Parents...here's another devotional for YOU from our current Rhythm series....but before we get there, we got IGNITE going down tonight in The Attic.....we'll kick off @ 5:45 with worship with the band, we'll play a game called "Stuff Yo Pants", which contrary to the title of the game is completely appropriate for our students to play! We'll close out "The Band" series and we'll talk about being in rhythm with others and how it affects our lives when we're not.....of course we'll have small groups too! Come hang out and check out The Attic if you haven't been in a while!
Entering the Story
I like labels. They make things easy to define. If I can label those around me, it keeps things nice and orderly - something my structure-craving brain loves.
I have a friend who is the home improvement king. If I ever need help on a project, he would be the first on my list to call. The guy just single-handedly renovated his entire kitchen and it looks amazing.
I have a friend who is a Bible scholar. If I ever have a question about a Bible verse or chapter, he's my go-to guy. He's incredibly smart and knows how to look at a passage from different angles.
I have a friend who is a great dad. I know I will be able to call on him and ask those "How did you handle?" questions. And he always responds in a very grace-filled, encouraging way.
I also have friends who are good at finances, lawn care, electronics - I think you get the idea.
But the problem with a label is that while it makes it easier to categorize everything in my brain, it gives me a very narrow view of someone. I begin to see people only for what they can do for me, and become blind to what I can do for them. All of these guys are friends not because of that one trait, but because they're just great guys.
They're also human. My friend who is the home improvement king has a lot of stress on his job. My friend who is the Bible scholar had big dreams that need encouraging. My friend who is a great dad is grieving the loss of a family member.
Every person in your community, at your job, in your church has a story. Yet so many times we're content to just read the summaries, aren't we? We're content to just be satisfied with what we see on the surface and make our evaluations based solely on that information.
If we're honest, it can get ugly sometimes. We size up prayer requests based on how rich, how perfect, how beautiful someone's life is compared to ours. We determine who is and who isn't worth our sympathy and empathy based on our own evaluation of someone's worthiness. We determine how someone is worthy of help based on his or her own ability to get themselves out of the situation. We say we love others, but if we're really honest, sometimes we really only love what we want to love.
But not Jesus. He was passionate about people - even some of the most obnoxious, annoying people. People like Peter the hot-headed, or James and John the arrogant, or even Judas the backstabber. And, when you get down to it, people like me.
But the difference between how Jesus sees others and my default perception is that He sees the full person and his or her complete story, not some edited version. He also knows how that will change when He enters into the story.
So many times I'm content to read the Cliff Notes version of those around us, size them up, then move on. But Jesus stopped and jumped into people's stories.
And there are times when He lets me see those stories as well.
I catch a glimpse at the story behind the student who keeps interrupting me on Wednesday nights when I find out they are under a lot of pressure at school and home to be perfect.
I see the story behind the lady with the screaming kid at the grocery store when I realize she's trying to teach her daughter that she can't have everything she wants.
I discover the story behind the rude clerk at the gas station when I watch and see that he just got chewed out by the customer in front of me because they were out of a particular brand of cigarettes.
Everyone has a story, a story that is much bigger than the one I sometimes see. I just need to take the time to read it. And when I do, it makes it much harder to stick a label on someone. They move beyond a single word to become a living, breathing person. Someone who not only deserves my compassion, but my time.
Take time to read the stories of those around you this week. And if you really want to be like Jesus, don't just "read them," but enter those stories!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Reading Romans
Parents,
Time to get you caught up on what our students covered this past Sunday in Sunday School...in case you didn't figure this out from the title of today's post we are reading through the book of Romans. Sunday morning students spent a good amount of time in Chapters 2 and 3.
We started the morning by wrapping up Chapter 1 where we see Paul give a detailed description of human sinfulness in verses 18-32. As we started Chapter 2 we see that Paul is just amazed that some people thought they were free to judge other folks. Paul spends the next few verses making it abundantly clear that we are not free to judge others for their sins because we too are sinners, at times committing the very sins we condemn or worse!
Paul declares that God's judgement of us is based on the truth...it is accurate and impartial. This led Paul to wonder how those who were condemning the sins of others could possibly think they were exempt from God's judgement for the same sins! Paul made it clear that if God had not yet brought judgement on some, then it was truly an example of His great kindness, restraint and patience.
And that's what we really can come away with from these first 5 verses....God is patient with us...he has spared judgement for a time giving us the chance to repent and to turn away from our wicked ways...but like many of the Jews that Paul was writing about, we only repent for a season before we rebel again against God!
