The Family Table
Feeding the Faith of LEFC Families
TFT: Discipling Your Teen
July 14, 2024
Dear LEFC Parents,
Here are some key items to set the table for disciple-making in your family in the week ahead:
Fair Week
The 163rd Clearfield County Fair is underway. Are your kids involved in something at the fair — showing livestock, competing in the exhibitions, etc? Pastor Matt would love to support and encourage them. Please let him know when and where they are involved in case he can come to cheer them on.
Family Bible Week Is Almost Here!
FBW ’24 is right around corner. “Breaker Rock Beach” will be a fun-filled week where kids (and adults) are challenged to recognize the difference between the lies (or half-truths) of culture and God’s unchanging truth. Adventure awaits each day as kids explore tidepools, spot orcas, fly kites, and watch the mighty waves crash up against the immoveable Breaker Rock! As always, we’ll be having dinner at 6:00 nightly for all ages followed by music, classes, crafts, missions projects, and games. FBW starts on July 22nd!
Parent Class at Family Bible Week
FBW isn’t just for children! We will be offering two classes for adults this year, including one just for parents who want to help their kids grow in faith in Jesus. Abe Skacel says, “In the FBW Parents Class, we will be exploring the spiritual foundations and purpose of family and how to integrate discipleship in the home with our kids.” Plan to stick around and participate!
Challenge Report and Rewind
Last Sunday, we heard from our group that went to Challenge ’24 about their experience. They created a short video to give us a sense of what it’s like and some of what they learned. If you haven’t watched it yet, give it a look!
Also, Challenge Rewind is a YouTube channel dedicated to sharing messages delivered at the conference. Parents, you might want to (re)watch them with your teens and discuss what they learned and how they can apply it to their lives now that they are home.
Tiny Theologians Podcast
Did your preschooler listen all the way from to A-Z of God’s attributes on the Tiny Theologians Podcast? If so, they are not alone. Tiny Theologians recently celebrated their 1 millionth download[!] with a special Q&A episode: Questions and Answers with TJ and Tory.
The Gospel Project at Home
Today’s Bible Study is “Paul Was Sent to Rome” (Volume 12: Unit 35: Session 3). Ask your kids what they learned in Kids Bible Class this morning and/or do the family devotional you can find at this link.
Snack and Yack!
When the auditorium empties after worship, girls and boys (grades 3ish-7ish) who listened to the sermon (remember to fill out a handout!) are invited to Pastor Matt’s office for a tasty treat and a brief discussion with an LEFC elder couple about the message.
And for dessert…
Our recommendations for family discipleship this week are two different resources for discipling your teen from Pastor Jon Nielson.
1. God’s Great Story: A Daily Devotional for Teens
Did your teen just come back from Challenge wanting to dig into their Bible but they don’t know where to start?
You might want to put a copy of God’s Great Story in their hands.
Jon Nielson has written a new devotional that “unpacks Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, helping young adults grasp God’s full narrative and form helpful reading habits to keep a strong relationship with the Lord. Designed to be read in a year, each of the 365 daily devotionals includes a summary, a practical application, and a guide for personal prayer and meditation. Readings build off of each other to help readers grasp God’s grand story of redemption and the full saving work of the Son.”
Pastor Matt recently bought a copy for himself and would be glad to lend it to any family with teens to test-drive it.
2. Answering Tough Questions about Raising Teenagers – Podcast Interview.
Jon Nielson has also recently answered some of the most common and difficult questions that parents of teens ask him. Pastor Matt listened to the interview and thought he had a lot of wisdom to share.
Topics Addressed:
– What Is It Like Being a Teen Today?
– Wrestling with the Issue of Identity
– Embracing God’s Good Design for Sex and Sexuality
– Teenagers and Technology
– Helping Teenagers Cultivate Spiritual Disciplines
– How Can Pastors Support Parents in Their Parenting?
– Enjoying the Teen Years
We hope your family eats these right up!
Matt Mitchell, Pastor
Holly Crumrine, Family Table Editor
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EXPLAINER: THE GOSPEL PROJECT AT HOME
For the last several years, our Children’s Church ministry has utilized The Gospel Project as our Bible study curriculum. The Gospel Project is really excellent–it takes our Little Learners and Bible Explorers chronologically through the whole Bible over the course of three years while always focusing on Jesus as the center of the big story. If your student was in Little Learners or Bible Explorers this morning, they received a coloring page and take-home sheet that corresponds to this lesson. You have also been given a full-color Big Picture Card that you can use to reinforce the lesson with your child, as well.
To reinforce what your kids are learning each week in Children’s Church, you can now access The Gospel Project At Home online. Each week in this email, there will be a link to follow to get this free resource which includes:
1. A guide to using the Gospel Project at Home.
2. Scripture to read and discuss with a recap video of the Bible Story (Preschool and/or Elementary).
3. Scripture memory verses and a song to sing together.
4. Prayer prompts and family activities that correspond to the lesson.
Please consider setting aside at least 10-15 minutes once a week for a family devotional time using this resource as a guide. We are hoping The Gospel Project At Home will help keep all of our LEFC kids “on the same page,” and feed their faith in Jesus.
This might be especially helpful if for some reason your child has to miss a week of Children’s Church. You can show them the Bible story video to keep them up to speed on what the other children are learning.
**Note: The first time you access the link, you will need to register a free account with Lifeway’s Ministry Grid. This will also provide you ongoing access through the “training” tab to many other discipleship resources including the Gospel Project at Home for previous weeks. Many hours of excellent things to absorb for free!