The other day I got into a joke conversation about activities NOT to do with a group of youth. Being the creative person that I am, I had a grand time thinking up activities that should probably stay away from the next youth group event or Wednesday night meeting. Here's just a sample of what NOT to do. Props to the various people who helped in the brainstorming.
#1 Commandeer a boat, give pirate names to everyone and start terrorizing the high seas.
#2 Dodgeball with rocks
#3 "the truth about your menstruation" co-ed series
#4 Hot chocolate mix snorting and creamer shots
#5 Farting contests near any open flame.
#6 Playing games with road kill... let's just add anything with roadkill to this one.
#7 Milk guzzling contests
#8 Spin the Bottle
#9 Taking the group to Hooters
#10 Hot sauce chugging contests in a casino
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Quote of The Week
"Son, if you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet! They're about to announce the lottery numbers." - Homer Simpson
Says something about our society doesn't it?
Says something about our society doesn't it?
Thursday, August 13, 2009
A Rap through the Bible
With today being the last day of my class Teaching the Bible to Youth and Adults, our professor Duffy Robbins decided to rap the books of the Bible for us. Unfortunately we were only able to get from Esther on, but It's still pretty stinkin' hilarious. Now if only my other Fuller professors would teach this way.
a shout out to my classmate Todd for capturing this on video!
a shout out to my classmate Todd for capturing this on video!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
An Important Lesson From a Burning Bush
For those of you who don't know, I'm in the second week of a two week class called Teaching the Bible to Youth and Adults. It's been an amazing class and wish it could be a five week or even better a ten week class. Anyways, One of the assignments was to create a Bible lesson and present it to the class.
Today one of my classmates was teaching on Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3:11-13). Though I've heard this story taught many times, something popped out at me today. Maybe it was because I felt invested playing the burning bush (just another excuse to use the words "I'm hott) in the enactment of the story, or maybe the two cups of coffee I had this morning.
But, in verse 11, Moses asks God one important question "Who am I that you should choose me to do this?" (that's a paraphrase of course). But instead of saying "well Moses, because of your beard, your outstanding leadership skills, and your ability to talk to burning bushes", God answered in a very surprising way "I will be with you". That's it!
This compelled me, maybe because I've been thinking a lot about why I'm called to Youth Ministry and the fact that I have to start looking for a full-time job soon. To see Moses question his gifts and abilities, for Moses to question where he was in life is so very human. We second guess ourselves (I can't even count the number of times I've done this during this last week), we question our abilities and what where doing. We believe that we must have all the skills and be as good as the other guy (or gal) in what we do. But instead of God comforting us with words, he just asks that we follow him and we let him lead in what we are doing.
I believe that when we follow Jesus in our lives, even though we might be second guessing ourselves, God will from time to time give us the encouragement and confidence we need to continue on (though those words might be few and far between). Thanks Mo for reminding me that we are human and will ask the question "why me?". I'm sure glad I follow a God who says, "Don't worry about why, just follow me."
Today one of my classmates was teaching on Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3:11-13). Though I've heard this story taught many times, something popped out at me today. Maybe it was because I felt invested playing the burning bush (just another excuse to use the words "I'm hott) in the enactment of the story, or maybe the two cups of coffee I had this morning.
But, in verse 11, Moses asks God one important question "Who am I that you should choose me to do this?" (that's a paraphrase of course). But instead of saying "well Moses, because of your beard, your outstanding leadership skills, and your ability to talk to burning bushes", God answered in a very surprising way "I will be with you". That's it!
This compelled me, maybe because I've been thinking a lot about why I'm called to Youth Ministry and the fact that I have to start looking for a full-time job soon. To see Moses question his gifts and abilities, for Moses to question where he was in life is so very human. We second guess ourselves (I can't even count the number of times I've done this during this last week), we question our abilities and what where doing. We believe that we must have all the skills and be as good as the other guy (or gal) in what we do. But instead of God comforting us with words, he just asks that we follow him and we let him lead in what we are doing.
I believe that when we follow Jesus in our lives, even though we might be second guessing ourselves, God will from time to time give us the encouragement and confidence we need to continue on (though those words might be few and far between). Thanks Mo for reminding me that we are human and will ask the question "why me?". I'm sure glad I follow a God who says, "Don't worry about why, just follow me."
