God Moments & Faith Talks: What and How?

 

Part of living authentic faith is being intentional with leaving a spiritual legacy. Just like most of us have financial goals and plans for our families, we need to be even more diligent with our spiritual plans for our loved ones.

 

Faith Talks are the platform from which families formally study the Bible at home every week. Faith Talks are a time set aside for family, fun and Scripture. It is more than an event, it’s a family tradition!

 

God Moments are those little teaching opportunities God provides as you are simply living life together as a spiritual family. These are not planned by us, but we strive to be ready to take advantage of every opportunity that God provides in our daily lives. Christians who are living authentic faith focus on embracing God moments to teach biblical truth to others in experiential ways.

 

Ideas for Faith Talks and God Moments:

• What’s Our Mission?—Together, craft a family mission statement. Decide what your worthy purpose, visions, and values are. Then have everyone commit to living that way, both privately and publicly. God will be placed at the center of your home not by chance but because you’ve purposed it to be that way. 
• Before and After—Prepare for worship by playing the soft sounds of Christian music in your house. After church or Sunday school, ask children not only what they learned but how they can put the lessons into practice.  Display and refer to take-home papers.
• Pray Without Ceasing—Move prayer beyond the dinner table and bedroom. Pray for and with children as they head to school, when you’re driving and see an ambulance, or when a family member is discouraged or facing a challenge.
• Cleansed Hearts—Together, carve a happy face into a pumpkin. Remove the seeds and place them in a bowl inside the pumpkin. Say: “This pumpkin represents our hearts before we accept Jesus' gift of forgiveness.” Have family members take turns reaching inside the pumpkin.  Say: “The cold, wet seeds are just as yucky as our cold hearts are before we join God’s family.  Once you invite Jesus into your life, though, He cleans out your sin, just like cutting open a pumpkin and scooping out the yucky seeds.”  Throw away the seeds. Say: “Jesus makes our hearts happy so God’s love can shine out from us to a dark world.” Place a candle inside the pumpkin and light it. Close by reading Matthew 5:16.
• Goal Tenders—You’ll need some bowls and buttons. Try tossing the buttons into the bowls from 3 feet away. Then discuss your success with this goal. Say: “Sometimes we have to try several times to achieve our goals. But God gives us each a special goal to strive for. Listen to what it is.” Read aloud Philippians 3:12-14. Say: “Our goal is to become what God wants us to be. We can’t achieve that in one year, but we keep striving toward the goal.”  Move a bowl closer to you. Say: “Let’s take turns tossing a button into this bowl and saying one way we’ll try to become what God wants us to be; for example, reading your Bible, praying, singing songs to God, or showing love and kindness to others. Remember to strive for that goal every day, week, month, and year.”

We would love to partner with your family to develop an intentional "faith@home" strategy.  Please stop by the faith@home center this weekend and let us know how we can help!  Visit cottonwoodcreek.org and click "faith@home" for more information today.

Maintaining an Eternal Perspective

“I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” 

(Philippians 3:14)
 

What are your goals? Are you trying to finish a project? Maybe you're trying to potty train a toddler?  Today, take time to focus on the goal of spending eternity in heaven—a goal that’s reachable thanks to salvation by God's grace and through faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Many parents live in survival mode, being pulled from all directions and juggling ever-increasing responsibilities. In the rush of school, work, and household activities, it’s easy to lose our focus on what really matters: the eternal future of our children and ourselves.  How can you be more tuned in to this “end goal” of spending eternity in heaven? Talk with your pastor or a valued friend to brainstorm what your kids need to know about God and when.  Plan to attend the next Milestone 2:  One Way class for Kids where we ask and answer questions about salvation, baptism, and the Lord's supper.  Plan ways to incorporate Jesus into everyday life—and on an everyday basis.  Make sure everyone’s on the same page. Talk to your spouse, family members, and caregivers about your spiritual priorities, even if you think they already know them. Then be intentional with your choices. Arrange your plans around the big picture goal. If activities start to interfere with what’s really important, evaluate and rework your family’s schedule. When faith becomes the top priority for your family, it will also become the top priority for your children.

