TFT: Sermon Notes
September 13, 2026
Youth Group and Roots Starting TODAY!
Our Youth Group and brand new Roots will kick off for the school year on September 13th, next week, at 6:30pm. Be sure to let your 7-12th and 4-6th graders know and prepare for them to get involved!
Fall Retreat is Coming Soon! Register today!
Our fall retreat is coming up in just under two months on October 16-18! We want you there! This is a great opportunity for your family to get away with the LEFC family and enjoy fellowship, teaching, and more. Registration is open! Register your family now to take advantage of our Early Bird discount of $5 off, running through September 20th. Join us for a great weekend!
Family Discipleship Surveys
On Back to School Sunday or in their mailboxes, families received a short survey about family discipleship in their homes from our Family Ministries Team. This survey is intended to give us a glimpse into what discipleship looks like in the homes of our families so that we can most effectively tailor our efforts and ministries to meet your needs. We have only gotten a few of these back. We desire to get input from as many of our families as we can so that we can draw accurate data from them. If you have not yet returned yours, please return your completed survey to Jordyn Skacel’s mailbox, or fill out this digital version. If you need a replacement paper copy, they can be found in the clear wall file above our kids check-in station. We appreciate your cooperation!
Fall Retreat Theme
We are excited to announce the theme of this year’s Fall Retreat! During our two sessions on Saturday and Sunday mornings along with breakout sessions on Saturday afternoon, we will be digging into “Hard Work and Real Rest.” Come join us as we explore what it looks like to diligently work and take time for rest.
Moms and Kids Playdate
This Thursday from 9-10 is our monthly moms and kids playdate. Moms who are home with your kids, bring them out to the Fellowship Hall to enjoy fellowship with other moms while the kids play with provided toys and activities!
See You At The Pole
All are invited to join West Branch’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes for a time of prayer at the school’s flagpole. Students will meet at 7:10am on Wednesday, September 23rd. Adults, please park at Gethsemane, walk to the flagpole, and join the kids as they pray for their school.
This Week’s Challenge: Grandparents Day!
Did you know that today is Grandparents Day? In 1979, it was determined that the first Sunday after Labor Day would be Grandparents Day, honoring the special role that grandparents have in the lives of their grandchildren. Likewise, it is safe to say that grandchildren play a special role in the lives of their grandparents as well!
This week’s challenge is to honor those grandparents who are special to us. We recognize that not everyone has had the chance to have a relationship with their grandparents, and some relationships may be strained. However, take some time today to honor those faithful ones who have played this role in our lives and our children’s lives. Here are some ideas:
- Craft a handwritten card. Detail some of the things you love and appreciate about your grandparent, things that you are thankful that they bring to your life, or something you admire about them.
- Grab a small gift. Honor your grandparent by getting them a small gift. It’s a great time to enjoy all things fall, like mums, cider, and pumpkin desserts. Pick something up to gift to grandma and/or grandpa to enjoy!
- Give them photos! If there’s one thing that is almost universally true of grandparents, it’s that they love photos of their grandkids! Print out and frame a few favorites of your kids and gift them to the grandparents.
Whether you use one of these ideas or come up with something unique, we encourage you to do something today to honor those grandparents who have faithfully and diligently poured into our lives.
“Jesus Brings Truth” Kids Bible Class Devotional
You have free access to a family devotional based on the curriculum our kids are studying each week in KBC! It’s called “The Gospel Project at Home.” Today’s Bible Study is “Jesus Taught about the Kingdom” (Volume 9: Unit 25: Session 2, and the devotional can be found at this link.
Visit the Family Ministries page on our website for information about how to access The Gospel Project at Home for the first time.
And for Dessert…
Our recommendation for family discipleship this week is a brief article about how to get more out of Sunday sermons.
Our newest ministry, “LEFC Roots,” a junior youth group for kids in grades 4-6, kicks off tonight with their first meeting. One of the things they are going to do as a group each week is to talk together about the sermon from that morning: “What were we supposed to learn from the message? What difference does it make for my life today?”
To prime the pump, our Roots leaders have created a new resource to help the students take good notes to capture what they are learning. These new handouts, expanded versions of what we used to offer for “Snack and Yack,” are now available on the Welcome Tables each Sunday. Make sure your kid gets one (older and younger kids can use them, too!).
I (Pastor Matt) put in many hours into preparing the sermon for each Sunday. Preaching is an incredibly important task, a privilege and responsibility I take very seriously. Listening to preaching and receiving God’s Word is just as important!
The Apostle Paul wrote, “We also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
How can you and your family get the most out of the sermon on Sunday mornings? In a recent article on the Crossway Blog, “7 Tips for Getting More out of Sunday Sermons,” author Gunner Gundersen gives out some great ideas to consider:
1. Read the passage beforehand.
2. Pray for your pastor. (Yes, please do!)
3. Remember who’s speaking.
4. Furrow the field.
5. Arrive early.
6. Soak in the experience.
7. Trust and obey.
You’ll have to read the full article to understand what he means by some of those.
Maybe go down through the list at lunch today and discuss the 7 tips with your family:
– Which of those 7 do we need to work on most as a family?
– Which of those 7 do we do really well as a family?
– What is missing from the list? What might be number 8?
Gundersen concludes, “Every week, our pastors share God’s Word with us, passing it along with the fervent hope that we’ll carry it forward as second runners. Every week, our gathered churches scatter again, taking God’s truth back to our homes, neighborhoods, schools, and businesses. Every week, a sacred relay is performed and a priceless treasure is transferred from the well-studied mind of a preacher to a precious body of waiting believers. May we learn to grasp the truth we’re taught—and run with it—in ways worthy of the prize.”
More:
– Listen to a 1 minute message from Walt Mueller at the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding: Sermons–
– Read another article by Gundersen: “How to Avoid Individualism When Listening to Sermons”.
– Gundersen has also written a booklet “How Do I Get the Most from My Pastor’s Sermons?” whose first chapter is available for free online.
We hope your family eats it right up!
Jordyn Skacel, Director of Family Ministry
Matt Mitchell, Pastor