by Andrea Vigil-Ruiz

It’s hard to believe that the school year is coming to an end, which means the Youth Group’s Sunday School is also coming to an end. The Youth Group is continuing through Nathan Busenitz’s book Reasons We Believe for Sunday School and is scheduled to finish going through the entire book when this Sunday School term ends. As mentioned in the article in January, Reasons We Believe was chosen with the hope of showing the youth that there are tangible, reasonable, and intelligent reasons in support of the Christian faith. In January, we had discussed reasons why Christians believe in God and the Bible. During this past month, we went over the fifth section of Busenitz’s book that explains the reasons why Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and the Savior of the World. This article will be about three of the ten reasons Busenitz gives for why Christians can have confidence in their belief in Christ.

Busenitz opens the section explaining the fact that for the most part, most people would acknowledge that Christ was “a moral teacher, a social visionary, and an inspiring example of selflessness” (p. 155). Even people of other religions acknowledge that Christ was an influential man. For example, Buddhists such as the Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) regard Jesus as a being who reached a high state of enlightenment. Hindu leaders also regard Jesus as a great prophet or teacher, and even some atheists and agnostics applaud Jesus as a social reformer. The problem with these views, as Busenitz points out, is that they all fall short and do not acknowledge who Christ truly is — that He is the Messiah, the Son of God, and the Savior of the World.

One of the first reasons Busenitz gives for why Christians believe in Jesus is He perfectly met the requirements of the messianic prophecies that are in the Old Testament. The promised Messiah couldn’t be just anyone because the Old Testament had certain criteria for the Messiah: He had to be a Jew (a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10), of the family of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1) through David (Jeremiah 23:5). The Messiah also had to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Aside from these criteria, Busenitz gives even more narrowing criteria that point to the fact that Jesus is the Messiah. One of the more specific criteria is about the curse of Jeconiah (also called Jehoiachin), who was an Old Testament king and a descendant of David. Unlike David, Jeconiah was cursed by God for his wickedness and as a result, would not have an heir of his own to sit on the throne as king of Israel (Jeremiah 22:30).

So if Jeconiah, who was a part of the royal line of David, was cursed to never have physical offspring to ever rule as king of Israel, how could the promised Messiah also come from the royal line of David? The answer can be found in the virgin birth of Christ. Since Joseph was a direct descendant of Jeconiah (Matthew 1:11), he too was subject to the same curse as Jeconiah of not having physical offspring be Israel’s king. With the virgin birth of Christ, it meant that Jesus was not the physical offspring of Joseph. Since Christ was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20-25), He avoided the curse that was placed on Jeconiah’s bloodline. In addition, Mary was also related to David, but not through the royal line of Solomon (or Jeconiah). This means that as Joseph’s legal son, Jesus was able to have the rights and privileges of Joseph’s royal ancestry, as well as being a true descendant of David through Mary. Therefore, Jesus was able to meet the requirement of coming from David’s royal line despite the line having a curse placed upon it because of Jeconiah. No mere man would have been able to overcome that curse while fulfilling other prophecies, but Jesus was able to.

Another reason why Christians believe in Jesus is because the Old Testament predicted the nature of His life and death. Similar to the previous reason, Busenitz argues that messianic prophecies are actually broader than just Jesus’ ancestry and the timing of His coming. The coming of a future deliverer was first predicted in Genesis 3:14-15 and was repeatedly confirmed throughout the Old Testament (Genesis 49:10, Numbers 24:17, Isaiah 9:6-7, Zechariah 9:9, and many, many other passages). What is important to understand is that early Christians were not the only ones who understood the implication of these messianic prophecies, but Old Testament Jews also did. Busenitz then quotes from Targum Pseudo Jonathan and the Babylonian Talmud to show that ancient Jews did understand that scriptures found in Genesis, the Psalms, and Isaiah point to the coming of the Messiah. Since Busenitz also has limited space in his book, he then focuses on Isaiah 53 to explain how Christ fulfilled many prophecies during His Passion week. Some of the prophecies Jesus fulfilled were:

1. The Messiah would be despised and rejected by men, such that men would hide their faces from Him (v. 3; cf. Luke 23:35; Mark 14:50; John 1:10-11)
2. He would be smitten by God (v. 4; cf. Matthew 27:46)
3. He would be wounded and tortured (v. 5; cf. John 19:34)
4. Through is suffering, He would bear the punishment that sinners deserved (vv. 4-6, 8, 10, 12; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18)
5. He would justify many by bearing their guilt (v. 11; cf. Hebrews 9:28)

These are just five of the 20 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. What is even more amazing is that this one chapter, along with the book of Isaiah, was written 700 years before the events it describes. In addition, if one were to look at the many other prophecies from the Old Testament and even see what ancient Jews believed, it is clear that only one person was able to fulfill these prophecies: Jesus Christ.

We can also have confidence in believing in Jesus Christ because of the testimony of His friends and followers. Throughout the New Testament, it can be seen that those closest to Jesus indeed understood Him to be the Messiah, Son of God, and the Savior of the world. They knew He was God in human flesh and was their only hope for salvation. In Matthew 16:15-16, Jesus asks Peter, “Who do you say I am?,” and Peter correctly responds, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Later, Peter would go on to write of “our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1), who “was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God” (1 Peter 1:20-21). Along with Peter, other individuals such as John, Matthew, Philip, and Mary Magdalene all provide evidence of their understanding of who exactly Jesus was. The rest of the New Testament affirms these understandings of who Christ was through the written testimony of individuals such as Paul, James and Jude (who were Jesus’ half-brothers), and the author of Hebrews.

