I haven't posted in a while because of my position change and just the general busyness of ministry, school, and fulltime work. I did want to share this article that I read this morning. It is a telling sign of our future under President Obama. Please pray for our President, that he will make wise decisions that honor God and promote respect for and appreciation of human life.
The telling article from the Wall Street Journal
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
I'm a horrible blogger
My recounting this entire lesson below has two purposes. First, it helps to further explain why I'm a horrible blogger and second, I hope it is a quick encouragement to you from a Jr. High SS lesson to spend daily time with God.
Yesterday in Sunday School, the Junior High class addressed the question of why we should spend time with God. I modified the curriculum a bit but here's a quick run-through of the lesson. We began the lesson by discussing the statement, "If something is important to us, we will make time for it." All the students agreed with this statement and we talked about examples of eating, spending time with friends, brushing our teeth, showering, etc. We discussed how God is the most important thing in life and thus, we should make time for Him.
To address the question of "Why spend time with God," we talked about how God wants to be our friend (John 15:13-16) and then moved into how a friendship with God is different than any other sort of friendship. He's always truthful, never lets us down, always does what is right, and unconditionally loves us. The main difference between our friendship with God and our friendship with anyone else is that He's the omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, holy God and so, unlike any other friend we might have, He deserves our worship and our obedience. Verse 14 (I believe it was...I don't have a Bible in front of me right now) talks about how if we are His friend, we'll follow His commands. We looked at Psalm 23 and discussed how God is not only our friend but our shepherd and so He guides us, provides for us, and protects us.
We wrapped up by talking about how, if God is the most important thing in life, we must be intentional to spend time with Him. The students said it was hard to find time for God because they are so busy, at which point, we alluded back to the opening statement of "If something is important to us, we will make time for it." We discussed ways to help us purposefully spend time with Him, not just give Him the spare moments we might have throughout the day. Those ways included things like
Yesterday in Sunday School, the Junior High class addressed the question of why we should spend time with God. I modified the curriculum a bit but here's a quick run-through of the lesson. We began the lesson by discussing the statement, "If something is important to us, we will make time for it." All the students agreed with this statement and we talked about examples of eating, spending time with friends, brushing our teeth, showering, etc. We discussed how God is the most important thing in life and thus, we should make time for Him.
To address the question of "Why spend time with God," we talked about how God wants to be our friend (John 15:13-16) and then moved into how a friendship with God is different than any other sort of friendship. He's always truthful, never lets us down, always does what is right, and unconditionally loves us. The main difference between our friendship with God and our friendship with anyone else is that He's the omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, holy God and so, unlike any other friend we might have, He deserves our worship and our obedience. Verse 14 (I believe it was...I don't have a Bible in front of me right now) talks about how if we are His friend, we'll follow His commands. We looked at Psalm 23 and discussed how God is not only our friend but our shepherd and so He guides us, provides for us, and protects us.
We wrapped up by talking about how, if God is the most important thing in life, we must be intentional to spend time with Him. The students said it was hard to find time for God because they are so busy, at which point, we alluded back to the opening statement of "If something is important to us, we will make time for it." We discussed ways to help us purposefully spend time with Him, not just give Him the spare moments we might have throughout the day. Those ways included things like
- having a specified time to set aside and read God's Word and pray
- following some type of Bible reading plan
- having accountability from friends and maybe even following the same reading plan so the passages read can be discussed
- writing notes on the mirror as a reminder to spend time with Him
- making associations between things we do everyday (like brush our teeth or shower) and spending time with God so we are sure to be reminded of it
If we spend time with God, who is our friend and desires to guide us, we will grow to mirror more of His character and less of the world's. The entire month's series involves studying this topic in its various aspects. It's a great way to start off the new year with the right focus and perspective.
So, I summarized all of this to state the obvious at this point: blogging is not a priority in my life and so I haven't made time for it. I am sorry to those handful of readers we have out there. I'll try to post brief updates for those friends and family who do not live in the area.
The way we spend our time reflects, in large part, what is most important in our lives. What is your time reflecting?
Oh, and a quick update on a previous blog. I might have to go back to "hovering" because these girls are not exhibiting the maturity they so boldly claimed to have. Awww....the joys of youth work. :)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Funny post-election video
Maybe I'm just mean but I think this is pretty funny. Poor Obama supporters.
But this one by Mike Huckabee really speaks volumes.
Thanks Rebecca and Audrea for posting these videos.
But this one by Mike Huckabee really speaks volumes.
Thanks Rebecca and Audrea for posting these videos.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Youth listen so much more than you think!
We have a couple of particularly lively youth in our youth ministry at our church. They just moved up from the children's ministry so they're quite young and interrupt others, get off track easily, and just talk nonstop. But they ask wonderful questions during Sunday School and have great insights (for example, does God want us to have a president or does He want us to have some other form of government?)! They are pretty blunt, which I appreciate because at I least know where they stand. During church lately, I've been sitting near them because they have a bit of a reputation for goofing off during church or getting up and walking around the church building. I sat by them last Sunday night to keep them from distracting others.
After the service during the youth fellowship, I went over to check out what they were up to (you just never know). One of the young ladies asked why I was always hovering over them. I explained that it was in response to their previous behavior of talking during church, leaving during church, passing notes, etc. They said they weren't children any more and could act good but I hadn't given the opportunity to be more mature. Good point. So, we had a quick test. I asked each of the girls separately if they could recount to me what the sermon was about. Both girls did a surprisingly good job so we've come to an agreement. They can sit several pews away from me during the service BUT they must speak with me after the service about what they remember from the sermon. They might goof off a bit, they might even get up to leave sometimes, but I think they are listening and growing. They'll mature with time and by giving them this room, which can grow into more room later on, I think we'll build good trust.
By giving the girls room to grow, I am also leaving open the opportunity for them to fail. Hopefully, we'll take it in reasonable steps so that they grow steadily but aren't in a position to fall too far. I do not want to set them up for failure by placing in their hands more than they can handle at once. But I also don't want to "hover over them," as one of the girls put it, never demonstrating any trust in their ability to grow in Christ.
Lesson: Youth listen far better than we think.
After the service during the youth fellowship, I went over to check out what they were up to (you just never know). One of the young ladies asked why I was always hovering over them. I explained that it was in response to their previous behavior of talking during church, leaving during church, passing notes, etc. They said they weren't children any more and could act good but I hadn't given the opportunity to be more mature. Good point. So, we had a quick test. I asked each of the girls separately if they could recount to me what the sermon was about. Both girls did a surprisingly good job so we've come to an agreement. They can sit several pews away from me during the service BUT they must speak with me after the service about what they remember from the sermon. They might goof off a bit, they might even get up to leave sometimes, but I think they are listening and growing. They'll mature with time and by giving them this room, which can grow into more room later on, I think we'll build good trust.
By giving the girls room to grow, I am also leaving open the opportunity for them to fail. Hopefully, we'll take it in reasonable steps so that they grow steadily but aren't in a position to fall too far. I do not want to set them up for failure by placing in their hands more than they can handle at once. But I also don't want to "hover over them," as one of the girls put it, never demonstrating any trust in their ability to grow in Christ.
Lesson: Youth listen far better than we think.
Friday, October 31, 2008
My Hero
So my gal Audrea is the woman (check out her blog at http://funkycoldmedinas.blogspot.com/). Not only is she a word wizard, she's also the blog whisperer. Now everyone can leave comments to their little hearts' content. :) Hopefully I'll post a recap of my weekend with Rebecca next week. No promises. Everyone have a great weekend.
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