Archive for October, 2008

The Longest Post Title Ever (OR) 10 Reasons That Every Teenager Should Move the new ESV Study Bible To The Top Of The Christmas List

October 30, 2008 4:24 pm

esv-sb.pngI’m not the first person to suggest 10 reasons why the ESV Study Bible is great, but I want to give you 10 reasons that I think it’s great for teenagers.  In fact, I think it’s so great, that it deserves the top spot on every teenager’s Christmas List!

Here’s why:

10. Teenagers need durability. This may not mean much to you, but a sewn binding (not glued!) means your ESV-SB should last a long time.  And all Bible paper is thin, but this Bible paper should be thick enough to write notes on John 3 without reading your notes backwards on John 4.  Plus several durable formats.

9. Teenagers need good stuff online. Buy the ESV-SB and you’ll find a code inside that gets you THE ENTIRE study Bible online: notes, maps, charts, everything.  Fully searchable.  Highlight a text and write your own note in the margin; save it and come back to it later! Check out the sample…

8. Teenagers need simplicity.  With the ESV-SB, you’ve got thousands of invaluable study aids in one place: notes, maps, diagrams, outlines.  It’s like holding an entire reference library in one book.

7. Teenagers need big pictures. And maps.  And charts.  The ESV-SB pictures, maps, and charts are outstanding.  And they are big!  Unlike some other study Bibles, you won’t have to squint to find Jerusalem on these maps.

6. Teenagers need the big picture.  You can’t interpret a verse of the Bible rightly without understanding who wrote it, who it was written to, and why.  These introductions give you the background you need.  You can learn about Psalms, Isaiah, Luke, Revelation, and more!

5. Teenagers need teaching.  Part of our challenge reading the Bible is bridging the gaps created between us and the original setting by time, distance, culture, and so on.  Every page is loaded with invaluable notes explaining what the Bible actually means, which will help you understand how God is calling you to live for him.

4. Teenagers need to be taught.  And it’s best if they’re taught by the best.  The study notes and articles are written by world class scholars, pastors, and Christian leaders.  Some of the names you’ll recognize (John Piper, Wayne Grudem, J.I. Packer, etc.) some you may not (Thomas Schreiner, Ian Duguid, Andreas Kostenberger, etc.), but this is a Dream Team of Biblical scholarship.

3. Teenagers need to learn. The ESV-SB includes hundreds of pages of valuable articles to help you understand how to read your Bible, and how to live in a way that glorifies God.  For instance, you can learn about Reading The Bible.

2. Teenagers need to read their Bibles.  The best English translation available has been handed to us in a great one-column book-style text in a reasonably large font is easy on sleepy eyes.  Plus enough margin for notes.  Tolle lege!

1. Teenagers need to know God through Jesus Christ. There is not another single item that you could put on your Christmas list that will better help you know God and grow in your love for Jesus Christ.

Remember:

The law of the Lord is perfect,
  reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
  making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
  rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
  enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean,
  enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
  and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
  even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
  and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
  in keeping them there is great reward.
Psalm 119:7-11 (ESV)

five15 BIG MEETING on Saturday

October 28, 2008 4:57 pm

My favorite Saturday night of the month is coming up: five15 BIG MEETING this Saturday!

It’s our third and final installment of Passion in Action: HEAVEN.  Want to get a jump on the message?  Read Revelation 4.  When we see clearly, we’ll worship passionately!

ATTENTION: No pizza and ping-pong this week.  Instead: PIZZA & SOCCER.  Bring a few bucks for the eats and don’t forget your soccer shoes.  Starts at… you guessed it… 5:15.

The Blog Is Back (!)

3:39 pm

I’m assured that the blog is up and running.  That’s reassuring, given the challenges we’ve had.  A blog facelift is on the way, so check back often.  Although I have to say that my perspective on blogging was adjusted today:

blogging.png

The Blog Is Back (?)

October 22, 2008 1:00 pm

Friends, sorry for the off-again/on-again experience with the blog over the last few weeks.  I’m told that we may have it about fixed.  Thanks for hanging in there and checking back regularly.

five15 Playlist

October 18, 2008 10:02 pm

Here was the playlist from tonight:

10-18-playlist.png

Thursday Thoughts For Parents: 10/16/08

October 16, 2008 11:13 am

Parents,

Just a reminder that we have a five15 not-so-big meeting on Saturday. While this meeting is for high school students and their parents, I want to invite parents of all middle school students to attend as well

Our topic is Sibling Revelry: When Families Delight To Be Together. We’ll be splitting up parents and teens; Mark and Lou will be spending time talking with parents about how to create an atmosphere in the home that teens love to be in, and I’ll be talking to the teens about loving their families.

See you Saturday night!

Retirement Home + Redskins

October 15, 2008 10:39 pm

No, those two concepts don’t often go together.  But they do this Sunday.  For those of you who signed up, we’re devoting part of this Sunday afternoon to serving a couple local retirement homes.  We’re going to head over for about an hour or so.  We’ll probably sing a few hymns, and then spend some time talking with the residents.

This is a great opportunity to serve a group of people who are often lonely, forgotten, and overlooked.  What a wonderful way to spend a couple hours.

For anyone who is interested, we’ll meet back at the building to watch the Redskins game at 4.  Hopefully it is nothing like the Rams game this past Sunday.  But let’s not talk about that.  Instead, here are the details:

  • On your own for lunch after church.  Brown bag it or go to Subway or something.  I’d recommend making the best of the five15 Challenge during lunch!
  • Meet in the basement auditorium at 1:15pm.  Don’t change out of your Sunday clothes, if possible.  We want to make a good impression.
  • We’ll spend about 15 minutes getting organized, and then get going.
  • Meet back at the building by 4pm to watch the game, which is of course optional.

Thanks to all of you who signed up to serve in this way!

Thanks For Praying For Us

October 9, 2008 3:24 pm

We got back from our pastors retreat last night.  We had a wonderful time and the Lord met us in many ways.  Thanks for praying for us!  You could do us no greater kindness!

Please Pray For Us

October 5, 2008 9:12 am

The pastors leave this afternoon for our annual four-day pastors retreat.  Please pray that God will meet and lead us as we pray, study, and plan together.  And please pray for our families while we are away!

Thank you!

five15 BIG MEETING on Saturday

October 3, 2008 5:58 pm

See you tomorrow night!