Boston Youth Minister Michael Lamb shares his insights on how teenagers can have a spiritual mindset during the holiday season.
Reflect
Psalm 105:5
Take some time to look back on 2007. What is your favorite memory of the past year? What was your greatest victory, how can you build on it in 2008? What was your greatest challenge, how can you grow from it in 2008?
Connect
Colossians 4:2
Take time to connect with God through prayer. Use the P.A.R.T. acronym...
Praise Admit Request Thanksgiving. Remember, make it a P.A.R.T. of your prayer life.
Remember
Psalm 103
God created you because He wants to be close to you! We hear many negative messages of rejection everyday. Take time to remember how much God loves you. Remember who you are in God's eyes. How can remembering this change your perspective in 2008?
Relate
1 John 4:12
Spend time with a close friend and have a deep spiritual conversation. Be open about your relationship with God and how you want to use the gifts God has blessed you with. Talk about your weaknesses and your sin. Decide that your relationship will go deeper than the surface and that you will love one another as God intended friends to love. How can your relationship with this friend glorify God in 2008?
Reach-Out
Hebrews 10:24
Turn an acquaintance into a friend. Spend time with someone from your Teen Ministry that you don't know very well. How can you help one another draw closer to God in 2008?
Decide
Joshua 24:15
It is said that there are 3 types of people, "Those who make things happen, those who watch what happens, and those who wonder what happened". Instead of letting life just happen make a decision of who you will be. Find a "Theme Scripture" that can guide you to become who God created you to be in 2008.
Dream
Ephesians 3:20-21
What do you want to see accomplished in 2008? Come up with an "impossible prayer" that you can lay at God's feet. Decide to pray for this continually and allow God to increase your faith.
This article comes from the Boston Teen Ministry Website. http://www.bostoncoc.org/teens/articles/index.htm