat journal

7/27/2019 Youth Retreat Journal

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AIC Retreat 2014

February 27-March 1

Retreat Journal

Name:

Room Number : Adviser:


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Thursday04:30 pm Arrive at ABS05:00 pm Leave ABS06:30 pm Arrive/Unload/to rooms07:00 pm Dinner08:00 pm Session 1 / Breakout Groups10:00 pm Snack/Free Time11:00 pm On your oorMidnight Lights Out

Friday

08:00 am Acoustic Worship09:00 am Breakfast10:00 am Session 2 / Breakout Groups12:00 pm Free Time12:30 pm Lunch01:30 pm Team Games03:30 pm Free Time04:00 pm Session 3 / Breakout Groups

06:00 pm Free Time06:15 pm Group Picture06:30 pm Dinner07:30 pm Bonre and Sharing09:00 pm Snack/Free Time11:00 pm On your oorMidnight Lights Out

Saturday08:00 am Acoustic Worship09:00 am Pack Up/Clean up rooms09:30 am Breakfast10:30 am Session 4 / Breakout Groups12:30 pm Free Time01:00 pm Lunch01:45 pm Team Games02:45 pm Closing Connextions

03:30 pm Load up, leave Ajloun05:30 pm Arrive back at ABS

Youth Retreat 2014 Schedule


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1 You have searched me, Lord, andyou know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I

rise; you perceive my thoughts fromafar.

3 You discern my going out and mylying down; you are familiar withall my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongueyou, Lord, know it completely.

5 You hem me in behind and before,and you lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderfulfor me, too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?Where can I ee from your pres-ence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, youare there; if I make my bed in thedepths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of thedawn, if I settle on the far side ofthe sea,

10 even there your hand will guideme, your right hand will hold me

fast.11 If I say, Surely the darkness willhide me and the light become nightaround me,

12 even the darkness will not bedark to you; the night will shinelike the day, for darkness is aslight to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;you knit me together in my motherswomb.

14 I praise you because I amfearfully and wonderfully made;your works are wonderful, I knowthat full well.

15 My frame was not hidden fromyou when I was made in the secretplace, when I was woven togetherin the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my unformedbody; all the days ordained forme were written in your book be-fore one of them came to be.

17 How precious to me are yourthoughts,[a] God! How vast is thesum of them!

18 Were I to count them, theywould outnumber the grains ofsandwhen I awake, I am stillwith you.

19 If only you, God, would slaythe wicked! Away from me, youwho are bloodthirsty!

20 They speak of you with evil in-tent; your adversaries misuse yourname.

21 Do I not hate those who hateyou, Lord, and abhor those whoare in rebellion against you?

22 I have nothing but hatred forthem; I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, God, and know myheart; test me and know my anx-ious thoughts.

24 See if there is any offensiveway in me,and lead me in the wayeverlasting.

Psalm 139


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Welcome to the AIC Youth Retreat 2014!We pray that God will work in you andthrough you as you spend time with Him.The theme of this years retreat is He

Knows. God knows everything about you.He knew you before you were born and Heknows what will happen to you tomorrow.What an awesome thought! As you partici-pate in this year retreat, we pray that youwill take comfort in knowing that theGod of the Universe, Creator of All Things

and King of Kings is in control!This journal is lled with ideas, versesand questions to get you thinking about

just how much God knows about each ofus. Use the Breakout Sessions to talk withyour peers. Find out what is concerning

them; maybe you have the same worries.If there is anything that you need, pleasefeel free to talk to your Youth Retreatstaff. They are all here to help you andwork with you.

Enjoy!Your Youth Retreat Staff


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He Knows Me

J. I. Packer

What matters supremely is not, in the last analysis, the factthat I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it the fact that he knows me. I am graven on the palms of hishands. I am never out of his mind.

All my knowledge of him depends on his sustained ini-tiative in knowing me. I know him because he rst knew me,and continues to know me. He knows me as a friend, onewho loves me; and there is not a moment when his eye is offme, or his attention distracted from me, and no moment,therefore, when his care falters.

