That’s where I was about a year and a half ago. I was still going to Church every Sunday, and I was involved in a youth group, but I wasn’t praying as much. Life slowly became less about loving God and loving the people around me, and more about what I wanted. Sin, and one form of sin in particular, started to make its way back into my life.
What’s the “Jesus way” of dealing with brokenness, sin, and pain? Jesus’ answer to sin and pain is to love the person in front of Him.
Ascend is a lectionary-based resource that walks any reader through the Sunday Mass readings (from the first Sunday in Advent all the way through Christ the King). Ascend provides clarity to the readings by overviewing important connections, word definitions, background information, and challenges the reader to reflect on the readings through prayer, journaling, and action. Ascend successfully educates and empowers us to be fully ready to receive the Word of God at Mass on Sunday.
There’s a reason jealousy is often called the ugly green monster. It isn’t cute. In fact, it’s polarizing and brings others and ourselves down. What’s really attractive is joy, contentment, and peace.
The biggest lesson that Jesus is trying to teach here is that loving anything more than God, including money, will make it extremely difficult to enter Heaven. That said, we can’t ignore that Jesus specifically called out and focused on a love of money on many different occasions.
If you were to exercise one new habit this summer, I’d HIGHLY suggest the habit of reading. With all the chaos in our world today, the gift of reading can be a source of refreshment you didn’t even know was an option.
In honor of dropping this fact nugget on you, here is a list of some highly recommended books — covering a wide range of fiction, nonfiction, and Catholic titles — for both you and the teens you serve.
When we nourish our bodies with good food, we are affirming the dignity we have as children of God and preparing ourselves to carry out the work of God here on Earth.
All those who work in youth ministry and who are married know this - behind every great, passionate, enthusiastic, and strong-willed youth minister, there is an even stronger, humble, patient, and compassionate spouse. Well, let's correct that right off the bat, not standing behind, but walking beside.
We at Life Teen are committed to equipping you with high-quality ministry resources. We’d love to know how these August 2021 resources have helped you lead teens closer to Christ.
