Passage: Psalm 13

Overview: In Psalm 13, David is wrestling (maybe fighting is a better word) with God's promises and God's actions. God promised that David would be king, but after 30 years of running for his life, David is a bit fed up. He is wavering on whether God will hold true to His promises. In this Psalm, David illustrates for us how we can wrestle with hard things in life and have them drive us to greater dependance on God.

What do we want our teens to know?

• God's Word and God's actions are not opposed to each other. 
• Who God is

What do we want our teens to do?

• Run to God
• Remember God's promises
• Rely on God's people

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Be open with your doubts and questions about God along your journey of following Him. 
• When your teen shares dissapointments with you that they are experiencing, continually point them back to God using this to work in their life. 

Passage: 2 Samuel 11

Overview: David was a man after God's own heart, the perfect king. He ruled Israel well. However, David was still prone to sin and temptation. In TYC this week, we are going to look at what led up to David becoming an adulterer, liar, and murderer. We will see from 2 Samuel 11 that we as Christians need to take sin seriously and none of us are immune to falling into Satan's traps.

What do we want our teens to know?

• Being in the wrong place at the wrong time never leads to success. 
• One decision can change the direction of your life
• Sin always comes with consequences

What do we want our teens to do?

• Take sin seriously
• Ask God to exaine our hearts and remove what doesn't belong

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Identify where your teens find temptation the most often and create a plan to re-create those times for good. 
• Help your teens to understand how they can face temptation and fight against it by sharing with them how you personally fight sin in your own walk with God. 

Passage: 1 Samuel 17

Overview: This is a very familiar story we have all heard from the time we could crawl. David and Goliath is one of the most well known Bible stories in our culture as well. Most of the emphasis we place on this story is the result. The little guy defeated the big guy. Yayyy! However, God is doing so much before David even confronts Goliath. This week in TYC, we're going to see that God's purpose for David prior to his fight with Goliath wasn't meaningless. God was helping David to create small habits over a period of time, that would ultimately lead to a huge result.

What do we want our teens to know?

• God is preparing you.
• God wants to use you. 

What do we want our teens to do?

• Create healthy, and consistent spiritual habits

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• We talk about habits alot with the teens, but we cannot stress enough how important they are in our walk with God. Emphasize to your teens as you talk with them about their spiritual habits that it's not just about praying and reading the Bible, but rather it's about growing in a relationship with Jesus. 
• Continue to share and model your spiritual habits with your teens.
• Help your teens to create a plan and stick to it.

Passage: 1 Samuel 16

Overview:
David was a man after God's own heart, but he certainly had his ups and downs. As followers of Jesus, there is a treasure trove of wealth that we can learn from moments of David's life, his success and his failure. This week, Samuel is tasked with finding a new king for Israel. However, the search doesn't go the way Samuel would expect. God chooses someone to be king that no one was looking for.

What do we want our teens to know?

• Tests of character are almost always a pop quiz. 
• God wants to use you. 

What do we want our teens to do?

• Flourish where God has planted them. 
• View where God has them as preparation, not punishment. 

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• If your teen is struggling with a weakness, or insecurity, continue to remind them about how God has uniquely created them on purpose for a purpose. 
• Help them to think about how God may be developing character and preparing them for through their circumstances.
• Ask your teen each day, "What did God teach you about yourself today?"

Passage: Ezekiel 36:26; Galatians 2:20; Philippians 1:6

Overview:
You may have heard the story a million times. You may have seen pictures of a stone rolled away and an empty tomb. You may have sung death was arrested or living hope. They’re on your most played songs list and you may have the lyrics memorized. But the problem is none of that matters if you’ve never allowed its reality to penetrate your heart. If you’ve never given your heart to Jesus and said, “Jesus, change my heart,” then no amount of knowledge or experience will ever fix the problem in your heart. So you may have heard the story, but have you experienced its impact?
 
What do we want our teens to know?

