Posts by Ephraim Costilow
Devoted
I remember a story one of my professors told us during my college days. A missionary went to a remote village that had never heard the gospel message of Jesus before. They didn’t know what to expect but to their joy, the village welcomed them with open arms and were eager to hear what they had to say. The missionary started in Genesis, and day by day, story by story, shared the entire Bible with the people. At one point How COVID has affected us
The Big 10
When thinking about the Ten Commandments, many view them as a bunch of outdated rules that we must follow to make God happy. Others, feel as though they are an impossible list to keep, so they don’t even try. Some even view them as God’s attempt to keep us from having fun. Many people misunderstand what the Ten Commandments are, but if we understood the context in which they were given they would truly come alive in a way we’ve How COVID has affected us
The Talk
This past week we tackled a big subject at youth group…Pornography. I’m sure some of you just ran and hid under a piece of furniture, started sweating, or just got really uncomfortable. Don’t worry!! That is not what I am talking about in this article. Some of you might ask, “Why are you talking about that in youth group?”. 30+ years ago I might be asking the same question. However, in the culture we live in today, there are so How COVID has affected us
SELF DEFENSE?
Over the last few weeks, our life group has been diving into the Sermon on the Mount. There are a ton of great messages we get from it: don’t judge, don’t worry or be anxious, and of course, we have the Lord’s Prayer. There are, however, a lot of difficult teachings in there as well: love your enemies, be peacemakers, and equating hate and lust to murder and adultery. There’s one idea that seems to be a common thread throughout the entire sermon How COVID has affected us
Priorities
Col 3:2 “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.” The youth are currently working through a series that focuses on priorities. We’ve been discussing the importance of having our priorities in order and what it means to align our priorities with God’s. It is important to make sure that the things important to God are also important to us. We can get caught up in the business of life, and we can be How COVID has affected us
Wired Youth – Fall 2023 Launch
Summer is coming to a close and it’s time to get this new school year started! I can hardly believe this will mark the start of my THIRD school year here at KCC!! A ton of prayer and reflection has gone into this past year, and I’m truly excited for what God has in store for this upcoming school year. Right off the bat we’re stepping things up a few notches by launching a new Student Leader initiative at youth group. This initiative will change the How COVID has affected us
Nevertheless
By the time everyone reads this I will be at Bowling Green State University with our some of our high schoolers for a weeklong convention called CIY Move. The theme for this year’s convention is Nevertheless. This is taken from Galatians 2:20 (KJV). In this verse, Paul declares that he has crucified himself with Christ and the new life he lives is not his own, but Christ’s. Too often times, people treat Church like a drive through or supermarket. We roll up in How COVID has affected us
What a School Year!
Tonight is our last Youth Group meeting before kicking off our Summer schedule! Normally the school year seems to fly right on by, but this school year has felt longer than normal. I think this is due to the topics we’ve focused and worked on. We dove deep this school year. I handed out a letter to our youth parents at the beginning of this school year outlining the tough topics we’d be tackling, with multiple scriptures for each topic. How COVID has affected us
Answering the Call
“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25: 40 In the parable of the Sheep and Goats, Jesus made the point that in serving others, we display to God who we truly are. Loving God and loving others are the two greatest commandments. This love that Jesus is talking about is a love that serves others. But ultimately our service to others shows how much we love God as well. How COVID has affected us
Worth in Jesus. Strength in Numbers.
Throughout this school year, the topic of worth has come up several times. It’s been woven through the majority of my lessons during Wednesday night youth group. Why are our youth struggling with this topic? Honestly, why do we adults struggle with this topic? As Christians, we should know who dictates our worth, and where it comes from. Yet so many struggle to feel like they’re enough. We are inundated with worldly marketing. We’re constantly being told we’re missing the mark. We’re How COVID has affected us