Weekly lesson update: "Mine" lesson 2

Good Afternoon Parents! I apologize for the delay on this weeks lesson but hopefully you've been able to connect with your teens in other ways. Although there was no Youth Group this week I pray you have been able to lead and disciple your teen(s) in ways that will set them up for success in the future.

We are continuing with the theme of "Mine! Making Faith Your Own" and I cannot stress enough how important this is with youth today! If we as parents and mentors simply tell teens what to do all of the time they will never understand how to make decisions on their own. If we allow that pattern to continue than friends or peers might push them to do things they know are wrong, yet they will do them because they have not been taught how to make their own decisions.

Faith is vital to continuing in a christian walk which glorifies Christ. My hope is that through this series the teens might understand that this is not something you as parents are forcing them to do or is simply a get out of hell free card. Rather I pray that the teens take faith and make it personal and find how they can best serve and honor our Father with what they have been gifted.

That being said, I hope that this week helps your family to connect in a way that causes growth in all of you.

Thursday/Friday:  (combining 2 days because of the delay)

Sit down and watch part 2 of the "Mine!" series. You can find the video here or by going to YouTube and searching for the channel "Smyrna Samurai".

Start this week by discussing the idea of "The Apple not falling far from the tree". What are things that you and your teen(s) are both good at or do similarly? (ie My Father had an amazing mustache and I have been blessed with wonderful facial hair) What are things that you do differently or one of you are good at and the other is not. (ie My father was good at bowling, I am lousy at it) How do these things help you work together as a family or individually?

Prayer Guide: Talk to your kids about their plans for the weekend. Ask how they are actively making their faith their own and how they are going to do that throughout the weekend. Pray together for guidance in decision making this weekend.

Saturday:

Its Saturday, go do something fun together! Weekends are great for spending time together. Whenever you decide to get together tonight open to 1 Samuel 1 and take turns reading the chapter. Ask your kids what they did today and if there was any opportunity to make a decision for faith on their own. If there was, talk about it and why they made the decision they did. If not, then create an easy hypothetical situation and ask what they might do.

Prayer Guide: Pray together for strength for one another and that if there is a tough situation, that each one of you would make the wises decision.

Sunday:

Take a break from 1 Samuel and discuss Robert's sermon today. Try and discuss how specifically it might apply to your teen(s) and how they can use it in their life this week.

Prayer Guide: Making faith ones own is not something that happens over night. Pray for you kids that they will walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel and be given chances to test their faith.

Monday:

Open up to 1 Samuel 2 and read the chapter together. Talk about how Eli's sons misused their faith for their own selfish gains. Discuss why you go to Church as a family and in what ways you each are growing from it. I hope that there is evident fruit in both your life and the lives of your children and if not then perhaps its time to examine if you are simply going through the motions or perhaps are ignoring the Holy Spirit's call on your life. In that case what can you do to make your a worldview instead of just an activity?

Prayer Guide: Pray that as a family you would be active in your faith and make it more than simply something to do on Sunday and Wednesday night.

Tuesday:

Read 1 Samuel 3 as the last day for this week. Look specifically at how Samuel obeys the Lord and takes faith as his own personal relationship with the Lord, even though he is just a child. Ask your teen(s) if they had to find their own way to church, would they still go? Is their faith something they want to actively grow in and build upon? Tell your kids how you are making your faith personal and making it your own.

Parents remember it is YOUR job as Fathers and Mothers to lead your children by example! What kind of example are you setting for them? Are you actively and willingly pursuing opportunities to grow in your faith, to build on your faith, to understand more what faith in Christ means? I encourage you that if you are not involved with a church ministry, to find one and become an active participant. However please DO NOT do this if it is simply just for the sake of being seen by others. Real faith does not seek glory or recognition.

Prayer Guide: Start by praying separately for a minute or two and ask God how you might best serve Him this week. After a minute or so has passed come together with your kids and pray as a family that you might be able to exemplify Christ to one another in the weeks to come. Pray also for your teens to grow and to own their faith.

Weekly lesson update: "Mine" lesson 1

Happy Thursday parents! I hope that this message finds you discipling your children every day. Last week I did not upload a lesson update, because next week I'll be on vacation. So this week, I'm uploading two weeks worth of content, so that next wednesday you there will still be content to work from! (So in case you haven't figured out, there will be no youth group on Sunday or Wednesday of next week. But not to worry. There will still be content for you and your kids to follow this week and next week.

Below you'll find the lesson update for the latest series I'm' teaching, "Mine! Taking faith and making it your own."

According to one study, 65% of Americans age 65 or older claim to be Christians. But only 35% of Americans age 46-64 claim to be Christians. Even worse, only 16% of Americans age 33-45 claim to be Christians. And worst of all, only 4% of Americans age 32 or younger claim to know the Lord. Obviously, faith is not being passed down from one generation to the next. There is clearly a disconnect somewhere. I believe that part of that disconnect that is each generation is making their parents faith less and less their own. The average student attending church with their family is only living out their parents faith, never owning it for themselves. And as soon as obstacles to that faith arises, they leave it in their past. It's easy, because it was never theirs to begin with.

So how does a person take their parents faith and make it their own? How can parents help their kids own their faith? That's what this series is all about.

Thursday:

Sit down together with your kids and watch the first video of this series. You can find a copy of the video on YouTube by clicking here. Unfortunately, the video got cut short somehow at the end of the lesson, but you can find the rest of the main points by looking at my powerpoint presentation found here.

Discuss with your kids the statistics listed at the beginning of the lesson. Does this reflect what you see in your friends? Throughout the week, you'll discuss the rest of the lesson.