• God wants to transform your heart
• God wants to write a new story
• God wants to secure your furture

What do we want our teens to do?

• Know and personally experience the impact of the resurrection of Jesus.
• Be encouraged by this life-changing reality to the point where they are willing to take risks to be a light for Jesus. 

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Continue to use the Easter season to have conversations with your teen/family about the signficance of Jesus' resurrection. 
• You can do this by reading an Easter-specific devotion together, or reading through the story of Passion Week from the book of John. 
• Choose another family or a friend together to use the invitation cards to invite someone to come to church for Easter. 

Passage: 1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Overview:
This week, we are looking at the resurrection according to Paul. The Christians in Corinth were very confused about life after death. Paul makes it very clear to them that if there's no life after death, then Christ cannot have resurrected, which in all reality destroys our faith. We want to encourage our teens this week with the hope and meaning that the resurrection brings to our lives.

What do we want our teens to know?

• The resurrection of Jesus isn't just an event, but rather a life-changing reality.
• Jesus is alive!

What do we want our teens to do?

• Come to accept the reality of Jesus defeating death and providing the hope for eternal life and forgiveness of sins. 
• Be encouraged by this life-changing reality to the point where they are willing to take risks to be a light for Jesus. 

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Use the Easter season to have conversations with your teen/family about the signficance of Jesus' resurrection. 
• You can do this by reading an Easter-specific devotion together, or reading through the story of Passion Week from the book of John. 
• Choose another family or a friend together to use the invitation cards to invite someone to come to church for Easter. 

Passage: Philippians 1:12-13

Overview:
We have challenged our tees to think about somone they know who is far from God. We want our teens to pray for them personally, invest in their life wisely, and invite them to an event strategically. This week, we will focus on that last one. Invitations are special and exciting, but we can make them awkward when it comes to church or youth group. However, they don't have to be that way. We're going to challenge our teens from the life of Paul on how to invite people to "come and see" in 3 strategic ways.

What do we want our teens to know?

• The world should see the hope and joy we have because Jesus has transformed our lives and given us this eternal hope!
• The way people view us can be how they view Jesus.

What do we want our teens to do?
--Invest Strategically by...

• Starting with their story
• Realizing God has them where they are on purpose, for a purpose
• Not shying away from the opportunity

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Ask your teen who they have been investing in and how it's going?
• Encourage them as Easter is approaching to think about how they might be able to invite a friend to church or another activity. 
• Model it. Make an invitation of your own as an example of faith or do it together as a family for a neighbor or co-worker. 

Passage: Colossians 4:5

Overview:
I think we would all find praying for a friend to get saved is easier than talking to them about it. We’re not sure what to say or how to say it. But I think there are people who are genuinely looking for hope. Their lives are a mess. They know it, but they have no clue what the answer is so they just fill it with a whole bunch of stuff that might help for a moment, but never actually satisfies them. The great part is that for those of us who are followers of Jesus, we know that ultimate source of hope, but so many times the world misses our message because of our actions.

What do we want our teens to know?

• When Jesus saved us, He turned on a light in this dark world that is worth shining.
• The way people view us can be how they view Jesus.

What do we want our teens to do?

• Choose to invest in someone who is far from God.
• Live in such a way that their light (witness) for Jesus stays lit.

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Encourage your teen to invest in the person they have been praying for.
• Do what you can do to help foster your teen's relationship with that person.
• Share how you live and invest in the people around you who are far from God. 

Passage: Luke 15:1-7

Overview:
In our culture, majority usually rules. However, in the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus displays a heart of compassion for one single sheep that is lost. This parable is meant to illustrate Jesus' heart for those who are far from Him. As His followers, our heart for the lost should be the same as Jesus. We should have the desire and willingness to go to any length possible to search for those who are far from God.

What do we want our teens to know?

• Jesus moved heaven and earth to "find" us.
• Our hearts for people far from God should mirror Jesus' heart for them.

