I recently picked up Matt Redman’s new album 10,000 Reasons. This is a great album! It has some great music and for those worship leaders out there, it has several that would be great for congregational worship. My favorite song is Holy, but there are many worth a listen. I am not typically not big on buying albums (you spend all that money for one or two good songs!) but this one has enough great music it is worth it.
You can check out this album here:
Here are a few pics of our trip to Haiti so far.
Tonight in ARSM Junior High, the students examined the question, Can’t You Just Leave Me Alone? The lesson to learn from tonight was they can’t do it alone as seen in Matthew 26:36-46.
Young adolescents want to be accepted, but sometimes they just want to be left alone. When kids need help, they often won’t ask for it. But everyone needs someone around for support, encouragement, or to just be present. Even Jesus needed support and encouragement from his closest friends as he went through his final days on earth.
Addressing this week’s topic at home can be tough. Your child might just push you away if you ask tough questions, but if you don’t spend time together in conversation, your child may feel abandoned. Schedule one hour this week to spend some one-on-one time with your child. Be sure to make it clear that you are there if he or she needs anything.
Tonight the Junior High students asked the question: Why Do I Have These Crazy Thoughts? The point of tonight’s lesson was that our peace is found in God. We find this in Philippians 4:4-9.
School, friendships, relationships, sports, peer pressure, family issues—there can be a lot of pressure and stress in your teenager’s life. Sometimes life can even get overwhelming and your child might think, “I can’t handle this!” or “There’s no way out!”
Do what you can to make your home a stress-free zone. Resolve to speak kindly to each other and to not raise voices. Give each family member at least one compliment or uplifting statement each day. And when your frenzied teenager arrives home looking stressed and anxious, do what Jesus did when he was stressed and anxious: Pray. Ask God to give your child his peace to make it through each day. Start today!
This week, our junior high students examined the question, Is It OK to Be Sad? The point of this week’s lesson was that my hope is found in God as we see in Psalm 42.
Sometimes people think that being a Christian means you always will be happy—or you have to find a way to make yourself happy all the time. Even Jesus experienced a range of emotions—happiness, loneliness, excitement, and sadness—during his time on earth. But his death and resurrection bring us hope and joy because he made it possible to have a relationship with God.
When you notice your child having a rough day, encourage this order of priorities to find JOY in life:
1. Jesus: Thank him for all of the blessings in your life.
2. Others: Find a way to serve someone less fortunate than yourself.
3. You: After completing those first two steps, are you still focused on your own discouragement? If so, repeat!
As you can tell from my last couple of posts, the issue of students and faith is a hot topic today. Anyone working with youth at any level knows the struggle of trying to help kids “get” faith.
In my ongoing attempt to understand students, faith and how the church can help teens in their faith journey, I have picked up couple of books.
The book I am currently reading is Sticky Faith, Youth Worker Edition by Dr. Kara Powell and Brad Griffin. As of this morning I am only up to chapter 3 but must admit this book has a LOT to say on how we approach student ministry. I will blog on this book as I go through it but so far I like (and am convicted by) what I am reading.
As I read today, a question entered my mind. Do we trust the Holy Spirit so little that we feel we must teach kids how to behave rather than teaching them how to trust in Christ? Has youth ministry bought into the “gospel of sin management” rather than the gospel of trusting Jesus Christ? Why do we oft put obedience to God before trusting in God? Honestly these questions aren’t just questions for youth ministry but should challenge us in how we approach ministry with all believers! Important questions to ponder.
On a side note, I am really curious about the connection between all the books that are currently “in process” in my reading list. Our current understanding of the gospel versus the gospel of the Bible looks to be something God is trying to teach me about.
Here are the other books in my backpack right now:
Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church
The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited
If you have teens, work with teens, or see teens occasionally, you know that a current topic of conversation is what happens to teens and their faith when they leave home. Last week I posted a video from Fox News where Dr. Kara Powell was interviewed about how churches can make faith “sticky” for students heading off to college.
During my reading this weekend, I ran across another article titled, “More Teens Becoming Fake Christians.” This article on CNN.com interviews Kenda Creasy Dean who asserts that todays teens are following a “mutant” form of Christianity, and parents may be responsible. She came to this conclusion after interviewing teens during the summer for the National Study of Youth and Religion.
The article concludes with Dean’s answer to parents, get “radical”, living out your faith in a radical way and explaining to your children, this is how Christians live. ”[P]arents who perform one act of radical faith in front of their children convey more than a multitude of sermons and mission trips.”
So how radical is your faith before your children? Do our kids see a radical, life changing faith lived out before them by parents and but also their church? Definitely questions worth asking!
Check out the complete article here.
Dr. Kara Powell was interviewed on why kids walk away from faith and what churches can do to help kids along their faith journey.
Check out the video below:
Sticky Faith
Tonight, ARSM discussed how committed we are to Christ. We asked the question, “Are you a chicken or a pig?” Consider this story below (copied from www.thesource4ym.com):
How committed are you to your faith? One way to find out is to determine if you are a chicken or a pig?
A chicken and a pig went for a walk around the farm. As they passed the farmers window they noticed a wonderful breakfast prepared for the farmer and his wife sitting on the breakfast table. As they peeked closer they noticed ham and eggs on the plates.
The pig and chicken were silent for a moment as they took in the impact of what they saw. Finally, looking at the eggs and prideful of her contribution, the chicken said, “now that was a sacrifice!” The pig looked at the ham on the plate and finally turned to the chicken and said, “Yes, for you it is a sacrifice. But for us it is total commitment!”
So this week, ask you teen, “Are you a chicken or a pig?” and see what responses you get!
This week, we examined the question, “Was Jesus All That (and a Bag of Chips)?” The main theme of the lesson was that Jesus Is the Promised Messiah as found in Luke 24:13-35.
Have you ever taken a sip of a drink that you thought was a lemon-lime soda,
only to find out it was water? It kind of throws you off-balance for a second when
you’re expecting one thing but get something else.
The Jews in Jesus’ day were expecting a certain type of Messiah. They thought
he would be a powerful political or military leader. Imagine their surprise when the
Messiah came in the form of a helpless baby! And imagine their dismay when he
grew up to teach a way of living that was opposite the way people acted—turning
the other cheek, paying taxes, and carrying the packs of Roman soldiers for an
extra mile, for example.
Talk to your child about a time things turned out differently than you had
expected. Maybe you were disappointed by a movie you’d been looking forward
to, or maybe you dreaded a job change that turned out to be rewarding. Remind
your child that things aren’t always as they seem.
