Fake ID Part 2

If who we are is determined by who created us, than wouldn't it make sense to understand who we are (our identity) from His perspective? But that's usually where we lose focus. We spend most of our time trying to impress our friends or get attention from them and our family. We try to "find ourselves" apart from the Creator... which brings us to this week's BOTTOM LINE:

WHO WE SPEND TIME WITH INFLUENCES HOW WE VIEW OURSELVES

That's why all those "girl magazines" have such a negative effect on young girls. That's why we, as parents, must take the time to know who our kids are spending time with and realize that those people will have a lasting effect on our kids. If the wrong people can influence a wrong self-image, then the opposite makes sense: the right people can influence a right self-image in us. Our goal as parents is to put our kids in the environments where they can develop a "Gospel-centered" self-image.

PARENT SYNC

This is your chance to "sync" with your child on a spiritual level. Discuss the following question(s) some time this next week:

What do your friends think about you?

What are some things that you do that get attention from your friends?


What does God think of you?


What are some things you do to get attention from God? (Kind of a trick question because we don't need to get God's attention, we should be putting our attention on God)

Fake ID

This month, we begin discussing our identity. Most of our students, after working through Jr. High, understand that we should find our identity in Christ. By the time they hit High School, they would say that's true, but if you were to ask them how we do that in practical terms, either they don't know or they come up with "go to church, read my Bible, pray..." There is no problem with those elements (church, Bible, pray). In fact, if our kids committed to those 3 things and lived them out daily, I think we all would be better off. But those things are not how we identify with Christ. Those elements enhance our process of identifying with Christ. Our identity is not determined by what we do... our identity is ultimately who we are. 

WHO WE ARE IS DETERMINED BY 

WHO CREATED US

That was this week's BOTTOM LINE. What we do should be our response to who we are. We go to church, we read our Bible, we pray, not because that's what a Christian does, but because of what Christ did for me and I have committed my life to Christ, I go to church, I read my Bible, and I pray. 

PARENT SYNC

This is your chance to "sync" with your child on a spiritual level. Discuss the following question(s) some time this next week:

What are some "labels" that people have of you that really bug you because they aren't true?

What does it mean to you to identify Jesus?