One illustration that was given during our Sunday school really helped the youth understand how having the testimony of close friends and followers affirms who Christ is. The youth were asked, “What if you want to get to know someone without speaking to that person directly? Who or where would you go to to find out more information about him/her?” The youth actually all responded that they would go to the person’s family members and close friends, which is the same idea when it comes to relying on the testimonies of Jesus’ close friends and followers. Moreover, these close friends and followers also endured great consequences for their belief and following Christ. Busenitz quotes John MacArthur to show just what kind of consequences Jesus’ close friends had to face:

A brief survey of ancient Christian tradition reveals that Peter, Andrew, Philip, and James the son of Alphaeus were all crucified; Bartholomew was whipped to death and then crucified; James the son of Zebedee was beheaded, as was Paul; Thomas was stabbed with spears; Mark was dragged to death through the streets of Alexandria; and James, the half brother of Jesus, was stoned by order of the Sanhedrin. Philip was also stoned to death. Others, including Matthew, Simon the Zealot, Thaddeus, Timothy, and Stephen were also killed for their unwavering commitment to the Lord. (p.180)

So the question begs, why would all of these men die for their belief in Jesus? It is because these men, as well as other of Jesus’ followers, truly believed that Jesus was all that He claimed to be: the Son of God, the Messiah, and the Savior of the world.

However, if the testimonies of close friends and followers are not enough to affirm who Jesus is, Busenitz also explains that there is even evidence for who Christ is from people who hated Him, from people outside of Israel, and even from “neutral” third-party observers. One group that hated Jesus was the Jewish leaders who tried denying certain key aspects of the Christian story by inventing alternative explanations. For example, in an attempt to deny the empty tomb on the third day, the Jewish leaders paid soldiers to say that the disciples stole Jesus’ body from the tomb (Matthew 27:57-66; 28:11-15). Other important Jewish documents, such as the Babylonian Talmud, have many parallels to the New Testament and Christ’s life. Busenitz notes that although the Talmud says that Jesus was hanged, he explains that since crucifixion was a part of the Roman punishment system rather than the Jewish system, only few Jewish scholars knew about crucifixion and that form of punishment was not as well-known to other Jews. This difference in word choice for how Christ was put to death still points to a common story: that Jesus died on the cross.

Josephus, a Jewish historian, who lived from about 37 A.D. until sometime after the turn of the century, wrote in a particular passage called the Testimonium about Jesus and the miracles He had performed, as well as His crucifixion and His resurrection. Then Busenitz lists other Roman sources that were written by individuals who were adversarial toward Christians, such as Cornelius Tacitus, Celsus, and Lucian of Samosata. The sources that these men wrote affirmed that Jesus claimed to be God, that He demonstrated supernatural power, and influenced many. One other writer Busenitz mentions is Thallus, a secular historian who wrote a history of the ancient eastern Mediterranean world around 52 A.D. Thallus attempted to explain away the darkness that covered the land during the late afternoon hours when Jesus died on the cross (Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44-45). With these sources that were written by those outside of Jesus’ close circle of friends and followers, the existence of Jesus and the claims that He makes about who He was is only supported even more.

By going through these three reasons and many others in Busenitz’s book, the goal is to show the youth of our church that Christianity is not a blind faith. Yes, Christianity does require faith in what is not seen (Hebrews 11:1), but there is historical evidence and tangible reasons that support the existence of Christ and therefore Christianity. Although this Sunday School class is for our youth, I actually find myself growing in more confidence in my own faith and belief in Christ. Reasons We Believe is not just for youth-aged church attendees, but for unbelievers who are seeking out answers to their questions and for believers who would like to grow more in their own understanding of their faith.

by Sarah Andrews

This year, the youth went to Pine Valley for our annual retreat. Over the weekend we bonded over meal and snack time, games and football, and the study of God’s word. We even saw snow on Sunday morning! I am thankful for the quality time spent with the youth and the friendships built within the ministry. I pray that God may grant them spiritual wisdom and understanding about what it means to be a Christian and the new lives we have in Him.

We were blessed by the preaching of Pastor Andy Kang from Lighthouse Bible Church Los Angeles. The topic of the retreat was worshiping God, and he began by discussing what true worship is. In Isaiah 66, God is Creator and does not need anyone or anything to bring glory to Himself. He is displeased when His people worship false gods, but he favors “those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at [His] word” (Isaiah 66:1-2). Humility is recognizing that we are sinful beings before a holy God.

In Psalm 51, David shows humility before God. He recognizes that he has broken God’s commandments, and confesses with guilt and shame. He asks that God may have mercy and cleanse him from all iniquities. God mercifully accepts “a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart” (verse 17).

Next, we discussed the reason for worship. We worship God because we recognize His worth. In Psalm 103, David praises God for his character, majesty and benefits. He is so holy that He cannot be anywhere near sin. Yet He is also full of forgiveness, love and compassion, and does not treat repentant people according to what they deserve. God knows we are mortal beings that are like dust, but “from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children” (Psalm 103:17). He who is holy and lives in heaven draws near to “the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit” (Isaiah 57:15). God is worthy of all worship and praise.

We also learned that there is a wrong way to worship God. In Matthew 15:1-20, the Pharisees criticized Jesus for breaking the Jewish tradition of washing hands before eating, and Jesus rebuked them for their hypocrisy. They pridefully performed their deeds to be seen by people, and they broke God’s greater commandments. God was displeased by their worship because they lacked humility before Him and a brokenness over their sin.

We continually fail to keep God’s commandments, but there is good news: Jesus has paid the penalty for our sins! Our deeds will never be sufficient to make us holy. Christ’s finished work on the cross is sufficient to cleanse us of sin so that God may see us as righteous. Christ removes all guilt and shame that we may have, and we are no longer condemned. When he was crucified, Jesus said “it is finished” (John 19:30) because He atones for the sins of all who believe in Him, and He reconciles sinful humans to a perfect God.

Lastly, we learned about manifestations of worship. God is pleased when we “offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” and “do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of [our minds].” When we turn away from deeds of the flesh and seek God’s “good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2), God allows us to be “instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work” (2 Timothy 2:21). The Holy Spirit is given to us when we are saved, and enables us to do the good works.

We are to worship God in spirit and in truth, and must rely on God’s word to know what pleases Him. Romans 12 gives examples of God’s commanded will. We are to serve members in the body of Christ; show love, preference and hospitality towards one another; and do good to our enemies, rather than repay evil for evil. It is important that we focus on worshiping God and having a humble and repentant heart, rather than seeking to impress others with external behavior.

