Parent's Blog
Dear parents,
This week we will be talking about pains and struggles that we all experience in life. We want our young people to realize that they are not alone as they face real hurts in life. The Bible offers wisdom and counsel to help us through these situations and the church offers its support.
One of our goals, as we looked at Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 & Matthew 26:36-46, was to encourage our young people to realize the benefit of talking about their experiences with trustworthy friends and family members. We want them to discover that God gives us the strength to share what we are going through with others--instead of bottling up our emotions, thoughts, and feelings.
Sometime this week, I'd encourage you to talk with your teenager about the reality of painful times in life--including during the teenage years. Discuss your role, and how you are always available as a listener. Let your student know that you are there to just listen and offer support. Also, take a few minutes to pray about anything that may be happening right now in your teenager's life.
If you're looking for a little help to get going, here are some questions that could generate dialogue:
• Why do we sometimes try to isolate ourselves or avoid our friends when we're hurting?
• What are some of the best ways to comfort a friend who's experiencing painful times?
• Which is easier for you: helping someone else or asking someone else for help? Why? What does this say about the way you handle your own pain?
As a leader in our church, I'm committed to supporting the foundations you are putting into place in your child's life. If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know. I'm always a phone call or an email away!
Blessings!
Dear parents,
Our youth group has wrapped up our series tackling four topics that can be struggles for middle and high school students. In this final lesson, we examined the idea of "Multiple Me's" in our lives--in other words, the battle to live consistently.
We built our conversation on 2 Timothy 4:5-8, words from the Apostle Paul to his protégé Timothy. These words--written while Paul sat in a Roman prison--remind of us his consistency, faithfulness, and commitment as a follower of Jesus, and the impact he had on so many people's lives. Paul wasn't a perfect guy, but he was committed to consistently honoring, obeying, and pointing people toward God.
Young teenagers are beginning to recognize the struggle of acting a certain way at church, but living differently when they are at school or with friends. Many students really want to live for God but just don't know how to have Jesus be a part of their daily life at home, at school, on the team, or in life's daily circumstances.
We encouraged our teenagers to recognize the value of choosing to life a consistent life for God. This path isn't always easy, but God will honor their efforts and give them strength along the way. As they choose to live consistently, people will notice--and might be eager to find out more about Jesus because of your students' decision not to have "Multiple Me's."
As you talk with your child about this week's lesson, here are some questions you might want to ask:
• What are some of the challenges to remaining faithful and consistent as a follower of Jesus? What are some especially specific situations that make it difficult?
• What do you think is the difference between perfection, which we can't achieve, and consistency and integrity, which God wants to see in our lives?
• Why might a consistent life point your friends toward Jesus? How is a consistent life an effective demonstration of Jesus and his love?
This has been a great series with our students, and I hope you and your family have had some great conversations because of it.
Have an awesome week!
Dear parents,
Our youth group continues its four-week series tackling four topics that can be struggles for middle and high school students. In this week's lesson, we examined the dangers of lying by discussing a story found in Acts 5:1-10.
Ananias and Sapphira brought a donation to the early church leaders, claiming that it was the full amount of money they earned from the sale of some property. But it was a lie--and it cost them dearly. Obviously, our lies don't all have the same dire consequences, but we do pay the price for our lies through damaged friendships and a wounded relationship with God.
We encouraged our students to recognize how we were created for honesty, how our lies can affect our lives, and the value of confession and forgiveness.
Here are some questions you might want to use as you talk with your teenager about this week's lesson:
• Why do people lie?
• What are some ways your lies can hurt other people? Yourself? Your friendship with God?
• What are some possible benefits of confessing a lie to someone and asking for their forgiveness?
I pray that this is a blessed week for you and your family!
Dear parents,
Our youth group is continuing their series tackling four topics that can be struggles for middle school and high students. In this second lesson, we examined the topic of popularity, using Mark 9:33-35 as our foundation.
This passage shows that Jesus' followers battled the desire to be "first" or "the best." Although it's not wrong to want to belong, when this effort gets out of control, we start to make decisions based on the desire to be popular, instead of the desire to love God and others. Striving for popularity is a risky goal--it reinforces our selfishness and blinds us to the needs of others.
We talked with our teenagers about the desire for popularity, and how they can recognize when the "pull of popularity" has too tight of a grip on their lives. We also discussed one solution they can use when they're trapped by the popularity pull: adjusting their attitude by serving other people.
As you talk with your teenager about this week's lesson, here are some questions you might want to incorporate:
• Why do you think most teenagers care about being popular--or DO most teenagers care about being popular?
• If someone is trying to be "popular," how might that goal affect other decisions in life, such as what they wear, who they spend time with, how they talk, and what activities they do?
• Why does serving seem to change our focus on what's most important in life?
I pray that you and your family have an awesome week!
Dear parents,
Our youth group has begun a series tackling four topics that can be struggles for middle school and high students. In this first lesson, we examined the dangers of gossip by discussing Proverbs 16:28 and other biblical passages that reveal the consequences of this unhealthy habit.
God calls us to live lives built on love, and he has instructed us to use our words toward that purpose. Our words have great potential to bring good--to encourage and heal others' hearts. We can provide this gift of encouragement to people around us.
We encouraged our students to focus on knowing God's truth about gossip so they can be prepared to handle situations where gossip is spoken or heard. They can decide what they will say or not say in those situations. They can be change-agents for good in their schools, communities, and homes through the power of their words.
Here are some questions you might want to use as you talk with your teenager about this week's lesson:
• What are some of the negative effects of gossip? What do they do to relationships? How have you been affected by gossip.
• How easy or difficult is it for a person to avoid gossip?
• If gossip separates the best of friends, like the Bible says, what kinds of words bring friends even closer together?
Have a blessed week!