Ignite - Youth Alpha

Tonight's Youth Alpha theme was - What is Faith?
We watched the video and it explored what faith is and explained that there are some people who because they go to church say they are a Christian, while others say well I live in a Christian country so I must be a Christian.  The video said that if you hang out in McDonalds does it make you a Big Mac?
We saw a short animation of Blondin who back in his day would tight rope walk across Niagara Falls but not just walk he did all kinds of stunts on the way.  One day he wheeled a wheel barrow over then asked a Royal spectator if he believed that he could do it again with a person in it, the Royal said yes but then refused to get in the wheel barrow to prove it.  In fact no one from the crowd would until a little old lady made her way from the back climbed in the wheel barrow and Blondin walked her over the falls.  The old lady was Blondins mother she trusted her son and put all her faith in him - that is faith.
At the end of the video there was a prayer of commitment which the presenters said and encouraged others to say as well.  I had prepared three similar looking glasses with a brownish coloured liquid in, I asked the group if they thought they knew what it was - Coke a Cola.  However one was the real thing, one was Cola and the other Dandelion and Burdock.  Three different people tried the three drinks and then tried to decide which was which.  The point was that sometimes people look at Christianity, God, Jesus, the church etc and form a judgement about it and like the three drinks don't want to taste and see.  It is only by tasting do we see which of the three drinks is the real Coke a Cola and it is like that with God we need to taste him and see that he is good.  After this little experiment I displayed the picture 'Light of the World' by Holman Hunt.  As we looked at it I pointed out that the figure is Jesus and he is standing on the outside of an over ground door, round the door are weeds.  When Holman painted the picture people complained saying that he had missed out the door handle Holman replied there is a handle but it is on the inside.  The picture is like us Jesus is there knocking at our door and only we can open it up to him.  After this I looked at the prayer again that had been said by the presenters and encouraged everyone to close their eyes as I slowly read it again and said that if anyone prayed it and truly meant it and it was for the first time that they should raise a hand so we could see.  Sarah and I kept our eyes open as we did this.  Two hands went up, one person it was for the first time and the other as a recommitment.  After we had finished we gave the person who had said the prayer for the first time some information and promised to buy them a Bible to read we also rang home and told them what they had done.  Please pray for these children and for the step they have made God knows who they are.  As it is half term next week we are taking a week off.