MOOCs

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Dean G. Blevins

Next week I will be headed to the General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene and the International Higher Education Commission general meeting. We will be talking about innovative delivery in education. I have really been stretched here at NTS through online education and the incorporation of Video Conferencing in the classroom. However, it appears we are just beginning the innovation. I am including a video TED talk to give you a sense of the future.

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John Wesley’s Monday Morning Prayer for Families

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Dean G. Blevins

Wesley’s written prayer for families for Monday Morning. John wrote morning and evening prayers for families, I am offering paraphrases to my Family Ministry class

We humble ourselves, Lord of heaven and earth, before Your glorious majesty. We acknowledge Your eternal power, wisdom, goodness, and truth. We wish to give You sincere thanks for all the good things You pour upon us; most of all Your inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ.

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John Wesley’s Sunday Evening Prayer for Families

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Dean G. Blevins


Wesley’s written prayer for families for Sunday Evening. John wrote morning and evening prayers for families, I am offering paraphrases to my Family Ministry class

To You, the high and holy One who inhabits eternity, You are to be awed and loved by all Your servants. All your works praise You God. We especially give thanks to You for Your marvelous love in Jesus Christ, by whom You have reconciled the world to Yourself (2 Cor. 5:19). You have given us very great and precious promises (2 Peter 1:4). You have sealed them with Jesus’ blood, confirmed them by his resurrection and ascension, and by the coming of the Holy Spirit. We thank You that You have given us so many happy opportunities of knowing the truth as it is in Jesus; this mystery which was hid from ages and generations, but now revealed to them that believe.

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Dallas Willard Audios

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Dean G. Blevins

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I blogged in January on Economic Wisdom and Human Flourishing, including a mention of Dallas’ Willard’s presentations to the Kern Foundation Oikonomia Network retreat.

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The network has recently posted a summary and links to the audio files for your engagement.

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Posted in Discipleship, Economics, Pedagogy, Practical Theology, Spiritual Formation, Vocation | 1 Comment

John Wesley’s Sunday Morning Prayer for Families

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Dean G. Blevins

Wesley’s written prayer for families for Sunday Morning. John wrote morning and evening prayers for families, I am offering paraphrases to my Family Ministry class

Almighty and eternal God, we really want to praise Your holy name for graciously raising us up with a sound body and mind, to the see the light of this day.

We bless You on behalf of all of Your creatures for everyone looks to You and you sustain them at the proper time (Psalm 145: 14-16). Above all, we acknowledge Your immeasurable gifts given to humanity in Jesus Christ. We thank You for Jesus’s miraculous birth, his holy life, his agonizing death, his glorious resurrection celebrated this day, his ascension to heaven, his triumph over all the powers of darkness, and his sitting at Your right hand for evermore.

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Scottie May Lecture Available

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Dean G. Blevins

If you are interested in listening to Scottie May’s lectures they are now available via the NTS Spring Chapel Schedule link.

Scottie May | Miriam J. Hall Lectures in Children’s Ministries
            Associate Professor of Christian Formation and Ministry, Wheaton College

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John Wesley’s Saturday Evening Prayer for Families

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Dean G. Blevins

Wesley’s written prayer for families for Saturday Evening. John wrote morning and evening prayers for families, I am offering paraphrases to my Family Ministry class

Lord, our God, You are infinitely good and You show us what is good in our world. You send Your light and truth, so they may guide us and make quite plain Your way before our very faces. You give us many opportunities and advantages to encourage and empower us in Your service. We have instructions and commands, Your messengers all day long, to help us open Your word so it can patiently invite or warn, direct and exhort us.  Yet look how little we have improved all the precious abilities You have placed into our hands! Lord, You might be justified in taking away the good news of Your Kingdom from us and giving it away to another, more fruitful, people. Because You have called, yet we refused, You might just leave us to our own perverse, stubborn, ways till our sins become the ruin of us all.

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