Prayer guide: Ask your kids what they'll be doing in school tomorrow to finish the week. Share with them what you'll be doing at work to finish out the week. Pray together about your Friday. Pray that God will help them to make their faith their own.

Friday: 

Discuss the idea of Parallel play. Watch this section of the video again if needed. Ask your kids to honestly evaluate whether they feel that you as a parent are interacting with and leading them spiritually, or if they feel like you're just playing church next to each other. Some sample questions to ask include the following:

Do you feel like we're serving Jesus as a family, or are we just participating in church activities as individuals? 

Do you feel like I'm actively leading you by not only showing you a godly example to follow, but also taking an active role in teaching you how to follow Jesus? 

What would make you feel like we're doing this together?

Now spend some time strategizing.  Figure out together how to make faith a shared experience. Be honest about where you are. If your kids feel like you're not setting the example, don't be offended. Take the evaluation with humility, and determine to do better. Tell your kids that you want to commit to doing all you can to lead them spiritually.

Prayer guide: Ask your kids to pray for you out loud, that you'll be the best spiritual leader you can be. Pray for your kids out loud, and pray for yourself, not only that you'll be the best spiritual leader that you can be, but also that they will follow Jesus with all their hearts.

Saturday: 

I suggest this almost every week, but if you're able, do something fun together! When you sit down to discuss this week's lesson, first sit down to read 2 Timothy 1 together. Take turns reading about 4-5 verses each until you get through the chapter.

Yesterday you discussed your responsibility as a parent to lead. Today the onus is on them. Ask your kids what they are doing personally to "fan into flame the gift of god." Ask them if they are doing all that they can possibly to do own their faith, and follow Jesus. If not, discuss how they can.

Prayer guide:  Like yesterday, pray out loud for your kids that they would be followers of Jesus, and would seek with all their hearts to obey him.

Sunday:

As always, take some time to discuss Robert's sermon together. Hopefully by now you're in the habit of taking good notes, or remembering main points to discuss. Ask your kids what part of the sermon was most impactful, and share with them what was most impactful to you.

Prayer guide: Today, spend some time praying for people in church who, for whatever reason, can't be there on sunday morning. Whether it's because of sickness, scheduling conflict, or just the decision  to not attend, pray together that the Lord would minister to them where they are.

Monday:

Part of "fanning into flame the gift of God" is taking the time to examine your faith. To make it your own, you have to be comfortable enough with it to grab hold of it. If you have nagging doubts, or lingering questions, it will be difficult to do that. Tell your kids that they have the freedom to express their doubts to you without judgment. AND THEN BACK THAT UP. If your child opens up to you and says that they are doubting their faith, or even that they don't believe at all, don't jump down their throats. The fact that they were honest enough to tell you that was a step of courage, and one that you should honor. Thank them for their honesty, and tell them that you love them no matter what, and that you want to help them examine their doubts and questions.

Together, make a list of the things the questions and doubts they may have. Once you have that on paper, you can work together to find answers to the hard questions! I'll do whatever I can to answer those questions with you. Be open and honest enough with them to put your own doubts or questions on paper as well. I posted this link last week, but here's a really good resource to discuss those questions: "65 Apologetics Questions Every Christian Parent Needs to Learn to Answer."

Prayer guide: Pray together that God would help each of you as individuals and together as a family to examine all the doubts and questions you all have. Pray for clear wisdom. Pray for strong faith that will come from examining.

Tuesday:

Talk to your kids today about sharing their faith. Talk together about whether or not any of you are actively sharing your faith with anyone at work, school, home, in your circles of friends, or the people that you're around in various situations. A vital part of owning your faith is sharing your faith. Ask the following questions, both of yourself and of them:

Are you praying every day for opportunities to share your faith? 

Are you afraid to share your faith? Why? 

When was the last time you shared your faith with someone? When was the last time For the salvation of someone who is lost? 

How can you share the love of God with someone without things being awkward? 

Can you think of someone that you know who is not saved? Who are they? How might you share your faith with them in the future? 

Prayer guide: Hopefully there are some people that you can pray for right now. Pray together for the lost people that you just discussed. Pray that God would save them. Pray that God would show you how to best influence them toward Jesus. Pray together that God would give you opportunities to lovingly share truth with them.

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Camp deadlines!

Hi parents! Remember that this week is the deadline for registering your students to go to camp! Both camps are $325 (with payment plans available).

I'll be submitting the paperwork THIS WEEK! So don't miss out if you want your kids to go! If you plan on sending your kids, shoot me an email (swehandalie@gmail.com) or a text message (804-896-1187) right away to let me know for sure. Email or text if you have any questions!

Some great resources!

Hi Parents!

You may notice that this is the first update to the site in several weeks. I'm so sorry about that! We've been experiencing some technical difficulties, which I hope have been rectified. As I cross my fingers and hope that last night's lesson video successfully uploads, I wanted to pass along an awesome resource I came across this week:

A Christian mom named Natasha Crain has an awesome blog called christianmomthoughts.com. It's a great site, loaded with awesome content for parents!

I wanted to direct your attention to a couple of pages that she's written, concerning the importance of parents learning apologetics and teaching apologetics to their kids.

The first page is all about why parents should care about apologetics, and why it is so important for them to be learning. Read that post by clicking here.

Next, Natasha provides some simple and easy ways for parents to get started in learning apologetics. You can find that page by clicking here.

Finally, She lists 65 of the most important apologetics questions to learn, and on her blog throughout this year she will be addressing each question! What an awesome way to slowly work through some of the most important questions we will ever face! Find that article by clicking here.

I encourage you to bookmark her page and start following her content! It's clear that she and I have the same goal: to equip parents to spiritually disciple their children. What a great site! Check it out, and let me know what you think.