Hot Mess

What our series "Identity" is all about
We were all created as a “self,” the person God made us to be.  But eventually something comes along that we are ashamed of (our weight, our family, our choices, etc.) and that “shame” covers our “self.”  Then, we create a “personality,” a version of ourselves that we want others to see which covers our “shame.”

But what happens to the person God made us to be?  What’s our identity?

Hot Mess

A lot of us let our past choices, both good and bad, define us.  Even the apostle Paul did that for a while.  But in Galatians 2:19-21, Paul explains that he could never be good enough or bad enough to change God’s love for him.  Letting God’s love define who he was, and not his past, helped him to move on to a brighter future.  The same can be true for our teenagers, as long as they know just how much God loves them.

This Week's Point: Your past may affect you, but it doesn't define you

At Home Suggestions

Remind your teen about a dumb mistake they made when they were little.  This should be something funny.  Odds are, they don’t let this mistake as a child define them as a teen.  Remind them that the mistakes they make now may have a greater effect on them, but they are just as powerless to define them unless they let them.

Read 1 Timothy 1:15 and Philippians 3:5-9

Ask: What are some of the things that Paul used to use to define himself?  Have you ever felt that way?  What does he think about those things now? 

Explain that Paul had a list of good things that he had done, and he also had a pile of wrong things he had done.  He used to believe that those things defined him, but soon he realized that Jesus changed everything.  Through faith, God redefined Paul as His child.  While those choices had consequences, they didn’t define who Paul was anymore, and they couldn’t control his destiny.  

Pray that your family wouldn’t let your past choices, both good and bad, define them.

Stacks

What our series "Identity" is all about

We were all created as a “self,” the person God made us to be.  But eventually something comes along that we are ashamed of (our weight, our family, our choices, etc.) and that “shame” covers our “self.”  Then, we create a “personality,” a version of ourselves that we want others to see which covers our “shame.”

But what happens to the person God made us to be?  What’s our identity?

Stacks

We all say that money can’t buy happiness, but no one actually believes that.  That’s why we keep buying things that make us happy.  Money and things do contribute to our happiness, but they leave us wanting more.  Solomon helps us understand what is missing in Ecclesiastes 5:10 when he says “Whoever loves money never has enough;   whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.   This too is meaningless.”  When he says it’s meaningless, he doesn’t mean that there is no value, but that it won’t give you value.  

This Weeks Point: No amount of money will give your life meaning.

At Home Suggestions

Talk about how your family uses money, and why money is important.  Then talk about how your connections with God and each other are more important.

Read Matthew 6:24 No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money. (HCSB)

Ask: Who is speaking here?  He says you can only serve one master, and He gives us a choice between God and something else.  What was the other choice?  Why do you think that’s the other choice?

Explain that Jesus is explaining the truth of who has ultimate leadership in our lives.  He gives us the choice between God and money.  You would think the choice would be God or Satan, but it’s not.  It’s money.  I think this is because most of us aren’t going to serve Satan, but if we elevate money and things we always tend to lower the priority of God in our lives.

Pray that your family would let your things serve you, not the other way around.

Label Maker

What our series "Identity" is all about 

We were all created as a “self,” the person God made us to be.  But eventually something comes along that we are ashamed of (our weight, our family, our choices, etc.) and that “shame” covers our “self.”  Then, we create a “personality,” a version of ourselves that we want others to see which covers our “shame.”

But what happens to the person God made us to be?  What’s our identity?

Label Maker

Who has the right to put a label on something?  Well, a few people do; the owner, the manufacturer, and the purchaser.  So, who has a right to put a label on us?  The answer is the same, the One who owns us, made us, and purchased us.  1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, ²⁰ for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. (NLT)

This Weeks Point: You are not defined by the labels that people give you, or by the ones you give yourself, but by the person that God made you to be 

At Home Suggestions

Talk with your teens about some of the labels that they feel they wear, and tell them about the labels you wore when you were their age.

Read Acts 4:13 When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus. (HCSB)

Ask: How did the religious leaders label Peter and John?  What did they notice about them that made the biggest difference?

Explain that they labeled them as “dumb.”  The Greek word for “uneducated” is idiotes, the word from which we get our English word “idiot.”  They thought they were idiots.  But here they were, amazing them with teaching.  Why?  Because they had been with Jesus!  The label of “Jesus follower” made all the difference in their lives.

  

Pray that each member of your family would define themselves by the person God made them to be through their relationship with Christ.

Pivotal Circumstances

What our current series "Catalysts" is all about

Sometimes our faith needs a jump start, a catalyst, something to move us in the right direction.  But what does that for us?  Throughout most people’s lives, it’s one of five key things, and if we look out for those we can see God do something awesome!

Pivotal Circumstances

 

It’s interesting to me the way God tends to use the times when everything goes wrong to strengthen our faith rather than when everything goes right.  But I guess He knows that times when the bottom falls out help us learn to trust Him.  But He also knows that in those times it’s also easy for us to turn away from Him.  It’s like a door that swings both ways, but in Romans 8:28 He promises us that He will cause “everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”  The question for us is will we let Him take over and jumpstart our faith?  We can do this because God promises never to waste a hurt.

The Point: God never wastes a hurt

At Home Suggestions

Talk with your teens and tell them about a difficult time in your past that God used to jumpstart your own faith.  Then ask if they’ve ever been through anything like that or if they know anyone who has.

Read Romans 5:3-5

Ask: What does Paul say to do when we suffer?  How could he possibly say that?  What does it mean that “hope does not disappoint”?

Explain that Paul wants us to rejoice in suffering because those hard moments produce character in us.  When the suffering is over, we become better people, and we have hope for our future because we’ve seen God in action through it all, and this doesn’t disappoint.

Pray that your family would have hope through the trails because you know you can trust in God.