2/26/17 Follow Up

Good morning! 

Yesterday was one of my favorite days here at First so far. At Sunday School we continued talking about whether or not God discriminates against women. This lead to some pretty passionate discussion, especially when verses like 1 Tim. 2:9-15 and 1 Cor. 14:33-35 came into play. We were slightly sidetracked by the conversation of how the Bible treats women and how culture treats women. Originally, we weren't going to address the culture aspect (see last week's update), but after more careful consideration we have decided to. We think this is an important distinction, so next week we are going to focus in on what the Bible says. The following week (March 12) we are going to look at how Christians are to treat women in culture and how that differs from what we see today. 

IMPACT last night was one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed. We started with our usual fellowship time and snacks. It came time to move into a game, but nobody could agree on what to play. As we were packing up Mario kart, Reagan dug deep into our game drawer (which is only four games deep) and managed to pull out a game I didn't even know we had. At some point in the mysterious past of the FRCZ youth group, we acquired Just Dance: The Michael Jackson Experience. And this is what happened. 

At the end of this slideshow, you can also find some pictures of the other things that usually go on during our IMPACT time. 

After having a few good laughs over our top-notch dance moves, we finished up talking about our identity in Christ. This is something that I am really passionate about, and I believe it matters a lot in the case of our students as well. The world is awfully good at pointing out our flaws and making sure we know every little place that we have fallen short. To combat that, we read out of Henri Nouwen's book "Life of the Beloved." He writes one chapter about what it looks like to be blessed as God's beloved children, and how to live into that reality. I'm going to link a PDF of that chapter alone because I really think everyone needs to hear this message, especially in this day and age. Take some time today and read it. It should take about 15 minutes, and it's more than worth the time invested. 

After we finished reading that we spent some time affirming one another in writing, in hopes that it is something that we can revisit over and over to remind us of the truths that God says about us. I think it was really powerful, and I'd encourage you to ask your students about what the others in the group wrote about them. Then take some time to bless them yourself. I'm sure they would really appreciate that :) 

Next week, we are continuing the Biblical portion of our discussion on whether or not God discriminates against women, and during IMPACT we are going to hear from my wife Dynelle about Lent. Specifically, what it is and why it matters.

If you've made it this far, thanks! I know this wasn't a short update but I'm glad you made it through. As always, I'd love to hear from you. I hope your week is blessed, and I look forward to seeing you Sunday.