There are two iconic images of middle school: the chin-up bar and the climbing rope. These images conjures up pleasant feelings in some and dread in others. I thought I would take this opportunity to “force” you to remember those fun years in middle school!!
I’ll be using this clip for teaching the story of The Rich Young Man in Main Street. It’s informative to “see” the emotion of the characters as they interact, especially the actor that plays Jesus. The Jesus character’s piercing, yet caring eyes communicate an intensity that probably accompanied this real-life conversation a little under 2,000 […]
I’ve been thinking a lot lately, as I’m sure the rest of the inhabitants of the USA are in these uncertain economic times. We don’t know what to do about the declining economy because what has always seemed to work in the past are not working like they used to (or should in some people’s […]
HT Rachel South source YouTube
“Just who is my neighbor?” We’ve (humans) been asking this question for millenia. And this was the very question posed to Jesus back 2,000 years ago: “Who do I have to LOVE?” And it was just like the Son of God to pinpoint exactly “who” it was to the person (or group of people) asking […]
Are you passionate about getting things done? Do you find yourself procrastinating and NOT getting things done? Well then consider joining “The Cult of Done.” This “cult” recently released a “manifesto” that’s worth a look: HT Lifehacker via Bre Pettis
Jenny Funderburke over at KidMin Thoughts has been blogging recently about “Answering Kids’ Tough Questions.” I thought it would be useful to share her posts answering the questions that routinely plague young minds (and even old ones!): Who Made God? Why Do Parents Get Divorced? Do Pets Go To Heaven?
The Calvin & Hobbes comic strip does a great job capturing the human condition (particularly with kids and parents) in a variety of ways. This one highlights the oscillation for teenagers, especially middle school students, in an effort to fit in, blend in, or stand out (which ever action they want to either get noticed, or intentionally […]
Do we look through another person’s eyes? Do we step into another’s shoes? Can we step outside of ourselves and get some perspective on how another views what you do? What about our church or our various ministry environments? How would a new person, or a new family perceive the look and feel and the […]
Jesus spent some time with some shady people: tax collectors and sinners. This frustrated the religious, “super-duper Christian” types. So Jesus told a series of three stories: Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Lost Son. Now, when the Scripture writers repeat themselves, it is saying something like: PAY ATTENTION HERE! Only in a few instances does […]
We used this video this past Sunday (11.27.11) in Main Street as we taught through Luke 15 where Jesus does a trio of “lost” stories. via max7 source YouTube
This is a continual series known as The Gospel, which provides concrete, simple and creative ways to share the Gospel with children and youth. At Kids Camp 2009, I shared the Gospel by taking the form of a wooden cross. source Vimeo
This is a picture of our family created by a young friend of mine named Kate:
This is a continual series known as The Gospel, which provides concrete, simple and creative ways to share the Gospel with children and youth. At Kids Camp 2011, I had an opportunity to share the Gospel with the campers and I used a recent horticultural acquisition – raspberry plants. source Vimeo
I’m sure we’ve all seen a comment stream on a Facebook post that looks like this: HT ChurchMag source CollegeHumor
How to Play the “Post It Note” Game: Simple. Decide on a time (i.e. 60 seconds) and see who can stick more “post it notes” on the board, one at a time. Count the notes at the end of the round and declare a winner. Want to take them down? Do the game in reverse. […]
This past Sunday we started into some of the teachings of Jesus: the Parables. A parable is “a story with a point” as one student put it. And he was right! Jesus told some compelling stories to his listeners that challenged the current thinking of the day in light of the kingdom of God (Jesus) […]
How to Play the “Cup Stacking Race” Game: 21 plastic cups per person. Start with the cups in a column, and competitors must stack the cups in a pyramid, then unstack back into the column. First one done, wins. This could also be a single person game that is timed (i.e. Minute to Win It […]
How to Play “Defying Gravity”: Two balloons per participant. We found that color-matching balloons really helped! We also made it a contest between three people to try to keep the 2 balloons afloat for the whole 60 seconds. We modified “Defying Gravity” from Minute to Win It so it was doable for the Main Street participants. […]
How to Play “Shoe Fly Shoe”: All you need is a pair of shoes (which most everyone wears to places) and an elevated flat surface (table, chair, bench, etc). Have the participants step away from the flat surface at an appropriate and pre-determined distance. First one to get their shoe on the flat surface wins! […]