Sermon Illustrations on Youth — page 2

Pearl Buck On Achieving the Impossible

Mark 10:27

"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible - and achieve it, generation after generation."

-- Pearl S. Buck

(untitled)

* According to American Demographics, young people between sixteen and

twenty-two years of age are doing the following on-line:

96% Send or receive e-mail

69% Instant messages

63% Download software or graphics

59% Play online games

54% Download music

52% Read local, national, and world news

49% Listen to music/radio online

42% Search for jobs

41% Research products

40% Purchase products

* According to American Demographics Magazine, over the next ten years,

empty-nest households will increase by 18.8%, while households with children

under eighteen years of age will stay even. Those living alone will increase by

12%, while females living alone will increase by 13.9%.

* American Demographics also reports the following interesting statistics: 68%

of all Americans talk to their cars! 55% of Americans report their number one

activity, when stuck in traffic, is talking to themselves. 58% of Midwesterners

stuck in traffic argue with passengers in the car!

PREACHING TIP for the MONTH It's easy to get so wrapped up in the process of

crafting sermons that we neglect what's most important. Prayer. Asking God to

empower our feeble ramblings and through the Holy Spirit to somehow use it to

touch people for eternity. I remember hearing someone say, "Sometimes prayer

changes things, but usually prayer changes us." When we stand in the pulpit we

can feel very unworthy to try and open up God's word and explain it to others,

mainly because we know ourselves and we know our sins. Prayer helps me relax

and realize that as Dwight Moody said, "God can strike a mighty blow with a

crooked stick."

A few years ago psychologist Ruth W. Berenda and her associates carried out an interesting experiment with teenagers designed to show how a person handled group pressure. The plan was simple. They brought groups of ten adolescents into a room for a test. Subsequently each group of ten was instructed to raise their hands when the teacher pointed to the longest line on three separate charts. What one person in the group did not know was that nine of the others in the room had been instructed ahead of time to vote for the second-longest line.

Regardless of the instructions they heard, once they were all together in the group, the nine were not to vote for the longest line, but rather vote for the next-to-the-longest line.

The desire of the psychologists was to determine how one person reacted when completely surrounded by a large number of people who obviously stood against what was true.

The experiment began with nine teen-agers voting for the wrong line. The stooge would typically glance around, frown in confusion, and slip his hand up with the group. The instructions were repeated and the next card was raised. Time after time, the self-conscious stooge would sit there saying a short line is longer than a long line, simply because he lacked the courage to challenge the group. This remarkable conformity occurred in about seventy-five percent of the cases, and was true of small children and high-school students as well.

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The Tale Of The Tardy Oxcart, Charles R. Swindoll, Word, p. 434.

When I Was One-and-twenty

Job 28:12

Poem XIII of "A Shropshire Lad," by A. E. Housman (1859-1936)

When I was one-and-twenty

I heard a wise man say,

“Give crowns and pounds and guineas

But not your heart away;

Give pearls away and rubies,

But keep your fancy free.”

But I was one-and-twenty,

No use to talk to me.

When I was one-and-twenty

I heard him say again,

“The heart out of the bosom

Was never given in vain;

’Tis paid with sighs a-plenty

And sold for endless rue.”

And I am two-and-twenty,

And oh, ’tis true, ’tis true.

Poem: the Song of Wandering Aengus

The Song of Wandering Aengus

I went out to the hazel wood,

Because a fire was in my head,

And cut and peeled a hazel wand,

And hooked a berry to a thread;

And when white moths were on the wing,

And moth-like stars were flickering out,

I dropped the berry in a stream

And caught a little silver trout.

When I had laid it on the floor

I went to blow the fire aflame,

But something rustled on the floor,

And some one called me by my name:

It had become a glimmering girl

With apple blossom in her hair

Who called me by my name and ran

And faded through the brightening air.

Though I am old with wandering

Through hollow lands and hilly lands,

I will find out where she has gone,

And kiss her lips and take her hands;

And walk among long dappled grass,

And pluck till time and times are done

The silver apples of the moon,

The golden apples of the sun.

-- William Butler Yeats

Don't Ever Grow Too Old.…

Don’t ever grow too old for birthdays,

Fun-things that you used to do,

Don’t give up your dreams because you

Feel that they have not come true.

