Podcast6: Grapple Digital Curriculum and Technology Integration with 5th Grade Sunday School Students

kids, podcasts, Uncategorized

This podcast is a mid-semester review of the “Grapple” digital curriculum package from Group Publishing which we are using to co-teach 5th grade Sunday School in fall 2007 at my church in Edmond, Oklahoma. In addition to reviewing the elements of Grapple I address different ways I am integrating technology into our weekly Sunday school lessons, and discuss in detail the different elements of the online social networking and discussion board area provided by Group Publishing as part of the Grapple curriculum.

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It matters how we worship

worship

raise-handsI heard a great sermon this summer by my brother-in-law who pastors Cedarview Community Church in Newmarket, ON. It was one in a series of messages dealing with New Testament worship.

As someone who has grown up in a charismatic church, I’ve seen a lot when it comes to worship. Some of it very powerful and some of it didn’t seem very authentic. I’ve concluded that in many cases, worship is a matter of personal preference and taste. I realize now that God, while allowing us to be individuals does require us to follow some principles and guidelines. Most Christians sing hymns of praise. Why? Is it tradition? Partly but mostly because the Bible shows us time after time that singing and music are pleasing to God and is one way we can express ourselves to Him. Another practice which I’ve always been comfortable with was raising my hands. Until this message, I didn’t really know why.
As Christians, we see the teachings of the New Testament as the fulfillment of the old. When it comes to how we live, we understand the many ideas of the Old Testament were made obsolete (Hebrews 8:13) Part of how we determine what is and isn’t to be practiced from the Old Testament is checking to see if the ideas or practices are encouraged or reinforced in the new. The lifting of hands is mentioned several times in the New Testament. 1 Tim 2:8.

So here’s why we lift our hands in worship and what it means:

  • To remind us of our covenant with God.
  • To show our reliance on Him.
    • Exodus 17: 8-16
    • We need to physically see and demonstrate our reliance on God to each other
  • He likes it
  • To show surrender
    • Psalm 141:2
    • When someone is captured, they often are asked to put their hand up in surrender

So this isn’t about what church you go to or what style of worship you prefer, it’s something God has asked us to do because he desires worshippers. So the next time you raise your hands in worship, perhaps, if you’re like me, you’ll know better why you do it. If you don’t, why not?

Image:Worship During a Vertical Set
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrismoncus/281928443/

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FPC Edmond Sermons online

digitalstorytelling, God

This past weekend I worked to format and publish about 15 sermons from mid-April through the present from our church in Edmond, Oklahoma, as podcast recordings in a new podcast channel submitted (and now approved) by iTunes. Anyone who is interested can either download sermon podcasts as mp3 files separately, or subscribe to the sermon podcast channel in iTunes.

Sermons from First Presbyterian Church in Edmond, Oklahoma

Many of these sermons are fantastic, and I commend them all to you. David Leard’s treatment of the often challenging verses from Ephesians 6 in his July 22nd message, “Everything in Its Place” was particularly good. (Those are very challenging verses to preach on and about.) I also really enjoyed John Gruel’s message on June 24th titled “Twelfth Man.” (Even though I’m not a big fan of Texas A&M!)

It is WONDERFUL, from a personal standpoint, to now have asynchronous access to audio recordings of these these inspired words from our pastors. This past weekend after I published these and our family was driving back from Lubbock to Edmond, my wife and I were able to listen to two of the sermons she had missed this summer because she had been taking care of children’s ministries needs and missed worship.

We are VERY blessed to have four gifted pastors at our church, and I’m thrilled their weekly messages are now available as a globally accessible podcast channel. Listening to a sermon at church (or somewhere else) is certainly just PART of the experiences and the community into which we are called as Christians to live each week, but it can be an important part– especially if it inspires us to change our thinking and our behavior in positive ways in the week that follows! 🙂

podcast

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Compatibility between science and faith

questions, struggles

I attended a wonderful Christian men’s conference at Mo-Ranch in south Texas this weekend, and emerged from the weekend with 22 pages of handwritten notes! To begin the work I need to do in processing and reflecting on many of the ideas shared at the conference, I recorded a 30 minute Gcast podcast this evening with my cell phone, which was automatically posted to the web.

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The Sunday School lessons of Dr. Dan Foster, who was our conference keynote speaker, are available online.

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How Rich are you?

priorities, questions

Our church is looking at Overload. Last Sunday our Pastor spoke on Financial Overload. Here’s a segment from the video we viewed.

Go ahead and plug your annual income into this website. You are rich.

As someone who claims to be evolving into a global citizen, I am compelled to rethink my attitude toward my wealth and how I use my resources. The following verse comes to mind:

“…From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:48

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The Pursuit of Holiness

movies, priorities

It’s been a while since I blogged here so I figured it’s about time.

God has been dealing with me lately about my responsibility as a believer. To that end, I starting reading The Pursuit of Holiness, a book I read years ago. The book helps us see clearly just what we should rely on God to do-and what we should accept responsibility for ourselves. The best analogy in the book is that of a farmer. Certainly there are many things the farmer must rely on in order to prosper but although ultimately it is God that provides the conditions for growth, the farmer must do his part.

Another great lesson in the book is what our attitude towards sin should be. Too often the phrase “victory over sin” is used and we tend to think of it as a personal victory. Sin needs to be viewed firstly from God’s perspective. He hates it. It is first against God that we sin. David, after committing adultery said,

“Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” Psalm 51:4

Understanding what sin is and how God sees it is critical for us in our pursuit of holiness.

I saw the movie The Pursuit of Happyness last month. It’s a great story about perseverance and hope. The author in Pursuit of Holiness says, God is much more interested in our holiness than our happiness. He has not called us to be happy but holy. That doesn’t mean we can’t be happy but it can’t be our ultimate goal. That line of thinking is very contradictory to the world we live. Most people when asked what they want out of life will respond, “I just want to be happy”. I want to be happy too but am learning it shouldn’t be my main pursuit.

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Podcast5: Reflections on our 40 Day Evening Technology Use Fast and Digital Discipline

focus, podcasts, priorities

In this podcast, Shelly and Wesley Fryer share the genesis, goals, and results of our 40 day evening technology use fast that we completed together in the closing weeks of 2006. This was a very positive experience which drew us closer together as a couple and a family, and made us more aware of our abiding need to have digital discipline as we intentionally decide how to spend our time in the evenings together.

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