Midweek Podcast | The Gospel vs The Law

Welcome to The Midtown Midweek, a resource to further equip you to be with Jesus and become more like Him as we continue the conversation from Sunday’s teaching.

This week we’re joined once again by our church planting resident, Tim Olson as he unpacks more of 1 Timothy 1:6-20.

To find resources to explore this passage on your own, make sure to check out our 1 Timothy series page (Downtown, Lexington, Two Notch)

And to learn more about how to pray and serve our upcoming church plant, Citizens Church in Charlotte, NC, check out their website.

Questions? Shoot us an email.

1 Timothy | The Gospel vs The Law | April 26

Sermon by Tim Olson for April 26, 2020.

Here is this week's sermon along with a digital worship guide that includes songs to sing, prayers, and scripture to read. Also, for those with children, please use our Kidtown and student guides as a resource to teach and lead your children each week.

Worship Guide

APRIL 26th, 2020

Use this guide as a script. If possible, ask for a volunteer, roommate, or virtual participant to read the parts aloud. There are links to the songs to play and sing along with or sing them a cappella. We want this to be a helpful guide for you and your community to participate together, worshipping the Lord.

We invite you to stand as you sing, to help position yourself to be engaged and focused as you participate in the gathering of God’s people.

Links to “Sunday Worship Guide Playlist”

• Spotify playlist & YouTube playlist of songs for today

Call to Worship

Have someone read this scripture aloud to begin:

Romans 8:33-36
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen.

Let’s sing and confess our need for God’s grace, and proclaim His provision and mercy for us.

Pray

Have someone read this aloud:

Philippians 3:7-9
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ”

Father God, remind us that we are in Christ, and our righteousness is found in Him. Strengthen our faith through your word and grace. Amen

Reflect and Rejoice

Take a minute to sit in silence and reflect on the past week. What can you praise God for in the midst of this season?

After a few moments, if you are participating with others, ask specific people to share what came to mind.

After sharing, have someone pray, or read this aloud:
Father, thank you for all of these blessings. We praise you Lord. You are unchanging, and always faithful! Amen.

Sermon

Stand as we sing praise to our King Jesus

Benediction

Read this aloud:

I will now read this prayer over us as we conclude:

Father God, be with us this week as we continue to navigate our new normal. Help us see beyond this moment in time, and live in light of eternity with You. Help us build our lives on the firm foundation of Christ, seeking to bring grace and love to our families and neighbors. Amen

Kidtown and Student Guides

Midweek Podcast | Defend the Truth | April 23

Welcome to The Midtown Midweek, a resource to further equip you to be with Jesus and become more like Him as we continue the conversation from Sunday’s teaching.

This week we’re joined by our church planting resident, Tim Olson as he unpacks more of 1 Timothy 1:1-7, 3:14-15. 

To resources to explore this passage on your own, make sure to check out our 1 Timothy series page (Downtown, Lexington, Two Notch)

And to learn more about how to pray and serve our upcoming church plant, Citizens Church in Charlotte, NC, check out their website.

Questions? Shoot us an email.

1 Timothy | Defend the Truth | April 19

Sermon by Tim Olson for April 19, 2020.

We must defend the truth so that we as God’s Church can grow up into mature believers who love God and love others.

Here is this week's sermon along with a digital worship guide that will include songs to sing, prayers, and scripture to read. Also, for those with children, please use our Kidtown guide as a resource to teach and lead your children each week.

Worship Guide

APRIL 19th, 2020

Use this guide as a script, and, if possible, ask for a volunteer, roommate, or virtual participant to read the parts aloud. There are links to the songs to play and sing along with or, sing them a cappella. We want this to be a helpful guide for you and your community to participate together worshipping the Lord.

We invite you to stand as you sing, to help position yourself to be engaged and focused as you participate in the gathering of God’s people.

Links to “Sunday Worship Guide Playlist”

• Spotify playlist & YouTube playlist of songs for today

Call to Worship

Have someone read this scripture aloud to begin:

Psalm 34:1-3
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!

Let’s sing the words of scripture together, and pray that the Truth shapes our hearts through it.

Pray

Have someone read this aloud:

Psalm 1:1-4
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

Father, Your word is truth, and Your truth is for our good. Open our ears to hear your voice. We need you. Amen.

Reflect and Rejoice

Take a minute to sit in silence and reflect on the past week. What can you praise God for in the midst of this season?

After a few moments, if you are participating with others, ask specific people to share what came to mind.

After sharing, have someone pray, or read this aloud:

Father, thank you for how you continue to provide and show up in the mess of this life. Help us always remember your provision and the depth of your love for us. Father you are all we need, you are everything.

