The Family Table
Feeding the Faith of LEFC Families
TFT: Your Teen vs. Anxiety
April 14, 2024
Dear LEFC Parents,
Here are some items to set the table for disciple-making in your family in the week ahead:
Family Devotions Workshop – Next Sunday!
We are offering a Family Devotions Workshop after worship and Snack & Yack this coming Sunday, April 21st. Come enjoy a free provided lunch and hear how your family could incorporate regular devotions into your routine. You’ll even have a chance to do a practice run with your family during that time! Childcare is available. RSVPs are helpful, although not required. Contact Jordyn, Holly, or Vicky with questions!
The Gospel Project at Home
Today’s Bible Study is “Peter Learned That Jesus Is For All” (Volume 11: Unit 32: Session 2). 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 is Back!
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 o
ne of the LEFC elders and their wives (and sometimes guest preachers?!) about the message.
FCA Night of Worship
Some of the high school students in the West Branch FCA club are planning a “Night of Worship” at the WB Auditorium on Friday May 3rd, 6:00-8:00pm. This may be something you might encourage your teen to attend (or go with them!).
And for dessert…
Our recommendation for family discipleship this week is an award-winning book about ANXIETY written specifically FOR TEENS.
As a teenager, Liz Edrington felt overwhelmed by anxiety. Now that she’s a mental health counselor, youthworker, and writer for Rooted Ministry, she wrote Anxiety: Finding the Better Story to help teens get through it themselves.
When this book won the 2023 TGC Book Award for Bible Study and Devotional Literature, the reviewers said:
“Every day, teens face fearful thoughts: What if I’m awkward? What if I fail? What if I don’t make friends? What if I’m crazy? What if I’m rejected? In this life-giving, clinically sound, and teen-appropriate book, Liz Edrington answers these questions with biblical truth, grounding them over and over in their identity in a God who’s never anxious. Teens will pick up this book out of desperation, and they’ll finish it with a knowledge of God’s redemptive story, an incredible awareness of his presence, and an arsenal of effective tools and biblical thinking to combat their anxiety.
Edrington uses the Old and New Testaments to help teens understand both God’s nature and their own, employing accessible and current language. Teens will learn to couple care for their body’s physical symptoms of anxiety with care for their heart’s symptoms of anxiety. They’ll find a framework to think through this struggle biblically, with their relationship to Christ—not their struggle with anxiety—as their primary identity. Her “anxiety toolkit” gives immediate and practical steps for help in the moment. This devotional is a fabulous resource not only for teens but for anyone struggling with anxiety.”
You don’t have to convince your teen to read the whole book. Just try talking them into reading 2 pages at a time (and then keep it going for a month).
– Video: Author Liz Edrington Talking About Anxiety: Finding a Better Story
– Article: Anxiety and Gen Z: Longing for Deep Peace by Liz Edrington
Pastor Matt has this book in his library and would loan it to your teen to read over the next month or two.
We hope your teen eats it 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!