Strategies for Purity

This is our second session on purity this month. Wow, we really added to our strategies for purity! We received a purity checklist which we encouraged the youth to post somewhere where they could see it everyday. The checklist came from a program by Christine St. George. You can find it online. To paraphrase a few strategies:

• We will stay pure today & pray for our future husbands/wives. We learned to focus on inward qualities when praying for our future mates, not just physical characteristics :-)
• We will avoid putting ourselves in situations where we can be tempted. We learned to be in groups and/or have a chaperon.
  
• If we date, we will only date those who share a commitment to purity. The students decided that you should be friends first and discuss your commitment to purity. They decided if your friend couldn't honor your commitment that you show them the door to the relationship :-) These are some feisty students!
• We will be an example. We will be a light to other youth regarding purity. We will show the world what we stand for by our stand on purity. This may give other young people the courage to be pure!
• We will dress appropriately so that others won't lust. We decided that we didn't want to wear shirts that were too low cut, pants/skirts that showed our backside or bellies, or clothes that were too tight or short. We talked about how young men are sexually excited by what they see and young women are excited by feeling close to others.
  
• We will take impure thought and temptations to God in prayer. We talked about the images, lyrics that we may see/hear/read about on television, movies, songs, magazines, books and the internet.

It was a great session! Our youth are great leaders who are learning God's plan for their lives. Encourage them! We'd love to hear more from you!

Purity

Youth discussed purity this week. What a relevant issue for the pressures that our youth are faced with, including pressures to have sex before marriage, pornography and sexting to name a few. We talked about three Bible truths:

• God wants us to attain purity as a mark of his presence in us. 1 Thessalonians 4: 3, 7, 8
• Gaining purity is not a one-time event, but a process. 1 Thessalonians 4: 1, 2
• Purity keeps us from abusing one another. 1 Thessalonians 4: 4-6

We talked about strategies that help us in this process including:

• Avoiding being alone with members of the opposite sex.
  
• Surround yourself with other young people who value purity.
  
• Wait until you are old enough to date.
  
• Listen to your parents advice regarding your relationships.
  

Any other advice for our youth? Post so we can share with them!

Youth Connect

We had such fun in Youth Connect this week. We started off with a hilarious game of "Ha!" You'll have to join us to find out how to play and enjoy this game with us. We then cut up bananas and tried to put them back together with tape, staples, glue, etc. It didn't work! We discussed how we need to think about the consequences of our actions/decisions before we act because we can't fix our mistakes once they are made. But never despair, we learned that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23 NIV). We also learned that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23 NIV). Thank God for the hope that He gives us. These scriptures are our basis for our lessons in October. We'll earn more prizes by memorizing and reciting these this month. We ended our session playing Bible Blink and Uno and enjoyed pizza and pop delivered by Pizza Hut! Come join us on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. in the Life Suite!

Connect Revelations

Connect August 25, 2010

KID'S KONNECTION was taught by Brother Mike. The theme for the activities was "Love God by Trusting His Care". The elementary/preschool memory verse was found in Matthew 22:37 where "Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. The Bible study focused on David and the concept of shepherding. The children learned that we need to trust God as our shepherd, just as David did. They enjoyed puppet play, a craft and snack!

YOUTH CONNECT was facilitated by Brother Jake. Their discussion centered on the grace that is extended to us. One example presented involved the dinner that the pharisees had in which they invited "a-list members". Jesus explained that the crippled, poor, etc. should be invited instead. (Luke 14) The grace that should be extended to these is similar to the grace that God extends to us "non-a-list members". What a timely discussion to help our youth guide their interactions in light of peer pressure that they may encounter when returning to school.

After a time of warm worship, Pastor Razel led the ADULT CONNECT session, which focused on the "Portrait of Jesus Christ". The time together started out with attempts to describe "why Jesus is such a big deal". We discovered Jesus as the Messiah and the Christ: the anointed one; the expected deliverer. We began to explore Jesus in both the old and new testaments of the Bible. The discussions got extremely animated at times; what a great time!

Thank God for the wonderful teachers who volunteer their time and resources to this wonderful ministry. Don't miss your blessings; join us at Connect!

Connect Announcements

• Connect is cancelled for September 29, 2010 for quarterly staff training.

• Staff training will be held at Victory Life Christian Ministries on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. We will learn about personalities, ours and our students, which will help us to facilitate discussion and activities in our Connect classes.

Introductions

Greetings,

This is a blog from the Christian Education Ministry of the Victory Life Christian Ministries. Our goal is to inform you of current and upcoming programming and provide you with inspiration through the written word.

Connect is our midweek service. During this time, Wednesdays 7:00-8:00 p.m., a variety of sessions are offered. We rotate through a variety of sessions, which may include topical Bible studies, book discussion groups, recreational activities which promote Christian fellowship, activities to promote physical, financial, emotional and spiritual well-being. The activities target interests of overcomers of all ages: six months to eight years in Kid's Konnection, eight years and up for Youth Connect and adults of all ages.

For the week of August 18, three classes were offered during Connect:

• Pastor Razel taught on the topic of "Failure and Redemption". The adults in the class received and shared revelations regarding the cleansing, pardon and rewards of God.
  
• Brother Jake taught the youth about the "Parable of the Lost Son". They then unscrambled limericks reflecting the memory verse about rebellion.
  
• Sister Tracey presented stories and activities around the theme of "Love God by Making Good Choices" during Kid's Konnection. Their story was based on 1 Kings 3: 1-15 when King Solomon had a dream and God told him that he could ask for whatever he wanted. King Solomon asked for wisdom. They then determined if people made good or bad choices.
  

Come out for the August 25 Connect classes and learn more. We have classes for all ages!

We're looking forward to part two of our financial freedom series with Bro. Bobby. It will cover credit and loans and will begin in October.

Feel free to suggest future topics that you would like to discuss in Connect or titles of books for our book discussion groups during our Connect times.