What's Happenin' @ Forward Mid-Week

Below is a brief summary of what talked about tonight. Most of the time we teach through a series for several weeks at a time that way students that miss can get caught back up quickly, and so we can dissect a topic more fully than just a one night deal. Use the overview and questions for both you and your teen to answer and have a dialogue that continues outside the church walls and into your homes. Use this opportunity to see what God is teaching your student and also allow your student to see what God is teaching/taught you.

Current Series:

Have you ever been to a concert? Maybe you had tickets
for great seats. Maybe you were in the nosebleeds. Either
way, you probably noticed that everyone had the same goal
in mind, to get as close as possible. There’s just something
about being near the band or near the artist that makes a
great concert even more fun. But there’s a limit, right? No
matter how good your tickets are, you can only get so close.
There’s a velvet rope you can’t cross, a hall you can’t walk
down, or a security guard you can’t stroll right past because
those areas are reserved for certain people...special people—
people with an all-access pass. Maybe you’ve felt the same
way when it comes to God. Sure, you come to church and
sing songs or listen, but there’s a limit to how close you can
get. It’s almost like there’s a velvet rope around certain parts
of our faith that tells us those parts are restricted to special
people, to church-staff people, or to super-spiritual people.
But what if that’s never what God intended? In this series
we’ll explore what the Resurrection of Jesus really meant—
for real people like us. And, we’ll discover that, because of
Easter, we have an all-access pass to Him and to the life He
has for us.

This Week's Recap:

Week #2 (04.26.2017)

Bottom Line: When your willpower runs out, you have access to His.

What we talked about:

Have you ever been tempted by something? Maybe you’ve
been trying to watch what you eat, but then suddenly
you find yourself in front of a giant bowl of ice cream that
seemed to be calling your name. Maybe you’ve stumbled
upon the Christmas presents hidden in your parents’ room
and found yourself fighting the urge to open them early. Or
maybe you’ve found yourself facing a temptation with bigger
consequences, like gossip, cheating, or lying. Big or small,
we all know what temptation feels like. We know what it
feels like to face something we know we shouldn’t do, yet
still want to do it. And if we’re being honest, most of us
would probably admit that we’ve given in to that temptation
because we simply couldn’t take it any more. Our willpower
just ran out. So what do we do? How do we stop giving in
and saying yes when we feel like we don’t have the power
to say no? Believe it or not, Jesus himself knows exactly
what it’s like to face temptation. He knows how we feel.
As we look at the way Jesus handled temptation, we’ll see
that we have all access to His help as we stand our ground
against temptation.

What's Happenin' @ Forward Mid-Week

Below is a brief summary of what talked about tonight. Most of the time we teach through a series for several weeks at a time that way students that miss can get caught back up quickly, and so we can dissect a topic more fully than just a one night deal. Use the overview and questions for both you and your teen to answer and have a dialogue that continues outside the church walls and into your homes. Use this opportunity to see what God is teaching your student and also allow your student to see what God is teaching/taught you.

Current Series:

Have you ever been to a concert? Maybe you had tickets
for great seats. Maybe you were in the nosebleeds. Either
way, you probably noticed that everyone had the same goal
in mind, to get as close as possible. There’s just something
about being near the band or near the artist that makes a
great concert even more fun. But there’s a limit, right? No
matter how good your tickets are, you can only get so close.
There’s a velvet rope you can’t cross, a hall you can’t walk
down, or a security guard you can’t stroll right past because
those areas are reserved for certain people...special people—
people with an all-access pass. Maybe you’ve felt the same
way when it comes to God. Sure, you come to church and
sing songs or listen, but there’s a limit to how close you can
get. It’s almost like there’s a velvet rope around certain parts
of our faith that tells us those parts are restricted to special
people, to church-staff people, or to super-spiritual people.
But what if that’s never what God intended? In this series
we’ll explore what the Resurrection of Jesus really meant—
for real people like us. And, we’ll discover that, because of
Easter, we have an all-access pass to Him and to the life He
has for us.

This Week's Recap:

Week #1 (04.19.2017)

Bottom Line: Jesus gives you all access to God.

What we talked about:

There’s nothing better than an all-access pass. Whether it’s a
backstage pass at a concert for your favorite band or a front
row seat at the championship game for your favorite team,
having all access makes a great experience even greater!
Without an all-access pass there’s a limit to how close you
can get—a hall you can’t walk down, a seat you can’t sit in,
a rope you can’t cross. In other words, there’s something
keeping you from truly getting up close and personal to the
action. And at some point, most of us have probably felt the
same way about God. Even though we show up at church,
pray the prayers, and sing the songs, we feel like there’s
something keeping us from getting as close to God as others
seem to be. It’s as if we’re experiencing God from the cheap
seats. But that’s not how God intended us to feel. In fact,
God went out of His way to make sure that everyone could
move past the barriers and get closer to Him. And as we’ll
see this week, when we take hold of the all-access pass God’s
offering us, there’s no longer anything holding us back from
experiencing the greatest possible thing—a relationship
with Him.

