God calls us to be separate, to be holy, to lead the world rather than allowing the world to lead us…But in a world of 7 billion people it can be far easier to blend in and become just part of the crowd. In this world with so much pressure to conform, how can we make our lives count for something more than just average? Impact, meaning, truth – these are only found through knowing and following God, and by making decisions to live by His Word we #MAKEITCOUNT.

In the Fall of 2011, we decided to do a series centered around the concept of getting deeper in our personal relationships with God. For many of us, especially for those who have grown up with a religious background, we know that we are called to be Christians and that we should be striving for a relationship with our God. But as we grow older, it becomes easier to just settle for a shallow Christian walk – a life that’s not connected, not deep, and not characterized by growth. This disconnected relationship with God and others can be the consequence of many things: we allow our focus to turn from God to the world, we become “religious” people who’s walk with God is simply a routine, or we only see Christianity as a list of rules and regulations rather than the dreams and incredible things God has in store for us.

Whatever the case is for you, God desires for us to be connected with Him…

This is probably the most creative but scary proposal I’ve ever seen! We used this scene in the first lesson of our KINECT Midweek Series to discuss how God goes out of his way to have a relationship with us. Think about it – how would you feel if someone did this for you? The fact is that God does crazy things like this all the time to get our attention! God is reaching out to us everyday, but it’s our choice whether to accept or reject that invitation. What will be your response to God?

Check out this video by Propaganda from dare2share.org

Scott answers your questions for the Christmas holiday!

This video is an incredible collection of images from the Hubble Space Telescope.  We used this clip in our Midweek Series entitled “Impossible is Nothing,” and with it discussed how nothing we come against is impossible with God’s power.  When I see these images, I can’t help but think about how truly incredible God is – he is so much more powerful, understanding, and loving than I can ever hope to be.  What amazes me even more is that this same God is not a distant god. but that he actually desires to know and be close to me.  Whatever issue we face – be it a certain sin, death in the family, persecution, loss of a relationship – we can overcome thanks solely to God and his mercy and power!

At the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year, we started a series entitled “Impossible is Nothing.” The thought behind this series was to address some of the many things we feel are impossible in our lives. Each of us have issues or goals might seem out of reach at times, whether it be getting a good grade in a certain class, overcoming persecution and peer pressure at school, or having a victory over a specific sin that has plagued us for some time. Even the mission that Jesus gives us in Matthew 28 to evangelize the planet can seem WAY out of reach!

What we learned throughout this series is that, without God, many things are impossible. That’s just the way God sets things up – we are incomplete and weak without Him by our side. As disciples we must be humble enough to accept this obvious fact, but we should also be encouraged that with God, we can accomplish ANYTHING according to His will!

Do you know Him? We may think we have a relationship with Jesus, but if by knowing Him is how we get to the Father, then we must evaluate where we’re truly at. You may be “religious,” but do you have a personal, deep relationship with Jesus? Are you spending time with Him and allowing God’s Word to change the way you think, speak, act, etc? See this post for a lesson on this topic entitled “Do you know Him?,” as well as a video clip used during that lesson. As always, feel free to respond or contact us with any comments or questions!

A look back at past episodes of Ask Scott, as well as some never before seen footage.

This “Dead Bodies” improv skit is from QikWit’s performance on 9/25/10