the BLOPE

In our last post we talked about the power of symbols.  I challenged you to consider how you could use symbols as a tool to help you pass down faith to your teenager. The reason I believe this is an appropriate method is that God used it. In Genesis 9:13-17 God used a rainbow as a symbol of His promise In Genesis 28:18-22 Jacob established a monument to remind himself of God’s promise to bless his descendants In Genesis 7:8-13 Aaron’s staff became a symbol to Pharaoh of God’s presence with the Israelites and His power  In Exodus 12 the Passover feast is rich with symbolism none more important than the use of the Lamb to represent coming salvation and it goes on and on…. the monument of 12 stones when the tribes of Israel crossed the Jordan river the 10 commandments given on stone tablets the ark of the covenant the Temple on an on… It’s not just in the Old Testament either.  In the New Testament we see symbols: the gifts of the Magi to Jesus in Luke 2 Jesus washing His di...

I would like to begin by handing you a  machete . A  machete  is a long knife used in the jungle to cut through thick brush and create a path. It does not remove all the obstacles, but it does make the path easier to follow. I want to hand you a figurative  machete  and inspire you to start beating down a path through life for your teenager to follow. There is no greater spiritual influence in the life of your teenager than you.  As your teenager’s youth minister, the smartest thing I can do is to set you up to blaze a trail of spiritual heritage for your teenager to follow. That is why I want to encourage you to live out Psalm 145:4 with your teenager. “One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.” Here are 3 ways you can blaze a spiritual path for your teenager: Close the old trails- You might have had a trail marked out for you by your parents that led to lots of pain. You don’t have to continue that path. You can close t...

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 gives us our mission from God as parents: “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” I want to quickly unpack this job description for parents into 3 action steps that you can do today to begin passing down faith in your home: 1) Put it in your Heart First - “these commands…are to be on your hearts” You can’t give away what you don’t have. You can’t inspire someone else to do something unless it inspires you first. If you want your teenager to be fueled by their faith than make sure that is what is fueling you. ACTION STEP: ...