What's Happenin' @ Forward Mid-Week

Below is a brief summary of what talked about tonight. Most of the time we teach through a series for several weeks at a time that way students that miss can get caught back up quickly, and so we can dissect a topic more fully than just a one night deal. Use the overview and questions for both you and your teen to answer and have a dialogue that continues outside the church walls and into your homes. Use this opportunity to see what God is teaching your student and also allow your student to see what God is teaching/taught you.

Current Series:

Road trips are awesome. Whether you’re heading to the
mountains with your family or driving to the beach with
your friends, the idea of packing up, grabbing your favorite
snacks, planning the perfect play list, and hitting the road just
sounds like an adventure. And it is! Maybe that’s because
new places are always exciting, or maybe it’s just that, more
than anywhere else, the unexpected seems to happen
on the road. Flat tires. Detours. Surprisingly great lunch
stops. Disappointingly awful gas stations. The unexpected
is just part of the trip. Life works a lot like that, too. We
start with a plan in mind, but things happen along the way
that change our plans, change our minds, or even change
our relationships. That’s when we have to decide to stick to
the plan or change course. This was especially true for the
apostle Paul. Long before GPS or interstates, Paul set out on
a series of road trips, and just like us, he experienced some
surprising, even life-changing moments on the road. As we
take a look at some key turning points on Paul’s road trips,
we discover that maybe the best thing that can happen on
our journey is a change of direction.

This Week's Recap:

Week #3 (03.22.2017)

Bottom Line: Treat everyone like they’re someone.

What we talked about:

One of the most important parts about road trips isn’t always where you’re going or how you get there, but who you’re going with. Think about it. A long road trip can be miserable with the wrong people by your side. But with the right people—people that listen to the same music as you, like the same restaurants as you, and talk about the same stuff as you—can be the time of your life! Isn’t that true of life as well? The truth is, most of us surround ourselves with people who are a lot like us. We have a tendency to drift toward people like us and drift away from people who aren’t like us. It’s completely natural, and something we all do, but what if we’re drifting away from certain people for the wrong reasons? What if we’re drifting away from certain people because we’ve assumed things about them that aren’t true or assumed we just won’t like them? And if we’re really being honest, deep down we know this drift isn’t okay. So we’re left with the question: What do we do with people who are different than us? To answer this question, we’ll look back at the Paul’s road trip one last time and see how his encounter with God changed not just himself, but the way he saw others as well.

Just for Parents:

By Kara Powell:

“I just wish my parents would realize I’m not who I was in
middle school. Their picture of me never changes—even
though I’ve changed.”

Without knowing it, this 17 year-old’s complaint about her
parents’ inability to appreciate her growth triggered an
internal alarm in me. Since our kids—now ages 16, 14, and
10—have been infants, my husband and I have seen their
unique personalities emerge.
 

One of our kids almost never complains—even when
they should exert themselves more. Another one…well,
let’s just say that no one has ever accused her of not
complaining enough.
 

One of our kids has been an introvert since she was a toddler.
She has two good friends and that’s all she needs. Our other
daughter is an off-the-chart extrovert. She loses count of her
friends. Literally.
 

It’s good that I know my kids’ tendencies. It’s bad when I
become so fixated on those tendencies that I don’t see how
they are changing.
 

In this series, your students are going to realize change
is possible. More than that, change is inevitable as we
encounter Jesus. Our hero in these three lessons, the Apostle
Paul, realized this firsthand. After Jesus got his attention,
he changed from being one of the greatest persecutors  of Christians to being one of the greatest builders of the church. Paul let Jesus change him.
 

As your students similarly let Jesus change them, they might
start acting a little differently.
 

All of a sudden, your son is a bit less selfish and empties
the dishwasher without being asked. Or your step-daughter
chooses on her own to put down her phone in the car so the
two of you can talk.
 

We hope you know your kids and how God has uniquely
molded them. But we also hope you know that God’s
love and grace continues to shape them into new
creations with new personalities, new victories, and
new struggles.
 

Parenting. It’s never boring.

T R Y  T H I S

So how can we pay attention to—and support—the ways our
kids are changing?
 

