Tag Archives: Evangelism

Sep 19 2008

SYATP – 1 Timothy 2:1-7 “PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, and PRAY: the way to win people to Christ”

Free files for youth pastors:

syatp – pray – 1-tim-2.1-7 (ppt)

SYATP – Pray – 1 Tim 2.1-7 (handout)

SYATP – Flyers for Schools (8.5×14 pdf)

Text Wars – Powerpoint Game (ppt)

SYATP 2008 – School Handouts (pdf)

 

“See You At The Pole” is coming up next Wednesday, September 24th.  I’ve been involved in SYATP for years, but I didn’t realize how it was birthed until recently.  Apparently, a youth group was so moved by God over a Disciple Now Weekend that they didn’t want to go to their homes, eat their snacks, or chill out in front of the TV’s.  Instead, they went straight to their schools to pray around their flag poles begging God to work in their schools what He’s worked in their lives.  Well, the word spread like wild file.  Within the next few months (September 12, 1990), the first SYATP was official, and 45,000 students showed up to pray around their school’s flag poles.  The next year, 1 million students came to pray on SYATP day.  Reports say that today over 3 million students from all 50 states and over 20 are SYAPTers. Continue reading →

Sep 6 2008

Framework #12 – MACRO Theology – View of Apologetics: How does theology answer the world?

Free files for youth pastors:

05 – Apologetics (mp3)

05-apologetics-blank

05 – Apologetics (ppt)

05 – Apologetics (outline)

I remember feeling so helpless and powerless.  When I was 18 and working at a golf course in Tuscaloosa, the regular morning drill was getting paired off to go out on the golf carts and accomplish the daily golf course duties.  On one morning, I was paired up with Matt, who was a devout and practicing Roman Catholic able to explain his faith very well.  After hearing his spiel, I was perplexed.  How could I ever put my faith in “the gospel of Jesus Christ alone” into words in such a way that would convince him to believe my way over his?  But that was the problem.  I was only thinking of it as trying to explain my faith rather than explaining THE faith!

Continue reading →

Mar 7 2008

Storyline #07 – Genesis 12-25 – You Must Be Trippin: Calling, Blessing, and Struggling

Free files for youth pastors:

07 – Genesis 12-25 – Abraham (mp3)

07 – Genesis 12-25 – Abraham (handout)

07 – Genesis 12-25 – Abraham (ppt)

 

I often like to think back on the journey God has taken me through to get to where I am now.  I grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  From there I spent time in Pensacola for college, back in Tuscaloosa for more college, northeast Pennsylvania to graduate college, northwest Michigan for three summers of camps, Detroit for a year long youth ministry internship, Louisville for the masters degree, southeast Indiana for my first full-time youth pastorate, and now I live in the Huntsville area of Alabama for my dream job.  God certainly did not tell me at the beginning that I would end up here, and I’m glad He didn’t.  If He had, I may have been tempted to skip a few stops along the way which would mean I wouldn’t have met all the wonderful people in my life.  Ultimately, I would have not grown from every experience He took me through. 

 

            As we study the life of Abraham, we see that God did tell him the future. Continue reading →

Feb 21 2008

Storyline #06 – Genesis 10-11 – Tearing the Tower Down…Brick by Brick

Free files for fellow youth pastors:

06 – Genesis 10-11 – Tower of Babel (mp3)

06 – Genesis 10-11 – Tower of Babel (ppt)

06 – Genesis 10-11 – Tower of Babel (handout)

Dubai is one of the most amazing cities ever designed on our planet. They have developed islands that are shaped like the 7 continents of the world and islands that are shaped like a palm tree. Dubai has the tallest hotel in the world, an indoor ski slope (since they are in the desert), and much more. They are also in the process of building the tallest building in the world. It is unfinished, but apparently it will be over a half-mile high when they are done. Continue reading →

Feb 7 2008

Storyline #05 – Genesis 5-9 – When God Pressed Reset: Corruption, Destruction, and Reconstruction

Free files for youth pastors:

05 – Genesis 5-9 – Flood (mp3)

