Teens (and young adults) of the Bible

Last month I started teaching Sunday School for the older youth at our church. We were continuing the study that they had been doing before, on the life of David.

After getting some feedback from them, we’re going to be starting a new series for the next four months on teens and young adults in the Bible (otherwise known as jovenes).

It was the idea of someone in the class, and it’s interesting, partly because sometimes it’s hard to tell how old people were. For example, we picture David and Jonathan as two teens, but really Jonathan was old enough to be David’s father. Jacob fleeing from his brother Esau was likely long past his young adulthood.

Anyway, I’ve narrowed it down to ten people who were likely in the 12-25 age range, and we’ll be focusing on their lives during that time (no, of course I won’t tell you who they are. That would spoil the surprise! But David isn’t one of them; we just finished with him for now).

Coming to the Bible, whether it be a specific passage or character, is always a surprise. You just never know what God has hidden in His Word!

Do pray for the teens in our church. Many of the challenges that they face are the same as those in the rest of North America. But they are also dealing with things that are probably quite different from what you may experience in Canada and the USA. But our foundation is the same, and our hope is the same, even if the details and strategies of everyday life may be different.

I don’t think any of us need another “how-to” list – not unless it starts with “It is Finished!”, and continues and finishes with the same supernatural power of God. But from that starting point, I have a feeling I have a lot to learn from some of the good … bad … and sometimes all over the place … people we find in the Bible.

Anyway, I need to go and study person #1 – a woman from Genesis, whose life, I’m sure, was not turning out as she had expected…