Week Beginning 9/29

Club
We are beginning a brand new series called "Ruled". For three weeks, we will look at some of the famous parables Jesus taught through and this concept of being ruled: the thing that gives us worth, controls us, and determines our significance. We are going to look at a common theme in them; that people are broken and let themselves be "ruled" by the things of this world, but that Jesus has done something for them that they can't do for themselves - that we are created to be "ruled" by Jesus.

This week we are looking at the parable of the Good Samaritan; a story many are familiar with, but few have actually been changed by. We are going to look at how God calls us to love the poor and brokenhearted, but not because we feel guilty or because the Bible says so, but because Jesus has loved us when we were poor, broken, had nothing to offer. Our hope is that students will walk away from Club asking themselves if they've truly been changed by what Jesus has done for them. And if so, how would somebody looking at their life know that?

Questions
1. What is something you learned about the Good Samaritan that you didn't know before?
2. What rules you most in your life? How do you know that?
3. How do you respond to Jesus's call to love the poor and brokenhearted?

Small Group
This week, we are looking at how we are "created to work". We will think a lot about the garden of Eden and how God created us to serve him through work. Through sin, work has become toilsome, exhausting, and obligatory. But, as God's children, we are created to serve him in our work with joy and thanksgiving. This will be interesting for students to think about because they don't yet have careers. Schoolwork is a clear comparison to "work" - something to be done for a goal and purpose - their "occupation" if you will. We will then learn about how since Jesus died to redeem us from our sins, we are able to live in freedom and serve God in our work firstly because it doesn't define us and secondly because we are so grateful for what He did that we can't help but serve him in gratitude.

Questions
1. What do you consider "work" in your life?
2. When is the last time this felt toilsome?
3. How can you glorify God in this place? Specific examples.

A great idea would be to set goals with one another - you set a goal in how to glorify God in your work and your student can set a goal in glorifying God in their work.

Thanks for reading and for your partnership in the gospel as a parent of a student in our church. Please, never hesitate to contact us with questions or to share about what God is doing in your child's heart.

In Christ,
OHC Student Ministry Team