Through their time in youth ministry, I pray that the youth will have a greater understanding of our position before God and the finished work of Christ. We must recognize that we are sinful before a perfect God, and there is nothing good we can do to make ourselves right with Him. Yet God loves us and sent Christ to pay the penalty for our sin. If we trust His finished work on the cross, we will not experience God’s wrath, and we are free of the shame and guilt that sin brings. We are free to worship God and live new lives empowered by his Holy Spirit. We have received every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3-10) and are adopted into his family.

Praise God that as Christians, we are washed by His blood and able to worship Him!

by Hansol An

Last school year (2017-2018) was one of many transitions for the Youth Ministry at Lighthouse Bible Church San Diego – I, along with several other members, joined the Youth Ministry Staff; on Friday nights, we spent the first half of the year finishing a series in Ephesians that continued from the previous academic year; after returning from winter break, we split the group during the teaching time between the high schoolers and middle schoolers; Johnny Kim started a series on the book of Romans with the high schoolers; and I started a series from Children Desiring God (now Truth:78) called The Fighter Verses. These changes occurred for several practical reasons but ultimately, they all came from a desire to find the best ways to minister to the youth and equip them with God’s Word (1 Timothy 1:5).

This year we reinstated Sunday School for the youth so that the students would have another opportunity, besides Friday nights, to learn and fellowship on a week-to-week basis. When it came time to select a topic for Sunday School, we wanted to cover a topic that would not only educate them but also provide them with very practical knowledge or wisdom. One area of direct attack and challenges to the Christian faith comes from those who contend that there are no logical reasons for being a Christian or believing in a literal interpretation of the Bible. This is the presupposition of all public-school curriculum so we decided on Reasons We Believe by Nathan Busenitz. It is a concise and easy to understand book that gives an overview of the reasonableness of the Christian faith and it was familiar to our church because College Life went over it in their small groups a few years ago.

Busenitz’s book is not a comprehensive treatise on Christian apologetics. Instead, it is a survey of the reasonable case for the reliability of the Bible and person of Jesus Christ with enough references in the bibliography for someone to delve deeper, if they so desired. As its subtitle states, it provides “50 lines of evidence that confirm the Christian faith broken” down into three reasons: Reasons We Believe in God, Reasons We Believe in the Bible (two parts) and Reasons We Believe in Jesus (two parts). Since the beginning of the school year, Johnny, Cesar Vigil-Ruiz and I have been taking turns teaching through the book. Each week we cover 2 reasons.

In the section about the reasons for believing in God, some of the reasons include “Because the Existence of Our Universe Points to a Creator,” “Because the Flow of Human History Conforms to a Divine Plan,” and “Because Other Belief Systems Are Inadequate Alternatives.” In this section, Busenitz tackles the scientific and philosophical arguments against the “possibility of a personal, all-powerful deity who demanded repentance and worship from sinful human beings.” Busenitz rightly points out that without God, science and philosophy must provide an explanation as to why anything exists at all, rather than nothing. Needless to say, the academic elites have yet to provide an explanation.

He also discusses the way history has consistently supported what the Bible has revealed. He points to the tremendous success of biblical prophecy that can’t be explained away as simple luck or coincidence. “It has been calculated that the chance of only forty-eight prophecies coming true in one person is 10 to the 157th power, making it a statistical impossibility. Yet Jesus fulfilled many more than that.” In short, biblical prophecy is one evidence that history is the outworking of God’s divine purpose and not merely the culmination of chance events.

Having completed the section on the reasons Christians believe in God, we are currently in the Reasons We Believe in the Bible. It has been an encouragement to me to see our youth equipped in ways that will prepare them for what awaits them in the world. Particularly so for me as Jonas, my oldest, is now in the ministry. I pray that he and the rest of the group will someday draw upon the truths in Reasons We Believe to find confidence in the veracity of Scripture as well as to defend the faith.

by Andrea Vigil-Ruiz

For the past four years, it has been a privilege to be given the opportunity to be a part of Youth Group as a staffer. Youth Group ranges from 6th – 12th grade and usually meets on Friday nights for Bible study and Sundays for Sunday school. When working with the youth, there can be many questions about the Christian faith that can come up: Why do Christians always talk about the Bible? How do I know that God exists? How do I know if the Christian faith is true? Why should I believe in Christianity as opposed to other religions? Overall, there can be a perception that being a Christian is somewhat mystical, driven by one’s emotions and feelings and cannot really be explained with reasonable reasons. During Sunday school this year, we are going through the book Reasons We Believe by Nathan Busenitz with the hopes of showing the youth that there are actual, tangible, reasonable reasons why Christianity is true and that Christianity is not a blind faith.

Since September, Johnny, Hansol, and Cesar have been on a rotation to teach through two reasons from the book each Sunday. Cesar kicked off the start of the Sunday school term with an introduction to why it’s important to know and understand the reasons we believe in Christianity. Knowing and understanding the reasons that support and defend the Christian faith can be beneficial in two ways: first, to help one grown in his own understanding of the veracity of the faith, ultimately leading to a greater appreciation and awe of God, and second, to equip the believer with the “tools” needed to talk about why the Christian faith is the one and only way with unbelievers.

After that initial Sunday introduction to the study, we dove into the reasons why we believe in God. Due to limited space, this article will address three of the 16 reasons that were presented in Sunday school so far. One of the reasons we believe in God is because the order and design of life that we see around us points to a Creator. The Bible explains that God is the creator of the universe (Genesis 1:1-30) and the overall design of life testifies to God’s creative power (Job 38-41; Psalm 104-1-35). Modern medical and biological science also points to the complexity of life. An example Busenitz uses is the complexity of DNA and how DNA is composed of very specific sequences of data (in the form of four bases: adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine) to complete the genetic code. Given the complexity of how specific the DNA sequence must be points to how this complexity cannot have happened randomly.

