The Family Table

Back to School Bash: Next Sunday!

We’re excited to let you know about our Back to School Bash, happening next week on Back to School Sunday! Stay after church to enjoy lunch as well as games and activities for the kids. We have even reserved a bounce house for the kids to enjoy as they kick off the school year! Don’t miss out!

Youth Group and Junior Youth Group Start Dates

Our Youth Group and brand new Junior Youth Group will kick off for the school year on September 13th. Be sure to let your 7-12th and 4-6th graders know and prepare for them to get involved!

Fall Retreat is Coming Soon!

Our fall retreat is coming up in just three months on October 16-18! We want you there! Today in church we shared more details about this 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(opens in new tab) to take advantage of our Early Bird discount of $5 off, running through September 20th. Join us for a great weekend!

Youth Group Instagram

Our Youth Group has a brand new Instagram account, lansefreeyouth(opens in new tab)! Follow along to be encouraged by what our Youth Group is up to and share the account with your 7th-12th grade family and friends so they can get a glimpse of what it might look like for them to participate as well.

Tell Pastor Matt What Team Your Child Is On

Pastor Matt writes, “It’s hard to believe it’s fall athletics season once again! I love to drop in to see the kids of our church family play their sports, but I need to know when and where the games are. It’s hard to keep track of who is on what team. If you could send me your kids’ sports schedules for this new season, it will help me to make it to more games and spend some quality time with your family.”

This Week’s Challenge: Preparing for Back to School

It’s no secret that Back to School is right around the corner. Summer is quickly coming to a close as we’ll usher in fall leaves and football games. Have you considered how you might prepare well for the upcoming season change as a family?

This week’s challenge is to spend time preparing. As a family, talk about the upcoming year: what will be new, how your schedule might change, what concerns or worries there are, as well as goals or desires. Maybe even consider what things might need to change to make this year fruitful and God-honoring. You don’t want to overextend your family! Then, spend time in prayer alone (or with your spouse) and with your children about the upcoming school year. Pray for your kids as they enter back in to the school rhythm. Pray about the new challenges that might come their way, the exciting milestones they’ll reach, the goals they have, and the ways you’d like to see them grow and exhibit their faith. Invite your child to pray too!

“Jesus the Promised One” Kids Bible Class Devotional

(opens in new tab)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 Was Anointed” (Volume 8: Unit 24: Session 3, and the devotional can be found at this link.(opens in new tab)

Visit the Family Ministries page(opens in new tab) 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 terrific book to send off with your student to college (and maybe also read yourself).

(opens in new tab)It’s “move-in week” at many universities, and several of our LEFC kids are heading off to college for the very first time. This can be a time of trepidation for many young adults and for their folks–including concerns about the dangerous ideas they will encounter, especially if they are heading into a secular school of higher education. Will their faith be strong enough to survive the various challenges, objections, and questions that may come flying at them?

Michael Kruger (yes, the same guy as last week(opens in new tab)) wrote an entire book to help young adults navigate these challenges, Surviving Religion 101(opens in new tab). Framed as letters to his daughter Emma as she went off to school, this book tackles major questions about Christianity head-on.

Our college students will undoubtably face questions like these (if they haven’t already), and perhaps you’ve had them, too:

1 I’m Worried about Being a Christian at a Secular University—How Will I Survive?
2 My Professors Are Really Smart—Isn’t It More Likely That They’re Right and I’m Wrong?
3 There Are a Lot of Different Views Here—How Can We Say That Christianity Is the Only Right Religion?
4 My Christian Morals Are Viewed as Hateful and Intolerant—Shouldn’t I Be More Loving and Accepting?
5 I Have Gay Friends Who Are Kind, Wonderful, and Happy—Are We Sure That Homosexuality Is Really Wrong?
6 The Concept of Hell Seems Barbaric and Cruel—Wouldn’t a Loving God Save Everyone?
7 There’s So Much Suffering in the World—How Could a Good God Allow Such Evil?
8 Science Seems Like It Can Explain Everything in the Universe—Do We Really Need to Believe in God?
9 I’m Finding It Harder to Believe Events Like the Resurrection—How Can I Believe in Miracles If I’ve Never Seen One?
10 Everything I Believe Seems to Hinge on the Truth of the Bible—How Do We Know It’s Really from God?
11 My Professor Keeps Pointing Out Contradictions in the Gospels—Can I Still Trust Them?
12 I’m Being Told That Ancient Scribes Changed the Words of the New Testament Thousands of Times—Is That True?
13 My Professor Says That Books Were Left Out of Our Bibles—Can We Be Sure We Have the Right Ones?
14 Some Parts of the Bible Seem Morally Troubling—How Can a Book Be from God If It Advocates Oppression or Genocide?
15 Sometimes It Feels Like My Faith Is Slipping Away—How Do I Handle Doubts about What I Believe?

PS. What Do I Do If It Feels Like Christianity Just Isn’t Working for Me?

Kruger unflinchingly answers these important questions wisely, clearly, and confidently based on expertise, sound arguments, and good sources. I (Pastor Matt) highly recommend it for new college students, but also for older high schoolers and their parents!

Wonderfully, Surviving Religion 101 is now available as a FREE E-Book (requires sharing an email address)(opens in new tab). Why not download it today and send the link to your son or daughter to add to their phone as they pack up their outfits, laptop, and mini-fridge for move-in day?

More:

– Read an excerpt of Surviving Religion 101 including the preface, introduction, and first letter at the publisher’s website.(opens in new tab)
– Watch an interview with the author at Family Life Today(opens in new tab).
– Listen to an interview with the author at Rooted Youth Ministry(opens in new tab).
– Check out the author’s website for more about the book and wealth of other resources on Scripture.(opens in new tab)

We hope your family eats it right up!

Jordyn Skacel, Director of Family Ministry
Matt Mitchell, Pastor