Leading fifteen sessions across six schools, the team here at Forestville has become a bit of a scripture assembly factory. The primary school team ably and boldly proclaimed that Jesus Christ is the greatest gift of all.
The high school scripture team then spent an intense few hours at Killarney Heights High School leading the school’s termly scripture seminars. Over four hours, groups amounting to a few hundred students filed in and out by the ding of each bell.
The main message of the day was about freedom – what is it and where on earth do we find it. On approaching the bell times that heralded recess or lunch and the end of our seminar, some students hungered for answers about Jesus, life and true freedom. Others were just hungry.
As we led discussions with different groups over the course of the morning, we felt the pain of the guest speaker, the limitations of time and not knowing the people at all. I had kids raise a bunch of different questions – ‘Is there a hell?’, ‘Do people we love who die watch over us?’, ‘What about people who believe other religions, can they be free?’ – which are all the kind of questions that I wished I could have answered with some kind of relationship or understanding of what’s going on in their own world.
Discussing issues like freedom and judgement warrant much more depth of relationship than a one hour scripture seminar affords. But it has been a long time since I’ve experienced such a high density of opportunities to share the gospel in that brief a time frame, and our discussions were a good lesson in giving the reason for my hope graciously, because I never knew what sensitivities lay below the surface.
Please thank God that a number of Killarney High kids came to youth group that night after the seminars, and pray that these kids along with others who were inquisitive would continue to investigate Jesus and come to trust Him.
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