By Salt

Whoo-HOO!  Someone is checking this out!

I stumbled onto this on youtube the other day.  It's based on John 4:1-42, Jesus and the Woman at the Well.

What do you think of the line: "To be known is to be loved and to be loved is to be known."?  Is there something to knowing someone and loving them?  Or is this just circular talk that sounds neat?

It's been a while!

Traffic here seems to be kinda slow.  I hope we can do something about taht soon.

With Easter fast approaching, I thought this video might be nice for a thought provoking chuckle.

Have you noticed the number of "Spring breaks," "spring festivals," "spring gatherings," and what-not that happen?  Most of them usually mean one thing--4 day weekend from school!

Spring marks a time of new growth and new life.  Easter marks new life, too, but it marks it even greater.  The new life of spring is great, but it eventually dies and disappears in the fall.  The new life of Easter--the life that God made possible by raising Christ--ultimately cannot be taken away.  It can't fade.  It doesn't disappear.  It is ours for the taking, a gift given by the Father and received by faith...

...now that's a good reason to get out of school for 4 days!

Question:  How does Easter affect your daily life?

(This devotion is rated PG because of the video content.)

This video is courtesy of chronicleproject.org.

I almost went with the other video they made where Santa and Jesus talk about miracles, but this one actually started me thinking.

Perhaps you're thinking, "Ah, jeez, he's gonna preach on greed this year afterall!"  Well, yeah, I probably will, but I'll keep it brief.

In the midst of all the gift-giving, it is easy to forget that God gave the first Christmas gift--his only begotten Son.  As we give thanks for all the other gifts we'll probably receive this year, let's remember to give thanks for the First One given so long ago.  The one we're waiting for to return.

Amen.

Some Questions to Ponder?
1)  How can Bethel Lutheran give thanks for Jesus?
2)  How can your family give thanks for Jesus?
3)  How can you give thanks for Jesus?

[This entry is rated E for everyone.  Even the littlest ones can see this]

Can you believe that Advent is almost half over already?!  Christmas trees and lights are going up.  A little bit of snow is falling.  Santa Clauses are appearing here and there, holiday shopping is well underway, and pastors and priests are pulling out their "Jesus is the reason for the season (so stop being greedy)" sermons...

In an effort to try and avoid thumping people over the head, I share with you "the true meaning of Christmas," as presented by the Peanuts gang using Luke 2:8-14.(King James Version)

Merry and Blessed Christmas, one and all!

 
 [NOTE: this will probably make the most sense to older youth, but younger youth may get something out of this when discussed with parents.  The video also has some themes that may be difficult for younger youth.  Parents, please help out.] 

The video you saw above was performed by a band called Lifehouse at a youth gathering in 2006.

It got me to thinking: how do we talk about God?

Someone once told me that Bible translators trying to translate the Bible into Inuit (Eskimo) dialects ran into a problem.  See, the Bible often calls Jesus "the Lamb of God."  The Inuits had never seen a lamb before, so they didn't have a word for "lamb."  So the story goes, they argued for a while, then decided to translate "lamb" as "Baby Seal."

How do we talk about God?

Read 1 Corinthians 9:19-23.  What did Paul do to save people (or share the Gospel)?  Why?  Can we do the same thing?

Can you think of any ways to talk about God without using religious words?  In other words, can you talk about Jesus without using words like "sin," "grace," "unmerited favor," "new life," etc.?

Does the video do a good job telling people about God?  Why or why not?

Remember the Baby Seal mentioned earlier.  Is it possible to loose something in the process of "translating" the Gospel for others?  What's the most important part of the Gospel to you?

We've heard the saying, "Actions speak louder than words."  If we do something kind, and make no mention of God whatsoever, have we really shared the Gospel?

 
 [The subject matter of the following post is rated "PG" (Parent Guidance suggested) because some are rather complicated.  However, these are questions every Christian will face at some point or another.]

When I was trying to set this up I noticed a couple of links that pop up on the advertising for this site.  One that pops every now and then leads to an article entitled "Why All The Things The Church Taught You Is Wrong."  The article tries to undermine our trust in what we know.  You'll even see the occasion add for a site that claims to know why only certain Christians are saved. 

If we're alive in the world, sooner or later we'll encounter someone or something that challenges what we think.  And it isn't because someone is out to get you.  Once while I went to a South Dakota Synod youth gathering at a hotel in Pierre.  As my roommates and I were leaving the room, we met a girl about our age.  She asked why we were there, and we explained our reasons, and she told us about how she read the Bible and books on Hinduism and Mormonism and Buddhism and every other -ism one might think of and how Christianity didn't make any sense to her.  She wasn't trying to lead us astray--she was simply telling the truth.  To her, it just didn't make any sense.  We explained our reasons for trusting God.

How do we know what is trustworthy?  We know we can trust the Bible, not because it's a nice book.  We can trust it because God has inspired it's writers over the years to help guide the reader.  (II Timothy 3:16)  It's trustworthy because God, who sent Christ and the Holy Spirit among us, is trustworthy.  That's why we study it.  It is the written word that points us to the Living Word-Jesus. (John 1:1-5)

We can also ask God to help show us what is trustworthy and what isn't.  God gladly answers prayers asking for guidance.  Sometimes He sends others to speak to us, sometimes He speaks personally.  However He does it, though, the Holy Spirit gladly shows the way.

Questions to ponder:
1)  What do you believe?  Could you tell someone else about it?

2)  How would you respond to someone who disagrees with what you believe?

3)  Have you ever met someone who doesn't believe the same things you do?  Did they ask you questions?  How did you answer?  Did you ask them questions?  How did they answer?

4)  Read John 3:1-15.  How did Jesus respond to people who asked questions?  What would it take for us to do the same? 

5) Does this mean Christians shouldn't watch movies or TV?

Hi!  And welcome to the Bethel Lutheran Church Youth Weblog!

This is a place for you, the youth of Bethel Lutheran, to gather on the web, find out about what's going on, ask questions, post pictures, and maybe even point to some neat stuff on the web, and talk about some things that aren't so great and what makes them that.

The Gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus said, "...remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."  (Matt. 28:20, NRSV)  And He is--even here on the web.  We hope to use this a place to honor Him, also.

You may have noticed the name... "By Salt" is what we're hoping this page will be about.  We know there aren't any periods in this right now, but it actually stands for:

Bethel
Youth
Serving
And
Learning
Together

We hope this site can be a place that God can use to go out into the world By Salt.

Parents, we hope you take an interest in this site, too.  Peak in at it every now and then to see what's here.  Sometimes you may like what you see.  Other times you may question it.  We'd like to assure you that we'll be screening everything before we post it.  Please be aware, however, that there are things for youth of all ages out there.  Some of it is excellent for older youth, but not younger youth, and vice versa.  We will be start each entry out with our recommendations for what children should pay attention to.  But PLEASE don't use this as a reason not to check out what your children are checking out!

See you on the web!

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!