How to Deal – Tips for Communicating With Parents

Posted on August 15, 2016

Youth Group Leader Lesson Outline

In this devotion, we’re talking about some practical tips on how to communicate with your parents.

Dealing with your parents, guardians or other authority figures in your life can be tough at times. It’s often easy to feel misunderstood by your parents or other authority figures in your life. Perhaps you feel like your parents aren’t in touch with reality and don’t really understand you. That’s why we’re going to give you some practical ways to improve your communication with your parents.

Communication is more than just talking

Improving your communication skills with your parents is an effective way to improve your relationship with your parents. However, communication is more than talking. Almost everyone talks to their parents. They ask them things like take me to the mall. Or perhaps they ask for money, or to spend the weekend at a friend’s house. Perhaps they complain about a curfew or a chore they have to do. These things are not effective communication with parents. Complaining, asking for things or yelling ‘hi’ as you run out the door is not communicating with your parents.

Communication is key to having a good relationship with your parents. Learning to communicate with your parents is very important. The relationship you have with your parents will be one of the longest relationships you will have. Your friends may change when you go to college, but your parents will remain your parents for the rest of your life. Learning to communicate effectively with your parents is important because your parents will be a lasting relationship in your life.

Communication helps re-negotiate effectively.

Maybe you wish that your parents treated you more like an adult. Or perhaps you wish that you were able to get your point across to your parents better. Here are a few tips on how to talk to your parents about what is bugging you.

If you’re wanting to talk to your parents about a rule that you’d like to see changed, there are more effective ways than just complaining to your parents.

  1. Look at your history. You shouldn’t expect more freedoms to be given to you if you haven’t done well under your parent’s current rules. Building trust with your parents takes time. If you’re consistently home late or not doing your homework or chores then you shouldn’t expect your parents to respond well to your request for changing a rule. Instead, you should begin doing things that prove to your parents that you are responsible. If you’re going to be late, even ten minutes, call your parents. If you have chores, do them. If you do these types of things, you begin to show your parents that you are responsible. Then, when you come to them with a request for a new freedom or responsibility, they’ll be much more likely to grant it.

    Galatians 6:9 – Don’t get tired of helping others.  You will be rewarded when the time is right if you don’t give up (CEV)

  2. Don’t be demanding. When you are communicating with your parents, don’t go into the conversation with a list of demands. Instead be thankful. Be grateful for all your parents do for you. When you enter a conversation being grateful and showing your parents respect, you’ll be surprised at how much better the conversation goes.
  3. Think about your approach. If you’re requesting a new freedom or responsibility, you should give your parents good reasons why you’re ready for the freedom. An example of this would be: I deserve to stay out an hour later on Friday nights because I’ve been home on time every night for the past month. You could point out that you’ve gotten all A’s and B’s on your report card. Also, take time to explain how you’ll handle the new freedom you’re requesting. If you’re asking for a curfew extension, mention that you’ll call them if you’re running late and keep them updated on where you’re at during the night.
  4. Be prepared if the answer is no. Decide to keep a good attitude regardless of what your parents say. Throwing a temper tantrum is not a good solution. If you’ll stay positive when the answer is no you show your parents that you’re starting to act like an adult. By keeping a good attitude, you are displaying maturity.

What does honor mean?

“Honor your father and mother” is the first commandment that has a promise attached to it, namely,  “so you will live well and have a long life.”  – Eph 6:2-3 (Message)

What does it mean to honor?  Does it mean that you have to always agree with your parents or see eye to eye with them on everything? No. It means that you have to respect them and appreciate their place in your life. God encourages us to do this because it makes your life so much easier. If you do this, you will live well.

Appreciating your parents will help you out in the long run. It makes your life easier and gives you more freedom in the long run. It might seem kind of backwards but by following the rules instead of butting our head against them lots of time we can get more freedom.

You can get along with your parents. It might take some work and a lot of maturity, but you can do it. Choose to honor your parents, and speak well of them. You’ll be surprised at how much better your communication with them is if you stop demanding things from them, and start showing them respect.

If you’re a youth leader and you liked this devotion, we’ve got a youth group lesson outline available for download in our online resource center.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Ecclesiastes 10:10

Posted on June 21, 2016

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion - Teens

Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed. – Ecclesiastes 10:10 (NLT)

While cutting the grass recently, I noticed that the lawnmower was leaving a line of grass uncut. This required mowing over the same spot twice. The 42 inch lawnmower at best was cutting 21 inches and required twice the time. The solution was of course to stop and replace the blades or at least sharpen them. The problem is this takes time and requires planning: pick up the blades, schedule time to change them out, etc. Of course, over the long haul new blades will cut better and make the job go faster.

