pramsay posted on February 21, 2008 18:57 2151 views

Songs and Verses for Youth

“I can’t believe it. He just started coming to the Youth Bible Hour. I can see him now coolly walking out of his house and getting into the Youth van. He seemed a little awkward carrying a Bible. It was the first one he ever owned. It’s so sad. I drove by the CollisionCenter to see the car. As the passenger he didn’t have a chance. What a tragedy.”

“The question is: how much Gospel did we pack into Nathan’s mind and heart during our brief involvement in his life? What did we teach him about Christ? How many Gospel verses did he learn? What songs did we teach him? Could he have trusted Christ since last Monday’s YBH while one of the youth choruses was going through his head? We had such a short period of time to sow the Gospel seed in his fertile heart. Little did we think last Monday night would be the last time we’d see him!”

Many reading this are involved with children and young people. What’s our mission? Do we view each child through an eternal lens?

Singing songs is not a mere 15 minute fun-filler to round out the hour. The power of songs to communicate critical messages is universally recognized. Singing songs with young people is a critical component of any Sunday School work. Have you ever thought about the content of our most frequently sung songs?

If one of the catchy tunes Nathan learned at the YBH had been going through his head earlier that fateful day, would the Gospel have been clear in the lyrics? Or was the song about Christian living or being a good soldier or about being kind and nice?

Are you worried over the long term impact of a growing number of fun songs that have very few Gospel seeds to sow in the minds of young sinners in our homes and in the community?

Paul reminded Timothy of the seed that was sown when he was young:

And that from a child
thou hast known the holy scriptures,
which are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
(2Timothy 3:15)

Don’t misconstrue this message. This is not a pitch to turn a children’s meeting into a solemn adult Gospel meeting. A stern, preachy approach with children defeats the purpose of a child/youth-focused meeting. Sunday School should be exciting, enjoyable, fast-paced, action-packed and very much alive – with smiling faces and loving hearts teaching the kids.

But don’t lose sight of eternity. We have a small window of opportunity to influence the young and reach them for Christ. Soon they’ll be young adults. Make sure every minute of your integrated 60 minute session is eternally strategic – every game, every song, every question, every story and every verse packed full of Biblical truth.

Here are some questions you might want to ask about your frequently sung songs:

Do they reinforce the knowledge of God’s existence and character? or
Do they contain clear basic Gospel truth such as the human need and God’s remedy? or
Do they create awareness of what sin is in today’s world? or
Do they focus the young mind on aspects of the life of Christ? or
Do they build knowledge of Bible stories and their Gospel applications? or
Do they reinforce a particular Bible verse? and
Do they assume the young singer is NOT yet a Christian? and
Do they have tunes, tempo and actions that make them appealing?

And what about verses? Are they memorizing verses about Christian living before they have learned the key verses relevant to young sinners? Long before young people from the community memorize the Beatitudes, or the Fruit of the Spirit, or Psalm 23 – shouldn’t they know by heart the 165+ New Testament Gospel verses – not to mention key Old Testament verses.

Teaching and reaching young people for Christ and for eternity is a mission of great interest to Heaven. Keep at it! Make the most of each occasion.

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