August Parent Update & The Thread - Lesson 2

Dear Parents,

Hello! I think we have certainly started this year off well. We just had our Big Fall Kick Off for Elevate Wednesday and we were really pleased with the turn out. Thank you for encouraging your student to attend ESM events!

For Elevate Wednesdays we are doing a series call Discipleship 101. In it we are walking students through the basics of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Each week we are trying to challenge them with one aspect of what it means to follow Jesus. We started off with our lesson "It Takes One To Make One" at the Soft Launch. Teens were challenged to be pointing their friends to Jesus, because a disciple makes disciples. Last week we spoke with the students about become disciples of Jesus, sharing the good news, especially with our visitors at our Kick-Off event. This week we will be talking about how the journey of Discipleship is a journey of being a life time learner at the feet of Rabbi Jesus.

I also wanted to remind you about the study we’re doing for Elevate Sundays called The Thread. We just finished up lesson 2. The lesson was entitled “Creation And The Creation Of Man and Woman.” In this lesson, we helped students learn the unique role humans have in the overall story of God’s creation, and helped them understand Jesus’ role in creation. Your teenager was challenged to grasp the great value he or she has as a person created specifically by God.

We looked at the following Scripture passages:

• Genesis 1-Genesis 2:3
• John 1:1-5It would be great if you could find some time today or tomorrow to take a few minutes and read these passages.

Next Steps . . .

During the next week as you have time to talk with your teenager, remember that one way that will help him or her understand and apply what he or she has learned is to talk about it with someone else. Use the following questions to guide your conversation:

• What do you remember about this week’s Elevate lessons? What stood out?
• (For Elevate Sunday) How should it make us feel that God could have very easily created a world without you or me in it? What does it say about our lives that God wanted us to be a part of His creation?
• (For Elevate Sunday) Is there work we need to do as a family to be better stewards of God’s creation? What can we do to become better at seeing value in all of God’s creation (including other people)?

Did you know?! . . .  

• Your student can follow weekday digital devotions on this blog! We would love to have you follow along as well! 
• There will be a weekly memory verse shared every Monday! Maybe you could do a scripture memory challenge verse your teen.
• We have given your student a composition notebook to use for sermon notes, journaling prayer requests, and writing reflections about their time with God this year. Please encourage them to take time to develop these disciplines. 

Thank you for all you that you do. If you have any questions about anything, please don’t hesitate to call me.