Jesus and Culture: Lesson 4

Dear Parents,

We hope you enjoyed your Spring Break and now it’s time to get back into the grind. But we have the hope of Easter to look forward to this weekend and for eternity as we celebrate the life-changing power of the resurrection this weekend here at North Side. Services will be @ 5pm/7pm on Sat, Mar 26th and services @ 9am/11am on Sun, Mar 27th. Ask God to put people in your life that you can build relationship with this week and invite to the special Easter services.

Well, we just wrapped up our final lesson in our four-lesson look at Jesus and culture. It’s been a great time of learning along with our students how we are to identify with Christ as we live in a world that is more often than not opposed to God and His ways. This final lesson was titled “The Call to Holiness.” In this lesson, we helped students learn that Jesus wants His followers to interact with culture through lives that are Christ-like: holy and set apart for God’s purpose. And we challenged them to understand the purpose Jesus calls them to, and to seek to embrace this purpose as they engage and interact with their culture.

We looked at the following Scripture passages:

• John 17:13-19
• Psalm 119:105

Please take a few minutes this week to read these passages.

Next Steps...
During the next week as you have time to talk with your teenager, remember that one way that will help him or her to understand and apply what he or she has learned is to explain it to someone else. Use the following questions to guide your conversation:

• Ask your teenager if he or she can summarize what he or she learned in Bible study this week. Focus as much on the application of what was learned as you would on the knowledge itself.

• See if your teenager can summarize what he or she believes to be God’s call on his or her life.

• Discuss with your teenager his or her thoughts on being used by God to impact the world in His name. What emotions or questions does this concept bring to his or her mind?

• Talk about the challenges we face when it comes to living out God’s purpose for our lives in the midst of our world. Consider sharing some of the things you struggle with. Encourage your teenager to do the same.

• Consider praying with one another about following God more closely and embracing your collective role in living out His mission.

REMINDERS
BEACH CAMP 2016 DEPOSIT/REGISTRATION DUE (Guarantees Spot)
*Check registration brochure (HSM/MSM Desks) for info on siblings and guests discounts

HONDO MISSION TRIP / June 11-17
*If you missed this parent-student info meeting make sure to grab an info brochure out of the youth rooms

HONDURAS MISSION TRIP / June 24-July 1
*Check with Jim if you feel like the Lord is leading you to join us on this wonderful trip to Central America

Sun, April 3rd – “HSM MOVIE NIGHT @ HUDSON OAKS”
*We will go to the 7pm showing of “God’s Not Dead 2” / reserve tickets with $9 payment by Wed, Mar 30th

Jesus and Culture: Lesson 3

Dear Parents,

Hello! It’s hard to believe that Spring Break is already upon us. We hope you can have some “down time” to refresh and renew your focus before heading into the spring. We pray these moments of devotion support you personally and as a family.

This past Sunday, students engaged in Lesson 3 which was titled “Making An Impact.” In this lesson, we helped students learn that as Christ-followers committed to the Gospel, they must be willing to bravely impact culture, especially those who the world has cast aside as having little or no value. We helped challenge students to identify the “outcasts” in their world who are most in need of Christ, and to commit to engaging with them with the purpose of sharing the Gospel.

We looked at the following Scripture passages:

• Matthew 9:9-13
• James 1:27

Please take a few minutes this week to read these passages.

Next Steps...
During the next week as you have time to talk with your teenager, remember that one way that will help him or her to understand and apply what he or she has learned is to explain it to someone else. Use the following questions to guide your conversation:

• This week your teenager was challenged to do something very specific. He or she was challenged to look around his or her school and identify people who the world has cast-aside, falsely labeling them as “not valuable.”

• Then, your teenager was challenged to make an effort to reach out to this individual, even if it is a small gesture, to show this person the love of Christ.

• Follow up with your teenager to see where he or she is on this. If he or she needs help identifying someone, help him or her. Maybe your teenager needs help following through on showing this person kindness. Encourage your teenager to be bold and to impact his or her world by reaching out to those who have been marginalized by our culture.

Thank you for all your support of student ministry and North Side. If you have any questions about anything, please don’t hesitate to call me.

