Wednesday, November 30, 2011

It has been a while since someone put some thing on here, sorry guys something to work on I guess.

if you did not make it last night you miss out! We played Bulldog all night, Ryan and Stephen were almost unstoppable. After that we talked about David and Goliath, and why David would even step forward to take on the monster. David was not looking at the monster, he was looking at the promises that God had told him, that he was to be the next king, and he was leading the people already even if he was still a boy, if no one else was. David did not see Goliath as a problem because he had God on his side. He rejected Sauls armor and weapons, and used the tools that he understood and was familar with and left the rest in Gods hands. We should do the same, use the gifts and talents that God has given us, face the giants in our life whatever they look like and then leave the rest to God.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Fight the Good Fight!!


Well this week we started looking at our theme for this year which is "Fight the Good Fight". Our Battalion theme verse is 1 Timothy 6:11-12, which says "But you man of God, flee from all of this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

So what does that mean to fight the good fight? How can we do that and pursue love and gentleness at the same time? Who and/or what are we fighting against? What tools, weapons or training do we have to be ready to fight? I hope that this year we will look at some answers to these questions and many more.


This week we read Exodus 17:8-16. The story of the Amalekites coming to attack the Israelites and how Moses instructed Joshua to lead the army into battle and then went to the top of the overlooking hill. Moses held the staff of God in the air and as long as he held it up Israel would win, if he let it lower then the Amalekites would win. Eventually Moses became tired and his friends Aaron and Hur held his arms up until night when the battle ended, and Israel was victorious. Clearly God was the reason for the victory, no matter how they fought the men on the field would win or lose depending on how God responded. We also read in Ephesians 6 that our battle is not against flesh and blood, or other people, it is against the principalities and powers of this "dark" world. The fighters in that picture up there, they live their lives to fight. They train extremely hard to be in great shape and to prepare for the next fight, they work on skills and techniques to be able to overpower the other guy. Unlike them we don't have a date that we know the battle will take place on, instead we have to fight the battle each day against the power and temptations of the devil.

We read in Romans 12 about how christians make up one body. We all have different gifts and abilities and we are supposed to work together. In council ring I brought out my sword and asked any of the guys if they would like to fight me. Obviously nobody is all that eager when you are swinging a 4' long sword. Then I asked what if they had armour and a sword of their own? I think a couple of the older guys might have taken me on at that point but not the younger ones. Then I asked them if I was blind if they would fight me. A couple still thought I might get lucky and hit them by swinging wildly, but there was a little more interest. Then I asked if I had only one leg if they would. Almost everyone thought that me on one leg would be pretty easy to dodge past and take down. I explained that not working together as christians is like a soldier trying to fight with one leg and/or no eyes. He is easy to pick off, even by a smaller less powerful enemy.

At Battalion we learn about God together, we memorize verses together, we play games together, we hang out together, but we can also work together and fight together as christians. Just a few of the ways that we can help each other are:
- encouraging one another
- being accountable to one another
- praying together and also praying for each other
- showing love to each other and to others around us
- helping each other with truthful advice or wisdom
- being bold and courageous, sticking up for each other, encouraging each
other to be bold when we need to and sticking with them when they do
- sword fighting, the bible says the word is like a two edged sword, and we
should know how to use it, working together we can memorize it, read it,
and study it so that we can use it effectively.

We played Murderball again this week. The teams looked pretty even at the beginning. The first game was an epic that seemed as though it might never end. Just when one team would be close to finishing off the other they would manage to get a few guys back and then keep going. I think both teams were down to 1 or 2 guy a couple times. In the end though Luke's team won 3 out of 4 games.

Speaking of Luke, don't forget to pray for him as he heads to YWAM on Friday. Pray that he would have an amazing time, and that Luke would learn more about God and be able to do some awesome work for him while he is at YWAM.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Expecting GOD's Reward

I am a little slow on the recap this week, sorry about that. This week Phil finished off our four weeks on RALE, talking about Expecting God's reward.

I hope everyone remembers the tape measure, it is a great way to think about our life. For those of you who missed out Phil pointed out to us that most people spend their whole life planning and working hard so that they can enjoy approximately 15 years of doing what they want at the end of their life. These people needlessly are putting all their attention into life on this earth. When we think about it in the perspective of this life and eternity, that 15 years looks pretty silly. Don't get me wrong I am not saying don't plan for retirement. What I am saying is that we are given a very short period of time on this earth, and the best way to use our time here is to use it doing things that will impact eternity after this life. Sometimes this may seem strange to people who do not think that way. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, "the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." Most people will not think the same as you when your perspective is closer to God's, but it is a powerful way to live.

