Monthly Archives: December 2008

Dec 5 2008

Seminary and Student Ministry (part 5): the importance of teaching on ALIENS

aliens-blog1Free file for youth pastors:

Paper: Biblical Ethics and Outer Space

Should we be exploring outter space?  Should we be endeavoring to live on the moon?  And should we believe in aliens?  This is a paper that I wrote in my seminary ethics class (I don’t really preach on aliens all the time).  Around that time, some facts and figures had come to me concerning the amount of money that NASA was spending on space exploration and all their endeavors.  And at the same time I began to think about the money the world needed to feed all of the hungry, starving, and dying.  So all this just came together.  In this paper, I sought to biblically and ethically answer the three questions at the top of this article.  It is actually way more biblical and Christ-centered than you might initially imagine.  I hope you enjoy!

Paper: Biblical Ethics and Outer Space

Dec 4 2008

Here’s Your Sign: a sermon preached on Jonah by a high school junior

introcontentFree files for youth pastors:

Phillip – Book of Jonah – Here’s Your Sign (mp3)

Phillip – Book of Jonah – Here’s Your Sign (fillout sheet)

What will the future of student ministry look like?  Who knows!  Well, God knows.  I do think that the future of student ministry rests of the shoulders of current youth pastors.  The future of youth ministry will be bright if youth pastors focus most of their time and energy on the gospel of Jesus Christ and the authority of God’s Word.  Personally, I see the future of student ministry every week in the faces of a few students in our student ministry.  And the future looks bright!  Just last night, a junior from our student ministry preached on the entire book of Jonah.  No, the sermon wasn’t ultimately about fear, or obedience, or faith.  Rather, the sermon was ultimately about what Jesus said the book of Jonah was about: the death and ressurrection of Christ (Matt 12).  Phillip (the junior on Jonah) preached the passage of Jonah faithfully, then He pointed it to Christ clearly, and then he called our students to share the gospel convictingly.  Phillip is one of those teenagers who just gets it.  He gets why the all the Scriptures points us to Christ.  He gets how to communicate it.  With students in our ministry like Phillip who are called to be future youth pastors, I’m excited to see what God has in store for the future of youth ministry!

Dec 3 2008

Seminary and Student Ministry (part 4): The importance of preaching SALVATION in student ministry

salvationFree file for youth pastors:

Paper: “A Biblically Sufficient Doctrine of Conversion: What Must I Do To Be Saved?”

I heard it again last night.  One of the most popular youth speakers in America asked everyone to bow their heads, close their eyes, and repeat after him.  Then his prayer went a little something like this: “Dear Jesus.  I believe in you.  Please forgive me.  Please come into my life.  Please save me.  Please fill me. I love you.  Thank you.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.”  So what do you think?  Is that an sufficient prayer for salvation?  What elements of the gospel do you believe are non-negotiable for salvation?  What do you say to lead a teen to Christ?  Well, wouldn’t ya know?  I wrote a paper about it in seminary.  I really hope this is helpful to your ministry, and that God blesses your ministry with tons of genuine conversions to Christ!

Paper: “A Biblically Sufficient Doctrine of Conversion: What Must I Do To Be Saved?” Continue reading →