Curriculum Info this week

Hey parents!

This past Monday we watched The Case for the Creator at small group. The video seeks to answer the question, "can we believe in both God and science?" We learned a LOT of cool information about different scientific theories and how the measure up against scrutiny. I took notes so I will email them out in my next weekly email. One way you can talk to your kids about this video (and the two more coming up) are asking how the info has changed their view on different theories, how they saw God as they learned science, and things that they have been taught at school vs. what is discussed in the video. They all really seemed to enjoy it!

Tonight at Alive we are starting a five-week DVD curriculum by Doug Fields called "Plugged In." This week, the DVD's theme is about how we can worship God by looking for ways to be connected to him in our daily lives, rather than simply compartmentalize our lives and keep God in one compartment. Some questions to ask your kids after youth tonight are:

Ephesians 3:20 – “Now all glory to God, who is able through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” - why don't our lives usually match up with this description? What can we do to bridge the gap between God's will for our lives and how we act/think about ourselves?

1 Corinthians 10:31 – “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” How does this idea of doing everything in our lives as a form of worship change how you've typically thought of worship?

Matthew 5:14 – “You are like the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.” A lamp is only effective when it's plugged into a power source - if we only "plug in" to God on Sundays, how will that impact our lives compared to if we try to "plug in" to God's will all the time?

Finally, on Sunday we will be focusing on prayer once again. We will be looking at Psalm 31 (written by David) to gain some insight into how to pray. We will be looking at trusting God's will, being thankful, being specific about our needs, and pursing God's will. Some questions to ask your kids are:

• What's something you really liked about how David prayed?
• What are some ways we can develop better conversations with God?
• How does this Plsam show that David was a man after God's own heart?
• Which do you find easiest: trusting God, being thankful, praying specifically, or pursing God's will? Which is the hardest?