So, I haven't blogged much lately...I haven't really had very much to blog about...until lately. I've had a few things that have been running through my mind. And I feel like I need to unload some of it.
1. Lisa and I went to my Grandmother's funeral and it was the best funeral I have ever been to. I know that sounds kind of weird, but that is the only way I can think of describing it. My Grandmother was a great woman of God and it was evident through her life. The pastor who gave the sermon also made it very evident that my Grandmother loved God more than anything else. He talked about my Grandmother's love for everyone else, the way she served her church and others, but even though those things were important to her, the one thing that mattered more than those things was her love for Jesus and His love for her. It was very moving to hear.
I was also a pole bearer. All the grandsons were pole bearers for the funeral...that was the hardest part of the whole day. I helped place my grandmother into the hearse before she was taken to the cemetery. It was hard. But I know that my Grandmother is with Jesus. It is so comforting to know that and be confident that she is so much better off. There is no better place than where she is now.
2. As I have posted about earlier I am reading the Purpose Driven Youth Ministry and evaluating where the youth program has been going and what not. So the last chapter I read was about teaching students spiritual disciplines. It was truly convicting because it was talking about my ultimate goal as a youth pastor...to be able to equip my students to live a life as a follower of Jesus Christ without dependence on attending programs. To be able to develop habits that they can take with them once they graduate from High School and move on into their next phase of life. It was convicting because I have not really made any true effort to do that. I have not purposefully done anything to spur them on in their spiritual disciplines. It was good to read because I needed to read it. But it was also hard because God was showing me something that I was falling short on.
My prayer is that I will be able to develop a way in order to purposefully challenge and encourage the students in our church's ministry to develop spiritual disciplines in their lives.
3. I had Junior High Youth Group tonight, which is 7th & 8th grade. We are watching these videos that Rob Bell puts out. (For those of you who do not know who Rob Bell is...He is the Pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, MI) The video series that he does is called NOOMA (here's the link, check it out: http://www.nooma.com). In the videos, Rob Bell does a 15 minute talk about a topic and he uses visuals to help get his point across.
So, to get to the real reason I am telling you all this. The video that we watched today was called Rhythm. In it, Rob Bell is talking about your relationship with God and how He thinks of God like a song. And it’s a song that has been played for generations and through different cultures and over thousands of years. And some people don’t hear the song or they don’t think the song is playing. Or some people are too into how the song feels and have no appreciation for the notes and the way the song is written, but some people concentrate too much on the technical aspects of the song and are too critical of the song and are not will to sometimes just enjoy the song and get into the song. Rob Bell also talks about being in tune with the song and being a part of the song...it is so hard to describe and write down. But when you are a part of the song, you need to be in tune with it or it just doesn’t sound right…if you are not in tune with God…if you are not in a relationship with God, then there is something that is just not right…I sat there and listened to Rob Bell talk about this and I started getting in tune with God. It was an awesome feeling. God was there and I was feeling His presence and I felt in tune with Him and I could feel the rhythm of His song. It was awesome…Hallelujah.
So, that’s what’s been going on lately in the mind of Paul…This coming week is Spring Break for me…so that means no youth groups and no evening things going on so I get to relax during the night. But it also gives me some time to catch up on some work and plan ahead for the summer and start thinking about next year. Yippee!!!
1. Lisa and I went to my Grandmother's funeral and it was the best funeral I have ever been to. I know that sounds kind of weird, but that is the only way I can think of describing it. My Grandmother was a great woman of God and it was evident through her life. The pastor who gave the sermon also made it very evident that my Grandmother loved God more than anything else. He talked about my Grandmother's love for everyone else, the way she served her church and others, but even though those things were important to her, the one thing that mattered more than those things was her love for Jesus and His love for her. It was very moving to hear.
I was also a pole bearer. All the grandsons were pole bearers for the funeral...that was the hardest part of the whole day. I helped place my grandmother into the hearse before she was taken to the cemetery. It was hard. But I know that my Grandmother is with Jesus. It is so comforting to know that and be confident that she is so much better off. There is no better place than where she is now.
2. As I have posted about earlier I am reading the Purpose Driven Youth Ministry and evaluating where the youth program has been going and what not. So the last chapter I read was about teaching students spiritual disciplines. It was truly convicting because it was talking about my ultimate goal as a youth pastor...to be able to equip my students to live a life as a follower of Jesus Christ without dependence on attending programs. To be able to develop habits that they can take with them once they graduate from High School and move on into their next phase of life. It was convicting because I have not really made any true effort to do that. I have not purposefully done anything to spur them on in their spiritual disciplines. It was good to read because I needed to read it. But it was also hard because God was showing me something that I was falling short on.
My prayer is that I will be able to develop a way in order to purposefully challenge and encourage the students in our church's ministry to develop spiritual disciplines in their lives.
3. I had Junior High Youth Group tonight, which is 7th & 8th grade. We are watching these videos that Rob Bell puts out. (For those of you who do not know who Rob Bell is...He is the Pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, MI) The video series that he does is called NOOMA (here's the link, check it out: http://www.nooma.com). In the videos, Rob Bell does a 15 minute talk about a topic and he uses visuals to help get his point across.
So, to get to the real reason I am telling you all this. The video that we watched today was called Rhythm. In it, Rob Bell is talking about your relationship with God and how He thinks of God like a song. And it’s a song that has been played for generations and through different cultures and over thousands of years. And some people don’t hear the song or they don’t think the song is playing. Or some people are too into how the song feels and have no appreciation for the notes and the way the song is written, but some people concentrate too much on the technical aspects of the song and are too critical of the song and are not will to sometimes just enjoy the song and get into the song. Rob Bell also talks about being in tune with the song and being a part of the song...it is so hard to describe and write down. But when you are a part of the song, you need to be in tune with it or it just doesn’t sound right…if you are not in tune with God…if you are not in a relationship with God, then there is something that is just not right…I sat there and listened to Rob Bell talk about this and I started getting in tune with God. It was an awesome feeling. God was there and I was feeling His presence and I felt in tune with Him and I could feel the rhythm of His song. It was awesome…Hallelujah.
So, that’s what’s been going on lately in the mind of Paul…This coming week is Spring Break for me…so that means no youth groups and no evening things going on so I get to relax during the night. But it also gives me some time to catch up on some work and plan ahead for the summer and start thinking about next year. Yippee!!!
posted by Paul at 8:20 PM
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