CoSP Youth Blog

Tonight the teens will be spending some time thinking about that – our lesson is all about salvation. The teens will be presented with the gospel message and then given the opportunity to respond to it. They will talk about how God loves us and desires us to live full happy lives in relationship with Him but how we are separated from Him because of sin. We will talk about how Jesus Christ is the only one who can restore this relationship, bridge this separation, and that it is only through Him that we can know God’s love and share in God’s life with others. Finally, tonight the teens will hear about how accepting Christ into your life is more than just believing that He was God and died for us and more than just doing good works and following His moral teaching. They will learn that it means entering into a personal relationship with Christ in which we receive His love and give our life to Him.

Questions for parents and teens to ponder together: Read together John 3:1-21. Discuss what Jesus was trying to communicate to Nicodemus. What do you think about this message of salvation? To accept Jesus Christ into our lives and accept the salvation he offers us means we are allowing Jesus to be the center of our lives – what are some things that could get in the way of this? What can you do to keep Christ at the center of your life?

*Be sure to remind your child to memorize their saint’s quote and memory verse before next week*

Tonight the Junior High students will be taking part in the parish penance service. They will be meeting in their small groups to begin with where they will be going through a guided examination of conscience. By partaking in the Sacrament of Reconciliation tonight, the teens will be preparing themselves for Christ’s coming this Christmas and experiencing firsthand the forgiveness He won for us on the cross. This would be a great night for the whole family to attend – teens will spend a short time in small group to begin with but could then join their families for the remainder of the evening. Hope to see you all at 7pm!

“In failing to confess, Lord, I would only hide You from myself, not myself from You.” – St Augustine of Hippo

Lst night the Junior High students learned more about prayer. The goal of the night was to introduce the students to the idea that prayer serves as a starting point for an introduction to a Person, the person of Jesus Christ. We talked about how prayer is a gift and it is the gate leading to faith. We discussed different types of prayer and took a look at what Jesus and Mary can teach us about prayer. We ended by taking some time to reflect on the 20 mysteries of the Rosary and the Scripture references that go along with each of them.

Questions for parents and teens to ponder together: What is the purpose of prayer? How does prayer draw you closer to God? Saint Ignatius says that “just the desire to get closer to God draws us closer to God.” Describe what this desire is like for you. 

 *Be sure to remind your child to memorize their saint’s quote and memory verse before we meet on December 12th – there will be a drawing for prizes!*

Tonight’s junior high lesson is going to focus in on learning more about the spiritual world around us. We will spend the evening learning more about the angels, what they are and their role in the Christian life and how some of them became fallen angels. We will also learn about our Guardian Angels, the battle between good and evil, and some of the Church’s most powerful weapons.

Questions for parents and teens to ponder together: How could you make yourself more aware of the spiritual world around us, rather than ignoring it? Can you think of any time when you were protected from danger and just KNEW you had spiritual help (like God sent angels to your rescue) or have you heard any stories like that?

Pray together: Name some things happening in society which are a battleground for spiritual warfare. What can you do to add strength to God’s army’s side? Spend some time in prayer together for this specific battleground.

Tonight is the Junior High Small Group Getaway Night! Tonight is all about building relationships and having a good time! We have small groups doing everything from bowling to pizza, movies to ice cream – it is sure to be a great time!

Check with your group leader if you do not know what your small group is doing tonight or call Jolene in the youth office.