This Sunday we are starting a new series with the students for Ignite (10:30am) and Fusion (6:30pm) called Sex & Love. At River Oaks we are committed to teaching a Biblical understanding of sex and fully believe that God’s plan is the best.
Here is a brief overview of each week:
Week 1 – Sex, Love, Image
Week 2 – Boundaries – how far is too far?
Week 3 – Temptation – it’s a real battle!
Week 4 – Forgiveness – messing up to making up.
Parents, check you email for a more detailed explanation of what will be taught. If you don’t receive the email, please contact me so we can fix the database (tmorelock@riveroaks.org). You can also find the email by clicking here: Parent “Sex & Love” Email.
Tommy
We leave tomorrow for our winter retreat and I wanted to remind you/update you on a few key details:
Packing List – money for dinner Friday night, overnight stuff (sleeping bag, pillow, pj’s, etc), toiletry items (shampoo, soap, deodorant, towel, etc), winter gear (jacket, pants, boots, hats, gloves, etc), indoor clothes for activities (tennis shoes, etc), Bible and pen, general snacks you may want (ride and in cabin), iPods and cell phones are permitted on the drive but need to be put away at the camp
Paintball – the camp canceled paintball due to the forecast (cold on Saturday)
Friday drop-off – plan to arrive no later than 4:30pm. Once you arrive load your bags into the trailer and check in (cafe)
Sunday Arrival – we plan to arrive by 12:30pm and will unload by the main lobby doors. Please park towards the Kids World parking lot since River Oaks en Espanol begins at 12:30pm and we don’t want to be an inconvenience to their service.
Feb1
Main Thoughts from January 29
This past Sunday we took the next step in our current series Your Journey by looking at “Your Life Pt. 1.” Our goal for the morning was to help our students raise the standards by which they live their lives. They were challenged to not live lives that are “hopelessly confused” but instead live a life worthy of their calling.
In Ephesians 4:1, the apostle Paul writes, “Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.”
Sunday morning we looked at 3 Things to Talk About:
- Have you ever found yourself “hopelessly confused”? – living without purpose.
- STOP IT! – What is it in your life that you need to cut out? – Eph. 4:25-29
- Live a life worthy… – Live lives full of humbleness, gentleness, patience, and love.
I wrapped up our time by sharing 1 Prayer I have:
That our students would take the steps necessary to raise the bar.
Parent Questions – Are you living your life worthy of the calling on your life? Is there anything in your life that you need to cut out? What is the first step towards cutting it out?
Audio Link for Message
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Ignite News
http://www.vimeo.com/36022509
Next Week @ Ignite – Finale of Your Journey series – “Your Life Part 2”
1 Month Snapshot
- February 1 – sAlt meeting at the church from 6:30-8pm
- February 5 – Super Bowl Event
- February 10-12 – Winter Retreat
- February 12 – No Sunday Morning Ignite or Sunday Night Fusion due to the Winter Retreat
- February 15 – sAlt meeting at the church from 6:30-8pm
- February 19 – No Sunday Morning Ignite or Sunday Night Fusion due to the Winter Break (in the schools)
- February 26 – New “Sex and Love” series begins (more details to come in a few weeks)
Jan26
I came across a blog post called “Should We Read Our Kid’s Texts?“. I thought it was kind of interesting. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Jan26
Main Thoughts
This past Sunday we continued our “Your Journey” series and focused on “Your Ministry.” This week we focused on the fact that God has created each of us with a purpose, a God-given “special responsibility.” We spent some time looking at how God has SHAPED us to best fulfill our special responsibility.
In Ephesians (3:1-9), the apostle Paul describes his God-given ministry to the Gentiles.
Verse 1,2 – “When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles… assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles.”
From there we looked at 3 Thoughts:
- God has given each of us a special responsibility.
