Last week I shared that the stakes are high but our kids are worth the investment. Why are our kids worth the investment of our lives in passionately pursuing Jesus Christ and serving Him through the life of the local church? One simple answer is that if we do not do it as parents, it likely will not happen. These are serious times and serious times demand serious effort. How serious? Keep reading. The information below about this generation of teenagers is taken from the website teenmania.com It is both alarming and saddening at the same time.
THIS IS A GENERATION IN CRISIS
- 1 out of 10 fifteen year olds and younger have gone through family divorce in their lifetime.
- 58% have been involved in objectionable content on the web.
- 40% have experimented with SELF-INJURY (are "cutters").
- Use of prescription DRUGS (Ritalin, anti-depressants etc.) by children/teens has increased substantially in the past few years.
THIS IS A GENERATION WITHOUT MORALITY
- 1 in 10 high school females have reported being RAPED at some point in their life.
- Fear of violence in schools is now the leading "worry" of public school teens.
- 48% of high school seniors are SEXUALLY ACTIVE (had sexual intercourse in past 3 months).
THIS IS A GENERATION WITHOUT TRUTH
- 91% say there is NO ABSOLUTE TRUTH. - 75% of teens in America believe the central message of the Bible is, "God helps those who help themselves".
- 53% believe Jesus committed sin (40% of born again teens believe Jesus committed sin).
As a pastor, may I challenge you to consider this with prayer? Particularly, I would ask you to think about the last three statements related to TRUTH. Shocking, appalling, what adjective would you use? May I commend to your reading a book that can give you solid ground to help your child in those three areas? It is an old book but by no means obsolete. It’s the New Testament book of John. In those 21 chapters you will find the TRUTH about each of those areas.
Pastor Chuck
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