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:

Science is fascinating. Even if you hate science class, you have to admit that the idea of conducting experiments is cool. It’s amazing how adding just a few drops of one chemical can create a reaction, adding a few drops of another can stop or deactivate the same reaction and adding a few drips of a third chemical can make the first two glow in the dark or it can make them explode! What’s crazy is that you can’t tell by looking at something what reaction it will cause. Maybe it’s an activator. Maybe it’s a deactivator. Maybe it’s neither. The only way to know is to keep testing it out and see what happens. Believe it or not, this is something faith and science have in common. We all experience moments that have the potential to activate or deactivate our faith, and it’s hard to tell at first glance which is happening. This was especially true in the life of one of Jesus’ followers and dear friends, Peter. As we take a closer look at his ups and downs, we’ll discover how sometimes the very experiences that threaten to destroy our faith are the ones that can activate it in a whole new way.

 

This Week's Recap:

Week #1 (08.10.2016): The Comeback Kid

Bottom Line: Grace > Guilt 

What we talked about:

 Have you ever felt guilty about something? You know the feeling—that knot in the pit of your stomach when you make a mistake, that weight on your shoulders when you’ve said or done something you know you shouldn’t have. That’s guilt, and it always has a way of showing up when you do something wrong. Whether it comes from a small, seemingly harmless choice or a big decision with heavy consequences, guilt is a powerful feeling. It leaves us feeling frustrated and disappointed because we know we aren’t living the way we should be. And as a result, it can cause us to pull back from our relationship with God. In other words, guilt can start to deactivate our faith. But what if it didn’t have to be this way? What if guilt could actually a good thing? That’s how it worked for one of Jesus’ followers—Peter. And as we look at the way Peter responded to his guilt—and more importantly, how Jesus responded to Peter’s guilt—we’ll see that even our guilt can activate a new and powerful reaction in our faith.

 

This Part is For YOU Parents:

(Part 1 of 4.....the intro paragraph will be here each week, but the action item will change) 

 By Carey Nieuwhof

So, let’s just start by saying I’m not the most mechanically inclined person. But somehow that doesn’t exempt me from owning a garage filled with small engines: a snowblower, lawnmower, leaf blower, weed trimmer, and the like.
My technique for starting these machines is always the same: push the buttons and pull hard on the pull-cord. When that works, I’m off and running. When it doesn’t, I try the exact same things again. Then, I give up or call my friend John who fixes these kinds of things to tell him they’re broken.
 
More often than I’d like to admit, my friend John has come over only to tell me that my lawn mower wasn’t actually broken. I just needed a new approach. Sometimes I need to remember to adjust the choke, or try priming it again, or even to leave it because I flooded it. And then...like magic, it started because I tried something new. Teenagers are a bit like that.
 
When they don’t respond at age 15 to the things they responded to at age 10, we’re tempted to just try harder. But saying the same things more loudly, or trying the same tactics again and again won’t always turn things around.
 
After all, the teen years take away some of a parent’s favorite opportunities to connect, like bedtime stories and pick ups from school. So what do you do? Change your strategy.
 
If you want to get through to your teenager, here are some ways to connect that are unique to the teen years:

BE AROUND
Sometimes parents are tempted to buy their kids affection or attention. Losing your 13 year old? It’s easy to think you can win their heart with a new iPhone.  As a parent, never substitute a present for your presence.

In fact, one of the greatest gifts you can give your teenager is your presence—simply being around.
It’s the unscripted moments that will often produce the greatest conversations. A parent who’s always in the kitchen or around the house is just far more likely to have meaningful interactions with their kids.

No one expects it, but parenting a teenager may actually take more time than parenting a toddler.
Even if your kids don’t feel like talking to you, they’re glad you’re around. So be around.

Stay tune for the next part...next week.