God Does Not Waste Pain

Life. It happens. We never know what will happen next. If you are like me, I want to avoid problems and pain in life. Why do we have pain? Why is life tough and not always easy? Sometimes I do not admit that I have pain in my life. I try to push it away as if it just quickly dissolves into thin air! Other times I can feel sorry for myself to the point that I miss out on seeing the needs in other people. Lastly, I will simply complain. Complain to God, myself and those closest to me. No matter what happens, God does not waste pain.

What do we do when life gets tough? 

^“Dear brothers and sisters when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:2-6 

Troubles in life are inescapable. It is not a matter of “if” but “when” we will face trouble in life. Our culture runs away from problems at a rapid pace. We are a generation of "avoiders." We run to vacations, video games, movies, and drugs to escape problems. It is a continual search for the perfect resort moment where we think all of our problems will go away. Many people spend their lives running from pain instead of embracing pain.

Is joy the same as Happiness? Happiness is based upon circumstances, emotion and life decisions. James is talking about trials that prove a person’s intentions.

How do you respond with trials in life? James gives us the specific way to handle trials.

1. Thank God for His grace. (v. 2)Dear brothers and sisters^, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. “What do you want me to learn from this instead of please TAKE this away…” It is not thanking God FOR the trial but what God will do THROUGH it.

2. Seek God's Wisdom. (James 1:5) First, ask God for help. Then, find a small group or personal friend who can help you. We are not meant to live alone in our problems.

3. Trust God. (James 1:6)

 God allows trials in life for us to grow in our faith. God allows trials for good, not evil. 

How we respond to problems in life is probably one of the greatest ways to show Jesus to the world.

5 Tips on Connecting with Parents

It is vital for the student ministry to walk alongside and encourage parents in the spiritual growth of their family. Student ministry is not a replacement for the spiritual growth of the family. It is simply a partnership. Two influences are greater than one! I'm always trying to find more creative ways to help connect what we are teaching at Source to be continued in the home with their parents. You can never over-communicate!

Here are a few ways I have tried to connect with parents: 

1. ParentLink - It is a tool I is helpful for informing and encouraging parents. We include a one-page calendar with upcoming events, info and message series. You can sign up at the ParentLink website! Here is an example of the most recent The Parent Link Newsletter June 2012

2. Texting - Parents use texting just as much as students. Texting is the fastest way to communicate! We use SimplyTXT. It is an easy tool to use!

3. Email/Social Networking - It is crucial to utilize Facebook/Twitter as important avenues to communicate. Highlighting events and info on a weekly basis is a great way to keep parents informed. I prefer Facebook pages over groups because it is easier to join. Facebook groups are better for small group leaders.

3. Drive it home cards - We just finished (Thanks to Jared's creative genius) creating drive it home cards as a resource for the home. We want to drive home the teaching to the parents and give them help leading their own students spiritually. It is three questions they ask each other and one challenge to do together that week!

4. Surveys - I recently sent out a parent survey to find out more about each family. It was easy to create and collect the data. I used survey monkey. It is a free online questionnaire/survey. All you have to do is input the questions, create it and send it out. You can share it multiple ways!

 I asked these 4 questions: 

(1) What day/night of the week do you set aside for family time?

(2) What days/nights of the week is your student(s) involved in extra curricular activities?

(3) What is your student(s) curfew during a school week?

(4) Is it easier to attend a Source Student Ministry event during the week or weekend?

(5) Do you have any comments or suggestions on how we can partner with you as a family?

 

5. Parent Nights - We are planning some specific nights to encourage parents. The goal would be to inspire, inform and equip parents.

How else do you connect with parents? What ideas do you have to help partner with parents? 

Source SM Recap: Volume #6

Teaching Series: “Doin Work”

Main Teaching point: Man looks on the outward, but  God looks at the heart. 

Length of service: 60 minutes. We combined our group in one for a unified worship experience. We have small groups immediately after the teaching and response.

Message Explanation: In today's culture, we treat people differently as if some are more important than others. James says we cannot make these distinctions in our mind. “My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?" For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? James 2:1-4.

As a student ministry, we are to accept each person the same because of Jesus’ love for them.  The heartbeat of Source student ministry is to see people through the eyes of Jesus.

Element of fun: We played a large group game called, "Stand off." This involves two people standing toe-to-toe with palms together (do not interlock fingers). At a signal each tries to make his or her opponent lose balance. The first to move either foot or to touch the other at all loses.

 Music Set: Search My Heart, Waiting, Our God, One Thing Remains (closing). One of our students (Ashton) led the student band and did an awesome job!

Favorite Moment: Celebrating with students who were baptized this past Sunday morning! It was great to sense the excitement for what God has in store for the future of the ministry at Church @ The Springs!

Next on July 8th: We continue the final week of our series through the book of James titled, “Taming the Beast!”