THE

PARENTLINK
FOR PARENT OF TEEN

January 2014

Journey Christian Church

PLAN A JE ! "CENTERE# $EAR

Of all the resolutions your family could draft for 2014, the most important is to center your lives around Jesus Christ. In 99 Thoughts on Jesus-Centered Living (Simply outh !inistry", #ic$ %a&rence provides practices for chan'in' ho& you relate to Jesus. One involves che&in' on deep (uestions. )elo& are e*amples of (uestions your family can ponder to'ether this year+ ,hich &ord -est descri-es ho& you see Jesus+ nice, fierce, or mysterious? Jesus said he.s the &ay, the truth, and the life (John 14+/". So &hy do &e often -elieve that 0-ein' a 'ood person1 is ho& &e 'et to heaven2 3oday, ho& has Jesus -een your &ay, truth, or life2 ,hat.s the difference, if any, -et&een lovin' Jesus for &ho he is and for &hat he can do2 ,hat.s one thin' a-out Jesus that ma$es you 'rateful2 4o& can you live in the spirit of Jesus and do somethin' $ind for a 0frin'e person15the $ind Jesus &as dra&n to2 If you sat ne*t to Jesus on a plane, &hat are the first three (uestions you thin$ he.d as$ you (-esides your name"2 3oday, &hat.s one (uestion you.d li$e Jesus to as$ you2

THE %IE&
6onder these findin's a-out people.s focus and priorities+ 3eena'ers say their top need is 0help -uildin' a positive relationship &ith 7od.1
5Group ma'a8ine

6ersonal activities, ho--ies, han'in' out &ith friends, and earnin' money come &ell ahead of evan'elism as priorities for the avera'e Christian teena'er.
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Only 12: of ;merican adults say faith is a top priority in their lives.
5)arna 7roup

'ORE (!E TION

Use these orbital questions from 99 Thoughts on Jesus-Centered Living for holidays this year: New Years Day!ost 'ood friendships are -ased on mutual 'ivin'. It.s easy to understand &hat Jesus offers us, -ut &hat do &e have to offer Jesus that he doesn.t already have2 (#ead John 1<+14=1<." Valentines DayJesus never married, and there.s no indication he &as romantically interested in anyone, -ut do you thin$ he ever flirted &ith a 'irl2 ,hy or &hy not2 EasterSometimes people &ho don.t -elieve in Jesus say the -i-lical accounts a-out him &ere made up -y the )i-le.s authors.

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PONDER THIS
,hat types of thin's &ould you say your life is centered around2 ,hat &ould you have to chan'e to center your life around Jesus more2 4o& can your family focus on Jesus and faith durin' the upcomin' year2

,hat.s somethin' Jesus said or did that no one could.ve made up2 Inde enden!e DayJesus often &ithdre& -y himself to spend time alone> &hy do you thin$ he needed so much alone time2 "alloweenIf Jesus &ere a little -oy no&, &ould he 'o tric$=or= treatin'2 ,hy or &hy not2 If he did, &hat costume &ould he &ear2 #han$s%i&in%Jesus is preparin' a special room in his 0?ather.s house1 for each of us. ,hat do you thin$ your room &ill loo$ li$e2 ,hat do you hope it has in it2 ,hy &ould Jesus put that in your room2 'd&entIf Jesus &ere a little -oy no&, &ould his parents ta$e him to see Santa2 ,hat mi'ht he as$ for2

)ET TO KNO& JE !
Expert Insights for Parents of Teenagers By Rick Lawrence
6sycholo'ists say all of us hold on to 0mental models1 of people &e $no&. 9ue to the over&helmin' amount of information our -rains must or'ani8e, &e tend to defend the esta-lished &ay &e see somethin' or someone. @ven &hen &e 'et ne& information that challen'es our mental model, &e han' on to &hat &e.ve come to -elieve is the truth. ; 'reat e*ample of this is #ichard Je&ell, a private security 'uard at the 1AA/ Summer Olympics in ;tlanta. 4e discovered a pipe -om-, alerted police, and helped evacuate the area -efore the -om&ent off. In the media, he &as initially cele-rated as a hero. )ut the ?)I 're& suspicious and pointed to Je&ell as a suspect. 3hou'h he &as never char'ed &ith a crime, the cloud of suspicion around Je&ell 'ave people a 0mental model1 of him as a terrorist5even after the real -om-er admitted the crime. 1. ,hat did Jesus really say2 (,hat &as the conte*t of his remar$s5&ho &as he spea$in' to, &here &as he spea$in', and &hy &as he spea$in'2" 2. ,hat did Jesus really do2 (In the conte*t of 0normal -ehavior1 in Jesus. culture, &hat impact5-oth positive and ne'ative5did his actions have on people &ho heard him2"