What do we want our teens to do?

• Think of one person who God has uniquely placed in their lives who is not a Christian.
• Pray for opportunities and clarity to be able to share the love of Christ with that person.

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Ask them who the person is they thought of.
• Pray with them for that person.
• Do what you can do to help foster your teen's relationship with that person.

Passage: Luke 10:25-37

Overview:
Who is my neighbor? This question is a profound question that the religious leaders asked Jesus. Jesus brilliantly turns the question around on them. He tells them that everyone who they come in contact with is their neighbor. Being a neighbor isn't a duty, but rather an oppotunity we have to show and share the love of Jesus with everyone we meet. So the question we all have to ponder is not "Who is my neighbor?" but rather, "Whose neighbor am I?"

What do we want our teens to know?

• Our "neighbors" are anyone we come in contact with
• All of the people we come in contact with are opportunities to show love and mercy to

What do we want our teens to do?

• Be thinking about others throughout their day
• Notice the people around them, no matter how long or short their interactions with those people are. Rehearse your freedom because some of you are using your freedom for sin.

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Talk openly about the opportunities you have each day in your interactions with people. How do you take opportunities to show the love of Jesus to them?

Now that I have your attention, I do really want to talk about your "valentines." It's really easy to think about your spouse or significant other on Valentines Day. I mean, that's the whole point right? We spend money on baby sitters, flowers, and dinner reservations. It's meant to be a special day to show how much our favorite someone means to us. I don't mean to disregard any of that. However, I do want to challenge you with a question. How often do you set aside a dedicated time (like we do for Valentine's Day) to spend with each of your kids, just the two of you? Do you know their love languages and what makes them feel special? As with all of our relationships, we can get so easily caught up in the hustle of life and before you know it, it's been two weeks (or longer) since you last sat down and all ate dinner together. That can be hard as a family. It may even be causing tension between you and your kids. Ephesians 5 talks a lot about the kind of love husbands and wives have for each other, and the beginning of Ephesians 6 talks about children honoring their parents. We're all familiar with those verses, but one that often goes unnoticed is Ephesians 6:4, which says, " Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." As parents, there are things we do and don't do that can "exasperate" our children. Finding that quality time to spend with them may begin to alleviate those tense moments in your house. My challenge to you on Valentines Day is this: You have more than one valentine. Make sure that each of them know it. Spend specific time talking to them. Do something together with them that they especially enjoy. Show each of them how special they are to you. After all, they're your valentines too.

Passage: Romans 8

Overview:
There are days we all fall short. We make mistakes. We don't complete something that we wished we could have in the way we would have liked. As Christians, when we battle sin it's really hard to feel good about our walk with God. We almost might feel like God left us like an unfinished project. But that's not the whole story. God uses the temptations, trials, and fears in our lives to mold us and shape us into who He wants us to be. He also gave us the Holy Spirit who gives us the power to fight off temptation.

What do we want our teens to know?

• The struggle with sin doesn't mean God abandoned us. 
• God gave us His Spirit and who gives us the power we need to fight sin. 
• There is day coming where God will make all things new. 

What do we want our teens to do?

• Be willing to allow God to "shape" and "mold" them according to His character.
• Embrace this power God has given us through the Holy Spirit to actively fight sin. 

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Share your journey of faith with your teens. Maybe they know parts of it or none of it. Be sure to emphasize your struggles along the way and how God did use circumstances to shape you and that he's continuing to do it. 
• Continually communicate to your teen that you are there for them and pray with them each day that God will give them the power to fight off temptation.

Passage: Romans 7:14-27

Overview:
We all face tension every single day. We may face it at work, home, school, etc. Not only do we face it because there are deadlines to meet and tasks to accomplish, but there is also tension in our choices. Will we choose God's way or will we choose our own way? Because of sin there is a very real struggle deep inside of us. This week we're going to talk about where that struggle comes from and what the hope we have in Jesus is.

