Faith in the Next Generation.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T18:11:00.001-08:00

As thanksgiving ends and I am stuffed with yummy food I can not help but think of how I am so thankful for everything in my life. God, the one that gives us everything, has blessed me so much this year. I am thankful for:
My lovely wife who with out her I would be so lonely
My wonderful daughter a true miracle
My dogs who bring me such laughter and tons of poop
My job which brings me joy and money
My house which gives my family a place to live
My parents cause they made me the man I am today
Everyone else including friends and others I know because you add flavor to my life
And of course God who made me and gave his son for us so We can have a relationship with him!
I am so thankful and can't wait to see what happens next year and to see what God blesses me with next.

First blog in a while

2011-11-21T08:40:00.001-08:00

I don't really blog because I'm busy with school, work, and family. Now since I have an iPad and an iPhone and finding this blog app I am thinking I will be more frequent. However, I do believe that no one reads my blog do it is pointless but I will still do it cause I like getting my thoughts out. Plus I might even put something thought provoking. So now as I end this blog everyone who reads this will be in suspense until next time. Lol!

Where have I been?

2011-02-11T09:16:00.000-08:00

I say this blog post is where have I been because I have been so busy it seems like. Starting a new semester of school of my masters have definitely kept me busy. I am taking an Old Testament class which is not all that difficult just a lot of reading and watching video lectures. This takes up a lot of time. My attitude towards this class is just pass. I am learning some stuff, but there is so much info in an 8 week class it all gets lost. Plus looking at my overall goal for school don't really think this class or the next one I'm taking going to help. Here's wish the best.
Work is been fun but busy too. I am learning new information about the church and the relationship it needs to have with parents. I have a deep passion for this and I want to help parents out. So I am starting to do things to make this happen. One way is through an open house during KFC. Parents can come in, listen to what I have to say, and then I get to answer some questions. Another way is by teaching a parenting class. Since I have no kids yet, I am not teaching it but rather reading discussion questions and pressing play on a DVD player. I am so excited about doing this class starting in April for six weeks. Hopefully this will start a catalyst effect with in the church. I am know realizing something I heard someone say at a conference I went to. Don't focus on what you don't have or what you can't do, rather focus on what you do have and what you can do. Understanding that I feel like If I want something done, I need to do it. I have a feeling that Work will keep me busy with that attitude. One last thing is make sure to check out all my crazy videos on my youtube channel. Another passion I have and I love doing videos. With all that said I will check you out later.

http://www.youtube.com/user/wildjr24

Faith in the Next Generation

2011-01-18T11:20:00.001-08:00

The Barna Group in 2004 did a survey of 922 Christians. The question they got asked was what age were they when they got "saved." Here is the results of the survey:
43% saved before the age of 13
16% saved between the ages of 14-17
18% saved between the ages of 18-21
23% saved from the age of 22 and beyond
With this information we can develop a trend with the ages of when a person receives Jesus in their heart. To make the assumption that children are more likely to accept Jesus then an adult would be correct. It is said that a person's moral foundations are developed by the time they reach the age of 9. After this development takes place the harder it is to get someone to change their beliefs. So what does one do with this information? The church needs to look at the numbers and make some changes. The changes need to be made in the focus and energy at reaching the younger generation, kids and students. The earlier a church can develop these groups of people the less likely they will walk away from the church by the time they reach adulthood. The problem is that most churches are focused not on these age groups but reaching adults. Reaching adults does make sense because that is the second highest percentage, but that includes such a wide range of ages. So what should the church do? The church needs to start ministering to this generation. There is a flow chart that needs to be followed:

The church needs to reach first the younger generation. In turn they will bring in their parents and then the church must minister to the parents. Lastly the parents will minister to their children. Reaching or ministering to adults is not wrong. A parent must first have a relationship with God before they can teach their children. Ministering to adults is important, but not as important as today's churches are focusing on.
Bible verse that support this claim:
Duet. 6
Psalm 78
Ephesians 6
Mt. 19:14

