FAMILY PLUS High School - Jan. 25

Hello HS Parents!

We are in our second week of looking at Genesis on Sunday mornings (keeping with the church wide Bible reading plan), and the Origin of Man on Wednesday nights. The material is proving to be challenging for some and frustrating for others. 

This past Wednesday proved to be the most challenging yet. We discussed cause and effect and the fact that our universe is pointing back to a cause of our Almighty Creator. We focused on three little words in Genesis that cover a LOT of supernatural happenings: "And God said." These three little words throughout creation have such power. Think about this - when God spoke in Genesis, some things had not yet been created. Things like air, breath, vocal chords - yet God "spoke" these things and "said" words that had power ONLY because HE is the One Who said them.

This coming Sunday we are going to be talking about Scripture and the fact that it is inspired by God, reveals His expectations, and glorifies Christ. Some of the questions we'll be asking are:

1 - In what ways might Christians be tempted to supplement the Bible's authority with something else?

2 - Do you agree with the statement that, "In all God does, His first aim is to glorify Himself."

3 - What part of your life is working counter to God's intentions?

PRAYER AND FASTING RETREAT

We have 12 students who are joining us for our Prayer and Fasting Retreat tonight and tomorrow. If you would like to join us in the fast (at your home or wherever you may be), we will be fasting for the entire day on Saturday. 

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS

WINTER JAM - February 9th. Register by February 3rd. Cost: $10

GIRLS OF GRACE - February 23rd. Cost is $50. Cost after February 3rd is $65

MAN UP EVENT AT FLOYD CENTER - February 24th. Cost is $10

SPRING MISSION TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS - March 9 - 16, Cost is $175 and covers transportation, lodging, and food.

Let me know if there's anything I can pray about for your family.

His,

Michael

FAMILY PLUS High School - Jan. 11

Hello HS Parents!

This past Wednesday we had our first "official" Wednesday night meeting of 2013. I challenged your students to take a close look at their walk with Christ and ask themselves if they are at the same place spiritually as they were last year or the year before that. We looked at 1 John 1:5-10 and discussed that Christians should "look" like Christians and that our encounter with Christ should be pushing us to be more like Him. I shared some radical transformation stories with them from some former students. Then we received communion together.

Next Wednesday we will begin a study that will focus on our worldview. All questions of faith and philosophy can be boiled down to four categories: Origin, Meaning, Morality, & Destiny. We are going to walk through all four of these for the next several months and inject into your students' worldview the biblical response to them. This will happen on Wednesday nights in Annex 2.

On Sundays we are beginning a new study that is different from what we've done in years past. It's not a biblical look at topics that teens might encounter. Rather - it's a Bible study. Every week, in every passage, your students will encounter the gospel through the in-depth study of biblical theology, apologetics, missions, and the grand narrative of Scripture. For those of you who have students telling you that they want to go deeper in God's Word - this is it. We will be on this journey for the next several months as well.

Please let me know if there is anything I can pray about for you or your family.

His,

Michael

Sabbath, Family, and Transformation

I had occasion this past weekend to spend some time resting. It's not something that I do often (that's mentioned as a weakness, not as a strength), but something that God COMMANDED us to do. Our constantly connected lives make this an incredible struggle, but I want to share one techno minister guy's experience with it THIS TIME. It's not very brief, so I'll understand if it's too long a journey for you to take. :)

My schedule is not unlike yours in that I have calls that I always need to make, emails that I always need to send or reply to, and work that always needs to be done. Like you, I could (and too often, do) spend an unhealthy measure of my time focusing on my work, my todo lists, and myself rather than taking the much needed time to rest. Like you, I could (and too often, do) make excuses about the urgency of my work and the fact that lives are at stake (it's easy to do this when you're a minister). And like you, I could (and too often, do) stay connected thanks to the small computer that's always on my belt 24/7 - my texting, emailing, photo snapping, video taking, phone calling, googling iPhone.

But this weekend, God provided a different experience for me…I was LESS connected. Part of that had to do with the fact that we were in the Smoky Mountains and a lot of times cell service is not so great up there. Part of it was that I work with an incredible team of staff and volunteers who helped me by taking care of business and holding necessary (but not urgent) conversations until today. And part of it was a recent experience I had during the Great I Am worship encounter. For me - it was exactly that - an encounter with God…and it was very humbling for me.

