| TheSource4YM.com | |
 | Jonathan’s Resource Ezine |
Weekly Resources, Ideas and Articles from The Source for Youth Ministry
Tuesday, March 14, 2000
| In This Issue |
| If you aren’t a subscriber of this EZINE and would like to subscribe – it’s free – just pop on www.TheSource4YM.com and sign up in the upper right hand corner. |
| Prayer Movie Clip |
Many of you have e mailed me requesting movie clips to use as discussion starters. There are millions of movies out there that kids are watching and talking about. We can use this powerful medium to open doors to good conversations. Check this one out:
Many of you remember the 1994 Best Picture (also best actor and best director) Forest Gump. This movie has a great scene to provoke discussion about prayer and how God’s plans are better than ours.
Start the clip right after Lieutenant Dan shows up on the dock to become Forest’s first mate on his shrimping boat. The scene shows Forest Driving the boat and Lieutenant Dan up on the lookout. He yells, “I have a feeling, if we head due East, we’ll find some shrimp. So take a left . . .”
Forest finally turns left and next we see them emptying the shrimping nets with only junk, such as an old toilet seat cover, falling out. Forest is worried.
“Still no shrimp Lieutenant Dan.”
“Okay! So I was wrong.”
“So how we gonna find them?”
Lieutenant Dan replies sarcastically, “Maybe you should just pray for shrimp.”
Next seen Forest explains how he starts going to church and praying. We see shots of Forest singing in the choir and Lieutenant Dan reluctantly sitting in the back. Then we see them back on the shrimping boat again emptying the nets again, still only junk. Forest says, “No shrimp.”
Lieutenant Dan says, “Where the He?- is this God of yours?”
Forest’s narrating voice says “It’s funny Lieutenant Dan said that, cause right then, God showed up.”
Next scene a huge storm comes. MANY PEOPLE WILL WANT TO EDIT HERE. You can clip out the seen where Lieutenant Dan is screaming profanities at God during the storm. As the storm comes to a stop, Forest’s boat is the only one left- all the rest wrecked.
Now they show Forest and Lieutenant Dan emptying the nets; this time, tons of shrimp pouring out. Forest’s voice says, “After that shrimping was easy.”
Possible Discussion Questions:
Does God listen to all our prayers? Why?
Does God answer all our prayers? Why?
Why doesn’t God answer our prayers the way we want them answered?
How do trials (like the storm) make you feel toward God?
Why can’t we predict or understand God’s plans for us?
When is a time that circumstances in your life were bad, but God used them for good?
For more thought provoking video clips, check out Jonathan’s “Movie Clip” list:
https://thesource4ym.com/videoclips
| Turning 30 |
March 14, 2000
I sit today and write to you all as a 29 year old. But next week . . . I will be 30. So for just this once, allow me to vent!
Next week, I will be regarded as “the old guy” to all teenagers and I will soon graduate to “the old fat guy,” finally reaching my pinnacle as “the old fat bald guy!” My life as the “the young guy” is gone quicker than “New Coke.” (what ever happened to that stuff?). Next thing you know I’ll fall and break my hip and start spending all my miscellaneous cash on Rogaine and Preparation H. The signs of the times are here . . . I’m turning 30 . . . I’ve seen it coming for a while:
10. You’re still bummed when Tuesday nights roll around because they cancelled the A-TEAM.
9. You feel like Jeff Goldblum in The Fly because of the amount of hair growing out of your ears!
8. You find yourself watching Adam Sandler movies just for the soundtrack.
7. McDonalds is no longer good- it’s SIN! It looks good before you partake of it, but after you indulge, it hurts you deep within.
6. The youth you work with don’t understand why you peg your 501s
5. Your spouse regularly asks you when you’re going to start exercising and if you’re really going to put that much mayonnaise on your burger!
4. You’re embarrassed if anyone sees your 501s because your waist size is now bigger than your length
3. You just bought stock in Diet Coke
2. Your parents just gave you a subscription to Modern Maturity
1. You wake up every night by at least 5:30 AM to pee because you can’t make it through the night any more.
There! It’s all out of my system. I’m actually going out this weekend with my best friends and our wives. Then we will indulge in my wife’s incredible cheesecake that she makes for me once a year- I’ll save you a piece!
Jonathan McKee
Jonathan McKee is the author of over twenty books including the brand new The Guy's Guide to FOUR BATTLES Every Young Man Must Face; The Teen’s Guide to Social Media & Mobile Devices; If I Had a Parenting Do Over; and the Amazon Best Seller - The Guy's Guide to God, Girls and the Phone in Your Pocket. He speaks to parents and leaders worldwide, all while providing free resources for youth workers on TheSource4YM.com. Jonathan, his wife Lori, and their three kids live in California.