Parent Update
Thanks for allowing your teen to be involved at REMIX. Our hope is to partner with you as you invest in the spiritual life of your teen. If you want a weekly update just email from your teen's small group leader email us at michael@relevantstudents.com and let me know. Each week we will try to keep you up to speed with what went down at REMIX and give you some ideas as you talk with your teen.
REMIX Parent Update 4/21/2010
Michael continued the Rhythm series tonight by helping us understand that our relationship with others is to be in rhythm. Michael shared with us from Matthew 5:21-24 that Jesus doesn't want anything from us until AFTER our relationships with others is made right. Many times it's easier to love God than it is to love people, but we are called to love others. Is there a relationship in your own life that needs to be made right in order to have a right relationship with God? Who is it that you need to view the way God views them? Are you ready to take the step to make that relationship right? There is no need to share names with your teen when discussing these questions.
REMIX Parent Update 4/14/2010
Tonight at REMIX we unpacked the fact that to be in rhythm we must love ourselves. In order for this to happen we have to discover who we really are and realize THAT is the person God loves. Michael shared with us the story of the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. Jesus knew all of her faults and didn't give up on her. So many times we struggle spiritually because of our desire to be someone different. Do you see yourself as God sees you? What type of person do you believe God created you to be? Share this with your teen. This is a hard conversation because it puts you in a vulnerable position by talking about how you view yourself, but it's a conversation worth having!
REMIX Parent Update 4/7/2010
Tonight we had a special speaker at REMIX named Jarret Stevens. He's planting a church in Chicago, and is an incredible communicator. He helped our teens see that WHAT we pray reveals what we think about God. Jarret shared with us from Psalm 145 where David speaks about the GREATNESS and GOODNESS of God, the fact that God is ALL POWERFUL and ALL LOVING. If we truly believe these things of God, we should have a significant prayer life. He challenged our students to evaluate what they believe about the greatness and goodness of God, and if they've truly let that permeate their prayer life. Share with your teen a way in which you can personally point to the greatness or goodness of God.
REMIX UPDATE 3/31/2010
It was a good week back from Spring break, and with only 7 Remixes left in the school year, we are super excited to see what God will continue in the lives of the teens. We looked tonight at the story of Adam and Eve's fall, their choice to disobey God because something else caught their wonder. Adam and Eve had the option to turn their back on the serpent and continue their pursuit of God, but, instead, what the serpent offered was more appealing and sin ensued. God desires our wonder! What is it that captures your wonder? Sometimes we don't know how to answer that question. Another way to look at it is what would others say you're obsessed with, that is what captures our wonder!
REMIX UPDATE 3/17/2010
Tonight we started a new series entitled Rhythm. We were all created to have rhythm in our relationships, especially with God. Many times we feel like we're out of rhythm with Him. We took a look tonight at the creation story in Genesis where we see Adam and Eve living in complete rhythm with God. That is, until Eve and Adam eat the fruit from the forbidden tree. That choice threw their lives into chaos, and, therefore, ours as well. There will be times in all of our lives where we're closer to God. Where do you stand right now? Ask your student to share whether or not they feel they are in rhythm/out of rhythm with God right now. What about you?
REMIX UPDATE 3/3/2010
We had a great night continuing the study on The Invisibles. We looked at Deuteronomy 10:17-19 where the Israelites are told to love the widow, orphan and foreigner. Many times we tend to treat the invisibles in our own lives as outcast. We simply overlook people instead of seeing every individual as one of God's creations. Have a conversation with your teen about the people in your own life who you see consistently and tend to look over because they are different from you, they're an outcast/invisible. Ask your teen to specifically tell you some of these people in their own lives. Naming them will change the way you look at them/what you think of them the next time you see them.
REMIX Update 2/24/2010
We started a new series at REMIX tonight called The Invisibles. There are times that we have all felt unvisible/unseen/unimportant. If teens haven't experienced this yet, we all know they will at some time, especially with college in their future. In John 5:1-9 Jesus encounters a man who was invisible because of his physical disability. However, Jesus saw him and intervened in the man's situation, changing his life forever in one encounter. Even though we feel invisible at times, Jesus sees us, knows us, and in Romans 5:6 we know He died for us. Share with your teen a time when you felt
invisible/unimportant. This will put you in a vulnerable place, but I know some of you are bold enough to have this conversation with your teen.
REMIX Update 2/17/2010
It was a good night as about 10 different churches gathered to get ready for this weekend. MERGE will be great, so make sure your child is signed up. You can find details and registration for this weekend at relevantstudents.com. There was a special speaker tonight who spoke with us about how to KNOW that you belong to Christ. In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says that many people will claim to know Him, but His response to them will be that He never knew them. So how do we KNOW if we know Him or not? 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that when we belong to Christ we become knew, a change occurs. Share your God story with your child. When to did you come to KNOW Jesus? How has He made you a NEW creation?
