Apr 4, 2019, 1:52 PMJennie Hall
You Are Worthy ‒ Area 1 Teens' Day
On Sabbath 23 March Area 1 ran its first Teens' Day at Plymouth church. The event was aimed at teenagers and parents but of course everyone was invited to attend. The church was full of people visiting from both Devon and Cornwall.
Being a teenager in a small church can be very difficult especially when there are not many youth in a range of ages. Often, we find that they would rather be at football practice or hanging out with friends their own age elsewhere.
Growing up in the Church I always felt that I should know more, that I should be able to recite hundreds of Bible texts from memory and know the answers to all the Sabbath School questions right away. I felt that I wasn't good enough to lead the lesson or tell my friends about God because I may say something wrong. Now my thinking has changed but when I see the teenagers in church now, I often wonder if they think the same as I did at that age which led me to the day's topic of 'You Are Worthy'.
Things slotted into place nicely with our speaker, Pastor Jeremy Tremeer, already thinking along the same lines as me. The morning ran smoothly with Otniel Cupertino sharing the children's story before a beautiful acoustic duet of 'How Deep the Father's Love for Us' from Gemma and Jackie Hall.
Pastor Tremeer's message taught us not to be afraid of our shortcomings and like Peter, we should 'wear our hearts on our sleeves'. Peter was 'real' with God. Jesus could work with his doubts and shortcomings because he was authentic, not fake. Our worth is not dictated by human judgment. God's 'Reckless Love' is always with us no matter what. Even when we show Him our worst, He was still willing to sacrifice Himself for us.
After fellowship lunch the LIVE St Austell crew led out with worship before the teens and adults divided for separate workshops. Ophelia Herman presented the adults with a DVD and discussion about the practical joys and struggles of bringing up teenagers. Whilst upstairs Pastor Tremeer guided the teens through a short exercise in knowing yourself better. Young and old, children, teens and youth worked together in small groups to banish any feelings of negativity through discussion and searching the Bible for inspiration. Every negative was countered with positivity and encouragement. After the discussion the group did some upcycling crafty projects; turning worthless objects into treasured pieces of art. Bottles were turned into lamps with a string of lights inside and inspirational Bible verses painted on the outside and bottle caps were transformed into key rings and badges with verses displayed.
As sunset drew closer everyone feasted on pizza and chips before watching a movie; 'I Can Only Imagine'. The inspirational story of MercyMe's lead singer, Bert Millard, who struggled to find his worth with a tough beginning in life but ultimately found that his worth was in God. Today he inspires millions with his passion for God.
Nobody is perfect; we all struggle and have experienced times when we felt we weren't good enough. Talking through these things and finding that others have and do feel the same encourages us to realise we are not alone.
Everyone had a great time and left the event feeling more positive about themselves realising that we are worthy because Christ died for us and through Him, we are worthy.
On Sabbath 23 March Area 1 ran its first Teens' Day at Plymouth church. The event was aimed at teenagers and parents but of course everyone was invited to attend. The church was full of people visiting from both Devon and Cornwall.
Being a teenager in a small church can be very difficult especially when there are not many youth in a range of ages. Often, we find that they would rather be at football practice or hanging out with friends their own age elsewhere.
Growing up in the Church I always felt that I should know more, that I should be able to recite hundreds of Bible texts from memory and know the answers to all the Sabbath School questions right away. I felt that I wasn't good enough to lead the lesson or tell my friends about God because I may say something wrong. Now my thinking has changed but when I see the teenagers in church now, I often wonder if they think the same as I did at that age which led me to the day's topic of 'You Are Worthy'.
Things slotted into place nicely with our speaker, Pastor Jeremy Tremeer, already thinking along the same lines as me. The morning ran smoothly with Otniel Cupertino sharing the children's story before a beautiful acoustic duet of 'How Deep the Father's Love for Us' from Gemma and Jackie Hall.
Pastor Tremeer's message taught us not to be afraid of our shortcomings and like Peter, we should 'wear our hearts on our sleeves'. Peter was 'real' with God. Jesus could work with his doubts and shortcomings because he was authentic, not fake. Our worth is not dictated by human judgment. God's 'Reckless Love' is always with us no matter what. Even when we show Him our worst, He was still willing to sacrifice Himself for us.
After fellowship lunch the LIVE St Austell crew led out with worship before the teens and adults divided for separate workshops. Ophelia Herman presented the adults with a DVD and discussion about the practical joys and struggles of bringing up teenagers. Whilst upstairs Pastor Tremeer guided the teens through a short exercise in knowing yourself better. Young and old, children, teens and youth worked together in small groups to banish any feelings of negativity through discussion and searching the Bible for inspiration. Every negative was countered with positivity and encouragement. After the discussion the group did some upcycling crafty projects; turning worthless objects into treasured pieces of art. Bottles were turned into lamps with a string of lights inside and inspirational Bible verses painted on the outside and bottle caps were transformed into key rings and badges with verses displayed.
As sunset drew closer everyone feasted on pizza and chips before watching a movie; 'I Can Only Imagine'. The inspirational story of MercyMe's lead singer, Bert Millard, who struggled to find his worth with a tough beginning in life but ultimately found that his worth was in God. Today he inspires millions with his passion for God.
Nobody is perfect; we all struggle and have experienced times when we felt we weren't good enough. Talking through these things and finding that others have and do feel the same encourages us to realise we are not alone.
Everyone had a great time and left the event feeling more positive about themselves realising that we are worthy because Christ died for us and through Him, we are worthy.