REMINDERS
Sun, March 20th – HONDO MISSION TRIP / Parent-Student Info Meeting (HSM Room @ 6:30pm)
*Youth Choir begins back this day @ 5pm in the upstairs choir room above worship center
*Open to HSM/MSM students


Sun, March 20th – BEACH CAMP 2016 DEPOSIT/REGISTRATION DUE (Guarantees Spot)
*Check registration brochure (HSM/MSM Desks) for info on siblings and guests discounts


Sun, April 3rd – “HSM MOVIE NIGHT @ HUDSON OAKS”
*We will go to the 7pm showing of “God’s Not Dead 2” / reserve tickets with $9 payment by Wed, Mar 30th

Sat, April 30th – “HSM BARN DANCE @ TEXAS STAR” / More Details Later

DNOW16 Weekend

We took a break from our Jesus and Culture study this Sunday morning and instead met as a large group to conclude our DNOW weekend. The theme of this weekend was FOCUS, based on this scripture:

"Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you. Tie them around you neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths." Proverbs 3:3-6

We broke this verse down into four main points:

• Bind Love (Matthew 22:34-40)
• Find Favor (Luke 16:1-12)
• Trust the Lord (Romans 12:2)
• Acknowledge Him (Exodus 15:1-21)

If your son/daughter went to DNOW weekend, I encourage to discuss what they learned this weekend, and if they didn't, the main points and scripture references are listed above so you can learn and discuss this lesson as a family. 

We all lose focus of God in the midst of our lives. We become distracted by what the world has to offer, and it can be difficult to find the path to start making our way back to God. But this simple, broken down verse becomes a series of steps we can take to start that journey to get back to God's will for our lives and bring into focus the things that really matter during our short time here on this earth.

Thank you for your involvement in your child's spiritual life. We do all that we can when we have them with us but a lot of it comes down to what they learn from you and we could not do this without you. 

God bless!

Jesus and Culture: Lesson 2

Dear Parents,

Greetings! We just wrapped up our second lesson in our four-lesson look at what Jesus had to say about how we, His followers, are to engage with our culture. This week’s lesson was titled “Different Than The Rest.” In this lesson, we helped students learn that Jesus wants His followers to be countercultural in their humility, living in the world as servants of others. Your teenager was challenged to identify any actions or attitudes in his or her life that represent culture’s definition of success through selfishness, and to commit to embracing Jesus’ idea of success through serving others. It was a really meaningful time of Bible study and discussion.

We looked at the following Scripture passages:

• Mark 10:35-45
• Ephesians 4:2

Please take a few minutes this week to read these passages.

Next Steps...
During the next week as you have time to talk with your teenager, remember that one way that will help him or her to understand and apply what he or she has learned is to explain it to someone else. Use the following questions to guide your conversation:

• Ask your teenager if he or she can summarize what he or she learned in Bible study this week. Focus as much on the application of what was learned as you would on the knowledge itself.

• Ask your teenager if he or she had a chance to think about his or her attitude when it came to achieving or succeeding at the things he or she is passionate about. Encourage honesty: could he or she think of times when he or she sought success over the well being of others?

• Encourage your teenager that humility and serving others are really tough characteristics to master, especially since they go against much of what our world says about how to get ahead.

• Brainstorm with your teenager ways he or she can serve some specific people in his or her life, showing humility to this individual and putting this person’s needs above his or her own.

Thank you for your support as we partner together to help our students grow closer to Christ. If you have any questions about anything, please don’t hesitate to call me.

REMINDERS
DNOW16 is this weekend – March 4-6. Parents, this is a “don’t miss” ministry event that engages students in Bible study, inspiring worship, and group-building fellowship. We have top-notch college students that join us for the weekend that do a super job ministering to our group. If your student is not signed up yet please know it is NOT too late. Contact Linka, Jim, or Eric at the office and we will make it happen. A special Wed night FUEL at 6:30pm will provide students everything they need for the big weekend. PARENTS, we can use some more help with lunch set up and serving on Saturday. Also, please try to come to the ADULT ONLY breakout session at NSBC this Sat. morning @ 11am on “Communicating Successfully about Sex with Teens”.

Jesus and Culture: Lesson 1

Dear Parents,

Hello! I wanted to remind you about the study we’re doing on what Jesus had to say about engaging our culture. This week, the lesson was titled “Alike But Not Alike.” In this lesson, we helped students learn that they are called by Jesus to be in the world, but to live as if they were separate. We challenged them to honestly evaluate their relationship with culture, and who their actions say they more strongly identify with: Christ or the world.

We looked at the following Scripture passages: 

• John 15:18-21
• 1 John 2:15-17

Please take a few minutes this week to read these passages.

Next Steps...
During the next week as you have time to talk with your teenager, remember that one way that will help him or her to understand and apply what he or she has learned is to explain it to someone else. Use the following questions to guide your conversation:

• Ask your teenager if he or she can summarize what he or she learned in Bible study this week. Focus as much on the application of what was learned as you would on the knowledge itself.