Fallen

2010-12-02T16:40:00.001-08:00

I can't stand it when someone falls away from God, especially people who were once strong believers. Those people in the past would never be caught dead doing that type of behavior. Lately, I have been thinking about this and asking myself a question of why. After thinking about it I came up with an answer. Equally yoked is the reason why. 2 Corinthians 6:14 talks about how Christians should not be around unbelievers. I think this verse is so true. Now completely not being around unbelievers is ridicules because how will the lost be saved. But when nonbelievers are around then we must be really careful. If someone starts to hang out with a nonbeliever and they are a believer, the world with in the nonbeliever can rub off on the believer. The world is the reason why people fall away from God. Satan uses the temptations of the World as a way to get people to fall away from Him. Satan uses the nonbeliever as a tool. The more time we spend with the nonbeliever the more like them we will be. This principle is not just biblical but also physiological. It is proven we become like the people we spend the most time with. There is away to spend tons of time with nonbelievers and not be equally yoked. Have a solid, firm foundation in God is the key. Have a firm foundation will repel the world because knowing God intimately will always win out. If someone is a believer and has fallen away this is most likely why. So how do they come back to God? Start spending time with believers again. If you are around the world 247 you are in the world 247. If you are around God 247 you are just out of this world!

P.S. Praying always and reading the Bible will help too!

Christmas Lights

2010-11-29T08:57:00.000-08:00

Todays is the day I get to start putting up Christmas Lights. I am so excited this year to do so. In the past I only got to put up lights on our patio because we lived in an apartment and a condo. Now we live in a duplex and the owner said its ok to put up lights. Of course being in a duplex I want the whole house to look even, so I will decorate their side too. If you live in the area you have to check it out when it is all done. Thinking I will be done by the end of the week. Also at work I have to decorate the stage in the CHASM. I go all out for this because it is fun but for the kids. I hang tons of lights and I have a box that makes the lights dance to music. Its really cool and a must see. So if you are at Woodland this weekend they will be all up dancing. Lets just say I have a lot of lights and decorating to do this week. But I still have to do my usual work stuff and school stuff. I have two papers due this week at school, both long and I'm not feeling doing either. Christmas season I just want to just relax and do christmas stuff. Hopefully I can get all this stuff done and my lights up. Well there is no hopefully because if I have a goal in mind I just go out and do it, but I might be tired by the end of the week.

DW

2010-11-24T09:20:00.000-08:00

DW stands for Do Work. This week of Thanksgiving that is exactly what I have been doing. This week for work it is only a two day work week. I could have come in on Monday, but stated in my previous blog NO. So I have two days to get ready for the weekend. I had to do a weeks worth of prep in two days to make the weekend the same quality. The word DW is appropriate for that! I got focused and did it and now the weekend will be great. By the way this Saturday night will be the first ever Children's Church on the playground! Going to be great. For school I had to DW as well. I had to do two test (One essay) and a paper. I wanted to get it done by thanksgiving so I don't have to worry about it. The professor did give us a day extension due to the holiday, but I want it done now. So I buckled down and DW. I got both my test done on Monday and I finished my paper today. Everything is turned in this week and I can enjoy my break! Crazy what I can get accomplished if I just DW. It makes me wonder however how much time I waste in a week at work or with school work. But I wont think about that, I will just enjoy the accomplishments of doing some hard work.

Day Off

2010-11-22T09:19:00.001-08:00

Today is Monday, which means it is my day off. Time to get things done and most importantly take a break from work. Now I love my work so much and those kids are the funniest hungriest for God ever, but taking a day off from everything is good. Hey God did it after He created the World. On my day off I answer no e-mails, and no phone calls unless it is an emergency from church. Thank goodness for caller id! I am the only one on staff at church who takes Mondays off instead of Fridays. After Sunday church around 12:30 I don't have to go back until 9 Tuesday. So Tuesday is like the start of the week for me. If I had Friday off my week would start on Saturday at 4, but then I would get Sunday afternoon off then back on Monday at 9. I tried this and epic failure. I felt more stressed by taking Friday off. I need Friday at the church to set up for the weekend. I takes me about 4 hours to set up for Children's Church. Oh I would love to have my own space, but since I have to share the space with Student ministry, daycare, and other groups I have to take down and put it up again. Gets boring really fast, but I do it all for the kids I love so much. If I had Friday off I would have to come in early on Saturday, and that would be no fun. So I like my Monday being off and Brittany only works tell 2. Afternoons and evening I get some Brittany time on my day off too. School/house/yard work in the morning and Brittany in the afternoon. Can't beat that!