Sermon

Stand as we sing praise to our King Jesus

Benediction

Read this aloud:

I will now read this prayer over us as we conclude:

May the grace of Christ, which daily renews us, and the love of God, which enables us to love all, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, which unites us in one body, make us eager to obey the will of God until we meet again, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Kidtown Guide for 2K-5K

DATE: ​4/19/20 
SCRIPTURE: ​Mark 1:16-20; 2:13-14; John 1:43-51  
LESSON: ​Follow Me!

INTRO 

Parents say to your kid(s) - ​We’re starting to settle into this new version of normal.  We’re more used to Kidtown at home and our new rhythms are getting a little more  comfortable. How great is it that no matter what changes in our world, God stays the  same! He’s worthy of our worship no matter what our circumstances are!    

Follow the Leader Conga Line - ​Play some music and have everyone stand in line  behind one person. That person leads everyone in walking around the room and  dancing. Instruct everyone to copy the dance moves of the person in front of them.  Take turns being the line leader and leading everyone in walking and dancing  around the room.  

• Say: Jesus gathered helpers to follow Him, they watched what He did and  then they did that too! 

LESSON - JESUS’ TEMPTATION 

One of the most important ways we get to disciple kids is by teaching God’s Word  and how it points to Jesus. ​Our Preschoolers are going through the ​God Loves Me  Storybooks​. These books tell the story of Scripture over 12 books, one for each month  of the year. For one month kids hear and interact with the same story so that they  can learn it well! Each week there is a different activity for the story:  This is Week 2 of our story, ​Follow Me! ​This week, read the story together and as you  do act out some of the story!   

Parents say to your kid(s) - ​We’re going to read our story, ​Follow Me!​, but as we do,  we’re going to act it out!   

Book: ​Follow Me!   

Ideas of what to act out: 

• Have kids hold their hands to their ears like they’re listening to Jesus. 

• Have kids pretend to look around like Jesus did for someone to help Him. 

• Pretend to fish together and then have one person walk by and say “Follow  me”. Have everyone put down their imaginary fishing rods to follow. 

• And so on, throughout the book. Get as elaborate as you want to! 

RESPONSE 

Parents say to your kid(s) - ​It’s good to respond to learning about Jesus in the Bible.  Sometimes we sing because Jesus is worthy of our songs. Sometimes we pray  because we need help and God says we can talk to Him about anything! We can also  do another activity that relates to our lesson!.   

Sing:  ​

• This Little Light of Mine 

• What a Mighty God We Serve   

Coloring Sheet -​ ​Printable coloring sheet​ of Jesus calling the fishermen.   

Simon Says -​ Simon Says is a basic game that teaches kids about self-control and  listening carefully to instructions. 

BONUS ACTIVITIES 

Obstacle Course - ​Make an obstacle course around your house with specific  instructions for your kids to climb over, under and around certain obstacles.    

Animal Charades - ​Pick one person to be the actor. They will stand in front of  everyone and pretend to be an animal while everyone else guesses what kind of  animal they are. Once the animal has been guessed correctly, the next person takes  a turn pretending to be a new animal.    

Arm and Leg Tag - ​E​very player is “it” and the goal is to tag each person’s arms and  legs. When a player’s arm or leg is tagged, they can no longer use it, so they’ll have to  put their arms behind their back or hop on one leg. Tagging any other part of their  body is allowed, but it doesn’t count towards anything. When all four limbs have  been tagged, players are out of the game, and the last player standing with at least  one arm or leg wins.  

Kidtown Guide for 1st-5th Grades

DATE: 4/19/20
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 4
LESSON: Jesus’ Temptation

INTRO

Parents say to your kid(s) - We’re starting to settle into this new version of normal. We’re more used to Kidtown at home and our new rhythms are getting a little more comfortable. How great is it that no matter what changes in our world, God stays the same! He’s worthy of our worship no matter what our circumstances are!

Sweet Temptation - Kids love to learn in concrete ways. This is a simple object lesson to help your kids interact with the Bible story they’re about to learn. For each of your kids, put a sweet on a plate in front of them. Use a cookie, a marshmallow, a candy ... whatever you’ve got! Explain to your kids, they can have the sweet right now, but if they wait until the end of Kidtown, they can have two!

LESSON - JESUS’ TEMPTATION

Parents say to your kid(s) - Last time we had Kidtown (before Easter) we learned about Jesus’ baptism. Remember that awesome moment in Jesus’ life? Well right after that, Jesus walked through a really hard, dark time we’re learning about today:

Watch the Gospel Project Bible video: Jesus’ Temptation

Wow! Did you know Jesus was tempted like this? It’s really important that we know about how Jesus fought temptation. Especially if you want to get that second sweet!

