Hope Manual

Lessons
1. Who is God? What is He like?
2. What does God think of me? Why would He love me?
3. The Bible… I just don’t understand it!
4. “Saved”… what does that mean?
5. There are so many different religions. Which is correct?
6. I asked God to save me, but I don’t act or feel any different
7. The harder I try, the worse I get… I give up
8. If there is a God, why do such back things happen?
9. I’ve asked God for a lot of things… He never answers
10. I prayed the sinner’s prayer… now what?
11. Why should I go to church?
12. I’ve done too many things wrong… has God given up on me?
13. What’s the meaning of life?
14. I don’t know what to say when I pray
15. No one believes in me
16. There are so many voices… who do I trust?
17. What is wrong with having sex?
18. God is angry with me… that is why I am in this situation
19. I’m a mess… there’s no hope
20. How do we know there is a heaven and hell?
21. I am dealing with some impossible situations… I can’t fix them
22. Is Jesus coming back? When is the world going to end?
23. Why do I do the things I do?
24. Why laws and rules?
25. Fresh start… how do I get there?
26. Leadership
27. Anger… how can I stop it?

Youth of Today


We live in an imitation world. Many of the items we purchase and use everyday are “not the real thing”. Gold, diamonds, juice, cheese, leather, even the concept of plastic money. Our whole economy is a fake. It is based on money that is not really there. Few things in our world today are real, lasting and pure, unfortunately even people.


As human beings, we need stability; two of human nature’s most powerful needs are the need to be accepted and the need for affection. When these needs are not met, distorted behavior results. The behavior depends on to what degree the deprivation. Our political system has become a fake: politicians espousing one set of standards and living another. In my 26 years of working with young people from the ages of 10-22, I have always found them to be far more perceptive as to what is going on then adults. You cannot fool young people; they see through human smoke screens faster than many adults. You can con a con, you can fool a fool, but you cannot kid a kid! They know imitation when they are exposed to it and as a generation they are tired of it. They are so hungry for something real. Unfortunately, as they look to the institutions that they have been told have the answers, such as family, education, politics, economy, and in some cases even the Church, all they see are instability and imitation. They then begin to search for the “real thing”. Unfortunately their search is taking more and more of them into the world of chemicals, Satanism, violence, rebellion against the system and sexual activity. A multitude of young people are faced with the horrible situation of fake parents. Adults with the title of mother and father, but who do not accept the responsibility of parenthood. Many “parents” are more caught us in their own pleasures, their own concerns, and their own world than caught up with their children’s concerns; they just do not want to be bothered. So we have many young people with their material needs being met, but their emotional needs being totally unmet. I fear we have a generation of children growing up never knowing what it is really like to be loved. Humans cannot give love until they have experienced being loved. That is why we have thousands of young people with no conscience, no compassion, and no remorse after horrific deeds are committed. Struggling through life without love and stability leaves one callused and scarred.


In our quest as a society for equality, we have attempted to treat all young people exactly alike. A famous quote is so true "being treated equal is unequal treatment". We cannot manufacture children as we do assembly line products. Each child is an individual and individual needs must be considered. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. When our lawmakers, our leaders, and our judges do not possess the wisdom of God because they do not acknowledge their need for Him, and lean to their own intellect to solve problems, the results are the chaotic world that we now live.
Unless, as a nation we return to the Judeo-Christian values that our country was founded upon, the Biblical priority system of God first, family second, and country third, the chaos as we now know it will worsen until the judgment of God destroys the earth. Billion dollar educational programs do not change hearts, larger institutions do not change hearts, counseling alone does not change hearts. Only Jesus Christ can change a broken, shattered, even hardened heart.
“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
II Corinthians 5: 17


We have the opportunity to share Jesus Christ; the answer, to hurting, lost young people. What a privilege and honor. If we do not give them the answer, then who? There is no greater fulfillment in life than to plant a seed and watch what the Lord does. We cannot change hearts, but we sure can plant and water seeds, and as a follower of Christ, we are commanded to do so. When a man, woman, boy or girl accepts the plan and grace of Almighty God, there is hope for a better world today and eternal bliss for tomorrow.


It is time to weep for our children. The only hope is Jesus Christ. We must point you to the only answer. If we reach one young person with the gospel, our lives will not have been in vain. The purpose of this manual is to encourage, teach, assist and hopefully challenge youth with the Gospel. We must stand in the gap for them. In heaven's eyes there are no losers; within each person there is a miracle. There is a wonderful mystical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life—happiness, freedom and peace of mind, are always attained by giving them to someone else. Hopefully, this manual will assist you in your quest to connect with God.