Begin a conversation @home about goals for this life—and the life to come—by asking children these questions:
1. What are some things you want to accomplish or achieve 

     during the next week, month, or year?
2. What are some ways to stay focused on a goal and not let 

     obstacles get in your way?
3. What goals do you think Jesus wants us to set as individuals 

     and as a family? How can He help us reach them?

TRAIN UP THE CHILD:

Every year when school starts my phone begins to ring.  The conversations to follow are often about the influences and pressures on students to do things they might not want to do!  The home visit usually follows as well.  My encouragement to parents is that each day to do a quick run through on how your kid’s day went.  We often find ourselves much too busy to even talk about the day.  Especially homes with multiple kids, this issue doubles and triples.  One thing I have always told parents is know the names of the kids that your child is hanging with.  Hanging out brings influence, I can measure the character of a student simply by who they hang with.  Most parents are too busy to investigate who influences their kids, they often make the mistake of believing that if the kid comes from a good home, then his influence will be good to. Satan uses this trap a lot, know the kids your child hangs out with and you might begin to learn a lot more about your own child.  As a youth minister it’s my desire to help families see the importance of developing faith talks as a normal part of family conversation, its immeasurable when considering the spiritual growth of a child.  I really believe that students in faithful homes will look back and contribute their relationship to Christ, and their growth in Christ, to the spiritual efforts provided by the parents.  

'Train up a child in the way he should go'
Proverbs 22:6 

In Him,
Randy Beggs
Youth Pastor 

Turning to God for Comfort

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  Hebrews 13:5b

Because this month marks the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we’ll be bombarded with recaps of the tragedy. Even if your children weren’t born yet in 2001, they’ll learn about this event and ask tough questions about it. This somber date can be an opportunity to talk to kids about life’s challenges and stresses—and how God shepherds us through them.

Whether children are confronted by the illness or death of a loved one, school bullies, parental job loss, or divorce, these stress factors all bring uncertainty and anxiety. Take time to reassure children of your constant love for them and of God’s promise to never leave us. Be attentive, accepting, affirming, and reliable. As much as possible, maintain the same schedules and rules during crises because structure and boundaries help children feel safe. When changes occur, let children know what to expect. Also encourage your kids to talk openly about their feelings and fears. Most importantly, pray that God will help you all grow closer to him, no matter what obstacles you face.

ASK GOD:
1. To protect your family members and their faith during difficult times.
2. To walk with you and make his love real to you when you’re confronted by crisis.
3. To help you overcome worry and place your trust in God.

Help Your Kids Be Faith Heroes

“Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)

The apostle Paul assured Timothy that even though he was young, God could use him in a big way.

 

Children’s heroes can be fictional or real, from cartoon and movie characters to pop singers and fire fighters. The Bible is filled with faith heroes whom God used to fulfill his plan of salvation.  But not all of these heroes were adults. David, a shepherd boy, defeated the giant Goliath, and Mary was a teenager who gave birth to our Savior.  God doesn’t put an age limit on being a faith hero. Kids of all ages are doing—and can do—mighty things for God’s kingdom.

 

Sometimes children have trouble thinking of people in the Bible as anything more than fictional. They may show more interest in celebrities or athletes and strive to be like them.  So it’s important to help children put themselves in biblical people’s shoes.  Together, explore their lives and times, consider their fears and emotions, and try to get inside their skin.  Ask children how they would feel and react in similar situations.  This is a great way for kids to apply the Bible to their lives—and to show them that as Christians, they themselves figure in the great history God is writing.

Hero Journal 

Help your children see how God is using them through a Hero Journal. 

1. List the talents and abilities God has given each child. Then write ways that kids can use their talents to honor God. Whenever you or kids notice that God is using them, jot down the date and what happened. At summer’s end, have a Hero Party (complete with hero sandwiches) and share journal excerpts.

2. Read All About It!—Be alert for stories of young heroes in your neighborhood and beyond. Share the accounts with your children to give them ideas about the incredible things they can accomplish.

3. Big-Screen Heroes—With older kids and preteens, watch movies that feature faith heroes; for example, Soul Surfer, about Bethany Hamilton, and Chariots of Fire, about Olympian Eric Liddell. Then discuss how the characters faced fears, made decisions, showed heroism, and trusted in God’s plans.