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Amazing Inventions: Flannelgraphs
I don't know about you, but when I was a kid the main way to teach a Bible story was to pull out the flannelgraph. For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, here's a definition:
Flannelgraph (sometimes called a flannel board) is a storytelling system that uses a board covered with fabric, usually resting on an easel. The flannel board is usually painted to depict a background scene appropriate to the story being told. Paper cutouts of characters and objects in the story are then placed on the board, and moved around, as the story unfolds. These cutouts are backed, either with flannel, or with some other substance that adheres lightly to the flannel background, such as coarse sandpaper. Thanks Wikipedia!
I don't know how many Bible stories I have learned by use of a flannelgraph, but I can tell I still have images in my head of flannel Jesus turning water into wine.
But now with all the high tech media that's out there, the days of the flannelgraph are gone. Well, at least that's what I thought until the other day when lo, and behold I was shown a video of animated flannel characters telling Bible stories. I was so excited to know that the Bible teaching method of my childhood hasen't completely died, but instead given a 21st century upgrade.
Flannelgraph (sometimes called a flannel board) is a storytelling system that uses a board covered with fabric, usually resting on an easel. The flannel board is usually painted to depict a background scene appropriate to the story being told. Paper cutouts of characters and objects in the story are then placed on the board, and moved around, as the story unfolds. These cutouts are backed, either with flannel, or with some other substance that adheres lightly to the flannel background, such as coarse sandpaper. Thanks Wikipedia!
I don't know how many Bible stories I have learned by use of a flannelgraph, but I can tell I still have images in my head of flannel Jesus turning water into wine.
But now with all the high tech media that's out there, the days of the flannelgraph are gone. Well, at least that's what I thought until the other day when lo, and behold I was shown a video of animated flannel characters telling Bible stories. I was so excited to know that the Bible teaching method of my childhood hasen't completely died, but instead given a 21st century upgrade.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Exegeteing and Resting in the Spirit!
I am in the middle of exegeteing Galatians 5:16-14 for school. For those of you people who are wondering what in the world “exegeteing” is, let me give you a definition courtesy of my Mac’s wonderful dictionary function.
ex e gete |ˈeksəˌjēt|
noun
an expounder or textual interpreter, esp. of scripture.
verb [ trans. ]
expound or interpret (a text, esp. scripture) : I am able to exegete the scriptures in ways that make sense.
ORIGIN mid 18th cent.: from Greek exēgētēs, from exēgeisthai ‘interpret.’ (for you Greek geeks out there!)
So as you can see, it is nothing perverted or some awful disease, but going verse-by-verse trying to interpret what the author is saying. The verses I’m looking at are Paul’s passage on the “works of the flesh” and “fruit of the Spirit”. It’s been interesting working with various different sources and digging in to what it mean’s to “live by the Spirit”.
The theme of living by and resting in the Spirit is something I’ve been learning this quarter. I don’t know if it’s because of the extremely rough quarter in the fall, or if God’s prepping me for something, but all of my classes have in one way or another touched on the subject and before I knew all this, the passage a chose for this exegetical project of mine, low and behold is about living by the Spirit. So, I think God’s been trying to teach me something.
In Galatians 5 Paul is explaining to the Galatians as to how they no longer need to strictly observe the Law or Torah as they once had to, but instead they have been set free because of Christ’s death and resurrection. In verses 16-24, Paul is warning the Galatians that Just because of the freedom they have in Christ doesn’t mean they can do anything that they want. We can’t give in to what Paul calls “the works of the flesh”, but urges them to live by the Spirit, which produces fruit.
Now, I would like to point out that it is not the FRUITS of the Spirit, but FRUIT (singular). This does not mean, that we might be given love, or joy, or peace, but that it’s a one package deal. When we live life in the Spirit, it’s an inside-out transformation that takes place allowing us to enjoy the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control the Spirit brings us. What an amazing though. It is through the Spirit we can experience these things.
May you all, my friends, live by and take time to REST in the Spirit.
ex e gete |ˈeksəˌjēt|
noun
an expounder or textual interpreter, esp. of scripture.
verb [ trans. ]
expound or interpret (a text, esp. scripture) : I am able to exegete the scriptures in ways that make sense.
ORIGIN mid 18th cent.: from Greek exēgētēs, from exēgeisthai ‘interpret.’ (for you Greek geeks out there!)
So as you can see, it is nothing perverted or some awful disease, but going verse-by-verse trying to interpret what the author is saying. The verses I’m looking at are Paul’s passage on the “works of the flesh” and “fruit of the Spirit”. It’s been interesting working with various different sources and digging in to what it mean’s to “live by the Spirit”.
