Young People Connecting With One Another, the Church and God!
Tributes in recognition of our children/youth for “Children’s Sabbath” were provided by Rochelle Cebrum
Legacy UMC & Ebenezer UMC
(10 Campers and 2 Counselors Had a Blast at Lakeview Camp – Palestine, TX!!!)
Legacy UMC & Ebenezer UMC
Celebrates Black History Month
The Children/Youth’s Praise Dance Ministry (Sloan UMC, Ebenezer UMC, St. Marks UMC, and Wesley UMC)
performed a profound, dramatic interpretation of “Cotton Fields” by way of a beautiful,
breath-taking praise dance to culminate our Black History Month.
Legacy UMC
♦ 2023 Confirmation Class ♦
Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth. Psalm 86:11
“I Praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:14
“10 SPIRITUAL AFFIRMATIONS FOR STUDENTS”
There are certain Biblical truths that students should grow up knowing with absolute confidence. The world will inundate them with many thoughts and ideas, but if the Word of God is firmly established in their hearts, they will be able to separate “the truth” from “the lies”. Below are ten affirmations every student should know! They reflect God’s promises of a successful future, freedom from fear, a sound mind, and more!
- I am loved by God. – John 3:16
- God has a great plan for my life. – Jeremiah 29:11
- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. – Philippians 4:13
- I am healed by the stripes of Jesus. – I Peter 2:24
- God supplies all my needs. – Philippians 4:19
- I have the mind of Christ. – I Corinthians 2:16
- All things are possible to me because I believe. – Mark 9:23
- Greater is He that is in me that he that is in the world. – I John 4:4
- God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind. – 2 Timothy 1:7
- God satisfies me with long life and shows me His salvation. – Psalm 91:16
THE NATIONAL OBSERVANCE OF CHILDREN’S SABBATH
“Realizing Dr. Martin Luther King’s Vision for Every Child: Lives of Hope, Not Despair”
is uniting people of every faith across our nation
in speaking out and acting to
end child poverty,
end immigrant family separation,
end gun violence
so that every child may live a life of hope, not despair.
LEGACY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IS JOINING IN!
- Every 2 seconds during the school year a public school student receives an out-of-school suspension.
- Every 9 seconds during the school year, a public high school student drops out.
- Every 24 seconds a child is arrested.
- Every 64 seconds a baby is born without health insurance.
- Every 75 seconds a baby is born into extreme poverty.
- Every 4 minutes a child is arrested for a drug offense.
- Every 23 minutes a baby dies before his first birthday.
- Every 32 minutes a child or teen is killed by guns.
- Every 3 hours and 33 minutes a child or teen commits suicide.
- Every 5 hours and 33 minutes a child is killed by abuse or neglect.
- Every 11 hours and 8 minutes a baby’s mother dies due to complications from childbirth.
SATAN WANTS YOUR CHILDREN
5 Areas of Your Child’s Life Satan Wants to Enter
Satan wants our children’s hearts. He wants to mess with their minds, deter their dreams, and take their hopes hostage. As praying parents, you and I can deter the enemy’s influence on our children, especially when we are aware of Satan’s strategies. So that you and I can know how to stand firm and pray specifically for our children, here are five areas of our children’s lives that Satan wants to enter:
THEIR MINDS
This is probably Satan’s easiest tactic. After all, he doesn’t have to do much to get your children to think like the world. All your children have to do is listen to music, switch on the television, or surf the internet, and they are bombarded with the message that they are their own god and nothing matters in life but finding self-satisfaction.
Yet studies show that your children are still mostly influenced by what they see and experience at home. It’s not too late to be a praying family (if you’re not, start by praying together before meals), to have worship music playing in your car and home, and to speak God’s words when they need encouragement, direction or advice.
Pray that God will guard your child’s mind and that His words will be “loud” to them when they are in a situation of having to choose to whom they will listen. I’ve found that praying Romans 12:2 (and personalizing it for my child) brings peace to my heart – and hers: “And do not (let my child) be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of (her) mind, so that (she) may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. “
THEIR CHOICES
Every day your child makes a choice. And when it’s not a good one, Satan will try to heap guilt, remorse and an “I give up” attitude within your child’s heart. That’s why it’s important for you to be there extending grace when your children are dealing with the consequences of bad choices as a way of showing them that God’s grace is always available in the form of second, third, and millionth chances to try again.
