Follow up on Wednesday Nov. 12th

Hey Parents,

        This past Wednesday was great, we hung out and played games with music playing at the beginning. We started check in's for the kids last wednesday and it went really smooth last night. Everyone got checked in and plugged in. We kicked it off with an awesome worship song led by Brooke Williams and Michael Entrop on the keyboard. We moved on to a dance competition on stage that actually went really well. A lot of laughter and actually some skill showed up on stage. We went over the topic and watched the video mentioned in the last post, all the kids seemed to be very receptive and hopefully learned or confirmed thoughts. Please follow up with your students this week, see how their walk with Christ is doing, and answer any questions they might have. You are the biggest role model in their lives and I pray you help them with their walk.


          - NO LSM Nov. 26th!!!!

          - Christmas on the square Wednesday the 3rd from 6-8pm. We will not have LSM because we will be serving there. All kids and parents are invited to come fellowship there. Please email me to get plugged in to a serving opportunity for that night. Josh@lifewayfamily.org

          - No LSM Dec. 24th

          - No LSM Dec. 31st

        Last but not least we are going to be selling LSM Long sleeve shirts starting Nov. 22nd, they will be sold for $20 a shirt, the extra money goes towards the student camps summer of 2015. Please help support the students by purchasing a shirt as well as wearing it around to promote our Student Ministry.

          - We are taking deposits ($50) for Fuego camp (6th and 7th graders) and Orange High School Camp ($50) (8th - 12th graders) now. Please make sure to get a deposit in before the spots fill up!

God Bless,
Josh Price Continue reading →

Sermon for Wednesday Nov. 12th

Hey Parents,

             Wow, this week has been crazy! Doesn't time fly! Im sorry I know its off topic, but big things are happening in the church and we are super excited here at Lifeway. So much is going on behind the scenes as well. Looking forward to big things to come!

             Anyways, seeing that we do not have LSM Nov. 26th that gives me two more wednesdays this month! In turn, I do not want to start a sermon series with out being able to unpack it fully, so i've prayed about what God would want to use me to say these two coming weeks, and I think I finally have gained some clarity on it. A few kids have voiced their opinions about certain things that I feel we need to address and not wait around on. Some of the kids have said "well, if my friends are going through a hard time why would I share the gospel or Jesus with them?" or "Why are bad things happening to me still / them if we believe in Jesus?" Among other comments relating to that subject, and again I do not want those things to go unanswered or challenged. Theres nothing worse then letting doubt creep in to students minds and as a church shying away from it. 

              I will talk about a few things. One being that Jesus himself, didn't have it easy and HE WAS GOD. He didn't just teleport back to Heaven and say "good luck everyone! see you soon!" He came down endured life got harassed, hurt, tortured and DIED for us. I would say He didn't have it so easy in life. The disciples didn't have much of an easy time as well. Out of 12 of them 11 died a martyr's death! They were killed FOR Jesus, I would say bad things happened to them. They were beaten, stoned, ridiculed and yet they knew their God. The hope that waited for them, the love and compassion. The forgiveness given to them. We are not promised Disney Land when we accept Jesus. We are promised salvation, forgiveness, hope, love. I think a man by the name of Nick Vujicic says it pretty well in one of his talks.

http://youtu.be/Y8eP74O0FDg <-- Check it out here.

               I will keep this sermon pretty short and play the video. I want to really try to talk about this with the students and make sure I hear their questions and try to walk them through their thoughts. Parents please talk to your kids about these tough topics, as you have WAY more influence over your kids than anyone here will on Wednesday nights.

               Please come talk to me if you ever need any help or questions answered.

God Bless,

Josh Price

Also Please check out this video, such a great short clip on Family Values.

Continue reading →

Hey Parents,

             We had a great time this past Wednesday! Even with all the craziness of the construction going on, we still had fun. We started with worship and then some bible trivia, if they didn't know the answer they got pied in the face (whip cream). Then we moved on to the announcement, which I would like parents to be aware of if they have not heard.

            - Nov 26th - We will not be having LSM due to Thanksgiving the 27th.

