Listooder Youth Fellowship

Summer Missionary Work - Victoria Hanna

Victoria Hanna brings a report to Listooder of the six weeks she spent serving the Lord in Central Africa. After much prayer, and as a result of the Lord's clear leading, Victoria spent her free summer months of 2010 with F.A.M.E. in the land of Kenya. Dressed in traditional Kenyan clothes she reporting on the time spent among underprivileged Kenyan families, opportunites to distribute Gospel tracts, and the general enthusiasm among children and older people for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Relationships - William Creighton

Pastor William Creighton explores various passages of Scripture to provide a deep, practical and instructive message on what God has given us to guide our relationships. From conception, each of us become part of a relationship. A relationship that we cannot choose, yet a relationship that will form the foundation (good or bad) for every future relationship that we have. As we go on through our lives, the experiences and relationships that God brings us through will shape who we are. These experiences will mold us into the future husbands and wives that we will become, thus the importance of ensuring that the company which we keep is befitting of a believer living for Christ. In marriage itself, it is critical that both man and wife leave the old relationships behind, forming a new, unique bond in marriage, where every blessing, every failure, every trial, every joy is discussed and shared within a loving relationship with God and with each other. This message is a true blessing to all young believers, regardless of which stage of life you are in, as every single type of relationship in our lives is fundamental to creating the foundation for that unique bond with one person whom the Lord would choose us to spend our lives with.

The Purity of the Tongue - Samuel Murray

Following on from the hugely successful Listooder Games Night, a large crowd gathered for the first meeting of the season. Samuel Murray, formerly of one of the local churches, now ministering in Tandragee, brought the message from God’s Word. In a world that is increasingly hard for a young Christian to take a stand, the purity of the Christian life is very difficult to maintain. In all the aspects of our lives, a Godly standard is what is required of us by our Saviour. Our thoughts, our paths, our actions can speak both for and against the Lord of heaven, but no one part of us can be so useful, while at the same time so harmful, to the work of the Lord as the tongue. In James chapter 3, we read of the mighty potential which the tongue possesses. Likened to a small flame capable of utter destruction, a tiny rudder with the power to steer a large vessel and a ‘bit’ in the mouth of a horse, the tongue has mighty potential to both encourage and to cast down. It is a beast that no man can tame, bringing both a blessing and a curse in the same breath, yet God has declared that nothing is impossible with Him. As believers, it is our responsibility to seek God for His help to guard our speech. Without His power we cannot truly speak forth the truth of Christ, we cannot prevent our speech becoming tainted by the world. But James speaks in chapter 3 about ‘the wisdom that is from above’, a wisdom that is ‘first pure, then peacable, gentle and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy’. Surely as believers, this is the wisdom that we should strive for, this is the speech that we should desire, and praise God He has promised us that wisdom and that speech, if we seek Him for it. Listen to the message below, as Samuel Murray outlines both the dangers and the desire, and as young believers may we make this our own desire…to follow after Christ in all our words, our thoughts and deeds, and may He be pleased to make our lives examples of His love and His salvation.

A Life of Sacrifice - Fred Greenfield

Fred Greenfield returns to Listooder, bringing with him the exhortation of Paul to the Roman believers in the first two verses of this chapter. Speaking of need for each believer to be available unto the Lord for His service, Fred breaks the verses down even further to consider the exhortation of Paul, the presentation of our bodies, the dedication to the Lord, the separation from the world and the transformation of our minds. The result? The good, acceptable and perfect will of God.

Reaching the Rising Generation - Colin Tinsley

For this very particular topic, we welcomed Colin Tinsley from Hope for Youth Ministries. Colin is an experienced children’s and youth evangelist, and a friend to Listooder Youth Fellowship. Opening the Word in Deuteronomy chapter 32, Colin highlighted the phrase in verse 20, which speaks of a ‘froward generation, children in whom is no faith’. Sadly, as Colin pointed out, this is a very appropriate picture of the world in which we live, particularly in Northern Ireland. Children are growing up without a knowledge of the Scriptures, without a knowledge of Christ and without knowledge of their own sin. It is this reality that presents a challenge to today’s Christian youth worker. So how do we meet this challenge? Colin’s encouraging message exhorts us not to give up. The God who has saved countless men, women, boys and girls of all kindreds, tribes and nations throughout history, has not changed (Malachi 3:6). The message of Salvation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), has not changed, and fundamentally the children of our land have not changed either. In his experiences, Colin recounted many occasions where children received the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour the first time they heard the Gospel. The men and women of our nation have very little interest in the things of God, and as a result children are no longer brought under the sound of Gospel, yet in the opportunities we have to speak to them from the Word of God, they are as responsive as they have ever been. So the challenge facing the Christian worker in these difficulties days is: To reach the children, we must go to them, rather than wait for them to come to us. We should make the Word of God available to them in schools, in parks, at camps and in their homes. And if we are faithful to this challenge, our God, who changes not, will be faithful with his healing power and, as in days gone by, will once again bring many young souls to Himself.