Don’t forget the sound of laughter,

Or the love in someone’s eyes,

Don’t trade memories for pleasures,

All that in a moment dies.

Don’t give up your zest for living,

Saying you are much too old,

Is this what you feel, or is it

Something that you have been told?

There’s a valley deep within us,

Where there is eternal Spring,

Where there is no sound of sorrow,

And the birds forever sing.

Though your gait is not as steady,

Now as once it used to be,

And your vision’s clouding over

Things you used to clearly see,

Do not let the weight of decades,

Turn you into bitter gall,

For with age there comes a wisdom,

That’s a blessing to us all.

Hold your years up like a banner,

Wave it brightly in the sun,

When folks tell you life is over,

Tell them it has just begun.

Loneliness can never touch you,

If you don’t allow it to,

And in sharing love with others,

… God will give it back to you…

Showing the Way

Daniel 1

Showing the Way

Read: Daniel 1

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example. — 1 Timothy 4:12

I love it when young people show the way for adults. It was like that recently at a basketball game I attended. On the court for one team was a talented group of African-American players. The other team consisted of an equally talented group of white players. One ref was white. One was black. On one side of the court sat the African-American fans; on the other side, the white.

As the two teams battled each other tooth and toenail, tensions were high. Neither team could muster much of a lead, and every call by the refs was met with disdain by the fans of one of the teams. Occasionally, it appeared that the fans might break out of control.

Yet on the court, the 10 players of both teams never strayed from their focus on hard play and good sportsmanship. Although they were the ones playing the game, being called for the fouls, and getting an occasional bump or bruise, they never lost control.

As the game ended, the two teams congratulated each other in a show of good sportsmanship. They genuinely appreciated the other team’s efforts. Winner or loser. Black or white. It didn’t matter.

Once more, it was an example of young people showing the way for adults. Teenage boys, not old enough to vote and some barely old enough to drive a car, had shown supreme maturity, clearheadedness, and class, while their moms and dads were about to come apart in the stands all around them.

This show of maturity can teach us a lot about the difference you can make in your world. You have reached an age at which you no longer simply mirror your parents’ views or react to please them. You make decisions every day that are yours alone. And you have the ability to make sure those decisions are God-honoring.

There are adults out there who need to see your example. You don’t have to look around too much to see people a lot older than you who think it’s okay to lie, steal, cheat, commit adultery, and get involved in all kinds of destructive behavior.

Stand above all that. Like those 10 tired basketball players, be a model for all who look at you. Live right. Honor others. Do your best. Show the way for the older people in your life. — DB

REFLECTION

• What might be a situation in which I as a young adult can show the way for older adults who might not be demonstrating the best behavior?

• Do some people look down on me because I’m young? How can I change that?

• When have I made mistakes by expecting less of myself than I should have? Can I somehow salvage that situation?

Be a model for the older generation.

Young Examples of Faith

1 Timothy 4:12

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. — 1 Timothy 4:12

THOUGHT:

The idealistic passions of youth must not be rationalized away or patronizingly pushed to the side. If you are younger, you are not only part of the church of tomorrow, you are also God’s servant today. Serve him mightily and be an example to those who are older! If you are older, don’t look down on the enthusiasm of youth, but encourage it and be inspired to emulate it! Let’s remember, some of our best examples are those who are younger who serve our Lord with a vibrant faith!

PRAYER:

Father, thank you so much for energetic, enthusiastic, and passionate Christians who are in the younger years of their adulthood. Empower their witness, bless their service, and keep their hearts pure as they grow and mature in your service. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen

We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.

Guess You Just Had To Have Known Gladys

On her 95th birthday, my fiancé introduced me to his grandmother, Gladys Attwood. Her eyes twinkled, as I pulled up a chair to sit beside her, just as one of her three daughters prepared a video for us all to enjoy. Helen explained that the video was a compilation of the three television commercials that Gladys starred in the year before for a local car wash. Larry Dahl, owner of the Wash n’ Well Car Wash had telephoned the minimal care facility where Gladys resided to see if there was a “spunky old lady” there with the charisma to pull off what he had in mind. Marge Siegfried, co-manager at the Royal Oaks Retirement Home, didn’t think twice. They had “just the right person!”

