Howdy Tribe!

It is great to be back from Christmas break!  I really missed you guys and it was great to see everybody last night.  Judging from your energy level last night, you were pretty pumped to be there as well.  So...how are you doing on those New Year's resolutions?  Yep, mine needs a little work too.  Though if losing a little weight was one of mine, my stomach virus didn't hurt that goal!!!  Okay, enough about my disgusting problems.

Our new series kicked off last night and I am really excited about it.  The title is "Reset".  The idea is that sometimes our lives get so messed up, we wish there was a reset button to push so we could start fresh.  This time of year it is real easy to think about how we are doing in life because of the whole "New Year's resolution" idea.  It forces us to look at how we've been doing and reevaluate our lives and think about what we need to do differently.  The great news is that Jesus is the ultimate reset button.  Of course He is much more than that but because of the cross and because of forgiveness, we can start our lives with a clean slate all over again.  This is called "grace".  Grace is unmerited favor or simply put, God loves you because He has decided to love you.  Not because you are a great person but because He is great.  

Last night we took a look at Ephesians 6:1-3 and talked about what it means to “Honor your father and mother”.  When grace impacts your life it means your relationship with your parents should be changed as well.  Last night I said that the act of honoring, is not "lip service or empty obedience".  So if your parents tell you to be in at 10:00pm and you walk through the door at 10:00pm and then sneak out your window and hang out with friends, you didn't obey the "spirit" of what your parents actually wanted, which was to be safe and out of harms way.  On the flip side if you do something without being asked just for the purpose of letting your parents know that you appreciate them, that is honoring because it reveals your heart's condition.

So here's the CHALLENGE for this week - DO SOMETHING TO HONOR YOUR PARENTS.   Do it without being asked and do it without wanting something in return.  Like I said last night, it will totally freak them out!  They'll be thinking that you've done something wrong or want something when all you are trying to do is honor them.  Try it, you'll see I'm right.  Okay peeps, have a great week and let God's grace impact your life.

Matt 

Junior High Pastor

Chase Oaks Church