In council ring we read the account of Moses in Hebrews 11. It says "by faith" Moses gave of the treasures of Egypt. He was pretty much the richest most powerful person in Egypt next to Pharoah but he chose to give that up and to be mistreated and identified with his people as a slave. Verse 25 says "He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward." Moses knew that God had a bigger plan and that by following it he could have an impact on eternity. By thinking that way all the riches and power of being Pharoah's grandson were meaningless. What a way to think! The Egyptians must have mocked him, even the Israelites didn't accept him right away, but he chose to persevere.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

And the memory verse for this week.

Matthew 6:20-21 But store up treasures for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.

See you on Tuesday. We are starting our bible study theme for this year, come on out and find out what it is.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

BTLN Recap




Well as you can see the new shirts are here. Make sure you bring your form and money next week so you can get yours.

This week Ryan did our bible study on Leading Courageously. We read the story of Jonathan and his armour bearer in 1 Samuel 14. We saw how to be a good leader we need to have certain attitudes and qualities such as: courage, honesty, humility, faith. We also need to trust God and the truth in his word. Jonathan knew that God wanted to help them but he wasn't sure exactly how. He came up with a plan to trust God and also to let God guide them in their action. If the Philistines told them to stay put that would be God's sign to not attack, if they told them to come up to them that would be God's sign for them to attack. Jonathan trusted the truth that God would help them and direct them, he also had faith that God would give them a sign as to what to do. He wasn't trusting his own abilities or plan of attack. In his words; "Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few." Jonathan also knew that to do what God wanted them to do they would need to act without telling Saul or the rest of the army. Saul's leadership was not centered on God's will as much as it was on Saul's own will and plans. Jonathan must have suspected that they wouldn't be allowed to leave if they consulted with their superiors.

We talked about how when we lead according to God's will and word that we will often experience others telling us that we are foolish or opposing what we know is right. It takes perseverance, courage, and strength to lead and make decisions in accordance with God's word. Even in Jonathan's case the Israelites who should have know better weren't following God's will.

We talked about Adam again and about how he was the leader in the Garden of Eden but when the serpent came Adam didn't do what he should have as a leader. He was convinced by Eve and the serpent that he would be better off to eat the fruit than to follow God's instruction. Ryan shared a quote from a guy named Robert Lewis that says "The courage to lead with truth rather than surrender to feelings always separates the men from the boys." At Battalion we are all men and have to learn about how to be better godly men. One thing we can work on is leading according to God's truth, not trusting in our emotion or other ideas, trusting God and his truth. We know that will require trust in God, faith that he will help us, humility to know that we don't do it by our own strength, and courage to do things that others might give us a hard time about but we know are right.

The memory verses for this week are four verses from 1 Timothy 4. All of us could read that whole chapter this week. There are some good principles for leading there. I picked out four that I think bring out the main things for our memory verses. The verses are 7, 12, 15-16.

Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

We started the night out with Handball this week. Phil and Ryan's team had a couple cherry pickers which allowed the other team to out number them down low and dominate the play. We played a couple rounds of Bulldog after that.

Next week Phil is wrapping up our studies on godly manhood.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011


Well second week of Battalion, and the second week I brought my camera and didn't take any pictures. Someone remind me next week.

This week was the second of our 4 studies on RALE. This week we looked at accepting our responsibility.

Responsible means: answerable or accountable, for something in your control or management. Also means having the capacity to make moral decisions. Interesting definition. Two things I like about that definition are being accountable for something in your management, and being able to make moral decisions. As men God has entrusted us with lots of things to manage for his purposes and we are responsible to make sure we do that wisely. We are also given the capacity to make decisions, and also to make decisions that will affect others. It is our responsibility to be careful and make decisions wisely.

In squad meetings we read from Ephesians 5+6 which talks about how to live godly lives, as well as how men are supposed to look after their families. We also read from Colossians 3 about the same things, instructions how to live godly lives and how to look after our families. We also read in James 1 that we need to listen to the word of God, but more than that we also need to do what it says. We also read some more about Jesus and how he didn't need to eat because he was doing the work of the Father.

We can see three things that we as men are all responsible for: to live godly lives, to do what God asks, and to love our families.

We learned that as men of God we are responsible to live godly lives. That is a big task and we have to focus on doing the right things every day. That's one place where rejecting passivity that we learned about last week becomes clear. It is definitely easier to not try to live a godly life but God asks us to, so we must.