This is momentous knowledge. There is unspeakable com-fort the sort of comfort that energizes, be it said, not en-ervates in knowing that God is constantly taking knowl-edge of me in love and watching over me for my good. Thereis tremendous relief in knowing that his love to me is utter-ly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the

worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion himabout me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about my-self, and quench his determination to bless me.


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Psalm 139:1-6Only God knows all about my life.

Notes from Pastor Pete:

Thursday

Session 1:


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Breakout Session:

Your family doctor may know a lot about you especially if you have had the

same doctor for many years. He can tell you your entire medical history: allthe shots he has given you; the number of times you came in sick; he canname the bones you have broken; and all the stitches you have had.

He can know even more about you by doing a blood test that will show yourblood cell count, your cholesterol, your protein levels, and all the othersmall details about your body. There are devices to show your heart rate andthere is even a MRI machine can show your brain function. Inasmuch as thesemachines can reveal the minute details of your body, they cannot reveal whatyou are thinking or what you plan to say.

Well educated psychologists and psychiatrists can talk to you for hours togure out why you are depressed, angry, hurt, jealous, or insecure. However,the Lord searches you and understands your thoughts. The Lord knows in-nitely more about who you are than anyone can tell you--even yourself.Moreover, Gods knowledge of us is not written on a chart to be read or apsychology book to be understood, but God knows us personally and rela-tionally. He understands us.

Questions:

How can we change the way we speak and think, knowing that God knowsour thoughts and words before we speak them (cf. Luke 6:8)?

Think of something that no one else knows about you, how do you feelknowing that God is fully aware of it?

Proverbs 15:3 says, The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the eviland the good.The reminder that God is omniscient, He knows everything and sees every-thing, can be an encouragement for us to live differently. What are somethings you might do differently?


11/27

Personal Reection:

What was a high point for today?

What was a low point for today?

Did you notice Gods care for you today? Give an example.

Based on todays lesson, how does God promise to take care of you?

What verse spoke the most to you today? Why do you think it was so im-

portant to you?


12/27

A word from Max Lucado:

You need to know that God knows more about life than we do!

And, yes, Hes listening! One day, my then six-year old said shewanted me to leave the ministry. I just really wish you sold snowcones! An honest request from an honest heart. To her the hap-piest people in the world were the guys who drove the snow-conetrucks. I heard her request, but I didnt heed it. Why? Because Iknow more about life than she did.

Same with God. God hears our requests. But His answer isnt al-ways what wed like it to be. Because He knows more about lifethan we do? Dont panic. Dont bail out. Talk to your heavenlyFather. Hes still in control!Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, lettingGod know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of Godswholeness, everything coming together for good, will come andsettle you down. Philippians 4:6-7

Because he livesI can face tomorrowBecause he lives

All fear is goneBecause I knowHe holds the futureAnd life is worth the livingJust because he lives

-Bill Gaither


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I dont worry oer the futureFor I know what Jesus saidAnd today Ill walk beside Him

For He knows what lies aheadMany things about tomorrowI dont seem to understandBut I know who holds tomorrowAnd I know who holds my hand

-Allison Krauss

Fathers Love Letter

God knows you. Even if you dont know him, he knows everything aboutyou. He knows how you were made, why you were made, and why you dothe things you do. He created you and fashioned you in His extravagantlove for His eternal purposes. If a car mechanic can recite in great de-tail, the purpose of every part in a re-built engine, how much more is the

Creator of the heavens and the earth able to recite every characteristicof His beloved children.

He knows every bump, every bruise, and every failure. He knows ev-ery fear, every inadequacy, and every one of our dreams. He knows usthrough and through, yet He still loves us unconditionally. The thoughtof such intimacy with God causes many of us to cringe in fear. Howcould God know me as I really am, yet still love me? Shame causedAdam and Eve to run from the presence of their all knowing, all see-ing Father. But God does not want us to run from Him, but rather run to

Him.Even when we do hide, we cant escape His loving gaze. Yes our Fatherknows us intimately and He loves us with an everlasting love. His lovefor us is higher, and deeper and wider than any other love we have everexperienced in our entire lives. The love that we are familiar with is usu-ally conditional and based upon performance. But thanks be to God,that Fathers love is not an earthly love, it is divine in nature and notbased upon our own sense of personal goodness, but rather on His good-ness and mercy. Yes your Father knows you, and He loves you with allHis heart. -Author Unknown


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Friday

Psalm 139:7-12Only God knows what is yet to comefor me.


