Hey Awesome L7 Family Member!

Merry Christmas!!! We hope this holiday season is already off to an amazing start for all our youth families. Below we have the rest of our December and January calendar and the rest of our info on the youth update page. Please make sure to click through and click the sign up button on our youth webpage to get your student signed up for our Winter retreat!

WINTER CALENDAR

DECEMBER

10th — 6th-12th Youth from 6:30-8:15 (Philippians Bible Study series)

17th - Christmas White Elephant/Ugly Sweater Party — 6:30-8:15, Bring a gift of $5-$10 value (fun, silly, appropriate and not garbage!) and wear a fun Christmas Sweater!

24th — No YOUTH, Christmas Eve Services 2:30pm and 4:15pm

31st — NYE Party from 6:30-9pm (watching the ball drop in NYE timezone)

January

7th, 14th, 21st, 28th — 6th-12th Youth from 6:30-8:15

February

4th — NO YOUTH (WINTER RETREAT WEEK)

WINTER RETREAT

MARCH 6th-8th 2026 — Mount Kare Winter Camp/Ski Retreat

We also want you to put the dates in your calendar for our Winter Retreat/Ski Trip next March! SIGN UP

Sunday School Family Convos

DECEMBER

7 - NO SUNDAY SCHOOL (Communion Sunday)

14 - NO SUNDAY SCHOOL (Church Christmas Concert, 9am, 10:30am and 7pm)

21 - Parent Page

28 - Parent Page

Wednesday Night Family Info

We are beginning our study in the book of Philippians in November and will be continuing through the study through the beginning of next year.

Why does this matter for our students?

Philippians is especially relevant to our students who are coming of age in an environment characterized by faulty ideas of God as a divine wish granter on the one side, and as a tyrannical dictator on the other. Paul’s encouragement to avoid theological error is an invitation to think about God as He has revealed Himself in the Bible, rather than as we imagine Him to be. Second, Paul’s encouragement to stand firm in the Spirit in the midst of opposition matters for our students because they, like the Philippians of the first century, are confronted, in some cases, with very real religious persecution and, in others, with temptations to worship modern equivalents of false gods such as success, money and power.

Lesson 1: Greeting the Philippians (1:1-11)

1) What are areas in your life in which Christ has caused you to grow?

2) What are some important ways in which you “approve what is excellent”?

3) Tell your student what Christ, in the gospel, says about who they are already, against what, for

example, a performance-based culture might say about them.

Lesson 2: Encouraging the Philippians (1:12-1:26)

1) What are some areas in your life in which God has been faithful to you over the course of your life?

2) What has “to live is Christ and to die is gain” meant to you?

3) Tell your child often that if Christ is all for him or her, there is nothing that the world can, in a final

sense, do to hurt them, and that they will always find joy no matter what their wardrobe or report

card looks like.

Lesson 3: The Identity of the Philippians (1:27-2:4)

1) Share with your child a time during which you were selfish.

2) What does being a citizen of God’s kingdom mean to you?

3) Have there been any groups of people which have been particularly impactful for you? Which

ones and why?

Lesson 4: The Savior of the Philippians (2:5-30)

1) In what areas of your life has God been at work?

2) Who is Jesus to you?

3) How do you experience joy and gratitude in Christ?

Lesson 5: The Salvation of the Philippians (3:1-21)

1) What does it mean to you that you're righteous before God apart from your works? How does that

make you feel?

2) What does it look like for you to press on toward God?

3) Who are some people who you would like to imitate?

Lesson 6: The Community of the Philippians (4:1-23)

1) What lovely or just things related to Christ do you meditate on (4:13)?

2) How do you rejoice always in Christ (4:4)?

3) How has God provided for you over the course of your life (4:10-20)?

Thank you for your continued support in helping your students grow in their faith.

Thanks for letting us be a part of investing in your students and family, if you have any questions or concerns, please email Pastor Zachl!  

In His Grace,

Zach Boyer
Pastor at Clairemont Emmanuel
858 322 2105