Jesus and Stress: Lesson 4

Dear Parents,

Each week we close our lessons on “Jesus and Stress” with a way for your teenager to apply what he or she has learned in his or her life. This process of applying the Bible to life is very important in order for your teenager to get a handle on what he or she has been taught. The application part of the lesson is usually what students remember the most.

With that in mind, see if you can engage your student by asking some of these questions this week:

• Do you think God has ways to help people with stress and anxiety?

• What would you say is the most stressful thing happening in your life right now?

• Have you ever felt the comfort of the Holy Spirit when going through stressful times?

• How hard is it to turn struggles and decisions over to God and trust Him to help you deal with stress in life?

I hope these past four weeks have been a great time of learning for both you and your student.


HSM INFO

*Don’t forget your 1st Canada Mission Trip deposit is due NOW!

Mar 12-16 / SPRING BREAK
*NO regular student ministry activities on Mar 11 PM and Mar 14 PM

Mar 18 / SPRING MINISTRY BEGINS
*Block Party Outreach / Lunch and Flyer distribution after AM services and Bible studies
*"Breaking Free" Youth Choir / 5pm – Choir Room (Upstairs over Worship Center)

Mar 24 / “Spring Fling” Block Party @ Marshall Park

Mar 31-April 1 / Easter Services

Jesus and Stress: Lesson 3

Dear Parents,

This week’s lesson was unique among the entire Jesus Studies series because it did not spotlight any actual words of Jesus. Your teenager discovered what Jesus’ mother Mary had to say when faced with her situation of being pregnant with Jesus before she was married. Instead of living her life in shame she boldly moved forward trusting that God was bigger than anything she might face. Mary found peace instead of stress because to chose to trust God even though she could have had zero understanding of how things would work out.

Teenagers sometimes experience lots of stress, and then choose the wrong way to deal with it. They focus on the overwhelming nature of stress instead of giving it over to God and trusting Him to see them through it. This week your teenager was challenged to make the right choice: when faced with stress, choose to surrender the emotions of their stressful situation to God.

Next Steps...

During the week you may have some time to talk to your student about the lesson. Here are some questions to help you with that discussion.

• Mary had two choices with how she responded to the angle’s news: do you remember what they were?

• Why do you think we all sometimes choose to be overwhelmed by the stressors in our lives?

• Can you think of a time in your life when you felt like you were about to be overwhelmed by stress but chose to surrender it to God? How did it make you feel?

Thank you for encouraging your teenager to attend our Bible study each week.


HSM INFO

*Don’t forget your 1st Canada Mission Trip deposit is due NOW!

March 4 / HSM WHIRLYBALL & LASER TAG

Mar 12-16 / SPRING BREAK
*NO regular student ministry activities on Mar 11 and Mar 14 PM studies and services

Mar 18 / SPRING MINISTRY BEGINS
*Block Party Outreach / Lunch and Flyer distribution after AM services and Bible studies
*"Breaking Free" Youth Choir / 5pm – Choir Room (Upstairs over Worship Center)

Mar 24 / “Spring Fling” Block Party @ Marshall Park

Mar 31-April 1 / Easter Services

Jesus and Stress: Lesson 2

Dear Parents,

This week your student was involved in the second lesson in the series Jesus And Stress. The Scripture for the lesson was from Luke 10:38-42. If you get a chance this week, consider reading the passage.

As you can see if you read the passage, Martha was busy doing while Mary took time to be still and listen to Jesus. The main point this week was to help your teenager learn that letting the stress of a busy lifestyle distract them from focusing on Christ is NOT the way to go. Your teenager was encouraged to take time to be still and focus on Jesus and what He taught while He lived on Earth.

So here is a question for you as a parent: Are you so busy that there is no free time in your life? Does your busy lifestyle crowd out opportunities to refresh and refill? Consider your example to your student and how you can slow down from your busy schedule and focus more on Christ.


Next Steps...

This week challenge your student to find some time to be still and spend some time thinking about the word for the week they chose during the lesson. You may want to take the same challenge as your student and talk about what you both discovered during the week.

I hope you and your family have a calm and peaceful week and that these lessons are helping your student get a better handle on stress in life.


HSM INFO

*DNOW18 emphasis this week and next for the following…

-DNOW Kickoff Night / (Feb 14 / HSM Room) / 6:30-7:45pm
          *Find out final details on the big weekend – where you stay, what doing, etc.

-DNOW Weekend / Feb 16-18 / NSBC & Local Church Homes
          *Don’t miss out on this important student and community ministry event

What Really Counts

Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.  Matthew 10:31

It is easy to measure our value based on how happy we make those around us, especially if you are a people pleaser.  For some, it is incredibly hard to tell people no if we think they are going to be let down or disappointed in us, and even more so if it is someone we really care about.  People pleasers will be blinded by the disapproval of others, to the point of having no boundaries or self-esteem.  This is a dangerous way to live because when we live like this, we belong to everyone else, not to ourselves, and certainly not to God.  We can easily find ourselves far from God and far from our true selves in order to find belonging and value.  When we start living our lives making ourselves fit into another person’s definition of who we are, we will become something we aren’t meant to be.  We will fit their identity for us, but it probably won’t fit God’s identity for us, the only true source of our value. 

