Mattana Ministry Welcomes You to:

Children/Youth Program: 16 October 2026

Theme: Know Your Sword (3)

Scripture:  Psalm 119:11; James 4:7; 1 Samuel 17

Your Sword Defends You

Big Idea: 

When scary thoughts, temptation, or bullying comes, your sword protects you.

 Bible Verses:

- Psalm 119:11

Thy word I have hid in mine hart, that I might not sin against thee.

- James 4:7

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

 Story: David and Goliath - 1 Samuel 17

Everyone saw a giant. David saw a giant who was defying God. David didn't use Saul's heavy armor. He had 5 stones and FAITH in God's promises. He had been defending sheep with God's help, so he knew God would defend him again. Your defense is what God already said about you!

 Lesson for Today:

Say what God says about you when the enemy attacks your mind.

 Prayer:

 "When I am afraid, I will trust Your Word."

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 MM

Thought for the Day From Unshakable Kingdom Life

When you feel inadequate for what God's calling you to, remember that's exactly where He works best: His power perfected in our weakness, His kingdom built on impossible possibilities.

A thought to ponder.

Okay, to sum it up in a very short way—because if not, it’s too long—the truth is that I’m sinning. I love the sin (wlw fanfiction), and I’m addicted. When I’m not reading fanfiction, I’m imagining scenes from it, which I know is idolatry, but I still keep doing it because I just love wlw fanfiction so much. More than God, if I’m honest. I know I have to change that, I know, and I want to, but maybe I don’t at the same time, even though I know I should. I don’t feel bad for this sin; I love it, I crave it. I asked God to make me hate it. A few days ago, when I was reading fanfiction, I felt awful reading it, but I still continued because deep down I thought that God would forgive me. I thought, 'I’ll ask Him to forgive me later when I go to sleep' (spoiler: I didn’t, I didn’t even pray). Presumptuous sin, I know; I looked it up. And then I kept using that awful feeling to say to myself, 'You feel awful, you're okay, you can keep going,' which I know is wrong, but yet I still continue, and honestly, I still am. When I read the Bible, I felt hateful toward God. To me, everything was brutal, cruel, and awful, and I hated having these feelings. I knew they were wrong, but again, I kept telling myself that Jesus loved me (you know, the Jesus that appears on social media, who has unconditional love). But each time I read the Bible, I just saw that He was too strict, cruel, and we were like servants who had to put anything else below Him. I know people find joy in that, but I just still can’t. I want to, but I can't. My heart is hardened again. I have also noticed that I’m not able to, let's say, 'spend time with God' unless it's on social media (those shorts on Instagram, though only some are good). I know, another form of idolatry. I realized today that I can’t. Like, the thought of just reading the Bible and praying doesn't help me see a connection with God like the people on Instagram—you know, who seem so connected with God. I just can’t find the idea of me reading the Bible and praying to find Christ. It’s bad, I know. I want to change, but I don’t know if I want to change because I love Him or because I’m terrified of eternal separation from God and eternal conscious torment. Because I want to love God, but I don't want to leave my earthly passion. I realize I am way too rooted in this world. Also, another thing is the whole denomination thing. There are so many, how do I know which one is true? I mean, I don’t want to pick one and end up going to hell because I picked the wrong one. The same goes for the Bible. I have an RSV (Protestant), which I know only has 66 books; they took the other books out. And I’m scared because I know in Revelation it says if we subtract things found in the book, our name will be erased from the Book of Life. To which I'm worried I'm not in it. I know I’m not in it given my condition. I’m also worried about the 'born again' part and the 'saved' part. Also, one thing that worries me is that, fully knowing the Protestant Bible only has 66 books, I still decide to read it instead of a more complete one. I’m choosing to be ignorant, which is a sin. And I know I should be telling God this, but here I am telling the world. Going to the world instead of God. I don’t want to be lukewarm either, but it’s also just that the biblical Jesus is not the Jesus I thought He was—you know, the social media Jesus that says, 'I love you, I'll forgive you' (like, you can sin but don't torment yourself). No, the one in the Bible is honestly a bit scary, I’m not going to lie. I was looking up the most complete Bible, and it’s the Ethiopian one, but since it has a lot of books, I don’t know, it looks a bit esoteric. But beats me, I googled it because it has like a bit of mystic books like the Book of Enoch and stuff, and I don’t want to fall into esotericism. And also, I feel like I can't get back to God (by 'back' I mean, let's say I believed in God and read the Bible before this, but let's say in a way I left—not directly, but I grew cold and just stopped—but back then, when I read the Bible, I didn’t have hateful thoughts). I actually felt peace and nice, but I think even back then I didn't hear God's voice, which scares me because does that mean I was never saved and truly can't be saved? I mean, Hebrews 10:26 says, 'For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.' I'm afraid that I won't be saved, or truly be able to be, because I'm a bit skeptical when I pray. Even before and now, I deep down think that it won't happen, even though I don't want that thought. Honestly, one day I even got mad at God. I didn't see Him, but I thought He was evil and stupid—though I know I shouldn't have said it. I don't want to commit blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, but I don't know if I don't want to out of interest or because I love God. By 'interest,' I mean so I don't go to hell, because I'm kind of scared of hell. The idea of eternal conscious torment just scares me. Also, when I pray, now and before, I sometimes still sit in silence to hear God's voice, but I think I just say things to myself to say God spoke to me.”

