Sermon in a Sentence: God calls us to bear with those who typically would annoy us, actively offer grace to those who have nothing to offer in return, and to serve those “below” us in our social structure.
This week we continue combining some of the fruit in the hopes of finishing the series on time. I had already planned on combining kindness and gentleness, since as concepts they are so closely related. And like any good auctioneer trying to make sure everything has a chance to sell, I threw in patience for good measure. Just trying to keep up with the weather cancellations.
Given my recent post about getting past PowerPoint I found this video not only entertaining, but a helpful criticism of PowerPoint “worst practices.” It’s funny because it’s true.
(HT to Tim Sanders whose Tweet sent me to this video. Told you I was a Sanders fanboy.)
So, you’ve made that awesome Animoto video of scenes from your last youth retreat. You want to show it before service starts, but you always show countdowns before service so things start on time, and you just don’t know what to do about this connived conundrum . . .
Don’t worry.
Do the logical. Turn your own custom video into a countdown.
So, you’re fresh back from your youth retreat with a digital camera full of stunning photos and you want to know the best way to show your church all the great things that happened while you were away, but you don’t have the time to spend all day editing a video together. What do you do?
If you’ve been reading this site recently, you know what I’d do.
Animoto is a web-based service that takes your photos and video clips and edits them into a montage, complete with a tightly synced soundtrack. It is, quite honestly, amazing what this software can do.
Don’t know who Apophis is? It’s the Greek name for Apep, the archenemy of the Egyptian god Ra, also known as the Uncreator, a giant serpent that tries to swallow Ra (the Sun) as it passes through the underworld each night after setting in the West in order to rise again in the East.
The more important question though may not be who, but what. What is Apophis?
Asteroid 99942 Apophis, formerly known as 2004 MN4, is a near earth asteroid predicted to pass closer to earth than our orbiting satellites on Friday the 13th, April 2029 and may very well impact earth on it’s way back through seven years later.
I was fascinated by this after seeing astrophysicist and incredible public speaker Neil DeGrasse Tyson on the Daily Show a couple nights ago. And then today in my Google Reader was a post on Garr Renyold’s blog Presentation Zen examining what makes Tyson such a captivating educator. There, as one of the examples of the way in which Tyson engages both his audience and his interviewer, is a video from last February in which Tyson speaks in greater detail about the possible Apophis impact. In case you missed it, here it is:
Does this have anything to do with youth ministry? I don’t know, you tell me. It was just fascinating to me.
However Presentation Zen should be in every public speakers rss reader. And that does apply to youth ministry.
I stumbled across this video about the exponential growth, not only in world population, but also in information technologies. I found it fascinating, and it poses some interesting questions for the future of ministry.
This last Sunday our youth choir, under the excellent direction of our Children’s Minister Pastor Jill presented Geron Davis’ Christmas musical The Cradle that Rocked the World (from Brentwood Benson publishers). It was an incredible service and I had the privilege of preaching the message as part of the presentation. (That’s why it’s so short — I hardly ever am this timely.)
In keeping with the musical, the theme was “This baby changes everything.” And it is basically a retelling of the story of Simeon in Luke 2 . (I had originally hoped to include the story of Anna, but time did not permit.)
Below’s my first attempt with Vimeo video. Obviously I did not have the right deinterlace setting on in Handbrake when I converted it from our service DVD. Oh well, live and learn, right?
A few months back, someone from our church sent the staff a link to a video of part of a service from Hillside Christian Church in Amarillo, TX. In it several church members came up and silently shared their testimonies written in magic marker on pieces of cardboard. If you haven’t seen this incredibly moving video, you can see it here.
Needless to say we (and judging from the number of similar videos on youtube countless other churches) thought it was a great idea. We incorporated it into this weekends Christmas Program Jesus…the Only Name That Saves. Here’s the video:
BTW, if you watch very closely, at 0:22 you can see my five year old sleeping in the front row of the choir as the first cardboard testimony (George: “I was on a road to nowhere . . . then God took me on a Journey through Jerusalem”) turns to walk away.
But as moving as it was to watch the video from HCC, I’ve got to admit, knowing the people on the platform, and the stories behind their words, makes it even more moving. I still can’t watch it without crying like a baby. . .especially when one of my best friends, Jalinda, whose fiancee Jeremy, an ambulance driver, died just months before their wedding while responding to an EMS call, testified to the fact that in the midst of grief and hardship God gave her love and grace. It was especially moving given that it was just a few days after the three year anniversary of Jeremy’s last call.
Or George, one of my teen small group leaders, who testified to the fact that God got a hold of his heart when he was invited to volunteer in our Journey through Jerusalem event a few years back.
Or Pat . . .
Or Sarah . . .
Or Brianna . . .
I wish I had time to tell you each of their stories. But suffice it to say, we serve a great God.
I’ve been giving my youth group a Christmas gift for about as long as I’ve been doing youth ministry. Honesty, I only vaguely remember what most of them were. I remember having to shop carefully to find something that I could afford to give each of my teens on a youth pastor’s salary. And I remember some pretty cheesy gifts that I hoped would have some meaning. I remember candy canes one year (complete with a card explaining the “significance” of candy canes for them to ignore). I remember apple Christmas tree ornaments, and an explanation of the origins of the Christmas tree tradition. And I remember some bookmarks, though when it comes to what they said, I’ve no clue.
And while I have only vague recollections, I secretly suspect that I’m the only one with any memories at all. My teens have long forgotten the gifts I so carefully selected.
Weekend Teaching Series: Cultivate
