Maranatha Community Church

The coming weeks…

chrisgalarneau — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 21:54:46 +0000

Ok Guys, its no suprise that as the holidays approach our schedules will get a little “wonky”. As most of you hopefully hear, there will be no Revolve tonight. I will be there next week for any who are not attending the event at CCC. I will be gone the following 2 Saturdays, but Matthew will be leading again. We are planning on having Revolve thru December 17th. We will take a 2 week break for Christmas and New Years and then kick off the new year together a week late on January 6th.

Are You and Your Teen Connecting?

chrisgalarneau — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 21:44:23 +0000

I’m talking a lot lately about the enormous wave of disconnectedness that is sweeping our culture — particularly among our teens. The reason I’m so focused on this topic is that this sense of not being connected is having a dramatic impact on young people. In their search for meaningful connection their behaviors are leaving their parents scratching their heads and asking, “Where did that come from?”

You’re probably saying, “But Mark, my teen is connecting with their friends all the time, all day long; tweeting, texting, posting . . . the stream of words is nearly constant!” However, the increasingly impersonal nature of these means of communication is actually hindering real connection rather than promoting it. Today’s teens are not only becoming less connected with meaningful relationships with their peers, but increasingly less connected with their parents, family and church as well.

You can’t “fix” the culture in which your teen lives, and you can’t force them to start connecting, but you can take steps to assure that they have at least one meaningful connection — with you. This is not something you can hand off to a teacher, pastor or youth worker; you need to be actively involved in connecting with your teen. I urge you to take the initiative rather than waiting for them to come to you.

What I’ve found is that parents tend to overestimate their child’s ability to deal with the pressures they are facing and underestimate the influence of the culture on their child. Your child is swimming in dangerous waters whether you recognize it or not. They are going to need your help to handle the turbulence in their life in a way that doesn’t come across as being patronizing or judgmental.

Remember this, if they’re drowning or the sharks are swirling around, they don’t need a lecture. They don’t need to hear about other swimmers who are doing better. They don’t need to be corrected on their swimming technique (or their swimwear either) — they need help! Throw them a life preserver, or jump in and help them make it back to shore. I’m not saying there aren’t things that need correcting; I’m simply pointing out that as a matter of priority, making sure you have a strong connection with your teen is critical. It really can be a matter of life and death. That uninterrupted hour you spend together each week (as a minimum) can be that life preserver.

Assess your child’s relationships. Look at the other kids your child is spending time with. Do they connect? Does your child have the kind of friends who would push them under or lift them up if they started to struggle? You can’t pick and choose friends for your teen; parents have been trying to do that as long as there have been teenagers, and the next time it works will be the first. But you can encourage them toward positive and helpful relationships, and you can ensure that they are in places where there is a good chance of them finding a meaningful and helpful friend (church, mission outreaches, volunteering, and civic clubs or other activities that tend to attract good kids).

Finding a friend at church is no guarantee that they will be a positive influence, so take care not to assume that. I can’t tell you how many of our Heartlight kids said they began this or that bad behavior because a friend from church or their Christian school dared them to. Take care to look for a church and youth group where your teen feels comfortable, where there is solid leadership, and where strong values are taught. I know that many families struggle with the issue of church choices during the teen years. For our kids, we told them to choose what church they would like to attend, as long as it was a good Bible-believing and teaching church. We dropped them off there, and Jan and I went to the church we liked. There’s nothing wrong with that. They would have been bored silly and not had any good friends attending the church we liked to attend. We would have not enjoyed the church they liked and not had any friends there. So, we did what was best for each of us. It made for great after-church conversations, since we could each talk about our own experiences and what we learned that day.

Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to share your struggles with your teen. Your struggles can have a powerful impact on them, encouraging them to turn to God and friends for help in the difficult times. They need to know that it’s okay to struggle. They need to know where to go in times of struggle. They need to know that God answers those who call on Him for help, and that the church and good friends will be there for them. There’s no better way for them to learn that than to see, not just hear, it in your life.

Spend more time together. What you do with your teen doesn’t really matter. What’s important is that you spend time together. Find something that interests and appeals to them. Most of the girls at Heartlight would rather sit and talk. Most of the guys would rather be out doing something active while they talk. But there are exceptions. My point is that you need to find an environment where your teen will be able to have fun and enjoy their time with you. This both builds a deeper relationship and creates an atmosphere where they can open up about what is bothering them.

You need to know enough about their world to be able to answer the questions they ask and speak truth into their lives. So many times I hear the words, “I never thought it would happen to my child.” Don’t let that happen to you. Be involved and know what’s going on. We know that all teens are going to have troubles as they go through adolescence; what I’m suggesting is that you be aware enough to see the dangers coming before they become life-threatening.

