Many of us know the worship chorus, "Step by Step" by Rich Mullins...but I think the words to the verses (the full song is called "Sometimes by Step") are pretty awesome as well...
Sometimes by Step
Sometimes the night was beautiful
Sometimes the sky was so far away
Sometimes it seemed to stoop so close
You could touch it but your heart would break
Sometimes the morning came too soon
Sometimes the day could be so hot
There was so much work left to do
But so much You'd already done
CHORUS:
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days
Sometimes I think of Abraham
How one star he saw had been lit for me
He was a stranger in this land
And I am that, no less than he
And on this road to righteousness
Sometimes the climb can be so steep
I may falter in my steps
But never beyond Your reach
CHORUS
And I will follow You all of my days
And I will follow You all of my days
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days
And I will follow You all of my days
(Sometimes the night was beautiful)
And I will follow You all of my days
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Lesson Loop 1.27.12
This Week in our student ministry:
THIRD PLACE: "Difficult Responses to the Gospel"
We wrapped up our study on evangelism by studying some of the difficult responses that we face when we share Christ with people. We looked at the following:
Anger
1 Corinthians 13
Romans 12:18-21
What if God isn’t real?
Romans 1:18-25
Genesis 1-3
Why does God allow bad things?
Genesis 3
Romans 5:12-14
Romans 8:18-39
Romans 9 - vesses of honor and vessels of dishonor - but all for God's glory
Why are there so many religions?
Ecclesiastes 3:11
Romans 1
Maybe they are all correct?
John 14:6-7
1 John 5:11-13
Acts 4:10-12
Hebrews 2:3-10
Matthew 7:13-14
I’m not a sinner
Romans 3:11-23
Romans 5:12-14
Jeremiah 17:9
Ten Commandments
Bible is just a book
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Hebrews 4:12
LUCID: "Follow Me"
We looked at how Jesus called His first disciples, and they left everything to follow Jesus. We talked about the trends that we follow in this day and age, and how unfortunately for some people following Jesus is like following a fad. If we are going to truly follow Jesus, we need to have faith in Him, and be willing to follow wherever he takes us, even though it will be difficult at times.
We ended by considering what following Jesus is all about - it is about relationship. I had students think of what has made their friendships great, and then realize that these are the very things we need to have in our relationship with Christ - communication, trust, time, etc...
An illustration on receiving...
Here is a quick story…
He heeds the call to go. He runs the route planned out for him. He is open. His arms go up, wanting you to look at him. You see him and you find him because he is where you want him to be. He keeps running, all the while, he is being chased by those who want to bring him down. There you are, clearing his path. They cannot get to him and he reaches the goal. He celebrates where he is now and there you are standing by his side. He embraces you. You celebrate together because you could have done this yourself, but you chose him to be here and he wouldn’t be here without the one who found him.
Is this story about football?
He heeds the call to go. He runs the route planned out for him. He is open. His arms go up, wanting you to look at him. You see him and you find him because he is where you want him to be. He keeps running, all the while, he is being chased by those who want to bring him down. There you are, clearing his path. They cannot get to him and he reaches the goal. He celebrates where he is now and there you are standing by his side. He embraces you. You celebrate together because you could have done this yourself, but you chose him to be here and he wouldn’t be here without the one who found him.
Is this story about football?
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Lesson Loop 12.9.11
This week in our Student Ministry:
THIRD PLACE & LUCID
We are spending an additional 4 weeks talking about sharing our faith. The middle school is one week ahead at this point, but here is what we went over this week in middle school, and what we will cover next week in high school:
God's Story
*While last week was about sharing our story, this week we considered how the Bible is God's Story of Salvation. This is a message that is written beautifully in different styles throughout the Scriptures, but at the center of the story is Jesus Christ.
John 1:1-15
We looked at how the birth of Christ began the climax of the story, and in John 1 we considered 3 main themes:
- CREATION
God created everything we see through Jesus Christ! - DARKNESS
Since the fall of mankind (Genesis 3), our world has been plagued with the darkness of sin. - LIGHT
Jesus is the Light that breaks through the darkness of sin and brings us hope!
Conclusion: While it is very important that we share our story of salvation with others, it is even more important that we share God's story. We need to start all the way back at Creation and focus on Jesus Christ!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
NYWC Sessions!
Hello parents and staff!
I wanted to let you know that I purchased a few of the sessions from the National Youth Worker's Conference this year, and they are now posted so you can listen to them. Just click on them in the orange box to the right.
Here are the sessions with a description of each:
Blake Chilton
The Entrustment Principle: Investing in Adults Leaders/Volunteers to Invest in Students
BIO: A 15-year student ministry veteran, Blake has been student minister at The Village Church in Flower Mound, TX, for six years. His passion is developing a vision for the glory of God and passing it to students so they will live for Someone greater than themselves. Blake is married to Sarah; they have four children.