“Just give me the works, Sonny!” she’d say as she pulled up to the attendant. Out of the car, she’d race around with her cane (the film was accelerated), kicking the tires, and tapping the attendants, as they scrubbed and buffed and shined. At the end she’d exclaim, “Well, I sure gave those boys the works!” and she’d smile and wink, the wink that won her recognition all over the town of Medford, Oregon. How she laughed when the video was over!

Once the crowd of family members around us thinned, and the flood of compliments slowed, I found myself listening intently to Gladys. A breast cancer survivor, she was active in the American Cancer Society’s local cancer support group. “You know the young people that have had cancer, if they can see that you can have it and live to be 95, it does something for them,” she said.

Our conversation continued and soon she shared her thoughts on the latest happenings in politics and world affairs. I was taken aback with the acute sharpness of this former champion college basketball player and teacher’s mind whose knowledge and complex thought processes of current affairs put me to shame. It wasn’t long before I was left far behind in awe.

Partly in an effort to save myself and partly because I was so amazed, I asked, “Tell me, Grandma, how ever did you manage to grow so old yet stay so young?”

Gladys leaned her warm, wrinkled face in closer to mine, her gray eyes shining behind her metal-framed glasses. “I’ll tell you, Diane. A long time ago, a nurse told me that if you laugh a lot, you live longer, so… I laugh a lot… and my four boyfriends keep me going!”

“Your four boyfriends?!?!” I exclaimed.

“Haven’t I told you? Well… every morning I get up with Will Power. Then I go for a walk with Arthur Itis. I come home with Charlie Horse. Than I go to bed with my favorite… Ben Gay.”

'Twentysomething' Adults Are Less Committed To Church,

Millions of twentysomething Americans, including those who were active in the church during their teens, have not made a commitment to church a priority in their lives as they move beyond the college years and into the workforce, a recent study by the Barna Research Group indicates.

The study, released Sept. 24, also said twentysomethings are far less likely than older adults to donate to churches, serve as volunteers or read the Bible but do admit they pray to God often.

In an American culture focused on individualism, some of the most crucial decisions made by people from age 20 to 29 -- such as whether to finish college, what career to pursue, where to live, whether to get married -- are being influenced by people's desire to determine their own personal fulfillment and purpose in life apart from the traditional sources of Christian input, the study said.

Only 3 out of 10 twentysomethings attend church in a typical week, compared to 4 out of 10 of those in their 30s and nearly half of all adults 40 and older, Barna found. And just 22 percent of those ages 25 to 29 -- those most likely to have transitioned from education to the workforce -- attended church in the past week.

For those who were active in church as teenagers, from high school graduation to age 25 there is a 42 percent decrease in weekly church attendance and a 58 percent drop from age 18 to 29. The study said that represents about 8 million twentysomethings alive today who were active church-goers as teenagers but who will no longer be active by their 30th birthday.

“Christianity is not going to whither away among twentysomethings -- more than 10 million are active church-goers and very committed to the Christian faith,” David Kinnaman, vice president of the Barna Research Group and director of the study, said in a news release. “But the real issue is how churches will respond to the faithquakes that are reverberating through our nation's young adults. The notion that these people will return to the church when they get older or once they become parents is only true in a minority of cases.

“More importantly, that reasoning ignores the real issue: Millions of twentysomethings are crystallizing their views of life without the input of church leaders, the Bible or other mature Christians,” Kinnaman said. “If we simply wait for them to come back to church later in adulthood, not only will most of those people never return, but also we would miss the chance to alter their life trajectory during a critical phase. And, besides, what church couldn't use the infusion of energy, ideas and leadership that young adults can bring to the table?”

Only about 30 percent of twentysomethings donated to a church in the past year, compared to 61 percent of older adults who did so. In addition, Bible reading levels are about 33 percent less among twentysomethings than among older adults.

Just one-third of twentysomethings claims to be absolutely committed to Christianity, compared to more than half of all older adults, the research showed.

