THE TEEN YEARS HAVE BEEN HIJACKED. They've been hijacked by
pleasure - fashion, sex, music, movies. They've been hijacked by
pressure - from school, peers, and society. And they've been
hijacked by distraction - games, smartphones, and social media.
None of these things give teens the purpose or identity they were
made for. None of these things give teens ultimate happiness and
satisfaction. None of these things answer the big and serious
questions teens have: Who am I? Why am I here? How can I make a
difference in this world? I know this because I am a teenager.
There's only one way for teens to find purpose, meaning, and joy.
Only one thing more glorious than all these influences. Only one
message that has the power to change the life of a teenager. The
gospel. GOD MADE YOU WITH A PURPOSE What is the gospel? It's a
story. And what teenager doesn't love a good story? This is more
than just a good story, though. It's a true story, and that makes
it the best kind of story. It starts with God. Before anything else
existed (before time, before the universe, before cars, before
smartphones, before teenagers), there was God. He's eternal. He's
perfect. He's just, kind, good, and faithful. He's holy. And he
created this world and everything in it. He made the sun and sky
and oceans and moon and anthills and evergreens and emeralds and
doves and daffodils and cumulous clouds and lava and watermelon and
wallabies. And then he made the pinnacle of his creation, humans.
He made you and me. And he made us for a purpose: to love, obey,
and enjoy him forever. That's the true purpose of every teen, every
human in fact. YOU REJECTED YOUR PURPOSE But we messed things up.
Humans chose to rebel against our good maker and look for a
different purpose: we wanted to love, obey, and enjoy ourselves
instead. We said, "No, thanks, God. We don't believe you actually
care about us. We want to go our own way." We sinned. Sin is not a
popular word - it sounds intolerant, narrow, and mean. But if we
don't understand it, we won't understand ourselves. Because we
disobeyed a perfect God and rebelled against him, we deserve to be
punished. We deserve death and eternal torment. That's justice. And
that's every teenager's biggest problem. Worse than any other worry
in your life is the reality that you are a sinner and you deserve
to be punished by a holy God. That's horrific and terrifying. So
what can you do? GOD CAN GIVE YOU PURPOSE Unfortunately, you can't
do anything. No matter how hard we try or what good we do, we can't
work our way back to God. But the good news is that God can do
something. Actually, God did do something. He knew that we would
sin, and he had a plan. It was a shocking, incredible plan. He
would send his Son, Jesus Christ, to take the punishment sinful
humans deserved. Jesus would come and live the perfect life we
couldn't live so that he could die the death we should have died.
He would bear the punishment that we deserved because of our sin.
But then, Jesus would rise from the grave in a miraculous victory
over death, so that we could live forever with him. Sin wouldn't
end the story. God would save sinners - even though we didn't
deserve it. That's grace. And it's amazing! And that's the greatest
news a teenager could ever hear. Now, any person who turns away
from their sin and trusts wholly, solely in what Christ did will be
saved. No matter how old you are. God calls every teenager to turn
from living for themselves (and the pleasures, pressures, and
distractions of life) and to put their faith in Christ and live for
him. If you do that, you will be saved. And then you can be the
teenager God created you to be. HOW TO BE THE TEEN GOD CALLS YOU TO
BE Once you trust in Jesus alone to save you, he gives you an
identity that fills you with satisfaction and joy. You become a
Jesus-follower, a Christian. After God has saved you, there are two
things you need. First, you need a Bible. This is God's very word.
If you want to hear him speak to you, read this book! A perfect
place to start is the book of John. The whole reason John wrote
that book is so that you might know Jesus and have life in him. And
second, you need a church. You need a local community of believers
who will teach you, support you, hold you accountable, and love
you. The gospel doesn't save us so we can be loners. We're saved
into a spiritual family. It's time to take back the teen years from
pleasure, pressure, and distraction. It's time to repent and
believe the gospel story, to confess that Jesus is Lord, and to
live the way we were made to live. It's time to find our true
purpose as teenagers: to love, obey, and enjoy God forever. Will
you join me?
General
Imprint: |
Crossway Books
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
August 2018 |
Authors: |
Crowe
|
Dimensions: |
139 x 90 x 16mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
8 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-68216-384-9 |
Categories: |
Books >
Sport & Leisure >
Miscellaneous items >
General
Promotions
|
LSN: |
1-68216-384-9 |
Barcode: |
9781682163849 |
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