pradeepan jeeva 12/16/12 pradeepan jeeva 12/16/12

6 PEOPLE YOU ENCOUNTER WHILE WITNESSING [VIDEOS 5 & 6 OF 6]

Ever Pray for Someone while doing to the Cha Cha Slide? .

The Gospel Challenge Video series comes to an end with these two videos. See parts of the Cha Cha slide, and a live human cloning--all to teach Evangelism.

This is the third installment of a 6 part video series that tests people's abilities to witness.
Basically, I put on a disguise, find Christians and see how good they preach under pressure. In this blog post, you'll see how people respond to "The Interrupter" and "The Final Challenge," and other people you've probably encountered while witnessing.

Video 5: The Interrupter
This person gets in the way of good conversations. Let's say you're in a great moment with some people and they are praying with you. This person will bring up irrelevant conversations, and ruin everything that is happening. Featuring Rick Lundskow and Gabby.

Video 6: The Final Challenge
This is the last video! This final video includes every character from the last five videos. This is the ultimate challenge for anyone trying to witness. This features Robin Sullivan from WMUZ radio. On Thursday, December 20, 2012, I'll be on her radio show to discuss Evangelism.

Has this series been helpful to you? Leave a comment.

If you think this article is helpful, share it with a friend and sign up for more articles like this below:

pradeepan jeeva 12/10/12 pradeepan jeeva 12/10/12

6 PEOPLE YOU ENCOUNTER WHILE WITNESSING [VIDEOS 3&4 OF 6]

I slapped a man's butt in order to teach Evangelism.
Ever tried preaching the Gospel while someone slapped your butt and screamed, "turn the other cheek?" This guy hadn't either.

This is the second installment of a 6 part video series that tests people's abilities to witness.
Basically, I put on a disguise, find Christians and see how good they preach under pressure. In this blog post, you'll see how people respond to "The Theologian" and "The Button Pusher," and other people you've probably encountered while witnessing.

Video 1: The Theologian
This person probably knows more Bible verses than you do . They want to make you feel stupid, but you're just trying to share the love. What do you do? Look out for crazy doctrines and obscure facts.

Video 2: The Button Pusher
This is where I slapped a man's butt. Button pushers want to see you fail at Christianity. If the Bible says, "don't murder," they want you to--just to see you fail.

Next Week, I'll post the last two videos.

What kind of people have you encountered while witnessing? Leave a Comment.

If you think this article is helpful, share it with a friend and sign up for more articles like this below:

pradeepan jeeva 12/4/12 pradeepan jeeva 12/4/12

6 People You Encounter While Witnessing [Videos 1&2 of 6]

I wondered what it would be like to provoke people into telling me the Gospel, and then testing their ability to do so. This is the first (and least funny) installment of a 6 part series meant for training people on Evangelism and Outreach.

Video 1: The Challenger
This person "challenges" your integrity and intentions on sharing the Gospel. People like this yell and are easily angered.

Video 2: The SideTracker
This person wants to talk about everything but the Gospel. People like this chase every tangent and try to redirect productive conversations into pointless ones.

Next Week, I'll post the next two videos.

What kind of people have you encountered while witnessing? Leave a Comment.

If you think this article is helpful, share it with a friend and sign up for more articles like this below:

pradeepan jeeva 11/25/12 pradeepan jeeva 11/25/12

3 Reasons Why You Should Brag About Weaknesses

I used to have warts all over my feet.

It was a weakness that I hid all the time.

There is a murderer in the Bible that said he took pride in his weaknesses. I'm thinking, he must not have had warts.

What does it look like to be proud of weaknesses?
"Hey, Man! I'm not good at sports! Jealous?"
"Check this out! I can't do this tenth push up!"
"Whoa! I'm too self conscious to pursue my dreams! Sweet!"

Why would a murderer be proud of his weaknesses?

In this week's sermon, I talk about warts and three reasons why we should boast in weaknesses.

Paul the Apostle says in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 that

"I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Our instinct is to hide our weaknesses, but Paul bragged about them.

He was able to boast in weakness because of the following three reasons:

1. He realized that life wasn't about him
2. He realized in his weakness, he was strong
3. He realized that God uses his weakness to put to shame the strong

I encourage you to listen to this sermon with an open heart, and challenge you to let God look good in your weakness as He uses the unlikely to do incredible things.

-Pradeepan

If you think this article is helpful, share it with a friend and sign up for more articles like this below:

pradeepan jeeva 11/19/12 pradeepan jeeva 11/19/12

Selling Your Future For A Moment Of Pleasure

A man in the Bible sold his leadership position for a bowl of soup.