Twentysomethings also tend to feel overlooked as potential leaders in their churches, the study said, as just 4 percent of young adults currently serve as a lay leader at their church. Even so, people in their 20s and 30s are more likely than older adults to consider themselves leaders and are more open to the training which would make them better leaders. The research found that because young adults are busy, skeptical of churches and unwilling to commit to classroom-style training without hands-on leadership opportunities, mentoring is the most appealing method of leadership development for their age group.

Despite the decline in commitment to Christianity among twentysomethings, the Barna study found that more than 80 percent said their religious faith is very important in their life and nearly 57 percent claimed to have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life. The fact that 75 percent of twentysomethings surveyed said they had prayed to God in the past week indicates they have a desire for personal spiritual experience, the study said.

The data in the Barna study was collected from telephone interviews with several nationwide random samples of adults from January 2000 through May 2003. The research group interviewed a total of 14,091 adults, including 2,660 adults ages 20 to 29.

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Meeting the Need For Truth: Reaching Out To Teens

This fall, I spoke at an event that encouraged me greatly. It was a conference in Indianapolis organized by Teenmania, a group founded by youth evangelist Ron Luce, an energetic and able leader. According to its mission statement, Teenmania seeks “to deepen young people's spiritual maturity, passion, commitment, and effectiveness for Christ.” It's a great fast-growing movement.

There were three thousand youth pastors. My subject was how to teach Christian worldview to teenagers and prepare them to defend their faith in college. The response was terrific. The pastors got it: They seemed to understand the importance of teaching worldview to kids. Instead of just sharing the basics of faith, or just communicating a faith based mostly on good feelings, they understood that their task is to show kids a whole new way of looking at the world — a way that's radically different from the moral relativism that contemporary culture teaches them. These youth pastors can provide honest, intelligent, biblically grounded answers to the serious questions many of these kids are asking.

Let me tell you, there's a desperate need for youth workers, educators, and parents who will do exactly this. In a recent survey, pollster George Barna reported that 83 percent of teenagers in this country today believe that “moral truth depends on the circumstances.” Think of it. And “only 6 percent believe that moral truth is absolute.” Perhaps most disturbing of all, “only 9 percent of born again teens believe in moral absolutes” — only one in ten of our Christian kids.

The sad truth is that these kids don't understand what they say they believe about God, and they have no idea how their faith should affect their thinking and their lives. That's frightening not only for them, but for the Church as well. If our future leaders don't believe in absolute truth even though they say they know the God who is the source of all truth, what kind of a future can we expect?

But the encouraging news, you see, is that the kids are asking the right questions. And in growing numbers, adults are lining up, ready to teach kids about worldview. Already Teenmania is running a worldview course based on HOW NOW SHALL WE LIVE?, the book Nancy Pearcey and I wrote, at its Freedom Academy, a one-year course that students take between high school and college. And we here at BreakPoint are planning to step up our own efforts as well. We've had a great response whenever we've talked about the need for Christian worldview training for kids or when we have suggested resources for parents and teachers. As a result of that, we're developing our own teen worldview curriculum with the help of Mark Eckel, a professor at Moody Bible Institute, who has extensive experience in this area. Mark taught worldview for sixteen years at a Christian high school, and he's one of the best qualified people I know in this field.

This effort to teach our youth has become a passion for me. I'll be speaking to the Young Life staff in January as I did to Teenmania. And I want to keep doing as much teaching as possible with young people. I hope you'll consider doing the same. Keep checking our website for updates on the curriculum that we are developing and for other resources you can use to help in this crucial work.

In Ephesians, we're told that we are to work toward “the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry.” That is the job of the Church. Well, I say start early. I can't think of a more urgent need than enabling young people to understand their faith and preparing them to defend it against the onslaught of secular thought that they will be encountering in their schools and from popular culture.

FOR FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION:

• “Teenagers,” summary of research compiled by Barna Research, 2001. See also the following press releases at Barna's website: “Teenagers Embrace Religion but Are Not Excited about Christianity,” “Teenagers' Beliefs Moving Farther from Biblical Perspective,” and “Americans Are Most Likely to Base Truth on Feelings.”

• “Teens More Conservative on Some Issues,” FOX News, 9 December 2003.

• Stuart Silverstein and Andy Olsen, “Evangelical Colleges Make Marks in a Secular World,” Los Angeles Times, 30 November 2003.

