Wrapped Up! Week 4

Wrapped Up! Week 3

This week, we’re discovering:

How to get wrapped up in what Christmas is really about. Our Bible story from two different accounts (John 3:16-17; Luke 2:1-18) tells us about the greatest gift ever—Jesus’ birth! Bottom Line: God gave the greatest gift when He gave us Jesus.

In one of the busiest times of year, it’s important to take time to remember who gave first. We can stop and remember how amazing it is that God sent His Son to show us a new way to live and later made it possible for us to live with Him forever. Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.

God is the ultimate example of generosity. We give because God gave to us. God’s original gift is our motivation for giving freely to others. Our memory verse reminds us that no matter how much stuff or money we have, we can all “Be rich in good deeds … be generous and willing to share.” 1 Timothy 6:18, NIV

Wrapped Up! Wk 2

Wrapped Up! Week 1

December is the perfect month for an Extreme Makeover! Jesus tells the parable of a rich man in our Bible story (Luke 12:13-21). He gets wrapped up on storing up more stuff and ends up losing everything that really matters. Bottom Line: People are always more important than stuff.

The brother did what we all have a tendency to do—to focus on what Jesus or God can do for us, instead of thinking about ways we’ve already been blessed or how we can bless others. That’s why our monthly memory verse says, “Be rich in good deeds … be generous and willing to share,” 1 Timothy 6:18, NIV.

When we realize that it’s really a lie that stuff makes our lives better, then it’s easier for us to be generous. We define generosity as making someone’s day by giving something away. We can’t really live generously unless we believe this Basic Truth: I should treat others the way I want to be treated.

December Series for Oneway and Junction

This month our Oneway and Junction students will actually be talking about the same thing.  Our new series will be call Wrapped Up! and we will be asking the question, “What are you wrapped up in this Christmas?”  We will explore the connection between GENEROSITY and God’s character, as shown through God’s big story.

James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” So, we know that God is the Giver of all good things. But we also know that God’s generosity has a purpose.

God gives generously to us so that we may be generous toward others. The Bible says, “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” 2 Corinthians 9:11, NIV In other words, God gives generously to us so we will have time, emotional energy, patience, and a wealth of resources to give to others. Then, when we are generous with all we have been given, others will see us and be thankful to God.

So many times we think that our ability to be generous is connected to our riches. We are afraid to give because we don’t know if we have enough, and we think generosity is for those who have more than we do to give. But the cool thing about generosity is that we’re not generous because we are rich, we are rich because we are generous. When we choose to give generously to others, we are blessed with everything that really matters in life.

This month, we will challenge our kiddo’s think about how:

(1) We can show generosity because of what God has done.

(2) God instills generosity in us as we respond to His goodness.

(3) God uses generosity in us to influence our families, friends, and neighbors.

Remember: We look at one virtue each month and a virtue is something God does in us to change the world around us.

Don’t forget to check our Facebook page each week so you can receive your cue’s on how to talk with your kid’s about this month’s virtue.

Adapted from the reThink group.

If Only – Week 3 – Junction567

Session Three (Sunday, October 16th)

Nothing is more instructive than past regret. We may not always know what we should do, but we don’t want to do—whatever we did—again. We feel miserable. It is hard to imagine feeling anything but miserable. But would you believe that it is possible to not only quit being that way, but to actually take the remorse from the past and use it as a tool to better your future? Do you believe that even your greatest regret can be redeemed, that your biggest mistake offers promise to your life and the lives of others? Living a life of regret does not have to be the end of the story.

Session Three Parent Cue: What would it take for you to move past your “if only”?

If Only – Week 2 – Junction567

Session Two (Sunday, October 9th)

Are you haunted? No, we’re not talking Hollywood B-movie, ghosts around the corner haunted. Are you haunted by the regrets of your past? Do the things you should have done or not done seem to show up where you least expect them? The first step to moving away from the ghosts of our past choices is to name our regrets—to dig down deep beyond our individual choices and discover “why.” What were our real motives? What was really causing us sorrow? Who have we hurt? Part of the process of working through our mistakes is learning to put words to our regret.

Session Two Parent Cue: What still haunts you about your “if only”?

If Only – Junction 567

This month as we talk about regret, I’d love to encourage you with a few words from another parent.

IF ONLYS

by Tim Walker

The older I get, the more my list of “if onlys” grows. I turn 40 this year, and there are all kinds of situations I wish I’d handled differently. There are choices I wish I’d made another way. There are conversations I wish I would or wouldn’t have had. There are some relationships that I wish I would have pursued more and others I wish I had avoided. There are things I wish I would have tried and others I wish I hadn’t.

