Just Friends

I am excited to announce our new teen series at FBC coming in September. We are taking nine weeks and studying the book, Just Friends, by Cary Schmidt and Mike Ray. I read this book over the summer, and it is the best book I have ever read on the subject of guy/girl relationships.

Many times parents/Christian leaders feel intimidated or inadequate to deal with the subject. The problem then becomes that our kids are going to the wrong sources for advice. They mimic the world, and we see the kids trying to "be in a relationship" who are definitely not ready for that kind of relationship. On the other hand, I have observed many well meaning individuals that go to the other extreme and try to completely keep teens away from the opposite gender. This usually results in the teens taking it "underground" and building an unhealthy relationship based on secrecy and deception.

My desire is that we as Pastors and parents work together to teach our kids Biblical principles in this area of relationships. As a church, we encourage our teens to wait until after high school before having a serious dating relationship. However, it is my desire that during high school, we begin to prepare them for being the right person to enjoy a wonderful "Someday."

If you have a teenager, or kids about to be teenagers, I encourage you to have them in the Teen Class in the months of September and October. Even if you and your family are not members of our church, I want to extend the invitation for you to join us for this series. Many want to shy away from this subject, leaving it up to the kids to "figure it out", but I encourage parents and leaders to wake up and get involved on behalf of kid's future.

Pastor Joel

http://www.firstbaptistgeneseo.org/justfriends/

Overcoming



I am excited to announce our new small group series "Overcoming", starting this Fall. This will be an 8 week series for the months of September and October. God put this on my heart to develop thoughts scripturally on how to overcome the many obstacles in our life. Each day, we face many challenges that seem almost impossible to overcome; yet God says in I John that we can overcome the "wicked one", because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. He also says that our faith is the victory that "overcometh the world."

Do you struggle with Fear? Do you lay awake at night and in your mind think about the worst possible scenerios in every situation? What about doubt? Do you constantly think you will fail, and that God won't come through? Then there is guilt. Guilt steals today's joy, and destroys our future, because we can't forget the past. Depression is something that some of the greatest men of God faced in the Bible, and it made them want to quit and die. Stress caused David to say that his heart was overwhelmed. Temptation is something we will face until the day we die. Hurt has wounded all of us, and if not dealt with will cause us to hurt others. Do you find yourself always about to explode in anger? Anger and bitterness are root problems that can destroy us.

In this eight week series, we will look at God's Word and see how to overcome these challenges that we are faced with everyday. I encourage you to join us on Wednesdays in September and October and see how God can give you the power to be an overcomer.