Are you kidding me?

My almost two year old daughter is learning all kinds of phrases now and this happened to be one of them. She went around saying it all day. It was pretty funny I was trying to prepare her for the national championship game when we would see an incredible play she would say, "Are you kidding me!" but she was silent.

Toilet Smashing

This was one of the best things we have done in our youth ministry in a while. We used an old toilet for a prop in our camps a few years ago and I have been looking for what to do with them ever since. So for our Turkey Bowl this year we thought of giving the winner the opportunity to smash it with a sledge hammer! Little did I know how great it would turn out. It as AWESOME! Have a look and I am sure you will say the same thing!

Church Planting For Manly Men!

http://my.ekklesia360.com/Clients/sermonaudioplayer.php?CMSCODE=EKK&siteid=26&sermonid=796&useSkin=skin_plain.xml&CMS_LINK=http://my.ekklesia360.com

Talk by Mark Driscol on the requirements of a Church Planter! Pretty Funny! Enjoy!

Project 86 - Solace in your Silence?

Just listened to this song on the way back from my trip to South Carolina. I was sleeping during most of the song but one line actually woke me up and I even sat up to pay attention. The line in the song goes, "We will find our solace in your silence". Now Project 86 has been one of my long time favorite bands. I know they seek to imitate Christ like my info here in this blog seeks to do. I know the lyrics to this song may not be where I am going with them. These Guys are spirit filled and so the Spirit of God can say things to people that the authors maybe did not intend. So I will seek to understand what it might mean to "find our solace" in the silence of God. What happens in our faith walk when it seems like God is silent? I love Psalm 46:10 it is quoted a lot but the whole thing is sometimes not quoted. "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations!" Sometimes it does seem as if God is silent in our times of pain especially. But the command still lingers Be still, and from that solitude and solace that He (Christ) will be exalted in our lives among the nations. We can as the psalmist says find our solace in the "shadow of His wings". Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings (Ps. 17:8) How precious is Your loving kindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings (Ps 36:7). Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge Until destruction passes by (Ps 57:1). For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy (Ps 63:7). This is the climax of the Solitude. In Him do we find our only true and lasting solace. Solace is defined as comfort in sorrow, misfortune, or trouble; alleviation of distress or discomfort. If we seek to find other avenues of alleviation of pain and suffering or quick fixes we are disallowing our great God the right and honor of being that comfort that He desires to be for us. What will bring great glory to Him is when we find our solace in silence and in His silence and sometimes when we are patient in the shadow of his wings...if we are patient we will hear that still soft voice speaking words of comfort to our hurting, broken, and needy souls. Wait on Him my friends He will never disappoint our needy souls.

Jesus the Scandalon

 
Jesus the Scandalon

In the advent season (coming toward) we can clearly see that the coming of Christ is a great mystery, but also a great scandal or as the Greek puts it "Scandalon". Not that Jesus is scandalous in the way we think of scandal today, but the Greek gives it the idea more of a stumbling stone which is what Scandalon means. I have thought today of three ways that Jesus is the scandalon of God and on your way to God you must stumble over Him (Jesus). For He said it Himself, "I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father but through me."

1. Jesus lineage is a scandalon
Matthew 1:1-17
Tamar: pretended to be a prostitute in Gen 38
Rahab: was a prostitute that helped the Israelites conquer Canaan
Ruth: was an outsider (non-Jewish) which would create a stumbling stone to Jews
Bathsheba: committed adultery with David. Her second son Solomon was Jesus ancestor
Mary: unwed mother makes Jesus illegitimate in the eyes of the people around him

2. Jesus birth is a scandalon
Matthew 1:18-25
Joseph was very close to divorcing Mary for unfaithfulness because they were betrothed (virtually married) and she was found to be pregnant which of course does not happen without another man. "It takes two to tango".
Illustration: the nativity story movie: Mary is found to be pregnant and the devastation that it would cause in those days. This movie gives a very good picture of what it would have been like for Joseph and Mary.

3. Jesus work is a scandalon
Romans 9:33
Mark 13:57
Matthew 11:4-6
The presence of Jesus may result either in faith or in the complete missing of faith. People love talking about God but when you bring up Jesus they suddenly don't want to talk because he makes people wrong "I am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the father except through me"
Matthew 13:53-58
Luke 4:28-30

Conclusion: I received a fraudulent email the other day of someone saying I won one million euros and that all I needed to do was to give them my bank account numbers and address and other pertinent information and they would transfer the money directly to my account. I am sure you have never received this junk before! Now it would be crazy to pursue this email, but it is altogether sane and right to pursue the crazy Scandalon that is our Lord Jesus because he is anything but a fraud or liar or lunatic but rather He is Lord and God! So this Christmas season do what the shepherds and the wise men did come and worship Jesus! Give your Christmas gifts this year in the name of Jesus and sing Christmas carols that honor Him. two easy ways to worship Jesus on Christmas!

Referenced: Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (one Volume) Gerhard Kittel Gerhard Friedrich pg 1036-1038

Youth miniStarZ

If you are in youth ministry or have ever looked up to a youth pastor then this video is for you. It is Hilarious! Please have a look and comment on your favorite experience with a youth pastor. You could even comment on the most spiritually significant thing that your youth pastor handed down to you. As a current youth pastor I love to hear of stories of how youth pastors have shaped peoples lives.

A Student's Unspoken Plea

This is a cool video about how to share with hurting people. It is a plea of a student to share the Love of Christ with them. People are hurting and crying out for you to share with them and to touch a life with the Love, authenticity, and compassion of our savior. Can you be so bold as to love? Can you be so brave as to be caring? Will you?