Hot Topic: Parents
Big Idea: God has placed our parents as the AUTHORITIES in our lives.
Dear Parents - I went to bat for you today. Actually, I was just speaking the truth, and I pray it will sink in to the students' hearts and minds.
Ephesians 6:1-2 - Children...obey your parents; children...honor your parents.
Honor and respect are all about acknowledging our parents' position of authority.
When someone tells you what to do, the issue is not what but who.
I closed our time together encouraging the students to work on communication with their parents. If they want to be understood, they need to start providing some information about what they are feeling, facing, fearing! And they need to ask their parents more questions in an attempt to get to know them and understand them better.
So...take your students out for a conversation this week. Not about grades or chores. This is just about getting to know you better.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The Mix - 3/30/08 El Roi - The God Who Sees
Big Idea: God sees you.
Santa Claus - a fat man in a red suit sitting around, watching my every move, taking notes on my behavior.
If you think about it, Santa is a little bit creepy! Who wants someone else watching you all the time? He sees you when you're sleeping...he knows when you're awake...he knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!
Santa isn't real. No fat guy watching you.
But God is real, and He is the God who sees you. And that's a good thing!
Genesis 16. The story of Abram, Sarai, Hagar and Ishmael.
Hagar runs away into the desert away from friends, family, support, encouragement. She is alone, wounded, scared. No one knows or cares where she is, right?
Wrong. God saw it all go down. The Angel of the Lord meets Hagar by the stream and reminds her that He knows what she is going through. Hagar gives God the name, "El Roi - the God who sees me."
God is the one who sees you.
• He sees you when you are trying to hide
• He sees you when no one else sees you – when you are not noticed by anyone else
• He sees you trying to make the right decision
• He sees you when you mess up and make the wrong decision
• He sees you when you do something because you think no one is looking
Nothing is hidden from God's sight (Hebrews 4:13). He loves you. He sees you. You are not alone. He knows your desires, your fears, your dreams...
Discussion Questions:
1. Have you done something recently that you thought no one else noticed/saw?
2. Knowing that God sees everything, do you think God was pleased when you did that?
3. Have you ever felt alone; like no one cares or notices you?
4. How do you think Hagar felt when God showed up in the desert to talk to her?
Santa Claus - a fat man in a red suit sitting around, watching my every move, taking notes on my behavior.
If you think about it, Santa is a little bit creepy! Who wants someone else watching you all the time? He sees you when you're sleeping...he knows when you're awake...he knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!
Santa isn't real. No fat guy watching you.
But God is real, and He is the God who sees you. And that's a good thing!
Genesis 16. The story of Abram, Sarai, Hagar and Ishmael.
Hagar runs away into the desert away from friends, family, support, encouragement. She is alone, wounded, scared. No one knows or cares where she is, right?
Wrong. God saw it all go down. The Angel of the Lord meets Hagar by the stream and reminds her that He knows what she is going through. Hagar gives God the name, "El Roi - the God who sees me."
God is the one who sees you.
• He sees you when you are trying to hide
• He sees you when no one else sees you – when you are not noticed by anyone else
• He sees you trying to make the right decision
• He sees you when you mess up and make the wrong decision
• He sees you when you do something because you think no one is looking
Nothing is hidden from God's sight (Hebrews 4:13). He loves you. He sees you. You are not alone. He knows your desires, your fears, your dreams...
Discussion Questions:
1. Have you done something recently that you thought no one else noticed/saw?
2. Knowing that God sees everything, do you think God was pleased when you did that?
3. Have you ever felt alone; like no one cares or notices you?
4. How do you think Hagar felt when God showed up in the desert to talk to her?
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Fathers of Daughters
My wife just had me listen to a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called "Cinderella." My little girl loves Cinderella! And for now, she loves dancing with her daddy! This is a great song to remind fathers of how precious our little princesses are.
Do you need to go on a "date" with your daughter and catch up?
Do you need to tell her she is your princess?
One day the clock will strike midnight and she will be gone!
You can see the lyrics and listen to the song HERE.
Go Dads!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
The Mix - 3/16/08 - Philippians 4:10ff
Big Idea: The secret to being content is not what you have but whose you are.