Many of us think we would never trade the opportunity to be a king or president for one bowl of soup.

But is that true?

In life, I've seen people time and time again sell their future for a moment of pleasure.

We don't have to live this way. There are 3 lessons that we can learn from the life of Esau, so our destinies are not sacrificed for a moment of pleasure.

I have a childhood friend that took calculus math classes before he was a teenager.

He was smarter than the rest of us, and had a great destiny.

He started skipping classes, getting high and partying as much as possible.

Now, he's dead.

Things don't always play out this extremely, but it did in my friends case. Instead of taking care of the talents he had, he started giving into moments of pleasure here and there.

This sort of thing happened to a guy named Esau in the Bible until he lost his destiny.

Listen to this sermon to learn from His Mistakes and understand the three reasons he failed.

What are you most tempted to sacrifice your destiny for?

If you think this article was helpful, share it with a friend and sign up for more articles like this below:

pradeepan jeeva 11/11/12 pradeepan jeeva 11/11/12

3 Man Nights That Work

The boys in our youth church don't know how to pull out their chest hair. So, we have a man night to teach such things once a month. Unless things like beard growing, destruction and grunting are intentionally taught through nights like this, the next generation will be ignorant of such high man culture.

Here are three that have worked for me in the last few months.

1. LUMBERJACK NIGHT

Tell the boys to dress up like lumberjacks. That means they wear or carry the following items:

Overalls
SnowPants
Boots
Plaid
Beards
Hats
Ax
Blue Ox

Tell everyone to bring something to eat and something to destroy.
They'll love this! Then, simply eat and destroy everything people brought.

2. GINGER NIGHT

This is the night to prove if Gingers have souls or not. Everyone wears some sort of red wig (use yarn if you have to).

Buy at least $20 of Ginger Root
Juice the Ginger with a Juicer
Take Shots of Ginger as a Community
Panic

Everyone will feel pain, which is also manhood.

3. FIRE NIGHT

Since the beginning of time, man loved fire. Use this for your man night benefit.

Start a massive fire with gas
Throw in a pine tree
Peer-Pressure teens into jumping over the pit
Cover Arms with Deodorant
Spray Arms with WD-40
Set Arms on Fire
Apologize to parents

Nothing stokes the fires of man like a man on literal fire.

Try any of these nights out, and you'll surely have a "Mantastic" time

WHAT HAVE YOUR EPIC MAN NIGHTS LOOKED LIKE? Leave a comment.

If you think this article was helpful, share it with a friend and sign up for more articles like this below:

pradeepan jeeva 11/2/12 pradeepan jeeva 11/2/12

Is God the Voice in Your Head? [Podcast]

There are several voices in my head, but I'm not crazy.
You're probably dealing with the same thing.
We all have at least four voices in our heads:

God's
The Devil's
People's
Thoughts

Many of us are confident we'd follow whatever God says, but we're not sure if we actually heard from God. In this sermon, I explain 5 tests to determine if I heard from God.

Click the following link to listen:

Speak, For Your Servant Is Listening Part III MP3

How do you figure out what voice you are hearing? Leave a comment.

pradeepan jeeva 9/28/12 pradeepan jeeva 9/28/12

Speak, For Your Servant Is Listening Part II [Video Sermon]

Hello,

After preaching, "Speak, For your Servant is Listening," about listening to God, I preached Part II concerning the ways God speaks to us. I identified 11 ways that God spoke to people in Scripture.

Ever get lost trying follow a GPS? That's probably because you didn't know what the final destination looked like. It's easy to pass the building or site your trying to find if you're not exactly sure what to look for. The same pattern applies to hearing the voice of God. If you don't know how He speaks, it'll be a lot easier to miss His voice.

So, in this sermon I give a context for God's voice from Scripture in order for us to more easily recognize what God is saying.

I hope that you will learn from this message and use it to seek God's voice more in your life.

Check it out.

pradeepan jeeva 9/20/12 pradeepan jeeva 9/20/12

Called to Greatness--The Motofest Challenge [Video Sermon]

Hey,

Last night I spoke a message to one of the rowdiest crowds ever. We experienced about a 50 person growth in our ministry, got kids hopped up on candy, and had them screaming with excitement. Many of these students experienced their first time in church that night and were simply excited to be in such a stimulating environment. I love speaking to crowds with energy! I'd take a rowdy crowd over a dead crowd anytime. Sometimes it's difficult and the speaker feels like he or she is talking over dozens of conversations. Eventually students finally get pulled into God's message and awesome things begin to happen.