            - Nov 15th, Gracebridge. 8am-5pm. This is the Thanksgiving serving opportunity for Gracebridge. They really need volunteers and help on the 15th. I expressed to the kids that I would really like to see them there and invited all students to come help. Around 4-5pm starts their concert and prayer time for the community. A great serving opportunity to help the community, with an awesome way to finish off the night. Please come and be a role model to the kids of Lifeway as well as a servant for your community.

             - Dec. 3rd We are not having LSM, because we will be volunteering at Christmas on the Square. I hope to have every kid helping or hanging out on the square that night serving the community. We will have a booth and be passing out hot chocolate as well as letting people come and create ornaments at our Lifeway booth. Please let Lifeway know that you want to help serve so we can get you plugged in1

THIS IS NOT A YOUTH SERVING OPP. THIS IS A CHURCH SERVING OPP. AND THE YOUTH WILL BE THERE!

            I really think the kids enjoyed the message and hopefully learned some new information to apply to their lives. Please make sure to talk to them each week about the sermon and try to engage in their spiritual lives.

           I will be posting my sermon for Wednesday the 12th tomorrow.


God Bless,
Josh Price

Continue reading →

Hello Parents,

           Wednesday Nov. 5th we will be looking into scripture from the book of Matthew. This scripture has stood out to me my whole Christian walk. I personally love the message seeded in this particular teaching from Jesus. It says:

            You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl, Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
             Matthew 5:14-16 NIV

            We will look into this scripture for many reasons, but mainly because I want the kids to know this is truly a part of life, their faith is not just something that happens on wednesday nights and sunday mornings, but that it's every day. That you are in this with God day in and day out. We don't just talk about God at camps or on mission trips, but that we talk about him daily, pray daily, spread the good news about him daily. You don't get saved and receive the holy spirit just to hide it and keep it to yourself. You are the light of this world. This dark, dark world. You have the answer, why keep it to yourself? God has given you some responsibility in reaching the lost people, don't miss use it.

             I will encourage the kids to look into their own lives and see if they hide their light or if they place it on a stand for everyone to see. We don't need any more people who hide their light, we as christians have done that long enough. Its time to put our light on display for all to see. Tell about how our lives have truly changed when we received Jesus into our hearts. Why it is so important, and what Jesus can do in others lives that don't know him yet.

             I hope to have a real lamp on stage and a bowl to show the kids a visual of this scripture. Hopefully to make it have a little impact.

             Please take time to go over this topic with your kids, I think its a huge part of our lives and will only be better if their own parents talk to them about it.


Thanks,
Josh Price Continue reading →

Hello Parents,

       Wednesday night's Fall Festival was a hit, we had a ton of fun and a ton of kids. We really hope the kids enjoyed it and made new friends. We started the night off with free time such as music, football, skateboarding, and everything else the kids do when given space with a ton of friends. Then we proceeded with tortilla dodgeball, Middle schoolers vs High schoolers. Then guys vs girls, this quickly turned into a food fight. Most tortillas broke when crumpled up and you just had fist full of tortilla pieces thrown at you, but all in all the kids seemed to really enjoy it. After the food fight we started the costume contest where the kids decided who was first, second and third place. The first place boy won a $25 Visa Gift card with a blow up bull / cowboy outfit. Second place, and a free ticket to any movie at studio movie grill went to a boy dressed as Marty McFly from Back to the Future. Third place, and a box of cosmic brownies went to a young girl dressed as a scary clown. We had a food bar in the back with chicken nuggets, fries and chips a ton of different drinks.

       Hannah Walker ran the bobbing for apples station and honestly that was a huge hit. Almost every kid tried, most did it repeatedly. We had a ton of fun with that activity and passed out candy. The last event of the night was a dance party. The remaining kids loved it and danced the night away until their parents came. Fall Festival was a hit and we hope everyones kids enjoyed it.

       Please make sure your kids are here next wednesday night! I will be preaching a solo sermon on Matthew 5:14-16, if you don't know what that is I encourage you to look it up and pray about it. Its a powerful verse that everyone can learn from. I look forward to seeing the students Wednesday night!

-- We do have a fundraiser picked out for the month of Nov. we will announce it on a Sun morning soon when we are closer to the finished project --

God Bless,
Josh Price Continue reading →

LSM Costume Party!