God created us.  His value on our lives has to be the only value that counts.  That is something that each of us needs to know and settle in our hearts and then trust that knowledge.  We can’t trust the feeling, because feelings come and go.  Sometimes it may not feel good, like when we say no to someone and they are unhappy with us.  That is when the knowledge of our worth in Him wins.  We can’t question it, or ask others to understand it.  Don’t live another day in the shadow of everyone else’s approval.  God’s mark on our hearts is the only one that counts.  His purpose for our lives takes precedence over other people’s opinions of how we live, and in the end, His judgement will be far more important than everyone else’s opinions. 

Scripture to Claim:

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.   Jeremiah 29:11

Jesus and Stress: Lesson 1

Dear Parents,

This week (Feb 4 Lesson) your student started a new Bible study entitled Jesus and Stress. Over the next few weeks we are going to be taking an up close look at what the Bible has to say about things like worry, burdens, finding peace, and trusting God. You may want to read Luke 12:22-33, the verses your student studied this week. This series will last for four weeks and each week you will get a note from me detailing what was studied and how you can help carry on that learning throughout the week.

We looked at the following Scripture passage:

• Luke 12:22-31 

As you have time this week, maybe you could read it as well.


Next Steps...

As your teenager begins learning about what the Bible has to say about stress, consider examining the effects of stress in your life. While the stressors may be different compared to your teenager the feelings of stress are usually quite similar. Try to think back to your teen years and remember some of the things you stressed over like grades, fitting in, peer pressure, and relationships. Try to find some common ground in order to open up your lines of communication.

• Remember to ask your student about the lesson and what things stuck in their minds. 

• Ask questions that will allow your student the freedom to answer without feeling like they are being quizzed on the lesson. We want you to feel like a vital part of the learning process. 

Please let me know if I can ever help you and remember I am always here to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you for all you do. If you have any questions about anything, please don’t hesitate to call me.


HSM INFO

*DNOW18 emphasis begins this week and next for the following…

-Community Preview Worship Night (Feb 7 / NSBC Worship Center) / 6:30-7:45pm
          *Speaker – Mike Satterfield and Band – Aaron Wagner

-DNOW Kickoff Night / (Feb 14 / HSM Room) / 6:30-7:45pm
          *Find out final details on the big weekend – where you stay, what doing, etc.

-DNOW Weekend / Feb 16-18 / NSBC & Local Church Homes
          *Don’t miss out on this important student and community ministry event

The Power to Change

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  2 Corinthians 5:17

God loves you just the way you are.  He loves you completely and unconditionally, but He loves you too much to let you stay the way you are.  He wants to help you grow, and become more like Jesus.  Transformation is not an event but a process.  Salvation changes your soul while transformation changes your life.  The process doesn’t end with our baptism, it begins there with a fresh start and a new life.  Transformation is an ongoing process that will never end for us completely until our ultimate transformation in Heaven.  But as we go through this life and grow in our relationship with God, He changes us each and every step along the way. 

It is easy to get overwhelmed when we don’t know where to start or how to do something we need or want to do.  This is especially true of a significant undertaking – like transforming our lives from the inside out!  Being conformed or transformed is a passive experience, meaning it happens to us, not by us.  Thank goodness God is in the business of transformation and He knows what He is doing.  We have to be willing for Him to be able to work, but if we are willing, He does the work in us, and it is only in His power that we can be transformed.  His power breaks the chains sin, doubt, shame, regret and everything that can keep us from being transformed.  The more we allow God’s Spirit to empower us, the more He grows positive character in our lives to replace our bad habits and that’s when transformation happens!

Submit your life to God now and allow Him to transform you into everything He has planned for you.  Let Him do the work and be amazed at all He can restore in your life and the change that happens in His power. 

Scripture to Claim:

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.   2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV

God's Mission: Lesson 3

Dear Parents,

We’ve just wrapped up our three-lesson study on God’s Mission this week. This final lesson was entitled, “Mission Accomplished,” and it focused on helping students understand that there will come a day when God has accomplished His rescue mission and all Believers will live forever in peace with God. We challenged our students to accept God’s call on their lives to be vital components of God’s rescue mission.

We looked at the following Scripture passages:

• Matthew 24:30-31
• Revelation 7:9-17
• Revelation 21:1-8
• 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

I hope you’ll be as challenged by these passages as we were this week.


Next Steps...

During the next week as you have time to talk with your teenager, consider asking the following questions:

• What is a need you see that our church might address? What’s keeping you from being one of the people who meets this need in Christ’s name?

• What can I do to help you follow through on this?

• Why is there a tendency as a teenager to sit on the sidelines of the church? How is this not in line with what God has in store for you?

Let us know how we can help you lead your teenager in discipleship. It’s been a privilege walking with your along this journey to know more about God’s mission.


COMING UP...

*Watoto Children’s Choir / Feb 2

*MSM & HSM Super Bowl 52 Party / HSM Room / Feb 4

*Community DNOW18 Preview Worship Night / Feb 7

*DNOW18 / Feb 16-18 – Theme: “RUN”