Stop And Smell The Roses - It's Not Girlie!

A lot of times I get into a rhythm at work or other places that gets me out of a rhythm at home. Of all the resources our New Generations Team prays over, produces, and suggests for families - taking our own advice is difficult at times. We sit right where you do, as parents, trying to lead godly lives and be godly parents.

This week I did something that I should do much more often; I took time to stop and smell the roses. Well, in this case - it was actually taking time to stop and look at the water, rocks, and trees of Burgess Falls. I took time off from work to go with my family to a state park (free!) and just enjoy them. We prayed for safety. We thanked God for His creation. And we were "just" together. We were His family, in His creation, on His time. It was amazing!! One bonus to the state park - really, REALLY bad cell service!! Yay!!

We did all of this because I took time to be a dad. Kelley took time to be a mom. And Carver had both of his parents undivided attention. We took time to be a family. That wouldn't have happened if any of us had decided to do something else or be somewhere else.

Take some time this week to focus on your family in a godly way. Men - it's easy for us to get distracted...trust me - I'm the poster child of distraction! But give it a shot and unplug to just be together with your family. Honor them. Treasure them. Pray for them. Love them. Stop and smell the roses - it's not girlie!

God. The Moral Law Giver - FAMILY PLUS High School - May 3

This past Wednesday night we completed our 4 week focus on Morality. We took a look at an Old Testament text, Genesis 39:1-10, where Joseph had found favor in his Egyptian master's (Potiphar) house.  This was all well and good until Potiphar's wife became attracted to Joseph. She cornered him and asked him to sleep with her. We can learn a lot from Joseph's response to this opportunity to please himself and his reasoning for not engaging her. 

Joseph told her that Potiphar had entrusted him with everything…that no one in Potiphar's house was greater than he. In fact, the ONLY thing withheld from Joseph was the master's wife. Joseph told her that she should not ask him to do such a wicked thing…that it would be a sin against - are you ready for it… God!

Joseph builds his case with the master's wife by stating all that he has been given and entrusted in Potiphar's house. The next logical statement would be that he would not want to sin against this earthly master who had so blessed and trusted him. But that wasn't the case at all; Joseph did not want to sin against God.

I shared with your students that we tend to get the object of our sin wrong. We think about how it affects other people we care about or how it affects us when, actually, we should focus on the fact that the One we are sinning against is the One who has pre-wired within us to know what sin is in the first place. Since God has already predefined what is sacred to Him - THAT is the measure we are to use to guide our actions.

I attempted to make the point more clearly by attaching it to a figure in history - Hitler. Consider the heinous nature of all of the killing that happened under Hitler. It would be easy for us to look at his actions and judge Hitler by labeling his sin as having happened "to" the Jews. That assessment of his actions, however, would be incomplete. The subject of Hitler's wrath (Jews and other ethnicities) did not give human life value - God did. We have worth and value for one reason - God has given it to us.

So when we look at Hitler's actions, we are certainly distracted by the cruelty of it against humanity; our hearts ache for the over 6 million people who were annihilated by him. Yet his sin was not against them - Hitler's sin was that he violated 6 MILLION TIMES what God considered to be sacred. He violated what God considered to be sacred 6 MILLION TIMES! That is what made the killing "morally" wrong - that the "Moral Law Giver" had declared it to be wrong. And that declaration comes from His very being…from His character…from who He is.

I suggested to your students that we should consider this when faced with moral decisions. Every action or reaction has with it a consequence - sometimes good and sometimes bad. But if we look at our actions with the mindset of consequences to us or others, our view is, at best, incomplete. We have to consider that our actions, when in violation of what we know to be morally right, are violations against what God has declared to be sacred. After all, He is the "Who" behind our internal moral compass.  

Signs and Wonders...Really?

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

As Unto The Lord

Hey HS Parents

Our mission trip to New Orleans last week was INCREDIBLE!! Our students painted the exterior of a home in Orleans parish, built a gazebo for Chalmette Elementary School, roofed a gazebo we built at Joe Davies Elementary last year that had been damaged in Hurricane Isaac, painted and pulled carpet for our host church (Metairie Baptist), gutted a home in Plaquemines parish, and led team building/character building games in St. Bernard Parish Elementary Schools. It was a PACKED week!

I want you to know that your students, as always, were amazing. They jumped in selflessly to complete each mission as unto the Lord. In the evenings we were able to unpack their experiences and hear their stories of ministry to children and families. As alway, it is so humbling to watch God work in and through them.

This past Wednesday night we were blessed to have middles schoolers in our high school meeting since Robert and the rest of the MS Ministry were in Rogersville. We talked about the power of words and that there is no such thing as neutral speech. All of our words, no matter how insignificant we may think they are, have some kind of impact. We closed the night with Psalm 19:14, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

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

Headin' South, Baby!

Hello HS Parents!

Well…spring break starts TOMORROW for most of your students. That means a large portion of them (about 80 or so) are heading south tomorrow for sunny New Orleans! We'll be working in the St. Bernard Parish school system as well as working on homes in Orleans Parish.

Be praying for our trip and for what God will do in the lives of students while we are away. Those who are not able to go this time will meet for Sunday groups in Annex 2 with Dillon Shaw. On Wednesday night they will meet with the middle school students in the District.

Don't forget about our Easter services coming up on March 30 and 31. If you or someone you know has made a profession of faith and is interested in being baptized in one of our four Easter weekend services please contact us at newgenerations@thegladechurch.org.

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

-Michael

Defining Beauty

Hello HS Parents!

This past Wednesday night we entered our second week on "Purpose/Meaning" in our ASK series. Our focus was on all of the beauty around us and how we tend to just walk past it. We also discussed how God's definition of beauty and our definition of beauty is very different.

For example, let's say you walk into a restaurant and sit down to a meal. When the waitress brings it to you, you might notice how delicious the meal looks (beautiful sight), how the aroma of the food makes your mouth water (beauty through smell), or even how good it tastes when you take the first bite (beauty through taste). You've done a great job of noticing the meal, but God has not. The beauty He is focusing on is the one who served it.

Here's a challenge for us - the next time you're in a restaurant and your meal is served…look past your need for steak sauce and ketchup and into the heart of the person who brings your food. Notice the beauty that God created in him or her and know that if both of you are standing before Him, you are EQUALLY beautiful to Him! 

Don't forget to be praying for our mission trip to New Orleans. We will be leaving next Saturday at 7:00 AM. Please let me know if there's anything I can pray about for you or your family.

-Michael

It's All About Jesus

Hello HS Parents

Tomorrow will mark the halfway point for the new content we've been discussing in our Sunday Bible study groups. We will be 7 weeks into "The Gospel Project" and have 6 more to go. We started in Genesis and have been moving our way through the Old Testament. 

The subtle teaching here (behind the obvious Old Testament content/foundations) is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is found throughout the entire canon of Scripture. Much of our teaching is typically focused on New Testament passages that reveal the life of Jesus or the teachings that follow His resurrection. What we find in the Old Testament, though, is that there is a constant thread pointing to the Messiah - it is all, truly, about the Christ.

Tomorrow we will be looking at this more directly and talking about Jesus as a faithful Son. We will be jumping ahead, a bit, and looking at prophesies that He fulfilled and the way He fulfilled His calling/purpose. This teaching lines up perfectly with what we're covering for the next few Wednesday nights as well: "Purpose…Why Am I Here?"

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

- Michael

Upcoming Events: 

February 24, ManUp at Floyd Center

March 9 - 16, Mission Trip to New Orleans