This past week in our Student Ministry:
THIRD PLACE: "Jesus as Forgiver"
We considered the lives of some of the most heinous criminals, and then talked about varying degrees of sin. Are all sins the same, or are some worse than others? Then we talked about how no matter what our sin, we stand guilty before God - we only have to break God's law in one point to be guilty of all of it as the Bible says.
On the flip side though, God offers us forgiveness for all our sin (past, present and future), no matter what we have done.
We considered the story of Christ and the woman caught in adultery, and saw how Jesus forgave her and gave her a new start. We mentioned that no one is beyond God's forgiveness, not even the heinous criminals who we talked about in the beginning of class.
Then, we watched a video snippet from the testimony of David Berkowitz ("The Son of Sam"), and saw how God has radically changed that man's life.
We ended by discussing the justice in God allowing people like David Berkowitz to be completely forgiven of his sins, and how that is sometimes an objection to Christianity.
LUCID: "Grace"
We began Lucid the same way that we began Third Place this week - considering the lives of some of the most heinous criminals, and then talked about varying degrees of sin. Are all sins the same, or are some worse than others? Then we talked about how no matter what our sin, we stand guilty before God - we only have to break God's law in one point to be guilty of all of it as the Bible says.
On the flip side though, God offers us forgiveness for all our sin (past, present and future), no matter what we have done.
In Lucid we then went to Luke 7 and the story of woman who washed Jesus' feet. Even though Scripture refers to her as a "Sinner", she finds forgiveness with Jesus and shows her genuine love for her Savior. The contrast to this woman is Simon, who invited Jesus into his house, but did not take care of him as he should because he didn't really love Jesus. In fact, Simon did not think he had much to be forgiven from.
We then talked about how all of us are desperate sinners, and no matter what our sin we stand guilty before God and we need forgiveness.
We then watched the video testimony of David Berkowitz (The Son of Sam), and ended rejoicing God that He can save such sinners - that gives all of us hope that no matter what we might be struggling with, God is powerful enough and Christ's death is sufficient enough for us to be completely free!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Real World Parents 1.14.09
Parent Newsletter
Contents
- Tools for Parenting Teens
- Learn Their Lingo
- Links to Learn From
- A Little Encouragement...And Humor
1. Tools for Parenting Teens
From http://www.realworldparents.com/starters/
More about Grace
If your child has grown up in a Christian home and church, he or she has probably heard all about the grace of God repeatedly. But especially for kids—whose lives are dominated by behavior and performance and reward and consequence—we…
Read More:
http://www.realworldparents.com/starters/article/more_about_grace/
Featured Resource: Boundaries with Teens
In this exciting new book, Dr. Townsend gives important keys for establishing healthy boundaries—the bedrock of good relationships, maturity, safety, and growth for teens and the adults in their lives. The book offers help in raising your teens to take responsibility for their actions, attitudes, and emotions.
http://www.realworldparents.com/store/item/boundaries_with_teens/
2. Learn Their Lingo
Happy Late Year = People who still say "Happy New Year" even though it's the middle of January.
Good lenses, bad frames = Describing someone who gives a bad first impression but is actually a good person. Someone who doesn't appear to be competent, yet is extremely capable at what he/she does.
3. Links to Learn From
Life with Hepatitis C for London’s teenage ‘It Girl’
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/12/24/jazzy.hepatitis.c/
Abstinence proponents look for aid from new health bill
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/26/AR2009122600762.html?hpid=topnews
Do Your Adolescent Children Keep Odd Sleep Hours?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sleep-newzzz/200912/do-your-adolescent-children-keep-odd-sleep-hours
4. A Little Encouragement...And Humor
Many people look forward to the New Year for a new start on old habits.
- Anonymous
Sunday, January 10, 2010
SnoGlo Debrief
Main Entry: de·brief
Pronunciation: \(ˌ)dē-ˈbrēf\
Function: transitive verb
Date: 1945
1 : to interrogate (as a pilot) usually upon return (as from a mission) in order to obtain useful information
2 : to carefully review upon completion
It's SnoGlo week! Many of our students look forward to this trip all year. If you have students in Middle School, they are probably wishing the weekend would have never ended - while High Schoolers can't wait for this week to breeze by so it will soon be Friday.
But even the student who is pumped up all weekend will often be exhausted and out of words by the time they get home. Sometimes it's just impossible to explain the magic of SnoGlo to anyone who wasn't there. It can be a "you had to be there" kind of thing.
But sometimes it's not a lack of willingness to share that can be the problem. It's just the hurdle of where to begin. So here are some suggestions of how to get the conversation started...
~ Who did you meet from other churches?
~ Which building did you stay in? How many people were in your room? Did you rearrange the furniture?
~ What was something the speaker said that you had never heard explained that way before?
~ Does the lady in the cafeteria still count people as they walk in by using that little clicking counter thingie in her hand? Was the food decent? Did they have French toast sticks?