In verses 6-11 of Chapter 2 we find another truth about God.....God is impartial toward us...A resounding lesson to be learned here is that claims of righteousness by works speak loudly about a person's needy spiritual condition. God will repay each of us according to our works is what we find in verses 6-8. This shouldn't be misunderstood as a claim for salvation by works...but rather Paul was emphasizing here that people's actions always point to a source. Every deed has a signature that links it unmistakably to either the work of self of the work of God.
In verses 9-10, Paul continues by showing the results of living for self or living for God. One way of life leads to affliction and distress while the other leads to glory, honor and peace...doesn't sound like a tough choice to make for which one sounds more appealing does it? Paul reaffirms in verse 11 that there is no favoritism with God!
Paul closes out Chapter 2 with a word to the Jews and warns them about boasting about a special relationship with God due simply to their heritage again reaffirming God's impartiality!
Our students then jumped into the last few verses of Chapter 3....verses 21-26 to be exact. Here we closed out the morning with an encouraging word from Paul....God offers to forgive us! Verses 21-26 spoke to both Jews and Gentiles of the saving power of Jesus Christ!
So Sunday morning, our students had 3 good pieces of news to study in Romans
1. God is patient with us
2. God is impartial toward us
3. God offers to forgive us.
I hope your student and you as parents are encouraged by Paul's words today! Next week students will finish up Chapter 3 and begin study in Chapter 4! Have a great Tuesday!
Heffe
Time to get you caught up on what our students covered this past Sunday in Sunday School...in case you didn't figure this out from the title of today's post we are reading through the book of Romans. Sunday morning students spent a good amount of time in Chapters 2 and 3.
We started the morning by wrapping up Chapter 1 where we see Paul give a detailed description of human sinfulness in verses 18-32. As we started Chapter 2 we see that Paul is just amazed that some people thought they were free to judge other folks. Paul spends the next few verses making it abundantly clear that we are not free to judge others for their sins because we too are sinners, at times committing the very sins we condemn or worse!
Paul declares that God's judgement of us is based on the truth...it is accurate and impartial. This led Paul to wonder how those who were condemning the sins of others could possibly think they were exempt from God's judgement for the same sins! Paul made it clear that if God had not yet brought judgement on some, then it was truly an example of His great kindness, restraint and patience.
And that's what we really can come away with from these first 5 verses....God is patient with us...he has spared judgement for a time giving us the chance to repent and to turn away from our wicked ways...but like many of the Jews that Paul was writing about, we only repent for a season before we rebel again against God!
In verses 6-11 of Chapter 2 we find another truth about God.....God is impartial toward us...A resounding lesson to be learned here is that claims of righteousness by works speak loudly about a person's needy spiritual condition. God will repay each of us according to our works is what we find in verses 6-8. This shouldn't be misunderstood as a claim for salvation by works...but rather Paul was emphasizing here that people's actions always point to a source. Every deed has a signature that links it unmistakably to either the work of self of the work of God.
In verses 9-10, Paul continues by showing the results of living for self or living for God. One way of life leads to affliction and distress while the other leads to glory, honor and peace...doesn't sound like a tough choice to make for which one sounds more appealing does it? Paul reaffirms in verse 11 that there is no favoritism with God!
Paul closes out Chapter 2 with a word to the Jews and warns them about boasting about a special relationship with God due simply to their heritage again reaffirming God's impartiality!
Our students then jumped into the last few verses of Chapter 3....verses 21-26 to be exact. Here we closed out the morning with an encouraging word from Paul....God offers to forgive us! Verses 21-26 spoke to both Jews and Gentiles of the saving power of Jesus Christ!
So Sunday morning, our students had 3 good pieces of news to study in Romans
1. God is patient with us
2. God is impartial toward us
3. God offers to forgive us.
I hope your student and you as parents are encouraged by Paul's words today! Next week students will finish up Chapter 3 and begin study in Chapter 4! Have a great Tuesday!
Heffe
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Lost Wonder
Hey parents...wanna share a devotion with you today by Tim Walker...but before that....WE HAVE IGNITE TONIGHT!! We'll kick off at 5:45 with an impacting video from I Am Second, worship, People Bingo, Episode 3 of the Band, a Bible study focusing on helping us to see the importance of being in rhythm with ourselves, and small groups! Gonna be awesome!!! Come join us if you wanna see what goes down in The Attic!
Lost Wonder
Life always seems to drift towards a rut, doesn't it? The "new" always quickly fades and we're left wanting more.
Okay life isn't quite that ominous, but look around you at other Christians, especially those who have some history at church. We know it all and we've seen it all. There are very few surprises.