Want a change? More than anything else, teens change because of relationships — with you, with leaders they look up to, and with good friends. Likewise, they can be dragged down by relationships with bad influences. They crave for relationships wherever they can find them, so be sure not to leave a void. If you work to keep the lines of communication open and your relationship strong, you are giving your teen an incredibly valuable preparation and example to live by, not just for their teen years but for life. Work at keeping your relationship alive, and your teen plugged in to your family and church. If you do, they (and you) will be spared the negative consequences brought on by a disconnected culture.

We’re talking about this issue on our radio program this weekend titled “Disconnected Teens.” Listen in on your local station, or to listen online, look for the program dated September 17, 2011 at http://www.parentingtodaysteens.org after the morning of the broadcast.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mark Gregston is an author, speaker, radio host, and the founder and director of Heartlight, a therapeutic boarding schoollocated in East Texas. Call 903-668-2173 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 903-668-2173 end_of_the_skype_highlighting. Visit http://www.heartlightministries.org, or to read other articles by Mark, visit http://www.markgregston.com.

Feasts of the Bible – Trumpets (09/17/11)

admin — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 22:38:41 +0000

Presenter: George Lawson
Date: September 17, 2011

Download Sermon Slides: feasts-trumpets.pdf

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Courageous: The Movie

admin — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 05:19:19 +0000

Sunday, October 1
7:00 pm
Krikorian Cinema – Redlands

Welcome to the next of our Men’s Movie Nights. Normally, we watch a testosterone-spiked movie, while enjoying snacks and fellowship. This month, however, we’re watching a movie from the same producer of Facing the Giants and Fireproof.

Honor Begins at Home

Four men, one calling: To serve and protect. As law enforcement officers, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, David Thomson, and Shane Fuller are confident and focused. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood.

While they consistently give their best on the job, good enough seems to be all they can muster as dads. But they’re quickly discovering that their standard is missing the mark.

When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a new found urgency help these dads draw closer to God … and to their children?

Filled with action-packed police drama, COURAGEOUS is the fourth film from Sherwood Pictures, the movie-making ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. Riveted moviegoers will once again find themselves laughing, crying, and cheering as they are challenged and inspired by everyday heroes who long to be the kinds of dads that make a lifelong impact on their children.

Protecting the streets is second nature to these men. Raising their children in a God-honoring way? That’s courageous.

Memories That Bind a Family

admin — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 17:45:05 +0000

by Dennis Rainey

I’ll never forget stopping at an overlook on Highway 36 just outside Boulder, Colorado. Barbara and I were newlyweds, and we were driving to our little apartment in Boulder. I pulled over to show her a view of our new home’s setting. At that point all we had were wedding gifts, the same last name, and a few days’ worth of experiences together. Our family was brand new.

Skip forward a few decades, and now our walls and bookshelves hold pictures and memorabilia of experiences we’ve shared together. Thanks to these memory makers, and to Barbara for being a memory catcher, our family has a clear fingerprint—a family identity uniquely ours among the six billion people in the world.

Memories are powerful family possessions that profoundly link hearts together. Both you and your spouse need to be diligent in planning memories (as well as enjoying those that come as surprises) and taking necessary steps to save or catch memories.

Nearly any event has the potential to become a treasured memory. Let me illustrate. One weekend during our first few weeks of marriage, Barbara and I decided to drive four hours north to Wyoming to go fishing. When we arrived, we discovered the lake had been drained, so we impulsively decided to go to Yellowstone National Park and watch Old Faithful erupt. Eight hours later, we arrived just in time to see the eruption. Then we looked at our watches and realized we’d better head home!

Obviously, that is not the way to see Yellowstone. But we had an absolute blast driving, talking, and laughing together. To this day, that adventure remains a fun memory of our early days together when we had no children.

Memory making

Someone once said, “God gave us memories so that we could enjoy roses in January.” Let me share with you what we’ve learned about creating a vase full of long-stemmed roses in the winter:

Memories are best made with loved ones. That’s why a marriage is a ready-made unit for the rich production and harvest of memories. Memories enrich a marriage by giving us a common language of shared experience.

When our children came along, we made sure that we took advantage of car trips to have fun and build relationships. We often played a game called “Beetle, Beetle,” which involved spotting Volkswagen Bugs on the highway. Points were awarded depending on the color or position of the Beetle. We would yell, “Multicolor Beetle moving; that’s four points!”

On one vacation I knew we were approaching a roadside junkyard that contained at least twenty Volkswagens. When we rounded a corner, I was ready! Before they knew what hit them, I rattled off about thirty points. The children groaned, one of them yelling, “Dad, you cheater!” Great fun!

Memories take time. Our best memories have been born out of extended time together. If we could have driven to Old Faithful in 30 minutes, I doubt that we’d even recall going.

Memories are made of varied adventures. Too many of us get in a rut and don’t realize the many wonderful ways to share our lives together. Barbara and I camped out on our honeymoon, got snowed on, and nearly froze to death, but I saved the day by zipping our sleeping bags together. Since then we’ve traveled to most of the states and to faraway places (South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Austria, Israel, France, and Estonia, to name a few).

