This year (2015-2016) in Followers, we are storying our way through the book of 1 Samuel. It’s a little experimental (you can read about that here). 1 Samuel 1:1-20 This is the story of Elkanah and his beloved wife, Hannah, and their attempt to have a child. I use these slides to walk the students through […]
This year (2015-2016) in Followers, we are storying our way through the book of 1 Samuel. I’m trying an experiment. Our culture is quickly and surely heading to a post-Christendom society. In essence what this means is our culture no longer assumes Christian moral moorings by default. I like to say that our culture has graduated […]
Sari and I had a rub one morning a while back. We were running late on our mission to get out of the door for school so I was trying to move her along. I told her to get a hat on (because she already had her coat and shoes on). Then when she walked […]
I walked into the backyard after having been inside for a while. I saw the water hose lying on the ground, which isn’t unusual for us because we leave it out fairly often. What was unusual, however, was the flow of water coming out of the end of the hose! I figured the water had been […]
A few years ago, hwcYouth’s youth group went on a trip to Camp Forest Springs (CFS) and participated in their High Ropes Course (I’ve already shared a few stories from this trip here and here). Unbeknownst to the students, this trip was funded by a large donation to hwcYouth so we could do things we […]
I was tickling my youngest daughter, Macie, on the couch. Boy was she giggling! She was loving it just like both of my girls do. For some reason, for them, tickling is REALLY fun. Not for me, but they love it! Sari heard the laughter and wanted to get in on the fun. She climbed […]
Who wrote the Bible? Good question, right? Well, some kids in the video gave some possible answers to that question. Here are some of their thoughts: lots of people who love Jesus only one maybe two people nobody lots of writers the disciples, apostles God made the Bible Nehemiah David Moses prophets and apostles some […]
What is the Bible? Perhaps science can answer this question… According to Doctor Schniffenhousen, the Bible is 3 things: Paper: made from wood. Ink: derived from black carbon and oil. Leather wrapper: made from a cow. Tongue-in-cheek: Perhaps science cannot answer this question :). “Never ask a scientist to do a Sunday school teacher’s job.” (Sunday school […]
John Oliver on “Last Week Tonight” did a piece on food waste. Oliver referenced grocery stores throwing away food instead of donating it. The reason they don’t donate is because they are afraid of getting sued, cite liability as an issue, and call it a “health and safety issue.” The host made a humorous reference […]
The Wisconsin District of the Wesleyan Church added a few new elements to their annual conference. One of them was a couple of breakout session opportunities. They offered four workshops, with four different presenters and gave attendants the option of going to two of them. I was asked to be one of the presenters and […]
Share Joseph’s perspective on the birth of Jesus (from Matthew 1:18-23). Dress up in a Bible costume and pretend to be Joseph. Hi. My name is Joseph. You’ve seen me in all the Christmas plays and movies because I am Mary’s husband (Jesus’ mother). But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. I was betrothed to an […]
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about discipleship and ministry and life. It all started a few years back when one of my colleagues in ministry, Pastor Loretta Sunderland, and I were looking over the fruit of the youth ministry we both so zealously engaged in over the years and we didn’t see much of […]
For the last several years, I have directed a Kids Camp. I ran all the operations, led the staff, tried to keep everyone safe, and managed the environment and expectations of all those involved. No small task. This past year, however, I demoted myself. Because I’m in graduate school I needed to step back from […]
Tim Keller shares an applicable story related to substitutionary atonement (fitting for a children’s book review, right?!): What if you and a friend were walking alongside of a river and your friend looked over at you and said: “I want to show you how much I love you,” and this friend throws him/herself into the […]
The fourth chapter of the book Echoes of His Presence is about kingship. Herod was an Edomite, a descendant of Esau, Jacob (Israel’s) brother. Herod ruled Jacob. Rumors of a Messiah born in Bethlehem were doubtful because an Edomite still ruled over Israel. “Hadn’t other self-proclaimed messiahs only brought more bloodshed?” Herod moved from the Herodian to […]
Recently we took our Youth group to a High Ropes Challenge course in the area. There ended up being a miscommunication issue that caused a misunderstanding with the logistics related to everyone in our group being able to actually participate in the challenge course. For those who manage groups on one side of the coin and […]
Recently we took our Youth group to a High Ropes Course in the area. One of the four groups had a student that was having some difficulty with her confidence. To put it more accurately, she was freaked out! She made it through the first element and decided that she was sufficiently freaked out enough to […]
The third chapter of the book Echoes of His Presence is about shepherding. “Lead the sheep along the path you want them to follow… don’t walk on one path while they’re on another. Keep a straight path between you and the sheep. If you don’t, they’ll wander off the edge or into danger.” The market […]
The second chapter of the book Echoes of His Presence is about the bridegroom. It followed a story of a young man who was preparing a home off of his father’s house for his bride. Some amazing connections were made here: The groom’s father paid a generous price to the bride’s father for the loss of […]
The first chapter of the book Echoes of His Presence is about the blood covenant between God and Abraham. When two parties would make a “treaty” they would each slit a goat’s throat and walk barefoot, together, through the spilled blood saying: “I will pay with my life if I break this covenant/promise I am […]