Fighting Words Week 4

Learning to Loosen Up and Enjoy the Ride

Written by Cheryl Boyce

Note To Parents:

 Welcome back to Week 4 of Impact Toronto’s Fighting Words series! We are a welcoming church located in the Yonge and Eglinton area that wants to support our community both on and offline.  

 We hope you’re well, and last week’s “Fighting Words” was encouraging.  This week we’re memorizing a short but powerful scripture. “Be Still And Know That I Am God.”  

In our day to day life, it can be hard to figure out how to apply this command.  We hope this short devotional sheds some light on that for you and your family and that you find rest in the simple but life-changing truth that He is God!

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DEVOTIONAL

This summer, I spent some time up at a cottage on Georgian Bay.  The lake was pretty choppy, and I spent a lot of time on the boat with white knuckles tightly gripped around the railings.  It wasn’t until the water was completely calm that I was able to relax. 

I was trying to relax like everyone else, but the conditions kept me stressed.  I wished that I could trust the boat captain and the vessel I was on to manage the weather so that I could loosen up a bit.  Unfortunately for me, that only happened a few mornings and an evening or two when the water looked glass.

It got me thinking about how life is so much like that lake.  Things can be smooth sailing from time to time, but a lot of the time, things can be a little wavy.  Some of us spend our days worried about what could happen, while others trust that God will work it out and choose to enjoy their days regardless of their circumstances.  That’s not to say that from time to time, we might not hit an unexpected wave and get freaked out, but staying like that is no way to live your life.

God doesn’t want us to live our lives like that either.  He doesn’t want us hanging on for dear life and missing out on all the beauty that’s around us because we’re worried about what “might happen.”  

He’s THE captain we can trust.  We can loosen up and know that he is God and that all the struggling to stay safe is just wasted energy.  Put your energy into trusting him and know that He is the one who is ultimately in control.  

You don’t want to miss out on life because you spent all your time worrying about things that were God’s to deal with in the first place.

Matthew 6:27 asks an important question:

Can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life?

The truth is, we can’t.  Worry won’t add a single day to your life, but 

Some Stuff To Think About

Question 1: Do you spend a lot of time worrying about things?

Question 2: What is something that you have worried about, and it didn’t end up happening?

Question 3: What is something that you are worried about, and you would like for God to help you?

Challenge: This week, if you feel stressed out about something, remember to take a breath and remind yourself that you serve a BIG GOD who loves you and is in control.  See if that helps to get rid of your worry. Don’t forget to pray that he will give you peace no matter what’s happening.  

PRAYER

(Here’s a prayer to pray together or on your own as you memorize your “Fighting Words” this week.)

Dear Heavenly Father,  

Thank you so much for today.  Thank you that we can find rest in you.  Lord, we pray that you would help us surrender control of our lives to you.  Lord, help me to trust you in the storms and the ups and downs in life.  Help me enjoy the life you have given me and teach me to trust you entirely.  We are so grateful that you are our captain.  

 We love you!

Amen!

Please join us at 10:30 am on Sundays in person or online at Impact Church Toronto.  

We are located in the Yonge and Eglinton area. 

Impact Church Toronto

27 Castlefield Ave

Toronto

Or join us online here

Fighting Words Week 3

The Safest Place For Your Hope

Written by Cheryl Boyce

Note To Parents:

 Welcome to Week 3! We are a welcoming church located in the Yonge and Eglinton area that wants to support our community both on and offline. September can be so busy.  We appreciate your participation in this series of “Fighting Words.”  It’s a real honour to help guide you and your family through these powerful scriptures.  We’d love to hear how this impacts your family time and what you’ve been learning together.  Feel free to email us at office@impactto.ca or leave a message on our socials.  

Now that we have to be conscious of physical distance, it’s even more critical to connect.  We want to keep the conversation going regardless of the distance between us.

This week we’re once again talking about how our hope is in God and that we can rely on him to protect us.

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DEVOTIONAL

When I was a little girl, I watched a show called “Little House On The Prairie.”  It followed the lives of a family that lived and worked on their own little farm.  Each episode was about how they managed their struggle to pay the bills, stay healthy and overcome all the obstacles the harsh conditions of their time period threw at them.  

One day, the father, Charles Ingalls, learned that he had received an inheritance from a distant relative.  They were told that they would receive all the relative’s money, which would make them wealthy people.  The family was so excited that they began to live as though they were wealthy, even though they hadn’t actually received the money yet.  