Expectations

2010-11-20T06:56:00.000-08:00

This is a few thoughts on expectations. Expectations can be good, but for the most part bad. If you expect something to happen and it does not come true, then you feel bad. In my life I know I live through expectations, and I can tell you that it hurts. When expectations are not met then feelings get hurt. Plain and simple as that. This makes senses, but do i have no expectations, NO. Expecting someone to do something is all about trust. When someone does not meet your expectations, then your trust for them is hurt. Of course there are unrealistic expectations. These are things that you wish to happen from other people and usually don't. These expectations would take a change in the person you wish it upon for the expectation to come true. Unrealistic expectations hurt much more then regular expectations. I have been hurt by both. That is why the only person to put trust in and when you expect something, unrealistic or not is God. God keeps His promises, the only problem is that God will for our lives is different then our will for our life. So if we see and expectation that we feel God did not meet, don't get hurt just remember that God is bigger and looking out for our best interest. This is what I have experienced in my life with expectations, and I am still struggling with!

Wave

2010-11-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

I always been self motivated. When I want something I go out and do it. I see the big picture and know what I have to do. This attitude is the reason why I am self motivated. A classic example of me being self motivated was for my bachelor's degree from Warner University. All the classes were on-line. On-line classes require more work than regular classes. For one more reading and you have to stay on top of everything! I knew that completing my degree would result in getting my degree and getting more money from work/higher job status. So I saw the big picture and went after it. I hit the ground running and completed my degree in two years with a GPA of 3.8. When I applied for the degree they questioned me because I was too young. They knew that 20 somethings were as motivated as 30 somethings. Well I proved them wrong. After completing my degree I was tired from the hard work and took the year off. This fall I started my Masters degree on-line which should take me the same amount of time to finish my bachelors. Only one problem with that thought, my lack of self motivation. I describe my motivation for school like a wave. At times I feel really motivated, but others I have none at all and want to stop. Just like a wave has a crest, then falls off. So I guess the lack of motivation would be due to the lack of big picture I see. Would I get more money or change of status at work, No. Would I get a masters degree, Yes. Would I waste time and money getting it, Yes. So why do it then? I guess the only thing motivating me is just the thought of having a paper say Liberty Theological Seminary has conferred on Michael Wilder the degree of Masters of Discipleship Ministries. Sounds good, but so what!

God's Time

2010-11-11T12:42:00.000-08:00

Today I read a great verse for my devotional found in 2 Peter 3:8-9. Peter is one of Jesus' disciples and is the one that the church was to be built upon based on Jesus' instructions to him. In this passage Peter is talking about God's time. I always knew that God's time is different from our time. For example my belief is that when God created the Earth in 6 days, it was not actually six of our days, but His days. Why I say this is the scientific research associated with fossil records etc.. I don't tell a lot of people this belief I have, but after reading these verses it was so cool to me in two ways. Verse 8 says that With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. So the first cool thing is this verse in relation to my thoughts about creation. The second cool thing is in verse 9 that says The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you. This verse is cool because again talking with time our definition of slow is different then God's definition. People pray and ask God to do something for them, or rely on a promise they read in the Bible, but when it does not happen in their time they get upset. A great thing is that we might get upset because God's timing is not our own, but He is patient with us. God loves us! Yes it might take a long time for God to answer a prayer or to give us a blessing, but usually God is doing it in His timing. I am thankful He is because if we get it now, we might not be as ready for it. Just remember that God's time is different then our time and His time is usually the right time. If only they sell wrist watches with God's time on it instead of digital time!

