“Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me and I have nothing to set before him’” (Luke 11:5-6 NIV).

“Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything’” (Luke 11:7 NIV).

“I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs” (Luke 11:8 NIV).

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you: seek and you will find: knick and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9 NIV).

“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened” (Luke 11:10 NIV).

Do you have any thoughts?
What jumps out to you in these passages that might be important for students to hear/know?

I think my message will include this thought: "God is not bothered by your persistence. Sometimes He is moved by it."

It is official, I have crossed over into the abyss of technology. You can now follow my every move (almost) at http://twitter.com/dmacswain

In 1990 MC Hammer released the album...Please Hammer Don't hurt'em, which contained the song "U can't touch this" and went on to become the number one best selling rap album in history...

Now you know!

What were you doing/listening to in 1990?

would you make any changes if you found out there is a heaven and a hell?

Matt. 6:5-13

Review last week:

Don’t be like the hypocrites
But go into your room

This week:

Don’t be like the pagans…babbling with lots of words

Because your father knows what you need before you ask…
You don’t have to come to him…because he knows you come to him because of who he is and the relationship…
In that relationship…comes understanding about his answers…
Yes…no…or nothing/silence

Our father in heaven hallowed be your name…
We acknowledge who he is and his greatness…
We spend less on us and more time recognizing who he is…

Your kingdom come…
The purpose of prayer is to bring our will into alignment with Gods will…

Give us today or daily bread
Acknowledge your dependence on him…I need you every day…

Forgive us our debts…
I need your grace and mercy father….
I can’t withhold grace and mercy because I didn’t deserve it when you gave it to me…

Lead us not into temptation…deliver us from the Evil one…
Accept his guidance God
Trust his protection...

Conclusion…
Declare his greatness
Surrender your will
Acknowledge your dependance
Accept his grace and mercy
Give grace and mercy
Accept his guidance
Trust his protection

If we spend time with God intentionally, if we make time for Him, then what do we say to Him when we get alone with Him? What are the things we talk about? After all, He knows everything about us, our lives and our world. It’s not like we have any “news.” It’s not like we have to give Him an update on how things are going. So what do we talk about? In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus focuses on three things, and leads us through a process that will not only change our perspective about what is going on around us, but also our perception of God.

does confession help people change?

WHY I TAKE MY SON TO YOUTH GROUP
By Tim Walker

It’s funny how much I knew about parenting before I became one. I had all these absolute statements and strong ideas about what I would and wouldn’t do—usually based on how I felt my parents handled something or based on something I observed around me. “I’ll never let my kids pitch a fit in the store.” “I’ll never tell my kids, ‘Because I said so.’”

I knew so much—until I brought my son home from the hospital. Then I realized how little I knew. And it doesn’t get any better. Each new stage, each year, brings new challenges. Just when I think I have things figured out, some new surprise comes along. Now I look at new dads and have empathy instead of criticism.

I also have a new perspective on how my parents handled things, and realize that while they didn’t handle every situation perfectly, I’m certainly not capable of perfection either. There are too many factors that go into seeing a situation so clearly—my own history, my fears, my mood, plus my wife’s history, mood, and fears.

So at this point in the journey, with a middle school student in my house, I can honestly say I don’t know everything about being a dad. But I do know one thing—I can’t do this alone.

I can sense it every day. I can see my son looking for some other figure in his life, in addition to his dad and mom. I can feel him wanting to be a part of the grown-up world, and have other adults in his life who can connect with him. Cooler adults. Adults who can throw the football better than me. Adults who like the same teams he does.

And as much as I think I can be all that for my son, the reality is I can’t. I need other people. I’m not stepping down from my job. I’m still here as a dad, but I need other people who will pour good things into him. I need other people who will reinforce some of the things I’ve tried to teach him about God, about character, about being a man.

That’s what youth group is for me. It’s that place where my son can connect with other teens, but also other adults. I don’t expect my 20-something student pastor to give me parenting advice. In fact, honestly, I would be a little insulted if he did. When he becomes a parent and has teenagers, then we’ll talk. But the thing the people in that room get that I struggle with is how to connect with my changing son. That’s what they are passionate about. And quite honestly, that’s what they are good at. Whether it’s through playing a silly game or having a time of worship, they are passionately pursuing ways to connect with kids like my son.