Paul wraps up his letter to the Philippians by sharing a secret with them. It's the secret to being content no matter the circumstances.
Paul LEARNED to be content.
4:12 “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.”
Sometimes we learn lessons in life the hard way. Paul certainly knew what it was like to have very little. He had been beaten, chased, arrested, put in prison...
In spite of his circumstances, Paul understood that:
The secret to being content is not what you have but whose you are.
Many times in life we find ourselves thinking, "If I just had that..."
Paul knew that the only thing that could bring true joy was knowing Jesus Christ.
4:13 "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength."
So What?!
Paul wraps up his letter to the Philippians by sharing a secret with them. It's the secret to being content no matter the circumstances.
Paul LEARNED to be content.
4:12 “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.”
Sometimes we learn lessons in life the hard way. Paul certainly knew what it was like to have very little. He had been beaten, chased, arrested, put in prison...
In spite of his circumstances, Paul understood that:
The secret to being content is not what you have but whose you are.
Many times in life we find ourselves thinking, "If I just had that..."
- new ipod
- new gaming system
- new wardrobe
- championship
- big screen TV (that's where I was last weekend!)
Paul knew that the only thing that could bring true joy was knowing Jesus Christ.
4:13 "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength."
So What?!
- What do you find yourself trying to get in order to be happy?
- Do you know Jesus Christ? Do you want to know Him better?
- What do you need to do to spend time with Jesus this week?
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Media Fast
I am challenging our students to a 7-day media fast beginning Monday, March 10. I wrote about this in the latest parent newsletter, Re:Mix - March 2008. You can find it here.
If you want more information on this subject, check out Plugged In Online. There are several good articles about family and entertainment:
Decisions & Discernment
Hone your family's media discernment skills!
That Was Then, This Is Now
The Power of the Media
Does Life Ever Imitate (Dangerous) Art?
Which Nature Are You Feeding?
Five Steps to Safeguarding Your Family
Six Keys to a Healthy Entertainment Diet
Confusing "Truth" and "Reality"
Confusing "Tolerance" and "Love"
Setting a Family Standard for Entertainment
Getting Family Discussions Started
God's Own Words on Discernment
Family Covenant for God-Honoring Media Choices
If you want more information on this subject, check out Plugged In Online. There are several good articles about family and entertainment:
Decisions & Discernment
Hone your family's media discernment skills!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Inspiration from an Unlikely Source
I posted this on my personal blog, but wanted to share with you as well.
I'm kicking myself because I can't find video of this anywhere on the internet.
Friday I lucked out with my substitute teach assignment! Gym Teacher! I had three classes in the morning, a long lunch break and then the talent show was all afternoon! I have to tell you about an autistic boy named A.J.
A.J. came on stage, picked up the microphone, waited for his track to begin and then belted out an awesome version of Alicia Keys' single "No One". A couple of times he seemed so excited that he jumped as he sang!
At the end of the show there was a delay in tallying the votes, so they asked A.J. to come out and sing his song again. There were some technical glitches that almost stopped the encore, but when the track came on, the entire student body went NUTS! Everybody was on their feet clapping as an autistic boy - who can't even carry on a complete sentence in conversation - sang with all his heart..."No one, no one, no one...can get in the way of what I'm feeling!" He brought the house down; and almost brought tears to my eyes.
How do you unite an entire middle school student body and faculty? It takes a special kid.
I'm kicking myself because I can't find video of this anywhere on the internet.
Friday I lucked out with my substitute teach assignment! Gym Teacher! I had three classes in the morning, a long lunch break and then the talent show was all afternoon! I have to tell you about an autistic boy named A.J.
A.J. came on stage, picked up the microphone, waited for his track to begin and then belted out an awesome version of Alicia Keys' single "No One". A couple of times he seemed so excited that he jumped as he sang!
At the end of the show there was a delay in tallying the votes, so they asked A.J. to come out and sing his song again. There were some technical glitches that almost stopped the encore, but when the track came on, the entire student body went NUTS! Everybody was on their feet clapping as an autistic boy - who can't even carry on a complete sentence in conversation - sang with all his heart..."No one, no one, no one...can get in the way of what I'm feeling!" He brought the house down; and almost brought tears to my eyes.
