Hello HS Parents!
This past Wednesday night we finished up the third week of Morality. We focused on "war" and how we reconcile with our morals/values the horrible things that happen as a result of war. We also talked about the issue of evil and that if God created everything - did He create evil? I would be interested in hearing how your students convey the topics of our discussion that night.
This coming Sunday we will be looking at "The Power of the Kingdom." We are going to look at the miracles of Jesus and how, through signs and wonders, He demonstrated the truth of HIs proclamation that the Kingdom of God was coming through His ministry.
Now - if you have been reared in a hard-core, "old school" Baptist church (as I was), you probably have a little bit of an issue with this. You might think that God doesn't work that way anymore. You might even believe that not all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are, or should be, present in the "modern day" church. You won't find me attempting to sort that out in the context of this email. I will, however, let you in on how I will be teaching these Truths this coming Sunday.
I believe that the practices and tenets of our faith found in the New Testament are still alive and active. I believe that God still performs miracles and that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are present in His Church today. Having said that, I would also confess that I have not experienced all of them. So I can believe in tongues without having never spoken in them. I can believe in miracles having never been healed of a horrible illness.
What I'm suggesting is that we have absolutely nothing to fear from what we read in the pages of God's Word. I will be teaching students that God is still all powerful to work as He did then. Our struggle is getting past our own "stuff." We have to get past physical (the things we have), mental (what we "know" to be based on our experience), and spiritual (are we putting ourselves in places where God can speak to us as He would wish). That's where we'll be going this coming Sunday. I hope your teenager can make it to participate.
-Michael