Story Point #1: (Kids repeat!)
Jesus fought temptation when He was weak. (Kids repeat!)
The Bible tells us that Jesus was tempted in every way that we are! (Hebrews 4:15) And the devil is smart. He tempts when we’re weak and tired and less able to fight. Have you ever fasted for 40 days and 40 nights?! No! How do you think you’d be feeling if you hadn’t eaten for just one or two days? Hungry. Tired. Weak. Gruummpy. That’s right! And even though Jesus was very tired and hungry and weak, He still fought temptation! Which leads us to ...

Story Point #2: (Kids repeat!)
Jesus fought temptation with the Bible. (Kids repeat!)
Every single temptation that Satan threw Jesus’ way, Jesus fought it using the Bible. Satan wants to twist the truth, even using the Bible in wrong ways. But Jesus was so rooted in the Bible He could see through the lies. This is one of many reasons why Kidtown and your parents want to help you learn the Bible!

Story Point #3: (Kids repeat!)
Jesus fought temptation by trusting God. (Kids repeat!)
Satan told Jesus He could have everything He wanted, but not God’s way. This is what he told Adam and Eve in the garden, too. But Jesus didn’t fall for it. He trusted that God would give Him everything He needed, even though it meant being patient and waiting sometimes. Sin’s ultimate goal is to make us fall away from God (Hebrews 3:12). But Jesus kept trusting that God’s way is best.

Christ Connection! (Kids repeat!)
Jesus defeated His sin and temptation in the wilderness. (Kids repeat)
Jesus defeated our sin and temptation on the cross. (Kids repeat)
How cool is that?! Jesus defeated sin and temptation in His own life there in the wilderness and all throughout His life. The Bible says that Jesus was tempted in every way that we are and yet did not sin. We can’t fight sin perfectly like Jesus did. That’s why we needed Him to fight sin for us in the cross!

RESPONSE

Parents say to your kid(s) - It’s good to respond to learning about Jesus in the Bible. Sometimes we sing because Jesus is worthy of our songs. Sometimes we pray because we need help and God says we can talk to Him about anything! We can also discuss, and/or practice what we’ve just learned about.

Sing:

• Lord I Need You (Lyric Video)

• He Must Increase (Lyric Video)

Discuss:

• What stood out to you from this story? Non-spiritual answers are okay. We want kids to interact with Scripture, not just regurgitate facts.

• Parents first, then kids: What are really tempting sins for you?

• Parents first, then kids: What makes you weak to fight temptation?

• Parents first, then kids: What’s a Bible verse you can use to fight temptation? Parents, kids will need help with this!

• Do you have any questions? Was anything about this lesson confusing? Tell your kids they can ask you anything. If your family has any questions you are stumped on, feel free to email us.

Pray: Dear God, thank You that Jesus defeated sin and temptation in His life. Thank you that He defeated sin and temptation for us on the cross. Please help us to trust You and fight temptation even when we are weak. Amen.

Sweet Temptation - For any of your kids who waited until now, give them an extra sweet and let them eat! Check out this video of other kids struggling with temptation in the Marshmallow Test.

Parents say to your kid(s) - Sometimes it’s really hard to fight temptation, but God promises that His joy is always greater when we trust Him, obey Him and rely on Jesus to help us fight sin and temptation.

BONUS ACTIVITIES

Coloring Sheet - Printable coloring sheet depicting Jesus’ being tempted with all the power of the world if He just stops trusting God (and skips the cross).

Simon Says - Simon Says is a basic game that teaches kids about self-control and listening carefully to instructions.

Obstacle Course - Make an obstacle course around your house with specific instructions for your kids to climb over, under and around certain obstacles.

Conversation Guide for 6-12th Grades

Date: 4/19/20
SCRIPTURE: ​1 Timothy 1:1-7 + 3:14-15
Lesson: Defend the Truth

INTRO

This conversation guide exists to help parents interact with their middle and high school students. Our goal in having middle and high school students attend gatherings (or worship at home) with their parents is to help them transition toward being adults who are fully functioning members of the church. But most middle and high school students still need some translation and help connecting what they’re learning to their lives. We want our sermons to be accessible, but they aren’t specifically targeted toward the transitional teenage years.

Today we started a new series about 1 Timothy. What do you remember? Did anything specific stand out to you?

Read 1 Timothy 3:14-15. ​Paul tells Timothy that his purpose in this letter is to help the church be the church.

• What do you think about the church?

• How do you see yourself as being part of the church?

• How do you think that will change as you get older?

Paul also tells Timothy that one of the goals of the church is to defend truth.

• What does the world around you tell you about what “truth” is?

• What kinds of specific things does the world tell you are true about yourself, God or the world that don’t line up with God’s Word?

• What does it look like for you to defend the truth when the world is telling you lies?

Tim talked about how we are called to be “people of love”.

• Would you say that you’re a loving person? Why or why not?

• What does it look like for you to be a person of love? Does it mean always being ok with other people’s choices and actions?

• What’s the relationship between being people of love and people of truth?