Salvation History Like You Have Never Heard It

Salvation History Bible Saga - 2011 Life Teen Training Convention from Life Teen on Vimeo.

Source: http://www.lifeteen.com/blog/learn-about-your-faith/salvation-history-bible-saga

Cosmic Irony?

I'm sorry . . . . I can't help but laugh at the irony: the same week the media takes the Pope's comments on condoms completely out of context - and Notre Dame defeats the Trojans.

H/T: Mark Hart

Ever been confused by St. Paul's writings?

by Mark Hart

When I began reading Scripture I was constantly confused by St. Paul's writings. It was like he was speaking in a riddle. I was comforted to find out that even St. Peter occasionally had a hard time (2 Peter 3:15) with Paul's intense compression of language and depth of his writings.

For this reason, my friend Chris and I wrote a book a couple years back called "Sword of the Spirit: A Beginner's Guide to St. Paul."

Here's a free pdf download of one section of the appendix, where we give you an overview of each of Paul's epistles and "what to look for" as you pray through them:

http://c1514072.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/SwordSpirit_WhatHeWrote.pdf

The final book - available at www.lifeteen.com/store - offers a look at St. Paul's theology and a background on his teachings. Additionally, the full appendix gives an overview of each of his letters (above), maps of his travels, a concordance with his insights on specific topics, a guide for reading and more. The introduction to the book was even written by Dr. Scott Hahn, a brilliant Scripture scholar and trusted friend.

I just wanted to offer you this free overview of St. Paul's writings because I wish I'd had something similar many years ago.

As always, my deepest prayer is that this blesses your prayer life and the greater Kingdom in some way.

May God bless you always and all ways!

Mark

Trust God

How can we possibly trust God in our death if we refuse to trust Him with our lives? 
Believe Prov. 3:5-6

H/T Mark Hart

Memory verses:

PROVERBS 3:5-6

5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not;

6

In all your ways be mindful of Him, and He will make straight your paths.

Read This Only if You Know Who Mr. T is

This will make you smile!  Or, if you are like me - laugh so hard your children think you have gone a bit over the deep end. Then when you explain it to them they still won't get it! First let me give credit where credit is due -- H/T Mark Hart for observing this (However, the YouTube clip is from yours truly)

When I read Matthew 18:32-33, it's hard for me not to imagine Jesus sounding like Mr. T.
Don't remember it the Bible verses by heart?  Of course, neither did I . . . . .  here is the  Bible link :-)

Read the verse and then, if you are so inclined, watch the 1 second clip below!  :-)

Live in God, Not in Fear

H/T to the Bible Geek! (aka Mark Hart)

It’s an interesting fact that the command repeated most often throughout the Scriptures is “be not afraid” or (its close grammatical relative) “do not fear”. The command not to fear (given to us by God) is repeated even more times throughout the 73 books, than the command to love. That should tell you something about how badly God wants us to live in Him and not in fear.

Think about that for a moment -- Live in God, Not in Fear. Pretty powerful in its simplicity and strength.

There are great places throughout the Bible that speak of courage and the need to trust in God in the face of fear. Here are some places (in the NAB Bible) that you can read and pray through. In fact there are 51 places -- pretty good number for a way to start each day of summer! We are going to start the second week of June and read one a day on weekday mornings -- that takes us through mid August.

Some of the Fear verses in Scripture (A few of these include more than one verse):

Gospels (#1 - #15) - Old Testament (#16 - #25) - New Testament (#26 - #51)

1. MT 1:20
2. MT 10:26, 28, 31
3. MT 14:27
4. MT 17:7
5. MT 28:5, 10
6. MK 5:36
7. MK 6:50
8. LK 1:13, 30
9. LK 2:10
10. LK 5:10
11. LK 8:50
12. LK 12:4-5, 7, 32
13. JN 6:20
14. JN 12:15
15. JN 14:27
16. ACTS 9:31
17. ACTS 18:9
18. ACTS 27:24
19. 2COR 7:1
20. HEB 13:6
21. 1PT 2:17
22. 1PT 3:6,14
23. 1JN 4:18
24. RV 1:17
25. RV 2:10
26. DEUT 1:21
27. DEUT 31:8
28. JOSH 1:9
29. JOSH 10:8
30. JOSH 11:6
31. JUDG 6:23
32. 1SAM 12:20
33. 1CHRON 22:13
34. 2CHRON 20:15, 17
35. 1MACC 2:62
36. PS 3:7
37. PS 23:1
    
38. PS 46:3
39. PS 49:17
40. PS 53:6
41. PS 56:5, 12
42. PROV 3:25
43. ISA 7:4
44. ISA 10:24
45. JER 42:11
46. JER 44:10
47. BARUCH 6:14, 22, 28, 64, 68
48. HOSEA 10:3
49. HAG 2:5
50. ZECH 8:13, 15
51. MAL 3:5

Remember – there is no need to fear. God is in control.

TU again to Mark for organizing these scriptures for us! If your parish is looking for a speaker (especially for the youth group ages), I highly recommend the Bible Geek, Mark Hart! Here is an example of his style via a YouTube clip. Enjoy!

PASSION

An excerpt from a Mark Hart talk-

Some people mistakenly think that Christians are only supposed to be mellow, docile, silent, passive, unemotional, weak or overly polite. Jesus lived passionately, not passively. Don’t believe me? How about a few examples...

“Jesus became perturbed and deeply troubled…” – John 11:33

“Jesus got up and rebuked the winds and the sea...” – Matthew 8:26

“He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area…He spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.” – John 2:15

“His heart was moved with pity for them...” – Matthew 9:36

“Jesus wept.” – John 11:35

“When Jesus saw this he became indignant…” – Mark 10:14

“So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb…” – John 11:38

“Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him.” – Matthew 17:18

“Jesus said in reply, ‘O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I endure you?’” – Luke 9:41

“He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground.” – Luke 22:44

Does it sound like Jesus lacked emotion?
Does it appear as though Jesus didn’t show it or that He hid it?
To be emotional isn’t a sign of weakness, lacking self control is. Christ, in His perfection, had the perfect balance.
It’s that balance AND that passion that we, as modern Christians, need to strive for.

Is your faith a passionate one?
If not, DO SOMETHING. He would. And He will. He will move in and through you, if you give Him the chance.

SALVATION GIVEN
“This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to live just as he lived.” – 1 John 2:5-6

PASSION . . . . PASS IT ON.