They did this because they trusted what the lawyer had said to them.  

When the time finally came for them to receive the money, they were heartbroken to learn that their money was an outdated form of currency and was worth nothing.  Their hearts sank as they realized that their trust in what the lawyer had told them was misplaced, and now they had bills that they were unable to pay.  

What a lesson!  

In life, there are so many things we can pin our hopes on.  Many of us put our hope in the amount of money we have in our bank account, a relationship or having a degree.  The truth is nothing is certain except for God.  He is the safest place to put our hope.

The scriptures tell us that God does not lie.  He is faithful and honest, and we can put all of our hopes in him.  

This scripture reminds us that when things don’t go our way, we can have an unwavering hope because He is our helper and our protector.  

How awesome is that?!  Just think about it!  The entire universe’s creator is interested in each of our lives and has made himself available.  He wants to help us and to protect us.  It’s what he does!

How incredible is that?! Once we truly understand how much God loves us and wants to be actively involved in our lives, there’s no way we can’t live a life full of more hope and courage.

Some Stuff To Think About

Question 1: What are some things or people that you have put your hope in?

Question 2: Have you ever been let down by things you put your hope in?

Question 3: Can you think of some ways in your life that God has helped you or protected you?

Challenge: This week, take some time to think about how God is working to help and protect you.  Remember those moments and discuss them at dinner or another time when you and your family or friends are together.  See if you can make a list of all the ways you have seen God working in your lives.

PRAYER

(Here’s a prayer to pray together or on your own as you memorize your “Fighting Words” this week.)

“Dear Heavenly Father,  

Thank you so much for today.  Thank you that we can read your bible and find a hope we can count on.  Thank you for always working to help us and protect us.  Help me this week to keep my hope in you and not to be discouraged.  Open up my eyes to see all the ways you are always working to help me and protect me.  

Amen!”

Please join us at 10:30 am on Sundays in person or online at Impact Church Toronto.  

We are located in the Yonge and Eglinton area. 

Impact Church Toronto

27 Castlefield Ave

Toronto

Or join us online here

Fighting Words Week 2

FIGHTING WORDS: WEEK 2

Stressed?:  The Secret To Finding Strength

Written by Cheryl Boyce

Note To Parents:

 Welcome to Week 2!  We hope last week was beneficial, and you were able to commit your fighting words to memory with your family.  We’re hoping that it helped inspire some good conversation about how important it is to trust God.  Our prayer is that this week’s Fighting Words will speak to you and help you remember where our strength comes from regardless of what’s happening in our day-to-day life.

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DEVOTIONAL

Have you ever felt super overwhelmed or tired?  Perhaps something at school was overwhelming, you had a misunderstanding with your friends, or there was some tough stuff happening at home.  Sometimes it can feel like we don’t have the strength to deal with everything life throws us. Even when good things are happening, it can feel like a lot to manage.

This week we’re memorizing a scripture that will help us with that.  We all know that there is so much in life that is out of our control. That can make it hard to figure out how to react when we’re feeling weak.  

In Philippians, where we find this week’s Fighting Words, the Apostle Paul was writing to his friends to let them in on a secret to life that he’d discovered.  

The secret he had found to manage all the struggles in life was to stop trying to handle them all on his own.  If we do that, we will wear out.  He had learned that the never-ending source to strength was not something he had within himself.  The strength that he needed for all of life’s challenges was found in Christ. 

When Paul leaned on the strength of Christ, he was able to face whatever came his way.

The Apostle Paul even said that he had learned to be satisfied regardless of his circumstances. 

How awesome would it be always to be content in life, even if things aren’t working out the way we had hoped?  

We learned last week that King David handled his fear by putting his trust in God. This week we’re learning that the Apostle Paul endured his hardships and victories in life by letting Christ strengthen him.  The Apostle Paul was able to do this by having a close relationship with Christ and putting his faith and trust in Him and who He is.

We Can Do That Too!

Question 1: Do you ever feel stressed out or frustrated?

Question 2: How do you handle feelings like that?

Question 3: After learning that we can do all things with Christ’s strength, how does that make you feel about things that might frustrate you or stress you out this week?

Challenge: This week, take some time to recognize when you’re feeling stressed out or frustrated and ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to respond as Jesus would. When you feel overwhelmed, you can face the situation by saying, “Is that all you got?”  Then, remind yourself that you CAN do ALL things through Christ who strengthens you.  See how the situation changes when you have that type of confidence!