More so, when one looks at the creation of man, the idea of a Designer is supported even more. Christian apologist John Gerstner says, “There is more in the universe than mere life. There is intelligent life. There is a kind of life which not only lives but which thinks about living….How could matter, which has no life in itself, actually produce a life which can reflect on matter and tell it that it has no life in itself?” Even the human ability to defy the existence of God is proof of a Designer because the level of intelligence to think about such questions testifies to His existence. During this Sunday school session, the Design (Teleological) Argument was presented to the youth. At the end of the session, the youth were asked to think about how even the most minute biological system requires such specificity in order to function correctly (the flagellar motor system of bacterial cells requires 30 proteins and if even one is missing, the entire system cannot function properly). This session encouraged the youth to look at the complexity of life around them and see that the existence and function of these complex structures, down to even the most minute organism, cannot be due to random forces.

During another session of Sunday School, we went over how the human sense of morality points to a Lawgiver. The argument here points to how all humans have a conscience that is intrinsically aware of right and wrong. In Romans, the conscience is described as “the work of the law [that] is written on [people’s] hearts” (2:15) because “what can be known about God is plain to them” (Romans 1:19; cf 1:32). This reveals that there is a higher moral order where God is the Standard and Judge (Ecclesiastes 12:14). This moral conscience can also be seen across cultures (for example, stealing, lying, and murdering are seen as evil regardless of where you are from geographically), and not as a result of Western Judeo-Christian culture. Moreover, there are universal rights that all cultures agree on, such as the right to love and kindness. Of course, sometimes this moral conscience can malfunction due to being fed the wrong information (1 Corinthians 8:7; Titus 1:15) or when it is ignored for too long (1 Timothy 4:2).

The existence of a moral conscience with humans also shows that depending solely on a biological explanation for the existence of creation (such as the survival of the fittest theory) is neither sufficient nor makes sense. This session also addressed the existence of evil. The question “Why does evil exist?” is often asked, but Busenitz sees this question as a presupposition in support of the existence of God. We are able to identify what is morally evil because of the existence of God, who is the Standard of good. Busenitz writes, “Deep in our hearts we understand something is unrighteous or unjust — it offends us, saddens us, and causes us to cry out for justice. We rejoice when good triumphs over evil, and we feel violated when it does not.” For people across cultures to understand generally what is morally good and bad, it has to point to the existence a divine Creator and Lawgiver who is the ultimate standard of good.

Currently, we are in the section about the evidence for why we believe in the Bible. One reason we believe the Bible is the Word of God is that the Bible is marked by a clear and consistent message. The Bible was written from 1400 BC-100 AD, which is a span of 1500 years. For the 66 books in the Bible (39 in the Old Testament; 27 in the New Testament), there were 40+ different human authors that God used to write the Bible, across different geographic locations (Asia, Africa, and Europe), and in different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek). Not only that,  these authors were all from different backgrounds and vocations. Just to name a few of the human authors, there were: Moses, a prince (Exodus 2:10, cf. Hebrews 11:24-25) who became a shepherd (Exodus 3:1); David, a shepherd (1 Samuel 16:11-13) who became a king (2 Samuel 2:4); Paul, a former Pharisee (Philippians 3:5); and Luke, a Gentile physician (Colossians 4:14).

Given the varying conditions of where and when the Bible was written and by whom, this is evidence that God is the unifying factor in the authorship of the Bible. And even with such varying locations, languages, and authors, there is still a clear and consistent message about God, man, sin, salvation, and the end of the world. This unity in the message is also clearly seen in reference to the gospel of Jesus Christ, since He is the one that the entire Bible points to from Genesis 3:15 to Revelation 22:16. In Answers to Tough Questions Skeptics Ask about the Christian Faith, Josh McDowell and Don Stewart write, “The Old Testament is the preparation (Isaiah 40:3). The Gospels are the manifestation (John 1:29). The Book of Acts is the propagation (Acts 1:8). The epistles give the explanation (Colossians 1:27). The Book of Revelation is the consummation (Revelation 1:7). The Bible is all about Jesus.” With such a clear and consistent message from beginning to end, Christians can strongly hold firm to the belief that the Bible is from God.

To reiterate, the youth staff understands that going through this study will not ultimately save the youth. The salvation of a person is not dependent on any other human, but solely on the one who is the giver of the gift of salvation — God (Ephesians 2:8-9). By going through this study though, it is a way to encourage the youth to think about these different pieces of evidence so that they can see the Christian faith is a reasonable one, not a blind one. As a staff member, I have already been encouraged and even challenged in my own understanding of the evidence for the faith, and I look forward to the remainder of the school year in continuing in this book study. I hope the youth are, too!

by Sarah Andrews

In youth ministry, our middle schoolers are currently being equipped with “Fighter verses” that will help them to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). We recently discussed Philippians 2:12-13: “Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of his good pleasure.”

What does it mean to work out our salvation; does it mean we work for our salvation? It is a tremendous blessing that we, as Christians are not striving to enter the gates of heaven based on our own merit. If our salvation was dependent on our performance, we would be unable to meet God’s perfect standard and would be fully deserving of His wrath. God showed us mercy and He died for our sins so that we would not have to pay the price. If we put our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and ask Him to forgive our sins, we will be fully forgiven and cleansed of all unrighteousness.

“Working out our salvation” means that out of our new identities as children of God, we live changed lives and are being made into the image of Christ. We are still imperfect people living in an imperfect world, and we battle sin and Satan who tempts us. We desire to obey God and live in a way that pleases and worships Him, although the Christian walk will have trials and suffering (1 Peter 1:6, 1 John 16:33, Romans 8:18).

The Holy Spirit helps us fight our fleshly desires and live righteous lives, and we have God’s word for spiritual armor and wisdom. As we abide in God and trust in His grace, He helps bear fruit in our lives. Ultimately the gospel gives us strength to continue, because we know that Christ has paid the price for our sins, and He has the final victory over Satan and sin.

I pray that all the youth at Lighthouse Bible Church may put their faith in Jesus, and as they grow older and face trials, God can give them wisdom and knowledge of His power, faithfulness and abundant grace. I am excited to see how He will work in their lives to shape them to be more like Christ.