What do we want our teens to know?

• We all have a sin nature
• The struggle is real, but so is God
• Jesus has rescued us from the penalty of sin

What do we want our teens to do?

• Trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sin
• Rely on God for help as we fight this battle against sin

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Be open with your teen about struggles you have. If you are open and vulnerable, they will be more likely to as well. 
• Create a space where your teen can always safely come and talk to you about struggles they are facing in regards to sin they're struggling with.
• Continually communicate to your teen that you are there for them and pray with them each day that God will give them the power to fight off temptation.

Passage: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Overview:
We all need connection. There's no denying it, but why then if we crave relationships are there so many people feeling isolated, alone, and anxious? As Chrsitians we have a special bond together, but we somehow stick to our normal patterns and most natural connections while leaving others on the outside looking in. This week, we're going to challenge our teens to recognize that they need more than just devotional time with God to grow in their faith. They need others and others need them.

What do we want our teens to know?

• We need more than a personal relationship with God to grow spiritually.
• We need others
• Others need us

• Engage in their small group
• Take their relationships in their small group with them

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Ask your teen who's in their small group.
• Invite your teen's small group over to hangout on a Saturday or a day everyone has off school. 
• Connect with your teen's small group leaders to find out how they're growing. 
• Find other parents of teens in your teen's small group on Sunday and spend time connecting with them.

If you’re anything like me, you often face a classic conundrum when it comes to how you’ll spend your time, asking: “Should I prioritize the important or the urgent?” For me, and probably most of us, the urgent wins. Make the kids are alive, try and keep the house clean, fix that broken toy, change the diaper, try and sleep, wake up, and repeat. You may not find yourself in our stage of life, but we all have the craziness of life surrounding and at times, overwhelming us. You might go to bed at night wondering if this is really what life is supposed to be like. That feeling is not just an anxious thought, but it’s also a warning. It’s a warning that we’re not meant to just run from one task to another, giving people half smiles and high fives on the way by. We were meant to grow in relationship with each other. Paul tells us to “encourage each other (1 Thess. 5:11), serve one another (Gal. 5:13), and be devoted to each other (Rom. 12:10). But that seems like a lot of work and relationships take time, and there isn’t much of it. So how do we prioritize this extremely important aspect of our lives with barely any energy available for it?

First, simply write down a list of key relationships you have. Who are they? This isn’t every person who follows you on Instagram. These are people who you trust, and know you can talk to.
Second, take a few minutes and asses your relationship with each person on your list. Do you know their current needs/challenges? Do they know yours? When was the last time you prayed for them or with them? Do you feel like you are an encouragement to them and they are an encouragement to you? If the answer to those questions are mostly negative, then we need to work hard to set our sights on Paul’s exhortations for us as believers. You may certainly feel drained physically because of how chaotic life can be, but you may also be drained spiritually and emotionally because you’re missing out on one of God’s greatest gifts, the encouragement of other believers.
So what can you do about it?
Finally, you need to set new commitments for your relationships. These aren’t New Year’s Resolutions. These adjustments are re-aligning your priorities with God’s. How can you do that?

• Prioritize and plan. Things get done (for the most part) when they get on our calendars. When you prioritize it, you can plan for it. If you’re a mom and need some time out of the house, talk with your spouse or another family member and plan it. If you need someone to talk to, invite one of those people on your list out for breakfast or coffee. We cannot encourage each other or devote ourselves to each other if we don’t prioritize it the way God has called us to.
• Look out for one another. In Acts 2, there are thousands of new believers coming together who may or may not know each other. However, by the end of Acts 2, it’s very clear that these believers were fully committed to knowing the needs of everyone and making sure they were met. How well do you know believers who you see around, but they aren’t in your “circle?” Do you know if they are cared for or have a circle? You can only find out by asking. Invite them to a mom’s group or a Bible study and see how you can be a blessing for them.