How do you unite an entire middle school student body and faculty? It takes a special kid.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
The Mix - 2/17/08 - Philippians 3:12 - 4:1
Teacher - Mark Wendel
Big Idea - Pressing On To Grab..."IT"
In this passage Paul encourages us to put on the full court press in order to lay hold of "IT".
So what is "it"?
Depends. Everyone has an "it" they are after. Wiley Coyote was after the Roadrunner!
Sometimes we find ourselves going after popularity, success, video games, reputation, girls or boys...
But the "it" Paul wanted us to keep living for was knowing Christ (here in this life AND in the future when we are with Him for eternity)!
We learned a good Bible word - "consecrate" - which basically means devoting our lives to the purposes of Jesus Christ.
So what does it look like to live a consecrated life at school? In the lunchroom? At home? At the mall?
What is your "it"? Do you need to redefine your "it" to be "HIM"...Jesus?
Big Idea - Pressing On To Grab..."IT"
In this passage Paul encourages us to put on the full court press in order to lay hold of "IT".
So what is "it"?
Depends. Everyone has an "it" they are after. Wiley Coyote was after the Roadrunner!
Sometimes we find ourselves going after popularity, success, video games, reputation, girls or boys...
But the "it" Paul wanted us to keep living for was knowing Christ (here in this life AND in the future when we are with Him for eternity)!
We learned a good Bible word - "consecrate" - which basically means devoting our lives to the purposes of Jesus Christ.
So what does it look like to live a consecrated life at school? In the lunchroom? At home? At the mall?
What is your "it"? Do you need to redefine your "it" to be "HIM"...Jesus?
Friday, February 15, 2008
The Mix - 2/10/08 - Philippians 3:1-11
Hanging On
Letting Go
Gaining...Christ
In this passage, the Apostle Paul warns the Philippians about a sect of religious people who think they earn righteousness by following the law. They put confidence in their flesh - they 'Hang On" to their religious heritage, their accomplishments, their obedience to the law.
Paul says if anyone can brag, it's him. However, he considers all things as loss compared to the greatness of knowing Christ, and having a righteousness that comes not from works but from faith in Christ!
So what does that look like for our students today? Well, we must beware of thinking that we can be right in God's eyes by acting religious, or acting like a "christian".
So we Let Go of those things in order to Gain Christ!
How can we KNOW Christ like Paul wanted to KNOW Christ?
By obedience. We experience the power of Christ when we obey. We feel near to Him when we obey. We learn more about who He is and who He wants us to be when we obey.
And don't forget the importance of spending time in the Word each day!
Letting Go
Gaining...Christ
In this passage, the Apostle Paul warns the Philippians about a sect of religious people who think they earn righteousness by following the law. They put confidence in their flesh - they 'Hang On" to their religious heritage, their accomplishments, their obedience to the law.
Paul says if anyone can brag, it's him. However, he considers all things as loss compared to the greatness of knowing Christ, and having a righteousness that comes not from works but from faith in Christ!
So what does that look like for our students today? Well, we must beware of thinking that we can be right in God's eyes by acting religious, or acting like a "christian".
- I'm an American.
- My team won the state championship three years in a row.
- I've made straight A's all through school.
- My parents are Christians.
- I go to Two Rivers Church and I've been to The Mix EVERY Sunday!
- I sit on the front row!
- I raise my hands when we sing, and I close my eyes.
So we Let Go of those things in order to Gain Christ!
How can we KNOW Christ like Paul wanted to KNOW Christ?
By obedience. We experience the power of Christ when we obey. We feel near to Him when we obey. We learn more about who He is and who He wants us to be when we obey.
And don't forget the importance of spending time in the Word each day!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Project 412 Leadership Team!
Project 412 is a an awesome opportunity for our students to gain valuable experience in being part of a leadership team! There are teams for drama, speaking, games, service project coordination and worship.
Applications for the leadership team need to be turned in by February 17. The first leadership team meeting is February 26 (see the application for dates/times).
Pick one up at The Mix, 2RC office or download it from www.tworiverschurch.org
The Mix - 2/3/08 - Philippians 2:12-16
Big Idea: Put your salvation to work!
Paul is encouraging the Philippians to continue to obey even in his absence from them. There are several motivations for obeying God:
Obedience in hopes of getting something from God.