05 – Genesis 5-9 – Flood (ppt)

05 – Genesis 5-9 – Flood (handout)

“Whatever you do, don’t press that button!”  Think way back with me and remember the original Nintendo Entertainment System.  You teenagers today have it so easy with your memory cards and hard-drives which save your games for later play!  On the NES, we had to pause it and leave the system on when we left the house.  But the worst was when someone would press the “reset” button when you were in the middle of an important game. Continue reading →

Jan 31 2008

Storyline# 04 – Genesis 4 – Murder One: Murder, Lies, and Life in Christ

Free files for youth pastors:

When the call came through the police scanner, I immediately knew our joyride turned into a very serious matter of life or death.  I had a close friend who was a Tuscaloosa Police sergeant when I was in my mid-twenties (which was longer ago than I like to admit!).  After signing some releases, I rode around in his cruiser with him during the 11pm – 7am shift.  The kicker – it was January 1, 2001.  The call came in that a murder had just taken place somewhere deep in the ghetto.  My friend told me I could either stay in the police car and risk getting shot, or come investigate the crime scene with him and…risk getting shot.  Since I wouldn’t get a gun either way, I went with him to investigate the 1st murder of the millennium in T-town.

 

            Genesis 4 records the first murder in history.  We must understand the storyline here. Continue reading →

Jan 24 2008

Storyline# 03 – Genesis 3 – Reverse the Curse!

Free files for fellow youth pastors:
Something I’ve always wanted is a talking pet. Have you seen those cats and dogs that can talk by mimicking their owners by saying something like “I love you.” That is really cool to me…but it also freaks me out! Their voices sound so different than their normal pet noises.

When thinking about the scene in Genesis 3, we can’t imagine this speaking serpent as simply some “copy cat” (pun intended!). Continue reading →

Jan 17 2008

Storyline #2 – Genesis 1-2 – Being Human Rules!

Free files for youth pastors:
Humanity rules! Napoleon Dynamite is a fictional movie character that is known for his jeans tucked into his ski boots, teased and curly red hair, and hilarious movie lines that were adored and quoted by teenagers across our entertainment riddled country. When Napoleon took a liking to something, he brought back one of the ever popular retro sayings by exclaiming something like, “Tater tots rule!” The same can be said for humanity by looking at Genesis.
Is humanity something far more than we’ve thought if we’ve used phrases like: “I can’t help that I’m forgetful, or sinful, or full of mistakes. I’m only human. Gosh!” What does it really mean to be human? How did God originally intend humanity to be and live? If we want to live for God in our skin, bones, eye balls, etc, then we must know what God has commanded from us from the beginning! Please read Genesis 1:26-2:25. Continue reading →
Jan 15 2008

Storyline #1 – Genesis 1 – The Secret God Kept For Thousands of Years

Free files for youth pastors:
If I wanted you to know more about me, I’d take you to my home. Not my house here, but I would take you to my old home in Tuscaloosa. I’d show you my house, where I used to shoot basketball for hours and hours during the summer. I’d show you my room where I played video games with friends all night long. Taking you to my home, my church, and my school where I grew up would give you a better understanding of why I am the way that I am. Moses is doing the exact same thing with the Israelites in Genesis. Genesis was written during the Exodus as God is revealing who He is as the Creator-Covenant God and who they are as His people. Continue reading →
Dec 20 2007

Christocentricism #5 – Ephesians 1:22-23 – Jesus Christ is the Center of the Church

Free files for youth pastors:
I wasn’t able to sleep. I couldn’t get the images out of my head, and the anticipation was building daily. That’s what happened the time I watched the show “LOST” on NBC. I only watched it once. Because the suspense of waiting for the next’s week episode was killing me, I never watched it again. Shows like this are a huge hit because everyone connects with a conspiracy. Conspiracy theories are even filling our country about the AIDS virus, the 1969 moon landing, and many more. Everyone connects with an idea of conspiracy because deep down they know conspiracies are true. The reason why movies like “The Da Vinci Code” and “The Golden Compass” attract so much attention is because of their plots of conspiracy. Continue reading →