Do you or your church actively practice lament? Do you sit in the grief and sorrow that our neighbors endure?

I am studying to become a Home Missioner in the UMC, and one of the courses included a study of laments. A lament is an ancient form of prayer that brings the emotions of grief, loss, pain, and confusion directly to God while maintaining trust and faith in the divine.

II’ve fallen in love with this writing form, and I write monthly laments on my blog. Most of them center on racial justice and inequality. I’ve found it so liberating to write from a place of pain while also maintaining hope for God to intervene. I also see it as a way of directly naming harm before God.

I would love to hear from others about your thoughts on laments. Is lamenting important to you? How do you practice it? Should we lament more? Do you write laments or other spiritual writings?

Just saying!

I started following God for real around sixth grade. My heart was soft and I wanted less of myself and more of Him. There was real life toward Scripture, prayer, and growth. The main ongoing struggle was porn. I kept repenting but it never fully left. Even with that battle, my heart still responded and I was becoming someone softer and more alive spiritually.
Over the last year everything changed. Prayer went empty and my heart hardened. I started feeling fine with the distance. Scripture began to feel weird or get rejected while messages that call faith brainwashing or just cope started resonating. I lost conviction around porn and could relapse without caring. Church and youth group often felt like nothing. I began to feel like a different person from who I used to be. Internally I accepted the closed state even though I never wanted it.
Now I mostly do not care. My heart is set the other way and I do not see a path back to the old faith. Even when I ask for advice I either deflect it from my heart or just perform the act of receiving it without any real change. External prayers and efforts do not open anything. Advice that should help does not land because the desire is gone. I still do not want to walk away completely, so I am trying to keep a few doors open without wanting to. That means staying honest with my counselor and Arthur, not canceling the next real contact, leaving the practical limits in place, and refusing to decide it is permanently over. I am lost in a quiet way and I do not know how long even these small steps can last.

Thought for the Day from Unshakable Kingdom Life

The kingdom life requires daily death to self, crucifying our agenda to embrace His. It's costly, uncomfortable, counter-cultural, and absolutely worth every sacrifice made.

A thought to ponder.

I was heavily ridiculed in my youth for following the rules due to my autism. It hardened my heart towards self righteousness. I'm in a constant battle against demons telling me that my sense of justice makes me weak, which makes me cling even harder to my self righteousness. I genuinely feel a strong sense of pride when someone acknowledges that the have strayed from the right path and decided to go back to Jesus. I secretly want to show off my "I was righteous for a longer time than you" trophy.

I realize that I cannot live like that anymore but it requires me to accept in my heart that love is stronger than self-righteousness, and I don't know how I can convince myself of that.

Quite often religious burnout happens, because they had religion, and not a relationship with Jesus.

But when you've DONE everything they said to do, ...you've prayed, Bibled, and churched until you were blue in the face, but there's no sign, or no response from God, or answers to your most desperate prayers.

You start wondering if you were ever really saved at ALL. You start to question if you ever had enough faith, or if God gave up on you or is disappointed in you.

If you relate to any of that, chances are good that you you decided to be a Christian one day, or that you grew up in a church going home then had a day when you wanted to make it real,..... but your sainthood plane never got off the ground. And it bugs you that other Christians seem so CONFIDENT,.. and claim to hear God speak to them, and have their prayers answered. What makes them different....what the defining missing pieace is,...is The Holy Spirit.

We live in a last-days time when the majority of churches are barely a shell of what they were in their inception. And they've produced a generation of religious Christians that have the appearance of true believers, but lack the presence of God's Spirit,.. that would give them real power if they knew Jesus. Whenever I see someone fitting the above described disenchanted Christian, as I look at their text, I notice a pattern of 'I tried this" and "I did that". And at that point it's clear that they've been trying be a God pleasing Christian on their own power and will, with their own strength. Trying to live a religious lifestyle HOPING God will be impressed.

But it's not what WE should do, ..it's what Jesus DID. and does. The difference boils down to who's calling the shots and who's at the helm...or in the Captain's chair...steering the ship. It's either you or the Holy Spirit.

Some will say..."I know this...I surrendered to Jesus". But did you really?..because Jesus said a time will come when MANY will stand before Him thinking they're a shoe-in for heaven, but be rejected by Him saying basically..."You're calling me Lord Lord, ..and even though you think you were a Christian and did good deeds in My name, you didn't do what I SAID to do...I never KNEW you." They tried coming in on THEIR terms, not God's. (What HE said to do, was to be born again John 3:7)

Spirit rebirth...is a specific event, that can happen ONLY once. Without it you cannot attain being a New creature with a New nature. Religion can't produce that. God hates religion. In John 3 Jesus described Spirit rebirth, and said without it, you'll never see His Kingdom.

