AO Teens

I know what you are thinking. How can Covid-19 be good for you? It is a virus...and one with a bad reputation!  Covid-19 is not good for us physically. But it is good for our souls.  We often get so caught up in living our own lives that we forget about our Creator. He uses events like Covid-19 for building our souls and helping us to trust in Him even more.  I have been read a book by Lee Strobel called The Case For Faith. Strobel discusses suffering with a friend. He wonders how a loving God can watch all the suffering going on in the world. Strobel's friend points out that Jesus suffered so much more than any of us ever will. Then his friend shared a story. He told how his young daughter had been accidentally run over by his wife. They were both heartbroken. It felt like the end of the world to them. But God helped them both through and strengthened them, and then blessed them with two more children. In the long run God made it work out. Though it hurt at first, he acc...

Romans 8:18-39  Hello everyone! We wanted to share this passage in Romans 8 with you because it has been very encouraging to us. Romans 8 is one of the most encouraging passages that you can find in your Bible, and a lot of it is very relatable to this whole pandemic. Most notably, verse 18: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Paul could almost have time traveled to 2020 and then gone back and written that.  Verse 28, one of the most famous and most quoted passages in scripture, says “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” COVID is scary and sin is very real, but we know that all things--even this virus-- will work together for good.   “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all t...

  Hope through suffering Lamentations 1 Hey! Welcome to the first post talking about the book of the Bible Lamentations! We’re going to try to go through the whole book across the next few months, and we’re excited to have you join us. Lamentations was written after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians around 590 BC. The book is the prophet Jeremiah’s reflection on the destruction written in verse. There are 5 poems, each given one chapter.  Read Lamentations 1 then read the following :) Lamentations is possibly the most neglected book in the Old Testament. Most people avoid it because they think it’s depressing, or that there’s no hope in it, at all. But, if you take the time to read through it carefully, you’ll find that Lamentations is filled with hope. It’s also very easy to relate to, and apply to the times we live in today. Look at Lamentations 1:1a: “How lonely sits the city that was full of people!” This verse alone paints a picture that easil...