 ***Don’t forget to talk about how it is working out with your family over the week!

Here’s a prayer that you and your family can pray together this week as you memorize this week’s “Fighting Words.” 

Prayer

“Heavenly Father,

 Thank you so much for your son.  We thank you so much that we don’t have to do life all our own and in our own strength.  Lord, we pray that you would teach us to tap into the strength that we can access through Christ Jesus.  Help us not to wear out or get weary but to know that you always have our back.

In Jesus Name We Pray,

Amen!”

Please join us at 10 am on Sundays in person or online at Impact Church Toronto.  

We are located in the Yonge and Eglinton area. 

Impact Church Toronto

27 Castlefield Ave

Toronto

Or join us online here

Fighting Words Week 1

WHERE DO YOU PUT YOUR TRUST?

Written by Cheryl Boyce

Welcome to a new weekly installment here at Impact Church Toronto, online. The world has changed.  Church and parenting have quickly become quite different.  

In the past few months, our conversations have become filled with uncertainty.  

Political viewpoints and healthy debate devolve into insults and name-calling all too easily.  Traditionally, these are what have been referred to as “fighting words.”  Gratefully  I’ve found through my engagement in Sunday School that I have had access to different kinds of “fighting words.”  The scriptures I learned as a young girl during Sunday morning classes have often come to mind as I have faced trials and victories in my life.  They have served as anchors of hope, perseverance, gratitude...and the list goes on.  

We call THESE our “FIGHTING WORDS.”

Just because things are different now and we are wading into the waters of a “new normal”  doesn’t mean that our children have to miss out on having these important truths being imprinted on their hearts.  I, like you,  want my children to have life-giving truth embedded into their spiritual DNA. 

 I don’t want to let any of this precious time slip by without helping them grow in their faith and wisdom.  

 As a mother of 4, in the past, I have relied heavily on the routine of church and the different activities it offered my children to “train them up in the way they should go.”   Physical distancing has changed all of that. 

Parents need support more than ever in helping their children through these unusual times. 

Just because we are physically distant doesn’t mean that we can’t continue to hold each other up while raising our children.  Let this space be a resource for you.  Every week we will have a new scripture for you to remember as a family with a short devotion, printout, and graphic that you can save to your devices to keep it in front of you as you tackle your week.  

We’d love to hear from you if you are participating.  You can show your participation by following us on Instagram at @impactchurchto and post a pic with us tagged using the hashtag #fightingwords.  

DEVOTIONAL

This week we’re memorizing scripture that talks about feeling afraid.  God knew that there would be times when we would feel frightened.  It’s totally normal to feel frightened when something scary happens, or unsure about things that are happening in life.  God didn’t want us to live a life where we had to struggle with feeling fear, and he left lots of lessons for us to help us learn how to handle our fear healthily.

In this scripture, King David, a super-strong fearless leader, admitted that even he felt afraid sometimes, but he taught us how to handle it. 

King David handled it by putting his trust in God.  This makes perfect sense because God is the only one in complete control, and he loves us so much that we can always put our trust in him.

King David knew that God was always truthful and could count on every word that God has ever spoken.  That’s why it’s so essential for us to understand what God says and remember them.  Remembering his words is like having superpowers to fight fear and difficult circumstances that come our way.  God’s words are our “fighting words” when tough times come our way.

King David knew that if he put his trust in God, he wouldn’t have to fear what people could do to him or anything else, for that matter,  because God is ALWAYS trustworthy and loving. 

 That’s true for you too!

Have you felt afraid or anxious about anything lately?  That’s ok if you have.  We all feel scared sometimes.  

Prayer

Here’s a prayer below that you can pray alone or with someone when you feel afraid.

“Heavenly Father, thank you so much for always being trustworthy. Thank you for always having my back.  Please help me remember that you are in control when I am scared and have big feelings about what’s going on in my life and the world.  Lord, I pray that you would help me to count on you and to remember your words.  Lord, I pray that no matter what is happening, I would know your peace.

In Jesus Name I Pray,

Amen!”

* Don’t forget to print off or save the scripture graphic so you can use it to help memorize this week’s fighting words.

Please join us at 10 am on Sundays in person or online at Impact Church Toronto.  

We are located in the Yonge and Eglinton area. 

Impact Church Toronto

27 Castlefield Ave

Toronto

Or join us online here