I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to be back in the classroom with our NHYG this fall. I usually take a break from teaching during the summer months but then when August rolls around I get really exited about being back with our teenagers. Before summer break we finished up a Sunday class digging deep into the powerful truths in the first half or so of Romans. Examining salvation, faith, and the grace of God. Now starting September 7th we are picking up in Romans 12 and plan to finish the book by the end of November. This section of the letter to the Romans takes all the solid doctrine we learn in the first part and shows us how to actually live it out every day of our lives.
Paul doesn’t just tell us what to believe; he also shoes us what it looks like to put our faith into practice. That is exactly where teens live, trying to figure out how their strong faith and what they believe connects with real life at school, with family, friends, and everywhere in-between.
Here is a quick look at where we are headed as we study Romans 12-16 in the next few months:
Romans 12 – Living as Sacrifices with Renewed Minds (This deals with how we fully love for God using our gifts and showing real love)
Romans 13 – Living Under Authority (This will show us how to honor those in leadership and why love is the complete fulfillment of the law)
Romans 14 – Living with a Conscience (Here we will learn how to welcome others even when we disagree and learn how to help and not hurt)
Romans 15 – Living in Unity with a Mission Mind (This will help us learn how to build each other up and be determined to accomplish a mission like Paul did)
Romans 16 – Living in Church Relationships (Here we will be challenged to recognize, honor and protect the unity of God’s people)
At the end of the class we will wrap up the entire book with a review of the whole thing and see how it all relates together. We will share what we learned and be challenged to grow in our faith and practice. My goal is to help our teens see that Christianity is not just something they do on Sundays but it a whole way of LIVING. Each week, we will have practical challenges designed to help them take what they have learned and put it into action.
Parents, I want to encourage you to make it a priority to have your teenager here for class every week. These years go by so quickly and are so important for their faith. The world is giving them plenty of messages that are in contrast to who they should be and how they should live. We want to help them hear and follow God’s voice above all others.
Let’s fill the teen classroom up with eager hearts and minds who are ready to grow, be challenged, and ready to LIVE out their faith. I can’t wait to see what God will do in our hearts this fall!