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UMYF God Talk
This is an hour-long Wednesday evening program open to youth in Senior High (10th-12th grades). God Talk is intended to provide youth a safe place to ask the tough questions that inevitably arise during their faith journeys. At times we study particular texts; at times the conversation flows where the Spirit moves it. There are no inappropriate questions during this hour, and youth are encouraged to think deeply and searchingly about their faith and relationship with God.
It is our belief that a faith that can withstand the skepticism of the world and the inevitable doubts which arise throughout one�s life must be a faith that has been thoroughly explored, tested, questioned, and found to be life-giving. While all interaction with youth is rooted in this principle, God Talk provides an intentional space for that exploration.
The ancient Israelites knew the importance of wrestling with our faith:
Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, 'Let me go, for the day is breaking.' But Jacob said, 'I will not let you go, unless you bless me.' So he said to him, 'What is your name?' And he said, 'Jacob.' Then the man said, 'You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.�' And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved." The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. (Genesis 32:24-31)
The very name Israel means 'He Who Wrestles With God,' and this story is a wonderful allegory of what Paul calls "working out" our salvation: "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil 2:12b-13). What these texts say to me is that it is ok to question, to test, to explore, to wrestle with our faith, our salvation. Indeed, it's what God wants of us. And what enables such 'working out' is that God is at work in us and through us.
Hand-me-down faith is rarely viable or vital, except for those who have attempted to hand it down. For faith to be truly life-giving and strong, it must be appropriated anew by each generation. We trust that God is at work in our youth, and that their faith can survive such rigors. Thus the church stays strong and relevant, and kids are less likely to wander when they leave the nest.
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