New Series for February 2011: TEN

TEN: Series Overview
Thirty-five hundred years ago Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with a short list of rules that has shaped the values of people and nations for centuries. We know them as the Ten Commandments, but do we really know them? Many people believe that the rules are a condition for a relationship with God, things we must do to get in His good graces. But just the opposite is true. The relationship came before the rules. And the commandments were meant to not only reveal God’s heart, but to keep His people free.

Session One: The Rules {Sunday, February 6, 2011)
Bottom Line: Relationship always precedes rules with God.
To many, Christianity is about following a set of rules. And if you asked them “Why?” they would point to a single source—the Bible. Specifically, they would probably mention the Ten Commandments. But what most people miss is the whole context for that list. God established a relationship with the Israelites long before He even gave them the rules. He wanted them to know they were His people. The reality is that following the rules will never make God love us more. In fact, when you try to live them out, you begin to see just how much you need Him. With God, the relationship always precedes the rules. Always.

Session One Parent Cue: The relationship and rules connection is something that you live with in your role as parent/child. Talk about how relationship always precedes rules in your home.

56er Serve Sunday

This Sunday, January 30, 2011 there will be NO 56er class happening during the service. The reason isn't because our leaders are lazy, or because we have ran out of things to teach. The reason is that we like to give our kids an opportunity to serve around their church - our church, CrossRoads.
56ers have had the opportunity to sign up for an area to serve in over the last couple of weeks. This Sunday our 56ers will be found serving as ushers or greeters, in the compass or info center, or serving in other ares of CrossRoads Kids...K4, Pre-K or Little Lambs.
This last weekend I (Pastor Mike) was at a pastor's & spouse retreat in Banff. While there I was talking to another pastor and she told me a stat that you may be interested in. Kids graduating out of high school that had a deep faith in Christ were compared with those that had grown up in the church, but were struggling with faith issues. A majority of the kids with the strong faith, had been giving the opportunity to serve others while growing up and a majority had done that serving alongside their parent! Chew on that for a bit!

Have a great week and we'll kick off the month of February with a look at the Ten Commandments with a series simply called "TEN".

Road Signs - Session IV

Sunday, January 23, 2011
Have you ever been walking down the street, deep in thought, but oblivious to what was going on around you—that is until you snapped out of it and realized that you passed your destination two blocks ago? Your attention was elsewhere. Your mind wasn't focused on what you were doing. The reality is this: what you give your attention to determines your direction. When something captures your attention, it will alter your direction and eventually lead you to a predictable destination—for better or worse. This week, we will wrap up the series by helping your 56er take a look at the things that capture his or her attention. We will challenge them to be intentional about paying attention to the things that will ultimately lead them in the direction they want to go.

Session Four Parent Cue: What are the distractions along the way to reaching your “destination”?

Road Signs - Session III

Sunday, January 16, 2011
Everyone makes stupid choices—even smart people. Why? Because we’ve all had moments when we know the right thing to do, we have the right information, and we ignore it. We know we should order the fruit cup, but we order the mega-size fries. We know we should not spend all our money on that one shirt, but we do it anyway. We know we should avoid that one relationship, but we just keep coming back because it’s comfortable. So there has to be something more to it than just knowing the right thing to do. It’s not just about knowing the right choice, it’s about actually taking that first step. It’s the difference between knowing the right choice and trusting that the choice will lead you to a better path. It’s the difference between information and submission.

Session Three Parent Cue: Concerning the “destination” where you want to arrive, how will it require you to yield? What would you have to change or give up?

56er Group New Years Resolutions - Small Change, Dramatic Impact

On Sunday, January 2, 2011, we marked the beginning of the new year by asking our 56ers to draw a picture of their New Year Resolution and then get their leader to try to guess what their life change would be for the next year. Some of the Resolutions that made our lists were:
+ Not eat Ice Cream
+ Sleep-in More Often
+ Do better at math
+ Play better with my friends
+ More time outside, less time on computer
+ Read more
+ Not talk-back to my mom
There were many more, so ask your 56er what they chose for themselves. I then asked the group if we could choose 1 New Year's Resolution to do as an entire group of 56ers, and leaders, what would it be? The kids surprised me by giving some great suggestions. But we tried to make it 1 simple change in our lives that would have dramatic affect if we all did it this year. And here are the results:
+ 9:00 Service 56ers couldn't decided between their top two, so they agreed to do both! Talk to God at least once a day & Read 1 Verse from the Bible a day. We decided we needed a verse for Sunday so Travis Fleming opened his Bible and pointed to Proverbs 12:1. Go read it, it is an extremely powerful verse!
+ 11:00 Service 56ers decided on something that they could do as a group on every Sunday morning or every time they are at the church. They chose to "Look for ways to clean up or help out around the church." They said, "sometimes we are done before the Big House, instead of disrupting the service, we can pick up garbage or clean the gym, and stay quiet." As their Pastor, I like it!

So depending on which service your family attends, encourage your 56er with their group New Year's Resolution. They impressed me with their ideas and their willingness to be a part of something bigger. And truly these small changes can make a dramatic impact!

Road Signs - Session II

Session Two - Sunday, January 9, 2011
When we’re behind the wheel, most of us stop if we see a street sign that says “danger” or “dead end.” We put ourselves on alert if we see a “caution” sign. But when it comes to our daily lives and the choices we face, sometimes we ignore the warning signs completely. We trudge right through the “don’t say that” sign and deeply cut someone close to us with a wounding remark. We plow right through the “don’t date that girl” sign because we believe that having someone who’s not great for us is better than not having someone at all. The Bible warns us that when we see danger to take action, because when we don’t, things can get really ugly.

Session Two Parent Cue: What are some cautions that you’ve had in past? Did you pay attention to them or ignore them? What happened as a result of your decision?