REMIX Update 2/10/10
Tonight was another on the issue of prayer. We looked at the passage in Luke 11:1-10 where Jesus is asked how to pray, and He follows with instructions and a parable. We looked at the instructions provided in the Lord's Prayer last week. Jesus' bottom line for the parable is that we are to be "shamelessly persistent" in our prayers with Him. Michael challenged us to look at what our prayers are about. We need to be taking BIG concerns to God. Many times we focus on the small day to day challenges in our prayers (which are fine), but how often do we persistently take our BIG issues to God (a family member/friend becoming a Christ follower, a major health issue, etc.)? What BIG issues do you need to be "shamelessly persistent" with God about? Tell your teen what some of the BIG issues are that you are consistently talking to God about.
REMIX UPDATE 2/3/10
During week 2 of the Can You Hear Me? series we looked at HOW to pray. Our example for prayer comes from Jesus Himself in Matthew 6:7-13 (the Lord's prayer.) There are 3 major components encompassed in Jesus' prayer. An important thing to remember is that Jesus doesn't command us to pray this prayer, but to pray "LIKE THIS."
1. Acknowledge God's greatness
2. Surrender our will to His
3. Declare our dependency on Him
Michael pointed out that many times we ask God to bless OUR plans instead of asking Him to show us HIS plan (which would fall under the 2nd part of prayer.) Which of the 3 is easiest for you? Which is the hardest? Talk with your teen about these answers, and ask them to share with you whatthey think about their own prayer life after hearing talks about it over the past couple weeks.
REMIX UPDATE 1/27/10
We started a new series tonight called Can You Hear ME. The focus for the next few weeks will be on PRAYER. Michael shared with us from Matthew 6:5,6 that Jesus gives us some instructions for prayer, basically telling us that WHERE we pray is important. Our prayer life isn't for church, it's for our own private time with Jesus. Michael helped us understand that any progress in our relationship with Jesus won't happen accidentally. We must be intentional about our relationship with Jesus and, specifically, our prayer life. We need to designate a WHERE and WHEN for prayer, being intentional about when and where we pray-schedule it, be consistent. Share with your teen how you feel about your prayer life. Do you have a where and when?
If not, and if you're bold enough, tell them your new where and when so they can see you working on your own prayer life.
It was a good week back from Spring break, and with only 7 Remixes left in the school year, we are super excited to see what God will continue in the lives of the teens. We looked tonight at the story of Adam and Eve's fall, their choice to disobey God because something else caught their wonder. Adam and Eve had the option to turn their back on the serpent and continue their pursuit of God, but, instead, what the serpent offered was more appealing and sin ensued. God desires our wonder! What is it that captures your wonder? Sometimes we don't know how to answer that question. Another way to look at it is what would others say you're obsessed with, that is what captures our wonder!
Tonight we started a new series entitled Rhythm. We were all created to have rhythm in our relationships, especially with God. Many times we feel like we're out of rhythm with Him. We took a look tonight at the creation story in Genesis where we see Adam and Eve living in complete rhythm with God. That is, until Eve and Adam eat the fruit from the forbidden tree. That choice threw their lives into chaos, and, therefore, ours as well. There will be times in all of our lives where we're closer to God. Where do you stand right now? Ask your student to share whether or not they feel they are in rhythm/out of rhythm with God right now. What about you?
We had a great night continuing the study on The Invisibles. We looked at Deuteronomy 10:17-19 where the Israelites are told to love the widow, orphan and foreigner. Many times we tend to treat the invisibles in our own lives as outcast. We simply overlook people instead of seeing every individual as one of God's creations. Have a conversation with your teen about the people in your own life who you see consistently and tend to look over because they are different from you, they're an outcast/invisible. Ask your teen to specifically tell you some of these people in their own lives. Naming them will change the way you look at them/what you think of them the next time you see them.
We started a new series at REMIX tonight called The Invisibles. There are times that we have all felt unvisible/unseen/unimportant. If teens haven't experienced this yet, we all know they will at some time, especially with college in their future. In John 5:1-9 Jesus encounters a man who was invisible because of his physical disability. However, Jesus saw him and intervened in the man's situation, changing his life forever in one encounter. Even though we feel invisible at times, Jesus sees us, knows us, and in Romans 5:6 we know He died for us. Share with your teen a time when you felt
invisible/unimportant. This will put you in a vulnerable place, but I know some of you are bold enough to have this conversation with your teen.
REMIX Update 2/10/10
2. Surrender our will to His
3. Declare our dependency on Him
If not, and if you're bold enough, tell them your new where and when so they can see you working on your own prayer life.