The following section is a description of what we will be talking about in Sunday School for the next 6 weeks. There is also a section called "Parent Cue" which gives students and parents some points to discuss and connect with what we are learning at youth group.
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT:
Here is an overview of what we’re talking about. Listed below the summary is a “parent cue” to help you dialog with your child about the session. The question is intended not just to be asked by you, but to be responded to by BOTH of you. Use this opportunity to find out what God is teaching your child, and allow your child to see what God is teaching you as well.
GROW UP:
Series Overview
Do your students ever wish they could just grow up? Maybe they yearn for the day they will get their driver’s licenses. Or graduate from high school. Or go away to college. They don’t really want to be kids anymore. They want to be seen as adults. They want to feel like they’ve moved on, grown up. We all know how that happens physically, but what about spiritually? How do we know we’re growing in your faith? How do we know that you’re moving forward in that area of our lives? The good news is that God is just as passionate about growing our faith as we are. And there are five ways He will use to do that—some involving things that we probably already know, and other ways that we may have never thought about before.
Session One: Big Faith (February 5)
Your faith in God matters to God. In fact, God is most honored through your living, active, death-defying, out-of-the-box faith. That being the case, He’s committed to growing it. Big. Imagine how differently you would respond to difficulties, temptations, and even good things if you knew with certainty that God was in all of it and was planning to leverage it for good. But in order for all of that to happen, there’s one thing it all hinges on—your trust.
Session One Parent Cue: What area of your life are you most reluctant to trust God? Why?
Session Two: Big Life (February 12)
You can know a lot. Maybe you know the stats of every football player in the NFL. Maybe you know the cheat codes to hundreds of games. Maybe you know every Scripture in the New Testament. But unless you do something with what you know, then what you know isn’t enough. Especially when it comes to our faith. God’s truth was meant to be put into action. It was meant to affect our lives, our relationships. And when we begin to live out the truths we know, something happens to us our faith. It begins to grow.
Session Two Parent Cue: What is one truth that you know from the Bible that you can commit to live out this week? Follow up with each other to see how that’s going.
Session Three: Big Team (February 19)
Who has had the most influence in your life? Your mom? Your dad? A coach? A camp counselor? There are all kinds of people that play a part in our lives, in our stories. And some of these people have played a part in how you see God. In fact, God has used some of those relationships to grow your faith. We call these relationships providential because they are about having the right people in your life at just the right time.
Session Three Parent Cue: Who are the people in your life who have had a direct impact on your relationship with God? In what way did these people influence, guide or encourage you?
Session Four: Big Give (February 26)
God grows your faith through spiritual disciplines. That’s probably not news for you. Praying and being generous are just things that Christian do. But there’s more than just doing an action because it’s the right thing to do. In fact, in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He tells us that not only is our heart tied to how we pray and our generosity, but also the growth of our faith.
Session Four Parent Cue: How can you leverage your time this week so that you spend more time with God? What is one way you can be generous this week?
Session Five: Big Serve (March 4)
Did you know that your spiritual growth is linked to your service? That’s right. You get something out of filling that volunteer position in the nursery or children’s ministry. You’re not just doing a job, filling a slot—you’re growing. God uses that service to teach you something about Him and others. And even if you don’t feel like you’re the best person for the job, or if you wonder, “Why am I doing this?” God says that if you want to grow, you have to serve.
Session Five Parent Cue: Have you ever had a great experience while serving another person? What was so great about it? What are some characteristics you see in each other that would be assets in serving?
Session Six: Big Moments (March 11)
Have you ever met someone who went through something really difficult, yet if they had a chance to rewind and change what happened, they would be reluctant to do it? And the reason is because there was something they learned from that experience. It’s what we call a pivotal circumstance, a defining moment in their lives. Each of us has had one. Some may seem bigger than others. But to each one of us, they are huge. And you know what? Even thought it’s not something we would necessarily choose or want to happen, God takes those moments and uses them to grow our faith.
Session Six Parent Cue: Share about a time in your life that was really hard, but something good came out of it. Maybe you learned something new about God or yourself. Maybe you built some great relationships with people who supported you. How did what you learned or experienced somehow make the situation more bearable?
Well, it's been a great week and weekend! We had fun on Wednesday playing some games and hanging out! We wrapped up by watching a video about a high school senior who, after graduation, moved to Uganda. She ended up staying there and adopting 14 little girls, as well as helping to run an orphanage. Hopefully this was inspiring to some of our students to see what it looks like when God truly takes hold of your heart and you surrender your life to him. On Saturday night we had a blast at Perfect North Slopes. 12 of us went tubing for a few hours! We met up with a couple other groups and had a truly ecumenical experience. The Baptists, Lutherans, and Catholics got together all in the name of cheaper tubing rates! Then on Sunday morning we finished up our "Through the Window" series. We discussed, once again, allowing God to penetrate every aspect of our lives and worshipping him in all that we do. We were able to see that when the window through which we see the world gets cracked, God can take those pieces of broken glass and make something more beautiful. However, if we allow that brokenness to remain a part of our lives, it will be what defines us rather than God. The Psalms are a great example of how we can worship God through everything and look back to recognize God's involvement in every aspect of our lives.
1 I will exalt you, LORD,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me. 2 LORD my God, I called to you for help,
and you healed me. 3 You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
you spared me from going down to the pit.
4 Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people;
praise his holy name. 5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
6 When I felt secure, I said,
“I will never be shaken.” 7 LORD, when you favored me,
you made my royal mountain[c] stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.
8 To you, LORD, I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy: 9 “What is gained if I am silenced,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness? 10 Hear, LORD, and be merciful to me;
LORD, be my help.”
11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
LORD my God, I will praise you forever.
Psalm 30
We had our first Sunday School lesson from the "Through the Window" series! It was good to remember and learn that worship is not just something that happens once a week on Sunday morning. Worship is much more than that. Worship happens as we live our lives and give all our experiences to God. In the book of Psalms we see this type of worship. In sorrow and joy, love and hate, giving and receiving, sin and purity, the credit for all of it went to God. All of our life's experiences are meant to be given to God in worship, not just for one hour each week. Join me as I pray for this to become a reality in my life and in the lives of students at EBC.
Jeremy
January 4
We had a great trip to Gatlinburg, TN for the Winter Xtreme Conference! We learned a lot, worshipped a lot, and most importantly we spent a lot of time on the elevators. Seriously! We went on the trip so we could grow closer to Jesus and worship Him. But one of our primary goals was also to spend time together and bond as a group. Our time in the grungy hotel rooms doing Bible study or pretending to ride an ostrich were some of the best of the trip. We may have spent some time doing interesting things in elevators of various hotels in the area as well. I can neither confirm or deny this.
Thanks guys for a great trip! I am excited for the opportunity to take another group on a crazy trip in the near future. I look forward to spending more time together with all of our students and growing closer to one another as we deepen our relationships with Christ!
@ YouthEBC