FAMILY PLUS High School - April 7

Hey HS Parents!

Last night we continued our three week study called "The Beautiful Trade." In our teaching time we discussed how we all make judgments about people and how those judgments influence and drive our actions. In other words, our choice to interact with or associate with certain people is based largely on our judgment of people in general.

We transitioned our teaching to the environment in which Jesus began his ministry...a very closed environment where the rich, popular and healthy were the RELIGIOUS elite and the poor, outcast and sick were forced outside of the religious clique. Jesus spent His ministry teaching that His Father's kingdom was reserved for these unacceptable and unlovable people. He had SUCH a passion for them!

By now, you have no doubt seen the implication of Jesus' view on outsiders and the correlation of it to high school culture. I would suggest to you, however, that social and economic cliques are not reserved for the teenagers in your life. In fact, a self assessment might just reveal your own judgments, prejudices and reservations about certain people groups.

My challenge for you this week would be to allow yourself to be transparent with your teenager regarding these issues. I assure you that your judgment of other people is not masked from your children - they are WELL aware of it! But your conviction to have a more Christlike attitude about it and to trust your child enough to be vocal about it with them might tear down a significant barrier in your communication. It might be just the thing to spark your child toward a less apathetic view of those he/she considers unlovable. (just sayin').

We will continue this discussion in our small groups this coming Sunday. Our text will be Mark 5:22-27, 36, 41-42. Here are some of our questions:

1 - Do you ever feel kept out of something by other people? Are there certain people you try to keep out?

2 - Have you ever made some characteristics or some traits matter more than they should?

3 - Many times we decide who is in and who is out because we have been hurt. Can you think of someone who may have hurt you, which then led you to judge them and judge other people you thought were like them?

As always, please let me know if there is anything I can pray about for your family.