In life, we often run out of the house with “dull blades”. We fail to spend time in God’s word because we have too much to do or we didn’t plan time for it. This works for a while but soon we find ourselves working in our own wisdom and power. James 1:5 says we can ask God and He will give us wisdom. The Scriptures provide insight and principles for life. Whether it is changing blades on the lawnmower or sharpening the ax, we will be more effective when we take time to meet with God and listen to what He has to say. Are you keeping your blade (life) sharp? Spend time with God each day and you will succeed with the plans He has for you.

Today’s devo was a guest post, provided by Ralph Schneck. He is the Lead pastor at First Baptist Church of Lexington, SC (fblex.org). He and his wife, Melissa have two married daughters. Besides the normal pastoral duties, Ralph enjoys working with 7 & 8 grade young men.

What K’NEX Teach About Dreams

Posted on May 2, 2016

teen-devotion-on-reaching-your-dreams

Did you ever play with K’NEX as a kid? If you haven’t, they are really fun building sets. They come with lots of pieces and parts for kids to build really great things ranging from cars to rollercoasters. As a kid, I always enjoyed building things with them. K’NEX are a blast to put together, but they can also teach us some things about the dreams that God has placed in your heart.

  1. Point #1 – It takes time to build a dream
    The frustrating thing about dreams is that they don’t happen overnight. Wouldn’t it be awesome if you had a dream to be a professional athlete and you woke up the next day with a contract to play for a great team? Or maybe you have a dream to get married some day and just wish that Mr. or Mrs. Right would just show up. The frustrating thing about dreams is that they don’t come to pass in a day or even a week. They often take time to build.

    Genesis 15:5 Then the LORD took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” (NLT)

    God gave Abraham a dream, but it was years and years later that this dream actually came to pass in his life. The important thing to do when you have a dream is to not get discouraged if it takes longer than you think to come to pass.

    The guys who developed K’NEX spent over two years tweaking the design for the product. He didn’t launch a successful brand overnight. He took his time to get it right. The development of K’NEX show us that it takes time to build a dream.

  2. Point #2 – Your dream might not always look like you think.
    Often our dreams don’t always look like we think they should. We see a picture in our head of what our dream is supposed to look like. But sometimes when it plays out, the picture doesn’t look like what is sitting in front of us. It’s up to us to take the pieces of our dream, like you would the pieces of the K’NEX set and begin to build them into something.

    Psalm 37:23 – The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. (NLT)

    The Lord directs each step or piece of your life. As you follow the steps He lays out in front  you, you’ll see your dreams are able to come to pass in your life.

  3. Point #3 – You build dreams by following the directions
    A K’NEX set comes with directions. But it’s up to you to follow those. You can try to build the set on your own, but you might miss a piece. That’s why its great to follow those instructions. In the same way, God set up instructions in His word for us to follow. When we follow those instructions, we begin to build dreams in our lives.

    Psalm 119:105 – Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path (NLT)

Choose today to let God help you build your dreams. And while those dreams might take longer than you would like, you can rest, knowing that God is going to take care of you when you build those dreams according to His directions.

If you’re a youth leader and you liked this devotion, there’s a great youth leader lesson and powerpoint available to download.

Why Jesus Is Like Snapchat

Posted on April 18, 2016

Teen Devotion - Youth Group Lesson - Why Jesus is like SnapchatSnapchat is a great way to connect with your friends. You can send them a photo, video, add a caption, and send the snap off to a friend. Snapchat is a great app to use and a lot of fun.

Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus is a lot like Snapchat? No, Jesus isn’t an app or a way to communicate with your friends, but we can learn about Jesus from Snapchat.

Once a snap is sent, it can be viewed for a limited amount of time. Then the snap deletes. Its never seen again. This is a lot like what Jesus did for us on the cross. Our sin was a barrier to get to God. We couldn’t come to God on the basis of our works, because any sin, no matter how small keeps us from knowing God. What we needed was a solution to our sin. The solution was Jesus.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  – Romans 3:23 (HSCB)

Jesus Fixed The Problem

Jesus was able to delete sin, permanently. Once we ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins, they’re gone, deleted once and for all. Just like the snaps in snapchat. They can’t be viewed again once they’re deleted. And that’s what Jesus did for us. He deleted the sin out of our lives by dying on the cross. His death and resurrection caused the sin problem to be destroyed. When we accept Jesus in our lives, all our sins are deleted. They’re gone. We can go to God as if sin never existed in our lives.

Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. – Romans 8:2 (NIV)

So the next time you use snapchat, let it be a reminder to you of how Jesus was and is the solution to sin.

If you’re a youth leader and liked this devotion, we’ve got a great youth leader lesson download based on this devotion.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – March 23

Posted on March 23, 2016

Bible Verse for Teenagers Daily Bible Verse and Devotion

God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. – John 3:17 (NLT)

Jesus didn’t come to this earth to condemn and judge it. He didn’t come to give the world a piece of His mind, or remind them of their sin.