Through trials, I have learned that God is gracious and wise, and His word is “a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105) when I am discouraged and need direction. Whether we are working at a job, caring for our families, or serving elsewhere, God calls us to love and forgive people just as Christ has loved and forgiven us, and to share the hope of the gospel.

God can test our faith in situations when people are difficult to love, or if they even hurt or mistreat us. God’s commands are possible when we find our hope in the gospel. We once hated and rejected God, but He forgave us of all our sins; therefore, the Holy Spirit allows us to love, forgive and pray for people. God’s word says,

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21)

In addition, God calls us to share the hope of Christ with people who do not know Him. Through our preaching of the gospel and living transformed lives through the power of the Holy Spirit, God can use us as instruments of His plan. It is God who changes hardened hearts and brings people to repentance. (John 6:44). We are sinners who were once no different from nonbelievers, and God desires for us to show compassion, be patient, and share the hope we have “with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander [us] will be put to shame by [our] good behavior in Christ.” (Romans 6:15-23). Ephesians 5:1-2 states as well, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Trials indeed make our faith stronger. We daily sin and fail, but we can confess our shortcomings to God and find forgiveness at the cross. Hebrews 4:16 says, “let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” We do not work to earn or keep God’s favor; rather, we work out our salvation to please and worship our Savior.

Even when we forget or have trouble trusting His promises, He still loves us. Let us “fight the good fight of faith!”

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Recently, a small group of members from our church traveled to Tucuman, Argentina to minister to a church that we have been working with since 2005. Our goal for this trip was to be an encouragement and a source of support for the lead pastor, Jorge Ahualle, and his family. We were blessed with the opportunity to spend time with the church for a retreat weekend together. We were asked to cover topics related to the theme of consecration/devotion, and were directed to speak to different groups within the church. I had the privilege of speaking to the youth of the church, and knew exactly what I wanted to communicate to them.

No matter which youth group will listen, my emphasis will always be the same: devotion to the Word of God. If the youth do not have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, the primary source to discover it is found in the gospel revealed in the life and work of Jesus Christ in Holy Scripture. If a youth follows Jesus, the way of growth is a vibrant relationship with Him, which comes by way of listening to Him by exposure to His Word, and speaking to Him in prayer.

With the direction our culture is heading, there is no doubt that our youth will be tempted and pulled in all sorts of distractions. What is needed is a singular devotion to Christ, and He is most visible to us in the utterance of God’s words. This is my hope for the youth: that their hearts and minds will be a lifelong pursuit of the glory of Christ in every area of life.

Scripture has many examples of men and women who were devoted to loving the Word of God, but I have found a stellar example in the psalmist of Psalm 119. For 176 verses, this psalmist inarguably demonstrates his deep love for the words of our God, and models it for everyone, especially the youth, to see the wonders of knowing His Word.

“Actions speaks louder than words,” goes the common saying, but this time, these words seem to speak loudly of his heart of devotion. This is someone who will act in light of what God has said. In the psalmist’s mind, there is no expiration date when it comes to the relevance of God’s Word in the affairs of daily life. His Word will lead to action. As we see at the beginning of Psalm 119, we encounter four actions* of a devoted lover of the Word:

1. Walk as a believer of the Word with devotion

Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! (Psalm 119:1-3)

The first thing to notice is that the psalmist starts with the word, “blessed.” The literal translation for this word is “happy.” We can read this verse, “Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!” The reason believers are happy is that they keep the Word of God! They obey it.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)

David recognized where the most amount of joy could be found. It isn’t at the club, or among your friends. It is where the Lord is. It is where endless pleasure is found. If God is the source of full joy, then being in His will will lead to a deep life of joy and pleasure in Him.

Now what does it look like to be a happy Christian? Is it someone who just says, “I love the Word of God?” over and over again? Maybe, but that isn’t enough. Some clear marks of a happy Christian are that they are blameless in reputation (1a), actively obedient (1b, 3), protective of Scripture (2a), and a first-class pursuer of God (2b).

2. Embrace the purpose of the Word with conviction

You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! (Psalm 119:4-5)

The second action of a devoted lover of the Word of God is that they seek to understand what the purpose of the Bible is. What is the reason for why God gave us His Word? He has set up this world in such a way as to fix this purpose: God’s Word has been given to us so that we would keep them diligently. You may read it, study it, memorize it, meditate on it, but if you don’t keep it, if you don’t follow what it says, you are twisting the Scriptures.

All other religions that say they believe the Bible claim that it teaches all sorts of false doctrine, and it warps the purpose of the Bible, and most don’t even know they’re doing it! If I wrote you instructions on how to get to my mom’s house, and you start reading the instructions over and over again, go and talk to your friends about how great these instructions are, sing songs about how great my mom is, even memorize it, but you never follow my instructions, you completely ignored its purpose! Yet, this is what many people do with the Bible. They will spend time in the Bible, not to keep it in their hearts, but to make themselves look good in front of others. Or to convince their parents that they do believe in God. All the while, God’s instructions are being ignored. This can’t be!

Now after pointing to the purpose of the Bible, the psalmist turns to pray to God, knowing the purpose, and asking God for strength to be able to keep it. His focus goes from speaking of those who are happy in God to now taking responsibility to live out what he just described. This is the psalmist’s desire: to keep and obey the precious Word of God.

The Bible is not just some book to the psalmist, even a book that you occasionally show reverence for. This is a book that captures the psalmist to crave and hunger for more of. He desires to be strengthened by it because he knows he is weak without it. Your familiarity with the Word is a good indicator of whether you know you are weak or not. Exposure to the Word is what will make you aware of your weakness, and seeing it for what it is and what it’s for will strengthen you.

3. Receive the blessings of the Word with thanksgiving

Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. (Psalm 119:6-7)

When you are tempted, remember: every act of obedience will produce a blessing from God. What’s the blessing that we find here? No shame. If you walk as a believer of the Word and embrace the purpose of the Word, then you will not be ashamed!

