Parent eNewsletter for January

This content is intended for all parents, grandparents, legal guardians, foster parents, volunteers, or anyone involved or interested in the student group [yes, I have to specify or some people will think they can't read it or that I'm not being fair :)]

The eNewsletter includes a message from me, the youth pastor, as well as music reviews, book reviews for parents and students, and a schedule of events for the coming month and big events in the future. [Click here to go to the Parent eNewsletter]

-Daniel

Year End Update

2010 is coming to a close and we have so much on the horizon as we face the new year. We have had an amazing year filled with many exciting moments. I would like to thank all our volunteers for making everything possible. None of our services would be possible without you! I would like to thank parents, volunteers, and all church members who have an active hand in mentoring and building relationships with our students. I have officially been the youth pastor for one year! I must thank Union Grove for giving me the opportunity to serve. Thank you all!

We will be beginning a new series, Rehab, to compliment the new series being preached on Sunday mornings by our pastor. "Rehab" will be a 4-week series starting December 29. Content can be found here on the blog and our YouTube page. We at the church would like 2011 to be a year focused on the family and bringing church to the home. I hope to serve you as parents and equip you to lead your children to become spiritual champions. We will include content from Cultivate each week on the student blog and on the student calendar. We will also be releasing resources for parenting at the beginning of the year.

Resources being released in 2011:

• Sermon content from each Cultivate service
• Scripture and sermon content on the Student Calendar
• A monthly printed calendar with all major events and info
• A monthly Parent eNewsletter
• Music, Movie, and Book reviews from ME!
• Resources for parents in our church library
• Faith Talk material
• Parenting Training
• and much more!

Major Event: Winter Retreat- Jan. 15-17

We will depart Saturday morning and return Monday afternoon. Please pay the remainder of your balance if you have not done so. Students will need to bring money for food and entertainment.

-Daniel

Fear

Proverbs 1:7- "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of all wisdom..."

What are you afraid of? A quick Google search revealed some of the top fears in the United States. The list included: flying, public speaking, heights, the dark, intimacy, death, failure, rejection, spiders, commitment, snakes, drowning, and clowns. If you were honest, we all have fears. In the passage that we cover this week, Jesus commands his followers to have no fear of other men.

In Matthew 10, Jesus instructs his disciples to go out on the road and help the hurting and lost people of the world. He tells them to heal the sick, cast out demons, cleanse lepers, and even raise the dead. This sounds like good news, right? It sounds like the 12 disciples are about to become celebrities. If you went to a developing nation that was deprived of clean drinking water and built wells that could supply every citizen with clean drinking water for their entire life, how would you expect to be treated? Life a champ? Like a saint? I would expect those people to thank me. I would expect them to love me and even cherish my efforts. Jesus goes on to tell his men that they would be hated because of their service. He goes on to tell them that people will mock them, spit on them, imprison them, and even murder them. Why? People will dislike them only because they love Jesus.

Questions

Are you living in such a way that the world knows you love Jesus?

Would you be willing to embark on the journey after knowing people would hate you?

Matthew 10:26-33

²⁶ “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. ²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. ³⁰And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

³² “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

Can you imagine Jesus telling you not to be afraid while standing before an angry mob who is ready to kill you? Up until this point, Jesus and his crew had been keeping a fairly low profile. Jesus tells his men to take the good news they had discussed and worked through and to shout it out for all the world to see. How does this translate for us today? The things you hear on Wednesday nights, during Sunday School, during small groups, during sermons, during devotionals, the things you read in the Scriptures; proclaim these things at school, at the lunch table, and while you're hanging out with your friends. The things you post on Facebook and the things you text can be a light in a dark world.

Why would Jesus tell them not to be afraid? He uses the example of sparrows. Nobody thinks much about sparrows. Sparrows don't cost a lot of money. Yet, God watches over them. Jesus is telling us that we are far more valuable than any bird. Can you fathom knowing how many hairs are on your head? God knows. He cares about the small details of our life. He knows everything there is to know about us and He loves us. The disciples can rest in the fact that they are loved.

