By Ted Johnston
By Ted Johnston
When SEP director Jeb Egbert invited me to teach Christian living at the second session of SEP, I gladly accepted. But what would I teach 200 teens in three one-hour classes that would not only capture their attention but also equip them to live as Christians in a dark, sin-sick world?
As I prayed about it, God said in that still small voice of his, "Ted, teach them the gospel." Of course, I thought--for isn't the essence of Christian living Christ himself? And isn't the gospel the message about Christ? What teens need is what every person needs--salvation through Jesus Christ with entrance into the new life of the Spirit.
As I prayed about the assignment a song came to mind--"Lord I Lift Your Name on High." The chorus proclaims that Jesus, "came from heaven to earth, to show the way; from the earth to the cross, my debt to pay; from the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky, Lord, I lift Your name on high" (lyrics by Rick Founds, Maranatha Music, 1989).
Music is a powerful teaching medium, and I knew most of the teens would know the song, so I chose it as the outline for my three classes.
He came from heaven to earth to show the way.
The first class examined Jesus' coming in the flesh. How awesome that the eternal Son of God set aside the privileges of deity (Philippians 2:6-8) to arrive as a human embryo in the womb of a young Jewish virgin (Matthew 1:18-20), herself probably yet a teenager.
That Jesus came that way was consistent with his mission as revealed in two of his names: Jesus (Savior) and Immanuel (God-with-us) (Matthew 1:21-23).
Think of it. The one who created us personally in the womb of our mother (Psalm 139:13-16) came in similar fashion to be with us to save us so we could be with him forever.
To illustrate what Jesus is like, I showed the Matthew 8:1-4 segment in the Visual Bible video The Gospel According to Matthew. In that segment, Jesus full of compassion, heals a leper, providing a powerful example of how Jesus seeks to relate to us.
From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay.
In the second class we discussed how all humans are naturally separated from God by the huge chasm caused by sin (Romans 3:23). We saw how Jesus came to provide a bridge to span that chasm. The bridge is Jesus himself.
Then I showed how great a price Jesus paid to build the bridge. We viewed the Matthew reenactment of the crucifixion. And when it ended I looked into the eyes of those wonderful teens and shared the most important message I can share with anyone: Jesus loves you so much that he did that for you.
We then talked about crossing the bridge to God by turning to Jesus in repentance and accepting his sacrifice in faith. We also had a lively discussion about what keeps some people from crossing the bridge.
If they felt God was leading them to cross the bridge, we would provide an opportunity for them to do so in a worship service near the end of camp. In that service, at the invitation of pastor Jim Blackwell, dozens of teens and young staff members received Jesus as their Savior and Lord for the first time. Many more rededicated themselves to Christ.
In the second class we also examined baptism as the biblical symbol of one's commitment to Jesus Christ. Later in the camp, dozens of the teens came to separate classes for prebaptism counseling. During the last few days of the session, we baptized 45 campers and young staff members
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From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky, Lord I lift Your name on high.
In the final class we talked about living on the other side of the bridge as born-again children of God. We noted that Jesus did not remain on the cross--that he is now alive as our "merciful and faithful high priest" (Hebrews 2:17). Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to lead us in living a life that glorifies God.
We discussed how to walk in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25) through the minefield of life that teens face every day. We talked about how they can share in Jesus' continuing mission--bringing sinners to salvation.
I also encouraged them to understand that, like every Christian, they will make mistakes, they will sin, but under the covering of Jesus' blood, they receive the Father's full forgiveness as they continue forward in the Spirit.
What a joy to share the best news there is with more than 200 campers and young staff members. And how wonderful to see their openness and responsiveness. SEP is one of those special places that the Holy Spirit uses to bring sinners to their Savior. It was my great pleasure and privilege to have a small part in his work.
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 1999