We listen intently to every new speaker, every new book, every new song, hoping that maybe something new will spark our interest. Our sense of wonder is dead.
Some might mark this as a symptom of our culture, but the truth is we've been longing for wonder for a long time.
Look at John 11. A passage so familiar that it becomes white noise in our heads. It's the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead - and home to that one Bible verse you knew you could memorize (John 11:35).
Jesus was on His way to Bethany. "When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask."
Martha always gets the "shame on you" tone when we read this passage. How dare she talk to Jesus in such a way! But if you listen to what she said, Martha believes. She believes that Jesus can do great things. She knows that He could have healed her brother, but she also knows that He still can.
'Jesus told her, "Your brother will rise again."
"Yes," Martha said, "when everyone else rises, on resurrection day."
Martha knew Jesus could do big things. She just didn't expect them. She thought that He would work in the same old way He always did - miraculous, nonetheless, but predictable.
I'm the same way. I know so much about God. I know about scripture. I've functioned in the culture of Christianity for so long that I know it too well.
I don't know everything, but I know that God doesn't always heal when we want Him to - I've seen too many family members die from cancer to know that's a reality.
I know God sometimes says "no" when I desperately want Him to say "yes."
I know God says wait when I want Him to make things happen.
I know. I know. I know. So did Martha.
But then Jesus did something that messed up Martha's knowing.
He moved beyond all her rationalizations.
He surpassed her efforts at self-protection, trying to minimize the hurt and disappointment that life may not turn out the way Martha wanted.
Jesus did what Martha completely didn't expect Him to do - He raised her brother from the dead.
Martha gained back her wonder. She saw Jesus not only do great things for other people, He did something amazing for her.
Do you want that sense of wonder? Do you want God to blow you away beyond all the boxes you put Him in? Because despite all our rhetoric about avoiding boxing God in, in our hearts, we lean towards minimizing and limiting Him. It keeps our faith nice and safe. We don't get hurt by disappointment.
It also keep it boring.
Don't you want to read a passage of scripture and just be amazed at the new things you discover every time you read? Don't you want to learn new things about this God whom you think you know so well? Then wouldn't it be great if all that knowledge and all of that amazement poured into your life, into your everyday, mundane routine? The result would be more than just Lazarus being raised from the dead. You would see some life in your own dead places as well.
That's the kind of relationship Jesus wants with each one of us. He wants your relationship with Him to be filled with wonder. He wants to show you new things about Himself, things that consistently push and pull at the limits we try to put on Him.
Maybe then we could all get lost in wonder too.
Hope this give you something to think about today!
Heffe
Lost Wonder
Life always seems to drift towards a rut, doesn't it? The "new" always quickly fades and we're left wanting more.
Okay life isn't quite that ominous, but look around you at other Christians, especially those who have some history at church. We know it all and we've seen it all. There are very few surprises.
We listen intently to every new speaker, every new book, every new song, hoping that maybe something new will spark our interest. Our sense of wonder is dead.
Some might mark this as a symptom of our culture, but the truth is we've been longing for wonder for a long time.
Look at John 11. A passage so familiar that it becomes white noise in our heads. It's the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead - and home to that one Bible verse you knew you could memorize (John 11:35).
Jesus was on His way to Bethany. "When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask."
Martha always gets the "shame on you" tone when we read this passage. How dare she talk to Jesus in such a way! But if you listen to what she said, Martha believes. She believes that Jesus can do great things. She knows that He could have healed her brother, but she also knows that He still can.
'Jesus told her, "Your brother will rise again."
"Yes," Martha said, "when everyone else rises, on resurrection day."
Martha knew Jesus could do big things. She just didn't expect them. She thought that He would work in the same old way He always did - miraculous, nonetheless, but predictable.
I'm the same way. I know so much about God. I know about scripture. I've functioned in the culture of Christianity for so long that I know it too well.
I don't know everything, but I know that God doesn't always heal when we want Him to - I've seen too many family members die from cancer to know that's a reality.
I know God sometimes says "no" when I desperately want Him to say "yes."
I know God says wait when I want Him to make things happen.
I know. I know. I know. So did Martha.
But then Jesus did something that messed up Martha's knowing.
He moved beyond all her rationalizations.
He surpassed her efforts at self-protection, trying to minimize the hurt and disappointment that life may not turn out the way Martha wanted.
Jesus did what Martha completely didn't expect Him to do - He raised her brother from the dead.
Martha gained back her wonder. She saw Jesus not only do great things for other people, He did something amazing for her.
