Preparing Teens for the Great Battle

Having had a son who really went to a physical war, these words by John Piper really struck home:

Knowing you are in a war changes what is cool. If your family is under attack, fretting about your clothes and your hair stops. There are more important things at stake.

Pastor John goes on to use this obvious point to challenge us to have this same kind of perspective when we consider our own lives, but it’s especially a call for teenagers to have this mindset:

…we are at war. The enemy is stronger than the Axis of Germany, Japan, and Italy. Indeed, stronger than all human powers put together. The battle is daily. It is fought in every locality. And its victories and defeats lead to heaven or to hell.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11)

Fight the good fight of the faith. (1 Timothy 6:12)

Wage the good warfare. (1 Timothy 1:18)

The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh. (2 Corinthians 10:4)

Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 2:3)

Abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. (1 Peter 2:11)

What Is Really Going On?

Don’t be part of the blind, teenage masses who do not know what is going on. They think that to know the latest movie, iPhone app, or hit song is to know what is going on. Those things are like cut flowers. Bright today, tossed out tomorrow. They are utterly insignificant compared to events that are shaping the course of eternity.

When the Great General says, “Let no one despise you for your youth” (1 Timothy 4:12), he means: Don’t fit into the stereotype of the aimless, careless, superficial youth. Break the mold. You belong to Christ. Show the world that there is another kind of teenager on the earth.

This teenager is not a leaf blown along with the wind of cultural trends. He is not a jellyfish floating with the current of the times. He is a tree that stands firm in the strongest storms. He is a dolphin who slices the waves against the tide. He is going somewhere.

(From “A Call to Teenagers to be Free,” ©2015 Desiring God Foundation, desiringGod.org)

Are you preparing your own children for the great battle? Is your church’s youth ministry helping students put on the whole armor of God, that he or she may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.? One way to prepare our teens for the battle is by presenting them with the “whole armor of God” and training them how to use the armor in battle. That is why CDG has developed serious, challenging, and Bible-intensive curriculum for this age group. If you haven’t already done so, check out these resources for youth:
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