I make a cameo with part of my youth around the 45 second mark.
Archives for 2012
Now by Fireflight
I recently purchased Now, the newest CD from Fireflight. I first started listening to Fireflight about 4 years ago when I got the "Unbreakable" single in a demo CD before the Unbreakable album came out. If you haven't heard of them, Fireflight is a Christian Rock band with a female lead vocalist. They have a pretty unique sound. Dawn Michele, the lead singer, has a high, but very clear voice. The music has a metal edge with plenty of powerful guitar chords. The previous album, Healing of Harms, was full of haunting melodies, quite different from previous work. I truly enjoyed the … [Read more...]
Mothers
In youth I'm wrapping up a series called "Mothers" which is about 4 unlikely mothers in the line of Christ. I opened with Tamar, who wasn't a Jew, who lost 2 husbands and lost hope in the promised marriage. She took matters into her own hands and posed as a prostitute to get what was owed to her. We learned that sometimes people in teh church will give us lip service, claiming that we belong, but treating us like we don't. We also learned that God never gives us lip service, and will bring us honor even if everyone else puts us into a place of dishonor. The following week we learned … [Read more...]
I had some free time today so I decided to finally get to that project where I convert my personal blog over to the same theme I’m using on my Designs By site. When Tapestry came out (the theme y blog was built around) I thought it was amazing, and Streamline 2.0 is the first theme to come along that looks better as far as I’m concerned.
From a visual perspective I changed very little, but I did import all of those new post format features I had setup last fall. So this has all teh amazing looks of Streamline 2.0 with the Tumblog functionality I want. I’ll probably have some more work to do, but till then, what do you think?
Mood: Accomplished
Stalking Jon Acuff
There is a good chance that you know who I am because of Stuff Christians Like. I started reading Jon's blog almost 4 years ago and began commenting on his log, the started my own blog. Intact, my name "Nick the Geek" started because I needed a name for commenting on SCL. From there I got into WordPress development and this in turn created a living for myself. It has been a crazy 4 years but I've never met Jon, even though I'm listing in the thanks section at the end of the Stuff Christians Like book. When I saw that Jon was a keynote speaker at the Simply Youth Ministry Conference that … [Read more...]
Mashed Potato Snowmen and Snowball fight
I haven't done a Wednesday night round up in a while, so here it goes. I'm bringing a monthly game night to the table and tonight was the kickoff. I was down several students, because of sickness and several are involved in the school play, but I did it anyways. We had the "Winter is over games" and for the opening ceremony I used my t-shirt cannon. Several of the students had never seen it before, so that was a treat. I launched over 30 glow sticks about 40' into the air. It was pretty impressive. Then the opening game was a snowman building competition, but we have had a really crappy … [Read more...]
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee. Neither can we call this a begging of misery, or a borrowing of misery, as though we were not miserable enough of ourselves, but must fetch in more from the next house, in taking upon us the misery of our neighbours. Truly it were an excusable covetousness if we did, for affliction is a treasure, and scarce any man hath enough of it. No man hath affliction enough that is not matured and ripened by and made fit for God by that affliction. If a man carry treasure in bullion, or in a wedge of gold, and have none coined into current money, his treasure will not defray him as he travels. Tribulation is treasure in the nature of it, but it is not current money in the use of it, except we get nearer and nearer our home, heaven, by it. Another man may be sick too, and sick to death, and this affliction may lie in his bowels, as gold in a mine, and be of no use to him; but this bell, that tells me of his affliction, digs out and applies that gold to me: if by this consideration of another’s danger I take mine own into contemplation, and so secure myself, by making my recourse to my God, who is our only security.”
I am very glad to be a full time YP, that gives me time to make up my own graphics and such for the series I run, but I’m all about getting a head start on the work I do too. Back when I very first started, and had much less skill, I found a terrific resource called “Vine Resources.” They changed their site name and URI to Stuff I Can Use, but still offer tons of free graphics you can use for your sermons. They may not have exactly what you want every time, but they do make everything they have available for free. You have to click through to check this resource out.
New series I’m starting with my students tonight. Do you ever ask/yell, “WHY!!!???” to God? What kinds of answers have you received? What was the question about? How do you think that question affects your relationship with God?
My Sermon from Galatians chapter 6 on restoration. I encourage the church in how to reach out to those who have fallen into sin, or other wise fallen away from God and the Church. Unlike the Inquisition, and how so many Christians have handled the hurting and broken, Jesus shows us a better way. This passage also gives us certain words of caution so we do not stray as we reach out to help others by believing ourselves to be superior, or falling into the same trap.
1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. 5 For each one will bear his own load.
6 The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. 10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
~Galatians 6:1-10 NASB