Do you want that sense of wonder? Do you want God to blow you away beyond all the boxes you put Him in? Because despite all our rhetoric about avoiding boxing God in, in our hearts, we lean towards minimizing and limiting Him. It keeps our faith nice and safe. We don't get hurt by disappointment.
It also keep it boring.
Don't you want to read a passage of scripture and just be amazed at the new things you discover every time you read? Don't you want to learn new things about this God whom you think you know so well? Then wouldn't it be great if all that knowledge and all of that amazement poured into your life, into your everyday, mundane routine? The result would be more than just Lazarus being raised from the dead. You would see some life in your own dead places as well.
That's the kind of relationship Jesus wants with each one of us. He wants your relationship with Him to be filled with wonder. He wants to show you new things about Himself, things that consistently push and pull at the limits we try to put on Him.
Maybe then we could all get lost in wonder too.
Hope this give you something to think about today!
Heffe
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Reading Romans
This past Sunday our students started a 3 month journey through the book of Romans. Romans is a phenomenal book of Scripture and is full of teaching vital to the maturation of our students in their spiritual walk with the Lord. While 12 weeks probably sounds like a long time to study something, we could spend a couple of YEARS studying Romans and still have plenty left over to discuss!
This week students read Chapter 1:1-17. The study focused on the wealth of information we can take just from the introduction and opening paragraphs of Paul's letter to the Romans. The lesson was entitled "Good News to Tell" and was broken up into 3 smaller sections for your students.
"Why We Tell" was a study of the first 7 verses where we find Paul's purpose for writing to the Romans...we see his determination to overcome all obstacles so he could take advantage of every opportunity to tell God's good news! We find here a person in Paul who is truly joyous and thankful for Jesus and the opportunity he has to share in the knowledge of Christ and to share it with those reading this letter...so already in the first 7 verses we see an example that convicts most of us....do we truly let the joy that comes from knowing Jesus permeate to all areas of our lives?....something to think about....
"Whom We Tell" covered verses 8-15 and we again find a wealth of knowledge to learn from here. First we find that the church in Rome had been active concerning their faith, so much so that Paul tells us he had heard news about their faith while serving elsewhere! Wouldn't it be something if people knew about FBC Goodlettsville across the state due to the active faith being exercised in our community and church and not because of our building, our certain programs, but just genuine Godly faith!
We also find another great example from Paul in the fact that he was actively praying for opportunities to travel to Rome so that he could partner with them in spreading the Gospel to those in Rome....when was the last time that we prayed for God to grant us opportunities to tell others about the gospel? That's a tough question for me to answer personally, and I suspect it might be for you as well! We should be motivated by Paul's passionate example of prayer!
"What We Tell" concluded the lesson by digging into verses 16 and 17. Paul makes it very plain and simple what message that He is so pumped to share and that is the message of "God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek." I love and am challenged by the beginning of verse 16 where Paul states that he is "not ashamed" of the gospel. Now, I'm not saying that we are ashamed of the Gospel, but we are all sometimes a little uneasy or even embarrassed by it sometimes, because we simply don't share it like we are "unashamed". I wonder why I don't share the gospel as easily as I do about a tv show, a ball game, or other things that I seem to be able to talk so freely about. Again, another challenging thought that we find in just the first 17 verses of the book of Romans!!
It's going to be a great 3 months of Bible study upstairs with your students as we go through Romans and we want you as parents to be aware of what we're talking about so that you can be encouraged, challenged, convicted and prepared as parents to lead your families! Next week we'll finish up Chapter 1 and spend some time in Chapters 2 and 3 if you want to partner with us in reading!
Have a great Tuesday!
Heffe
This week students read Chapter 1:1-17. The study focused on the wealth of information we can take just from the introduction and opening paragraphs of Paul's letter to the Romans. The lesson was entitled "Good News to Tell" and was broken up into 3 smaller sections for your students.
"Why We Tell" was a study of the first 7 verses where we find Paul's purpose for writing to the Romans...we see his determination to overcome all obstacles so he could take advantage of every opportunity to tell God's good news! We find here a person in Paul who is truly joyous and thankful for Jesus and the opportunity he has to share in the knowledge of Christ and to share it with those reading this letter...so already in the first 7 verses we see an example that convicts most of us....do we truly let the joy that comes from knowing Jesus permeate to all areas of our lives?....something to think about....
"Whom We Tell" covered verses 8-15 and we again find a wealth of knowledge to learn from here. First we find that the church in Rome had been active concerning their faith, so much so that Paul tells us he had heard news about their faith while serving elsewhere! Wouldn't it be something if people knew about FBC Goodlettsville across the state due to the active faith being exercised in our community and church and not because of our building, our certain programs, but just genuine Godly faith!