• Stuart Silverstein, “Colleges Fail to Encourage Spiritual Ideas, Study Finds,” Los Angeles Times, 21 November 2003, A19. (Archived article; costs $2.50 to retrieve.)

• See the BreakPoint commentaries, “It's All about Profit: Exploiting Kids for Cash,” “Me, Myself, and I: What's Really Wrong with Teen Culture,” “Bankrupt at Age Twenty-Five: Marketing to Teens, Tweens, and Kids,” “Image Is Everything: Losing Identity at the Shopping Mall,” “A New Generation Gap,” “The Third Millennium Church,” “The New Counterculture,” and “Putting Worldview to Work: Christ and Culture Week at Covenant Life School.”

• Visit past “Worldview for Parents“ pages for resources on specific issues and questions.

• Nancy Fitzgerald, “Teaching Worldview to the Next Generation.” Nancy leads a worldview study for teenagers in her home in Indianapolis; this page provides a basic outline of the curriculum she uses.

• Charles Colson, Answers to Your Kids' Questions (Tyndale, 2000).

• Robert Webber, The Younger Evangelicals (Baker Book House, 2002).

• Colleen Carroll, The New Faithful (Loyola Press, 2002).

• We've recently developed some worldview resources for adults: an online course based on Chuck Colson's book How Now Shall We Live; a small-group curriculum called “CounterCultural Christians,” and a newly released small-group curriculum on bioethics called “Playing God?“. Call 1-877-3-CALLBP to learn more.

• The “Worldview for Teens“ resource guide includes information about books on worldview, education, ethics, justice/law, life, science, the arts, popular culture, and work, as well as information on camps, ministries, and multimedia resources.

• Budziszewski, How to Stay Christian in College (NavPress, 1999). A newly updated version will be released next year and will be previewed in BreakPoint WorldView magazine.

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No Camels

Haggai 1:9

As a youth leader in our church, I find even the brashest candor of young people to be refreshing. Their honesty often bubbles to the surface when we’re discussing the week’s quiet-time journal. That’s the tool we use to help them establish a habit of prayer and Bible reading.

Many of our kids don’t do the quiet-time, and they’re not afraid to tell me about it. But most of them want to do it — they just don’t get around to it. And nothing induces guilt quite like several months of blank pages staring at you. These kids are like camels, trying to live off some stored-up spiritual food. (More on that later.)

I appreciate our youth director’s approach to this sort of spiritual starvation. “Just do today’s quiet-time!” he emphasizes. “Don’t worry about yesterday; don’t worry about last week; don’t worry about last year. Just do today’s.”

The prophet Haggai exhorted the Hebrews returning from exile to turn a spiritual corner without looking back. But first they had to make an honest acknowledgment of their problem. The people had built their own homes and neglected the temple of God, which lay in ruins (Haggai 1:9). Haggai told them this was why they were struggling financially (2:16-17).

But he didn’t berate them without also encouraging them. “From this day on … ,” he emphasized, they were to take care not to violate God’s law. It was a time of new beginnings. And if they obeyed? “… I will bless you” (2:19).

The point of spending time with God is to feed yourself spiritually for that day. Some camels can go for more than a month without eating, and then eat 6 weeks’ worth of food in a single morning.

Don’t be a spiritual camel. If you’ve been starving yourself, eat a decent spiritual meal right now. Consider today a good start on a great habit. — Tim Gustafson

DESTINATION POINTS

• Do I try to make up for spiritual neglect by binging on God’s Word?

• How can this be damaging?

• Do I have a daily quiet time?

Don’t let guilt about yesterday ruin today.

It's Not Your Candy Store

Luke 12:15

When there was money in Joseph Bucci’s bank account, he spent it. The Trevose, Pennsylvania, laborer burned through almost $69,300 in roughly a month -- the amount that had been credited to him when a Wells Fargo teller miskeyed another depositor’s account number.

“He spent a majority of the money helping family and friends,” said his lawyer, Michael Parlow. “He lent money to a lot of people.” He also bought a computer, a dog, and a used car, among other things, the attorney said.