Obedience in hopes of earning God's love or salvation.
Obedience in response to God's love and grace!
If you answered "C", you are correct!
Paul goes on to say that we should "work out [our] salvation with fear and trembling".
Followers of Christ have received a free gift called salvation. Now it's time to put that gift to work in our lives. We do this because we understand who GOD is and who we are (or who we are not!). That is the fear and trembling part.
So how do we put our salvation to work? Paul goes on to say that it is "God who is at work in you..." So God will guide us and work IN us. We just need to be obedient and follow His direction. If we do this, we will "shine like stars in this crooked and depraved generation."
What does it look like to put your salvation to work...
Ask your student about the vacuum cleaner!
Paul is encouraging the Philippians to continue to obey even in his absence from them. There are several motivations for obeying God:
Obedience in hopes of getting something from God.
Obedience in hopes of earning God's love or salvation.
Obedience in response to God's love and grace!
If you answered "C", you are correct!
Paul goes on to say that we should "work out [our] salvation with fear and trembling".
Followers of Christ have received a free gift called salvation. Now it's time to put that gift to work in our lives. We do this because we understand who GOD is and who we are (or who we are not!). That is the fear and trembling part.
So how do we put our salvation to work? Paul goes on to say that it is "God who is at work in you..." So God will guide us and work IN us. We just need to be obedient and follow His direction. If we do this, we will "shine like stars in this crooked and depraved generation."
What does it look like to put your salvation to work...
- at school? at home?
- in how you treat others?
- in what you say?
Ask your student about the vacuum cleaner!
The Mix - 2/3/08 - Philippians 2:12-16
Big Idea: Put your salvation to work!
Paul is encouraging the Philippians to continue to obey even in his absence from them. There are several motivations for obeying God:
A. Obedience in hopes of getting something from God.
B. Obedience in hopes of earning God's love or salvation.
C. Obedience in response to God's love and grace!
If you answered "C", you are correct!
Paul goes on to say that we should "work out [our] salvation with fear and trembling".
Followers of Christ have received a free gift called salvation. Now it's time to put that gift to work in our lives. We do this because we understand who GOD is and who we are (or who we are not!). That is the fear and trembling part.
So how do we put our salvation to work? Paul goes on to say that it is "God who is at work in you..." So God will guide us and work IN us. We just need to be obedient and follow His direction. If we do this, we will "shine like stars in this crooked and depraved generation."
What does it look like to put your salvation to work...
Ask your student about the vacuum cleaner!
Paul is encouraging the Philippians to continue to obey even in his absence from them. There are several motivations for obeying God:
A. Obedience in hopes of getting something from God.
B. Obedience in hopes of earning God's love or salvation.
C. Obedience in response to God's love and grace!
If you answered "C", you are correct!
Paul goes on to say that we should "work out [our] salvation with fear and trembling".
Followers of Christ have received a free gift called salvation. Now it's time to put that gift to work in our lives. We do this because we understand who GOD is and who we are (or who we are not!). That is the fear and trembling part.
So how do we put our salvation to work? Paul goes on to say that it is "God who is at work in you..." So God will guide us and work IN us. We just need to be obedient and follow His direction. If we do this, we will "shine like stars in this crooked and depraved generation."
What does it look like to put your salvation to work...
- at school? at home?
- in how you treat others?
- in what you say?
Ask your student about the vacuum cleaner!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
The Mix - 1/27/08 Philippians 2:1-11
Big Idea: Others First, "I'm Third"
In this passage Paul asks the Philippians to make his joy complete by being:
1. Unified - in purpose and in love
2. Humble - putting others first
You can't have unity without humility.
Our culture says you have to climb the ladder to be approved or successful, but Scripture tells us something different. Our example is Jesus Christ, who humbled Himself by descending from Heaven to this earth to become a servant and die on a cross FOR US!
Instead of thinking, "me first!"...let's think, "I'M THIRD!"
1. God first
2. Others second
3. I'm third
So What?!
1. How can I put others first at home this week?
2. At school?
In this passage Paul asks the Philippians to make his joy complete by being:
1. Unified - in purpose and in love
2. Humble - putting others first
You can't have unity without humility.