3his dynamic e*plains &hy fe& of us have an accurate 'rasp of Jesus. Once our understandin' of him is esta-lished, &e tend to i'nore or tune B. 4o& did people really e*perience Jesus2 (,hat array of emotional out ne& information that doesn.t fit. reactions did people have to Jesus, and One &ay to 'et rid of these mental &hy do you thin$ they reacted that models of Jesus is to -lo& them up, as &ay2" if &e &ere demolition e*perts. ;s$ these three (uestions &henever you 99 Thoughts on Jesus-Centered Living read anythin' a-out Jesus in the )i-le+

RE O!RCE
Proof, a six-lesson study on the gospel of John, explores the question Who is Jesus? It en ourages !ids and fa"ilies to understand the a#eso"e pri$ilege of !no#ing and %eing !no#n %y Jesus& '$aila%le at (i"ply)outh*inistry& o"&

*I*LE FOC!
Jesus as!ed his dis iples, Who do people say the (on of *an is? They replied, (o"e say John the +aptist, others say Eli-ah, and still others, Jere"iah or one of the prophets& +ut #hat a%out you? he as!ed& Who do you say I a"? (i"on Peter ans#ered, )ou are the .hrist, the (on of the li$ing /od& *atthe# 01203-01

'E#IA POTLI)HT
'AIN TREA' '! IC CHRI TIAN '! IC

,o&ie: ), #ran*enstein -enre: ;ction, 4orror .atin%: 67=1B *yno sis: 3his film is -ased on a 'raphic novel, &here 'ar'oyles and demons fi'ht for po&er. Someho& this is related to ?ran$enstein and his creation, ;dam.

E'INE'
(a!$%round: ?rom 9etroit.s under'round rap scene, @minem clim-ed his &ay to -ecome the -est=sellin' artist of the 2000s. )ut controversy has al&ays do''ed him. One of his first hits &as a son' a-out ta$in' his infant dau'hter to dispose of his &ife.s -ody. @minem.s lyrics are very ra&, &ith lan'ua'e, ima'ery, and su-Cects that teena'ers shouldn.t -e e*posed to. 4e.s had pro-lems &ith prescription dru's and alcohol -ut -ecame so-er a-out five years a'o. 'lbums: The Marshall Mathers L ! (201B", "ecovery (2010", The Marshall Mathers L (2000" )hat Eminem *ays: ;-out usin' homopho-ic slurs, he says, 0I never really e(uated those &ordsD&ith homose*ualityE. 3hat &ord &as Cust thro&n around so freely -ac$ then. It 'oes -ac$ to that -attle, -ac$ and forth in my head, of &antin' to feel free to say &hat I &ant to say, and then D&orryin' a-outE &hat may or may not affect people.1 E+ lore: 3he e*plicit video for @minem.s ne& son' 0)er8er$1 is availa-le here+ &&&.youtu-e.comF&atch2vGa-A1H/Sr-<
%I#EO )A'E

&ITCHFOOT
(a!$%round: ;lthou'h S&itchfoot disli$es -ein' called a 0Christian -and,1 their faith shines throu'h in all they do. 3heir catchy son's have in= your=face lyrics, and this lac$ of su'arcoatin' seems to contri-ute to their popularity. S&itchfoot.s music has -een featured in 3I ads and movies, and they.ve 'arnered many a&ards. 3he latest al-um also serves as the soundtrac$ of a documentary a-out the -and, &hich loves to surf. 'lbums: #ading $est (2014", %ice %erses (2011", &ello &urricane (200A", The 'eautiful Letdo(n (200B" )hat *wit!hfoot *ays: Sin'er Jon ?oreman says, 0Jone of these son's has -een -orn a'ain, and to that end there is no such thin' as Christian music. Jo. Christ didn.t come and die for my son's> he came for me.1 E+ lore: ou can read more of that insi'htful intervie& here+ &&&.ct$-lo'.comF201BF12F0<F&hy= s&itchfoot=&ont=sin'=christian=son'sF

/ur #a$e: 3his is from the same people &ho made the 0Knder&orld1 films. 3hose &eren.t 'ood movies for teena'ers, so &e.d advise caution. ,o&ie: Jac* "yan+ ,hado( "ecruit -enre: ;ction, ;dventure, Suspense .atin%: Jot yet rated (li$ely 67=1B" *yno sis: 3his ne& film is a re-oot of author 3om Clancy.s Jac$ #yan character. 4ere #yan (Chris 6ine" uncovers a financial terrorist plot. /ur #a$e: ,ith Clancy.s recent death, there mi'ht -e more press and hype surroundin' this film. In the past, these have -een &ell=done and action= pac$ed.

Doki-Doki Universe3his adventure 'ame loo$s stran'e, &eird, and &onderful. ou.re a ro-ot on a mission to learn &hat it really means to -e human. 3he 'ame claims that players &ill learn somethin' a-out themselves, too. (#ated @10> 6SB, 6S4, Iita" The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between orlds53his ne& ta$e on the classic 'ame incorporates some B9 elements. %in$ can also 'o to 29 and hop onto &alls to solve pu88les. (#ated @> B9S"

JANUARY 2014
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