Bellevue Bright Lights: Fall 2103 Kickoff!

Monday, September 16, 2013

Fall 2103 Kickoff!

We had our first Bright Lights meeting of the new year yesterday, and the topic was Holiness. Two new gals have joined our growing group and we are now up to 12 regular attendees!

Before I get into the meeting notes, I want to share the recipe for the Pear Ginger Cobbler we had since it was such a big hit:

Filling:
4 c. sliced pears
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tablespoons lemon juice
lemon zest
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 T. tapioca flour (recipe calls for quick tapioca)

Topping:
1 pie crust

Blend together pears, ginger, sugars, lemon juice, zest, and tapioca and allow to stand for 20 minutes. Pour filling into baking dish and cover with pie crust - cut slits into crust. (I actually doubled this recipe and used 2 gluten free pie crusts to cover entire cobbler)

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until nice and bubbly. (I actually covered entire pan with foil for first part of baking so that my crust wouldn't burn)

Now to the meeting notes! (Also, there is a very special story about courtship after the meeting notes - be sure to check out and share with your daughters as this is will help give them a vision for what a godly courtship looks like...)

Bright Lights Set 4 Meeting 1 – Holiness

Holiness:

The state of being holy; purity or integrity of moral character; freedom from sin; sanctity. Applied to God, holiness denotes perfect purity or integrity of moral character…one of His essential attributes.

Ex. 15:11b “ Who is like Thee, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?”

Applied to human beings, holiness is purity of heart or dispositions; moral goodness, but not perfect. The state of being hallowed or consecrated (reserved) to God and His worship…that which is separated to the service of God.

The opposite of holiness is not “wickedness” or “evil”. Rather, the opposite is “common”. To be holy is to be special, set-apart, and reserved for God’s special purposes. (Do you sometimes feel different ?)

Scripture References:

Genesis 2:3

Ex. 3:5

Haggai 2: 11 – 14

1 Cor. 3: 16 – 19

2 Cor. 6: 14 – 7:1

Hebrews 12: 10 -14

1 Peter 1: 14 - 16

1 Peter 2: 9 – 11

2 Peter 3: 11 – 14

Activity

Break up into small groups, look up verses, and make a list of the different “hearts” found in scripture.

Group 1 look up:

Psalm 51:10, Matthew 5:8, James 4:8, 2 Timothy 2:2, I Peter 1:22, I Kings 3:9, 12; Psalm 34:18

Group 2 look up:

2 Chronicles34:27, Ephesians 4:32, Matthew 11:29, 2 Chronicles 16:9, Psalm 119:80, Proverbs 17:22, Psalm 7:10

Pray as a group specifically asking the Lord to give each of you these particular “hearts” which He desires…

Wrap Up

1.) Examine your lives for areas in which you are following the world’s ways instead of God’s ways.

2.) Be willing to be separated from the world’s thinking and from what is “common”, knowing that you are reserved unto God’s special purposes.

Handiwork – Prayer journals

Tea

Now for an amazing love story crafted by God! You may have noticed a large button on our Bellevue Bright Lights blog after the "Links of Interest" on the left hand side under the title EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE...if you click on this button it takes you directly to the blog of a fellow Bright Lights leader named Emily Mitton. Her blog is a big favorite with my daughters! Emily was very recently married and she shares the story of her courtship with her husband, Ben, in several posts...it is an amazing story of the faithfulness of God to orchestrate all the details when we submit to His perfect way of doing things. Try to read the posts in order to get the whole story...you and your daughters will be so blessed!

http://everythoughtcaptive.blogspot.com/search/label/ANNOUNCEMENTS

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What is a Bright Light?

It is a girl who has given her life to Jesus Christ, trusting in Him alone for salvation and for the grace to live each day according to His will. It is a girl who knows how to respond "just right" to people and circumstances, demonstrating godliness in her actions and attitudes. It is a girl who has Biblical convictions and commitments (holiness), and is able to go through her teenage years strong for the Lord without stumbling as many do. It is a girl who touches the lives of others by her servant’s spirit, her radiant countenance, and the message of eternal life through Jesus Christ (testimony). God wants bright lights! There is a great need for more of them in this generation of darkness.

What does a typical meeting look like?

What is a Typical Meeting Like? If you were to attend a Bright Lights meeting, what would it be like? At each meeting the leader shares a lesson covering important topics that are essential for girls in order for them to be strong for the Lord in their youth, such as:

Developing a Close Relationship with Parents
Gaining a Clear Conscience
Spending Time in God’s Word Everyday
Keeping Yourself Pure from Polluting Influences
Accepting the Way God Created You
Choosing Wise Friends
Contentment
Sensitivity
Humility
Self-control

The lesson is reinforced by testimonies from older girls in the group. At Bright Lights meetings, we also enjoy singing, fellowshipping with likeminded young ladies, listening to biographies of great Christians from history, preparing for future ministry opportunities, enjoying other activities together, and snacks (often with tea in china tea cups).

Each girl receives a Bright Lights binder that she brings with her to the meetings each week. After each lesson, she receives a new handout to add to her binder. The Bright Lights curriculum is organized into eight sets which you can view here.

Statement of Faith

1. Everyone has sinned and broken God’s laws. Because the penalty for sin is death, each of us deserve to spend eternity in hell in separation from God. We are totally incapable of achieving heaven on our own. There is no way we can be good enough to attain forgiveness from sin or achieve eternal life by our own works.
2. God so loved the world that He gave His only son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us from our sin. Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. He paid the penalty for our sin and took the punishment that we deserved.
3. Forgiveness and the free gift of eternal life is offered to anyone who will repent of their sin, and believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Redemption is wholly by the blood of Christ, and salvation is by grace, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. The Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God, and the final authority for our lives. It is literal, historical, and infallible.
5. There is one God, eternally existent in three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
6. The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God, born of a virgin, sinlessly perfect. His sacrifice is substitutionary and representative. He rose bodily from the dead and ascended to His Father’s right hand, where He now ministers as our Great High Priest.
7. Jesus Christ is coming again to rapture His church, and subsequently to return and reign over the earth.
8. God created the universe ex nihilo (out of nothing) by His spoken word in six literal days as the Bible states.
9. There will be a resurrection of both the saved and the lost to either eternal life or eternal judgment.
10. A true child of God who is justified by the blood of Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit is safe and exempt from God’s judgment and thus secure for eternity.