Our culture says you have to climb the ladder to be approved or successful, but Scripture tells us something different. Our example is Jesus Christ, who humbled Himself by descending from Heaven to this earth to become a servant and die on a cross FOR US!
Instead of thinking, "me first!"...let's think, "I'M THIRD!"
1. God first
2. Others second
3. I'm third
So What?!
1. How can I put others first at home this week?
2. At school?
Monday, January 14, 2008
The Mix - 1/13/08 - Philippians 1:1-11
Big Idea - Paul's Introduction; Phil 1:6 - God is working on you!
Observations about Paul (vv 1-6):
1. He identifies himself as a "servant" of Christ
2. He thanks God for the work going on in Philippi
3. He remembers his friends and he prays for them
4. He is confident that God is still working in them!
God is still working in us! The process is called "sanctification". The work in our lives does not start and end when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. That's just the beginning! And Paul is confident that God will "complete" that work HE started in us one day!
So wherever your kids are in this process, encourage them that God is working! He wants to keep shaping, growing, maturing us! But we have a part in this process. We choose to listen, to obey, to spend time with God, to pursue authentic, Christian community and accountability.
We concluded The Mix with all of our adult leaders in a circle around the students. We began praying Paul's prayer for the Philippians (vv. 9-11) and continued to pray what God was laying on our hearts. It was a really cool time!
Discussion Questions:
1. How did Paul feel about the believers in Philippi?
2. What was Paul's prayer for them?
3. How is God changing you right now? Are you growing in your relationship with God? What can you/we do to help that happen?
Remember the Philippians Challenge!
Observations about Paul (vv 1-6):
1. He identifies himself as a "servant" of Christ
2. He thanks God for the work going on in Philippi
3. He remembers his friends and he prays for them
4. He is confident that God is still working in them!
God is still working in us! The process is called "sanctification". The work in our lives does not start and end when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. That's just the beginning! And Paul is confident that God will "complete" that work HE started in us one day!
So wherever your kids are in this process, encourage them that God is working! He wants to keep shaping, growing, maturing us! But we have a part in this process. We choose to listen, to obey, to spend time with God, to pursue authentic, Christian community and accountability.
We concluded The Mix with all of our adult leaders in a circle around the students. We began praying Paul's prayer for the Philippians (vv. 9-11) and continued to pray what God was laying on our hearts. It was a really cool time!
Discussion Questions:
1. How did Paul feel about the believers in Philippi?
2. What was Paul's prayer for them?
3. How is God changing you right now? Are you growing in your relationship with God? What can you/we do to help that happen?
Remember the Philippians Challenge!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
The Mix - 1/6/08 - Philippians
We kicked off our new study through Paul's letter to the Philippians! Last Sunday was an overview of the letter, including how the church in Philippi was planted.
Check out Acts 16 for that exciting story!
There are six big themes that will stand out as we study through Philippians:
Joy - the words joy and rejoice are used over 14x in this letter!
Unity - relationship are critical
Humility - we'll talk about having an accurate view of ourselves; not too high, and not too low!
Suffering - we don't get really excited about this one, but Christ followers will suffer!
Obedience - Jesus is a prime example of obedience in Philippians 2.
Contentment - no matter what
We will be talking a lot about joy over the next three months. I gave the students this definition (quoting a theologian whose name is escaping me at the moment):
"Joy is the deep settled confidence that God is control of every area of our lives."
I challenged our students not to settle for "happiness highs" - my team winning, getting an "A", scoring the winning goal, etc - because those will not carry us through times when life gets rough. But there is a JOY that will last through those valleys.
Philippians Challenge - I challenged the students to read the entire book of Philippians once a day for the next three months! You can partner with us by encouraging your kids to complete this challenge!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Philippians Study
I'm very excited about our next teaching series beginning January 6th! Our student ministries staff has been looking at Paul's letter to the Philippians. We met today and spent two and a half hours outlining a 10-week series through this great epistle!
Going verse-by-verse through a book of the Bible is a great way for our students to learn how to read and study their Bibles!
We will be encouraging everyone to start reading through Philippians over Christmas break!
Going verse-by-verse through a book of the Bible is a great way for our students to learn how to read and study their Bibles!
We will be encouraging everyone to start reading through Philippians over Christmas break!
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