~ Was there any snow on the ground? Did they make snow this year? Did you go on the tubing hill?
~ Did you ride in the van or the mini bus? Was it loud or was it chill?
~ What was the neatest thing someone said in a break-out session?
~ Did you play any team sports in the gym? Did you play board games in the admin building?
~ Are you glad they brought back Danny Oertli? Do you like it better when he does his original music or familiar worship songs? Did he do a separate concert? Did he play anything from his new album?
~ How long did you wait in line at the snack shop? Was it worth it?
~ Who from Ebenezer did you get to know better this weekend?
~ If you could have spent the whole weekend doing one thing, what would it have been? What was your favorite moment of the trip?
Pronunciation: \(ˌ)dē-ˈbrēf\
Function: transitive verb
Date: 1945
1 : to interrogate (as a pilot) usually upon return (as from a mission) in order to obtain useful information
2 : to carefully review upon completion
It's SnoGlo week! Many of our students look forward to this trip all year. If you have students in Middle School, they are probably wishing the weekend would have never ended - while High Schoolers can't wait for this week to breeze by so it will soon be Friday.
But even the student who is pumped up all weekend will often be exhausted and out of words by the time they get home. Sometimes it's just impossible to explain the magic of SnoGlo to anyone who wasn't there. It can be a "you had to be there" kind of thing.
But sometimes it's not a lack of willingness to share that can be the problem. It's just the hurdle of where to begin. So here are some suggestions of how to get the conversation started...
~ Who did you meet from other churches?
~ Which building did you stay in? How many people were in your room? Did you rearrange the furniture?
~ What was something the speaker said that you had never heard explained that way before?
~ Does the lady in the cafeteria still count people as they walk in by using that little clicking counter thingie in her hand? Was the food decent? Did they have French toast sticks?
~ Was there any snow on the ground? Did they make snow this year? Did you go on the tubing hill?
~ Did you ride in the van or the mini bus? Was it loud or was it chill?
~ What was the neatest thing someone said in a break-out session?
~ Did you play any team sports in the gym? Did you play board games in the admin building?
~ Are you glad they brought back Danny Oertli? Do you like it better when he does his original music or familiar worship songs? Did he do a separate concert? Did he play anything from his new album?
~ How long did you wait in line at the snack shop? Was it worth it?
~ Who from Ebenezer did you get to know better this weekend?
~ If you could have spent the whole weekend doing one thing, what would it have been? What was your favorite moment of the trip?
Friday, January 8, 2010
Sno Glo 2010
As a member of the middle school staff, I wanted to write a quick entry (my first on here in quite some time) sharing how much I am looking forward to Sno Glo 2010!!! Sno Glo has become the one event that I always make a point on being a part of, partly because of the fact that it usually works best with my work schedule, but mainly because I have always enjoyed Sno Glo weekends, even from my own time in Ebenezer's Youth Group.
By my best count, this year will be my 10th Sno Glo event, dating all the way back to my sophomore year in high school, which was 1997. I haven't made it every year because of college, but I have cherished every year I've been able to go because of the many memories made with students and other staff.
For me, my experiences at Sno Glo have often been dictated by the teaching and worship. While I am not very familiar with this year's speaker, I applaud the Sno Glo organizers for bringing back Danny Oertli for a 3rd time to lead worship at Sno Glo. Danny is not only a talented musician and worship leader, but a fine example of how God is faithful and a God of healing. Danny has been through his share of pain, but God has blessed him with a wonderful family and ministry. I know we, as staff, will be blessed by what he has to offer these next few weekends, but the students will be very blessed by his music and testimony. One of my favorite things about Danny is that he is so down to earth and hangs out with the students and staff members - you won't find him secluded in his room or anything like that. I don't know his plans this year, but he has brought his family from Colorado to this event before and has played basketball with our students and staff in other years. Also, if you get the chance, send some spending money with your kids because his newest album is a live album and it is fantastic!
Thanks to all of you for letting us work with your kids! Please be praying for this weekend for God to move!
Blessings!
Todd
By my best count, this year will be my 10th Sno Glo event, dating all the way back to my sophomore year in high school, which was 1997. I haven't made it every year because of college, but I have cherished every year I've been able to go because of the many memories made with students and other staff.
For me, my experiences at Sno Glo have often been dictated by the teaching and worship. While I am not very familiar with this year's speaker, I applaud the Sno Glo organizers for bringing back Danny Oertli for a 3rd time to lead worship at Sno Glo. Danny is not only a talented musician and worship leader, but a fine example of how God is faithful and a God of healing. Danny has been through his share of pain, but God has blessed him with a wonderful family and ministry. I know we, as staff, will be blessed by what he has to offer these next few weekends, but the students will be very blessed by his music and testimony. One of my favorite things about Danny is that he is so down to earth and hangs out with the students and staff members - you won't find him secluded in his room or anything like that. I don't know his plans this year, but he has brought his family from Colorado to this event before and has played basketball with our students and staff in other years. Also, if you get the chance, send some spending money with your kids because his newest album is a live album and it is fantastic!
