‘Impacting Youth for Christ’

Rev. Donald S. Crisp

(CFRA broadcast date:  Sunday, January 8^th, 2012 - #660)

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http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/5612/good_news_660_Jan08.mp3
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Broadcast Notes:

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My Message today is entitled:  ‘Impacting Youth for Christ’

1          The Role of the Parent/Church is to parent your children forward in their faith. 

            First introduce them to Christ then disciple them.

2          The Role of the Church Family likewise, to come alongside of our parents and help them move is their children forward in their faith.

In essence the Church can be a real vehicle of blessing to and for our youth.

Now let’s listen to these helpful words from God.

These are found in The Bible  - 1 Thessalonians 2:10, 11, 12

‘You are witnesses and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless we were among you who believed. 

For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, Encouraging, comforting and urging you

to live lives worthy of God,  who calls you into His kingdom and glory.’

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My goal in this message is to be informational and Inspirational. 

Families today are stressed and taxed to their limit.

Families today need a support team to help with the challenge of encouraging the youth to make something wonderful of their life.

We do this be encouraging, comforting and urging them forward in their faith journey.

Unfortunately, so many families today are taxed to the max and are experiencing ‘fall-out’ and ‘crisis’ when it comes to raising their kids……

Robert Orben once wrote:

Who can ever forget Winston Churchill’s immortal words:

"We shall fight on the beaches,

we shall fight on the landing grounds,

we shall fight in the fields and in the

streets, we shall fight in the hills." –

Robert Orben said: those words of Winston Churchill

sound exactly like our most recent family vacation.

 The fact is the Parental Challenge has been with us for centuries.

                                                    

An Assyrian tablet written about 4700 years ago lamented: "children no longer obey their parents." 

In 425 B.C. (some 2,400 years ago) Socrates was more elaborate: “Our youth today love luxury.  They have bad manners, contempt for authority, disrespect for older people.  Children nowadays are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers.”

We seem to have both a Historical and Hysterical parenting problem today.  Nothing is really new… but what do we do?

According to Dr. James Dobson,                                                  

·         80% of parents feel like they’re failures!

·         This “crisis of confidence” is affecting families all around the country.                                                                                                     

·         Parents today have saddled themselves with unnecessary guilt, fear, and self-doubt.     

3          I believe the goal for parenting is to raise a child that is hungry for God.  A God-first child.    

            This is exactly where the Church can come alongside of our youth.                                                 

Not a youth that says:  God is part of my life.  

But, God is my life and I love Him.

Proverbs 22:1-6…. says that we are to ‘train up’ a child.

(Charles Swindoll. You and Your Child.

( Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1977)

“train up” in the Hebrew is a word used to describe the palate or the roof of the mouth.

It was used to describe the actions of a Hebrew mid-wife who after helping to deliver a baby would dip her finger in a paste made of dates and rub it on the gums of the new baby to create thirst and start the baby’s feeding instinct.

This is such a wonderful ‘word picture’ that has deepened my understanding when it comes to the role of a godly parent.

·         The parent is in like manner to create a thirst in their child for God.  The Church can partner with the parent to assist and resource the parents in accomplishing this wonderful goal.

This means the youth in the church and the youth in the community as well…. Wow!  What an opportunity!  What a privilege to Impact Youth for Christ.

Certainly the best way of accomplishing this is by

·         parents modeling what they believe

·         the Church family through our youth programs modeling what they believe.

·         Parents and Church Family actually ‘talk the talk’ and ‘walk the walk’.. 

Imagine a Youth Ministry that impact youth for Christ

A ministry that seeks to impress on our youth that God loves them and that they matter to God.

We have the opportunity to inform them that God has a plan for their live.

Jeremiah 29:11-13  -‘For I know the plans I have for you says God, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future’

  

 

4   I also believe that the role of the parent is best described as ‘guarding and guiding’

Again, our Church Youth Ministries can come alongside of our parents to assist and resource.

Allow me to demonstrate what I mean about ‘Guarding’

One author told of ancient China and the need the people there to provide security against the barbaric hordes to the north, so they built the great wall.

It was so high they believed no one could climb over it and so thick nothing could break it down.

During the first hundred years of the wall’s existence, China was invaded 3 times.

·         Not once did the barbaric hordes break down the wall or climb over it.

·         Each time they bribed a gatekeeper and then marched right through the gates.

One commentator made this observation:

“The Chinese were so busy relying on walls of stone they forgot to teach integrity to their children.”

This is a message that is meant to encourage parents  to ‘teach integrity’ by modeling it in their homes.

Our Youth Ministries have a great opportunity to prayerfully come alongside of our youth and teach them to guard their hearts – minds and souls.     

James 1:27  ….’keep from being polluted by the world’

Here’s the goal…..

1 Thessalonians 2:12

‘live lives worthy of God’  ….  this child will growth to be hungry for God as you ‘Guard and Guide’ them through life.

A life that is being ‘lived and that is worthy of God’

is described by the Apostle Paul  in verse 10 as being:

·         Holy

·         Righteous

·         Blameless  (A child that is passionately in love with Jesus)

Isn’t that your prayer for your children?

Isn’t this your prayer for your grandchildren?

Shouldn’t that be the prayer of the Church for their Youth?

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Now we need to look at the ‘how to’ for the ‘ought to’

The ‘how to’ is found in verse 11

Paul writes:

For you know that we dealt with each of you

as a father deals with his own children,

·         Encouraging,

·         comforting and

·         urging

     you to live lives worthy of God,

That’s the ‘how to’

Three things that parents need to do:

Encourage – Comfort – Urge

Three things that the Church needs to do in their Youth Ministries.

Encourage – Comfort – Urge

Now let’s look at these three words:

Encouraging           =          means to encourage forward

·         This is a picture of a ‘coach’ encouraging their athlete forward in their growth.

·         This is a picture of a ‘parent’ encouraging their child forward in their faith.

 Comforting               =          means to stimulate one to discharge

                                                their duties or responsibilities

·         This is a picture of a ‘coach’ speaking softly and tenderly….

      as they say…. Over and over …. ‘you can do it!’

      ‘Keep moving forward’… you can do it!’

·         This is a picture of a ‘parent’ speaking softly and tenderly

 to their child as they say over and over again….

‘Keep moving forward’ ’you can do it!’

 

Urging      =     To stir up with authority   

This is a picture of a ‘coach’ who is encouraging their athlete forward as they keep saying

‘I know you can do it, keep moving forward’.  The coach is now speaking with ‘authority’.

This is a picture of a coach who is encouraging their child

Forward in their faith, while saying over and over again,  

‘I know you can do it, keep moving forward in your faith’                                       

My prayer is that the Church today would focus intentionally on the Youth in their Church and in their Community.

Loving them, encouraging them, urging them forward in their faith journey……as we coach them forward in their faith.

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To listen to the above broadcast, click on the following link:
 http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/6/5612/good_news_660_Jan08.mp3