We also find another great example from Paul in the fact that he was actively praying for opportunities to travel to Rome so that he could partner with them in spreading the Gospel to those in Rome....when was the last time that we prayed for God to grant us opportunities to tell others about the gospel? That's a tough question for me to answer personally, and I suspect it might be for you as well! We should be motivated by Paul's passionate example of prayer!
"What We Tell" concluded the lesson by digging into verses 16 and 17. Paul makes it very plain and simple what message that He is so pumped to share and that is the message of "God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek." I love and am challenged by the beginning of verse 16 where Paul states that he is "not ashamed" of the gospel. Now, I'm not saying that we are ashamed of the Gospel, but we are all sometimes a little uneasy or even embarrassed by it sometimes, because we simply don't share it like we are "unashamed". I wonder why I don't share the gospel as easily as I do about a tv show, a ball game, or other things that I seem to be able to talk so freely about. Again, another challenging thought that we find in just the first 17 verses of the book of Romans!!
It's going to be a great 3 months of Bible study upstairs with your students as we go through Romans and we want you as parents to be aware of what we're talking about so that you can be encouraged, challenged, convicted and prepared as parents to lead your families! Next week we'll finish up Chapter 1 and spend some time in Chapters 2 and 3 if you want to partner with us in reading!
Have a great Tuesday!
Heffe
Monday, August 22, 2011
Happy Monday Parents,
In our current "IGNITE" series we are talking about rhythm and how every piece of our lives is connected. If you went to a band concert and the flutes were out of tune, the last thing you would want is for the tuba section to just play louder in an attempt to try to drown out the squeaky flute players. The same is true in families.
When something is not right in our lives, it affects how we relate to others. If one of you has had a bad day, where is that frustration usually displayed? At home, to other family members, right? For some reason, our families tend to get the worst of us, and we save our "game face" for our friends and co-workers. It's great to have a place where you can be real and a place that's safe, but sometimes the ways we vent put us out of rhythm with our families.
As a family, help one another find healthier ways to handle those crazy times in life. Realize that the first reaction isn't necessarily the truest one - how someone is acting may not be the real issue. Those irritating things at home can be symptomatic of something bigger (at least to that person) going on outside the home. The fight over the remote control can be just another situation where you didn't get something your way that day and it seemed like you were at everyone else's mercy. The need for order may be due to something in your life that is out of control, like a sick loved one or a stressful office situation.
Help one another work past the exterior angst to the real problems. Once you've identified the issue, encourage and pray for one another.
Check back tomorrow for an update on what your students heard about yesterday in Sunday School!
Heffe
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
What's Happening in the Attic tonight....
Well we have Baby Food Musical Chairs, episode 2 of "The Band", worship with Adam Cunningham, session 2 of our Rhythm series where we talk about how we've lost our sense of wonder with God, how that's thrown us out of rhythm, and how we can begin to get it back...and our first night of small groups....should be exciting...come hang out with us parents if you wanna check out what happens in The Attic!
Heffe
Heffe
Friday, August 12, 2011
Sunday School Going Deep
Starting next week, August 21, we're making a few minor changes in Sunday School. For the past several years our students have been doing what we call "topical" studies on Sunday mornings. Basically they've been studying 4-week units based on things like forgiveness, loving others, peer pressure, etc... While these studies are perfectly fine and relevant, we felt they were more suited for our Wednesday night programming. We certainly didn't want to do "topical" studies on both Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights....we know how well that would work with our students attention spans right??
So we're changing Sunday mornings.....no more "topical" studies....instead our students are going to be going through books of the Bible, starting with Romans. For the next 3 months, our youth will be studying the book of Romans from chapter 1 all the way through chapter 16. Students and teachers are going to be diving into the Scriptures a lot deeper than we have been over the last several years....no more pulling out a few verses here and a few verses there, but instead our students will learn what it looks like to study a book from start to finish.
We are confident that students are going to be impacted by going deeper into the word of God and we're excited to see the growth that God has in store for our teachers, our students and our student ministry! We'll keep you guys updated on what we're hearing from our students and teachers and please let us know what your youth are saying at home about what's going on up in The Attic!
Heffe
So we're changing Sunday mornings.....no more "topical" studies....instead our students are going to be going through books of the Bible, starting with Romans. For the next 3 months, our youth will be studying the book of Romans from chapter 1 all the way through chapter 16. Students and teachers are going to be diving into the Scriptures a lot deeper than we have been over the last several years....no more pulling out a few verses here and a few verses there, but instead our students will learn what it looks like to study a book from start to finish.