No matter how it transpired, I am so grateful. By not being connected I was able to enjoy so many beautiful things:

• I was able to enjoy God's creation. Several times I found myself thanking Him for the beauty of His creation canvas and for how it testifies to His "eternal power and divine nature." (Romans 1:20)  I was thankful for mountains, valleys, clouds, sunshine, dew, streams, rivers, rocks, fish, trees, leaves, grass, shadows, deer, ducks, pigeons, bears, clouds, color, laughter, tears and so much more than I can even bring to my mind now…my cup was overflowing.

• I was able to enjoy time. You know - they've stopped making it…so all you have to use is what's already been allotted. For us, very few things had to happen at a particular time so we were able to just enjoy TIME. Outside the pressure of the Krispy Kreme hot donut schedule and when we could feed the bears at the live exhibit - we were able to pretty much interact with the world on our time table. That's not a luxury that most of us get to enjoy very often. I was thankful for not having to set an alarm clock and the ability to allow my son to serve me in that capacity.

• I was thankful for my family. My encounter with God a few weeks ago is revealing many things in my life and character that I am still processing. But one of the most critical is a tenderness for my family. This weekend, we truly enjoyed each other. Unfortunately, I'm usually better at giving others more attention than I give my own wife and child (again, mentioned as a weakness, not as a strength) even when we are "on vacation." And for the sake of being transparent, I just have to tell you that God is not pleased with me about it. There are things to be proud of in my life, but the stewardship of my responsibilities as Kelley's husband and Carver's father is not one of them. God has been dealing with me to reveal the selfishness in my spirit about this in a way that is as merciful as Christ hanging on the cross and as cutting as His words to the Pharisees. His compassion and correction are revealing to me the precious gifts of God that each of them (Kelley and Carver) is in my life, and I was thankful to be able to just enjoy them for the weekend. And for the sake of being candid I must confess, I have felt more like a godly father and husband over the past couple of weeks than I have felt in nearly 15 years of marriage and almost 6 as a dad.

• I was thankful for transformation. Although deep down I "believe" that transformation can be miraculous and instantaneous (even if habits and routines take some time to be retooled and re-tasked), it can be difficult to "know" that Truth without having experienced it. God allowed me to experience that "salvation-like" experience a few weeks ago in a way that made Him as true and relevant in my life as He has ever been…or maybe more than I have ever allowed Him to be. I found myself thankful this weekend that He had not only allowed me to receive this life-changing gift, but that He had given me the time to be appreciative of it, to reflect on it, and to cherish it as a work of His Holy Spirit. 

So - if you've hung on this long, rejoice with me. Be thankful for me and with me. I have no talking points or suggestions for you, just one guy's testimony of how God is still working in his life…the testimony of a way-too-connected guy looking for, praying for and seeking God's balance in his life, family, and ministry. I pray that it ministers to you.

-Michael

Is Jesus For Real? FAMILY PLUS High School - Nov. 16

Hello HS Parents!

This past Wednesday night was our teaching night, and we asked a simple question: "Is Jesus Really Who He Said He Is?" Now on the surface of it, that might seem like an easy question for church. But to answer it honestly to a generation born with a belief that there are multiple truths - the task is a bit more challenging.

So we started by looking at the authenticity of the Bible. We talked about the fact that the Bible has 66 books written by 40 authors over a period of about 1,500 years. And that with that great time span, there is a common thread running through the course of all 66 books. 

We talked about the fact that historically the book is trustworthy. Most atheists will grant that the New Testament is both historically accurate and authentic - their only exception being Jesus's claim to be the Son of God. We talked about the fact that there is better historical proof of the authenticity of the Bible than the very well known works of literature. For example, the earliest manuscript we can find for Homer's The Iliad is about 1,000 years after it was originally written. We have discovered, however, manuscripts for New Testament writings that date to only 25 years after they were written.

After making a good case for the authenticity of the Bible, we moved to the authenticity of Jesus being Who He said that He is. We looked at a handful of Old Testament prophecies (there are numbers and numbers of these) that were written centuries before Christ was born yet were fulfilled exactly as stated in the Old Testament. We looked at the fact that even the Koran, the Islamic scriptures, attests to Jesus Christ being born to a virgin.

This is just a glimpse of all that we covered and how we led students to chase down the facts about their faith. In the coming weeks and months we will begin looking deeper at the four basic categories of all faith questions: Origin, Meaning, Morality, & Destiny. 

Don't forget that this coming Saturday and Sunday is "The Great I AM." You can attend Saturday night at 7:00 PM or Sunday morning at 9:15 and/or 10:45. There will be no groups that day. For more information, check out this link.

