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Plan a Jesus-Centered Year

Posted by David Wood on

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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 Youth Ministry), Rick Lawrence provides practices for changing how you relate to Jesus. One involves chewing on deep questions. Below are examples of questions your family can ponder together this year:

    • Which word best describes how you see Jesus: nice, fierce, or mysterious?
    • Jesus said he’s the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). So why do we often believe that “being a good person” is how we get to heaven? Today, how has Jesus been your way, truth, or life?
    • What’s the difference, if any, between loving Jesus for who he is and for what he can do? What’s one thing about Jesus that makes you grateful?
    • How can you live in the spirit of Jesus and do something kind for a “fringe person”—the kind Jesus was drawn to?
    • If you sat next to Jesus on a plane, what are the first three questions you think he’d ask you (besides your name)? Today, what’s one question you’d like Jesus to ask you?

Tips

Use these “orbital questions” from 99 Thoughts on Jesus-Centered Living for holidays this year:
    • New Year’s Day—Most good friendships are based on mutual giving. It’s easy to understand what Jesus offers us, but what do we have to offer Jesus that he doesn’t already have? (Read John 15:14-15.)
    • Valentine’s Day—Jesus never married, and there’s no indication he was romantically interested in anyone, but do you think he ever flirted with a girl? Why or why not?
    • Easter—Sometimes people who don’t believe in Jesus say the biblical accounts about him were made up by the Bible’s authors. What’s something Jesus said or did that no one could’ve made up?
    • Independence Day—Jesus often withdrew by himself to spend time alone; why do you think he needed so much alone time?
    • Halloween—If Jesus were a little boy now, would he go trick-or-treating? Why or why not? If he did, what costume would he wear?
    • Thanksgiving—Jesus is preparing a special room in his “Father’s house” for each of us. What do you think your room will look like? What do you hope it has in it? Why would Jesus put that in your room?
    • Advent—If Jesus were a little boy now, would his parents take him to see Santa? What might he ask for?

The View

Ponder these findings about people’s focus and priorities:

    • Teenagers say their top need is “help building a positive relationship with God.” —Group magazine
    • Personal activities, hobbies, hanging out with friends, and earning money come well ahead of evangelism as priorities for the average Christian teenager. —Dare 2 Share
    • Only 12% of American adults say faith is a top priority in their lives. —Barna Group

Questions to Ask

    • What types of things would you say your life is centered around?
    • What would you have to change to center your life around Jesus more?
    • How can your family focus on Jesus and faith during the upcoming year?

Get to Know Jesus

Expert Insights for Parents of Teenagers | By Rick Lawrence

Get to Know Jesus

Psychologists say all of us hold on to “mental models” of people we know. Due to the overwhelming amount of information our brains must organize, we tend to defend the established way we see something or someone. Even when we get new information that challenges our mental model, we hang on to what we’ve come to believe is the truth.

A great example of this is Richard Jewell, a private security guard at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He discovered a pipe bomb, alerted police, and helped evacuate the area before the bomb went off. In the media, he was initially celebrated as a hero. But
the FBI grew suspicious and pointed to Jewell as a suspect. Though he was never charged with a crime, the cloud of suspicion around Jewell gave people a “mental model” of him as a terrorist—even after the real bomber admitted the crime.

This dynamic explains why few of us have an accurate grasp of Jesus. Once our understanding of him is established, we tend to ignore or tune out new information that doesn’t fit. One way to get rid of these mental models of Jesus is to blow them up, as if we were demolition experts. Ask these three questions whenever you read anything about Jesus in the Bible:

    1. What did Jesus really say? (What was the context of his remarks—who was he speaking to, where was he speaking, and why was he speaking?)
    2. What did Jesus really do? (In the context of “normal behavior” in Jesus’ culture, what impact—both positive and negative—did his actions have on people who heard him?)
    3. How did people really experience Jesus? (What array of emotional reactions did people have to Jesus, and why do you think they reacted that way?)

Bible Focus | Matthew 16:13-16 ESV

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Past Event Highlights

Media Reviews

CHRISTIAN MUSIC

Switchfoot

Switchfoot

Background

Although Switchfoot dislikes being called a “Christian band,” their faith shines through in all they do. Their catchy songs have in-your-face lyrics, and this lack of sugarcoating seems to contribute to their popularity.Switchfoot’s music has been featured in TV ads and movies, and they've garnered many awards. The latest album also serves as the soundtrack of a documentary about the band, which loves to surf.

Albums

Fading West (2014), Vice Verses (2011), Hello Hurricane (2009), The Beautiful Letdown (2003)

    What Switchfoot Says

    Singer Jon Foreman says, “None of these songs has been born again, and to that end there is no such thing as Christian music. No. Christ didn’t come and die for my songs; he came for me.”

    Explore

    Their music is available on YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, and Spotify. 
    MAINSTREAM MUSIC

    Eminem

    Eminem

    Background

    From Detroit’s underground rap scene, Eminem climbed his way to become the best-selling artist of the 2000s. But controversy has always dogged him. One of his first hits was a song about taking his infant daughter to dispose of his wife’s body. Eminem’s lyrics are very raw, with language, imagery, and subjects that teenagers shouldn’t be exposed to. He’s had problems with prescription drugs and alcohol but became sober about five years ago.

    Albums

    The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013), Recovery (2010), The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)

    What Eminem Says

    About using homophobic slurs, he says, “I never really equated those words [with homosexuality]. That word was just thrown around so freely back then. It goes back to that battle, back and forth in my head, of wanting to feel free to say what I want to say, and then [worrying about] what may or may not affect people.”

    Research

    His music is available on YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, and Spotify. 
    HOST A MOVIE NIGHT

    Life is Beautiful

    Life is Beautiful

    A Movie Night is a golden opportunity for parents and children to have a meaningful, biblically based discussion about one of the better films coming out of Hollywood. It's also the term used for the downloadable curricula PluggedIn Online has created to help you accomplish that.

    "Movie Nights for Teens," encourages parents and adolescents to explore deeper issues with the help of more challenging, mature-minded films. These Movie Nights are more dialogue-oriented and intended for older children (13 and up), but the goals remain the same: Have fun, enrich the parent/child relationship and help children learn to analyze media from a Christian perspective. 

    Download Movie Night PDF
    POPULAR MOVIE

    Secret Life of Walter Mitty

    The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

    Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama 

    Rating: PG

    Synopsis: A day-dreamer escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. When his job along with that of his co-worker are threatened, he takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.

    PluggedIn's Take: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a very loose adaptation of the 1939 James Thurber short story (which was previously made into a Danny Kaye movie in 1947). In this version Walter Mitty is a man of photographs and details. And the film reflects that aesthetically driven perspective throughout. It's a beautifully shot story of a man who inch by inch, step by step goes from daydreaming about living a full and adventurous life to actually living one. 

    This isn't a spiritual story. But it sometimes feels a little like one. It was Jesus, after all, who said, in John 10:10, "My purpose is to give [you] a rich and satisfying life." The Secret Life of Walter Mitty has some rough edges. (We've felt them here.) It also proves to be positive, optimistic and, yes, surprising. For it is indeed surprising today to find a small, thoughtful movie that can be and do all that.

    Read the Full Review

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