We are confident that students are going to be impacted by going deeper into the word of God and we're excited to see the growth that God has in store for our teachers, our students and our student ministry! We'll keep you guys updated on what we're hearing from our students and teachers and please let us know what your youth are saying at home about what's going on up in The Attic!
Heffe
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Off and Running
Well, we got our Fall season kicked off and running last night in The Attic where we had a solid group of 43 students and leaders and a whole lot of energy! It was good to see some parental faces in the back coming to check out exactly what we do upstairs on Wednesday nights....hope to see some more faces in the weeks to come.
Just wanted to give you a little video treat this morning...this is the first episode of our video series "The Band" that we are using to reinforce the concepts we are covering in our "Rhythm series. Don't forget to follow up with your students this week about what we covered Wednesday night......the main concept we sent them home with last night was this: We were not created to hide from God, but rather we were made to walk in rhythm with Him.....When we hide from God, he doesn't forget about us, but he seeks after us calling out "Where are you?".....we challenged our students to answer God and stop hiding...that's the first step in getting back into rhythm with God! Check back tomorrow for an update about what we've got going on in our youth Sunday School on Sunday mornings!
Just wanted to give you a little video treat this morning...this is the first episode of our video series "The Band" that we are using to reinforce the concepts we are covering in our "Rhythm series. Don't forget to follow up with your students this week about what we covered Wednesday night......the main concept we sent them home with last night was this: We were not created to hide from God, but rather we were made to walk in rhythm with Him.....When we hide from God, he doesn't forget about us, but he seeks after us calling out "Where are you?".....we challenged our students to answer God and stop hiding...that's the first step in getting back into rhythm with God! Check back tomorrow for an update about what we've got going on in our youth Sunday School on Sunday mornings!
Here's the link to the video:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=986645742418&comments
You can also go to Facebook and like our new page The Attic to see all the video updates in the future!
Heffe
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
August in the Attic
Alright, so I wanted to let you all know what we will be covering with your students over the next 4 Wednesday nights! Here we Go! Again, you're all invited to come and join us Wednesday night @ 5:45 in The Attic as we kick off fall!
Rhythm:
Have you ever noticed how connected everything is? It's almost as if there was some type of unseen structure to all of life, a rhythm. Many of us are oblivious to it until things are out of sync. We know something is wrong, and we can maybe pinpoint a few things around us that are culprits, but deep down we know there is something more going on. We are out of rhythm - with God, with ourselves or with others.
Session One (August 10)
In the beginning, God created a song, a rhythm. Humanity existed in harmony with God, with ourselves and with each other. But then humankind settled for another song - a lesser one - and the rhythm started falling apart. Yet even then, God didn't walk away, and because of that, we have a way to restore the rhythm with Him, with ourselves and with others.
Session One Parent Info: The first week of the Rhythm series is designed to help students understand that in the beginning, God established a rhythm. They will unpack the story of creation and the harmony that existed between Adam and God, Adam and nature, and Adam and Eve. They will entertain the idea that from the start, everything worked together in perfect harmony like a beautiful song. But then Adam and Eve made a choice that destroyed the song and threw the rhythm off. They will also look at God's response to Adam's sin, and they'll see that God continues to seek relationships with us even after things have fallen apart. Talk with your teen about how he or she sees the brokenness in the rhythm around them. Feel free to share your observations as well!
Session Two (August 17)
If you've been in church for a while, you've heard it all and seen it all. You know the stories. You know the songs. You know the words. Many of us even think we know all about God. We think we have Him figured out. We think we know everything about Him, and in our lives. He's very small. But the reality is that we will never fully grasp how awesome and amazing He is. We can spend a lifetime in awe and wonder, and even an eternity, because He's that big....and that good.
Session Two Parent Info: This second week, students will be challenged to look at God in new ways. Many times we find that we are so familiar with the "churchy" descriptions of God that we forget who He really is. And when we forget who God is, how awesome and surprising He can be, then we are tempted to turn our attention and affection to other things and our lives fall out of tune. In week two students will be challenged to discover a God who is bigger than our attempts to define Him. Discuss with your teen ways that God has surprised you and your family with how big He is.
Session Three (August 24)
You've heard the words before - "love your neighbor as yourself" - but most of the time we don't really hear the second half of that. We don't love ourselves. Perhaps it's because it just seems wrong. After all, as followers of Christ, we are supposed to become less as He becomes more. But for some of us, somewhere along the way we've confused humility with self-hatred. God wants us to be in rhythm with ourselves because when we aren't, it throws off the rest of the song.