1. Make a list of ways your son or daughter is
different now than they were a year or two
ago. How do you feel about those changes? Which
do you applaud? Which make you anxious?
 

2. Talk to your child about (some or all of) your
list, making sure you talk at least three times
more about the changes you applaud than
those that make you anxious. And in fact, start
with the good stuff. We are all more open to critique
if we have first felt affirmed and understood.
 

3. Ask your child two questions about what
you’ve shared: What do you disagree with?
And, what makes sense or feels right to you?
In my experience with my own two teenagers, they
are far more likely to agree with certain observations
I’ve made if they first have a chance to express what
they disagree with.
 

4. Share with your child an area of your life that
you hope can change. Invite your child to do
the same.
 

5. Pray that God will make that change a reality,
just as He did so powerfully with Paul two
thousand years ago.

What's Happenin' @ Forward Mid-Week

Below is a brief summary of what talked about tonight. Most of the time we teach through a series for several weeks at a time that way students that miss can get caught back up quickly, and so we can dissect a topic more fully than just a one night deal. Use the overview and questions for both you and your teen to answer and have a dialogue that continues outside the church walls and into your homes. Use this opportunity to see what God is teaching your student and also allow your student to see what God is teaching/taught you.

Current Series:

Road trips are awesome. Whether you’re heading to the
mountains with your family or driving to the beach with
your friends, the idea of packing up, grabbing your favorite
snacks, planning the perfect play list, and hitting the road just
sounds like an adventure. And it is! Maybe that’s because
new places are always exciting, or maybe it’s just that, more
than anywhere else, the unexpected seems to happen
on the road. Flat tires. Detours. Surprisingly great lunch
stops. Disappointingly awful gas stations. The unexpected
is just part of the trip. Life works a lot like that, too. We
start with a plan in mind, but things happen along the way
that change our plans, change our minds, or even change
our relationships. That’s when we have to decide to stick to
the plan or change course. This was especially true for the
apostle Paul. Long before GPS or interstates, Paul set out on
a series of road trips, and just like us, he experienced some
surprising, even life-changing moments on the road. As we
take a look at some key turning points on Paul’s road trips,
we discover that maybe the best thing that can happen on
our journey is a change of direction.

This Week's Recap:

Week #2 (03.15.2017)

Bottom Line: God’s plan for you is to do the next right thing.

What we talked about:

When you’re on a road trip, what do you use to guide you to
your destination? Google Maps? Waze? Siri? Let’s face it—
we’d all probably be lost without our turn-by-turn direction
apps to guide us. But long before the days of smartphones
and apps, everyone relied on printed maps to make it to
their destination. There was no app to tell you where to turn
next; it was just you and a map. You see, having a destination
in mind is great, but if you don’t know your next turn, you’re
never going to make it there. And that’s not only true for
driving, but also for life. Whether you realize it or not, we
all have a destination in mind—a sense of where we want to
go in life. For many of us, that destination is influenced by
where we think God wants us to go. But for others of us, God
doesn’t influence our destination at all because we don’t
think He could possibly have a plan for our lives . . . at least
not right now. But the truth is, God does have a plan for your
life, and He wants to start leading you to that destination
today. As we take another look at Paul’s road trip this week,
we’ll see that following God’s plan for our lives begins by
taking the next right step.

Just for Parents:

What's Happenin' @ Forward Mid-Week

Below is a brief summary of what talked about tonight. Most of the time we teach through a series for several weeks at a time that way students that miss can get caught back up quickly, and so we can dissect a topic more fully than just a one night deal. Use the overview and questions for both you and your teen to answer and have a dialogue that continues outside the church walls and into your homes. Use this opportunity to see what God is teaching your student and also allow your student to see what God is teaching/taught you.

Current Series:

Road trips are awesome. Whether you’re heading to the
mountains with your family or driving to the beach with
your friends, the idea of packing up, grabbing your favorite
snacks, planning the perfect play list, and hitting the road just
sounds like an adventure. And it is! Maybe that’s because
new places are always exciting, or maybe it’s just that, more
than anywhere else, the unexpected seems to happen
on the road. Flat tires. Detours. Surprisingly great lunch
stops. Disappointingly awful gas stations. The unexpected
is just part of the trip. Life works a lot like that, too. We
start with a plan in mind, but things happen along the way
that change our plans, change our minds, or even change
our relationships. That’s when we have to decide to stick to
the plan or change course. This was especially true for the
apostle Paul. Long before GPS or interstates, Paul set out on
a series of road trips, and just like us, he experienced some
surprising, even life-changing moments on the road. As we
take a look at some key turning points on Paul’s road trips,
we discover that maybe the best thing that can happen on
our journey is a change of direction.