Here is what the Bible does to your life: it exposes sin in every area of your life. At first, that sounds bad. But imagine this: if you have a disease, and need to know where it’s located, you would want to have the best equipment available to find it and then get rid of it, right? Every time you expose yourself to the Bible, you always have two options: you can either run away and ignore what it says, or you can turn from your sins and ask for forgiveness.

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. (James 1:23-24)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

The blessing not only removes shame, but it also provides thanksgiving in your heart. This isn’t the kind of thanksgiving that is fake, or shallow, but “upright.” It means to be smooth or straight. Receiving the Word with praise and thanks honors the One who gave the Word. God’s Word is identified as rules that are righteous. In other words, these are what the divine Judge has ruled to be right. To receive the Word in this way, demonstrating understanding of what the Word really is, will lead to a heart that praises God the way He should be praised.

When was the last time you gave thanks to God for the Scriptures? When did you last thank God for opening your eyes to see the true nature of Scripture?

4. Ask God to help you obey the Word with resolve

I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me! (Psalm 119:8)

The final action of a lover of the Word of God is prayer. All prior actions have been a willingness on the part of the happy Christian to involve the Bible to play a primary role in one’s life. The psalmist returns to pray to God, first offering a big promise: “I will keep your statutes.” Statutes here means what the divine Lawgiver has laid down. The psalmist is determined to follow the Law of God.

Many people in the church are scared to make a concrete decision, either towards God or away from God. They don’t want to be seen as someone who rejects God, but they also fear what it will cost to fully follow God. To be entirely wicked or entirely righteous is facing two extremes that seems equally scary. Many choose to be right in the middle, and come to church, but not commit much else. In today’s day, this is what is called apathy. In Scripture, Jesus calls this being lukewarm:

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.’” (Revelation 3:15-16)

This is like the person who says they’re coming to your house, and then halfway there, turns around and then tells you, “Well, at least I got there some of the way!” This is like someone who says they will clean their room, and the moment they can see a little bit of the floor after picking up some clothes, says, “Ok, I’m done!” Keep your focus on the Word! Don’t even give your parents a chance to tell you to read your Bible. Get to reading! But see that God doesn’t want you to be half-hearted in your willingness to do so.

The last thing the psalmist writes is for God to not forsake or forget him. He knows his weakness in failing to fully obey God in everything, but he also knows that God is gracious to His people and will help him keep the Word. He also knows God is just and can rightly forsake him should He choose to.

Notice that the psalmist doesn’t turn to anyone else but God to strengthen him and also forgive him when he fails. If you do not truly desire to have a strong desire to obey God’s Word, it will show in your lack of prayer to Him.

Our plea

In the end, our prayer is that every youth will come to know the God of the Word by way of the Word of God. This year, as it is for every year before, is to pray and trust that God will draw each youth to Him to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and to grow in His grace and knowledge for the glory of the King. I hope this will be your prayer as well.

*I have been greatly helped by Seth Kniep’s helpful work, Loving God’s Word: 7 Strategies for Slaying Bible Apathy for these insights.

by Hosanna Koo

This is my first year serving on youth staff, and I’ve been touched by the thoughtfulness and maturity of the youth as well as the joy and steadfastness of the other staff. The eager and ready hearts of the youth and the sacrificial love of the staff serve as amazing testaments to the power of God. Many of the youth at Lighthouse have grown up in the graces of this church and have been lucky recipients of the sound teaching that brings to light our state as sinners and the greatness of God to save rebels. Youth is an age when they take the knowledge that they have been taught as children and seek to gain deeper understanding of what it means to be a Christian.

Personally, the most prominent thing I’ve learned so far from serving on youth staff is to be patient. As with other children’s ministries, every week can look the same. While talking with Pastor John at the youth retreat, he mentioned that those six years spent in youth can seem like six years of no fruit. At first I was alarmed and admittedly, a bit discouraged, but I was reminded that God works in his own timing, and he does not need broken vessels to do his work. We as teachers impatiently and pridefully expect our preparation and words to have a life changing impact upon the children we teach, but God doesn’t need us. Yet at the same time, how amazing is it that God would use those who are weak to carry out his will? I, along with the other youth staff, are just one little tool that God is using to shape the hearts of the youth.

God doesn’t promise that we would see the fruit of our labors. If we were promised, wouldn’t it be so easy to labor for the pride of our reward coming to fruition? Week after week, I must remind myself that God IS at work and he IS active in the hearts of the youth in many ways that we might not be able to clearly see. He is a living, breathing God. He uses the staff to minister to the youth, but I am again reminded that we are not their primary teachers. Their parents provide primary teaching and guidance, and as youth staff, we support parents to instill in the youth the gospel and a love for God. We must trust in God as the only one who is able to save, who works in his own timing. God is the only one who causes any sort of spiritual growth and who will cause the youth to bear fruit in due time. We are called to be faithful with what God has given us, planting seeds in the hearts of the youth, and praying that God would grow these youth to be men and women who are solid in faith and who build their lives upon his word.

by Brian Wong

Imagine a seed being planted in the dirt and its becoming a full-sized tree. Now think about a candle burning down or a puddle on the cement evaporating. Do you see a pattern? Each of these things takes a lengthy amount of time for the process to actually finish, and if you were to observe them real-time, the changes would be so insignificant that you wouldn’t be able to perceive them. But when you want to imagine these examples, you would see these processes as a time lapse going much faster than what it would actually be. After all, who has time to actually sit there and watch a puddle evaporate from start to finish?

Though we can visualize a seed becoming a tree within only a few seconds, it would be absurd to expect this process to actually take as short as it could in our imagination. However, is it possible that we could have this kind of expectation when it comes to spiritual matters? Understandably so, I think many of us would rather be further sanctified and have people become saved sooner rather than later. Salvation and sanctification are good things, so what’s the hold-up? But does our desire for these things to happen according to our convenient timing reflect the actual reality of our Creator’s sovereign and wise plan for our good? In order to address this, let’s look at a practice that has been vital to human civilization’s development that is still relevant today: agriculture!

