This week at CATALYST, we took a look at a video depicting Jesus' story of the Prodigal Son. This son insulted his dad, decided to leave home, and wasted his entire inheritance on a party lifestyle. After a while, his money ran out and he hit the bottom. He was filled with regret and shame, and he was starving. He didn't believe that his dad would ever accept him back for the things he had said and done, but he was desperate, so he turned towards home with the intention of begging his dad so that he could be hired on a servant. Jesus said that while the son was a long way off, the father ran out to hug him and welcome him back into the family. It's an amazing picture of how God offers us love and forgiveness, even if we don't deserve it- even if we've walked away from him and have made bad choices.
This week, our topic was "Why do Christians always talk about sharing their faith?" This story helps communicate why. God doesn't want anyone to be lost. He doesn't want anyone to be far away from him. He doesn't want anyone to destroy their lives and be separate from him for eternity. So, as people who have experienced his love and forgiveness ourselves, God has given us a mission:
2 Corinthians 5:19-20 says, “God has given us this wonderful message of RECONCILLIATION. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
The word "reconciliation" has to do with uniting people who've been separated. God wants us to point other people in the direction of the God who loves them and wants to forgive them. But how do we do that? We certainly don't want to be pushy, annoying, salespeople who force our faith down other people's throats. This week, I gave a few tips in how we could be a part of helping people take a step closer to God.
1. LIVE OUT YOUR FAITH
The way you live your life says A LOT about what you value and what you believe. If you say that you’re a Christian but are mean, if you gossip, if you lie, if you fly off the handle in anger, if you live in a way that’s opposite to what you claim to believe, people will consider you to be a hypocrite, and they’ll be turned off of God and the Christian faith. They’re not going to want anything to do with it! The verse above says that WE ARE CHRIST’S AMBASSADORS. Another way to say that is that if we have accepted God’s love and forgiveness, then we are walking advertisements for Jesus! So, what kind of advertisement are you? Would people notice any difference in the things you say and do? Is it obvious to people that you're someone who loves and follows Jesus?
2. PRAY FOR GOD TO OPEN OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU TO BE OPEN AND HONEST ABOUT WHAT YOU BELIEVE
In Colossians 4:2-3, Paul asked for prayer that God would open doors for him to share the good news of God’s love with others. If you’re a Christian, pray that God would open up an opportunity in conversations with your friends throughout your day, so that you can simply be open and honest about what you believe. It doesn't mean having to preach a sermon, but when someone might ask you what you did on the weekend, it might be as easy as talking about what you did at CATALYST or church. Just someone knowing that you go to a church or youth group could open a pile of questions...and you might even have an opportunity to invite them to join you!
3. BE PREPARED FOR THOSE CONVERSATIONS
1 Peter 3:15 says that we should always be prepared to answer people when they ask us questions about our faith---and that when we do, we should do that with GENTLENESS and RESPECT. So, again, God doesn’t want us to be pushy, forceful, or annoying salespeople, but when people see the things we say and do, when people ask us questions, we need to be prepared to give an answer. What that means is that you should think about why your faith is important to you. Why do you believe what you believe? Why do you go to church or come to CATALYST? If someone were to ask you any of those questions, would you know what to say or would you be like a deer caught in the headlights? You don't need to have all of the answers to every possible question someone might ask, but you should be able to share with someone why your faith is important to you personally, why you bother go to youth group or church when you could do other things, or why you live differently than a lot of other people around you. What's your story? What answers would you give to those questions? Think about those things ahead of time so that you're prepared when people start asking.
DISCUSSION FOR HOME
1. Ask your teen to tell you about the story of the lost son. Why is it such an amazing story? What does it tell us about God?
2. Pray with (or for) your teen this week- that God would open up opportunities for them to be open and honest about their faith, or why they do the things they do.
3. Encourage your teen to either think about or even write out some answers to these questions, so that they would be a little better prepared when someone asks them questions:
-Why do you go to a church youth group or to church on a Sunday. What do you do there? Why is it important to you? What difference does it make in your life?
-I've noticed that you don't talk like everybody else-- or that you seem to try to live in a different way than other people. Why is that?
This week, our topic was "Why do Christians always talk about sharing their faith?" This story helps communicate why. God doesn't want anyone to be lost. He doesn't want anyone to be far away from him. He doesn't want anyone to destroy their lives and be separate from him for eternity. So, as people who have experienced his love and forgiveness ourselves, God has given us a mission:
2 Corinthians 5:19-20 says, “God has given us this wonderful message of RECONCILLIATION. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
The word "reconciliation" has to do with uniting people who've been separated. God wants us to point other people in the direction of the God who loves them and wants to forgive them. But how do we do that? We certainly don't want to be pushy, annoying, salespeople who force our faith down other people's throats. This week, I gave a few tips in how we could be a part of helping people take a step closer to God.
1. LIVE OUT YOUR FAITH
The way you live your life says A LOT about what you value and what you believe. If you say that you’re a Christian but are mean, if you gossip, if you lie, if you fly off the handle in anger, if you live in a way that’s opposite to what you claim to believe, people will consider you to be a hypocrite, and they’ll be turned off of God and the Christian faith. They’re not going to want anything to do with it! The verse above says that WE ARE CHRIST’S AMBASSADORS. Another way to say that is that if we have accepted God’s love and forgiveness, then we are walking advertisements for Jesus! So, what kind of advertisement are you? Would people notice any difference in the things you say and do? Is it obvious to people that you're someone who loves and follows Jesus?
2. PRAY FOR GOD TO OPEN OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU TO BE OPEN AND HONEST ABOUT WHAT YOU BELIEVE
In Colossians 4:2-3, Paul asked for prayer that God would open doors for him to share the good news of God’s love with others. If you’re a Christian, pray that God would open up an opportunity in conversations with your friends throughout your day, so that you can simply be open and honest about what you believe. It doesn't mean having to preach a sermon, but when someone might ask you what you did on the weekend, it might be as easy as talking about what you did at CATALYST or church. Just someone knowing that you go to a church or youth group could open a pile of questions...and you might even have an opportunity to invite them to join you!
3. BE PREPARED FOR THOSE CONVERSATIONS
1 Peter 3:15 says that we should always be prepared to answer people when they ask us questions about our faith---and that when we do, we should do that with GENTLENESS and RESPECT. So, again, God doesn’t want us to be pushy, forceful, or annoying salespeople, but when people see the things we say and do, when people ask us questions, we need to be prepared to give an answer. What that means is that you should think about why your faith is important to you. Why do you believe what you believe? Why do you go to church or come to CATALYST? If someone were to ask you any of those questions, would you know what to say or would you be like a deer caught in the headlights? You don't need to have all of the answers to every possible question someone might ask, but you should be able to share with someone why your faith is important to you personally, why you bother go to youth group or church when you could do other things, or why you live differently than a lot of other people around you. What's your story? What answers would you give to those questions? Think about those things ahead of time so that you're prepared when people start asking.
DISCUSSION FOR HOME
1. Ask your teen to tell you about the story of the lost son. Why is it such an amazing story? What does it tell us about God?
2. Pray with (or for) your teen this week- that God would open up opportunities for them to be open and honest about their faith, or why they do the things they do.
3. Encourage your teen to either think about or even write out some answers to these questions, so that they would be a little better prepared when someone asks them questions:
-Why do you go to a church youth group or to church on a Sunday. What do you do there? Why is it important to you? What difference does it make in your life?
-I've noticed that you don't talk like everybody else-- or that you seem to try to live in a different way than other people. Why is that?
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