This Week's Recap:

Week #1 (03.08.2017)

Bottom Line: As you get to know God, be ready to rethink.

What we talked about:

Have you ever had to change your mind about something?
We’re talking something big like what you’re going to do
after high school or if you should keep dating that person.
Changing your mind can be difficult because in some ways
it feels like you’re admitting that maybe what you originally
thought about something or someone was off-base. This is
especially difficult when it comes to what we think about
God. Most of us already have our minds made up about
what we do or don’t think about God. So much so that
we’ve probably stopped giving it much thought. We think
we know who God is, what He’s about, what He wants from
us, and that’s that. But just like on a road trip, sometimes in
life we encounter something on our journey that completely
changes our perspective. In other words, it causes us to
rethink. That’s exactly what happened to the apostle Paul on
his journey to Damascus in the book of Acts. And as we look
at how his encounter caused him to rethink, we’ll see that
when we open ourselves to experience God, we’ll certainly
be left changed.

Just for Parents:

What's Happenin' @ Forward Mid-Week

Below is a brief summary of what talked about tonight. Most of the time we teach through a series for several weeks at a time that way students that miss can get caught back up quickly, and so we can dissect a topic more fully than just a one night deal. Use the overview and questions for both you and your teen to answer and have a dialog that continues outside the church walls and into your homes. Use this opportunity to see what God is teaching your student and also allow your student to see what God is teaching/taught you.

Current Series:

Have you ever had a moment that made you stop and think, "Wow, this changes everything"? Maybe it was finding out you didn’t make the team or that your parents were splitting. Maybe it was finding out you're good at something or bad at something you didn't expect. In these moments our lives change direction quickly. The funny thing is nearly everyone who met Jesus had one of those moments. They came in with a plan, a direction, an identity. And as soon as they spent any time with Jesus, those ideas were turned upside down. And, as we look at four of these stories, we find that an encounter with Jesus has the power to flip our lives as well.

This Week's Recap:

Week #4 (02.22.2017): Does it Matter

Bottom Line: Jesus wants to be what you want.

What we talked about:

Everyone dreams about what they want to be when they grow up. Maybe you want to be a doctor or an artist or an engineer. Maybe you want to be known for being a great athlete or a great speaker. Whatever it is, chances are you want to become someone or do something that you feel is important. Something that matters. And you work toward becoming whatever that is. Jesus met a man who had already met his goal. He was rich. He was powerful. He was well known and important. But surprisingly, Jesus said he still lacked something. This young man had achieved everything that he thought mattered, but through his story we find that God wants more for us than just achievement or fame. He wants us to pursue Him first.

Just for Parents:

I think most people would agree that one of the more terrifying parts of parenting teenagers is the risk factor. They grow up and the stakes are raised. Their freedom increases but so does the potential fallout from bad choices. Parents are regularly faced with decisions on when to allow their students to forge their freedom and when not to. Unfortunately, we can tend to be overprotective in situations that they may not really need our protection from—and in the name of safety we may be inhibiting them in a way we never intended.

In his blog post, How to Help Your Kids, Live Out Their Story, author, speaker, and dad, Carey Nieuwhoff explains the benefits of letting go of control and trusting God with their story.

My grandfather and grandmother did something amazing. They let my dad live his story, not theirs. They gave up control, protection, and let God write a story in my dad’s life that was independent of their own.

 My dad is one of my heroes. He actually did build a new life (in another country), not just for him, but for many others. He was not only a great father, but he ran a company for years, served his entire life in the local church and has left a great legacy of character for his kids and grand kids.

I’m so glad my grandparents swallowed hard and let their son pursue his vision. So, now the question.

Would you?

In an era of overprotective, slightly controlling parenting, I wonder how many stories like my dad’s aren’t being written. Not because kids aren’t ready to write a story of their own choosing, but because parents are too afraid or unwilling to let them go or take risks.

Great plot lines invite things like drama, risk, mission, and calling. All the things that make parents gulp (and gasp).

And by the way, my dad did see his parents again. He eventually had enough money to go back more than a few times. I even went to Holland with my dad to meet them before they passed away.

As you think about how you might help your kids connect with their own story, here are three things to remember:

1. Prepare yourself now to release them one day.

2. Understand that God has your kids on a journey from dependence to independence.

3. Let them lead (without rescuing them) today to prepare them for tomorrow.

Is there anything you need to let go of today to help create a better future for your child?

From How to Help Your Kids Live Out Their Story,