The "U"pdate

Dear Parents,

I know many of you personally, while others I’ve only gotten to know through your kids. I’m sure you have an opinion about who I am and what I do. You know how this works, though – we can end up even misjudging the people we know well.

I bring this up because somewhere in the midst of knowing each other or even being acquaintances we have to trust each other. You have some measure of trust that when your teens are with our ministry, we’re doing all we can to love and lead them into something genuine with God. I likewise trust that you’re growing into what it means to do what God specifically asked you to do in Deuteronomy 6 by being the primary spiritual leader in your child’s life.

That's why I send these letters. I hope you read them because I believe we're in this together. Research shows you're the greatest influence in your kid's life, whether you're consistent or inconsistent with God. Likewise, we'd like to on this end be the greatest compliment to that.

Our theme last night and for the next two weeks is rather fitting for that purpose. We’re going to be focusing on God’s sovereignty. We’ll remind your teenager that God is sovereign over everything, and that the Lord is always speaking to us, trying to guide us to trust Him. Thankfully, He is trustworthy and good in nature. Each of the next two Thursdays I will send out a newsletter with what we studied the night before and upcoming event announcements.

If you’re open to it, I have some ideas that you can do on your end to further this:

• Don’t just pray for your child, but actually pray with your child. It may feel awkward to pray out loud, but just like you taught them their first words to speak into the world you can help grow their vocabulary and conversation with God.
• Talk about the things in your life that you’re trusting God with, including things you could take a shortcut on but won’t.
• Use some of the letters I send you to think about how to bring up this concept in your everyday conversations.
• Regularly take part in church together.

I’m so thankful to be in this with you. In the event we’re still getting to know each other, let’s grow that relationship even more in the near future. I’m praying for you, and I’d love for you to please pray for me. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me.

Pastor Lige

To start our series out on God's sovereignty we focused on him as the Creator King. It's a bit ironic for us to study this because it's a topic most of us struggle to understand. After all, if God has authority over everything then why is this world so messed up? That's a fair question, and it will likely come up somehow with your son or daughter. We're going to sort through this, even though, for centuries, Christ-followers have engaged in discussions about how precisely this plays out. While there may never be uniform agreement on the subject among the Church, we can all agree that it involves God personally caring about us, having a great plan for creation that will ultimately play out over time, and us having some capacity of choice regarding how we'll join into or resist that. As you can see, it's going to be a great time of learning and growth. 

This week’s lesson focused on how God is the all-mighty creator king that calls us to follow and obey Him. We can all confidently trust and follow God, knowing that His purposes will ultimately prevail. While we live in a broken world (broken because humanity rebelled against God and the great gift He gives us), we have to remember that God is still sovereign. He’s still able to repair, restore and redeem anything broken, including you, your teenager, and me. Thankfully!

We tried to look at the following Scripture passages, but due to my long-windedness we ran out of time and only got to a few of them: 

• Job 38:4-7
• Psalm 115:3
• Jeremiah 32:27
• Proverbs 20:24
• Proverbs 19:21
• Psalm 119:68
• Psalm 34:8
• Psalm 106:1

Try to find a moment to read these passages yourself, and then with your son or daughter. I'm confident that the truth contained in these passages can spur on great conversations.

Next Steps . . . 

During the next week as you have time to talk with your teenager, consider asking the following questions:

• What most stood out to you in your lesson on God’s sovereignty? 
• What about life do you wish you had more control over? Do you think God really has control over that, or do you think He’s more hands-off? Why? 
• How can I pray for you, particularly as it applies to you trusting in God’s authority? 

Thank you for what it means to partner with you in helping your teenager grow in their relationship with God.

For HIS Glory and your joy,

Pastor Lige