LESSON FOLLOWUP | November 20

Grades 9-12 | Inside Jokes

When your teenager talks about youth group, I’m sure you haven’t always understood everything. We share a lot of inside jokes with people we care about, and we want youth group to be a place where students feel part of a shared faith journey.

That’s why we explored the concept of inside jokes and insider language this week. Those can be a bad thing if they create walls, but Jesus uses them to create bridges.

Thanks for all you do to welcome us into your family’s faith journey. If you’d ever like to connect, know the door is open. Consider using these questions to begin a conversation with your teenager this week:

• As you think about your spiritual journey, what role does youth group play? What role can I play? Where do you see—or want to see—any overlap?
• What have you learned about Jesus that I could pay more attention to myself?
• When have you felt Jesus using a person or situation to say something so personal it was meant just for you?

Thanks again for letting us partner with you in helping your teenager grow with Jesus!


Grades 6-8 | Reading the Bible in a Meaningful Way

We’ve wrapped up our “Bible 101” series, and our final conversation gave our teenagers a chance to move beyond the “intimidation factor” that Scripture holds for many of them.

We encouraged our young people to ask three specific questions when they read a passage of Scripture: How does this Scripture point me to Jesus, how does this Scripture connect to my life today, and how can this Scripture encourage another person? The first question looks upward, toward Christ. 

The second question looks inward, toward our heart. The third question looks outward, toward others. All three questions can help them read the Bible in a meaningful way.

This week, I encourage you to spend a few minutes talking with your teenager about our lesson. Here are some questions you might want to ask:

• The more you know Scripture and absorb it into your life, the more it shapes who you are—give me an example of this from your life.
• As you follow Jesus, how does Scripture help you travel on the right path?
• Are you satisfied with how frequently you read the Bible? Why or why not?

Have an amazing week and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!