Can You See Him?...In Your Doubts? (Week 1 of 4)

College. Yes, the next step for some people when they graduate from high school. I was one of those kids. My senior year I applied to two schools - the only two schools I really wanted to attend. One school was in PA and the other in OH. They were very similar, had comparable programs, and both would set me back around the same amount of money. Really, no big difference here.

I applied and was accepted into both during September of my Senior year, but really wasn't sure about which school to attend. So, I waited...and waited...and waited... I was so frustrated during my senior year of high school because I felt like God didn't care about me, what I was doing, and where my life was headed. I was extremely unhappy with Him. I can remember praying and waiting for Him to answer, but it never really came in the way I expected.

Finally, in April of my Senior year I received my answer via a scholarship from Cedarville University. Now, it wasn't anything big, but it was SOMETHING. I took the scholarship and ended up going to Cedarville University for four years - and loved it!

Sometimes in life we feel like God is silent and allow it to push us further and further away from Him. What we really do is begin to blame God instead of looking at ourselves. If you think about it - God has been the same in the past as He is today. He hasn't changed - we're the ones who change our relationship with God. Even Jesus' closest friends had a hard time trusting Him and they spent 3 years with Him on the earth! After all the miracles they saw and the amazing conversations they had with him - doubt still crept in.

I think the best way for us to fight doubt is found in the verse from James 4:8, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." The best way for us to fight doubts is to get to know God really, really well...

This week - encourage the students in your house to develop a personal relationship with Jesus. Maybe a start is to memorize James 4:8 and put it into practice!

Backpack - Reputation (Week 4 of 4)

Everyone has a reputation, or something that you are known for. You might be known as the nice guy. You might be known as the funny guy. You might even be known as someone who puts other people down. Whether we realize it or not we are building a reputation for ourselves every single day.

The question is: What do you want to be known for? When someone talks about you what exactly do they say? Obviously, your close friends would describe you one way and other people who may not know you as well would describe you differently. But, overall how would people describe you?

Our goal, as Christ followers, is to have Jesus become a part of our character and reputation. This week as you go to school and spend time with family and friends think about the reputation you're building. It's more important than you think.





1. Tell about a specific time when you wanted to deny you belonged to your family because they embarrassed you.

2. Have you ever talked or acted a certain way to keep people from labeling you as a church kid? Have you ever straight-up denied your friendship with Jesus like Peter did?

3. Is your reputation weighing down your backpack? On a scale of 1-10, how big of an issue is this for you?

4. What is something about your reputation you wish you could change?

5. Whatever you do, you are building a reputation for yourself. You can give your own name either a good reputation or a bad one. If you have chosen to follow Christ, you represent His name too. What kind of reputation do your actions give to God?

6. If there was a kid from school, who knew you pretty well, and was asked to tell everything they knew about you – what kinds of things do you think they’d say: (1.) About your character (who you are deep inside), (2.) About your faith (what you believe), (3.) About your friends (who you hang out with and how they shape you).

7. Read Proverbs 29:25 together.
Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety. (NLT)

8. As it relates to this scripture, what can protect you from being concerned with basing your actions on what others think? (Possible Answer: Have complete trust that when you follow God, you do not need to worry about what anyone else thinks.)

9. Read Proverbs 3:3-4.

Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. (NLT)

10. How can you have a good reputation with both people and God?


What steps will you take?

11. During this school year, what goals can you have for making your relationship with God a part (or even more apart) of your reputation?