In this message, I spoked about God calling us to greater works. No matter how pathetic people think we are, or how pathetic we think we are, God has awesome plans for us. Next week, in our youth ministry, we're throwing an event called MOTOFEST. This event features an X Games Gold Medalist, the Detroit Pistons Parkour Performing team and Highland, Michigan's largest beach ball dance party in history! Best of all, we'll preach the Gospel, and I believe God is going change a lot of lives!

We shared that inviting your friends to church, to MOTOFEST, is an opportunity to participate in one of the greater works Jesus says we can do--preaching the Gospel! The students responded and some felt like they were supposed to invite over 100 of their friends. We are stoked, and looking forward to what will happen next week.

Check out the video below.

Ignited 9-20 from Josh Johns on Vimeo.

pradeepan jeeva 9/14/12 pradeepan jeeva 9/14/12

Speak, For Your Servant Is Listening [Video Sermon]

One of the reasons I'm so excited about ministry is moments like this. A whole row of girls crying, an altar full of hungry people, and God working in all of our hearts. This message impacted a lot of people in Highland, Michigan and I pray it will help you.

This is what the message is about:

Many of us try to follow God, but we're not still sure how to hear His voice. He has the answers to all our problems, but most of our prayer time is spent with Him simply listening. While God is a great listener, in the same way He spoke the whole world into existence with one word, He can change our realities with one word. In this message, I challenge young adults to begin the process of hearing the voice of God.

Check out the Video below,

Pradeepan

Speak for Your servent is listening Podcast from Josh Johns on Vimeo.

pradeepan jeeva 9/9/12 pradeepan jeeva 9/9/12

What To Do When You're Lost [Podcast]

Hello,

Last week, our Ignited students started a new school year. I remember being a freshmen and getting lost a lot. I hated that. Now, I'm trying to help the students know what to do in the case they get spiritually lost in this school year.

Click the link below to listen!

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE LOST.mp3

Thanks,

Pradeepan

pradeepan jeeva 6/25/12 pradeepan jeeva 6/25/12

SINGING FINALE

pradeepan jeeva 4/11/12 pradeepan jeeva 4/11/12

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED [Singing Blogrimage Day 30/30]

VIDEO COMMENTARY:

Talking about the end!

CHALLENGE UPDATE:

Last band practice before the show on Thursday
Finished the 30 day challenge!

THOUGHTS:

It is finished. It feels great to finish what I started. Though the true concert finale is on Thursday, I have been faithful to the 30 days.

I've learned a lot. I learned about the work, the components and the techniques of singing. I don't feel like I have mastered any of these things, though. My mistakes are more obvious to me, but I am also a more confident singer now.

The singer I was 30 days ago is long gone.

Thank you for everyone who has supported me in this challenge! Singing is vulnerable and difficult, but I felt the support of great people.

Special thanks to Jen McClure for coaching me. Special thanks to Amreitha for helping me all along the way. Special thanks to the Jennings brothers and the Fernandez brothers for being in the band and spending late nights in practice!

If you're thinking about becoming a singer. Practice a lot, and practice correctly! Learn the basics and get them into your muscle memory. It's a fun and challenging experience--totally worth it!

-Pradeepan

pradeepan jeeva 4/9/12 pradeepan jeeva 4/9/12

FINAL LESSON [Singing Blogrimage Day 29/30]

VIDEO COMMENTARY:

The last voice lesson. Working on the Doxology. Adding the harmony from Amreitha.

CHALLENGE UPDATE:

Last lesson
Memorizing lyrics
Memorizing Melodies
Getting the songs down for the recital

THOUGHTS:

Wow. Final lesson. This month has not flown by, but it does not seem like it has already been a month. I've now lived in Michigan three months (as of yesterday), and 33.333333% of that has been this singing BLOGRIMAGE.

During our last lesson, Amreitha attended and sang a harmony for the Doxology. We all worked on the song order and tweaked my voice.

They both said that I sound like a much better singer than I did 30 days ago. That's encouraging. I do feel more confident for my concert. I'm excited!

Tomorrow, we have our final band practice. I hope everything goes well and I can nail my parts down!

So much to remember. Lyrics. Timing. Breath. Jaw dropped. Posture. Breathing through Diaphragm. Consonants. Vowels. Etc.

I'll get it all.

pradeepan jeeva 4/8/12 pradeepan jeeva 4/8/12

DOX [Singing Blogrimage Day 28/30]

VIDEO COMMENTARY:

Trying to work on the doxology and sound better! Not sure that I am.

