We went bowling and had over 2 dozen youth show up for a fun night of bowling, pizza and craziness.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Laura the Missionary
Tonight we had a very special guest, Laura S. She is a full time missionary with Overland Missions and is based in Zambia, Africa. She shared her story with us and how God is using her to carry out the Great Commission.
Animal stories - Laura had many stories about wild animals in Africa. She has seen elephants, lions, crocidiles, hippos, giraffes, rhinos, snakes and monkeys!! She was even sprayed with venom by a cobra at night!!!! Yikes!
her website is http://www.laurainmissions.com/
and here's her blog http://lauraom.blogspot.com/
Animal stories - Laura had many stories about wild animals in Africa. She has seen elephants, lions, crocidiles, hippos, giraffes, rhinos, snakes and monkeys!! She was even sprayed with venom by a cobra at night!!!! Yikes!
her website is http://www.laurainmissions.com/
and here's her blog http://lauraom.blogspot.com/
Lord, teach us to pray
Tonight we learned that there are many ways to pray.
Singing
Scripture
Instruments
Dancing
Talking
Paper airplanes
Singing
Scripture
Instruments
Dancing
Talking
Paper airplanes
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Ash Wednesday
Tonight was Ash Wednesday. The beginning of the season of Lent.
It was a beautiful candlelight service. Ancient worship music. The solemn placing of the sign of the cross in ashes on each persons forehead to remind us of Jesus' death on the cross and more importantly his victory over sin and death in the resurrection. The ash reminds us of our mortality and weakness, but that Christ is the opposite, he is immortal and all-powerful (omnipotent). And he loves you. Through his death and suffering we have been offered a gift. The gift of salvation. If we accept it - we accept immortality with Him. A beautiful thing.
As the youth read the sacred scriptures for the service, I thought how significant it was. Jesus also stood up in his home church (synagogue) and read from the scripture. These youth followed in his holy footsteps and are playing a role in the epic story of life that we are all still a part of. We are in God's story of love and redemption. We are the children of Israel.
Luke 4:16-21
16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.
17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him,
21and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
After the service, a few of the ladies begged to run over to see Matt and Brent's indoor soccer game. So, we relented, drove through the slush and snow and caught the last few minutes of it. Brent should have a great black eye after a face to face conversation with the wall. Excellent job!
Grace and Peace to you!
It was a beautiful candlelight service. Ancient worship music. The solemn placing of the sign of the cross in ashes on each persons forehead to remind us of Jesus' death on the cross and more importantly his victory over sin and death in the resurrection. The ash reminds us of our mortality and weakness, but that Christ is the opposite, he is immortal and all-powerful (omnipotent). And he loves you. Through his death and suffering we have been offered a gift. The gift of salvation. If we accept it - we accept immortality with Him. A beautiful thing.
As the youth read the sacred scriptures for the service, I thought how significant it was. Jesus also stood up in his home church (synagogue) and read from the scripture. These youth followed in his holy footsteps and are playing a role in the epic story of life that we are all still a part of. We are in God's story of love and redemption. We are the children of Israel.
Luke 4:16-21
16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.
17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him,
21and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
After the service, a few of the ladies begged to run over to see Matt and Brent's indoor soccer game. So, we relented, drove through the slush and snow and caught the last few minutes of it. Brent should have a great black eye after a face to face conversation with the wall. Excellent job!
Grace and Peace to you!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
40 Days of what?
Lent. what is that? is that the act of loaning someone something? Or is it the stuff in your belly button??
Um..yes, but.... not what we're looking for.
40 days. (what are some other periods of 40 days or years in the Bible? Noah? Jesus? Wilderness? ring a bell?)
Main celebrations; Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter
Main themes; Repentence, Prayer, Baptism, Fasting, Communion.
We'll talk about all these in more detail in the upcoming weeks.
ASH WEDNESDAY
"Ash Wednesday begins the wilderness journey of Lent. Lent is about "roughing it," about letting go of what's distracting us and getting back to basics, individually and corporately. Ash Wednesday is the start of the Lenten journey of 40 weekdays (Monday through Saturday) that takes the church to the eve of Easter. Sundays are not included in the count of 40 days, as they are "little Easter" celebrations. The mood of Sunday services does not need to be penitential or "Good Friday" in feel. Remember, Lent is not primarily about the suffering of Jesus on the cross. Lent is primarily about identifying with and accompanying those who are being driven by the Spirit to make the wilderness journey -- toward baptism, toward reconciliation, or toward vocation. "
"What do you do WITH the ashes? If you’ve not used ashes before, here are a few simple tips.
The ash itself is a sign of mortality. As at baptism, the cross is the sign of Christ's death AND victory over sin and death. The sign made at baptism with water or oil that may not be seen is here visible to one and all during this solemn service of worship. It is a living reminder that we belong to Christ, or indeed that we are, in ancient Roman terms, his bond slaves, and he is our master.
Do not remove the ash during worship. The gospel texts for this service that speak of not showing our piety before the whole world mean that, but Christian worship is not public in that way. Encourage people to keep the ash in place during the rest of the service, including Holy Communion.
prepared four youths to read during the Ash Wednesday service.
Observers; Respect / Control
Stories / Questions
Um..yes, but.... not what we're looking for.
40 days. (what are some other periods of 40 days or years in the Bible? Noah? Jesus? Wilderness? ring a bell?)
Main celebrations; Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter
Main themes; Repentence, Prayer, Baptism, Fasting, Communion.
We'll talk about all these in more detail in the upcoming weeks.
ASH WEDNESDAY
"Ash Wednesday begins the wilderness journey of Lent. Lent is about "roughing it," about letting go of what's distracting us and getting back to basics, individually and corporately. Ash Wednesday is the start of the Lenten journey of 40 weekdays (Monday through Saturday) that takes the church to the eve of Easter. Sundays are not included in the count of 40 days, as they are "little Easter" celebrations. The mood of Sunday services does not need to be penitential or "Good Friday" in feel. Remember, Lent is not primarily about the suffering of Jesus on the cross. Lent is primarily about identifying with and accompanying those who are being driven by the Spirit to make the wilderness journey -- toward baptism, toward reconciliation, or toward vocation. "
"What do you do WITH the ashes? If you’ve not used ashes before, here are a few simple tips.
The ash itself is a sign of mortality. As at baptism, the cross is the sign of Christ's death AND victory over sin and death. The sign made at baptism with water or oil that may not be seen is here visible to one and all during this solemn service of worship. It is a living reminder that we belong to Christ, or indeed that we are, in ancient Roman terms, his bond slaves, and he is our master.
Do not remove the ash during worship. The gospel texts for this service that speak of not showing our piety before the whole world mean that, but Christian worship is not public in that way. Encourage people to keep the ash in place during the rest of the service, including Holy Communion.
prepared four youths to read during the Ash Wednesday service.
Observers; Respect / Control
Stories / Questions
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