This video ties in with our theme of relationships and sexuality (talking about involvement in sexual activity here) at Seed. As a student, hearing about relationships and sexuality always made me think in the context of people around my age. I would think about relationships in middle school and high school, how people already began sleeping together in high school. There are people from my high school class that have children already. And now in college there is newfound freedom. Everybody lives within walking distance. People can spend the night with each other without having to worry about parents, siblings, whoever. But sexual sin isn’t an issue for just kids. Nor is it an issue for just unmarried adults. It’s a symptom of a disease with which everyone struggles.
Tags: Sexuality
Thanks to Steve Lutz, campus minister of CCO, for pointing out this video. This one really resonates with me.
[I couldn't figure out how to embed it, so clicking on the image will open another window. If your internet connection is not fast, turn off the HD option while viewing.]
Tags: Church Trends
These days, Christians don’t seem to talk much about hell. This doctrine, more than any other, just seems too offensive to the modern pluralistic mindset.
In a comment to a recent post about prayer, Hannah explained that when she prays she likes to think of God’s attributes: his awesome power, his goodness, his love, mercy, compassion, and so on. It is fitting to praise God in this fashion, and it does help us to understand him better. But if this is carried too far (and I do not intend to suggest at all that she carries it too far), we may eventually start to think of God in terms of these attributes. God cannot be reduced to an adjective list. He is a living being.
Tags: Prayer
In a recent post, I claimed that the only truly Christian prayer is the prayer of Christ. This idea is difficult to grasp, and its implications are not entirely obvious. Does this mean that I don’t have to pray? Does it mean that my own efforts are futile? If Jesus has already done it all, then what exactly is my role?
We tend to think of personal prayer as something we create by ourselves; it should just bubble up from within our souls. So we begin by composing a prayer to God. But we don’t hear anything back. We don’t feel much of anything. We begin to think, “Something is wrong. I guess I’m not praying hard enough. Gotta get more intense! Gotta get more sincere!” As we try to do better, we continue this process of self-evaluation. The focus turns inward. Our prayer becomes introspection, a conversation with the self and about the self.
Tags: Prayer
There is a poem vivid in my imagination. It awakes memories of the colorful people that define so many of my experiences. This poem is a celebration of what it is to be living, breathing, a flesh and blood human. This poem is “I Sing the Body Electric” by Walt Whitman. Whitman writes not about the abstract term “humanity”. He writes instead about the real, raw experience of being in the presence of people. In his words is an appreciation of all people and the image of God in each of their bodies and souls, whether he knew it or not. Whitman also didn’t know it but he wrote this poem about my family.
Tags: Life
Another YouTube video =D
This one is a message on integrity, given by Tim Conway. Integrity, or lack thereof, is a big issue today. God calls us to have integrity, that a yes means yes and a no means no. That when a person makes a promise, whether it’s a written contract or a simple verbal agreement, that person holds true to it, regardless of any sacrifice required. And when a person is alone with nobody around to see, he/she acts the same way as if the whole world were watching. Why? Because God is always watching.
This video is also a prelude to my book review on Truth and Transformation: A Manifesto for Ailing Nations by Vishal Mangalwadi. I just have to finish the book first xP.
After I posted an article on prayer last week, four young adults responded with comments that showed an unusual degree of honesty. If you have not read their responses, I strongly urge you to do so. Those responses, and conversations with other young people with whom I have spoken in recent days, have confirmed my suspicions that (a) members of this generation want to relate to God, and (b) they know that prayer must play a key role in this relationship, but (c) effective prayer is difficult and elusive. When Christians are asked, “Is prayer essential?” the answer is a resounding, “Yes.” But when it comes to the practice of prayer – how to actually do it – the evangelical community seems befuddled and bewildered. It is not an exaggeration to say that Christian prayer is in a state of crisis.
Tags: Prayer
Yes, you guessed it. I’m talking about prayer.
Every Christian I know says that prayer is essential. They pray every day. At least they claim that they do. Or they admit that they should. Prayer is, after all, our lifeline to God. But how often are these people actually doing it? And when they do, what are they experiencing? Are they worrying, daydreaming, or fantasizing? Rattling off long lists of requests? Arguing with God? Enjoying an ecstatic, out-of-body experience? Groveling on an ash heap, filled with a sense of personal failure and shame?
When people pray, are they actually thinking about God? About themselves? People they love, people they hate, people they have never met? Are they orbiting the globe, praying for the nations? Are they praying in a very generic way, saying “God bless everyone and everything, Amen”?
Tags: Prayer
I thought it’d be nice to start throwing some YouTube videos on here. Everyone loves YouTube right? Although many people use YouTube for just laughs, it is actually a really amazing source of sermons, debates, interviews, and other educational content. It provides one way to hear about Scripture more than once or twice a week.
This video is Paul Washer, one of my favorite preachers, speaking about repentance. Many Christians delve into the Gospel to learn more. They learn that a true Christian repents. He doesn’t just feel sorry for the sins he commits, but turns away from his sins. And so born-again Christians try to repent, only to find that it’s hard, it’s difficult, it even seems impossible. And these born-again Christians become discouraged and may question whether they truly are born-again Christians. This video addresses those Christians.
And Merry Christmas! :]
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