Teen Topics

Need Some Help?

There is no doubt that teenagers have some major questions? "What is this attraction I have?" "Is it wrong to smoke or drink?" "Why are so many people joining in?" "What does God have to day about my movies, music, and friends?" Teenager, there is one source to turn to for our help and that is God's Word. There we will find answers to some of the very real issues you are facing today. Man's thoughts can be good, but God's ways are even better. Let's take a look:

Topics we will cover in the weeks ahead:

Peer Pressure
Teens and Addictions
Pornography
Respect
Friends

⇒ Peer Pressure/Friends

Psalm 1:1, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful."

Proverbs 13:20, "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed."

James 4:4, " Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."

"By the time the average teen reaches the ninth grade, the primary influence in his life becomes his friends, not his parents. In an age of increasing pressure to blend into the crowd and be like everyone else, teens need to understand peer pressure, how to fight it and how to use it positively."¹

Before every decision we make we need to ask ourselves two questions - "Why am I choosing this option?" and "What will the consequences of my choice be?"

We all choose friends based on the things we consider to be important (popularity, athletic, smart, good looking, funny, similarities, etc.), but what we need to do is see how God would want us to choose friends.

         ♦ Leviticus 25:14-15 - a friend will not take advantage of you

         ♦ 2 Samuel 12:1, 7 - a friend will confront you when you are wrong

         ♦ Proverbs 17:17 - a friend will be there to support you when you're down

         ♦ Proverbs 19:4, 6 - a friend will be loyal to you regardless of what you have

         ♦ Proverbs 27:6 - a friend will tell the truth even though it may hurt you

         ♦ Proverbs 27:9 - a friend will give you good godly advice

         ♦ Ecclesiastes 4:10 - a friend will lift you up when you fall

         ♦ Ecclesiastes 4:12 - a friend will stand with you no matter what you are facing

         ♦ Deuteronomy 13:6-10 - a friend will not try to get you to do wrong

         ♦ Psalm 15:3 - a friend will not gossip about you or embarrass you

So teenager, how do your friends rate? Do they fit the descriptions from God?

¹Mark Farnham, Peer Pressure: Squeezed by the Crowd pg. 41