God makes this aspect of our lives as Christians a great priority in Scripture. Are we making it a great priority in our lives?

Passage: 1 Corinthians 10:13

Overview: 
This week, we are begining a new series called "Half-Truths." We're going to explore phrases that we as Christians use a lot, and ask ourselves, "How many of them are actually true?" I think for many of us, we make statemets and uses verses out of context that can become more harmful than helpful. One of the most common of these phrases is, "God will not give you more than you can handle." In one sense that's true according to 1 Corinthians 10:13. When it comes to tempation, God does give us everything we need to overcome temptations that we face. However, that doesn't mean there won't be trials that come into our lives that completely overwhelm us. What's amazing is that even in the middle of that, God is faithful. God will make a way. God will give us grace to endure.

What do we want our teens to know?

• God has given us the power to overcome any and all temptation.
• God was faithful then, He'll be faithful now
• God will provide grace and a way to endure trials we feel overwhelmed by. 

What do we want our teens to do?

• Recruit Help (we can't do life alone)
• Remember Grace 
• Run to God

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Model Deuteronomy 6. Talk about ways that you have seen God be faithful to you during the week, no matter how small it might seem.
•  Be open about your own struggles and ways you've seen God work through those struggles.
• Help push your teen(s) to think about who they have in their lives who can hold them accountable. 

Passage: James 5:13-20

Overview:
This week we are in James 5:13-20 talking about prayer. James is challenging the believers he is writing to to get back to making prayer a central part of their walk with Jesus. There are problems James describes in those verses and the primary emphasis James has is directing his readers to pray in those times. James highlights throughout  that prayer is more powerful than our problems, but the question is, "Do we live like it is?"

What do we want our teens to know?

• God is more powerful than our problems
• The prayers of other people for us are powerful 
• Prayer is powerful because of faith

What do we want our teens to do?

• Make prayer a daily habit

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Have regular times of prayer together as a family, either before school, at meals, or before bed. Your kids will take prayer as seriously as you do. 
• Regularly pray with and for your kids individually as different seasons arise in their lives. 

Passage: James 5:1-12

Overview:
This week, we're looking at James=5:1-12. James is going to challenge his audience about how to respond when people treat us wrongly. James points his readers attention to eternity and our mission here on earth. Our short time here on earth is too valuable to get caught up in finding ways to get even with people.

What do we want our teens to know?

• God's judgment is coming
• This world is not our home
• God rewards those who endure

What do we want our teens to do?

• Be patient and let God work
• Live with an open hand instead of a closed fist

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Encourage them to engage in their small group activity this month where they will be serving another family in our church. 
• Ask them how their group chose to use their money. 

Passage: James 3:1-13

Overview:
This week, we're looking at James 3:1-13. In a world of 280 characters and messaging at the instantaneous tips of our fingers, saying something we regret or using our words to hurt others is a whole lot more convenient because we don't actually have to face the person we're "talking to." Yet, our words still get us into trouble all of the time. This week we want to help our teens reflect on what their words say about them because as Matthew 12:34 says, "For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."

What do we want our teens to know?

• The more you talk, the more trouble you're likeing to get into
• Your tongue is incredibly powerful for its size
• Your tongue is the messenger, not the message

What do we want our teens to do?

• Understand what to do when our words betray us
• Look to God to help change our hearts and our words

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Share about a time (or 2 or 12) where your words caused a conflict that could have been avoided.
• Reflect on this question together as a family: What does the way each of you communicate say about you?
• Challenge your teens throughout this week to think about how their words describe their hearts. Use moments and opportunities in regard to what they say as teachable moments to reveal their heart. 

