eZine 08.26.2008

TheSource4YM.com
	Jonathan’s Resource Ezine

• Featured Resource: A Talk/Message You Can Use for Your Fall Kickoff-“A New Beginning”
• International Focus: The Source?s David R. Smith is Coming to South Africa and Would Love to Visit Your Ministry

You all know how I love to give away free resources to help you in your ministry. So this week I?m giving you a brand new talk out of my new book 10-Minute Talks… a book of story-driven talks that includes a CD with transcripts of all the talks and a corresponding small group curriculum.

A lot of you are kicking off your fall ministries right now (I speak at a fall kickoff event in Miles City, Montana this Wednesday). So I chose a talk that you could use for the kickoff of your ministry!

TOPIC: Clean Slate

BIG IDEA: God cares more about our future than our past.

This young woman’s story is true and powerful, but I changed the names and small details for anonymity. It’s a great story to help kids not only consider their day-to-day choices but also realize it’s not too late to make a change.

The only thing worse than dying of AIDS is living with AIDS. Donna has been living with AIDS for almost a decade.

Donna’s friends from high school wouldn’t even recognize her now. Her body has taken a beating for the last eight years. Her hair is cut shorter for easier care, and her weight has dropped to a level that leaves her looking as frail as a woman three times her age.

Donna never knows when she’ll get sick. She’ll feel great one moment, and the next moment she’ll be sick to her stomach. At times, while she shopped at the mall, she lost control of her bowels. She has a few close friends who come to get her at times like these, bringing her home and helping her clean herself up.

Donna never would’ve guessed this is how her life would turn out. She was a popular student in high school and very pretty. Like most of her friends, she frequented parties and tried drinking-and even a little pot. It never even occurred to her that she’d become an alcoholic. She never considered the possibility that she’d wake up with guys she didn’t even know. And AIDS was never a fear. In Donna’s mind, AIDS was never even a possibility.

But Donna’s drinking became more regular and her partying became more severe. The more she partied, the more reckless her behavior became. She doesn’t even remember the first time she had sex-she couldn’t tell you his name.

Donna’s drinking led to other substance abuse. Donna was living her life for herself, and she figured she’d be happiest doing whatever she wanted. That was her philosophy in life: Do whatever I want, and take it one day at a time.

By the time Donna would’ve graduated from high school, she’d dropped out, was kicked out of her house, and found herself sleeping with people for alcohol or drugs. But this wasn’t enough to support her habit, so she began robbing houses with some of her friends.

This went on for several years. Donna would sometimes wake up on a sidewalk somewhere on a street she didn’t recognize. Then this became a regular occurrence-she was homeless.

One day Donna woke up on someone’s front lawn in the suburbs. She had no idea where she was-she couldn’t even remember the night before. But her eyes opened to see a well-dressed older couple standing over her. “Are you okay, young lady? Should we call an ambulance?”

Donna quickly waved them away. “I’m fine. Sorry, I just felt sick and had to lie down for a few minutes.”

But the couple didn’t go away. They insisted she come inside their house and get something to eat.

Donna says she was thinking, This is great! I’ll get a free meal out of these idiots and stake out their house so I can come and rip them off later.

This became an easy possibility because the couple fed her eggs and some delicious hot blueberry muffins, then told her they needed to leave for church. They invited Donna, but she refused: “Sorry. I don’t do church.” She started to get up to leave, but the couple insisted she stay for a while.

“We’ll be back in just a couple of hours. Make yourself at home.” The man put on his coat and the lady disappeared into the bedroom for a moment.

Donna thought to herself, These Christians could be the stupidest people in the entire world. They have no idea who they just invited into their house.

The lady brought Donna a blanket, tucked her in on the hide-a-bed in the living room, and left for church with her husband…

We Have This Entire Talk
AND
The Corresponding Small Group Discussion Curriculum
As a Free Resource on Our Web Site
CLICK HERE

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