The Year of the parent

2010-11-10T13:27:00.000-08:00

I have been planning for next year since September and in correlation to planning I have been reading several books. Think Orange, Parenting Beyond your capacity, and now Transforming children into spiritual champions and all of these books have a common theme. This theme is minister to the parents and the children. Ministering to the children looks like the same I have been doing, but ministering to the parents is something new. Parents get around 3,000 hours a year to influence their children, while the church only gets 40 hours. With that math I want to minister to the parents. I started to do this in August by having the first KFC open house for the parents. A time in which parents can come and experience worship with their kid. Sadly only 5 parents came that whole weekend. In September I had hope, because we did a parenting class and around 80 parents came to the class to hear me speak on how to help grow their child spiritually and why it is important. With that momentum and reading these books I decided that next year will be the year of the parent. I want to equip, educate, and create a new type of parent. Several ideas that will go down to do this will be two parenting classes the first Wednesday nights of the new semester. One in January and one in August. Also there will be five open houses in KFC to promote family worship. These will be a fun shared experience and of course food! I also want to do some more, but have not thought of it yet. If you have any ideas let me know. I will keep everyone posted through out next year on how the year of the parent will be.

Leader vs Manager

2010-11-04T16:13:00.000-07:00

This was a topic for my school and thought it was good thoughts on my part so I will share them hear.

It is said that leaders and managers are two different groups of people. Bennis and Nanus suggest that, “managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right things.” This suggestion on what leaders and managers are tends to be perceived as leaders are better than managers. I personally would rather do the right thing, then just do things that are right. This perception leads only to assuming that managers have to work harder then leaders. Doing things right takes work or sweat equity, but at the same time when faced with a tough decision doing the right thing is a hard choice. Overall, I believe that from this statement that managers and leaders have to perform different tasks that require different types of hard work.

I also believe that some people are only leaders and some are just managers. These leaders show vision and set goals that will better themselves or the organization (effectiveness). Managers show skills in the everyday life, through scheduling and maintaining the statuesque (efficiency). I am thankful that I have managers who work with me, there role is to keep the train on the track. Occasionally, the train might become derailed and this is when I must step in to get it back on track. To me that is the relationship between a manager and leader. However, I do believe that people can be both. There is a rare occasion when someone comes along that possesses both gifts. A person I believe that fits the description of Bennis and Nanus, as well as James Lipham, who said that leadership has to do with changing goals while management deals with maintain structure, is Walt Disney.

Walt Disney is one of the top business men in the 20^th century. His drive, principles, precision, and vision made it possible for the company called “Disney” to exist. His leadership skill and administration ability made the company exploded into what we see today. As a manager Walt built a company known for quality and detail. To me quality and detail are characteristics of a manager. These characteristics contributed to a successful company. This success shows in the revenue and attendance of the theme parks. When I go to the Magic Kingdom, the quality and detail of the park and the employees are seen. Walt set principles in how to run theme parks and implemented them. When it came time for Walt to begin construction on Walt Disney World, he did not rest on past accomplishments, but kept his eye on the future. He had vision and gathered people around him to achieve this vision. This vision is seen in Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom theme parks. He dreamed this up, but died to see them come true. However, by him gathering followers, this dream became a reality. In regards to leaders and managers, I believe that Walt Disney has a balance between effectiveness and efficiency.

One of my key personal verses is Mark 9:35. Here Jesus calls the Disciples to sit down and He tells them if anyone wants to be first they must be last and a servant of all. The reason why this is one of my key verses is that it describes what type of leader I want to be. In my ministry of children, I oversee children 5 to 11 years old and a volunteer base of around 30. When it comes to my volunteers I have to be a leader. When I lead, I want to be like Jesus and that to serve His followers. Jesus served the people, and by doing so He lead them. I try to serve my volunteers by helping them with their lesson, gathering supplies, dealing with unruly children, and cast vision to get them stoked about children’s ministry. Yet during the week I feel like a manager. I schedule the children’s church and maintain the children’s ministry. I report to the pastor, he is the leader, and he hired me to leaded the ministry, but also manage it as well. In regards to Bennis and Nanus statement of managers and leaders, I would have to agree with them. I feel like I manage during the week and lead during the weekend. I need to be efficient during the week in my prep so that for the weekend I can be effective with the children. If I do my job right during the week, the weekend can run smoothly. Luckily for me I have other people that work for me that help me out during the week. These people are definitely managers, due to them keeping the focus on reaching the goal or mission for the children’s ministry. Without these people, I feel that the ministry would not be the same.

