5-5-23 This Week in Faith
/For Kids in May
Children’s Message During the Service We are trying something new on Sunday mornings. When it’s time for the Children's Message, we will invite the kids to come sit up front and listen. We hope it has helped kids focus on the message and set that time apart a little more in their minds.
Sunday School EVERY Sunday Sundays from 9:45AM-10:45AM [until summer schedule benison May 28] There are classes for 5th grade and under. Check in at the desk in the foyer.
This month we are talking about: Daniel and the Lions Den [5/7], the Exiles Return [5/14], the Temple and Nehemiah [5/21], and an Old Testament Review [5/28]
This month are reviewing our Scripture memory and catechisms from the year.
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
Student Ministry Family Cook-out This Sunday night at 6PM we are having an end-of-the-year cook-out for middle & high school students and their families. We’ll eat, hang out, and have a program where we will recognize seniors and leaders, talk about the summer, and hear form a guest speaker.
Wednesday Nights for Middle School [6-8PM] We will meet on Wednesday nights through May 17. Then we’ll take a break until our summer schedule begins in June.
Sunday Nights for High School [6-8PM] The cook-out this Sunday night will be the last time we meet until the summer schedule begins in June.
Sunday School [9:45AM-10:45AM] Our middle school class is continuing to go through Understanding the Faith and our high school class is continuing to walk through the New City Catechism. These will end when our summer schedule begins on May 28. Students can either attend the family class or an adult class over the summer.
Senior Breakfast Our next senior breakfast is May 14th!
For Parents Coming Soon
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.
Look for the summer Student Ministry schedule this Sunday.
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10 Encouraging Verses for Weary PArents
You may feel like you have this parenting thing down and it is relatively easy. But you might not. For those who are weary from the constant ups and downs of parenting, and for those who are walking through a difficult season right now, I pray these verses would be a reminder of the goodness and kindness of the savior who is there with you in the midst of it all.
Click here to read the article by Trisha Priebe.
Young People, Church Membership Isn’t Optional
As we have been getting ready to send Emily off to college, we have talked a lot about what is most important when she heads out on her own. The most important thing we can do is help her think through how she will grow in her faith in college. And finding a church is vital to this process. But I think the many conversations we have already had over the years about the importance of being a part of a church has made these recent conversations easier. And her involvement in the church over the course of her life has helped too. This article has a good explanation for why it’s important for young people to be actively engaged in the life of a church. Use it to start preparing your kids now for those conversations you will have down the road as you send them out. And if your kid is heading out of the house now, help them think through how to find a church to belong to wherever they are going.
Click here to read the article by Jared Wilson.
Keeping Kids Busy While Limiting Screen Time
As we approach the summer and our kids come home, this is an article with some practical ideas for helping our kids play independently. She also points to places with more ideas.
Click here to read the article by Cassie Baker.
What to Do When Your Teen’s Heart is Breaking
This is a tough one. It’s hard to watch our kids hurting. It’s even harder to not just jump in and try to fix it all. Which is why I really appreciated this article. He has some good suggestions for how to walk with your teenager through heartbreak in a healthy way. And like with so much else, he reminds us again that connection is one of our most important jobs so approaching it from the perspective of how can I connect with my child through this situation gives us a healthy and relationship-building way forward.
Click here to read the article by Justin Coulson.
A Letter to My Daughter about Her Body
We just finished a semester taking about identity, dating, love and sex with high school students. And we just had our Parent Discussion Group on Wednesday talking about these same things. This letter to her unborn daughter sums up so many of the important things we have talked about that we need to communicate to our daughters [much of it applies to our sons as well] about their bodies. I hope this will spark some ideas and conversations as you continue to talk to your kids about this important topic.
Click here to read the article by Katherine Stine.
PODCAST: The Truth About Gen Z- and the Rest of Us
This is a really interesting conversation about the way different generations think and how they are similar/different from each other. I think Jean Twenge is really insightful when it comes to thinking about different generations in general and technology in particular. Here she is talking about the findings in her new book which is helpful for understanding ourselves, our kids, and even our parents better.
