Teenagers are like Seagulls

Throw some food out and they will swoop. Food is a good tool in youth ministry. If you run a Christian group in a school, bring hot chips and bread every week. If you run a youth group, kick off with dinner, finish with supper. If you’ve got a small group bible study, junk food is essential.

Teenagers are like seagulls

Food is a good way to break ice. It’s awkward trying to get a year 7 boy to stop running around and have a conversation. Put some food in his hand and it removes weirdness.

pic from flickr

RICE Vision Night 2009

Tonight was the RICE Vision Night. Gold! The aim of RICE is to “convict, mobilise, equip, train and revitalise the next generation to serve Jesus.” It was exciting to hear the work that God has been doing through the RICE movement over the past 7 years.

Two new arms were launched: Surge (on about helping people to discover their gifts and desires to serve Jesus) and Phase 4 (Raising up leaders and the planting of churches). We spent lots of time thanking God for the work he has been doing and praying that God would continue to work as Jesus is proclaimed.

Below is my ongoing twitter commentary (in reverse chronological order):

Continue reading “RICE Vision Night 2009”

“My Lord and my God!” – John 20

The Empty Tomb

1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

"My Lord and my God!"

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Continue reading ““My Lord and my God!” – John 20″

“It is finished” – John 19

Jesus Sentenced to Be Crucified

1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.

It is finished!

4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

Continue reading ““It is finished” – John 19″