Please read the following bible verses then discuss them with a parent or other trusted adult: Matthew 25:31-46
What does this passage tell us about Jesus? What does this passage tell us about being Jesus followers?
Watch this video and make a comment:
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
COMMUNION ON THE STREET
Please watch this video:
Communion Vid
What do you think the message of this video is? Please post a response.
Communion Vid
What do you think the message of this video is? Please post a response.
Communion & Baptism
This week we'll be exploring COMMUNION and BAPTISM.
1. Please read the following passage from the bible: Matthew 26:18-30. Take a moment to retell this story about communion in your own words as a comment to this blog post.
2. Please read Acts 16:25-34. Please answer these questions in a comment to this blog. Who was baptized? Why were they baptized? Also, please give your definition of baptism in a comment.
3. Discuss communion and baptism with a trusted adult. What do THEY think communion and baptism are about?
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Who does the Saving?
Here is a quote from a friend of mine's blog about what it means to have salvation in Jesus Christ:
"...our focus [should be] on the One doing the saving more than those who are being saved. Our salvation is more about the Triune God than about us. We respond to grace, but the emphasis is properly on the One who extends that grace."
We just talked about the Big, Three-In-One God last week. If God is that big, then he is big enough to offer us salvation. Salvation simply means to become again what we were orginally designed to be. We were designed to act like God, our creator, to other people and to the universe. But, left to ourselves, we will choose NOT to act like God. Jesus came to show us how to act like God. Jesus also took on our desire not to act like God (sin) and killed it off on the Cross. If we say we are sorry to God for trying to control our own lives, then trust Jesus with our lives, thoughts, actions, feelings, decisions, then we can begin to become more and more like we were created to be, and live a life that has deeper meaning and purpose.
HAVE YOU EVER ENCOUNTERED JESUS IN A SPECIAL WAY THAT CHANGED YOUR LIFE? IF SO, PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORY.
"...our focus [should be] on the One doing the saving more than those who are being saved. Our salvation is more about the Triune God than about us. We respond to grace, but the emphasis is properly on the One who extends that grace."
We just talked about the Big, Three-In-One God last week. If God is that big, then he is big enough to offer us salvation. Salvation simply means to become again what we were orginally designed to be. We were designed to act like God, our creator, to other people and to the universe. But, left to ourselves, we will choose NOT to act like God. Jesus came to show us how to act like God. Jesus also took on our desire not to act like God (sin) and killed it off on the Cross. If we say we are sorry to God for trying to control our own lives, then trust Jesus with our lives, thoughts, actions, feelings, decisions, then we can begin to become more and more like we were created to be, and live a life that has deeper meaning and purpose.
HAVE YOU EVER ENCOUNTERED JESUS IN A SPECIAL WAY THAT CHANGED YOUR LIFE? IF SO, PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORY.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (New Living Translation)
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
Who is the One who does the saving? Please discuss this scripture with your parents or other trusted adult, then write a comment here.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
Who is the One who does the saving? Please discuss this scripture with your parents or other trusted adult, then write a comment here.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The Pretzel and the Trinity
Pretzel - Trinity symbol
Pretzels have been around for almost 1,400 years. History has their origin about A.D. 610 when a baker in a monastery in southern France or northern Italy twisted leftover strips of bread dough into the shape of a person's arms crossed in prayer, traditional posture for prayer in those days.
Monks began offering the warm, doughy treats to children who had memorized their Bible verses and prayers. They were used to help children understand the Christian Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The three empty holes in the pretzel represented the Christian Trinity. The monks called these treats pretiolas, Latin for little rewards.
Three in One?
Please take time to read the following scriptures and discuss them with a parent or other trusted adult:
1 John 5:6-9 And Jesus Christ was revealed as God's Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross -not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit also gives us the testimony that this is true. So we have these three witnesses - the Spirit, the water, and the blood – and all three agree. Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son.
Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
How can God be Three persons yet one being? This can be a mysterious thing, for sure, yet by experience and in the Bible, there seems to be a presentation of God as being found in more than one form, yet at no time does any of the forms seem to contradict what it means to be one God.
Have you ever thought about what it means for God to be a Trinity? That Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are all three God at the same time?
When we say the Apostle's creed we are affirming that we believe in a God that is one yet has three co-eternal presentations. They seem to be in loving, mutual, family-like communion, yet can speak and move and act as one unit.
I would love to hear your thoughts on how you think God can be Three, and One at the same time.
1 John 5:6-9 And Jesus Christ was revealed as God's Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross -not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit also gives us the testimony that this is true. So we have these three witnesses - the Spirit, the water, and the blood – and all three agree. Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son.
Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
How can God be Three persons yet one being? This can be a mysterious thing, for sure, yet by experience and in the Bible, there seems to be a presentation of God as being found in more than one form, yet at no time does any of the forms seem to contradict what it means to be one God.
Have you ever thought about what it means for God to be a Trinity? That Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are all three God at the same time?
When we say the Apostle's creed we are affirming that we believe in a God that is one yet has three co-eternal presentations. They seem to be in loving, mutual, family-like communion, yet can speak and move and act as one unit.
I would love to hear your thoughts on how you think God can be Three, and One at the same time.
Friday, February 6, 2009
From Josh
An important reminder about the West University Student Ministry definition of worship:
Worship definition - 1. A heartfelt response to God moving in one's life. 2. My life in God's hands, my will in His plans.
How does God move in your life? How do you find out what God's plans for you are?
Worship definition - 1. A heartfelt response to God moving in one's life. 2. My life in God's hands, my will in His plans.
How does God move in your life? How do you find out what God's plans for you are?
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
On A Sunday
Please watch this video:
So, what do you think it means to worship God? Please leave a comment.
So, what do you think it means to worship God? Please leave a comment.
Spirit & Truth
Please read the following short story from the Bible:
John 4:3-26
...Jesus left Judea. He went back to Galilee again. Jesus had to go through Samaria. He came to a town in Samaria called Sychar. It was near the piece of land Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there. Jesus was tired from the journey. So he sat down by the well. It was about noon. A woman from Samaria came to get some water. Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew. I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" She said this because Jews don't have anything to do with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, "You do not know what God's gift is. And you do not know who is asking you for a drink. If you did, you would have asked him. He would have given you living water." "Sir," the woman said, "you don't have anything to get water with. The well is deep. Where can you get this living water? "Our father Jacob gave us the well. He drank from it himself. So did his sons and his flocks and herds. Are you more important than he is?" Jesus answered, "All who drink this water will be thirsty again. But anyone who drinks the water I give him will never be thirsty. In fact, the water I give him will become a spring of water in him. It will flow up into eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water. Then I will never be thirsty. And I won't have to keep coming here to get water." He told her, "Go. Get your husband and come back." "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands. And the man you have now is not your husband. What you have just said is very true." "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our people have worshiped on this mountain for a long time. But you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus said, "Believe me, woman. A time is coming when you will not worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know. Salvation comes from the Jews. "But a new time is coming. In fact, it is already here. True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. They are the kind of worshipers the Father is looking for. "God is spirit. His worshipers must worship him in spirit and in truth." The woman said, "I know that Messiah is coming." (He is called Christ.) "When he comes, he will explain everything to us." Then Jesus said, "I, the one speaking to you, am he."
A Question to consider. Feel free to respond to it with a comment here on the blog. 1. What do you think it means to worship God in Spirit and Truth? Please don't just simply quote back what the story says. Think for yourself. Debate and discuss with others.
John 4:3-26
...Jesus left Judea. He went back to Galilee again. Jesus had to go through Samaria. He came to a town in Samaria called Sychar. It was near the piece of land Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there. Jesus was tired from the journey. So he sat down by the well. It was about noon. A woman from Samaria came to get some water. Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew. I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" She said this because Jews don't have anything to do with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, "You do not know what God's gift is. And you do not know who is asking you for a drink. If you did, you would have asked him. He would have given you living water." "Sir," the woman said, "you don't have anything to get water with. The well is deep. Where can you get this living water? "Our father Jacob gave us the well. He drank from it himself. So did his sons and his flocks and herds. Are you more important than he is?" Jesus answered, "All who drink this water will be thirsty again. But anyone who drinks the water I give him will never be thirsty. In fact, the water I give him will become a spring of water in him. It will flow up into eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water. Then I will never be thirsty. And I won't have to keep coming here to get water." He told her, "Go. Get your husband and come back." "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands. And the man you have now is not your husband. What you have just said is very true." "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our people have worshiped on this mountain for a long time. But you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus said, "Believe me, woman. A time is coming when you will not worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know. Salvation comes from the Jews. "But a new time is coming. In fact, it is already here. True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. They are the kind of worshipers the Father is looking for. "God is spirit. His worshipers must worship him in spirit and in truth." The woman said, "I know that Messiah is coming." (He is called Christ.) "When he comes, he will explain everything to us." Then Jesus said, "I, the one speaking to you, am he."
A Question to consider. Feel free to respond to it with a comment here on the blog. 1. What do you think it means to worship God in Spirit and Truth? Please don't just simply quote back what the story says. Think for yourself. Debate and discuss with others.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