- How has God SHAPED you for your special ministry? God has given each of them:
- Spiritual Gifts
- Heart/Passion
- Abilities
- Personality
- Experiences
- Keep Christ at the center of your special responsibility – don’t let pride creep in.”
I closed our time by sharing 1 Prayer I have:
That our students would discover God’s special responsibility for their lives and they would embrace it.
Parent Questions – How has God SHAPED you? Are you answering the call on your lives?
Audio Link for Message
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Ignite News
http://www.vimeo.com/35635990
Next Week @ Ignite – “Your Life Part 1”
1 Month Snapshot
- January 29 – Final deadline to register for our HS Haiti Mission Trip – only 6 spots remain
- February 1 – sAlt meeting at the church from 6:30-8pm
- February 5 – Super Bowl Event
- February 10-12 – Winter Retreat
- February 12 – No Sunday Morning Ignite or Sunday Night Fusion due to the Winter Retreat
- February 19 – No Sunday Morning Ignite or Sunday Night Fusion due to the Winter Break (in the schools)
- February 26 – New “Sex and Love” series begins (more details to come in a few weeks)
The Super Bowl is coming and so is our event for 7th-12th grade students.
There will be TONS of things to do…TONS of prizes…and TONS of free food.
Check out all of “The Big Game” info on our facebook page.
Jan19
Main Thoughts
This past Sunday we continued our “Your Journey” series and focused on “Your Church Family.” I wanted our students to understand that even though they were very different from each other and come from different backgrounds (family, neighborhood, school, hobbies, etc), they could and should be able to unite as one group in Jesus. Too often we allow our differences separate us.
In the book of Ephesians (2:11-19) Paul took some time to address some of the Jew vs. Gentile (anyone who wasn’t a Jew) differences. Generally these two groups didn’t like each other at all. In the end their faith in Jesus conquered those differences and united them in God’s family.
Verse 19 – “So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.”
From there we looked at 2 Thoughts:
- All believers are united in Jesus – a part of God’s family
- We need to treat each other like a loving family
I closed our time by sharing 2 Prayers I have:
- For our group – that all are accepted and welcomed into our group no matter what race, background, school, hobby, etc…
- For you – that you would go out of your way to treat people with kindness and believe that everyone matters, not just people who are just like you.
Parent Questions – Do you believe that everyone matters? If so, how do you seek to live that out in your life?
Audio Link for Message
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Ignite News
http://www.vimeo.com/35273251
Next Week @ Ignite – “Your Ministry”
1 Month Snapshot
- January 22 – Final deadline to register for our Winter Retreat
- January 29 – Final deadline to register for our HS Haiti Mission Trip – only 6 spots remain
- February 1 – sAlt meeting at the church from 6:30-8pm
- February 5 – Super Bowl Event (details come this Sunday)
- February 10-12 – Winter Retreat
The deadline for our Winter Retreat is this Sunday. Check out the information and don’t miss out on this awesome weekend.
By the way, we’re going to a different camp (Mishindoh – Hillsdale, MI) – this new camp has much better facilities and has more to offer such as an indoor climbing wall (free) and paintball ($20 extra).
***PLEASE don’t allow money to keep you from attending. We do have scholarship money available. If this is a need for you, contact me (tmorelock@riveroaks.org or 875-1152).
By the way, many of our students currently have money in their account (from fundraisers) that can be used towards mission trips and retreats. To find out if your child has money in their account, click here. If you’d like to apply money from their account towards a certain trip, please indicate that on their application.
Tommy
Jan18
We’ve extended the deadline for our Haiti Mission Trip (July 5-12) to January 29th but there are only 6 spots still available. So if you’re interested, turn in your paperwork ASAP. You don’t want to be #7.
By the way, if money has prevented you from signing up, contact me!
Tommy
Are you in HS?
Are you interested in growing in your faith and as a leader?
If so, fill out the sAlt application. All applications must be filled out by this Sunday, 1/15.
By the way, sAlt is an acronym for “Student AMP Leadership Team”.