Scripture makes many references and comparisons of the Christian life to agrarian concepts: evangelism is described as planting seeds, trusting Christ as following a good shepherd, faithful witnesses as laborers in a harvest, and much more. I want to particularly bring your attention to what the Bible likens to fruit. Fruit is generally used to describe sanctification and the development of the heart in a way that is pleasing to God (Luke 6:43-45, Gal. 5:22-23, Phil. 1:9-11, Col. 1:9-10). Because this comparison is frequently found throughout the New Testament, it should prompt us to look deeper into why that is the case as well as the implications behind this imagery. Though many analogies fall short of explaining the full weight or significance of spiritual matters, they are still helpful in guiding our understanding of the subject. Thus, if we take a look at the characteristics of fruit, we can glean some helpful principles and ideas of sanctification and growth as a Christian.

Before a fruit can even form, a flower must be fertilized; in order for it to be fertilized, it must be pollinated; but before pollination, the flower must already be blossomed; but in order for a flower to blossom, the tree must already be pretty mature; and to get a tree to that level of maturity, you have to…

And you get the point. Before we even get to the formation of fruit, we’re looking at years of attention, work, and patience put into nurturing the tree. Even when fruit forms, it still needs time to ripen and mature. Don’t forget that during this process, the trees are also vulnerable to poor weather conditions, diseases, and pests! However, at that point, the most that we can do is to wait for the fruit to mature. There’s no special trick or technique that people can do to speed up this maturing process; nature has to simply run its course. While one of the main elements that is needed for a tree to mature and bear fruit is time, we can also play an important role in the early development of the tree by means of proper and consistent watering, weeding, and pruning.

So given what we know about fruit and trees, one of the biggest implications we can draw from this comparison is that sanctification is a marathon, not a sprint. We shouldn’t be expecting ourselves to grow into ripe fruit overnight, and we also shouldn’t hold that expectation on others. God has provided the means for us to grow if we are faithful in practicing them, such as spending time in the Word, in prayer, and involvement in the local church. Similarly as to how you cannot simply dump buckets of water onto a growing tree in one instance and then neglect it afterwards, we cannot only rely on dramatic changes (i.e. retreats, conferences, etc.). We must seek after daily faithfulness, understanding that God has not given us a lifetime supply of grace to portion, but we must ask for it daily (Matt. 6:9-13).

Going back to what I mentioned in the very beginning of this article, it is convenient and part of our natural inclination to want to fast-forward things that might seem mundane so that we can get straight to the results. We think that the processes of a tree growing, a candle burning, or a puddle evaporating aren’t valuable enough to pay attention to, and we’re fine with just taking a peek every now and then to see how much has changed since the last time we saw it. That’s fine and all, but beware of applying that type of thinking to spiritual matters, because God doesn’t see it that way.

If God wanted to zap our sin and our struggles with it away, he could. We’ve seen Jesus instantly wither a fig tree; so he can certainly bring forth mature fruit if he wanted to. But God gives us the comparison of living the Christian life to bearing fruit for a reason. He cares not simply for the maturity of the fruit, but for His people’s daily faithfulness in mundane things even if there might be no perceived results in their sight. We are called to walk by faith and not have our obedience dependent on what we can see around us; the aim isn’t just to bear fruit that we can point to and boast in, but to please Him who has bought us with a price (2 Cor. 5:6-9). Thus, we are to embrace this process of sanctification and diligently steward the means that God has given us to grow and obey Him, even if not much around us seems to change in the moment. Trust the process, because it’s God’s.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

This has been one of the biggest things I’ve come to learn from my first year of being on staff for the youth group. Initially, I felt like I wasn’t effective enough or mature enough to be able to lead my small group, since discussion times often consisted of one sentence answers and me trying to fill in as much of the awkward silence as possible. However, God has been gracious in using the messages to get them thinking more which manifests in what they share. I’ve learned to continue being faithful in guiding them in their understanding of the gospel week in and week out.

It reminded me of myself as a youth. Growing up, I attended youth group every Friday from 7th to 12th grade. We regularly learned about God and the Gospel through messages as well as small group with the staff members at my church. However, I wasn’t saved until late in high school. Even though it took years for me to become a Christian, my salvation would not have been possible without the willingness of the staff that walked alongside me the whole time. Similarly, it is my desire to walk alongside the youth in this way, and I’m just getting started!

by Sarah Andrews

Youth ministry has taught me that God calls us to be faithful ministers of the gospel and trust Him with the results. We are to abide in His word, trust in Christ’s finished work and share it faithfully to people around us. We may not know how God will use the seeds we plant, but we can trust that God is sovereign and will work out His plan.

Even if the gospel is preached many times, it is God’s mercy that allows a rebellious heart to be softened. God helps us understand that we sin against Him, are deserving of His wrath, and are undeserving recipients of mercy. Without God, we cannot discern spiritual truths and reject the gospel.

I am greatly encouraged by the preaching of the Word in youth ministry, the discussions we have in small groups, and the fun times we spend with the youth. Kids who have grown up in church may be familiar with the gospel and Bible lessons, but it is God who will convict and bear fruit.

Recently we went to an youth retreat and learned about the power of the gospel. This shapes every area of our lives, from peacemaking and purity in relationships, to suffering in identity with Christ. The youth were challenged to consider what it means to be a true follower of Jesus: do we really love Him and obey Him? Since we have been bestowed with God’s mercies and have a new identity and heavenly home, we owe everything to God. He is our loving Father who knows what is wise and best for us, and submitting to Him is our best option.

When I look back to my time in middle school and high school, I recognize that it was truly God’s grace that brought me to salvation. I was raised in church and had head knowledge of the Bible. Faithful laborers of the gospel such as my parents, church staff, pastors and mentors shared with me the good news of eternal life found in Christ alone. However, I still lived for myself and did “Christian” activities without loving God. I was unsure if I was saved. When I went on my first missions trip before college, I saw what it meant to follow Christ and deny myself. I saw that I rebelled against God, and I wanted to place my identity in Christ and live in the newness of a Spirit-filled life.

