You feel the pressure rising. Your teachers expect straight A’s, your youth pastor expects you to be at church every week, your parents expect you to act with respect and your coach expects you to play your best. Everyone has such high expectations from you, it seems impossible to keep up.
One of our major goals as teenagers is to gain independence. To do this, we have to learn responsibility and realize what it means to care for ourselves. We are not meant to be independent, but rather we are supposed to be mature.
Summer camp sounds like something your parents make your little brother do so they can get a break from his hyperactivity and pull him away from the video games. But, summer camp is actually more than just sitting around a campfire singing “Kum ba yah.” Here are 5 benefits to attending a summer camp in your teen years:
The need to have patience is a sign that God is throwing a test your way. Patience occurs when God’s testing you to make you stronger.
Prayer is an incredibly important aspect of your relationship with the Lord. Here’s a list of 9 things to pray about, with little prompts on how to talk to God about each of those subjects.
Will life ever get any easier? The reality of this painful question is that it may not. Life is hard, but it can be beautiful. As we experience life’s hardship and trauma, it’s time to cling to God. A time of crisis is not the time to lose our faith, it is a time to USE it.
Adventure can be a thrill or a nightmare. But, when God is with us in the adventure, He will bring us peace, comfort and strength to endure. He wants us to experience a sense of accomplishment as we reflect on how He uses and grows us in that adventure.
Tons of churches are jazzed up for their Christmas Eve services because they know un-churched people will be walking through their door. The discipline of growing ones faith seems to be a lot less interesting and glamorous than the energy and excitement of bringing another soul to Christ. The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) doesn’t say, “Go out and convert everyone to Christianity.”
Books can be some of the most effective tools in understanding God and His love for you. Here are some books that will serve as both a catalyst in your relationship with Jesus and a fun read.
Have you ever thought about why you’re a Christian? Where did your beliefs come from? It’s easy to say how you became a Christian, but it’s a lot more difficult to figure out why you prescribe to the Christian faith.