Session Three Parent Info: This week students will explore the things that create tension in their own self-perception and learn the ugly truth: Being in rhythm with ourselves and being in rhythm with God go hand in hand. How we view God our Creator affects how we view His creation, ourselves. They will consider the masks they wear and the faults they try to cover up, and they'll receive a challenge to begin to shed those masks and be at peace with who they really are. Talk openly and candidly with your student this week about the things both of you have a hard time accepting when it comes to the faults you see in yourself. How can you better accept yourselves as you are?
Session Four (August 31)
No person can have a life of rhythm unless he or she is at peace with other people. That's easy to say but hard to live, isn't it? But following Jesus means being passionate about what He is passionate about - and Jesus is passionate about people. So if we want to be in rhythm, we not only have to be in sync with God and ourselves, we also have to be in sync with others.
Session Four Parent Info: No person can have a life in rhythm if they are not at peace with the people around them. In the final week of this series students will be challenged to be in rhythm with others, to be passionate about serving those they encounter and to seek forgiveness and reconciliation when needed. How can you work at making this a regular practice in your family?
See ya Wednesay,
Heffe
Rhythm:
Have you ever noticed how connected everything is? It's almost as if there was some type of unseen structure to all of life, a rhythm. Many of us are oblivious to it until things are out of sync. We know something is wrong, and we can maybe pinpoint a few things around us that are culprits, but deep down we know there is something more going on. We are out of rhythm - with God, with ourselves or with others.
Session One (August 10)
In the beginning, God created a song, a rhythm. Humanity existed in harmony with God, with ourselves and with each other. But then humankind settled for another song - a lesser one - and the rhythm started falling apart. Yet even then, God didn't walk away, and because of that, we have a way to restore the rhythm with Him, with ourselves and with others.
Session One Parent Info: The first week of the Rhythm series is designed to help students understand that in the beginning, God established a rhythm. They will unpack the story of creation and the harmony that existed between Adam and God, Adam and nature, and Adam and Eve. They will entertain the idea that from the start, everything worked together in perfect harmony like a beautiful song. But then Adam and Eve made a choice that destroyed the song and threw the rhythm off. They will also look at God's response to Adam's sin, and they'll see that God continues to seek relationships with us even after things have fallen apart. Talk with your teen about how he or she sees the brokenness in the rhythm around them. Feel free to share your observations as well!
Session Two (August 17)
If you've been in church for a while, you've heard it all and seen it all. You know the stories. You know the songs. You know the words. Many of us even think we know all about God. We think we have Him figured out. We think we know everything about Him, and in our lives. He's very small. But the reality is that we will never fully grasp how awesome and amazing He is. We can spend a lifetime in awe and wonder, and even an eternity, because He's that big....and that good.
Session Two Parent Info: This second week, students will be challenged to look at God in new ways. Many times we find that we are so familiar with the "churchy" descriptions of God that we forget who He really is. And when we forget who God is, how awesome and surprising He can be, then we are tempted to turn our attention and affection to other things and our lives fall out of tune. In week two students will be challenged to discover a God who is bigger than our attempts to define Him. Discuss with your teen ways that God has surprised you and your family with how big He is.
Session Three (August 24)
You've heard the words before - "love your neighbor as yourself" - but most of the time we don't really hear the second half of that. We don't love ourselves. Perhaps it's because it just seems wrong. After all, as followers of Christ, we are supposed to become less as He becomes more. But for some of us, somewhere along the way we've confused humility with self-hatred. God wants us to be in rhythm with ourselves because when we aren't, it throws off the rest of the song.
Session Three Parent Info: This week students will explore the things that create tension in their own self-perception and learn the ugly truth: Being in rhythm with ourselves and being in rhythm with God go hand in hand. How we view God our Creator affects how we view His creation, ourselves. They will consider the masks they wear and the faults they try to cover up, and they'll receive a challenge to begin to shed those masks and be at peace with who they really are. Talk openly and candidly with your student this week about the things both of you have a hard time accepting when it comes to the faults you see in yourself. How can you better accept yourselves as you are?
Session Four (August 31)
No person can have a life of rhythm unless he or she is at peace with other people. That's easy to say but hard to live, isn't it? But following Jesus means being passionate about what He is passionate about - and Jesus is passionate about people. So if we want to be in rhythm, we not only have to be in sync with God and ourselves, we also have to be in sync with others.
