Tough Questions – Week 2

Could God make something more powerful than Himself?  Could He destroy it?

This parent question will be sent home with students on February 10 to ask you as parents.  This is part of our theme called Tough Questions, where we will answer actual questions from students.  During the lesson time we will investigate the question, “What does it mean that God’s Spirit hovered over the face of the waters?”  The focus of this lesson is that God brings order out of chaos.  We will send students home to ask you this question:  Could God make something more powerful than Himself?  Could He destroy it? Below are some notes on the subject to help better prepare you for the discussion.

The first part of this question relates to God’s power – How powerful is He?  Scripture teaches very clearly the concept of God’s omnipotence – He has unlimited power.  Below are a few references that demonstrate this.

• Genesis 17:1 – God almighty (This is the Hebrew term you may have heard, “El Shaddai”)
• Jeremiah 32:17 – Nothing is too difficult for God
• Matthew 19:26 – All things are possible through God[1]

So if God can do anything could He actually make something more powerful than Himself?  When thinking about this, one could almost wonder about this concept of omnipotence and if there is some sort of logical problem with it.  The truth is that the question itself is the one that has some logical shortcomings.  The idea of God making something more powerful than Himself (or destroying it) is nonsensical.  Here is a way to relate this:  If you were asked to draw a square circle, you would probably reply that the request makes no sense.  God in all of His attributes is above nonsense.  So the answer to the question is neither “yes” nor “no”.  The question itself is where the problem lies.

During this discussion, another question might come up related to God’s power.  It could be phrased similar to, “If God can do anything, then can He sin?”  The assumption is that if God is omnipotent, then He can do absolutely anything, so He must be able to sin.  In reality, sin goes against everything that God is; it reveals a lack of God.  For God to sin would mean that God would have to deny Himself and diminish who He is, becoming less than Himself.  Therefore God cannot sin…He is actually too powerful to sin.

Hi Parents and Students,

The final trip sheet for Winter Breakout is available in our ‘forms and files‘ section.   Please take a look at it and let me know if you have any questions.  Thanks!

Tough Questions – Week 1

Is it okay to date an atheist if you don’t plan on marrying?

This parent question will be sent home with students on February 3 to ask you as parents.  This is part of our theme called Tough Questions, where we will answer actual questions from students.  During the lesson time we will investigate the question, “Did God create Himself?”  We will send students home to ask you this question:  Is it okay to date an atheist if you don’t plan on marrying? Below are some notes on the subject to help better prepare you for the discussion.

There is one key passage that discusses this subject.  It is 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, which says,

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?  What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?  For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.
Therefore come out from them and be separate,” says the Lord.  ”Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.  I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,” says the Lord Almighty.

These verses talk about not being “yoked” with unbelievers.  The unbeliever could be an atheist or anyone who is not a Christ-follower.  The “yoked” part is related to a team of oxen that has been placed together by a yoke, a wooden beam that connected the two animals as they pulled the plow for farming.  Deuteronomy 22:10 is a command to the Israelites to not plow with an ox and a donkey at the same time.  Not only was it a bad idea to put two different animals together that would pull differently, it was also a commandment to the Israelites to be a holy, separate nation.  They were commanded to not intermarry with the residents of the land they entered, because those people would turn them away from God to embrace other religions.  Some passages that mention this are Exodus 34:15-16; Deuteronomy 7:3-4; and Joshua 23:12-13.

So where does that leave us?  I’ll assume that as a Christian parent you will not want your children dating atheists, but the passages we discussed were only talking about marriage.  Does that mean your conversation will have to end with, “Just don’t do it because I told you not to”?  Fortunately these verses talk about not just marriage but also influence.  Whenever we enter into a relationship there is a certain level of influence to which we are susceptible.  This, of course, can be either good or bad.  In the case of the non-Christian, there is little chance there will be any positive influence toward Christ.  The response that you may get to this point is that the Christian will positively influence the non-Christian.  This has also been called evangelistic dating.