In James it said "do not merely listen to the word, do what it says". We need to listen to God and do what he tells us to do. We saw Jesus example of being satisfied enough to not eat by doing the will of God. We need to follow his example. What is God's will for your life? For some of us this might mean a certain job or profession. God gave us all talents and gifts to use in a different way to glorify him. All of us will need to work in our lives, we should use what God has given us to be good at what we do. We might also have gifts or talents that are not part of our job and God also asks us to use those to expand his kingdom. That might mean serving and leading in churches, youth groups, Battalions or other things to help others know Christ.

We also see that God tells men to look after their wives and children and to love them, as he loved us. Wow, big responsibility! Again it is easier not to but God tells us to so we need to do it. This is where that capacity for decision making really comes in. Each of us as men have increasing responsibility as we get older. As teens like most of you guys you start to have to make more decisions on your own instead of your parents making them for you, with this comes the accountability of making good choices. In a few years you will probably be almost completely responsible for yourself. Not long after that you will likely be thinking of getting married and then add the responsibility of having a wife to your life. God asks us to love our wives as he loved us, and also to lead them according to God's will. Sometime after that you will probably have kids and the same kinds or responsibilities are added for them

Be obedient to God, work for his kingdom, and love and lead your family, three major things God has made us responsible for. Next week we are going to look at how we can lead courageously.

Sometimes we need courage to reject passivity and accept responsibility, as men we are called to be leaders in our homes, in our churches, maybe at work or even in our communities. Next week we will look at how to be a good leader.

After squad meetings we played floor hockey. It was a pretty good game except for the bad goalie letting in a whole bunch at one end. As the game went on though it seemed to even out. In the end Phil and Ryan lost to a "next goal wins" goal. We wrapped up with council ring and then a good round of Bulldog.

Remember, double points if you do the memory verses this week! Simon and Lucas took advantage last week, everyone else should as well.

This weeks verses are James 1:19-25
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Night 1

Well the first night is done. Great to see everyone after summer. We had 5 new guys from Stockade which was awesome! We also had a bunch of alumni/leaders there which was also great.

In Squad meetings we started the first week of a four week study about being a real man. We read about Adam and how he was in charge of the animals, and looking after the Garden of Eden and everything in it. We saw that when the serpent came to tempt them he was with Eve, but didn't step in to stop the sin. Even though it was his responsibility to look after Even and the rest of the garden he didn't act to protect them. One author said "you fully expect Adam to come running with a garden hoe, cut off the serpent's head, and end this heinous approach of evil." Instead Adam chose to go along with Eve and the rest as they say is history.

We also got to read about Jesus and his incredible example to us of not avoiding responsibility. We read about him just before dying for our sins, he was "overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death". Think about that, Jesus, all-powerful was overwhelmed with sorrow! He prayed that God would let him avoid what he was about to go through. In spite of that fear and distress Jesus finishes praying and rises to meet his task head on. I am sure thankful that Jesus accepted his task and didn't respond as Adam did.

As men, often the hardest thing for us to do, is what's right. As real men, christian men, Jesus asks us to choose his ways over what is easy. He asks us to live our lives dedicated to God and his ways, as Jesus did. Matthew 10:39 says "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (emphasis added) Jesus isn't talking about physically dying. Jesus is talking about losing our pride, our ambitions, our priorities, our schedule, our image, and replacing them with his! This is the only way to find out what true life, and true manhood is all about.

Next week Matt is going to be talking about responsibility.

After squad meetings, we played a good round of Bulldog. It was definitely harder with so many guys in the gym. Then we moved on to Murderball. The two Battalion staples, what else would we play on the first night?? Phil's team got their butts kicked in Murderball, I'm pretty sure it was 4-0! We ended with another round of Bulldog. Check out this game of Bulldog!! I think we could give these guys a run for their money.



The verses to memorize for next week are:

1 Timothy 6:11-12 But you man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Don't forget to pray for Noah this week. See you next Tuesday.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Hawk Nelson!

Hey guys.. Here's an update on Hawk Nelson's new album! This one is the fifth release and revolves around the topic "a need for truth". It was Inspired by Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love.
“Sometimes submerged in a Christian environment, we lose perspective of what Jesus did for us on the cross. We need to wake up and grasp the meaning of what he did; Jesus made something completely unattainable, attainable, and we are called to live in and practice that same ‘crazy’ love." says Dunn (guitarist).

For me the album is sweet to listen to as it sounds sweet, its rock music and has meaning to it. I hereby recommend it...


New music video!!


