Thursday Morning Coffee Break

For a number of years now, I have written an email to our youth parents on Thursday mornings called the Thursday Morning Coffee Break.  It’s a communication that allows me to share a virtual cup of coffee with the parents of Lighthouse Youth, to meet together on common “grounds” and highlight what we discussed in youth the night before.  Statistics show that parents have a greater impact on their kids' lives than their youth pastor could ever hope to.  My goal in this is to partner with parents to maximize the impact we have on kids.  Two combined influences make a greater impact than just two influences.

This morning, how about a cup of Starbucks® VERANDA BLEND®?  A blonde roast, this cup of coffee packs a greater punch than a medium or dark roast coffee; the longer you roast a bean, the more caffeine leaves the bean.  This one is a new favorite; light and mellow, with a hint of cocoa and lightly toasted nuts!  Enjoy!

So, we started a new series last night: The Fight Club Sessions.  Last year, Carlos Whittaker, a worship leader I follow, held a series of online sessions he also called The Fight Club Sessions to gather worshipers together to discuss the battle we're in on a weekly, daily and hourly basis.  Some are fighting for their marriage, their family, their spiritual life, their health....  To borrow that idea, when you pray, what are you fighting for?  What are you petitioning God for?  That's what we're talking about this month!

Last night was a prayer and worship night.  We held an extended period of praise and worship, followed by a teaching segment, a prayer segment, a second teaching segment and a second prayer segment.  Here's what we covered:

Round 1: The Prayer That Stopped the Sun

• Joshua 10:1-14
• God still desires to make the sun stand still over the life of every believer.
• Bold prayers honor God and God honors bold prayers.
• God is ready to act if we will be bold enough to ask, not just for a good day or a better life, but for the impossible.

Round 2: Shameless Audacity

• Luke 11:1-10
• God won't answer 100% of the prayers we don't pray.
• The greatest tragedy in life is the prayers that go unanswered simply because they go unasked.

Parent-Teen Connect
Take turns answering and discussing the following questions with your teens this week.  Create meaningful conversation.  Adjust questions as needed.  Use one or two of these to begin a conversation.  Look for teachable moments - at home, in the car, wherever.  Pray and ask God to provide you opportunities to have spiritual conversations with your teens.

1. Do you have a habit of prayer?  What's that look like?
2. When you pray, do you more often pray to get you out of circumstances (deliverance prayers) or get you through them (prevailing prayers)?
3. Do you see your problems being bigger than God, or God being bigger than your problems?
4. What prayer have you not prayed because you were afraid to ask?
5. Is there something that is seemingly impossible that you'd like to see God do through you?