If the discussion comes up, here is an illustration you can use.  Have your student stand on a chair.  Ask them to take your hand and bring you up to their level.  Hopefully it won’t be possible.  Then, try to pull them down to your level.  This is most often what happens.  It is easier to be pulled down by negative influence than it is to pull someone up with positive influence.

The chairs are in and set up!  Here is a picture of them just waiting to seat students:

Below is our official schedule for the Tough Questions series.

Tough Questions Series Schedule

If there have been any situations recently that have had you frustrated as a parent, then let this article remind you that things could be worse!

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”  Philippians 4:19

Teen’s Cell Phone Bill Tops $20,000 Think your cell phone bill is high? By JESSICA GREENE Updated 9:05 AM PST, Mon, Dec 14, 2009 Getty Images/PhotoAlto You see it all the time, kids talking on their cell phones, looking down with their thumbs busy texting or downloading. But now there’s at least one Bay Area boy who won’t be chatting, texting or syncing on his cell phone in the near future after running up an astronomical cell phone bill  — nearly $22,000. Ted Estarija of Hayward says his Verizon wireless bill soared after his 13-year-old son downloaded about 1.4 million kilobytes of data last month. Estarija’s plan didn’t cover data usage so he was charged by the megabyte. Estarija says that after his story made the news Verizon credited his account for the entire amount. Dad said he was expecting an increase in his data usage charges but not such a whopper of a bill. He has suspended the teen’s account. Some may say the real lesson of this story is: Check your data plan. But whatever happened to kids spending quality time in the real world? That reminds Jessica Greene to upgrade her account to include unlimited texting. Copyright Associated Press / NBC Bay Area First Published: Dec 14, 2009 6:49 AM PST

Okay, Lottie Moon is not a what; she is a who – a very influential missionary.  This video will keep you smiling and tell you all you want to know (and then some) about the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

Summer Mission Trip

The dates of our summer mission trip are July 24-31.  We are headed to Connecticut where RBC has been partnering with a church plant.  This trip is actually not just for students.  It is for children and adults.  On the youth side of things there will be plenty of special projects and activities just for youth, but I would encourage you to consider making this a family trip.  Our plan is to create opportunities for families to serve together and experience the joy of ministry.  There will be projects for adults, as well.

While our summer calendar is being solidified, be aware that there may be other events (such as a camp) in our programming as well.  There will also certainly be weekly activities and projects just like last summer.  I mention this to you so that you can mark your calendars for the week of our mission trip (July 24-31) but also plan for your student to be involved in a host of other events this summer.

Youth Christmas Party

As you may already know, this Wednesday is our youth Christmas party during Fuel (6:30-8:00pm).  While students have gotten a barrage of information about the night, I thought it would be beneficial to make sure parents are aware of the night’s details.

First off, we are doing a gift exchange.  The request is for each student to bring a wrapped (or gift bagged) item that costs $5 or less.  Gag gifts are okay, but we are asking for common sense to be used.

Secondly, we would like guys to bring a 2-liter of soda and girls to bring a snack or dessert to share.  It should be a fun night!

As a little side note, after this Wednesday there will be no Fuel meetings for the remainder of December.

Beginning December 6, the youth ministry will be covering the FaithWeaver curriculum during Sunday School.  You may have heard this FaithWeaver term thrown around the church recently, so let me take a moment and remind you about it.

FaithWeaver is a curriculum from Group Publishing that takes learners on a 3 year study through the Bible.  That means that students will have the opportunity to go through the Bible twice in youth ministry.  But FaithWeaver isn’t just about youth ministry.  There are age-appropriate tracks from pre-school all the way to adults.  The key idea is this:  Families can cover the same topics each week and discuss/apply them together throughout the week.

Pastor Bobby is publishing ideas for further discussion and family activities on the family ministry blog page.  For your convenience, you’ll notice that  link to the family ministry blog is also on the right as a permanent way for you to link there.

Parents, you have the opportunity to take part in a FaithWeaver class for adults, which will help you to learn exactly what your youth are learning.  The class is being taught by John Fergis, and there has been some great feedback from it already.  It will aid in discussion throughout the week.  We’re looking for ways to assist families grow in their faith together.  I hope you’ll take advantage of this big opportunity!