1. We own nothing. (Ps. 24:1, Job 41:11, 1 Cor. 6:19-20)
2. It is our responsibility to watch over what belongs to God (Gen. 2:15)

1. I don’t need to worry about stewardship until I’m older or have a ‘real job.’ (Lk. 16:10)
2. If I had more money/stuff, I’d be happier. (Lk. 12:15-21, Mat. 6:19-20)
3. Just because I don’t practice good stewardship doesn’t mean my heart isn’t in the right place. (Mt. 6:21, Ps. 37:21)

Parent Questions – You can find out a lot about a person by how they spend their money and their time. So the question becomes, how are you spending your money and time? Does it glorify God and help others? How are you modeling godly stewardship for your children?

1. Money often blinds us to what’s most important in life (Lk. 19:8-9)
2. We think money and things will make us happy (Ecc. 5:10-11)
3. Pursuing money and selfishness often go together
4. Money can easily control you

1. Choose to be different than our world when it comes to money
2. Love God not money (Mt. 6:24; Mk. 4:18-19)

Parent Questions – How has your journey with money been over the years?  Have you developed healthy money habits when it comes to tithing, spending, and saving?  Have you tried to teach your kids healthy money habits? (more…)

1. God wants you to cry out to him for help when you experience problems (Mt. 11:28; 1 Pt. 5:7)
2. God cares about you and everything you’re going through (Mt. 10:30-31; Ps. 139:13-18)
3. God cares about your body and doesn’t want you to hurt it (1 Cor. 6:13)
4. God wants to comfort you in the midst of your problems (2 Cor. 1:3)
5. God wants us to care for one another (2 Cor. 1:4; Gal. 6:2)

1. Run to God and stay by His side
2. Spend time in God’s Word
3. Seek wise advice (Prov. 15:22)
4. Find healthy ways to cope with your problems (I challenged the students to come up with their “10 Reasons to Smile” which was in the video)

Parent Questions – How do you cope with the pain in your life?  How do you try to help your child cope with the pain in their life?

We discovered that dealing with a culture of mean and judgmental religious people is nothing new by looking at a story in John 8 where Jesus is confronted with a woman caught in adultery by religious leaders. While the religious leaders wanted to kill the woman by stoning her, Jesus had a desire to show her compassion, grace, and love.

We continued on by discussing what if we as followers of Christ were to actually live our lives the way Christ commands us to: with Grace, Love, and Compassion. How would our lives and the lives of the people around us be different?

Finally, the students had to make a decision. How would they respond as they walked away from church that morning?

Option #1: They could think that they personally weren’t mean and judgmental and ignore the problem.

Option #2: Realize that we as Christians as a whole have hurt a lot of people. Our response should be Grace, Love, and Compassion.

Parent Questions

1. Have there been any situations in your life where you didn’t show the love, grace, and compassion that Christ has called us to show to others? Have you fed the stereotype that Christians are mean and judgmental?

2. Moving forward, what people in your life need to see Jesus in you? How can you show Grace, Love, and Compassion to those who don’t know Christ?

This past Sunday we started a new series called ” WHY“.  The question we dealt with was “Why do so many people think God hates homosexuals?”

I began our time together by sharing 4 Opening Thoughts:

1. There are some tough questions that come with homosexuality and I don’t have all of the answers.
2. I HATE the “hate” that is out there – frankly it makes me sick.
3. God doesn’t hate homosexuals (Jn. 3:16; 2 Pt 3:9)
4. Jesus loved those who were considered outcasts (Mt. 9:10-11)

After the opening thoughts we dug a little deeper in the topic of homosexuality by looking at a series of “I don’t believe…I believe” statements…

I don’t believe homosexual temptation is a sin…I believe homosexual activity is a sin (1 Cor. 10:13; James 1:13, 15; Heb. 2:18; Lev. 18:22; Rom. 1:26-27)

I don’t believe homosexual activity is God’s plan for our lives…I believe God designed sex to be between a man and a woman in marriage (Gen. 2:24)

I don’t believe homosexual activity is the worst of the worst when it comes to sin…I believe all sin separates us from God (Lev. 18:20-23)

I don’t believe that homosexual activity is unforgivable…I believe there will be people in heaven who committed homosexual acts in this life (1 Cor. 6:9-11)

Two Final Thoughts:

1. Don’t be a hater!
2. Love people who are homosexuals and be there for them whether they act on it or not.

Parent Questions – How would you react if one of your friends came up to you and said “I am gay”?  Would it change your friendship?  Is it easy or hard for you to love people who are different from you?

This past Sunday we concluded our series called “Sex & Love” by tackling the topic of “Forgiveness: Messing up to Making up.”  We are probably all in different places when it comes to sex and love, but at the same time all of us make mistakes.  Nobody is perfect.  It is important that Forgiveness and Grace abound.

We looked at 4 Important Things:

What does God want from me?

1. Everyone sins (Romans 3:23)
2. Every sin needs to be removed (1 Corinthians 6:19)
3. Everyone needs to ask for forgiveness (Psalm 53:1-3; Psalm 86:9; 103:12; Isaiah 44:22; Micah 7:19)
4. Every story can be redeemed

Parent Questions – Have you been able to have any good conversations with your child in regards to this series?  Did your child come home with a key chain?  If so, have you had a chance to talk to your son or daughter about it?

Parent Questions – Temptation is a real battle for everyone. How are you doing in your battle against temptation?  What steps are you taking in your daily life to resist temptation?

This past Sunday we continued our new series called “Sex & Love” by tackling the difficult topic “Boundaries – How far is too far?”  This is a very difficult topic to attack for many reasons.  First of all our students hear SO MANY mixed messages in our world as to what’s appropriate and what’s not.  The church hasn’t always done a good job teaching about it.  Not all parents agree with what’s “appropriate” and some don’t even talk about it with their kids.  Some really aren’t knowledgeable when it comes to what the Bible actually says.

We dove into this topic by starting with the Bible…and then to specifics about boundaries.  Check out the notes and the Scripture links.

What does God want from me?

1. To Live A Holy Life (1 Thessalonians 4:1, 3; Ephesians 5:1)
2. To Stay Away From Sexual Sins (1 Thessalonians 4:3; Ephesians 5:3; 1 Corinthians 5:1-2, 9, 11)
3. To Control Our Body (1 Corinthians 6:13, 18-20; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4)
4. To Let The Holy Spirit Guide Your Life (Galatians 5:16-17)

Parent Questions – How would explain “how far is too far” with your son or daughter?  Would you just tell them your thoughts or would you take them to the Bible and help them understand the bigger picture of what God calls us to?  Did someone ever talk to you about boundaries?

This past Sunday we began our new series called “Sex & Love.”  Obviously this is a very important and timely series for our students and needs to be talked about.  In this opening week we looked at “Our Culture & God’s Plan.”  Here are some of the notes:

Our Culture on Sex:

1. We live in a sexually saturated world.
2. Sex is not a big deal in our culture.
3. Our culture gives us many mixed messages when it comes to sex.
4. Too often our culture things Love = Sex.

God’s Plan for Sex:

1. You were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27; Ephesians 1:4; Psalm 139:13-14)
2. In marriage two become one (Genesis 2:18-24; 1 Corinthians 7:2)
3. Flee from sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18)

3 Final Thoughts:

1. Sexual purity is a REALLY BIG DEAL (for you and me)
2. Imagine if every on lived by God’s Plan
3. I hope you choose sexual purity

Parent Questions – Have you ever given your son or daughter “The Sex Talk?”  What did you say?  How did it go?  Did you spend much time talking about God’s Plan for Sex, how to set boundaries, or how to fight temptation?