Let me know what I can pray about for your family.

-Michael 

We Worshipped - FAMILY PLUS High School - Nov 9

I have been asking our high school worship team HOW they could lead worship if we didn't have instruments, voices, music, etc. As you would imagine, it can be difficult to get at an answer to that question. I think sometimes we don't know how to worship if we're not singing. This past Wednesday night, though, we tried some new things during our worship time to help better focus us on Christ.

We placed a cross in the center of the room and placed all the chairs "in-the-round" surrounding the cross. I challenged our students to focus on God by not being thankful for anything (family, boyfriend, dog, children - ANYTHING). I asked them to simply focus on God and adoring Him. After the challenge, we sang a couple of songs and then I had students share what God had done for them…how He had shown up in their lives this week. THEN - we took a risk.

After asking students to bow for prayer, I asked them to (as they felt led) speak a one-sentence prayer with the following parameter: It could ONLY be a prayer of adoration to God. For example: "God, You are worthy." At first, only a couple of people spoke a prayer and I thought that the whole thing was about to be an exercise in futility. BUT - then the Holy Spirit began to move and students began to speak beautiful, intimate prayers. Here are some of the prayers I heard offered to God in worship:

"Lord, You are merciful."

"Lord, You never give up on us."

"Lord, You are my Coach."

"Lord, You are the Beginning and the End."

"Lord, You forgive us."

"Lord, You are my structure." 

"Lord, You are in control."

"Lord, You see us."

This went on for about 10 or 15 minutes with great humility, reverence, and silence (except those speaking their one-sentence prayers of adoration to God). We shared communion together and closed with worshiping, again, with music/voices. It was SO humbling to hear your students speak words of worship to the God Who Is.  

FAMILY PLUS High School - Oct. 26

Family Plus Email-High School

October 26, 2012

Hi HS Parents!

This past Wednesday night we looked at the passage in Luke about the Woman at the Well in the 4th chapter of John. We talked about what it must have felt like to be carrying all of that "baggage" and to have the Master speak it right to our faces with loving forgiveness.

I showed them a video about a song written by Matthew West entitled "Forgiveness." It's a beautiful story of how a mother forgave the drunk driver who killed her daughter one night. I think so many times we relate to stories and songs like this as wondering if we could forgive. I suggested to your students that maybe we more closely resemble the person who needs to be forgiven.

This coming Sunday students will begin a new study called "Get A Grip." It will help us take a look at what the Scriptures say about maintaining control under any situation.

As You Go & As They Come

On Wednesday, Oct. 31, people will turn on their porch lights and welcome total strangers to their homes. It's called Halloween (Trick or Treat). We are taking this opportunity to send our church into the community!  Join us in accepting this open invitation by inviting the people you encounter that night to “The Great I AM: A Worship Encounter with the God who IS!" (Nov. 17-18, 2012).

You can do this in one of two ways:

• “As You Go” from house to house, leave an invitation, or
• “As They Come” to your house, drop an invitation in their sack along with your treat. 


Invitation cards are available at the church office or in the foyer on Sunday morning or Wednesday evening (in front of Thrive Books and Media).

We will have no other church activities on Wednesday night, Oct. 31, 2012.

FAMILY PLUS High School - October 9

Hello HS Parents!

I hope you've enjoyed the hiatus that fall break offers us! This was actually my first break with my own child "in the system." We did okay, but I must confess - getting his schedule back on track was a little challenging. I think this is mainly because we had to start getting him ready for school by 6:45 AM again and this messed with mine and Kelley's sleep patterns! :)

This past Wednesday night your student participated in our second "SERVE" night. We had our students help deliver some furniture we donated to another church, stuff bulletins for tomorrow morning, staple bags for our Christmas food drive initiative, count and band cards for the "As You Go…As they Come" event, sort and hang clothes for His closet, and move some trash items from our youth building to the construction dumpster. I LOVE the fact that each week our students are experiencing a purpose of our church: Come/Worship, Connect/Grow, and Serve/Go!

This coming Sunday we will continue our study on "Follow The Leader." We have been looking at why Jesus wants us to become a devoted disciple of and for Him. We have taken a close look at what the Scriptures say regarding the characteristics of a follower of Christ, and will spend time tomorrow talking about the importance of finding a good spiritual coach. We will be looking specifically at Paul's mentoring relationship to Timothy and focusing on the 1st chapter of his second letter to Timothy.