I personally believe that a leader rallies the followers to accomplish the goal, while managers arrange the details in order to accomplish the goal. A key role for a leader is to make sure the purpose tank is full. The purpose tank is the vision or the reason why people are doing what they are doing. If the tank is empty people will lose sight of the vision and the quality of the product will go down. A leader needs to recognize when the tank is becoming empty and rally the people or remind them why they are here.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

2010-10-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

I have never ever read a book in four days. It usually takes me around two weeks but this book was something different. After I read this book my outlook on life was changed by it. Patrick Lencioni the one who wrote the book is a great author who uses a fable to get the point across to the reader. Unlike other books like this the authors just tells how to do it and gives tips to put it into action. The fable with this book was the thing that just blew my mind. During the reading each characterful spoke to me and I could identify them with something. What that something is I can not say, but it was like I was open my eyes for the first time. This book in my opinion is one that any organization that has a team needs to go through. The book talked about the five dysfunctions. The first one is absence of Trust. This is the fear of being vulnerable with team members which prevents the building of trust within the team. The second is the fear of conflict. Conflict is a good thing and can get things done but trust must be established before this can happen.The next is Lack of commitment. The lack of clarity or buy-in prevents team members from making decisions they will stick to. A big thing is the communication is not there. The fourth is avoidance of accountability. The need to avoid interpersonal discomfort prevents team members from holding one another accountable for their behaviors and performance. Creating a culture of equals will create peer accountability. The last dysfunction is Inattention Results. This is when the pursuit of individual goals and presonal status erodes the focus of collective success. Basically the last one is stating being selfish and looking out for yourself or being a team player. These five dysfunctions according to Patrick are a pyramid. You can not expect to work on number five with out working on number one. This book has good practical ways to get the team to fight these dysfunctions and are worth the go. The only issue is that this takes a strong leader to start the process. This leader is the one who is in charge of the organization or team and can not be afraid to make necessary changes for the success of the team. If you are on staff at a church or business you need to read this a then give it to your team members to read too. Due to this one book I am going to read his other book called The Five Temptations of a CEO. This whole leader thing even might change my thought on my seminary degree. Just have to wait and pray!

A long time

2010-10-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

I have not been on this thing in a long time. It is not that I don't like blogging or because now my wife has one and I do everything she does. It is because I forgot my user name and password. I hate it when that happens with websites. Thank goodness I have an app that keeps all my user names and passwords. Man I love technology!

F.R.O.G.

2009-01-30T13:18:00.000-08:00

Life lessons from a Frog:
I was getting in my truck yesterday morning and as I open the door and getting in a frog jumped on me. When the frog was on me I did what any normal humans do and that is freak out. I tried to knock the frog out of the truck but he jumped back behind the seat. I then did a search of the car to find the frog but he was M.I.A. As I drove to work I prayed that the frog would not jump on me but he did not. All day long I thought about the frog in my truck and I started to feel compassion for this creature. After work I search the car again but no luck. This morning I get in the truck and scan the area and still no frog. While I was driving to work the windows in the truck were fogging up and I notice tinny frog feet on the side, rear, and front windows. As I was stopped at a light and looking at the tinny frog feet I looked down on the truck floor and notice the green little guy. I was happy to have found him and see him. But I notice he was not moving at all. So I quickly drove to work where I tried to save the frog. I park, run to the other side of the truck, fling open the door and began to reach towards the frog. The frog did not move at all as I get closer and closer. I then picked him up in my hand and placed him into a bush. A couple hours had past by when I went out to my truck to go to lunch and I looked at the bush where I put the frog and the frog was gone! I assume that he jumped away and is alive right now.

What can I learn from the frog. This frog got himself in a tight place and could not get out. The only way for him to get out and live is with the help of me. To many times in life we get ourselves in tight places and we need help to get out. During these times we need to cry out to God to help us. When he reaches down his hand to help we are then placed back safely in the bush and ready to go about our lives. The frog needed help from above(Me) and we need help from above as well (God).

CPC

2009-01-09T07:35:00.000-08:00

I went to a Children's Pastor Conference this past week. This is the third time I went in three years and this one was the best one in the terms of learning. I learned so much about Children's ministry and the church form the speakers to the breakouts. I thank God for opening my eyes and heart to what these people were saying. One of the best things or sayings I took out of this was the fact that the word Childcare needs to be thrown out the window. I do not provide childcare, I provide Children's ministry. This one though will shape my outlook on ministrying to children and about the church I am in. Of course there is lot more I learned then this but the other stuff I don't want to get in trouble for!!! :)

Is any one understanding?

