Convicting Christmas Card?

Lesson Loop 12.9.11

This week in our Student Ministry:

THIRD PLACE & LUCID
We are spending an additional 4 weeks talking about sharing our faith. The middle school is one week ahead at this point, but here is what we went over this week in middle school, and what we will cover next week in high school:

God's Story
*While last week was about sharing our story, this week we considered how the Bible is God's Story of Salvation. This is a message that is written beautifully in different styles throughout the Scriptures, but at the center of the story is Jesus Christ.

John 1:1-15
We looked at how the birth of Christ began the climax of the story, and in John 1 we considered 3 main themes:

1. CREATION
   God created everything we see through Jesus Christ!
2. DARKNESS
   Since the fall of mankind (Genesis 3), our world has been plagued with the darkness of sin. 
3. LIGHT
   Jesus is the Light that breaks through the darkness of sin and brings us hope!

The students used their artistic sides by writing poetry that described either Creation, Darkness, or Light. Some got into it more than others, but it was neat.

Conclusion: While it is very important that we share our story of salvation with others, it is even more important that we share God's story. We need to start all the way back at Creation and focus on Jesus Christ!

NYWC Sessions!

Hello parents and staff!
I wanted to let you know that I purchased a few of the sessions from the National Youth Worker's Conference this year, and they are now posted so you can listen to them. Just click on them in the orange box to the right.

Here are the sessions with a description of each:

Francis Chan
San Diego, Big Room One

BIO:  Francis is the best-selling author of Crazy Love and Forgotten God, as well as host of the BASIC.series. He has also written children’s books Halfway Herbert and The Big Red Tractor and the Little Village. Francis is founding pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA, founder of Eternity Bible College, and sits on the board of directors of Children’s Hunger Fund and World Impact. Francis lives in Northern California with his wife, Lisa, and their five children.

URL: http://www.francischan.org

Chuck Bomar
Under Your Umbrella? College Ministry When It's Just Part of Your Responsibilities

For student ministry pastors/leaders with college ministry under their “umbrella” of responsibility but don't know what to do exactly. If you’re short on time, ideas, and resources, this seminar will give you clear and concise direction.

BIO: Chuck started and pastors Colossae Church in Portland, OR. He also founded and heads CollegeLeader, which helps churches care for and include college-aged people in everything they do. This mission takes him all over the country to speak and train leaders. He’s author of College Ministry From Scratch: A Practical Guide to Start and Sustain a Successful College Ministry, College Ministry 101: A Guide to Working with 18-25 Year Olds, and coauthor with Reggie Joiner and Abbie Smith of The Slow Fade: Why You Matter in the Story of Twentysomethings. He and Barbara have been married for 10 years and have two daughters, Karis and Hope. URL: www.CollegeLeader.org

Blake Chilton
The Entrustment Principle: Investing in Adults Leaders/Volunteers to Invest in Students


BIO: A 15-year student ministry veteran, Blake has been student minister at The Village Church in Flower Mound, TX, for six years. His passion is developing a vision for the glory of God and passing it to students so they will live for Someone greater than themselves. Blake is married to Sarah; they have four children.






Doug and Cathy Fields
Youth Ministry and Marriage

Seasoned in marriage (26 years) and veterans in youth ministry (30 years), Doug and Cathy Fields have spent their entire marriage in youth ministry and have lived to tell about it. Great marriages are possible in the midst of ministry stress and others’ expectations. This 90-minute workshop won’t solve all the problems in your world or marriage, but you’ll get enough helpful, practical, and encouraging tips to get you headed in the right direction.

BIO: Doug has worked in the church as a youth pastor for almost 30 years—most recently, 18 years at Saddleback Church in southern California. He’s founder of Simply Youth Ministry, author/coauthor of 50-plus books, a new blogger, and now spends most of his time with youth workers.
URL: www.dougfields.com

Jim Burns
Developing a Healthy Marriage, Family and Ministry

In this session, Jim will share insights from what he and Cathy call their “high maintenance” marriage as well as raising three strong-willed kids who didn’t always love church. Jim will talk about and offer practical suggestions on combatting being “overcommitted and under connected,” energizing your family’s spiritual life, communication and conflict, and other issues specific to youth ministry, marriage, and family. You’ll receive several outstanding communication resources and have plenty of time to talk about issues close to your heart.

BIO: Jim is president of HomeWord and executive director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University. Jim speaks to thousands worldwide each year, has more than 1.5 million resources in print in more than 25 languages, and is heard daily on more than 800 radio stations (and around the world via podcast at HomeWord.com). His recent books include Faith Conversations for Families, Teenology: How to Raise Great Teens, and Closer: Devotions to Draw Couples Together. Jim, his wife Cathy, and their three daughters (Christy, Rebecca, and Heidi) live in Southern California.
URL: HomeWord.com

Advent

Mark 1:1–3 (ESV)
1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,"
During this Advent season, my family has been taking advantage of this special time of year to focus on preparing our hearts for the arrival of Christmas morning. We have never really observed Advent before (at least during the whole season), and I have found it an awesome opportunity to have conversations like what Deuteronomy 6 calls us to.
If you are interested in an interactive Advent devotional and Bible reading plan for a family, you can find one through YouVersion here:
http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/countdown-to-christmas
Christmas is such a wonderful time to creatively teach our children and the students of our church the gospel story, which starts to come to culmination at the birth of Christ, but began when God said “Let there be light”. May your Christmas be filled with joy and conversations that lead to the cradle and the cross.