Doug and Cathy Fields
Youth Ministry and Marriage
BIO: Doug has worked in the church as a youth pastor for almost 30 years—most recently, 18 years at Saddleback Church in southern California. He’s founder of Simply Youth Ministry, author/coauthor of 50-plus books, a new blogger, and now spends most of his time with youth workers.
URL: www.dougfields.com
BIO: Jim is president of HomeWord and executive director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University. Jim speaks to thousands worldwide each year, has more than 1.5 million resources in print in more than 25 languages, and is heard daily on more than 800 radio stations (and around the world via podcast at HomeWord.com). His recent books include Faith Conversations for Families, Teenology: How to Raise Great Teens, and Closer: Devotions to Draw Couples Together. Jim, his wife Cathy, and their three daughters (Christy, Rebecca, and Heidi) live in Southern California.
URL: HomeWord.com
I wanted to let you know that I purchased a few of the sessions from the National Youth Worker's Conference this year, and they are now posted so you can listen to them. Just click on them in the orange box to the right.
Here are the sessions with a description of each:
BIO: Francis is the best-selling author of Crazy Love and Forgotten God, as well as host of the BASIC.series. He has also written children’s books Halfway Herbert and The Big Red Tractor and the Little Village. Francis is founding pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA, founder of Eternity Bible College, and sits on the board of directors of Children’s Hunger Fund and World Impact. Francis lives in Northern California with his wife, Lisa, and their five children.
Chuck Bomar
Under Your Umbrella? College Ministry When It's Just Part of Your Responsibilities
Under Your Umbrella? College Ministry When It's Just Part of Your Responsibilities
For student ministry pastors/leaders with college ministry under their “umbrella” of responsibility but don't know what to do exactly. If you’re short on time, ideas, and resources, this seminar will give you clear and concise direction.
BIO:The Entrustment Principle: Investing in Adults Leaders/Volunteers to Invest in Students
BIO: A 15-year student ministry veteran, Blake has been student minister at The Village Church in Flower Mound, TX, for six years. His passion is developing a vision for the glory of God and passing it to students so they will live for Someone greater than themselves. Blake is married to Sarah; they have four children.Doug and Cathy Fields
Youth Ministry and Marriage
Seasoned in marriage (26 years) and veterans in youth ministry (30 years), Doug and Cathy Fields have spent their entire marriage in youth ministry and have lived to tell about it. Great marriages are possible in the midst of ministry stress and others’ expectations. This 90-minute workshop won’t solve all the problems in your world or marriage, but you’ll get enough helpful, practical, and encouraging tips to get you headed in the right direction.
URL: www.dougfields.com
Jim Burns
Developing a Healthy Marriage, Family and Ministry
In this session, Jim will share insights from what he and Cathy call their “high maintenance” marriage as well as raising three strong-willed kids who didn’t always love church. Jim will talk about and offer practical suggestions on combatting being “overcommitted and under connected,” energizing your family’s spiritual life, communication and conflict, and other issues specific to youth ministry, marriage, and family. You’ll receive several outstanding communication resources and have plenty of time to talk about issues close to your heart.Developing a Healthy Marriage, Family and Ministry
BIO: Jim is president of HomeWord and executive director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University. Jim speaks to thousands worldwide each year, has more than 1.5 million resources in print in more than 25 languages, and is heard daily on more than 800 radio stations (and around the world via podcast at HomeWord.com). His recent books include Faith Conversations for Families, Teenology: How to Raise Great Teens, and Closer: Devotions to Draw Couples Together. Jim, his wife Cathy, and their three daughters (Christy, Rebecca, and Heidi) live in Southern California.URL: HomeWord.com
Monday, December 5, 2011
Advent
Mark 1:1–3 (ESV)
1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,"
During this Advent season, my family has been taking advantage of this special time of year to focus on preparing our hearts for the arrival of Christmas morning. We have never really observed Advent before (at least during the whole season), and I have found it an awesome opportunity to have conversations like what Deuteronomy 6 calls us to.
If you are interested in an interactive Advent devotional and Bible reading plan for a family, you can find one through YouVersion here:
http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/countdown-to-christmas
Christmas is such a wonderful time to creatively teach our children and the students of our church the gospel story, which starts to come to culmination at the birth of Christ, but began when God said “Let there be light”. May your Christmas be filled with joy and conversations that lead to the cradle and the cross.
1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,"
During this Advent season, my family has been taking advantage of this special time of year to focus on preparing our hearts for the arrival of Christmas morning. We have never really observed Advent before (at least during the whole season), and I have found it an awesome opportunity to have conversations like what Deuteronomy 6 calls us to.
If you are interested in an interactive Advent devotional and Bible reading plan for a family, you can find one through YouVersion here:
http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/countdown-to-christmas
Christmas is such a wonderful time to creatively teach our children and the students of our church the gospel story, which starts to come to culmination at the birth of Christ, but began when God said “Let there be light”. May your Christmas be filled with joy and conversations that lead to the cradle and the cross.
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