God is sovereign and able to do the work in youth’s hearts, and anyone’s heart for that matter. We are faithful stewards of the gospel when we preach the good news and pray that people receive Christ as Lord. It can be discouraging when we don’t see immediate results or people reject God. However we must be faithful to pray for nonbelievers. We also must hold fast to our salvation; Jesus never changes, and He offers the free gift of salvation to all who believe. He sustains us as we are sanctified and become more like Christ. How assuring it is that our salvation can never be taken away!

As believers, we can “offer [our] bodies as living [sacrifices], holy and pleasing to God – this is [our] true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1). It is God’s will for us to humbly serve the church, be ready to do good and pray for one another. We are all God’s servants who have received God’s grace, and we mutually want the church to be encouraged and strengthened. Other people will benefit from our good works in faithfulness to God.

As we serve in our homes, workplaces, schools, neighborhoods and other areas of influence, our labor is not in vain. Let us be a light for Christ in a lost and dark world. We must prayerfully depend on Him to change, save and sanctity hearts. I am thankful to be a part of seed planting in youth ministry, and I pray that God will bring all youth to saving faith in Christ!

by Andrea Vigil-Ruiz

“It takes a village to raise a child.” This is a quote that I’ve heard in different contexts: amongst people who serve in Children’s Ministry, the church coming together to provide meals to parents of a newborn, and in informal ministry capacities where people meet together outside the church to help care for one another’s children. In all of these different contexts, the child is usually young in age, probably from about 0 to 5 years old. However, have you considered that this quote can also apply to people who are of youth age? It may sound strange that we would think of 6th-12th graders as children who need a village, but I’d like to challenge your thoughts in this area and how important of a role the church body plays in ministering to our youth aged attendees.

To help you understand why this is such an important topic for me, I’d like to share a little bit of my own experience in youth group. When I started attending the youth group at my grandma’s church, I was not a believer. My mom would drop me off at church on Fridays, we’d sing worship songs, hear teaching from Scripture, and then a married couple that was not officially on youth staff would drive me home. Looking back, I appreciate the youth staff’s faithfulness in showing up every Friday, ready to interact with me and my friends. I also really appreciate the couple that drove me home and talked to me about church and what it means to be a Christian because even though they weren’t officially on staff, they still went out of their way to take me home every single Friday. Those Friday nights in youth group were usually the times when I got to talk to people outside of my age group. It was actually encouraging to know that people who were older and weren’t in the same life stage as I am would take the time to talk to me.

Then on Sundays, it was quite different. Usually the people that I talked to and interacted with on Sundays were my friends from youth group and maybe some of my grandma’s friends (my broken Cantonese only got me so far). I have to admit, there were times when I actually felt excluded from the church. I know I wasn’t a believer back then, but not having people outside of youth group talk to me caused me to feel a bit uncomfortable. It was as if I didn’t fit in. I want to make it clear that I’m not blaming or pointing fingers at anyone. I am just sharing my personal experience in youth group to hopefully help you see why I’m writing what I’m writing.

From my experience in being a part of youth group and now being on youth staff, I have come to see that youth groups can be made up of a wide spectrum of people: people who proclaim themselves to be Christian and are learning what that means in their young life, people who have grown up in the church and are not sure where they stand in relation to God, people who admit they’re not believers, people who say they want to believe but are not sure how to, and everything else in between. If you really think about the spectrum of attendees in youth group, you’ll realize that the youth are basically just like anyone else who is attending the church, whether they’re learning how to grow in their faith or trying to figure out whether they believe in Christ or not.

Regardless of what exact category a youth fits into (because one can never fit neatly in a box, right?), the church’s body of believers has a calling. Our church’s mission statement is “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20). Christ is calling all believers to go and make disciples of all nations, and that also includes the youth here in San Diego. As a body of believers, it is crucial then that the church upholds a consistent testimony in showing those who are younger in the faith and those who do not have Christ why the gospel and ultimately Jesus is needed. This is the task that God has commanded us to do as believers.

A couple weekends ago, our church had a retreat with Pastor Tim Carns on the Mission-Minded Church. There were so many great takeaway points, but Friday night’s sermon about “A Mission-Minded God” and Sunday morning’s sermon about “A Mission-Minded Heart” stand out. In “A Mission-Minded God,” Pastor Carns referenced Matthew 28:18-20 and how we are to make disciples of Christ. But in making disciples, it doesn’t just involve evangelizing people (although that is a very important starting point). This passage also speaks to how if we want to make disciples, we as believers are to teach others to observe all that God has commanded, which means sharing what it means to live out the Christian life daily. Our youth are in a time of their lives where they are figuring out their spiritual lives. It is even more important that the church come alongside them as they go through this stage. Having other people outside of the youth staff share about how the gospel is needed and what it means to be a Christian can be beneficial because the youth will be able to see how the same message can affect so many different lives.

Then, in Sunday’s sermon “A Mission-Minded Heart,” Pastor Carns took a look at the story of Jonah. Pastor Carns pointed out that when God asks Jonah the last question in the book in Jonah 4:11, we are to ask ourselves the same question. If God was able to show mercy to the 120,000 in Nineveh, shouldn’t we be able and willing to show that same mercy to others who need Christ? This question is basically getting down to this: Do we genuinely care for others and their salvation? “Others” also includes the youth in our church.

As believers, are we also considering there are people who are always watching us, especially if we say we follow Christ? In Colossians 4:5-6, Paul gives great advice to the church in Colossae in regards to the watchfulness of unbelievers when he writes, “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” Are we making the most of every opportunity we have in terms of interacting with the youth, especially knowing that some are young in their faith or do not know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior? The youth may be young, but they do notice things around them and they are indeed watching.

To sum up, youth aged church attendees are also in search of Christ and what the gospel means in their lives. Although the youth staff is designated to work with the youth, I’d like to encourage the church body to think of and pray for the youth and their salvation. Also, whenever a youth is nearby, please don’t hesitate to introduce yourself, talk to them, ask them how they’re doing, or even have conversations related to spiritual matters with them. After all, it takes a village to raise a child … even if the child is in middle school or high school.