Thanks to all of you for letting us work with your kids! Please be praying for this weekend for God to move!
Blessings!
Todd
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Lesson Loop 1.6.10
Third Place:
This past Tuesday we spent quite a while discussing the movie "Expelled" which we watched last week. Many of the students had obviously thought about the movie and had quite a few things to say about it. I believe the topics of Evolution and Atheism are ones which many of our students find themselves confronted with on a regular basis.
I highlighted 4 problems that we see when we examine the Atheist/Darwinian Worldview:
1. Logic - Granted, there is quite a bit of faith that goes into both Creationism and Evolution, but many of the arguments made by the atheist scientists in our movie don't even hold up logically
2. Pride & Anger - Many Atheists (like Richard Dawkins) are extremely angry and hateful towards the God of the Bible. We saw from Romans 1 it is because they rejected God and He has given them over to their own flesh.
3. Ignorance - Some of the comments that were made against Christianity (that it is nothing more than a weekend hobby for people like knitting) are made by people who are simply ignorant. They have obviously never experienced the life transforming power of the gospel - it makes everything new, and it consumes our life. It is not a mere hobby - at least not authentic faith.
4. Hopelessness - One of the saddest parts of the movie was hearing Dr. Provine talk about the natural process that one goes through when they begin to embrace Darwinian idealogy -
A. Reject the idea that there is a God
B. Reject the idea that there is an afterlife.
C. Reject the idea that there is morality.
D. Reject the idea that mankind has a free will.
E. Realize that there is absolutely no meaning to the human existence - we are born, we live, and we die. And that's it.
Yet after recognizing that this is the process he went through, Dr. Provine still remains content to live in that state of hopelessness. Really, really sad.
We however considered how we have infinite hope offered through Jesus Christ!
Lucid;
We started a new series on Salvation. We talked about how the entire Bible is one big story of salvation, from the 1st page to the last.
It begins with the beautiful story Of Creation, where God declares everything He has made good, and then enjoys relationship with Adam and Eve... Until the devastation of the fall. Then everything changed. Not only did Adam and Eve's lives change forever, their disobedience caused sin to spread to every human who would ever live - including us.
And so Adam's story is our story. From birth we go our own way, and our sin causes us to miss the mark - we are bent towards sin.
But there is hope, because Christ (the 2nd Adam) came and made things right. His sacrificial death on the cross made forgiveness available to all who receive Christ.
And so the devastation of sin can be undone. We can be healed. Praise God for His glorious salvation!!
This past Tuesday we spent quite a while discussing the movie "Expelled" which we watched last week. Many of the students had obviously thought about the movie and had quite a few things to say about it. I believe the topics of Evolution and Atheism are ones which many of our students find themselves confronted with on a regular basis.
I highlighted 4 problems that we see when we examine the Atheist/Darwinian Worldview:
1. Logic - Granted, there is quite a bit of faith that goes into both Creationism and Evolution, but many of the arguments made by the atheist scientists in our movie don't even hold up logically
2. Pride & Anger - Many Atheists (like Richard Dawkins) are extremely angry and hateful towards the God of the Bible. We saw from Romans 1 it is because they rejected God and He has given them over to their own flesh.
3. Ignorance - Some of the comments that were made against Christianity (that it is nothing more than a weekend hobby for people like knitting) are made by people who are simply ignorant. They have obviously never experienced the life transforming power of the gospel - it makes everything new, and it consumes our life. It is not a mere hobby - at least not authentic faith.
4. Hopelessness - One of the saddest parts of the movie was hearing Dr. Provine talk about the natural process that one goes through when they begin to embrace Darwinian idealogy -
A. Reject the idea that there is a God
B. Reject the idea that there is an afterlife.
C. Reject the idea that there is morality.
D. Reject the idea that mankind has a free will.
E. Realize that there is absolutely no meaning to the human existence - we are born, we live, and we die. And that's it.
Yet after recognizing that this is the process he went through, Dr. Provine still remains content to live in that state of hopelessness. Really, really sad.
We however considered how we have infinite hope offered through Jesus Christ!
Lucid;
We started a new series on Salvation. We talked about how the entire Bible is one big story of salvation, from the 1st page to the last.
It begins with the beautiful story Of Creation, where God declares everything He has made good, and then enjoys relationship with Adam and Eve... Until the devastation of the fall. Then everything changed. Not only did Adam and Eve's lives change forever, their disobedience caused sin to spread to every human who would ever live - including us.
And so Adam's story is our story. From birth we go our own way, and our sin causes us to miss the mark - we are bent towards sin.
But there is hope, because Christ (the 2nd Adam) came and made things right. His sacrificial death on the cross made forgiveness available to all who receive Christ.
And so the devastation of sin can be undone. We can be healed. Praise God for His glorious salvation!!
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