Worship in a Box

This past weekend in Student Ministry we had our Worship Services in a box.  It's not the conversation that you think is coming either. I've heard a lot of ministers talk about their Sunday morning services as, "Worship in the Big Box." As our Student Ministry team got ready to do a series on Biblical Worship it gave me an idea. We wanted to show students why our Sunday services look like they do. Why do we sing? Why does someone speak? Why do we collect money? Are we really eating Styrofoam wafers during communion?

So instead of getting everyone into a 'big box' and teaching them about every element of our worship service, we put all of the elements into a little box and gave them to our small groups to go outside and explore. Our students and leaders loved going outside and having their own special worship service with their group. 

One of the most memorable parts of the Worship Field Kit was how we 'took up' the offering. When each group opened their box a helium balloon would pop out and just float there, tethered to the box. When it came time for the offering, someone in the group would read the prompt. This is what it said:

Offering  
1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NLT)
"“17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 18 Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. 19 By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.”"
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Uh-oh we are talking about money. Why do we collect money during a worship service? Are ministers just too lazy to get a real job? When we give our lives to Jesus we are also giving him everything we have for Him to use as he wants. That'’s why we ‘sacrifice’ and give our money as an ‘offering’ for Him to use. We can give other things besides our money too though. We can also give our time, and use our talents to serve him.
I bet you have been wondering why there was a balloon in your field kit. Hopefully you haven’t popped it or let it fly away yet. Part of giving an offering is trusting God to use what we have given for His Glory.  Hold onto the balloon we are gonna use it in just a second.

Who in the group has a single dollar that they are willing to give to God to use? Put all of the money in the offering envelope in box. Seal the envelope and tie or tape the offering envelope to the balloon ribbon. Have someone who gave a dollar pray that God would use your offerings to bless someone in need. After the prayer, release the balloon. Its ok if it doesn’t fly away. If it stays on the ground just leave it there and trust God that someone will find it who needs it.


It was one of the coolest Offerings I've ever seen collected. Throughout the evening in the park beside our church, groups of students would bring their balloon with the handful of dollars they had collected, pray that God would use their gift, and then release their balloon. None of us know where our Offering Balloons ended up, but we all know that God is going to use what we gave.

A Tip to Surviving March Madness

We all know what it feels like right? Our facebook or twitter feeds get swamped with generic, raving sports comments and statues like:

• As much as I love Ohio State basketball, I have so much respect for Robbie Hummel and the career he had with Purdue!
• My bracket's made an epic climb from bottom 20 percent to top eight percent.
• A good run, Xavier. Now we are down to rooting for IU and whoever is playing osu or uk, assuming they win.
• I hate referees. This week has seen some bad officials...
• How do you move the ball so well for 39 minutes and then make THAT your last shot??

Here is my solution. Instead of going crazy, getting annoyed, and unfollowing people you may generally like, simply play a fun round of Sports Status Mad Libs. Take the following statuses and tweets above (all of them are real by the way). First remove all the names of teams and players from them:

• As much as I love _____ ______ _______, I have so much respect for ______ _______and the career ____ had with ______!
• My _______ has made an epic climb from bottom 20 percent to top eight percent.
• A good run, ______. Now we are down to rooting for ______ and whoever is playing _____ or ______, assuming they win.
• I hate ______. This week has seen some bad ______...
• How do you move the ______ so well for 39 minutes and then make THAT your last _______??

And then insert whatever you think makes for the best laughs:

• As much as I love Justin Bieber, I have so much respect for his Christmas Album and the career he had before people actually listened to it!
• My toilet has made an epic climb from bottom 20 percent to top eight percent.
• A good run, Nickelback. Now we are down to rooting for U2 and whoever is playing Boys 2 Men or N'SYNC, assuming they win.
• I hate cheddar. This week has seen some bad cheese...
• How do you move the furniture so well for 39 minutes and then make THAT your last arrangement??

From that point on whenever that friend starts spouting off about the greatness of their team your mind will immediately begin replacing the names with whatever you came up with earlier. Hilarity will ensue. Hope it makes the awesome month of March just a little bit better for everybody whether your bracket is busted or not.

Matt*
*- I am one of those guys who from time to time will fill your timeline up with sports related tweets and for that I deeply apologize.

#7daysofservice Challenge

As we enter into day 2 of the #7daysofservice Challenge, there are two verses I want to share with you. The first is Mark 9:41. It says, "Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward." Jesus is teaching his disciples about a variety of things and he includes this little nugget of truth. If you do something in my name, no matter how small, it won't go unrewarded. Essentially if you serve others in the name of Christ and His Love, you won't return empty handed. Serving others for God's glory is life-changing for both the doer and the recipient. That's how God's kingdom works.

The second verse is from 1 Corinthians 13:3. It reads, "If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." Isn't that interesting? You can give up everything you have to those in need, and go through immense suffering, but if you have no purpose in those things then you gain NOTHING. Without God's love, our acts of service leave us without meaning. The biggest act of serving someone else can leave you feeling down and disappointed if you do it for the wrong reasons.

Let's keep both of these verses in mind as we serve others this week (and every week for that matter). God does not want us to simply serve our fellow man. He desires for us to connect to Him, fill up with His Love, and share that love with others. If we serve those around us in the name of Jesus, that is when God can start doing incredible life-changing things through our actions. That kind of service is a reward that lasts an eternity!