Bucci is charged with stealing lost property and receiving stolen property, but he’s trying to complete a first-offenders program that could clear his record. He’s recovered some of the money by selling his purchases and being repaid by people he’d helped, but he still owes the bank about $50,000.

Parlow said his client had been like “a kid in a candy store,” emphasizing Bucci’s youth. “He was a young, impressionable, naive, young kid,” the lawyer said,” who didn’t realize the consequence of his actions.” Bucci is 22. [1]

Alexander Cohen adds the comment: How old do you have to be to know the candy in the store isn’t yours?

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1. Philadelphia Inquirer.

Millennials and the Bible

Luke 24:27

Want to offend a Millennial? You could just open your Bible and read it in front of him. But if you live out the teachings of Scripture, you just might win him over.

Earlier in 2014, I told you about some of the challenges in reaching Millennials for Christ, that is, young adults aged roughly 18 to 33. While 55 percent of Baby Boomers say they’re religious, only 36 percent of Millennials do. “Today,” University of Virginia sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox notes, “fully 29 percent of Millennials consider themselves religiously unaffiliated, a record postwar high. They are also much less likely to describe themselves as ‘religious’ compared with earlier generations of Americans.”

Well, how is this rising generation connecting to the Bible? In a word, poorly. According to a new study by the Barna Group, “Non-Christian Millennials hold ambivalent and sometimes extremely negative views about the Bible.”

How negative? The first thing to know is that a full 62 percent of non-Christian Millennials have never even read the Bible. Friends, that’s the kind of world in which we live — one with tremendous ignorance of God’s Word. It’s no wonder that the nation has gone so far downhill, so fast, because we can’t expect people to live like Christians if they aren’t Christians, and especially if they don’t even have a passing acquaintance with the Scriptures.

Non-Christian Millennials’ unfamiliarity with the Bible, however, has not kept them from forming an opinion on it — an extremely negative one. Barna says that nearly half believe “the Bible is just another book of teachings written by men that contains stories and advice.”

The most common words they use to describe the Bible are “story,” “mythology,” “symbolic,” and “fairy tale.” Fully 30 percent of Millennials allow that it’s a useful book of moral teachings, but nearly as many — 27 percent — agree that the Bible is “a dangerous book of religious dogma used for centuries to oppress people.”

Almost one in five say the Bible is “an outdated book with no relevance for today.” I don’t know about you, but those numbers kind of make me want to weep.

Although we obviously have a long way to go to overcome this prejudice, I’m glad to say that the survey gives us some pointers on how to do it — and how not to do it.

First, how not to do it: Barna suggests reading your Bible around a non-Christian Millennial is not likely to spark much spiritual interest — the opposite, in fact, is more likely to be true. According to Barna, “When they see someone reading the Bible in public ... they assume the Bible reader is politically conservative ... ; that they don’t have anything in common with the person ... ; that the Bible reader is old fashioned ... or that [he or she is] trying to make a statement or be provocative ... .Fewer than one in 10 non-Christian young adults indicate any kind of positive response.”

So what is a more effective approach among this group? According to Barna, “personal interactions” with people who have benefited from the Bible tend to bear the most fruit.

As we’ve said before, Millennials value relationships. We don’t need to be Bible scholars — although of course there’s nothing wrong with that. But we do, however, need to practice what the Bible preaches, and be neighborly.

And there’s more good news. The survey suggests that Millennials are fully capable of holding orthodox views about the Bible and the Christian faith. Nearly all self-identified Millennial Christians who attend church at least once a month and who describe their religious faith as very important to their lives believe the Bible contains everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life and that it’s the actual or inspired word of God.

So when it comes to Millennials and the Bible, is the glass half full, or half empty? It all depends, gentle listener, on us.

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Quick Judgment

We were in a tent meeting between Chattanooga and Rossville. Large crowds were attending, and many were finding the Lord. On one particular night many came forward for prayer. They just kept coming and praying through, and the call was continued. As the service went on, we saw a company of young people leave the tent in a rather hilarious mood. In a few minutes after they left, we heard the siren of the ambulance as it dashed past the tent down the boulevard.

When the service was over, we learned that the young people who left the tent had gotten into their car and sped down the highway at sixty or seventy miles an hour. One young lady stood out on the running board, having a great time. As they sped on she leaned out from the car, but she leaned too far. The car swerved a little and her head struck a telephone pole which spattered her brains on the ground.