Money Matters - Brian McCoubrey

The most recent Listooder meeting, our penultimate gathering before the end of the season, welcomed Brian McCoubrey back to the hall. With him, Brian brought a highly relevant message from the Word of God. Asked to speak on the financial responsibility facing each one of us, Brian provided the title ‘Money Matters’ for the following reasons… It matters how we view it. Reading from 1 Timothy chapter 6, we see in verses 9 and 10 the danger faced by the child of God who falls into temptation, where a burning desire to be rich can affect our actions, our work and our relationships. While in itself it is not a sin, increased wealth only heaps increased pressure upon believers to rely upon those riches, rather than upon Christ our Saviour. It matters how we gain it. While the vast majority of ‘good-living’ men and women would agree that it is wrong to obtain financial wealth by dishonest means, the devil has many subtle ways of deceiving even the children of God in sin. God’s plan is that money should be obtained through work, that ‘by the sweat of our brow we should eat bread’. Even for those who are unemployed, rightly claiming the ‘dole’ money, it is important that the we do not lose the desire to work. For those fortunate enough to have a job, there is a responsibility upon every believer to pay what is owed to the government in tax, according to God’s word in Romans 13:7. It matters how we give it. Whether it is a tithe (10%), according to Old Testament law, or simply giving as God has prospered us, the Scriptures are clear that we should give according to what the Lord has bestowed upon us. The more we receive, the more we give back to the Lord. We should give regularly, systematically, and according to the New Testament church we should bring our offerings to a central source (i.e the local church) – 1 Corinthians 16:1-3. In giving, we should also give liberally, confidentially, and perhaps most important, we should give cheerfully. It matters how we manage it. In closing, Brian brings some very practical advice, applying Biblical principles, related to investments, loans, credit cards, mortgages, and more, advising the young people to manage their finances with a godly wisdom, giving thanks for all that the Lord has graciously bestowed upon us. It is a message of great relevance today, and we encourage you to follow the link below and listen to the entire sermon.

Every Home Crusade - Samuel Adams

In 2009, Every Home Crusade printed and distributed… 33 Million Gospel Tracts, 8.2 Million Gospels of John, 16 Millions Gospel and Scripture Booklets, 60,000 Sets of Children’s Lessons... …in over 90 languages. The work of Every Home Crusade distributes this Literature free of charge to Churches, Missions, Pastors and Evangelists in 120 Countries across the world. Last year they used 880 Tonnes of paper in the production of Gospel Literature. Director of the work, Samuel Adams, makes a return to Listooder Youth Fellowship to speak on the challenges faced by the work in the incoming year. A huge number of requests are continually received from all over the world from many churches, missions and Christian workers asking for large supplies of Evangelistic Literature. In an attempt to fulfil the many requests, Every Home Crusade recently moved to a large printing, storage and distribution facility just outside Belfast, Northern Ireland. At least 4 Tonnes of Paper is used each day on the 3 large printing presses. Samuel Adams concludes his report with a DVD of the work among the people of Venezuela, where many tonnes of literature have been sent in the past year. The audio of this DVD can be heard below.

Hunting versus Fishing - Marcus Sommerville

Marcus Sommerville returned to Listooder on Saturday night to consider the attitude of believers towards personal evangelism. Opinions range from those who believe that we should be hunters: using quick, aggressive tactics to persuade unbelievers to come to Christ. Others see our responsibility as more of a fishing role: where we slowly and cautiously draw the unsaved towards the truth of God’s Word. Taking the lead from the conversations of our Lord in the New Testament, Marcus presented the reality that neither of these scenarios are truly relevant to personal evangelism. The journeys of two sinners to Christ are never the same: one may need to be removed from a ‘comfort zone’ before they can begin to see their need of Salvation, whereas another might simply need to hear the Gospel presented once, before turning to Christ. As believer’s, and more particularly as men and women, we do not have this knowledge, and so both the fishing and the hunting can only be directed of God. He is both the Hunter, and the Fisherman. So then, what is our role? What is the role of a believer in drawing men and women to Christ? Marcus proposes that, at best, it is merely as the ‘bait’. God, in his infinite wisdom, often chooses to use the lives of other believers to bring sinners to Himself. He doesn’t need to, but He chooses to. So the question is this: Are we attractive bait? Do our lives reflect the Glory of God? Do our words reflect the Word of God? Does our attitude reflect the Love of God? Are we ready to be used as the bait that draws precious souls to the Saviour, or will we be discarded as vessels, as bait, not fit for the Master’s use?

How to Get Away from the Lord (Luke 22)

Despite the strange title, this message from Pastor Ian Wilson features warnings from the life of Peter outlining how easy it is for a young believer to 'drift' from the presence of God. Ian outlines the circumstances in Peter's life which led to his ultimate denial of Christ. These are circumstances that every child of God should be vary careful of emulating. However, as Ian goes on to explain, Peter's restoration begins when his eyes turn back toward the Saviour, and is completed in full as he steps up to preach on the Day of Pentecost.

The Prayer of Jabez (1 Chronicles 4)

Baptist Pastor and missionary with ACRE Gospel Mission, Victor Maxwell, looks at the prayer of Jabez in the first Listooder meeting of 2010. Considering Jabez as a special man, a sorrowful man and a supplicating man, Victor explains that through his prayer, and subsequently through the blessings of God, Jabez goes on to become a successful man.