Hello Parents,

We just finished up the sermon series Catching Fire. We will be celebrating this week by hosting a church-appropriate costume party. LSM welcomes 5th graders THIS WEDNESDAY ONLY to join us in the costume party, as a way to show them what they can look forward to in their 6th grade year.

This Wednesday will be a blast: costumes, music, and Corn Tortilla Dodgeball. We will be passing out candy and having apple-bobbing stations, as well as giving out prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place "Most Creative" costumes.

Please feel free to pick up your students around 8:15PM, and don't be shy: you're welcome to come inside to get them and enjoy the festivities if you'd like. Continue reading →

LSM Students: FLIPPED Parent CUE

 

FLIPPED: Parent CUE

We’re Teaching This:

Have you ever had a moment that made you stop and think, "Wow, this changes everything"? Maybe it was finding out you didn’t make the team or that your parents were splitting. Maybe it was finding out you're good at something or bad at something you didn't expect. In these moments our lives change direction quickly. The funny thing is nearly everyone who met Jesus had one of those moments. They came in with a plan, a direction, an identity. And as soon as they spent any time with Jesus, those ideas were turned upside down. And, as we look at four of these stories, we find that an encounter with Jesus has the power to flip our lives as well.

Think About This:

I think most people would agree that one of the more terrifying parts of parenting teenagers is the risk factor. They grow up and the stakes are raised. Their freedom increases but so does the potential fallout from bad choices. Parents are regularly faced with decisions on when to allow their students to forge their freedom and when not to. Unfortunately, we can tend to be overprotective in situations that they may not really need our protection from—and in the name of safety we may be inhibiting them in a way we never intended.

In his blog post, How to Help Your Kids, Live Out Their Story, author, speaker, and dad, Carey Nieuwhoff explains the benefits of letting go of control and trusting God with their story.

My grandfather and grandmother did something amazing. They let my dad live his story, not theirs. They gave up control, protection, and let God write a story in my dad’s life that was independent of their own.

My dad is one of my heroes. He actually did build a new life (in another country), not just for him, but for many others. He was not only a great father, but he ran a company for years, served his entire life in the local church and has left a great legacy of character for his kids and grandkids.

I’m so glad my grandparents swallowed hard and let their son pursue his vision. So, now the question.   

Would you?

In an era of overprotective, slightly controlling parenting, I wonder how many stories like my dad’s aren’t being written. Not because kids aren’t ready to write a story of their own choosing, but because parents are too afraid or unwilling to let them go or take risks.

Great plot lines invite things like drama, risk, mission, and calling. All the things that make parents gulp (and gasp).

And by the way, my dad did see his parents again. He eventually had enough money to go back more than a few times. I even went to Holland with my dad to meet them before they passed away.

As you think about how you might help your kids connect with their own story, here are three things to remember:

1.     Prepare yourself now to release them one day.

2.     Understand that God has your kids on a journey from dependence to independence.

3.     Let them lead (without rescuing them) today to prepare them for tomorrow.

Is there anything you need to let go of today to help create a better future for your child?

From How to Help Your Kids Live Out Their Story, http://orangeparents.org/author/careynieuwhof/

Try This

Sometimes the best two words you can hear are “me too”. No matter what situation you’re in with your teenager, chances are someone around you is in the same place and asking the same questions. Do you know who those people are? Are there other parents that you can connect with on a regular basis in your community?

This month try taking two steps toward connecting with other parents around you.

1.     Find Them. If you’re not sure where to find other parents like you, start by asking the student pastor at your church (or where your teen attends). They can direct you to small groups or environments where you can meet other parents just like you.

2.     Talk to them. Sometimes starting a conversation with someone new can feel awkward. If you’re unsure what to talk about, start with this parentCUE. Say something like, “Hey, did you get that article in the parentCUE? What did you think about it?”  Knowing you already have something in common can open the door to more conversation. If not that, try opening up first. Vulnerability breeds vulnerability. So think of some of things you may have a hard time with when it comes to your student’s independence. And then share it. You may be surprised at what someone shares with you in return.

Continue reading →