But most of my regrets come in the area of parenting. There are so many times I walk away from a situation and think, “I wish I would have handled that differently.” And because of my perfectionist nature, I start thinking about what a bad dad I am and how much better other parents are. Why can’t I be like them? Why can’t I handle everything well?

The reality is that there is so much emotion mixed up with parenting, isn’t there? The stakes seem so high. I want to make sure my three boys navigate their way through life with less scars and fewer regrets than their dad. And when it comes to disciplining their behavior, it feels like I have to “nip it in the bud” because I’m always thinking about the worst-case scenario.

Just the other day, my oldest son was lying around playing video games. His room was a mess, and the trashcan in the kitchen needed to be emptied. And in my head, I didn’t think, “Help him learn the consequences of these decisions.” Instead, I thought, “Oh my gosh, if I don’t do something about this now, this kid is going to be a total slacker who can’t take care of himself. He’ll be living in my basement when he’s 40!” I know, it’s a little extreme. Like I said, the stakes are high and I want him to succeed in life. The problem is, I don’t always go about helping him do that in the best way, and I regret it later.

I want to be better at being a dad. I want to help my sons grow up into men of character. The reality I have come to terms with—because it stares me in the face every day—is that I’m not going to get this right every time. As a parent, I’m going to mess up. I’m going to handle things poorly sometimes. Hopefully those will be the times my kids look back on and make fun of me, and not the ones they bring up in a therapy session.

But for me, I can’t just stop at naming my regret. So when I overreact to something stupid, or don’t address something I should have, I try to learn from the “if only” moments. I try to make a different choice the next time something happens. I try to take a step back and look at the actual situation instead of the one I fear.

Now, I know I’ll mess up again. I probably will have a repeat of this “if only” just because I’m a slow learner. But hopefully at some point, the “If onlys” will start to decrease. I’m never going to get it right all of the time, but hopefully I’ll start getting it right most of the time. I’ll always have regrets—it’s just how I’m wired. But when it comes to my kids, I want to have the “if onlys” less and just enjoy the process, even when I’m not at my best.

© 2010 Orange. All rights reserved.

Get connected to a wider community of parents at www.orangeparents.org.

New month, New series in Junction567

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT:

Here is an overview of what we’re talking about. Listed below the summary is a “parent cue” to help you dialog with your child about the session. The question is intended not just to be asked by you, but to be responded to by BOTH of you. Use this opportunity to find out what God is teaching your child, and allow your child to see what God is teaching you as well.

If Only:

Series Overview

We all have regrets, things we would do differently if given the chance. So if life inevitably brings those “if only” moments, how do we handle the regrets that haunt us? How can we turn the “if onlys” from our past decisions into something more, something that will help both us and others today?

Session One (Sunday, October 2nd)

What’s your “if only”? Every one of us has one, two or a hundred different scenarios in which we would do or say something differently. That e-mail we wish we wouldn’t have sent. That relationship that we should have avoided—or never began. We all have things we would do differently if given the chance. So if life inevitably brings “if only” moments, how do we handle the regrets that haunt us? How can we keep the mistakes we made yesterday from messing up today and tomorrow?

Session One Parent Cue (use before or after service): If you could go back and re-do one thing, what would you do? (Keep in mind what is appropriate with your teen.)

Junction: The Invisibles week 3

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT:

Here is an overview of what we’re talking about. Listed below the summary is a “parent cue” to help you dialog with your child about the session. The question is intended not just to be asked by you, but to be responded to by BOTH of you. Use this opportunity to find out what God is teaching your child, and allow your child to see what God is teaching you as well.

THE INVISIBLES:

Series Overview

We are surrounded by the invisibles. These are people who simply want to know someone cares, someone notices—people who want to know God cares. Some of us would even say we feel that way—invisible to an entire world, daily passing us by. Whether that feeling is a familiar one or not, the reality is that each one of us has felt invisible at one point or another. But we didn’t stay that way. God saw us. He sees the invisibles. And because God took notice of us, we are able to open our eyes to see those around us.

Session Three: Seeing Beyond the Seen (9/25/2011)

Sometimes what we really want isn’t what we are asking for. Sometimes what we really need is invisible to us. Thankfully Jesus sees us, really sees us. He sees the obvious physical needs and the more subtle spiritual ones too. And not only does He see them, He cares enough to do something about them both. When it comes to reaching out to the invisibles, when we provide friendship, water, help—sometimes it just isn’t enough. There’s a deeper, spiritual need that can only be met through Jesus Christ. And because of that, we do both—we help with the physical need but point them to Jesus Christ for the spiritual one.

Session Three Parent Cue: Identify someone who is invisible in each of your worlds. What do does he or she need? How can you help with that need? How can you also point them to Jesus Christ?