Saturday, August 27, 2011

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Campout 2011





Well the campout is over for another year. Everyone is home and the gear is put away (almost). Thanks to everyone who came, we had the biggest turnout we have had yet, as well as having the most Battalion guys ever which was awesome. Great to see some new faces and get to know some people a bit better. In the past we have had to go up Thursday night to set up some tents to get the spots we want before they fill up. This year Paul and Ryan and I decided we would just go and stay Thursday night as well. Most of the rest of the crew showed up at various times Friday afternoon and evening. Saturday there was alot of dirt biking and fishing going on, although nobody was having great luck with the fishing. Ranger Ron showed up with dirt bikes instead of his fishing boat this year, he said they needed to change it up. Sunday everyone slowly packed up and headed home, Some more slowly than others. Doug and Nathan and Nolan went out for one last fishing spree and Nolan caught 5 in a couple hours. Not sure how he did it but we figured we better give out the prize for that.

Every year a couple guys say we should do this trip twice a year instead of once so we are thinking about that maybe in the fall having a similar trip. Stay tuned about that. Have a great summer!!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Last Night


Wow, I feel out of the loop for sure after being sick so long. I hope everyone is doing well. this week is the last night of Battalion until September. We are planning to get started at 6 this week so come early. Don't worry about eating supper before you come we will have plenty to eat. Also there are a couple guys who have some verses left so hopefully they will have some ready this week. See you Tuesday.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Updates all around


Well Spring break is here and if you are wondering we had decided to keep meeting during spring break. We had less guys than usual last night but we had fun anyway. The week before was Olympics and Jerrod and Paul ended up tied at the end of the night. We decided that they could each choose one event to redo and see if that could change things. Jerrod chose arm wrestling and came out on top in the match. Next they moved to Paul's pick which was the hockey shootout. I thought this was going to be over fast but after about 8 tries each there were still no goals. Around the 9th or 10th shot Jerrod snuck a weak shot under Ryan's arm to put the pressure on Paul, who Ryan promptly stoned. Jerrod becomes the champ for the 3rd time. Congrats!

This week everyone showed up in a daze or something no one was very energetic, so we decided that the best way to fix that was with a round of bulldog. We followed that up with another round of bulldog and then 3 rounds of bump, and then a third round of bulldog. Good times, I was getting tired by the end.

In bible study we read in James that we shouldn't show favouritism towards people based on how they dress, how they smell, how good looking they are or how famous they are. We talked about how God loves all people and how we are all his children whom he loves. We also noted that James includes in this paragraph a few sentences about living as though we were going to be judged by the law. Because of the grace of Jesus we don't have to be judged by the law which is a good thing because we would all be condemmed. Even something as simple as showing favouritism makes us a sinner.

As for the memory work, Simon and Lukas are at 101, and 104 points respectively. Stephen and Noah are the only others who have memorized verses, there is definitely still time for them to finish. Matt is working on his and he told me that by the end of spring break he thought he would be ready to say them all in one night. I am looking forward to that. We are still hoping that Jerrod will get to at least 1 point.

See ya next week.

Monday, February 28, 2011



I haven't had anyone coming with any verses for a couple weeks so here is a little something to get you motivated to get working on it.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

H2O

Just a reminder that we are going to the H2O Centre tonight. Don't forget your waiver form for the flow rider. See you tonight.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Finally, SHIRTS!!!



Well the day has finally arrived where I can do a post about our new shirts. I picked them up this afternoon. If you don't recognize it, the graphic is a colorized version of one of Simon's sketches. Make sure you are there on Tuesday to get yours.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Memory Progress


I love this time of year at Battalion because every week I get to come and listen to guys telling the memory verses that they have memorized. It is awesome to know that you guys are doing that and I know that you will be encouraged by it for many years. Not only that but you also have the chance to go on an awesome trip in July. Creation Fest is so fun. Lots of good times hanging out, wrestling, playing crib, laughing and enjoying the concerts with some good guys. So far we got 4 guys looking like they are going to go for it this year, here are the points.

Lukas - 86
Noah - 52
Simon - 71
Stephen - 57

Matt hasn't said any of his verses yet but I think he is saving them up to try and get the extra $100.

If any of you guys want to get some extra points and say a passage in church let me know we will arrange it.

See you tomorrow.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Girls!!


Well in case you missed it Phil's daughters were born on Wednesday. Their names are Faith and Hope. They and Mom are doing great. We will miss Phil for a bit while they get settled at home. Can't wait to have him back.

In Honor of their names, anyone who wants to memorize 1 Corinthinians 13 for this week can ad an extra 15 points, this week only. See you tomorrow.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Geo-Cache





Phil and I went and retrived the geo-cache this afternoon. As you can see Jerrod and Tim destroyed the ammo box a bit trying to get it out of the ice. Watch for some new coordinates on the blog soon.