The theme of living by and resting in the Spirit is something I’ve been learning this quarter. I don’t know if it’s because of the extremely rough quarter in the fall, or if God’s prepping me for something, but all of my classes have in one way or another touched on the subject and before I knew all this, the passage a chose for this exegetical project of mine, low and behold is about living by the Spirit. So, I think God’s been trying to teach me something.
In Galatians 5 Paul is explaining to the Galatians as to how they no longer need to strictly observe the Law or Torah as they once had to, but instead they have been set free because of Christ’s death and resurrection. In verses 16-24, Paul is warning the Galatians that Just because of the freedom they have in Christ doesn’t mean they can do anything that they want. We can’t give in to what Paul calls “the works of the flesh”, but urges them to live by the Spirit, which produces fruit.
Now, I would like to point out that it is not the FRUITS of the Spirit, but FRUIT (singular). This does not mean, that we might be given love, or joy, or peace, but that it’s a one package deal. When we live life in the Spirit, it’s an inside-out transformation that takes place allowing us to enjoy the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control the Spirit brings us. What an amazing though. It is through the Spirit we can experience these things.
May you all, my friends, live by and take time to REST in the Spirit.
Friday, February 27, 2009
A Theological Lesson From The Killers
I was listening to the new Killers album this past week and while listening to the song "Human" a theological lesson came about.
The Chorus of the song says:
"Are we human? or are we dancers?
My signs are vital, my hands are cold
and I'm on my knees looking for the answers.
Are we human? Or are we dancers?"
Are we human or are we dancers? This one line sparked a theological discussion that continues to float through my mind.
Are we human? In our lives, do we choose to take matters into our own hands, which we as humans we love to do? Do we try to solve our own problems? Do we see life in a narcissistic light where all we can think about is me, me, me?
Are we dancers? On the dance floor, there is always a leader and always a follower. Do we allow God to initiate in our dance of life? Do we allow God to take our hand and lead us where he wants us to go? Do we trust God to lead us in our every day lives?
It's amazing how one line can just change ones thought so quickly. It is so easy to want to take matters into our own hands. We want to solve our problems, we want what is pleasurable for ourselves. As human beings we are very self-centered. But when one becomes a follower of Jesus Christ, we place our ABSOLUTE trust in God. Anyone can believe that there is a God, but do you TRUST God with your life? Can you allow him to lead your life instead of giving into our human desires of self-gratification?
As human beings we are not perfect, and we are guarantee to fail multiple times in our life. It is guaranteed that we will try to take the lead in the dance of life and toes will get stepped on. But the great part of the story is, when we mess up, when we stumble and mess up on the dance floor, God once again reaches out his hand and says "my I have this dance".
What a beautiful picture! Every time I hear this song now, I stop and ask myself the question am I human? or am I a dancer?
The Chorus of the song says:
"Are we human? or are we dancers?
My signs are vital, my hands are cold
and I'm on my knees looking for the answers.
Are we human? Or are we dancers?"
Are we human or are we dancers? This one line sparked a theological discussion that continues to float through my mind.
Are we human? In our lives, do we choose to take matters into our own hands, which we as humans we love to do? Do we try to solve our own problems? Do we see life in a narcissistic light where all we can think about is me, me, me?
Are we dancers? On the dance floor, there is always a leader and always a follower. Do we allow God to initiate in our dance of life? Do we allow God to take our hand and lead us where he wants us to go? Do we trust God to lead us in our every day lives?
It's amazing how one line can just change ones thought so quickly. It is so easy to want to take matters into our own hands. We want to solve our problems, we want what is pleasurable for ourselves. As human beings we are very self-centered. But when one becomes a follower of Jesus Christ, we place our ABSOLUTE trust in God. Anyone can believe that there is a God, but do you TRUST God with your life? Can you allow him to lead your life instead of giving into our human desires of self-gratification?
As human beings we are not perfect, and we are guarantee to fail multiple times in our life. It is guaranteed that we will try to take the lead in the dance of life and toes will get stepped on. But the great part of the story is, when we mess up, when we stumble and mess up on the dance floor, God once again reaches out his hand and says "my I have this dance".
What a beautiful picture! Every time I hear this song now, I stop and ask myself the question am I human? or am I a dancer?
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