eZine 03.24.2009

Episode #23 (3/14/2009)

Listen to it now for free on iTunes! (CLICK HERE) Or, if you don’t have iTunes already… jump on Apple’s web page for a free download, then click on our podcast page.

Episode Highlights:

• Get a breakdown on which social network your teens are really using, Facebook or MySpace
• Listen to Todd and Jonathan talk about the shirts they’re wearing
• Learn what to do when a skateboard gets stuck into the drywall at your church
• Catch some fantastic ideas on how to attract teen girls to your ministry and manage the teen guys in your ministry

CHECK OUT EVEN MORE PODCASTS ON OUR PODCAST PAGE

Main Point: When we lose self-control, we always pay a price.

The Movie Clip: 10 Seconds
Saving God is a great movie about an ex-con named Armstrong Cane (Ving Rhames) who returns to his old neighborhood after spending fifteen years in prison. He’s a changed man, and wants to make a difference in the community he grew up in. Though the neighborhood is still full of drugs and gangs, Cane tries to make a difference by taking over his father’s old church.

The movie follows Cane’s difficult task of helping the people in his hood, while fighting off drug dealers, gang leaders, and even silver-tongued preachers. One of the people Pastor Cane grows close to is a young man named Norris who is constantly making bad decisions in his life. Cane won’t let anything deter him from helping Norris, and as the two of them form a close bond, Cane tries to help Norris avoid making the same mistakes he made.

Introducing the Clip:
Saving God was not a blockbuster, but it was still an incredible movie! It tells the story of how an ex-con becomes a pastor in order to help the people living in the dangerous hood he grew up in. Though Pastor Cane has to take care of an entire congregation, his focus is on helping a young man named Norris who is headed down the same disastrous road he was once on. Let’s take a moment to listen in on some important counsel that Pastor Cane gives Norris.

Transitional Statement:
In this clip, Pastor Cane relives a moment from his past where he lost his self-control. He tells Norris that those ten seconds of chaos cost him fifteen years in prison. Just like Pastor Cane, you and I will have to pay a price for losing our self-control. Let’s spend a few moments searching God’s Word for some instruction on how to properly deal with those times in our lives when we risk losing our self-control.

Divide into Small Groups:
Let’s go ahead and split up into our discussion groups and talk about this, then afterward we’ll come back together for a final word.