CHALLENGE UPDATE:

Worked on Doxology

THOUGHTS:

The BLOGRIMAGE is almost over! Worked on some singing today. Still memorizing everything. Had a great Easter. We dumped thousands of eggs on kids from a helicopter--so sweet.

Worked on some of my songs today. Still not sounding exactly like I want, but I'm feeling a little more confident. Hopefully that confidence carries through into Thursday!

pradeepan jeeva 4/7/12 pradeepan jeeva 4/7/12

MEMORIZE THIS [Singing Blogrimage Day 27/30]

VIDEO COMMENTARY:

Showcasing the recent song I memorized.

CHALLENGE UPDATE:

Memorized "Great is the LORD"

THOUGHTS:

Here we are in the nitty gritty of performance time. Getting the songs memorized. Running through them and developing my muscle memory is all part of my daily routine now.

I think I have a good pace and all the songs will be ready to go. Most likely, I'll have a cheat sheet in case my nerves kick in.

I think memorizing the lyrics will allow me to sing more confidently and focus on pitch. That's the plan anyways until the concert!

pradeepan jeeva 4/7/12 pradeepan jeeva 4/7/12

TROLLING [Singing Blogrimage Day 26/30]

VIDEO COMMENTARY:

This is what I want to sound like on Thursday.

CHALLENGE UPDATE:

Cancelled Voice lesson
Practicing breathing and melodies

THOUGHTS:

Didn't do much singing, but I launched my wedding site! Check out www.theJeevaWedding.com. Also, I watched the Hunger Games. There was some singing in that.

We're in one of our busiest times at the church, so I haven't been spending a lot on singing. Tomorrow, we're doing a huge outreach. Today we had a Good Friday Service. Sunday, we have an amazing Easter Service. I'm in the office 12 days in a row, but I love what's happening!

I'll keep singing.

pradeepan jeeva 4/5/12 pradeepan jeeva 4/5/12

WELL DONE [Singing Blogrimage Day 25/30]

VIDEO COMMENTARY:

This is the melody I am obsessed with.

CHALLENGE UPDATE:

Final touches for the concert!

THOUGHTS:

The concert is so near, I can taste the nerves with the nerves in my mouth. Hopefully all this mouth sensitivity will increase my singing ability.

Well, this is my favorite intro so far in this 30 day journey.

Props to all of you have stuck with this year's BLOGRIMAGE. Not a lot of people--I'd say 90%--stick with the program. It's a real joy to look back and know that you were faithful to do something that you may not have felt like doing all the time. Again, well done!

I need to memorizing like crazy! The day is coming near, and I will sieze it.

pradeepan jeeva 4/4/12 pradeepan jeeva 4/4/12

MICHAEL W. SMITH IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![Singing Blogrimage Day 24/30]

VIDEO COMMENTARY:

Singing the troubling melody from "Great is the LORD," by Michael W. Smith

CHALLENGE UPDATE:

Learning the pesky melody!

THOUGHTS:

I'm feeling pretty good about memorizing the songs, but this melody stills snags my progress. I'm excited to sing it. The band and I have a special arrangement that nobody is going to want to miss.

The concert is right around the corner. To be honest, I'm pretty nervous. People are coming specifically to hear me sing! They're going to want to see improvement, even if its only 30 days of improvement.

Watching a bad singer is awkward for everyone. If I'm bad, at least I'll know that I'm better than I was a month ago!

Well, the show must go on. Regretfully, I watched "Toddlers and Tiaras" today, and one girl got nervous before the show. She ended up doing really well! Perhaps, I can follow in her footsteps. Actually, I really don't want to follow in the footsteps of a 3 year old pageant girl named "Paisley."

pradeepan jeeva 4/4/12 pradeepan jeeva 4/4/12

ONE MORE BAND PRACTICE [Singing Blogrimage Day 23/30]

VIDEO COMMENTARY:

Instrumental of a song I'm singing. It's an instrumental so I can practice singing to it.

CHALLENGE UPDATE:

The band has pretty much learned all 5 songs!

THOUGHTS:

The challenge is coming to end. I only have one more practice with the band until the final performance. There's not going to be a ton of people at the final concert, but it's still going to be a lot of fun. It's definitely going to be packed enough for a small coffee shop.

The show is at a coffee shop in Downtown Brighton, Michigan.
It's called TWO BROTHERS. We're playing their Thursday, April 12th at 8pm.

Come on by. I really need to practice hard core. I need to memorize all the lyrics and the pesky melody lines I keep messing up.