Category: Jesus

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The game they play in heaven

Football (also known as Soccer) and not Rugby Union is ‘the game they play in heaven’. This post has been prompted by some big matches about to be played (Australia vs Qatar, QLD Roar vs Sydney FC and Central Coast Mariners vs Newcastle Jets) and a proper understanding of the Bible.

every tribe language people nation

Rugby Union is an ugly distortion of the ‘beautiful game‘. Based on Revelation 5:9-10, I believe that there won’t be a Tri-Nations Rugby Union tournament between the 3 Rugby playing countries in heaven, but rather a full-blown Football World Cup with participants from “every tribe and language and people and nation”. Soccer is for all nations. Jesus is for all nations.

However, the cheering at moments like these is but a soft whisper compared to the glorious cheering at this moment.

Joga Bonito.

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Back to school

Today I started at Bible college. Today was mainly an orientation day. Still good. Caught up with some cool people. John Woodhouse (the boss of the show) gave a sweet talk to kick off our time at college. He spoke from Philippians 2:5-11 on the gospel. What’s the gospel? Go read the passage.

back to school

I got asked by a guy at church a couple of weeks ago why I was going to college. I said to him that I wasn’t really going to learn about ministry (I’m sure I’ll learn stuff about ministry), but that I wanted to know Jesus better so that I can more effectively encourage people to trust Him.

Continue reading “Back to school”

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Cling to Jesus

We had our last night at CCEC tonight. The plan is to be back in a year, but we’ll see what happens. (See here and here for earlier reports and stay tuned for more about ’08).

I’ve been thinking tonight about what type of legacy I want left after 10 years of youth ministry. While there are lots of positive things that I hope we’ve left behind, there is one thing that I hope will be a legacy that will last for generations.

It’s been said by a number of different church and gospel analysts (it may have come from Phillip Jensen?) that the gospel is never far from being lost from one generation to the next.

  • Step 1 – they preach the gospel (here’s one clear explanation of the gospel [the goodnews of Jesus])
  • Step 2 – they assume the gospel
  • Step 3 – they neglect the gospel
  • Step 4 – they reject/deny the gospel

Each step may be only slight, but the implications for taking each step are massive. Those that assume and neglect the gospel, may well still believe it, but the great danger is that through their assumptions and neglect the gospel is in danger of not being passed onto the next generation.

I spoke with a number of leaders this afternoon about the need to keep preaching the gospel. Obviously we aim to preach the gospel to the 40,000 Central Coast teenagers who don’t know Jesus. BUT we need to preach to more people than just the lost who haven’t yet heard it.

My hope is that CCECYOUTH will be known for being a Jesus-Proclaiming, Cross-Centred, Gospel-Guarding youth group where the leaders preach the gospel:

  • to themselves daily
  • to each other
  • to the Christian teens in our program
  • to teenagers who don’t know Jesus

Paul in 1 Cor 15 was desperate for the Corinthian Christians to keep trusting in the gospel, that he reminded them once again what was of first importance.

Jesus died for our sins. He was buried.
Jesus rose. He appeared.

Don’t forget it! Keep clinging to Jesus. Are you in danger of assuming, neglecting or denying the goodnews of Jesus? Keep proclaiming Jesus dead, buried and risen to yourself and others.

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The hook, the book, the look, the took

Tim Hawkins (and others) has four elements of a good youth talk:

  • The Hook – why ought people listen? The hook establishes, in the first minute or two of the talk, why the listener ought to keep listening. This is similar to what David Cook calls the Big or Dominant Question.
  • The Book – what the Bible has to say about this situation.
  • The Look – helping the listeners to dig deeper into the Bible and what it means.
  • The Took – is the ‘so what?’ How this part of the Bible impacts on the life of the listener.

I have listened to and given many talks to teenagers during the past year. My observation is that we are strong on the book and the look. But we are weak on the hook which leads to weakness with the took.

The hook is important in drawing the listener into hearing from the text. And the hook helps to shape the take-home cash-value ‘took’ throughout the talk.

What do you think makes a good hook?

For a good look – see the picture above…
(I may have lost weight – but my head’s still big!)

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Stephen vs. Saul/Paul

This arvo I was reading Acts 7. Stephen gives a cracker of a sermon in the court. He recounts the history of Israel and says that their forefathers were idiots for rejecting God and his prophets. He then completes the smack-down by calling them double-idiots for being doubly stupid for killing Jesus, THE Prophet.

They get cranky pants. Big time! They gnash their teeth at him and then proceed to play a massive game of stax-on with the nearest rocks they can find.

As they’re stoning him, Saul (now known as Paul) is there in the thick of the action. It was at that point that I started thinking about what Stephen and Paul’s relationship is like now in the presence of Jesus. Do they have some probs? Does Stephen joke about the time that he got ‘stoned’? Does Paul just keep saying “I’m sooo sorry about that…”?

Then I read the next verse: Stephen prays a very Jesus-esque prayer upon death. That prayer is answered in the conversion of Saul, the chief of all sinners.

What are they both doing now? Being stoked in Jesus.