S.T.A.N.D.

Seeking Together A New Direction

S.T.A.N.D. Ministry Mission Statement:

To introduce students to a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ, guide them to a place of healing and equip them to live beyond themselves.

 

Here are sermon's and sermon series so far for this year!

2008

Sermon Series: “Old School Guys”

1. Noah
2. David
3. David
4. Abraham
5. Elijah

Topic Sermons:

1. Praying the Scriptures for intimate worship
2. The Chosen One
3. Bulls-eye Living
4. Who is your source?
5. Empty = Good
6. 3:16

Sermon series: Discover your shape

1. Discover your shape
2. S – Spiritual gifts
3. H – Heart
4. A – Abilities
5. P – Personality
6. E – Experiences

S.T.A.N.D. Ministries

Does it's first 30hr famine!

7 youth from Hermitage House joined youth from Ediboro United Methodist Church to raise money for World Vision

We were able to raise $165.00 for World Vision Ministry and purchased food for 4 local, single mother family which was distributed throught the Woman's Care Center

My Heart For Yours

In preparation for a Chapel Sermon, I found myself writing this story about my heart. It was during the first chapel service I realized why I wrote it. The sermon was on how we should periodically check our hearts.

I was experiencing a "Heart Check" before I fully understood why. This also confirmed that God was guiding me in writing this sermon, that is always a great feeling!

My Heart For Yours

Written by Steve Crowl

Let me introduce you to my heart:

My heart is over 50 years old now.

My heart works day and night to provide for me – Life.

My heart has felt that warm loving feeling, its felt cold about certain things and it’s felt hard at times.

My heart has experienced heartache, heartbreak and disappointment.

My heart when it was younger was set on special things such as Birthdays, Christmas, Halloween, Summer Vacations, Visiting my Grandparents, being loved by my parents, my family and my friends.

My heart loves music and yearned to play guitar, sing and become a musician, it also loves expressing itself through art and dreamed of being an artist as well.

My heart skipped a beat a few times in grade school when I was told that a certain girl liked me.

My heart wondered if this is what love feels like, the first time I held hands with that girl (the heat from my heart caused my hands to sweat)

My heart would ache when that relationship would end and instantly begin looking for love from another.

My heart was hurt often because of a loved one who I thought loved me, but their hurtful words would tear me down and often left me empty.

My heart became discouraged over and over again by trying to make that person proud of me, but never could live up to their standards.

My heart wonders, did this person ever really love me.

My heart was all I had and as it beat inside me, it kept me thinking that I wasn’t a failure, I wasn’t a loser, even though I was told differently.

My heart was all in favor of doing what was needed to make me happy.

My heart, I believe always had some good in it.

My heart got sidetracked – caught up in unhealthy things, doing things it knew was wrong and hurting others even when it knew what it felt like to be hurt and how painful that can be.

My heart became selfish, protecting me from others, it become hard and would not allow others to hurt me ever again.

My heart would become tired from trying to discern what was right and what was wrong.

My heart became tired from justifying and convincing itself that it’s OK; it’s OK to do what we were doing even when it just wasn’t working anymore and my heart could see that I was miserable.

My heart on many occasions was under stress through numerous sessions of drugs that over worked it and sometimes drugs that would suppress it, speeding it up or slowing it down so that it couldn’t do what it was designed to do.

And through it all it still had to deal with people, places and things and me.

My heart got tired of covering up for me, hating for me and lying for me.
My heart continued to beat for my life’s sake, but it didn’t like what it had become and it no longer liked what I had become.

My own heart one day, turned against me.

You see, my heart always knew its maker, deep down inside it knew that God excited, that there was more to life than what it was experiencing, it knew that the only reason it existed was because God willed it too.

My heart knew all along that God was love, but it was committed to me, to serve me, to give itself to me, although it had become very weary.

My heart one day had to make a decision, it had to either serve its creator or serve me.

My heart knew that I was taking advantage of it, I was going against everything my heart initially stood for, I was manipulating it and using it merely to keep breathing, but no longer did I care about it.

My heart quit one day, for a brief moment, it was in fear of its own life the day it discovered that I was seriously considering ending my life.

My heart turned on me, no longer was it going to enable me and lie for me, or hate for me, no longer was it going to keep beating for me to destroy myself and the lives of others around me. No longer will it let me believe that things are OK when really I was dying, no longer would it be the only thing keeping me alive when I didn’t care to live anymore.

My heart returned to its maker, to its creator, to the one it was designed to serve.

My heart returned to doing the things it was intended to do all along, to serve others, to care, to love, show compassion and concern, to laugh, to sing, to live life to its fullest.

My heart abandoned me and gave itself to another, it gave itself to Jesus.

Jesus took my heart just the way it was, worn out, broken, tired, overworked, disillusioned and spiritually dead.

Jesus accepted my heart even though it had turned on him and neglected its original calling and purpose.

My heart lives for Christ, it still has to endure the world and all it throws our way and oh yes it still has to put up with me.

My heart still aches and breaks when it hears of the tragedies that other hearts have to endure.

I thank God for my heart, a heart that pumps living blood throughout my entire body, a heart that is the reason I still take in breath.

My heart thanks God, for it has return to the one who gives it its purpose.

I thank my heart for introducing me to Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.

 

S.T.A.N.D. Ministries

Seeking Together A New Direction

On Sunday, September 9th, S.T.A.N.D. Ministries introduced "Seeker's Chapel". Seeker's Chapel will be offered at two services every Sunday morning to youth and staff here at Hermitage House Youth Services.

The first service, 9:30 am at Hermitage House Youth Shelter in Cambridge Springs, will provide students with the opportunity to experience a time of worship and teaching. The youth in the Shelter are not permitted to leave the facility, so I am pleased that we are able to bring worship to them.

The second service, 11:00 am held at Main Campus, is comprised of both boys and girls who live at either Main Campus or South Campus. This service will address an ongoing concern of mine. That concern is for the new students at Hermitage House who must complete an orientation period which does not allow them to go off grounds for 30 days. This orientation period makes it impossible for the youth to attend a worship service at an off-site church. So I am pleased to bring worship to them, especially at a time when a young person is uncertain of their new surroundings and is in great need of hearing the good news of the gospel.

Both services are voluntary. I look forward to sharing Sunday worship with the youth!

 

S.T.A.N.D. Ministry Mission Statement:

To introduce students to a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ, guide them to a place of healing and equip them to live beyond themselves.

 

S.T.A.N.D. Ministries Core Values:

• EVANGELISM - relationship with Jesus Christ

• DYNAMIC BIBLICAL TEACHING - catalyst for life-change

• SAFE and HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS - developing trusting relationships with adluts which restores hope and leads to emotional healing

• LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT - identifying, equipping and empowering adults and youth to become leaders in this ministry

• SERVICE - living beyond oneself in order to find fulfillment and purpose in life

• AFTER CLIENT CARE - forming lifelong relationships for guidance, comfort and encouragement

 

S.T.A.N.D. has had a positive effect in teaching the youth about treating others with respect, forgiving others, and how to become better individuals.

Participants have commented that, "It's a very upbeat way to teach us about the Bible and about Jesus," and it provides a "different look on life."

The rapid growth in youth attendance attests to the popularity of the S.T.A.N.D. Program.

 

E-mail Pastor Steve: scrowl@hermitagehouse.org

Phone Pastor Steve @ 814-572-0982

 

 

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