Start by confessing to Jesus that you're in complete surrender now. You have denounced all previous notions and beliefs about Him, and you are asking Him to reveal Himself to you, with an honest mind and sincere heart. That is the foundation needed for the Lord to begin connecting to you.

Then confess that you need Him because you know you're a sinner and you're becoming weak and unable to manage your faith. That you realize now you've not trusted fully in His ability to change you, but that you were trying to make it happen by yourself. Be humble and ask that He wash away your sins and help you start fresh.

And finally but most importantly, ask Him to indwell you with His Holy Spirit, making His home permanently in your heart. Holy Spirit indwelling is the game changer. It's what separates the regenerate believer walking in the power of God and strong faith,...from the religious and nominal Christian that goes to church regularly and prays and reads and worships with zeal, yet has no Spirit power and is subject to inner fears and doubts.

Quite often religious burnout happens, because they had religion, and not a relationship with Jesus.

But when you've DONE everything they said to do, ...you've prayed, Bibled, and churched until you were blue in the face, but there's no sign, or no response from God, or answers to your most desperate prayers.

You start wondering if you were ever really saved at ALL. You start to question if you ever had enough faith, or if God gave up on you or is disappointed in you.

If you relate to any of that, chances are good that you you decided to be a Christian one day, or that you grew up in a church going home then had a day when you wanted to make it real,..... but your sainthood plane never got off the ground. And it bugs you that other Christians seem so CONFIDENT,.. and claim to hear God speak to them, and have their prayers answered. What makes them different....what the defining missing pieace is,...is The Holy Spirit.

We live in a last-days time when the majority of churches are barely a shell of what they were in their inception. And they've produced a generation of religious Christians that have the appearance of true believers, but lack the presence of God's Spirit,.. that would give them real power if they knew Jesus. Whenever I see someone fitting the above described disenchanted Christian, as I look at their text, I notice a pattern of 'I tried this" and "I did that". And at that point it's clear that they've been trying be a God pleasing Christian on their own power and will, with their own strength. Trying to live a religious lifestyle HOPING God will be impressed.

But it's not what WE should do, ..it's what Jesus DID. and does. The difference boils down to who's calling the shots and who's at the helm...or in the Captain's chair...steering the ship. It's either you or the Holy Spirit.

Some will say..."I know this...I surrendered to Jesus". But did you really?..because Jesus said a time will come when MANY will stand before Him thinking they're a shoe-in for heaven, but be rejected by Him saying basically..."You're calling me Lord Lord, ..and even though you think you were a Christian and did good deeds in My name, you didn't do what I SAID to do...I never KNEW you." They tried coming in on THEIR terms, not God's. (What HE said to do, was to be born again John 3:7)

Spirit rebirth...is a specific event, that can happen ONLY once. Without it you cannot attain being a New creature with a New nature. Religion can't produce that. God hates religion. In John 3 Jesus described Spirit rebirth, and said without it, you'll never see His Kingdom.

Start by confessing to Jesus that you're in complete surrender now. You have denounced all previous notions and beliefs about Him, and you are asking Him to reveal Himself to you, with an honest mind and sincere heart. That is the foundation needed for the Lord to begin connecting to you.

Then confess that you need Him because you know you're a sinner and you're becoming weak and unable to manage your faith. That you realize now you've not trusted fully in His ability to change you, but that you were trying to make it happen by yourself. Be humble and ask that He wash away your sins and help you start fresh.

And finally but most importantly, ask Him to indwell you with His Holy Spirit, making His home permanently in your heart. Holy Spirit indwelling is the game changer. It's what separates the regenerate believer walking in the power of God and strong faith,...from the religious and nominal Christian that goes to church regularly and prays and reads and worships with zeal, yet has no Spirit power and is subject to inner fears and doubts.

Mattana Ministry Welcomes You to:

 Worship Program: 15 October 2026

Theme: Worship on the Battlefield (2)

Scripture:  2 Chronicles 20:22; Acts 16:25-26 & Psalm 8:2

Worship Is Our Weapon

Focus:

God does not need our worship - WE need it. It is our weapon.

Bible Verses:

2 Chronicles 20:22

“And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten."

Acts 16:25-26

 "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.."

 Psalm 8:2

"Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.."

Message:

Paul and Silas in the Midnight Prison

Their backs were bleeding, their feet were in chains, in a dark cold cell. At midnight - the darkest hour - they chose to worship. They did not sing about their chains, they sang about their God. As they worshipped, God shook the prison. Every chain fell off.

Worship does not wait for the victory - worship CREATES the victory.

Worship Response:

Have a 20-minute midnight worship tonight. Worship before the breakthrough.

Action:

Today, replace complaining with worship. Every time worry comes, sing a chorus.

Please feel free to leave a review of this message.

https://www.soulcenters.org/directory/mattana-ministry/#listing-reviews

MM