That’s why I drop him off at youth group. That’s why I pay the $10 for an outing, or sign the permission form, or become the carpool for his friends. Because I know I can’t do it alone. I also know that I have a role to play here. I’m still dad, but to help my son move to adulthood, I need other adults pouring into him as well.

I don’t have this parenting thing figured out. And I have a feeling it’s a constant learning process. But one thing I do know is that my son needs me, but he also needs more than me. And that’s a good and natural thing. I just need to find a good place where he can find that.

So when he comes home covered in oatmeal after eating it out of a trough as part of some kind of crazy middle school game, I know that oatmeal is more than just something I have to clean up, it’s part of him finding connection to some very good things.

Have you ever noticed how relationships seem to drift apart when we don’t get to spend time together? There’s just something significant that happens when we intentionally carve out time to connect with a friend or a family member. We get to hear what’s on their minds and hearts. We get to see the person beyond just what he or she can do for us, and see who he or she really is. That’s the heart of prayer—it’s our chance to connect with God in a way that goes beyond “Help me, bless me, protect, give to me.”

Today was an amazingly beautiful day! Did anyone do anything fun with there family? Is there anything/place your family goes/does on days like today?

Doesn’t it seem like there should be more to prayer than just our typical “Help me, bless me, protect me, give to me” prayers?

Prayer has to be more than just talking to God—because He knows our thoughts, right? It has to be more than just us making our requests known to God—because doesn’t He already know everything that’s going on in our lives?

It’s like there’s some secret, some mystery we hope to unlock so we can “get through” to God. If we could just say the right words, maybe we can break the code and get a “yes” to all our requests. But what if prayer was something much bigger than that? What if prayer went beyond us getting what we wanted, and became about how to grow closer to God’s heart instead?

What if prayer wasn’t just about changing our present situation, what if it was about changing us?

Parents...You will want to be sitting down when you read this!

The University of Texas School of Public Health recently discovered that middle school sex happens more often than most think. According to their study:

• 1/3 of students experienced precoital touching behaviors
  >> 43% of these students experienced sexual intercourse
• 12% of students experienced vaginal sex by age 12
• 7.9% of students experienced oral sex by age 12
• 6.5% of students experienced anal sex by age 12
• 4% of students experienced all three types of sex by age 12

Among sexually active middle school students:

• 1/3 experienced vaginal or anal sex without a condom within the past three months
• 1/4 had four or more partners

Obviously, this trend is alarming morally. But researcher Christine Markham also states:

These findings are alarming because youth who start having sex before age 14 are much more likely to have multiple lifetime sexual partners, use alcohol or drugs before sex and have unprotected sex, all of which puts them at greater risk for getting a sexually transmitted disease or becoming pregnant.

I think middle school ministry is usually too soft. It is a difficult age to teach because some students are still years away from puberty while others are already beginning to experiment with sex, drugs, alcohol, and porn. Children’s ministers don’t like to touch taboo topics, but when 1 in 3 students are feeling each other up, how can they afford not to?

It takes tact, grace, and wisdom to discuss these things with students without offending or embarrassing them or their parents. It is challenging but worth it. It is much easier for a middle school minister to teach a preventive message than it is for a high school minister to rewire students’ established bad habits.

Two questions for you.

1. Are you talking to your kids about SEX?

2. Why not?

If you would like to get text updates and reminders about youth group activities, I have just the thing for you. Discovery Student Ministries (DSM) is trying out a new way to stay in contact with you and remind you of important activities coming up.

If you want updates and reminders about Jr. High text: dsmvision to 41411

If you want updates and reminders about Sr. High text: dsmcanvas to 41411

So, sign up today...and stay up to date and informed about everything going on in DSM!

Who do you consider to be your spiritual mentors?

Summer camp is one of the highlights of my childhood. It was a priority of my parents to make sure that I made it there every summer. To this day I still look back at my summers at Woodland Lakes Christian Camp, as some of the best times of my life.

We are so blessed at Discovery Church to be able to go to Hume Lake every Summer. It is one of the premier Christian camps in the country. We go to there beach camp in San Diego, on the campus of Point Loma Nazarene University. It is an amazing week filled with challenging messages, awesome worship, crazy games and activities! By the way, did I mention that it is in San Diego at the Beach? It is.

Check out this video to get a small glimpse of what you can expect at a week of camp!

What does your family do to celebrate Easter?

Sorry for the time away. We were experiencing technical difficulties, but now we are back and better than ever!