5-18-23 This Week in Faith
/For Kids in May/ This Summer
Sunday School EVERY Sunday This Sunday we will wrap up studying the Old Testament and another year of kid’s Sunday school. We will talk about the Temple and Nehemiah. Next week will be our first Sunday with the summer schedule. Kids will do a fun review of the Old Testament. Beginning in June, the family Sunday school will be for all ages as we talk about the classic book, Pilgrim’s Progress.
Children’s Church [8:30AM Service and summer service] Children’s Church is available during the 8:30AM service. There’s a kids message in both services. 2nd grade and under will be invited to leave for Children’s Church after that in the 8:30AM service. [Children’s church will be available each week in the summer during our 1 worship service at 10:00AM]
* We also have a Children’s Bulletin that is ideal for 3rd-5th graders. It incorporates the worship bulletin but helps kids track through the service, stay engaged, and worship more fully with us. Look for it on the way into the sanctuary with the other bulletins.
For Students in May/ This Summer
Summer Small Groups and Calendar Summer small groups will meet on Sundays after worship [11:15AM]. Our first one will be June 4 in the Student Ministry room where students will find out what group they are in and where their group will be meeting. We also have a calendar of events for the summer. You can register online HERE for events. Our first one will be a Braves game on Wednesday June 7.
Wednesday Nights for Middle School [6-8PM] We are done with our regular schedule but will begin the summer schedule in June.
Sunday Nights for High School [6-8PM] We do not have a formal meeting this Sunday night but for anyone who wants to join us and hang out, we will meet at 6PM at Cookout for dinner.
Sunday School [9:45AM-10:45AM] This Sunday will be the last class for our middle and high school Sunday school classes. They are invited to join us for the family class studying Pilgrim’s Progress beginning with the summer schedule on May 28.
For Parents This Summer
Summer Worship Schedule Beginning May 28, Faith will move to one worship service at 10:00AM until August. There will be Sunday school at 9:00AM.
There will be a family Sunday school class for all ages at 9:00AM and we will be studying Pilgrim’s Progress.
You should have received some emails about the summer schedule for students. There are also printed calendars on the desk in the foyer at Faith.
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God Delights in You
For al of the challenges of parenting, being a parent also gives us windows into God’s steadfast love for us. The longer I’m a parent, the more it strikes me how much I not only love my kids, but that I really like and enjoy them. And God feels the same about you. As his children, God not only loves us, but he likes us. Enjoys us. I hope this article helps you remember that and that God’s delight in you is what fuels you through the ups and downs of this coming week.
As a side note, I really enjoyed the book, You’re Only Human, that she quotes in the article. I was particularly helped by what he has to say about our relationship to busyness and how being created as a finite creature should help us understand that we need rest because we can’t do it all [even though we often try to].
Click here to read the article by Late d’Entremont.
The Best Parenting Passage in the Entire Bible
“In fact, good, loving, faithful, grace-driven parents only ever grow in the soil of a heart at rest. Jesus’s promises are not so much promises, but reminders of the unshakable identity of every one of his children.” Discipleship is at the heart of parenting. Our job as parents is to point our kids to Jesus and help them know how to walk with him. And as we do, we are forced to trust in the goodness and faithfulness of God to produce in their hearts through grace what we cannot produce in their hearts by force. So our best parenting is done as we do our best to be faithful and then rest in our faithful savior Jesus. My prayer is that, this summer, God would empower you to be faithful in the ways you love your kids and help them see Jesus. And that you would be able to rest in the promises of Jesus as you look to him in hope for your kids.
Click here to read the article by Paul David Tripp.
The Religious Life of Gen Z
This is an interesting look at the religious views of teenagers and 20’s. They are not necessarily less religious. They actually have a lot of interest in spiritual things. But they, on the average, lack trust in traditional religions and would much rather piece together a path towards faith. This information can be really helpful as we think about how to talk to our kids about faith, and how to help them think through talking to their friends about faith. I listened to a really interesting interview this week by Russell Moore who interviewed Rainn Wilson [Dwight Schrute from the The Office] about faith, religion, and spirituality. Wilson has a new book out where he explores faith in general and how it can impact people’s lives for good. He identifies a number of the key struggles in our culture today but his solutions come down to a piecemeal, generic faith that reflects a lot of what this article talks about. Surveys like this never accurately identify everyone in a group, but it helps us know how to connect the truth of the gospel to the needs and longings of the young people we are hoping to believe it.
Click here to read the article by Mike Frost.
VIDEO: All About Boys and the Opposite Sex
This is a short video to help you think through when boys are ready to start dating and how to help prepare them for it. There is a link to a longer talk he did on this subject as well.