Verses 32 & 33 are the key verses in this passage. Simply imagine yourself at the end of your life standing before God. What will He say to you? Will God allow you in? Will He deny you from entering into heaven?

Questions

Do you confess Jesus?

-Daniel

The Harvest

Mat 9:37-38 "Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

Questions

Who is the Harvest?

Who is supposed to gather this Harvest?

How do I go about gathering this Harvest?

I believe these questions can be answered in a previous passage of Scripture. In Matthew 9:9-13 it says, "As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

We have a sin-meter in our culture. We measure the actions of others by our sin-meter. We like to think there are small, small-medium, medium, medium-large, large, super size, & "Oh-My-Gosh-I-Can't-Believe-They-Would-Do-That" sins. We like to believe that certain sins are worse that others. Have you ever met anyone who seemed to be really good at sinning? And they seemed to be really good at committing all those nasty big sins? Have you ever heard anyone say, "If God can save so-and-so, He can save anybody." Matthew, the tax collector, was one of those guys. He was a thief and a liar.

Question

Do you tend to think you're better than others because you don't commit the big sins?

Like Matthew, are you guilty of being a thief or a liar? Are you guilty of any sin?

This story is unique. Matthew was hated by the Jews because he worked for the Roman government as a tax collector. He would have certainly been guilty of robbing his fellow Jews. He was hated. This lowly sinner didn't go out in search of a Savior. Jesus went out in search of Matthew. This brings us to a foundational truth of the Bible...Jesus is the friend of sinners.

Can you imagine yourself in Matthew's shoes? Imagine yourself sitting at your place of work during a normal business day. You are approached by what appears to be a lower class citizen whom you barely know. This man then commands you to follow him. What would your response be? Would you say, "NO!!" or would you yell, "Stranger Danger!!!" Not many of us would jump to our feet to follow this man.

Question

What made Matthew want to follow Jesus?

What do you think it would take to make you follow Jesus?

Later in the story, we find Jesus reclined at the table of Matthew's house. At the table, Jesus is mingling with the filth of society. It would be the equivalent to eating dinner with the local crackheads, whores, pimps, murders, and abusers. Do you know any people like this? Could you imagine eating a meal with people like this? I couldn't either and I think that is a problem.

Questions

Whose house was Jesus staying at? (Matthew's)

Who invited the guest to meet Jesus? (Matthew)

Jesus is the friend of sinners. He is close to the people who are willing to admit they have problems and that they need help. In Matthew we find a man who has truly realized Jesus has the power to change lives. Why would he have invited his friends to meet Jesus is he wasn't able to change them?

Question

Are you bringing your friends to meet Jesus?

Jesus is reclined at the table enjoying a meal with the people who are the filth of society. The local religious sect, the Pharisees, walk by and spot Jesus chilling with these hoodrats. It would be the equivalent of spotting your youth pastor hanging out with the drug dealers downtown. They begin to question Jesus. "What are you doing with these people?" or "They're going to make you dirty!" or "We don't associate with people like that." or "If God can save them, He can save anyone, but I just don't think it's going to happen." Jesus is the friend of people who are willing to admit they have problems. The religious heart just cannot understand how Jesus could recline at the table with such people. The religious heart just cannot understand grace. Jesus is like a doctor. He only sees two categories of people: sick & well. The Pharisees thought they're efforts to remain pure and clean made them well. They didn't think they needed a doctor. The men and women reclined at the table with Jesus understood they needed help. Jesus is close to those who can admit they're sick and need a doctor.

Questions

Are you sick or are you well?

Are you willing to allow Jesus to heal you?

If you would like to watch the sermon from Wednesday night, please visit our YouTube page. Click HERE!

Parent Newsletter December 2010

We will be printing a Parent Newsletter every month. You can get this month's newsletter online.........................HERE.

-Daniel