Instead, Jesus came to save the world from their sins. He came to let the world know that there is salvation when they call on the name of Jesus. This is the good news of the gospel. Jesus came not to tell us how bad we were, but to save us.

[Tweet “Jesus came not to judge us but to give us a way to know God – @studentdevos”]

All we have to do is accept what Jesus did for us. We have to realize that we need a savior and accept the salvation and forgiveness that Jesus offers.

 

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – March 22

Posted on March 22, 2016

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion on God's Love

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16

Have you ever met someone who re-gifts? You know, they get a gift that they really don’t like and then they end up giving that gift to someone else? These gifts aren’t heartfelt and didn’t cost the giver anything.

This is completely different than what God did for the world. God loved the world so much that He gave. He went over and beyond and gave something that cost Him a lot. He gave us Jesus so that anyone who believes in Him will not perish.

God did an amazing thing for us. He made sure that we could live a life full of abundance and being able to know Him. Because of God’s amazing gift, we can now experience life in a new way. We no longer are slaves to sin, but we’re alive to God.

3 Tests To See If You’re In Love

Posted on February 17, 2016

Teen and Youth Devotion on Finding Out If you're in love

How do you know if you’re really in love? Is there some magic formula, math equation, or science experiment that can tell you? How do you know when you’ve found the “real deal” and when to just keep looking?

There’s got to be a better way to approach relationships and dating. We’ve come up with three tests to find out if the relationship you’re in or pursuing has the potential to be the real thing.

  1. Test #1 – The Push Test
    The best way to find out if your relationship is true love is by putting it through the push test. The push test takes an honest look at your current relationship and asks, “What is this relationship pushing me toward?” Is your relationship pushing you toward God? Are you challenged to be a better Christian by the person you’re dating? Or does your relationship make you do, say and go places that you’re not comfortable with? Is your relationship pushing you toward your goals? A true relationship headed toward love and marriage will push you closer to God and challenge you to accomplish your goals.

    Stop forming inappropriate relationships with unbelievers. Can right and wrong be partners? Can light have anything in common with darkness? – 2 Cor 6:14

  2. Test #2 – The Church Test
    The church test is a great way to find out if your relationship really is love. The church tests asks if how you act and the things you do around your crush or boyfriend/girlfriend were viewed by your pastor, or even Jesus himself would you be embarrassed? Is your relationship causing you to do things physically, verbally, or any other way that isn’t right? If it is, you need to cut the relationship off. As a Christian, you’ve got the spirit of God living on the inside of you. You should be acting in ways that reflect that new nature.

    Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself – 1 Cor 6:19

     

  3. Test #3 – The Family Test
    This test asks how your family feels about the person you’re dating. Do they feel that you’re a better person because you’re with them? Or do they see some red flags in your relationship? Do they become worried about your behavior when you’re with that person? If your family has concerns about your relationship, you need to take those to heart. If a relationship doesn’t pass the family test, you should seriously consider calling it off.

    If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.” – Ephesians 6:3 (NLT)

These three tests should help you determine if your relationship has the potential to be true love. Always be sure to spend time praying and asking God about your relationship. Also, don’t be afraid to call off a relationship if it’s not headed in a good direction. Your heart is too valuable to not be protected. Determine today to make good choices when it comes to dating.

If you’re a youth leader, and you enjoyed this devotion, be sure to check out the youth leader lesson on the same topic. We’ve also got a ton of great resources in our youth leader resources section, so check them out!

What Christians Have in Common With Spiderman – Part Two

Posted on February 1, 2016

Teen Devotion about being new in Christ

In part one of this lesson, we talked about the amazing transformation that happens when you become a Christian. We talked about how your Spirit has been made new. Our identity changed when we received Jesus as our savior. We are not the person we used to be, we’ve been made alive unto God. This lesson takes a look at some of the awesome superpowers we now have since we’ve asked Jesus into our hearts.

  1. God gave us the ability to enjoy everything that He provided.
    In Genesis 1, we see the account of God creating  The earth. He created, plants, trees, animals, and they were all for us to enjoy.
    God gave us everything we need to live a happy, full life. He created all these things so that we could enjoy the things he provided.
  2. We can enjoy peace of mind and emotional stability.
    For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. – 2 Timothy 1:7
    Things around you might be going crazy. But no matter what you’re facing, know this that God will see you through. In Him, you have emotional stability.
  3. The ability to fellowship and walk with God.
    This ability makes Christianity unique. God created you because He loves you and wants to spend time with you. He sent His son, Jesus to die on the cross for you so that you could live a life free from inferiority, guilt and fear.

