AN EXAMPLE WORTH FOLLOWING

Hey! Welcome to the blog! My name is Bro. Matt and I'm a youth pastor at Sycamore Baptist Church in Jackson, Mi. I'm starting this blog because I want to help teenagers to be better Christians. 

"Well, Bro. Matt, what do you know about being a teenager?"

Good question, I'm glad you asked. For starters, I'm only 24. I'm not that much older than you seniors, and I'm not even twice as old as you 7th graders. I don't call an xbox 360 a Cube Station (gamecube/playstation), I know about tweets, hashtags, and pokes. I know texting abbreviations and what they mean: lol, tots, hmu, rofl, etc... I also know that being a teen isn't easy. The peer pressure and temptations are outrageous! To be a Godly teen is even HARDER!!! To always make the right choices... I'm hoping this blog can be a blessing to you and that it can help you grow as a Christian.

So let's get started:

I Timothy 4:12 says "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." A lot of teens know I Timothy 4:12a "Let no man despise thy youth". Many teenagers growing up in church use this to 'put parents in their place' or to correct a youth pastor. 

STOP!!! STOP!!! STOP!!!

Let's concentrate on I Timothy 4:12b "but be thou an EXAMPLE of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." Did you know, as a teenager, you can set an example for ADULTS? Yeah, No Kidding! You can be an example for adults to follow and look up to. 

"How?"

1. In Word

Are you a man (or lady) of you word? Do you keep your promises? Are you know for lying? Tell dirty jokes? Swear? You, even as a teenager, need to keep your word. Proverbs 12:22 says that lying lips are abomination to the Lord. 

2. In Conversation

Conversation means 'lifestyle'. Does your lifestyle honor God? The music you listen to should honor God. If there's swearing in the music, you shouldn't be listening to that song or even 'artist'. Lyrics about sex, drugs, alcohol, etc... should be a dead giveaway: This music doesn't honor God! 

Are you known as a flirt or a jerk? Those traits don't honor God. How about as kind and forgiving? That sounds Biblical: Ephesians 4:32 "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

3. In Charity
Charity means love. I'm not talking about the googly eyes and the boyfriend/girlfriend stuff. I'm talking about the senior that takes the time to help a freshman with their 'easy, easy' math homework, and after an hour of that awkward freshman picking their nose and not paying attention and not understanding that simple math problem, the senior hasn't given them an atomic wedgie yet: that's charity. There's a whole chapter about it in I Corinthians 13.

4. In Spirit

A good attitude goes a long way. Daniel had an 'excellent spirit' and God blessed him. 

5. In Faith
Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." In every difficult situation, take it to God. What does His Word say?

6. In Purity
I Corinthians 7:1 "Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman." That'll solve a lot of problems right there. In the words of Emperor Cusco ( The Emperor's New Groove) "No Touchy!" until you're married.

Follow these few traits and you can be an EXAMPLE worth following!