2008-12-22T13:34:00.001-08:00

I always wondered if my sermons to the kids were getting to them. As I look over the kids when I preach I notice a look of not paying attention. Like this last sermon series I did was very abstract I thought for kids to understand but I did it any way. The title was called "What toy are you?" Over a four week span I looked at four different toys and how they related to them. First was lego's and how we need to be built the right way. The second was G.I. Joe and how we need to sacrifice for others just like Jesus did. The third toy was Mr. Potato Head and they learned that looking on the inside is more important then looking on the outside in which we need God's eyes. The last toy was Barbie Doll and how they need to not be like the world but transform to heavenly things. I did not think the kids got anything from this but today something that was very encouraging happen and I just had to stop and thank God. I was in the grocery store buying things for dinner and a man that was stocking shelves looked at me and said are you pastor Mike. He told me that his kids go to church and just always love to talk about you and the messages you give. I have no idea who his kids are due to the 300 on an typical weekend. But he said that two nights ago his daughter and son were fighting and the daughter told the son that he was being a Barbie Doll all fixed on the world. He laughed and said that my messages were getting to them and they love it. I thanked him and left and stopped to thank God. God knows everything!

Puzzle

2008-12-22T13:30:00.001-08:00

Life is a puzzle. You have tons of pieces and each one is hard to fit into each to make a picture. The picture on the box is good because it helps in guiding the pieces where they should go. The big problem is that we only get one piece of the puzzle each time and we want the puzzle done know. When constructing a puzzle patience is required. Does this analogy sound just like life?

Christmas Story

2008-12-17T13:35:00.001-08:00

This is my script I wrote for when I have to do the Christmas Eve services during Kid time. I get to tell the Christmas Story.

At Christmastime we think of wrapped presents, colorful decorations, warm cookies, yummy candies, and of course Santa Clause. But this is not what Christmastime is about. Christmas is a time in which we celebrate and remember the life of Jesus.

Mary, a virgin, was living in Galilee of Nazareth and was engaged to be married to Joseph, a Jewish carpenter. An angel visited her and explained to her that she would have a son by the power of the Holy Spirit. She would carry and give birth to this child and she would name him Jesus.
At first Mary was afraid by the angel's words. Being a virgin, Mary questioned the angel, "How will this be?" The angel told her that the child would be God's own Son and, therefore, "nothing is impossible with God." Humbled and in awe, Mary believed the angel of the Lord and rejoiced in God her Savior.
While Mary was still engaged to Joseph, she miraculously became pregnant through the Holy Spirit, as foretold to her by the angel. When Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, he felt angry and upset because he knew that the child was not his. Joseph had to make a tough decision. The decision was to marry her, divorce her, or have her be put to death by stoning according to Jewish law.
But God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to tell him that Mary's story was true and reassure him that his marriage to her was God's will. The angel explained that the child within Mary was made by the Holy Spirit, that his name would be Jesus and that he was the Messiah, God with us. When Joseph woke from his dream, he obeyed God and took Mary home to be his wife.
At that time, Caesar Augustus decreed that a census be taken, and every person in the entire Roman world had to go to his own town to register. Joseph, being of the line of David, was required to go to Bethlehem to register with Mary. While in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Due to the census, all the inns were too crowded, and Mary gave birth in a stable. She wrapped the baby in cloths and placed him in a manger.
Out in the fields, an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds who were tending their flocks of sheep by night. The angel announced that the Savior had been born in the town of David. Suddenly a great host of heavenly beings appeared with the angels and began singing praises to God. As the angelic beings departed, the shepherds decided to travel to Bethlehem and see the Christ-child. There they found Mary, Joseph and the baby, in the stable.

After their visit, they began to spread the word about this amazing child and everything the angel had said about him. They went on their way still praising and glorifying God. But Mary kept quiet, treasuring their words and pondering them in her heart. It must have been beyond her ability to grasp, that sleeping in her arms—the tender child she had just borne—was the Savior of the world.