• Take turns coming up with practical examples of how Christ-followers set themselves apart from culture. 

• Think of areas in your life where you may be too cozy with culture. Share these with your teenager. Ask him or her to do the same with you.

• Evaluate areas in your family’s life where you might be too strongly identified with the world (i.e., the movies you watch, some of the music you listen to, and so on) and commit to changing your attitude toward these areas. 

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

REMINDERS

DNOW16 > March 4-6, 2016
The “best” price deadline was this past Sunday, February 21st. Registration brochures are available in the MSM and HSM welcome desk areas. Students are welcome to invite friends but please let us know as soon as possible so food and transportation issues can be worked out in advance. Parents, we can use your help in certain areas during the weekend. Please see Linka.

In Christ,
Jim & Eric

Compassion: Lesson 3

Dear Parents,

Hello again! We hope you had a “lovely” Valentine’s weekend. It was busy around student ministry with the HSM childcare fundraiser and the Mission Team lunch-in. This was the final week in our three-week study on compassion. This week’s lesson was entitled “It Takes Action,” and focused on the practical side of showing God’s compassion to others. We challenged students to embrace the idea that our compassion can’t just be limited to talk. There has to be action behind it.

Think About Questions

• Talk as a family about people you respect because of their compassion. Share examples. 

• What is something you can participate in as a family this week to demonstrate compassion to others?

We looked at the following Scripture passages:

• 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
• Luke 3:9-11
• James 2:15-18

Check out these passages and see some of the ways we can follow Christ’s example of showing compassion.


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

• Christ was compassionate to those around Him. Do we have to do the same to be a Christ-follower? Why or why not?

• Being there for people in times of need can take a lot of time, energy, and resources. Why is it important that we sacrifice to show God’s compassion to those in need?

• What are some things our family can do to put these verses into practice?

Review...
Our next series will focus on “Jesus & Culture”. It’s pretty clear when you read through the Gospel stories (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) that Jesus shook things up pretty good. I’m sure he felt like an outcast. He definitely was a “fish out of water” or “alien from a different world”. But that didn’t keep him from immersing himself in the existing culture and making a difference in people’s lives then and creating a lasting tidal wave that has impacted history and cultures for the past 2,000 years. I can’t wait to see how these lessons challenge our students and leaders.

DNOW16 is one of the foundational cornerstones to our student ministry here at North Side. We hope you and your student have set aside this weekend (March 4-6, 2016) to be a part of a community event involving ten churches from across Parker County and 300 students that will hopefully make an impact in schools, homes, and churches. Even if your student has an event on one of the days, DNOW allows you time to get away and then come back to your group so you don’t miss out on what God is doing. We hope your student can join us and there are places to serve if you are able.


Have a super week!
Jim & Eric

Compassion: Lesson 2

Dear Parents,

What a busy weekend with “Breakfast Sunday” and the MSM & HSM Super Bowl Party! But what a blast!!! In Bible study we finished the second in our three-week series look at God’s compassion. We think it gave everyone a lot to think about through the week. The lesson was entitled “Compassion Revealed” and it focused on Christ as the full revelation of God’s compassion.

Think About Questions

• How has Jesus shown you compassion in your life?

• With the same compassion the Lord has shown you and your family, how can you pass it on to others for them to see this godly attribute in your family as you seek to impact your neighborhood or community?

We looked at the following Scripture passages:

• Mark 6:30-34
• Matthew 9:35-38
• Mark 10:45
• Matthew 15:32
• Matthew 5:7

Check out these passages and see how Jesus shows us what God’s compassion truly looks like.

Next Steps...

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

• How does Jesus reveal things about God to us?
• What can we learn from how Jesus showed compassion and met people’s needs?
• As a family, do you think we do a good job showing Christ-like compassion to those around us? Talk to me about it.

Review...

Thank you for all you are doing to show your child an active and meaningful faith. We hope the daily devotionals on the church website are helping your student and giving y’all a chance to connect as a family. Be on the lookout for “The Parent Point” on Thursdays. It will be a weekly article to ponder as a parent of teens. We hope it provides helpful information, encouragement, or a challenge to consider in your family relationships.

We will be doing a special series on Wednesday nights during the month of February on meaningful relationships – love, dating, and sex – with both MSM and HSM students. Please be in prayer for us and our ministry to students as we seek open and clear communication on this important subject. It doesn’t matter if the students are just dreaming about dating or have already had a serious girlfriend. There is something for everyone. If you have any questions about anything, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Have a great week!
Jim & Eric