You might not be able to climb walls, shoot spider web, or do any of the really cool things that Spiderman can do, but God has left you some pretty amazing superpowers. Who you are in Christ is greater than any problem or any circumstance you might face.

[Tweet “Who you are in Christ is greater than any problem or circumstance you face – @studentdevos”]

In life, you’ll probably face some challenges. When you do, remember that with God inside of you, you are now like Spiderman. Even though you can’t climb walls, with God’s help you can overcome any
challenge that life might throw your way.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” – Romans 8:31

Youth Leaders

If you’re a youth leader, and you liked this devotion, we have a similar youth group lesson outline available in our youth leader resource center.

What Christians Have in Common With Spiderman

Posted on December 14, 2015

Teen Devotion about being new in ChristSpiderman is an awesome superhero. However, his real name is Peter Parker and he was orphaned and living with his aunt and uncle. His ordinary life changes one day he gets bit by a radioactive spider during a science demonstration. Because of the spider bite, he gets spider-like powers: super-strength, ability to climb walls, and great jumping skills.

Did you realize that as a Christian, you’ve got super powers too? Sure you can’t climb buildings, or be able to jump really high, but like Peter Parker, we underwent a huge transformation when we became Christians.

To understand this transformation, we’ve got to go way back in time. Back to Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve lost their right standing with God. They were created to walk and talk with God. When Adam and Eve sinned and ate the fruit from that tree they were no longer right before God, and that’s because God can’t condone sin. God couldn’t have the relationship he had with them before.

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16

Jesus came and gave us a way back to God We were separated from God but God loved us too much to let us die in our sins. Because of what Jesus did there is now nothing that can separate you from God.
Just like Peter changed after getting bitten by a spider, once you became a Christian your whole identity changed.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! –  2 Cor 5:17 (NLT)

A Christian isn’t renovated like a house, He is a new creature. You weren’t just made over, but rather something which never before existed.

As a Christian you’ve got a lot in common with Spiderman. You’ve got a whole new identity that is found in Christ. As you get into the word and learn more about who you are in Christ, you’ll find you just keep growing in that new identity.

Youth Leaders

If you’re a youth leader, and you liked this devotion, we have a similar youth group lesson outline available in our resource center.

Manger Madness – (Why Jesus Came)

Posted on December 7, 2015

Youth and Teen Christmas DevotionIt’s the Christmas season, and everywhere you look, people are gearing up for Christmas. Yesterday, I walked into a store and saw they had a countdown of days left until Christmas. Christmas is a fun time of the year, between the gift giving, gift getting, fun lights and decorations, you’d have to be a real Scrooge to not enjoy Christmas.

You’ve probably seen all the decorations and the nativity scenes, but have you ever wondered, ‘Why Did Jesus Come?’. Why did Jesus come to earth. He had it going up in heaven, He was God’s son, and it really doesn’t get much better than that.  Did He come to earth because He wanted to practice His walking on water skills? Or was heaven getting really dull? Why was it that Jesus needed to come to earth as a baby?

Jesus had a problem to fix.

Each of us had a problem. We were stuck in our sin. We were trapped and slaves to sin. There was no amount of good works that could make us right with God. Simply put, we needed a savior.

For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin’s dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin – Romans 6:6 (HSCB)

Jesus did what we were unable to do by ourselves. We couldn’t make ourselves right with God. We were trapped, slaves to sin. Jesus paid the price that our sins deserved. He was a one time sacrifice, payment in full for our sins, shortcomings, mess-ups and failures.

Jesus gave us a new identity.

We used to be slaves to sin. Jesus changed that, and when He did, we were given a new identity. When we accept Jesus as our savior, we are considered right with God. We identify with Jesus now, not sin. We identify with victory, not defeat!

So now, it’s up to us to get our thinking lined up to what God’s word says about us. The Bible tells us that we’re a new creation.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! – 2 Cor 5:17 (NLT)

We’ve been identified with Christ, but it’s up to us now to change how we see ourselves. We often look at our shortcomings and failures. We focus on those things, rather than focusing on how Jesus sees us. He sees us a new people. He doesn’t see our sins and shortcomings, rather He looks at us and sees a new identity. And now it’s up to us to live out that new identity.

Don’t let this just be another Christmas.

Don’t get so used to the Christmas lights, manger scenes and Santas everywhere that you forget what it all is really about. Jesus came to earth as a baby in a manger. But He didn’t just do it for kicks or because He was bored. He had a mission. He was going to bring mankind back into relationship with His father.

That’s the good news of Christmas. That we can know God the father and we’ve been made new because of what Jesus did!

Youth Leaders

If you’re a youth leader, and this Christmas lesson resonated with you, we have a similar youth group lesson outline available in our resource center. Check it out, and all the other youth group lessons, games, and outlines we’ve made available. We hope it will bless you and your youth group this Christmas season!