New series this month. "Post It"

Post It Week 1: Followers – What you post MATTERS. Sometimes it can feel like social media is the perfect outlet for everything we want to say. The positive. The negative. The hurtful. And without the face-to-face interaction, it can feel like the words we say are less powerful and less harmful than if they were said to someone’s face. But the truth is, what we say—what we post—matters. It determines how others see us. So what are you posting that helps? And what are you posting that hurts

Come join us this week as we start our new series called "Alter Ego".

No Worries – When God’s worrying about your worries, you don’t have to.  What do you worry about? Your looks? Reputation? Whether your parents will get you a Chihuahua for your birthday? Everybody worries. We stress about our family, school, future, friends, and about a million other things. Unfortunately, our worries don’t seem to accomplish much. Think about it. Have you ever stressed out about something so much it fixed itself? Probably not. But what’s the alternative? The Apostle Paul had plenty to worry about .He had been threatened, beaten, shipwrecked, and arrested, but he still found the courage to say, “Do not be anxious about anything.” As we take a closer look at Paul’s words, we find that God has given us an alternative. He has provided a way for us to give away our worries and replace them with peace.

PARADOX Youth service August 27th from 6-8pm

Paradox Youth service is this Wednesday from 6-8pm. Come join us for week 2 of "The Comparison Trap". FREE meal we will be served at 6pm. Invite a friend and enjoy small groups as we learning and grow together in Christ. 

Session 1 Bottom line

August Sermon series, "The Comparison Trap"

BOTTOM LINE: THERE’S NO WIN IN COMPARISON.

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever heard of a win-win outcome? Comparison is the opposite of that. When we look to our left and our right to compare ourselves to others, we are engaging in a lose-lose activity. And, we may not even realize how destructive it is. Being smart-er or funny-er or awesome-er may feel like a short-term win, but for ourselves, our friends, and our family, comparison is a game with no winners. King Solomon was wise-er (not to mention rich-er, cool-er, and powerful-er) than anyone around him. And what he says about all of it may come as a surprise. Through his words we find that real satisfaction may not come from winning the game of comparison, but from bowing out of the competition altogether.

Back2School Bash Wednesday Aug 6

New Series "BUILD" starts this week:

·       Home sweet home – Your place is part of His plan.

Think about where you live for a minute. Do you like it there? And what about your school? Is it the perfect place to be or are there some things you wish you could change? It’s easy for the place we live and go to school feel like a placeholder—somewhere that we wait for our real life, as an adult, to begin.  Maybe you’ve never thought about it before now, but what if God placed you there on purpose?  What if there was a reason for you to live where you live and know who you know? Nehemiah found himself in a similar situation. Growing up in a country where he didn’t fit in probably didn’t make Nehemiah feel like he had any real purpose or that God was even paying attention.  But as he began to pray, Nehemiah discovered that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, his situation was anything but random. And as we take a closer look at his story, we discover that, like Nehemiah, where we live may matter more than we ever dreamed. It may just be the exactly where God has positioned us to become part of a much bigger Story.

UPRISING STUDENTS:

No Limits Week 3:  Let the Countdown Begin.  – If you want to make your days count, count your days.  So much can happen in just one minute, one hour, or one day. Think about it. How many times have you watched a football game that came down to the last play in the last minute of the game? Have you ever been late to a movie and missed a crucial opening scene? Minutes can change everything! The truth is, time is valuable but we don’t always treat it that way. As students, it’s easy to feel like we have all the time in the world. And so we waste it—a lot of it. But what would you do if you knew your days were numbered? What would you change if you knew your time was limited? The truth is, our time is limited. We’ll never have more than we do right now. So, if we want to make wise decisions, to make the most of our time, we must learn to number our days. 

UPRISING PARENTS:

Here’s some great wisdom on how to give you kids worth and value without saying a word: http://orangeparents.org/to-shine-my-face/

UPRISING STUDENTS:

Week 2, No Limits Discussion

  ·       With God, there’s no limit to what you can do.  Do you ever feel like everyone expects too much of you? Like the pressure of it all is just too much and it makes you feel like you shouldn’t even try? Or maybe you feel like no one expects much of you. No one pushes you or believes in you. Either way, facing the expectations of others can feel paralyzing. And, in that way, we have a lot in common with Moses. God had given him a task that felt way outside the limits of his ability, way outside of anything he could do on his own.

Moses felt underprepared and overwhelmed. He was ready to quit. But in his most anxious and fear-filled moment, God said something to Moses—one phrase—that changed the way he saw himself and everything around him. And it has the power to do the same for us!

 

 

UPRISING PARENTS:

Week 2, No Limits Discussion

 Is your teenager encouraged or pressured by you? Find out, and talk about how you can encourage more or pressure less.  

 Do you believe in your teen too much? They feel like they have to live with too many expectations and too much pressure?

Maybe they feel like they're believed in too little. Nobody is cheering them on. So why should they even try?

ACTION PLAN: Take time this week and have a discussion about these questions.

 

Come join us this Wednesday for week 2 of No Limits.

UPRISING Students:

·   Big influence starts with a small step.

So, what would happen if God showed up and talked to you—out loud? What would you want Him to say? What would you not want Him to talk about? Now imagine this: what if God showed up and told you that your influence is unlimited? That the impact of your life can and will extend farther than you ever dreamed? Would you be scared? Would you want to run away? Would you have a ton of questions? Absolutely! And that’s what happened to Moses. He probably didn’t think of himself as a guy that anyone would pay attention to, as anyone of real influence, but God saw something in Moses that he didn’t see in himself—the potential to lead. And as we take a closer look at his story, we find that sometimes the only step we need to worry about is the very first one.

  How would you define the word influence?

Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing. ― Albert Schweitzer

 

UPRISING Parents:

Series Summary for No Limits:

When you were little, what did you dream about becoming? An astronaut? A ballerina? A professional wrestler? Whatever it was, chances are it was something that you felt was important. Something big.  That’s the thing about little kids— they dream big because no one has told them that they can’t do something yet. They literally have no limits.  But it’s different when we get older, isn’t it? In middle school and high school we start to see the areas we lack for the first time. We’re not the most popular or influential. We aren’t the most talented. And eventually we start to wonder if we can ever do or be anything significant. The big-dreaming days of our childhood feel long gone under the weight of our all-too-limiting reality. That’s exactly what happened in the life of a guy named Moses. With a tough past and not many real skills, he had no reason to believe that his life would be used do anything extraordinary. But after a few encounters with God, Moses’ perspective changed completely. He found that, with God, there is no limit to what you can do.

 

ACTION POINT: Is your teenager encouraged or pressured by you? Find out, and talk about how you can encourage more or pressure less.

 

Sometimes what we say and what our kids hear are two different things. Often, it’s hard to know if they could use a little extra encouragement or a little less pressure. Try asking your teenager if they’re pressured or encouraged by you. Use a scale of 1-10, with 1 being not enough encouragement and 10 being too much pressure.  Now use the same scale and evaluate yourself…do you encourage your teenager enough or pressure too much?

Chances are you and your student will have different answers. That’s okay! Don’t let it discourage you! Use it as a conversation starter. Afterward consider showing your student how you answered. No need to make it a formal meeting. And, this doesn’t mean that you have to give in when they say, “I want you to bug me less about my math grade”. It simply shows them that you care what they think and it gives you both a way to get on the same page as you move forward.