FAMILY PLUS High School - August 25

Last night we completed the third week of our study on service called, "If Necessary, Use Words." I shared with your students the importance of relating with people who we are called to serve, and suggested that our grasp of their need must go far beyond a week or so of our time with them. We've experienced this very thing in our work in New Orleans - those guys and ladies down there have become our friends...we feel very close to them and share, quite intimately, the struggles they face.

This coming Sunday we will be wrapping up the fourth week of that study by discussing the ultimate point of serving others is to point them to Christ. We don't do it because it makes us feel good or even because it's the right thing to do. Rather, we do it because it reflects the message of true hope that can only be found in Christ Jesus. We'll be looking at 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 as our text. I will be hanging out with students in the District until around 9:30 or so before heading down to teach our Family Plus Parent Class in Room 127.

I shared a video with your students last night that I will leave you with this week. It's a comical glance at how mission trips can take a side turn based on the actions of the missionaries....hope you enjoy it. Let me know if there is anything I can pray about for you or your family.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddK6leYatNA

FAMILY PLUS High School - August 18

Hello HS Parents!

Last night we completed the second week of our series "If Necessary Use Words." In this study we are focusing on how God can use us as servants and our responsibility to play this role in the lives of people we interact with daily. It can be pretty humbling to think about well you execute this critical command from Jesus.

This coming Sunday we will narrow our focus even more to look at the people God has called us to serve. Our Scripture reference will be Acts 9:36-43, Matthew 25:31-40, and Matthew 10:42. A great way to prepare your student for this Sunday AND to keep this idea fresh in his/her mind after Sunday is to look for opportunities to serve someone WITH your student. This doesn't mean you have to hunt down a mission opportunity in Zimbabwe with your student; rather, this means seizing every chance you can to model servanthood to your student in your everyday life.

In other words, find tangible ways that you can do something for someone else while you are going through your regular routine. Just being intentional about this will open a world of opportunity for you to give something back to others. But the greatest reward will come from what your students see in you as you choose to put the needs of others above your own. There is PLENTY of opportunity to go around out there...make the MOST of it for HIS glory.

Don't forget that our Family Plus parent class begins this Sunday at 9:15 PM in the Fellowship Hall. If you are looking for a Sunday Morning CONNECT opportunity - I'd love for you to check out this class for parents.

Thanks!
Michael

FAMILY PLUS High School - August 4

Hello HS Parents!

For most of you school has started back and your schedule is settling back in to some sense of normalcy. I'm still waiting for that to happen for me as Wednesday nights won't really get back to normal until next week on August 10. That's the first night we'll have our incoming freshmen with us. That also means that for some of you (parents of graduates), that this is the last Family Plus email you'll receive from me.

This coming Sunday we will begin a new series called: If Necessary Use Words. It's a spin off the adage, "Preach the gospel - if necessary use words." This study will focus on the witness your students have at school, work and play without even opening their mouths about the gospel. It reminds me of a poster that my fourth grade teacher had on our classroom wall that read, "Your actions speak so loudly that I cannot hear what you say."

It might be helpful for you to think about this in your own life and what you say to your kids about your beliefs through your actions. This can be unsettling and humbling when we get honest about our intentions and our actions. Mine do not always line up in reality the way they do in my mind and heart. I'm certain I'm not alone in that regard! Add John 9:1-7, 35-38, to your Bible reading this week. It's the text we'll be using this Sunday as we discuss "What is servant evangelism?"

I want to remind you that beginning Sunday, August 21, David Watkins and I will be teaching a class for parents. You can get information at Grouplink this Sunday about that class and other New Generations ministries.

Thanks for a great summer! I'm looking forward to what the fall will bring and the opportunities God has already ordained for you and your students to grow closer to Him and closer as a family. If there is something I can pray about for your family, please contact me via email or phone.

- Michael