Relationships, Sex and Porn

Hey Vertical Parents,

I want to inform you on my upcoming Wednesday night message series.  It will be on Relationships, Sex and Porn.  This series will start next week, July 16, break for one week on July 30 then continue through the month of August.  So, what would you do if your young adult was in some guy-girl relationship that you believed to be heading in a bad direction; such as becoming too emotionally bound, spending too much time together, or maybe headed toward sex?  How would you respond if he or she told you that they had slept with their boyfriend or girlfriend?  Why do you think that pornography is so addicting?  How would you respond if your teenager told you that they were addicted to pornography?  What action steps would you take to help them if they were addicted to pornography?  With this post I am giving you some heads up on the topics your young adult will be hearing in the next several weeks.  Our Wednesday night services may trigger some questions or comments for you to talk about with them.  Let me know some of your answers to these or any other questions you think of.  It will be helpful.  God bless.

Walking with God

I have found myself at times doing things I don’t want to do.  I can see what the Apostle Paul meant when he said the same thing in Romans 7.  I thank God for his patience, mercy, and grace.  Our flesh and spirit are at war.  God is at work transforming us into his likeness, but we must understand that it’s faith and works.  We are responsible for laying down our lives and be disciplined people.  It’s these simple acts that can be difficult.  I like reading Oswald Chambers’ devotional My Utmost for His Highest.  What he wrote for October 12th is something I wanted to share with you.  Meditate on what you read and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you as a son or daughter of God.  -PT

         The test of a man’s religious life and character is not what he does in the exceptional moments of life, but what he does in the ordinary times, when there is nothing tremendous or exciting on.  The worth of a man is revealed in his attitude to ordinary things when he is not before the footlights (cf. John 1:36).  It is a painful business to get through into the stride of God, it means getting your second wind spiritually.  In learning to walk with God there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride; but when we have got into it, the only characteristic that manifests itself is the life of God.  The individual man is lost sight of in his personal union with God, and the stride and the power of God alone are manifested. 

It is difficult to get into stride with God, because when we start walking with Him we find He has outstripped us before we have taken three steps.  He has different ways of doing things, and we have to be trained and disciplined into His ways.  It was said of Jesus-”He shall not fail nor be discouraged,” because He never worked from His own individual standpoint but always from the standpoint of His Father, and we have to learn to do the same.  Spiritual truth is learned by atmosphere, not by intellectual reasoning.  God’s Spirit alters the atmosphere of our way of looking at things, and things begin to be possible which never were possible before.  Getting into the stride of God means nothing less than union with Himself.  It takes a long time to get there, but keep at it.  Don’t give in because the pain is bad just now, get on with it, and before long you will find you have a new vision and a new purpose.

by Oswald Chambers

Reality Check

What comes to mind when you here people refer to Christians as hypocrites, judgemental, sheltered, don’t care, boring, or confusing?  I’ve been reading a book titled unChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons and it’s a real eye opener to how young people ages 16-29 view Christianity.  I believe we have to get back to the roots of Jesus’ teaching and being to show care and compassion to the world.  Not to say all Christian act or behave the way some people say we do, but Christians do need to understand why some in society believe this and how we can change these labels.  This next month we will be discussing this in Vertical.  As a parent, how would you handle a situation where someone accused you of one of the above labels and what advice would you give a teenager living in today’s world dealing with this problem?  Look forward to hearing from you.

Random

This month we want to get to know you better. Post your favorite memories, vacations, stories, things to do etc… We want to learn more about you and your family. This may seem random, but we promise not to use them against you .

One of my favorite memories is of a family reunion when I was 12. My family camped out at a near by lake and my brother brought his boat. He had a tube that you could lay on while the boat dragged it. Since I was the youngest, they decided to let me go first. I positioned myself on the tube, which looked like a big donut, and gave them the thumbs up off we went. Everything was great for a while until my brother decided to go into rougher water. I notice the boat was being tossed up higher than normal and it wasn’t long before the tube started going higher when I hit a wave. All of a sudden I hit a wave that took the tube and me in the air so high that it seemed I was flying. It seemed like I was in the air for at least a minute, but I’m sure it was only seconds. When I landed in the water, still on the tube, I couldn’t believe it. In shock, I rolled off the tube while the boat was still dragging me and skidded across the water. Finally, bobbing in the water celebrating my dare devil feat, I realized my bathing suit was missing. The boat was getting closer to pick me up and I was getting nervous. I looked around and then to my right I saw my red trunks, scooped them up, and put them on just as the boat pulled up to me. I’ll never forget all the freedom I had in just a few minutes on a lake. Those were good times.

So now it’s your turn. Leave us those random memories that you still smile about when you think of them. God bless.

Spiritual Battles

Depression, lust, eating disorders, peer pressure, rebellion, cutting, immorality, drug abuse, homosexuality, and suicide. These are some of the things our teens deal with today. We must equip today’s teens for war. The Bible clearly tells us we engage in spiritual warfare throughout lives. It manifest in different ways. Some attacks are physical and mental. They can either cause us to back down or stand up and fight. The Bible instructs us in Ephesians 6:10-18 what we should do, put on, and how to position ourselves against these unseen attacks. The great thing is we are already victorious because of Jesus Christ. The sad thing is most of today’s teens don’t believe that or know much on the subject.
Our new message series on Vertical Wednesdays will be titled “Star Wars”. Most of you are familiar with the movie. When I was praying about this year’s message series, I felt impressed by the Holy Spirit to cover spiritual warfare. This month we will use certain clips and do our own skits taken of the movie to communicate some helpful biblical truths that the youth can use in their fight against the “dark side”. I like communicating creatively without taking away from the truth of God’s word. I pray that our fun skits, insightful clips and the Word of God will give our youth group the tools they need to walk in the victory of Jesus Christ.
Please leave any comments you have.

February Message Series

Hello Vertical Parents,

Thanks to everyone that gave us ideas for fundraisers. If you have other ideas, pertaining to fundraising, let us know. I want to inform you that February’s message series is entitled “The Wedding”. Each Wednesday we will discuss a different type of relationship that involves your teen. Here is the order: 1st relationships w/ friends, 2nd relationships with parents, 3rd relationships with boyfriends/girlfriends and 4th their relationship with God. I’ve entitled this series “The Wedding” because the last Wednesday we will have a fake wedding to emphasize our relationship with God and the importance of waiting for the right person to marry.

We will need help with the fake wedding. I want to have a reception with cake and punch. If you can make a cake or punch let me know. We will also need a man & woman to be the actual couple in the wedding. I’m looking for a young engaged couple, ideally.

This month I would also like to encourage you (parents) to take your son or daughter out for a “Date Night”. Dads take your daughters and moms take your sons. This would be a great opportunity to talk to them about their relationships, especially your standards on dating, sex, and abstinence. Tracy and I want to set you up for this by preaching on these topics in February. This would also be a great time to bless your son or daughter with a promise ring; discussing the meaning of it and why they should wear it.

We believe that as the stewards of The North Church youth group that it would be best for the parents to talk to their children about sex. We can present a biblical view of sex and when God wants that special time to happen, but we believe it is the parents’ responsibility to impart your experiences and knowledge in your children’s lives. Please post your comments or questions and get February’s Vertical Newsletter for more information about Vertical Student Ministries. God Bless!

Fundraising Ideas

Hey Vertical Parents!  We need your help with ideas for fundraisers.  Senior trips, retreats, camps and mission trips cost money and from a youth pastor’s standpoint I understand how money plays a role in participating in these important connecting points.  Please leave your ideas so we can be a better help to you.  Thanks and God bless as we enter 2008.