9-8-23 This Week in Faith

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For Kids in September/ October

  • Faith Fall Festival [October 1 from 5-7PM at Faith] Bring your family for a great night of food, carnival games, inflatables and more. It’s also a great time to invite a family that doesn’t usually come to church. Grab a postcard this Sunday to invite someone.

  • Sunday School EVERY Sunday Sunday school has gotten off to a great start this fall. There are classes for ages 4 years old and up. Join us over the next few weeks as we study John the Baptist [9/10], the Baptism of Jesus [9/17], and the temptation of Jesus [9/24].

  • Children’s Church [8:30AM Service] Children’s Church is available during the 8:30 worship service. [Nursery is available all Sunday morning long]

* 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 September/ October

  • Faith Fall Festival [October 1 from 5-7PM at Faith] This is a fun night for all ages and a great opportunity for students to serve. CLICK HERE to sign up to help for an hour.

  • Middle and High School Weekly Meetings Middle [Wednesday nights at 6PM] and high [Sunday nights at 6PM] school students are studying Old Testament prophets this semester. Right now we are going through the book of Malachi. It’s been an interesting challenge and great to learn from a more unfamiliar part of the Bible. We also do games, snacks, small groups. This Sunday night we’ll go to Cookout after.

  • Sunday School [10:00AM-10:45AM] Students who are not already serving can join us in the Student Ministry Room as we work through the New City Catechism.

For Parents in September/ October

  • Parent Book Clubs We are reading 2 books this semester- Parenting and Age of Opportunity, both by Paul Tripp. We will meet September 20 from 6-8PM to talk about Parenting. You don’t have to have the whole book read to come and be a part of the discussion.

  • Faith Fall Festival [October 1 from 5-7PM at Faith] Bring your family for a great night of food, carnival games, inflatables and more. It’s also a great time to invite a family that doesn’t usually come to church. Grab a postcard this Sunday to invite someone.

  • Faith Fall Retreat [October 13-15] CLICK HERE to register.

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**Sorry about the summer break from the blog but we should be back at it each week for the school year!**

Men of Fidelity

“Perhaps it’s better to think of a man’s vows not as a shackle but as an anchor, an anchor that attaches him to something solid so he does not drift off into callow dissolution.”

We live in a time and place where there is a genuine struggle to understand what it means to be a man, and to truly live that out. This article uses commitment to the ones we love as a defining characteristic. And I agree that, although it seems boring at times, faithfulness is one of the ways we reflect the character of our heavenly Father. There’s a lot I could say about this, but I’d rather you read the article because it is a beautiful and insightful picture into what we should aspire to as husbands and fathers, and what we can do to paint a picture of manhood for the next generation.

Click here to read the article by Alexi Sargeant.

A Back to School Prayer

There are so many times when we feel helpless as parents. There is so much we want for our kids but we have no ability to produce it in them. This is why our hope is in Jesus and our greatest asset is prayer. Here is a sheet you can keep handy- print it out or save it to your phone- with short prayers we can offer up for our kids again and again.

Click here to read the article from Melissa Kruger.

5 Hug Free Ways to Show Love to Your Teen

It can be a challenge to know the best way to love and pursue our teenage boys. They often shy away from physical touch, but they need our affection and investment all the same. I appreciate that this article recognizes there are differences in our kids. And this is a helpful reminder that there are always options for how we can break through the tough exterior of some boys.

Click here to read the article by Bec Cavalot.

Hanging on to Joy When Life Gets Hard

We all go through seasons of pain and challenge and it can be easy to wonder…:”how am I supposed to find joy in this?” Whether it’s a struggling marriage or a challenging child or aging parents or just the disappointments of our expectations and dreams. But there is hope and even joy in the midst of our circumstances, no matter what they are. This is a much needed reminder that Jesus meets us in the midst of whatever we are going through and walks with us towards the plans he has in store for us. He is good and he can be trusted, even when we can’t see what he is doing or why.

Click here to read the article by Josiah Bancroft.

PODCAST: Does the Bible Support Same-Sex Marriage?

This is a great podcast where he does a good job of not only addressing some of the common arguments to say the Bible supports same-sex marriage, but he talks about how to have those conversations in a healthy, productive manner- whether its with your kids, a neighbor, or someone else.

Click here to listen to the interview with Preston Sprinkle.