Satan specializes in accusing and shaming us after we mess up, akin to a lion seeking to devour its prey (1 Peter 5:8). Yet God specializes in redeeming us and giving us a fresh start (2 Corinthians 5:17).
You can show your child God’s grace and love even more during the times they are messing up than when they’re not. Some of the most meaningful, spiritually bonding times between my daughter and myself came after her failures, not her successes. Be there when the bad choice is made and be the loving voice of God, not the accusing voice of Satan. By doing that, you’re keeping Satan at bay through the power of God’s love and forgiveness.
THEIR DISAPPOINTMENTS AND HEARTACHES
Kids have many of these. Perhaps as many as adults have. And when the human heart is disappointed, it’s natural to ask “Where was God?” “Why did He allow this?” and “Didn’t He care?” Satan wants your children to doubt God’s presence, goodness, and love.
When we teach our children, at an early age, to heed the instructions of
1 Thessalonians 5:18 and be thankful in all things (even the disappointments of life) we are reaffirming to them that God is a good, sovereign God who has their best at heart. We can then lead our children in thanking God, even when the disappointing or heart-breaking things happen, modeling to them how to be obedient and expectant of God in spite of disappointment.
Don’t underestimate the vulnerability of a child’s heart. Whether their pain is from being cut from a sport, experiencing a relationship breakup, rejection from someone they were crushing on, the loss of a friendship, or even the pain of their parents’ divorce, let your child know you are there for them, and so is God, and He can still work all things (even the disappointing things) together “for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
THEIR INSECURITIES
Children have multiple insecurities that include feelings of inadequacy, fear of failure, poor body image, uncertainty about their likability, and so on. Yet, a child who is convinced that he or she is loved is a child on a firm foundation.
A child’s deep need for acceptance is often at the heart of every choice he or she makes concerning friends, dating relationships, activities, and where and how he or she spends her time. When your children know they are deeply loved and accepted for who they are, it will cause them to set their standards higher in relationships, rather than making decisions so they’ll “fit in” or “feel loved.”
One of Satan’s strategies is to lure your child toward friends or places or choices that will make them falsely feel loved or accepted. Deter that move head-on by convincing your children they are loved by you – and their Creator – so they will not be vulnerable to the attacks and distractions of the enemy to fill their love tank elsewhere. Share with your child Psalm 139:14, which tells them they are fearfully and wonderfully made, no matter what other kids are saying about them, no matter how they feel about themselves, and no matter what taunts the enemy is sending their way.
THEIR SCHEDULES
Just like with adults, children who are busy, over-scheduled and constantly tired (and this often happens during their pre-teen and teen years) will not be as on-guard and alert toward the schemes of the enemy as a child who knows how to rest and enjoy life. So Satan will start with his subtle messages like “You’re too tired to go to church. Just tell your parents you need the extra sleep,” and “You have too much homework to participate in the youth group again. Tell them you’ll do it next week.”
A wise parent will notice that “next week” never comes because the enemy’s voice (or the child’s flesh) will continue to hold out. Encourage your children to rest, and keep God as a priority in their everyday lives. As they honor Him, He will honor them and that applies to their actions, their priorities, and their schedules, as well.
Our children will often live lives as hurried and overscheduled as they see their parents live. So model a balanced life of work, rest and worship. God speaks to us in the stillness and Satan screams at us in the busyness. Ask God for discernment in how to keep your child’s life simple and sane so Satan doesn’t step in and confuse.
Remember, your best strategy to defeat Satan is not through endless conversations with your child about priorities, morality, and honoring God. Instead, have endless conversations with God about your child’s priorities, morality, and choice to honor God. There will come a time, especially when Satan is on the attack, that it is far more effective to talk to God about your child, than to talk to your child about God.
Your LEGACY UMC Family Has You Covered in Prayer!