RULES?! Rules are annoying! Why do we need more rules??!!? Yes, I get it, but rules are often put in place as guidelines or boundaries to keep us (or our kids) on the right track. So when I talk about a "rule," it's not an institutional demand set in stone, with a punishment that includes 50 lashes with a wet pool noodle (no thanks!) if it's broken. But when I say "rule," I'm talking about a guiding principle that allows us to connect with teens in deeper, more meaningful ways, and builds their faith.
One of these "rules" I have as a goal for teen ministry at Calvary is called the "Five Adult Rule."
Our goal in teen ministry is for every single one of our teens to intentionally connect every teen in our ministry 5 adults outside of their immediate family in our church. This doesn't mean teens have to have BFF relationships with each of those 5 adults, but it's the connection that counts. So when we talk about teens connecting in Explore and TYC, it's not because of the program, but it's becasue of the people we want them connected to. If teens attend both Explore and TYC, they are automatically connected with 4 adult relationships right off the bat. That's why we structure our enviornments the way we do by breaking them down into smaller groups. We also then encourage our teens to jump in and serve somewhere, which naturally has other adults connected and serving in those enviornments as well. That's why we encourage our teens to engage and be a part of our both enviornments on a regular because we have adults who love them, care for them, and want them to see your teen(s) grow in their faith.

Use these discussion starters to help foster spiritual conversations with your family

Read 1 John 1:5-2:2 together

• What does it mean to walk in the light?
• What is the most difficult part of confessing our sin to God?
• Why is it significant that Jesus was the atoning sacrifice for our sin?

We are forgiven when we confess our sin and turn to Christ in faith.

We are sinful, rebellious human beings, and we feel the result: guilt. Despite our best efforts, we can’t break free of our sin, and guilt can hound us relentlessly. Too many people are driven into despair and hopelessness because of the shame and guilt they feel over sin. Freedom from guilt is possible, but it is possible only through Christ. We can be sure that we are forgiven when we turn to Him.

There may be times when we doubt our salvation, particularly when we live in disobedience and fail to follow Jesus every day. But when we repent of our sins, following Jesus from a heart that desires, above all else, to honor Him, God will give us assurance of our salvation. We experience forgiveness for sins when we confess, which means to agree with God about what is right and wrong, and repent—to turn away from sin and turn to Jesus in faith. Challenge your teen to consider any sins he or she needs to confess to God. Offer to pray together with your teen in confessing sin together.

Passage: James 1:19-27

Overview:
This week, we're looking at James 2:1-13. We live in a "I'll scratch your back if you scratch my back," kind of world. It's easy to do nice things for people who do nice things for us. This week I want to challenge our teens about how they view others. Do they view others through the lens of "what can this person do for me?" or through the lens of "this person is loved by Jesus who has been put across my path for a purpose."? This is so important because the way we treat others indicates what we believe about God.

What do we want our teens to know?

• Playing favorites is not God’s heart
• Playing favorites just gets you into deeper trouble
• Playing favorites is sin

What do we want our teens to do?

• Remember what Christ has done for you
• Love others the way that Jesus loves them.

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Talk with your family about how much other people watch us as followers of Jesus to see if our "talk" is consistent with our "walk."
• Reflect on this question together as a family: What would people say about Jesus if they only had your life as an example?
• Ask your teen(s) this question on a regular basis: How can you reach out to someone this week and show them love?

Passage: James 1:19-27

Overview:
James is going to pose a serious question to believers, "Does your faith move you from listening to living?" James' readers were comfortable in their "spiritual habits." They knew all of the right things, but their lives didn't reflect that truth. James is calling all of us to examine the way we live and ask ourselves, "Does the way we live portray the faith we say we have?"

What do we want our teens to know?

• You need to listen to God’s Word
• But our faith must go beyond just listening to living

What do we want our teens to do?

• Examine their speech
• Examine their love for others
• Examine their character

Ways to follow up with your teen this coming week:

• Talk with your family about how your faith has grown over the years. 
• Continue to allow your teens to see the habits you have of allowing God's Word to be a mirror in your life and how it changes you. 
• Ask your teen(s) this question on a regular basis: What are you learning from God's Word? How did it change the way you live today?