Memories are both planned and unplanned. Make sure you plan traditions around family get-togethers for holidays. And anniversaries and birthdays should be observed with the same intensity we give to holidays such as Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. By making a big deal of your anniversary, you not only honor your mate but also send a strong message to your family and others about the importance of your marriage covenant. And a birthday—this is the one day of the year when each person should feel totally unique, honored, appreciated, and loved.

It’s good to plan a great vacation. Memories are made as we create family traditions, but watch for the serendipitous memory. One midwinter night, the power went off, and we cooked supper over the fireplace. Don’t lose your ability to be spontaneous and impulsive.

Memories are celebrated. A memory isn’t a memory if you don’t talk about it, look at pictures of it, and laugh or cry about it. “Do you remember the time …” can be a joyful introduction to a family conversation. One of our favorite questions to revisit as a couple or as a family is, If you could keep only one memory of all our years together, what would it be? Why?

Memory catching

I’m grateful that Barbara became the family curator and historian. You or your spouse needs to assume this role, or you’ll forget a thousand memories.

A certain amount of record keeping and documentation helps a memory last. Taking still photos or having your video camera handy is a good way to do this, but also collect concert programs, tape recordings, newspaper articles—any object that records and preserves the memory. Creativity opens many possibilities.

In our house several bookshelves are dedicated to family scrapbooks. They begin when we were single, and then every year from 1972 on has a scrapbook. Each singular, irreplaceable page logs the “official, authorized” history of our early married years and our family’s memories.

And it hasn’t stopped. The memories keep building, along with the scrapbooks!

[Original Post]
Adapted from Starting Your Marriage Right, © Dennis and Barbara Rainey, 2000, Thomas Nelson Publisher.

Married with Teens

admin — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:38:28 +0000

by Mark Gregston

A difficult teen can draw a lot of emotional energy, and that can cause problems between the parents.

It’s easy for struggles with a teen to drive a wedge between parents. Frustration, anger, blame and criticism can spill over and take a toll on your marriage. Just being on edge all the time can be enough to weaken your marriage, and that’s the worst thing that can happen in your teenager’s life.

So, be sure to periodically get away with your spouse, if even for a day. Get a friend or extended family member to watch your kids. Having a strong marriage, and approaching problems in marital unity, is the best thing you can do for your struggling teen.

©2011 Mark Gregston www.parentingtodaysteens.org

How to Ruin Your Teens for Life

admin — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:37:47 +0000

Eleven tongue-in-cheek ways to ensure that your teenager
will not be prepared for the future.
by Tricia Goyer

1. Hide your past mistakes. Put on an act that you are perfect and your teenagers are the ones with all the problems. (After all, if your teens hear what you did in your past, they might want to follow.)

2. Don’t worry about where they are going and what they are doing. You didn’t want to be hounded at that age. You didn’t want to be asked all those questions. Instead, trust that they know how they should act and where they should go.

3. Don’t worry about them getting a summer job and having to work to make money. Teens are only teens once. They need time to have fun with friends and relax. There will be time to work later. They don’t need to worry about a work ethic now.

4. Don’t force them to attend church and youth group. Things are already touchy—you have to hound them about homework, about their friends, and about their clothes—don’t make church another thing you hound them about.

5. Don’t worry about talking to them about sex and purity. You’re their parent, for goodness sake. You don’t want to bring the subject up and have them thinking about you having sex. And you don’t want to think about them in their sexual lives. There are other people more knowledgeable and trained to talk to your teens; leave it to them.

6. Shelter your teens from the outside world. Kick the television out of the house. Make sure they don’t watch any secular movies or listen to secular music. Hide the newspapers, too. Their “world” should only be about your family, God, and your service to Him. They don’t need to learn about all that bad stuff out there. They don’t need to learn to deal with it or to make wise media choices.

7. Tell them, “Do what I say, not what I do.” Make them accept the areas where you fall short, but expect them to do better.

8. Buy your teens whatever they ask for. That’s your role as a parent—to make your teens happy.

9. Don’t let your teen get involved in an overseas mission trip. There are all types of scary things that happen on those trips, and your first priority is to keep your teen safe.

10. Don’t become your teens’ sounding board. They’ll need to learn to figure things out on their own in the future, so they might as well start now.

11. Don’t share with your teen how important God is in your life. A personal relationship with God is personal, and it should stay that way.

The Invitation – Power of One (09/03/2011)

admin — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:32:28 +0000

Presenter: George Lawson
Date: September 3, 2011

Download Sermon Slides: invitation-9-3.pdf

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The Invitation – Be Fruitful (08/27/2011)

admin — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:23:41 +0000

Presenter: George Lawson
Date: August 27, 2011

Download Sermon Slides: invitation-8-27.pdf

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The Invitation – Going For Broke (August 13)

admin — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:55:40 +0000

Presenter: George Lawson
Date: August 13, 2011

Download Sermon Slides: invitation-8-13.pdf

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