WHAT WE ARE LEARNING…

SUNDAY MORNINGS Sunday School for middle and high school students happens every Sunday morning at 10:00am in the upper youth room. We have our chairs spaced out; hand sanitizer and masks are available. We’d love for your student to attend! We are beginning a brand-new volume in our Gospel Project for Students curriculum. The Fall 2020 study, Jesus the Savior, continues the new three-year chronological journey through the storyline of Scripture. Volume 9 will continue to take students through the Gospels, focusing on several of Jesus’ parables, the days leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, and His resurrection from the grave. Throughout the study, students will learn key essential doctrines along the

way, being equipped to think with a Christian worldview and live it out accordingly. The final days of Christ have much to teach us, so be on the lookout for our weekly e-mail devotional for families!

SUNDAY NIGHTS On Sunday nights at 6:00PM, our group will watch one episode of the critically-acclaimed online TV series, The Chosen, and discuss it afterwards, comparing it with Scripture. This month, we’ll be wrapping up Season 1. The Chosen is the first-ever-multi-season TV show about the life of Jesus. Created outside of the Hollywood system, The Chosen allows us to see Jesus through the eyes of those who knew him. You’ll meet familiar characters like Peter, Nicodemus, and Mary Magdalene. Although we don’t know much about their lives outside of the Bible, the show gives these characters more depth and backstory, based on cultural and historical backgrounds of the time period. Viewers are able to see the dramatic difference encountering Christ makes, as we see these people before and after they meet Jesus.

WEDNESDAY NIGHTS This month, we’ll be starting a new series called, “Stretch”, a 4-week series from the book of Romans on spiritual habits. If your faith were a muscle, how flexible would it be? Could it stretch to your knees? Your shins? Your toes? Or are you not sure you even have any faith to stretch in the first place? Just like your body, if you want a faith that is strong, growing, and capable of carrying you through difficult challenges, you're going to need to stretch it. It might be fun. It might be challenging. But it will definitely be worthwhile. In this series, we'll discover

four ways we can stretch our faith from Paul, the author of the book of Romans and a man whose life was completely transformed by Jesus. Thanks to Paul's words, we know we can stretch our faith by making a commitment, by starting something new, and by letting something go. We can even stretch our faith when we feel like we've failed.

WHAT WE’RE DOING THIS MONTH… Prayer at the Square – Wednesday, September 9 On September 9, students from youth groups all over the area will gather at the Hartwell Town Square for an evening of prayer; prayer for our community and our country. Students can meet us at Sardis at 6:15pm (sharp!) to be driven to the square, and we will return to the church by 7:30pm. Students will be spaced out, physical contact will be discouraged, but the Holy Spirit will moving in the hearts of our teenagers! Come pray with us at Prayer at the Square!

See You at the Pole – Wednesday, September 23 Across the nation, students will gather at their school’s flagpoles to pray for the country, their communities, and their school for See You at the Pole. Students, plan to meet at your school’s flagpole at 7:30am to join others across the country to pray. Outdoor Movie Night and Cookout – Sunday, September 27 Join us at Pastor Rich’s house from 6-8pm at the end of the month for a cookout with burgers, chips, and drinks. We’ll be setting out the big, inflatable screen on the front lawn and watch the season finale of the Chosen! Please bring a side dish to share and a chair or blanket to use on the front lawn.

Fall Retreat – October 9-11 Our Fall Retreat at Snowbird Outfitters is next month! If you have told Pastor Rich you want to go, remember that the deadline for payment ($75) is due Sunday, September 20. Cost includes lodging, meals, worship, teaching, plus a weekend full of on-site activities! It’s going to be a GREAT experience!

MY KIDS, MY IDENTITY. . . By Walt Mueller

If it doesn’t happen, who is going to be more disappointed? You? Or your kids?

That question haunted me in a personal way as I rode past a high school football stadium during the last week of July. Coaches and players were assembled on the field for workouts in preparation for a season that might or might not happen due to our current pandemic. I rewound 17 years to my own son, and I began to wonder how he would have responded if his last year of high school football had been shut down. Then, I began to wonder how I would have responded as his dad. Truth be told, I don’t know that it would have been easy for me to take it all in stride. . . which I’m afraid reveals an aspect of my character that’s not very attractive.

The reality is that just about every extra-curricular activity in which our kids engage is in jeopardy. Sports, concerts, clubs, academic competitions, and other areas where our kids have a chance to shine might not happen. And what that means is that our parental opportunity to shine through our kids and their talents might disappear as well. I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing. In his book Parenting: Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family, Dr. Paul Tripp includes a chapter on the topic of “Identity.” Dr. Tripp states the “Identity Principle” this way: “If you are not resting as a parent in your identity in Christ, you will look for identity in your children.” While expecting our children to be successful and do their best is not a bad thing, far too many of us are harboring parental hearts that are more focused on our children achieving the kind of success that makes us look good, rather than on the child who is required to deliver it. The result is that we crush and embitter our children through the weight of our pressures and expectations. When that happens, God bless our sons and daughters. The remedy to this is to rest in our identity in Jesus Christ. If we are not finding our identity in Christ, we will to find our identity in something in the creation. . . possessions, vocation, accomplishments, and even our children. Simply stated, this is idolatry. As Dr. Tripp remind us, only Christ is able to give us the identity, peace, and meaning that our hearts seek.

So, how can you know if you are living to find your identity through your children rather than in Jesus Christ? What are the signs that your parenting is driven more by what you need from your children rather than by what God wants to do through you in your children? Dr. Tripp shares these five “sure indications”:

• Too much focus on success. You want your children to succeed because you need them to succeed.

• Too much concern about reputation. You rely on your children and their performance to polish your reputation as a parent.

• Too great desire for control. You control situations and people to make sure your children succeed and enhance your reputation.

• Too much emphasis on doing rather than being. You focus on your child’s physical, social, and educational accomplishments rather than on their heart.

• Too much temptation to make it personal. You focus not on how their behavior is viewed by God, but on how their behavior affects you.

Parents, take stock of how you’re parenting. Are you putting undue, spirit-crushing pressure on your kids, or are you seeking to find your identity in Christ?

From www.cpyu.org (Center for Parent/Youth Understanding) 2020.

SEPTEMBER 2020 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thurs Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5

YOUTH GROUP “Stretch” Week 1

6:00-8:00PM

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

SUNDAY SCHOOL & WORSHIP

SERVICE 10AM-12PM

YOUTH BIBLE STUDY

“The Chosen” Ep. 5 6:00-7:00PM

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

SARAH BETH HAMPTON!

6:30-7:30PM

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

SUNDAY SCHOOL & WORSHIP

SERVICE 10AM-12PM

YOUTH BIBLE STUDY

“The Chosen” Ep. 6 6:00-7:00PM

YOUTH GROUP “Stretch” Week 2

6:00-8:00PM

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

SUNDAY SCHOOL & WORSHIP

SERVICE 10AM-12PM

YOUTH BIBLE STUDY

“The Chosen” Ep. 7 6:00-7:00PM

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

PEYTON POWELL!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

ALANA CONN!

YOUTH GROUP “Stretch” Week 3

6:00-8:00PM

27 28 29 30

SUNDAY MORNING 10AM-12PM

Cookout & Movie Under the Stars

6-8PM

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

NATAIE JO MORRIS!

YOUTH GROUP “Stretch” Week 4

6:00-8:00PM

Youth Pastor: Rich Douglas Cell: 706-436-9488 Youth Pastor’s Office: 706-856-8561

E-mail: prwdouglas@comcast.net www.sardisbaptistchurch.info