This was quick judgment. She was dead and, doubtless, in hell even before the altar call had closed. God says, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” And He means it, too.

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William Moses Tidwell, “Pointed Illustrations.”

Not Too Young To Die

A small girl desired to unite with the church. On account of her extreme youth there was decided opposition. She became insistent, and declared her intention to unite that day.

A friend whom she loved and who exercised great influence over her was appealed to to dissuade her if possible. The utmost was done to accomplish this. But one reason was given -- "You are too young."

When the last argument was made, she said with childlike simplicity, "I am not too young to die."

All opposition was withdrawn and she was received. A short time elapsed and the great Shepherd sent a band of angels to remove His lamb from the sterile soil of earth to the richer pasture lands above. Her dust awaits the resurrection in one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the "Blue Grass Region" of Kentucky.

On the cold marble marking her resting place are chiseled these words: "I am not too young to die"

How impressive, eloquent and true. What a lesson! May the multitude of children who gaze upon the silent words on the monument or read them in this brief narrative be influenced by them to do as she did, and be prepared to meet her in heaven. For, like Abel, she "being dead, yet speaketh."

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William Moses Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations."

Boy’S Club, Value Of The

A boy’s reckless youthfulness led his peers into ruin, showing sin’s destructive consequences.

I was talking once with an East Side boy, one of the keenest and quickest fellows I have ever met. He told me the story of his early years. There was no good reason why he should have been a newsboy; his father was a fairly prosperous tailor; but he loved the adventure of it, and used to play hookey from school and from home to sell papers. Union Square was his center, and from there down to Washington Square he ranged. He was the quickest and the most fearless of the newsboys in the neighborhood, and soon became a leader among them. His brightness and wit won him entrance into most of the saloons and restaurants thereabouts, when the other boys were excluded; and in many of these the waiters or the barkeeper would save the dregs of drinks for him. He stole when he could, just for the excitement of the thing; and with great glee he told me how he once had picked the pocket of Mr. Robert Graham, the general secretary of the Church Temperance Society, as that gentleman stood talking at the window of the society’s coffee-van in the square. At the time he told me this, he and I both belonged to a company of the Church Temperance Society which claimed Mr. Graham as its adjutant commander. His story was not all of such proud recollections, however. For after a pause he said, rather slowly, “The boys I used to go with around here, my gang, have all gone to the devil, and mighty fast.” “Well, John,” I asked, “how is it that you didn’t go to the devil, too, with them?” “Well, I’ll tell you. I belonged to a boy’s club down near my house. It wasn’t much of a club; we used to steal and have rough house all we pleased. But I was there every night.” And then he added, with a momentary seriousness I shall not soon forget: “Mr. Bartlett, if you want to save the boys, keep them off the streets at night.” It was expert testimony; he knew whereof he spoke. And what he said puts in a nutshell the whole philosophy of the boys’ club, secular or spiritual, on its negative, but a most important, side. If the club simply keeps the boys off the streets at night, it does much more than enough to pay for all it costs.--GEORGE G. BARTLETT, “Proceedings of the Religious Education Association,” 1904.

Sins Of Youth

Youthful sins leave lasting marks that bring regret in old age.

In some strata there are to be seen the marks of showers of rain which fell centuries ago, and they are so plain and perfect that they clearly indicate the way the wind was drifting and in what direction the tempest slanted from the sky. So may the tracks of youthful sins be traced upon the tablet of life when it has merged into old-age tracks on which it is bitter and sad to look, and which call forth many a worthless longing for the days and months which are past. (Text.)

— MURSELL

Themes For Preaching With Generation X

Acts 2:37

Themes for Preaching With Generation X:

Spend time in the gospels and Old Testament narratives

* overcoming shame [guilt - courtroom Image; shame - relational, ie.,

adoption]

* appreciate family

* understanding our sexuality

* accepting our created image in God [selfimage]

* find opportunities to serve

* discovering hope in midst of pain

* address Gen-X's primary felt emotions: alienation, betrayal, insecurity,

low self-confidence, unwanted & unneeded.

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