Session 2:


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Breakout Session:

When you were a child and did something wrong, maybe you did what I usedto do--hide! You may have feared the punishment and thought hiding in thecloset with a coat over your head would conceal your location from yourparents. It never worked with my parents, and it will never work with God.It is impossible to hide from God. There is great comfort in this because theLord knows our path--where we were, where we are, and where we are going.We may experience the darkest of moments when we feel like we are out ofGods eye, but the Lord sees us and His right hand lays hold of us. We cancondently endure difculty with our Lord because the night is as bright asthe day to Him.

Questions:

Read Isaiah 41:10. What are the promises that God makes to us in this verse?How do these promises relate to Psalm 139?

Share a moment with the group when you couldnt see a way forward but then

suddenly it all worked out. Looking back, can you see how God was presentin this time of darkness? If so, in what ways?

As a group, recall the story of Jonah. (If you need to look it up, Jonahcomes after Obadiah in the Bible). What do you notice about Jonahs attitude?What does Jonah do/say to God? What does God do? What is Jonahs prayer?

What does God know that Jonah does not?


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Psalm 139:13-16Only God knows everything I havegone through.


Session 3:

Friday


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Breakout Session:

There are a large number of biographies and autobiographies written,(678,560 on Amazon.com!). These books often reveal intimate details of apersons life. They might share difcult experiences, joyful memories, or mo-ments of adventure.

There is a book written on a well-known Christian martyr that detailed hisexperiences in his youth, adult life, time in seminary, and his journey abroadto the mission eld. However, no book could write on all the innitely smalldetails that shaped this persons life; the small signicant God-orchestratedinteractions.

God knows all days of your life, and the experiences you have gone through.He knew you before you were even in your mothers womb. He ordained yourdays before you had any. God has skillfully, fearfully, wonderfully madeyou who you are.

Questions:

Think about your personality. What do you like about yourself? It might edifcult but share that with the group. Acknowledging the things that we likeabout ourselves is acknowledging Gods handiwork.

Now consider something you are not particularly fond of about yourself. Whymight God have created you allowing this particular challenge? If you want

to share this, you may but it is optional.

Look at Matthew 10:29-31. What promise is made to use through this example?We often spend our time worrying and yet the God who created us, knowseverything about us and He knows what we need!


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Personal Reection:





What verse spoke the most to you today? Why do you think it was so im-portant to you?


20/27

Wonderfully MadeBy Albert Lee

Read: Psalm 139:1-16I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm139:14

When I was a child, someone close to me thought they could moti-vate me to do better by frequently asking me, Why are you so stupid?I didnt know how much this had affected me until I was a teenagerand heard someone behind me say, Stupid! At the word, I quicklyturned around, thinking he was talking to me.

Knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord helped me to realize that be-cause God created me in His image (Gen. 1:27), Im not stupid but amfearfully and wonderfully made (Ps. 139:14). God declares that allHe has made is very good (Gen. 1:31), and the Psalms remind us thatwe are skillfully wrought (Ps. 139:15).

The psalmist David describes how God knows each one of us intimate-ly: O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sit-ting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. Youcomprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with allmy ways (vv.1-3).

Not only are we wonderfully made, but because of Christs death onthe cross, we can also be wonderfully restored to a right relationshipwith God. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation . . . . All this isfrom God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ (2 Cor. 5:17-18 NIV).

In His own image God created man,

He formed his body from the dust of the earth;But more than that, to all who are in ChristHe gives eternal life by second birth.

Hess

Each person is a unique expression of Gods loving design.


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Trusting God completely means having faith thatHe knows what is best for your life. You expect Himto keep His promises, help you with problems, anddo the impossible when necessary.

Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am IHere for?

