Current Series
Series // What Happens Here
We want this youth group to be one of those places in your life that you love to be. We want this to be a place that you can’t wait to come to, and a place when you leave, you can’t wait to come back. And as great as that makes us feel to create an environment like that, there’s something beyond that we need you to understand. What happens here was never meant to stay here. The things you hear here, the things you learn, the things you experience were meant to be lived outside these walls.
Parent Cue
What has God been teaching me lately? What is the biggest obstacle to living out the things God is teaching me?
What Happens Here – Devotional
Past Series
Series // Rhythm
Have you ever noticed how connected everything is? It’s almost as if there was some type of unseen structure to all of life, a rhythm. Many of us are oblivious to it until things are out of sync. We know something is wrong, and we can maybe pinpoint a few things around us that are culprits, but deep down we know there is something more going on. We are out of rhythm—with God, with ourselves or with others.
Sept 25 – Session One: The Song (more info)
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.
God created us to be in rhythm with him
In the beginning, God created a song, a rhythm. Humanity existed in harmony with God, with ourselves and with each other. But then humankind settled for another song—a lesser one—and the rhythm started falling apart. Yet even then, God didn’t walk away, and because of that, we have a way to restore the rhythm with Him, with ourselves and with others.
Session One Parent Cue
The first week of the Rhythm series is designed to help students understand that in the beginning, God established a rhythm. They will unpack the story of creation and the harmony that existed between Adam and God, Adam and nature, and Adam and Eve. They will entertain the idea that from the start, everything worked together in perfect harmony like a beautiful song. But then Adam and Eve made a choice that destroyed the song and threw the rhythm off. They will also look at God’s response to Adam’s sin, and they’ll see that God continues to seek relationship with us even after things have fallen apart. Talk with your teen about how he or she sees the brokenness in the rhythm around them. Feel free to share your observations as well.
Rhythm Parent Devo 1
Oct 2 – Session Two: Wonder (more info)
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.
Being in rhythm with God means that he alone has captured our sense of wonder
If you’ve been in church for a while, you’ve heard it all and seen it all. You know the stories. You know the songs. You know the words. Many of us even think we know all about God. We think we have Him figured out. We think we know everything about Him, and in our lives, He’s very small. But the reality is that we will never fully grasp how awesome and amazing He is. We can spend a lifetime in awe and wonder, and even an eternity, because He’s that big . . . and that good.
Session Two Parent Cue
This second week, students will be challenged to look at God in new ways. Many times we find that we are so familiar with “churchy” descriptions of God that we forget who He really is. And when we forget who God is, how awesome and surprising He can be, then we are tempted to turn our attention and affection to other things and our lives fall out of tune. In week two students will be challenged to discover a God who is bigger than our attempts to define Him. Discuss with your teen ways that God has surprised you and your family with how big He is.
Rhythm Parent Devo 2
Oct 9 – Session Three: Discovery (more info)
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.
We cannot be in rhythm with God or in rhythm with others without learning to be in rhythm with ourselves
You’ve heard the words before—“love your neighbor as yourself”—but most of the time we don’t really hear the second half of that. We don’t love ourselves. Perhaps it’s because it just seems wrong. After all, as followers of Christ, we are supposed to become less as He becomes more. But for some of us, somewhere along the way we’ve confused humility with self-hatred. God wants us to be in rhythm with ourselves because when we aren’t, it throws off the rest of the song.
Session Three Parent Cue
This week students will explore the things that create tension in their own self-perception and learn the ugly truth: Being in rhythm with ourselves and being in rhythm with God go hand in hand. How we view God our Creator affects how we view His creation, ourselves. They will consider the masks they wear and the faults they try to cover up, and they’ll receive a challenge to begin to shed those masks and be at peace with who they really are. Talk openly and candidly with your student this week about the things both of you have a hard time accepting when it comes to the faults you see in yourself. How can you better accept yourselves as you are?
Rhythm Parent Devo 3
Oct 16 – Session Four: Passion (more info)
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.
If we aren’t in rhythm with others, we can’t be in rhythm with God
No person can have a life of rhythm unless he or she is at peace with other people. That’s easy to say but hard to live, isn’t it? But following Jesus means being passionate about what He is passionate about—and Jesus is passionate about people. So if we want to be in rhythm, we not only have to be in sync with God and ourselves, we also have to be in sync with others.
Session Four Parent Cue
No person can have a life in rhythm if they are not at peace with the people around them. In the final week of this series students will be challenged to be in rhythm with others, to be passionate about serving those they encounter and to seek forgiveness and reconciliation when needed. How can you work at making this a regular practice in your family?
Social Networking
For parents we offer information on the increasingly popular social networking sites (such as facebook, youtube and twitter), webpages on parenting tips and parenting psychology, as well as information on some of the latest trends and technology that we think you might need to know about. The most important thing in a young person’s life is to have a parent who will lead them in their spiritual journey.
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