Hey Parents! This week in 3Thirty we are starting a new series called “The Battle Within.” Below is a quick overview of what we will be talking about, as well as a challenge for you at home. I would like to encourage you to keep at having conversations with our students during the week about the things we talk at 3Thirty. Please make sure to get ahold of me if you have any questions about our series.
THE BATTLE WITHIN
Each one of us faces a battle within, a battle that may go unseen by those around, but inside there is major brawl. It’s a battle with temptation. And depending on the temptation and its hold on your life, it may be a battle that seems impossible to win. In this series, Andy Stanley takes a look at the temptations Jesus faced in the desert, and identifies the driving forces behind the temptations we all face every day. Because once you realize what the pull is behind the temptation, you can find the confidence to follow Jesus’ example and respond as He did.
Week One: The Main Event January 25
Bottom Line: In every single temptation you face, there is always more at risk than you think.
In the sport of boxing, the main event is the big fight, the moment where everything is on the line. But for most of us, we are oblivious to the truth that in every temptation we face, there’s a lot at stake as well. When face to face with temptation, the choice feels insignificant sometimes. There are times when it feels like no one will notice, or it’s not really a big deal. But in looking at the temptations Jesus faced, we realize just how much is at stake—not only in His life, with the temptations that were before Him—but in our lives as well, with the ones we face every day.
Week Two: In This Corner February 1
Bottom Line: Every time you’re tempted, your confidence in God is at stake, not just your self-control.
When facing temptation, it seems like it’s always about the choice, the decision, the temptation. But it’s always about more than that. It’s not just your reputation or your innocence that’s at stake—it’s your confidence in God. The lure of temptation makes us question whether we can really trust God to come through for us, to be there for us, to provide for us. We begin to think He’s not in our corner, that He’s not looking out for us. But what if we began to see Him there? What if we realized that whatever is luring us away really has nothing to do with what we think it’s about, and there’s a deeper issue, a trust issue, at work? It might completely weaken the pull of that temptation, and it might help us get to the heart of what is really going on.
Week Three: Fixing the Fight February 8
Bottom Line: We are tempted to believe we know how God works and how we think we can work Him.
In the boxing world, sometimes things aren’t always what they seem. Sometimes the winner is known before anyone walks into the ring. Sometimes the outcome is pre-determined by a person who has manipulated things behind the scene. Sometimes a fighter takes a dive. Sometimes a boxer throws the fight. And if each one of us were completely honest, sometimes we try to work things as well in our fight with temptation. And who or what we are manipulating isn’t the temptation, it’s God.
Week Four: Hook and Jab February 15
Bottom Line: We are tempted to pursue the right thing the wrong way.
Temptation doesn’t always have to be about doing something bad. In fact, sometimes it’s not the end result that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but how we plan to get there. It’s the shortcut, the path, the compromise. And in this fight, this struggle with temptation, sometimes the punches we throw and the ones thrown at us are simply about pursuing the right things but in the wrong way.
FAMILY EXPERIENCE
Over the next four weeks, our group is looking at the temptations each of us face, and digging down deeper to figure out the real issues. For teens, those temptations may look differently from the ones you face. In fact, one of the biggest temptations you may have is a tension that you may live with every day. It’s the tension between work and home. Whether you are in the workplace or working at home, there’s a struggle between the time you spend on the things you have to do versus the time you have to spend with your child. It’s that constant tug of war between what you have to do to get ahead in the workplace versus what it takes to really invest in your family.
Since there are only 24 hours in a day, something has to give. Someone has to lose out. Taking time for one thing takes time away from something else. And the only way to invest more time in one thing is to cheat the other thing. So whom are you going to cheat? Are you going to cheat your workplace or that show-ready home? Or are you going to cheat your family?
There will always be a project. There will always be an e-mail in your inbox. There will always be a phone call to return. But the time you have right now with your spouse, with your child, is limited. And when you think of the big picture, you’re the only one who can be a dad to your kids. You’re the only one who can be a mom to your kids. You’re the only who can be a husband to your wife, or a wife to your husband.