Matthew 6:27-33

The Message (MSG)

27-29 Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever got-ten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and moneywasted on fashiondo you think it makes that much dif-ference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out intothe elds and look at the wildowers. They never primp orshop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it?The ten best-dressed men and women in the country lookshabby alongside them.

30-33 If God gives such attention to the appearance ofwildowersmost of which are never even seendont youthink hell attend to you, take pride in you, do his best foryou? What Im trying to do here is to get you to relax, to notbe so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to Godsgiving. People who dont know God and the way he worksfuss over these things, but you know both God and how heworks. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Dont worry about missing out. Youll nd all

your everyday human concerns will be met.


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Saturday

Psalm 139:17-24Only God knows how to shape myheart and mind.


Session 4:


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Breakout Session: Some time ago, a few ladies met in a certain city to read the scripturesand make them the subject of conversation. While reading the third chapterof Malachi they came upon a remarkable expression in the third verse. AndHe shall sit as a rener and purier of silver.

One ladys opinion was that it was intended to convey the view of thesanctifying inuence of the grace of Christ. Then she proposed to visit a sil-versmith and report to them what he said on the subject. She went according-ly and without telling the object of her errand, begged to know the process of reningsilver, which he fully described to her.

But Sir, she said, do you sit while the work of rening is going on? Oh,yes madam, replied the silversmith, I must sit with my eye steadily xed

on the furnace, for if the time necessary for rening be exceeded in theslightest degree, the silver will be injured.

The lady at once saw the beauty, and comfort too, of the expression,

He shall sit as a rener and purier of silver.

Christ sees it needful to put His children into a furnace. His eye is steadi-ly intent on the work of purifying, and His wisdom and love are both en-gaged in the best manner for them. Their trials do not come at random; the

very hairs of your head are all numbered. As the lady was leaving the shop, the silversmith called her back, and saidhe had still further to mention, that he only knows when the process of puri-fying was complete, by seeing his own image reected in the silver.

Beautiful example! When Christ shall see His own image in His people, Hiswork of purifying will be accomplished.

Author Unknown

Questions:

Looking at Psalm 139:23-24, how do Malachi 3:3, Proverbs 17:3, and/or 1 Peter12-13 relate to this particular aspect of what God knows about us?

As a group, list ways in which God renes us. Why does he rene us accord-ing to Psalm 139? What is His end purpose for us?


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Personal Reection:





What verse spoke the most to you today? Why do you think it was so im-portant to you?


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The Message (MSG)A David Psalm

1-6 God, investigate my life;

get all the facts rsthand.Im an open book to you; even from a distance, you knowwhat Im thinking.You know when I leave and when Iget back; Im never out of your sight.You know everything Im going tosay before I start the rst sentence.I look behind me and youre there, then up ahead and youre there,too your reassuring presence, com-ing and going.This is too much, too wonderful I cant take it all in!

7-12 Is there anyplace I can go toavoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight?

If I climb to the sky, youre there! If I go underground, yourethere!If I ew on mornings wings to the far western horizon,Youd nd me in a minute youre already there waiting!Then I said to myself, Oh, he evensees me in the dark! At night Im immersed in the

light!Its a fact: darkness isnt dark toyou; night and day, darkness andlight, theyre all the same to you.

13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me rstinside, then out; you formed me in my motherswomb.

I thank you, High Godyourebreathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelous-ly made!

I worship in adorationwhat acreation!You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body;You know exactly how I was made,bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothinginto something.Like an open book, you watched megrow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life werespread out before you,The days of my life all prepared before Id even lived one day.

17-22 Your thoughtshow rare, howbeautiful! God, Ill never comprehend them!I couldnt even begin to count them any more than I could count thesand of the sea.Oh, let me rise in the morning andlive always with you! And please, God, do away withwickedness for good!

And you murderersout of here! all the men and women who be-little you, God, infatuated with cheap god-imita-tions.See how I hate those who hate you,God, see how I loathe all this godlessarrogance;I hate it with pure, unadulterated ha-

tred. Your enemies are my enemies!

23-24 Investigate my life, O God, nd out everything about me;Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what Imabout;See for yourself whether Ive doneanything wrong then guide me on the road toeternal life.

Psalm 139


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