This weekend someone asked a common question about where to find media resources – slides, videos, etc.  For those desiring to add creativity through media to their worship or teaching, finding the media can be time-consuming.  Below are a few links that can help with this task:

Free Resources

Creation Swap – slides and photo backgrounds, some free and some pay to use

Youth Ministry Geek – not exactly free resources, but a blog with links to deals, youtube videos that can be used to teach, and a guide to everything tech for youth ministry.

Livechurch.tv Open Resources – sermon/lesson series with all support media

Wingclips – A library of movie clips indexed by topic, scripture, and movie title.  Lower resolution use is free.

Muddy River Media – A mission group dedicated to providing media content for churches.

Mayang Textures – Looking for generic backgrounds.  This site is filled with textures you can download for free.

StuffICanUse.com – Free resources – video intros, sermon samples, slides – from Southeast Christian Church youth ministries.

Pay Resources

Worship House Media – not cheap but good quality video, song tracks, backgrounds, etc.

skitguys.com – Comedy and drama sketches, often with powerful messages, for $12-$20.

BluefishTV – lots of content/illustration videos, including a whole section for youth ministry.

worshipvue.com – Variety of media, including stills and song backgrounds.

Igniter Media – same format as Worship House Media.

sermonspice.com – Large collection of sermon illustration videos, with other media for sale as well.

Church Media Net – Costs about $40.00 a year.  Lots of media shared, though it can be tough to sift through it all.

Digital Stache – Paid media and games from the tech team at Southeast Christian Church.

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Have resources you find helpful?  Add a comment and share!

If you’ve been on Facebook in the last 24 hours, you can’t miss the variety of perspectives and reflections on the death of Osama Bin Laden.  The reaction to Bin Laden’s death, and the subsequent celebrations in this country, have sparked a lot of conversation.  For those of you who will engage with youth in this conversation in the next few days, below are some reflections and ideas for conversation, in part based on the often quoted Scriptures from Facebook.

1.  Proverbs 24:17 says, “Do not rejoice when your enemies fall, and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble, or else the LORD will see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from them.”  Proverbs 11:10 says, “When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; and when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.”  Good Christian people have had a large variety of reactions to the news of the last 24 hours.  Is there a “proper” reaction?  How do you understand the Biblical witness on dealing with death, injustice, enemies, etc.?

2.  Several sources have quoted Ezekiel 18:23, “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that they should turn from their ways and live?”  It may be worth discussing this passage in its entire context.  Read verses 21-24, which speak not just of the wicked, but also of the righteous.  How do you understand verse 23 in its context?  How do you understand it in the context of our world today?

3.  John Wesley wrote in a sermon, “The necessary fruit of the love of God is the love of our neighbour, of every soul which God hath made; not excepting our enemies, not excepting those who are now despitefully using and persecuting us; a love whereby we love every man as ourselves – as we love our own souls.”  (John Wesley from his sermon The Marks of the New Birth.) In reflecting on the fruit of love, Wesley draws on Matthew 5:44, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  How is love of neighbor expressed when we consider someone like Osama Bin Laden?

4.  Matthew 5:9 says “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.”  What does it mean to be a peacemaker today?

5.  Isaiah 2:4 reads “He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”  As Christians, how do we hold onto to the promise of peace and reconciliation in a broken world?

Finally, two ideas/conversation starters to leave you with:

The first a quote from IU College Student and UMC Connectional Table representative Ben Boruff:  ”If we must celebrate, let’s celebrate the possibility of peace and international justice.  Let us not celebrate the death of a man.”

The second a video shared from another friend that captures the hope of Isaiah 2:4 from an American Hasidic Jewish Reggae musician.  (The song accompanied NBC’s early ads for the 2010 Olympics):

Blessings on your conversations and prayers with youth as we seek as Christian communities to understand and respond as faithful followers of Christ.

I used to spend a lot of time fretting about how our culture ignores Advent and commercializes Christmas.  And while ads that suggest you should buy something for yourself while shopping or deserve a $5 gift card for every $50 gift card you buy for someone else still causes a little steam to come from my ears, I have come to understand that the best response from the church is not to be critical, but to claim and reclaim the rich heritage and liturgy and tradition that define the seasons, particularly for youth.  So here are a few resources that may be worth a look:

Advent Ideas from Rethinking Youth Ministry – This blog has collected a number of resources for youth ministry during Advent.

Advent Conspiracy – This movement began in 2006 with 5 pastors and now provides resources for churches around the world.

A Contemplative Christmastide Worship Resource – This is a free resource offered by The YouthWorker Movement.

And last but not least, a classic reclaim of what Christmas is all about!

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