Session Four Parent Info: No person can have a life in rhythm if they are not at peace with the people around them. In the final week of this series students will be challenged to be in rhythm with others, to be passionate about serving those they encounter and to seek forgiveness and reconciliation when needed. How can you work at making this a regular practice in your family?
See ya Wednesay,
Heffe
Monday, August 8, 2011
Kick-Off Is Here
Welcome to The Attic....if you're a parent of a student at FBCG then you are probably already familiar with the name. The Attic. It's the name we have given the 3rd floor of our church building. The Attic. It's where your kids and our students spend their time on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights....but I wonder how many of you really know what goes on in The Attic. I've heard rumors that sometimes middle school and high school students don't relay information to their parents...can you believe that? Surely not our students! Well things are about to change around here....
This is a new site built for YOU the parents.....not your kids....YOU! This blog is going to be where we connect what we do with your students in The Attic on Sundays and Wednesdays with what you are doing with your kids at home. It's going to serve as a bridge, so to speak, between the world of "church" and the world of "family" This is going to be a place where you, the parent, can come and find info about upcoming trips and events, parent training sessions and get togethers, and most importantly what we are talking about and teaching with your students.
This Wednesday night we will be announcing some exciting changes to our students in The Attic that we also wanted to share with you, the parents! Starting August 10th we will be welcoming our 6th grade students upstairs to our Student Ministry. We also will be kicking off our brand new Middle School Ministry. What this means for you is that on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings, we will be providing time for all of our students grades 6-12 time to fellowship and have fun together, but to also have age-specific Bible study as well.
On Wednesday nights, after a combined time of worship, videos, games, etc... we will be splitting the students up for Bible study....our 6,7 and 8 graders will split off for a time of Bible study as will our 9-12 graders and we'll follow this up with another exciting new element of our student ministry: small groups! We have assembled a team of small group leaders who will be spending a lot of time with our students over the next 12 months. We have assembled a middle school team and a high school team!
That's a lot of change...but that's not even the best part. We are going to start getting YOU, the parent more involved in what we are doing. We'll be updating this blog weekly with information about what your student is learning, ways you can continue the conversation at home, opportunities to serve together, and about opportunities for you to come and hang out with other parents and talk, learn, laugh and grow together! We're super pumped about where our student ministry is headed, but we need you guys to walk with us on this journey!
Tomorrow, we'll be sharing with you what your kids will be talking about over the next 4 weeks on Wednesday nights. Our student ministry team is beyond excited about kicking off this new season within our student ministry! Hopefully, you'll come back tomorrow, ready to invest in the spiritual lives of your students, and to partner with our student ministry team! And don't be afraid to follow this blog....it'll let us know you're listening and paying attention!
Heffe
This is a new site built for YOU the parents.....not your kids....YOU! This blog is going to be where we connect what we do with your students in The Attic on Sundays and Wednesdays with what you are doing with your kids at home. It's going to serve as a bridge, so to speak, between the world of "church" and the world of "family" This is going to be a place where you, the parent, can come and find info about upcoming trips and events, parent training sessions and get togethers, and most importantly what we are talking about and teaching with your students.
This Wednesday night we will be announcing some exciting changes to our students in The Attic that we also wanted to share with you, the parents! Starting August 10th we will be welcoming our 6th grade students upstairs to our Student Ministry. We also will be kicking off our brand new Middle School Ministry. What this means for you is that on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings, we will be providing time for all of our students grades 6-12 time to fellowship and have fun together, but to also have age-specific Bible study as well.
On Wednesday nights, after a combined time of worship, videos, games, etc... we will be splitting the students up for Bible study....our 6,7 and 8 graders will split off for a time of Bible study as will our 9-12 graders and we'll follow this up with another exciting new element of our student ministry: small groups! We have assembled a team of small group leaders who will be spending a lot of time with our students over the next 12 months. We have assembled a middle school team and a high school team!
That's a lot of change...but that's not even the best part. We are going to start getting YOU, the parent more involved in what we are doing. We'll be updating this blog weekly with information about what your student is learning, ways you can continue the conversation at home, opportunities to serve together, and about opportunities for you to come and hang out with other parents and talk, learn, laugh and grow together! We're super pumped about where our student ministry is headed, but we need you guys to walk with us on this journey!
Tomorrow, we'll be sharing with you what your kids will be talking about over the next 4 weeks on Wednesday nights. Our student ministry team is beyond excited about kicking off this new season within our student ministry! Hopefully, you'll come back tomorrow, ready to invest in the spiritual lives of your students, and to partner with our student ministry team! And don't be afraid to follow this blog....it'll let us know you're listening and paying attention!
Heffe
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