Remix

I just wanted to take a few moments and let you all know about the awesome week we had last Wednesday night as we kicked off the new school year.  We had 196 at Remix, and 75 were 6^th graders.  That is unbelievable, and we thank God that so many students are committed and excited about this school year.

I want to remind you just how important it is for your student to stay connected on Wednesday nights.  The relationships that they have there are critical to them at this age.  I encourage you to make it a priority to get them here on a consistent basis as the year continues.

In our large group experience we will continue to our look into the series “Frustrated’.  We will talk about how frustrating it can be to find acceptance.  Let’s face it; all of us are looking for acceptance from others.  The challenge is that most of the time acceptance is based on what we do to earn it.  The moment we stop earning it is the moment it is no longer given to us.  We will challenge students to realize that Christ’s acceptance of us is based on what He has done for us.  He loves us, even when we don’t deserve it.  His acceptance in unconditional, and we don’t have to try and earn it.  Because of that, we will challenge the students to find true acceptance in Christ instead of chasing after it in the things we think will give it to us but in the end never do.

In their group time, students will be given the opportunity to draw a picture of what is the most important thing to them.  They will then be challenged to think about how we usually seek acceptance from what we perceive to be the most important thing in our life.  They will look at Romans 5:6-9 to discover the fact that God’s love and acceptance of us is based on what He did, not on what we do. To wrap up their group time, they will be challenged to evaluate exactly who or what they look to to find acceptance.  If it is not God, they will be challenged to surrender that and begin to seek God for their acceptance.

Listed below are some questions you can use to spark conversation with your students and connect with what we talked about this week:

• What would you say are the top three most important things in your life?
• What are some things that should be important to us all?
• What does it mean to be accepted?  Why do we want that so bad?
• How does knowing that God’s acceptance of us is not based on what we do, but on what He has done for us make you feel?  Why?
• What are some things that you have looked to to find acceptance in life but that didn’t give it to you?  (This would be a great question, if you lead by giving them some examples from your own life.)

Catalyst

Series: “Remote Control”

Focus: Life is all about control.  Who is holding the remote?

Family Discussion:

So much of our lives revolve around the issue of control.  Either we have it and want to keep it, or we are without it and work to get it.  Students experience this on an elevated level since they are in the process of growing and gaining more and more “control” of their lives.

Discuss the following questions as a family and discover how the Bible outlines the remote control of our lives.

1. In what areas of your life are you in control? Are there any?
2. How does it feel to be in control? How does it feel to be out of control?
3. Why do you think you want more control/responsibility in your life?

“You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.  And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”  –Romans 8:9-11

1. What does this verse say is the deciding factor between life and death?
2. What is the difference between “spirit” and “Spirit”?

Wrap Up:

When we hand over control of our lives to our sinful nature (our emotions, anger, lust, etc.) we are setting ourselves up for disaster!  Decisions made out of the natural self lead straight to death, but if we can put our pride aside and rely on the Spirit, we will see that the choices in our lives are opportunities to continually hand the remote over to our Creator.  Discuss as a family how this mindset can apply to the way you view control and decision-making, both individually and as a family.

See you next week for more Remote Control!