After Jesus' birth, Herod was king of Judea. At this time wise men or Magi from the east saw a star; they came in search, knowing the star signified the birth of the king of the Jews. The wise men came to the Jewish rulers in Jerusalem and asked where the Christ was to be born. The rulers explained, "In Bethlehem in Judea.” Herod secretly met with the Magi and asked them to report back after they had found the child. Herod told the Magi that he too wanted to go and worship the babe. But secretly Herod was plotting to kill the child.
So the wise men continued to follow the star in search of the new born king and found Jesus with his mother in Bethlehem. They bowed and worshipped him, offering treasures of gold, incense and myrrh. When they left, they did not return to Herod. They had been warned in a dream of his plot to destroy the child.
Since the Magi did not return back to Herod this made him upset. Herod ordered that this child was to be killed. In a dream an angel appeared to Joseph warning him of the danger and told them to go to Egypt until Herod is dead. Joseph, Mary, and the baby traveled to Egypt and stayed there until Herod was dead. Then the family travelled back to Nazareth where Jesus grew up.
Jesus grew up to be a wise, strong, and spiritual man. When he was thirty years old he got baptized by John. This was the start to Jesus’ ministry. Followers gathered around him wherever he went, and he soon had twelve strong disciples who followed his teachings and spread his word to others.
When the time for Jesus’ death came to pass, he had already left on earth his many lessons on how to serve God, how to have eternal life, and how to love other people. He had preformed many miracles and healed many people, and finally, through his death and Resurrection, he saved us all.
All of you are going to get a candy cane. But when you look at the candy cane it will help you remember the life of Jesus, J. The white in the candy cane means Jesus lived a perfect life and the red represents his blood or death because he died for our sins. The greatest gift you can ever get on Christmas is Jesus.

Gospel of John

2008-12-16T13:59:00.000-08:00

In school this past semester I took a class on the Gospel of John. I found the class to be very inlightning. At the end of the class I had to write an exegesis paper on John 2:13-22. In the introduction to the paper I wrote on the author of John. One might think that John had written the book of John but come to find out that this book is not written by John and in fact no one really knows who wrote it. There are five books in the Bible that John is seen as the author. 1, 2, and 3 Johns are in fact written by a man called "Elder John." Revalations is also written by a John most likely by this elder John. But the gospel of John was not written by this elder john. In fact this gospel is based off of the disciple John. After Jesus going into heaven he went out and began to tell the message of Jesus. It so happen that John the disciple wound up at an early chrisitain school in Ephesis. There John the disciple taught the student of this school about what he saw. Theses students could have listen to John the disciple and took notes based on the teachings which formed the guidelines of the book. But since the book was just a mess of lose fitted notes someone had to rewritten the book. That is why Elder John could of rewritten the notes and added his one style to the book which is why simularities between 1 john and the Gospel of John happened. So who wrote the gospel of john. Well John did in the terms of the students of john did.

LOVE

2008-12-13T08:44:00.001-08:00

Love is a great word that describes relationships. I love my wife differently then I love my friends. I love God differently then I love them. I was thinking about Love and I came up with a meaning of this love in relation to being a follower of God. Living Our Values Everyday. These words spell love. Values is a cool thing because it means that what is important to us. I place my values upon God and he is most important to me. As a follower of God I want to be like him. The Bible is clear on how we are to act. A good measure on how to act is to be like God. If God is what I value then I want to live everyday as such. The love I have for God I want to show others and I do this by Living Our Values Everyday. I challenge all to live a life of LOVE.

Faith in the Next Generation

2008-12-12T11:48:00.000-08:00

I am a Children's Minister at Woodland the Community Church. Faith in the Next Generation is my moto, mission statment, or philosphy for my ministry to children.

In everything I do for children I try to teach them three main points for their lives that come out of the teaching of God’s Word, Luke 2:52. The first is I need to make the wise choice. Each child is faced everyday with tough decisions, we want them to evaluate each decision and think what Jesus would do. The second is I can trust God no matter what. We can trust God because he created us and he is always with us in every situation. The third is I should treat others the way I want to be treated. Since we want to live like Jesus the children need to ask themselves do my actions show others about Jesus. Because of these three points the mission we have in the children’s ministry is to pass down the spiritual values and beliefs to the next generation, Psalm 78:4.

“We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.”
Psalm 78:4 NIV