Evernote and Student Ministry

Evernote is my favorite tool to stay organized in student ministry. I'm always looking for tools to help me become more productive. It is best to work smarter and not harder.

Why?

It is free. It is clean. It is cloud based. I can edit and save on my iPhone, iPad or Macbook. You can save multiple files, web clippings, audio notes and more.

I use it as my to-do list each day with check boxes. I find that I have moved away from having multiple pads of paper with random notes scattered on my desk. The way I use evernote is to have different notebooks within Evernote.

For instance: Ministry. Personal. Finances. Speaking. Blog/Writing.

Within each notebook, I have different notes.

One notebook is titled, "Message series planning." I save all ideas and thoughts on teaching series. I find it is easier for me to organize my scatter brain within Evernote rather than having it on different pads of paper. I do use a notepad for quick ideas to jot down, but I try to always keep track in my "ideas" note so I don't forget!

To read more about how to use Evernote, check out this blog post by Michael Hyatt.

What tools do you use to be effective in ministry? What tips do you have in utilizing Evernote? 

Source SM Recap: Volume #23

Current Series: “Awaken a Generation” Main Thought: The most important thing about us is how we think about God. The Word: Isaiah 6:1-4, Psalm 34:8, Ephesians 1:21. Bumper Video:

Awaken A Generation Bumper from Source Student Ministries on Vimeo.

Message explanation: Do you know what it feels like when something or someone gets your attention?

How many of you have had a rude awakening before? In all of our lives, we have abrupt wake up calls. Tonight, we are going to take a look at Isaiah 6. We will see that the most important thing about us is how we think about God!

The prophet Isaiah had a wake up call. He was CONFRONTED with God.

Isaiah 6:1a - “It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord.

Teaching Point #1 - Trust in God is learned when we go through troubling times.

Until we see God for who He says He is, we will never understand life. Jesus revealed that He knows pain as He still has scars to this day. Jesus knows about rejection, even his hometown. Jesus knows about loneliness when he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before the cross. Jesus knows how it feels to be abandoned by His own followers when times became tough.

 Teaching Point #2:  God does not waste the pain in our lives.

Isaiah was awakened to the fact that God was still on the throne! Tragedy is one of the ways God wakes us up! Uzziah started as a king at the age of 16 and reigned for over 52 years. Isaiah was awakened to the fact that God was still on the throne! Isaiah was at church, he was in the right place. 

Why do we run from persecution/pain? We will suffer if we live for God. The pain that was done to you does not define you. You are not defined by what has happened to you. You are defined by the God of the universe.   

^“ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” Psalm 34:8

Isaiah 6:1b-2–He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple.” Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.”

Why is Jesus sitting on the throne?  God isn’t running around frantic when painful circumstances happen in life.

 Correcting our false view of God: Is God a big tyrant ruling the universe who is waiting to blast us? Is God a giant teddy bear that only wants me to be happy?

Isaiah 6:3-4 -  “³ They were calling out to each other,“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.”

The universe displays the majesty of God.    - The sun [an average sized star] is a million times the size of the earth.

i. 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It takes only seconds for the light to reach the Earth 93,000 miles away iii. A million times the size of Earth= iv. If the Earth was the size of a golf-ball the sun would be 15 feet in diameter v. 960,000 Earths fit inside the sun

The Sun is just one of the billions of stars in the Milky Way, which is one of hundreds of billions of  galaxies in the universe.

Psalm 33:6-9 “The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. ⁷ He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. ⁸ Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him. ⁹ For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.”

 Worship is not about us. It is giving God what He deserves as a thankful response!

Teaching Point #3: God’s holiness leads to hope. 

Explanation: “Holy, Holy, Holy” We all need a completely new understanding of the holiness of God. Hebrew word for “holy” means set apart.

^“Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.” Ephesians 1:21.

 How will you respond to the presence of God?

 Are we on the throne of our lives or is God on the throne? Isaiah realizes that the whole earth points to a Creator. He is outside of the universe. God is outside of time. He is the creator of all but also intimately close to the details of our lives.

Have you become like Isaiah and realized how amazing God is?

Element of Fun: We had a PB&J eating contest with leftover egg nog! We showed a video after the contest of how we made the sandwiches with feet! P.S. just kidding it was a joke.

Music: Awaken Me, Lead me to the Cross, One Thing Remains, Give Me Faith, Psalm 24 (closing).

 Favorite Moment: Hearing stories of students opening up in small groups and embracing the pain in their lives. It was also great to see more volunteers joining the team to serve students!

What’s Next: We are continuing our new series, “Awaken a Generation” through Isaiah 6:5-7!

Lukewarm And Loving It

Have you ever tasted a warm coke after it has sat in your vehicle on a hot summer day? Or how about taking a sip of coffee that has sat on the desk for a few hours?It just about makes you want to gag!

This is what we call lukewarm. The Bible talks a little about this in Revelation.

¹⁵ “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! ¹⁶But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! Revelation 3:15-16.

Context is key in this passage. We can easily miss the original meaning if we don't keep in mind that John the writer of Revelations is talking to the 7 churches in the province of Asia. Did you catch that? To the church of Laodicea. The church was neither cold, refusing to follow Christ. It was neither hot as people were not filled with passion. I think it is possible that being lukewarm is the normal response of those in America. The people in this church were lukewarm, hypocrites. They professed to know Christ but they didn't truly belong to Him (Matthew 7:21). Does this sound similar to today's culture?

Cold? Could it be possible that we love being lukewarm. We are so close to the line of sin that we can tell ourselves we are okay. We can tie together the right words to lose the conviction of sin. We blame our sin upon what the culture around us believes and we blend into what is normal. Conformity is the goal.

Hot? We are so close to hungering after God but we do not want people to notice. Are we more afraid of what people think than what God thinks? Holiness is the goal.

In my own walk with God, the times I become lukewarm in my heart is when I am thinking only of myself. The sanctifying work of Christ continually pushes the fear of God into our heart. A reverential awe of who God is! You see, without knowing it, we might be lukewarm and love it.

One of the ways I have seen God bring personal and corporate revival is when we see God for who He really is. We are changed because of who God is! The God of the universe who holds the world in His hands has become our salvation. This is the greatest news!

I believe that the complete dependence upon God for salvation when we say "yes" to Jesus, is the same as we walk with Him on a daily basis. I believe that a daily hunger for this relationship with God will burn away the coldness in our flesh. We will burn anew because of His love. Daily. Don't miss this.

Following Jesus is not a one time decision. It is beyond church attendance. Being on fire is not an event. It is a lifelong, daily pursuit.

And there is nothing lukewarm in that.