Here’s your weekly recap of what we talked about in Youth Group last Sunday!

Crew (High School) & Strength in Numbers (Middle School)

Tension We are constantly tempted to think we know more than we actually do. Even though we all readily admit that no one could know everything, it’s hard to acknowledge that we don’t know everything. But there’s wisdom in acknowledging that we don’t (and can’t) know it all.

Truth Once again, we return to the wisdom of King Solomon in the book of Proverbs for this little truth nugget: “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice” (Proverbs 12:15). If we want to learn, we need to listen to others; whether it’s a skill, a sport, a new instrument, or a difficult math concept, it just makes sense to find someone with more experience and learn from that person. The same goes for our lives and our faith! If we only listen to our immediate peers, we cut ourselves off from a fantastic source of wisdom: step-ahead mentors who are a little further down the road than us.

Application No matter how old we are, we should always have someone a little older and wiser speaking into our lives. In fact, research has shown that teenagers who have 5 adults in their life have better outcomes and will stay more engaged with their faith! Who these 5 adults are is a great conversation for parents and youth to have together. What makes a wise adult a good person to speak into the life of a youth? 1) Someone the youth can be honest with and 2) someone who wants the best for the youth and not the best from the youth. No matter who it is, choose to listen to step-ahead mentors, even when they have to deliver hard truths.

Bottom Lines

 

Confirmation

Last Sunday Confirmation explored the idea of Jesus as savior and what that means for our lives. Throughout Christianity there are several ideas of what this could mean, but Pastor Claire summed it well with this answer to the question of, “When were you saved?”: “About 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem.” While this is a bit snarky and not actually a great response, it does get to the fundamental understanding of who saves who: God saves us independent of our worthiness or merit. We get to acknowledge God’s saving action, but Jesus is ultimately the one who does the saving. Small Group discussion then reflected on Matthew 19:16-26 and the story of the rich young man who asks Jesus about how to earn eternal life.