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    The Teenage Years of Jesus Christ
    The Teenage Years of Jesus Christ
    The Teenage Years of Jesus Christ
    Ebook117 pages1 hour

    The Teenage Years of Jesus Christ

    By Jerry L. Ross

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    About this ebook

    Teenagers--read this book! Discover the priorities of Jesus Christ when He was a teenager here on earth. Are they the same as yours? Parents--read this book! All parents follow some pattern when rearing their children. What better master plan than the plan of the Master? Youth workers--read this book! This book is loaded with ideas to help your young people accept the ultimate challenge. Pastors--read this book! Rich in scriptural support, this is a book that reminds us all of the ultimate purpose and goal of the ministry. With the writing of this book, Pastor Jerry Ross celebrates over twenty years of working with teenagers: in inner-city Chicago; as pastor of the Central Baptist Church of Brazil, Indiana; as youth pastor of the Blessed Hope Baptist Church of Jasonville, Indiana, where he now serves with his father, Pastor Robert L. Ross. He and his wife, Sheryl, have three daughters: Amanda, Hannah and Tabitha.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSword of the Lord Foundation
    Release dateAug 30, 2016
    ISBN9781370214136
    The Teenage Years of Jesus Christ

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      Book preview

      The Teenage Years of Jesus Christ - Jerry L. Ross

      The Teenage Years of Christ

      The Ultimate Pattern for Teenagers Today

      Jerry L. Ross

      P. O. Box 1099 • Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37133

      (800) 251-4100 • (615) 893-6700 • FAX (615) 848-6943

      www.SwordoftheLord.com

      Copyright 2000 by

      Sword of the Lord Publishers

      Distributed by Smashwords

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (printed, written, photocopied, electronic, audio or otherwise) without prior written permission of the publisher.

      All Scripture quotations are from the King James Bible.

      To my family: my parents, Robert and Donna Ross, who always point me to Christ; my children, Amanda, Hannah and Tabitha, who bring me great joy; and my wife, Sheryl, who alone shares my soul.

      CONTENTS

      Introduction

      Chapter 1—The Teenage Christ

      Chapter 2—The Teenage Christ Increased in Wisdom

      Chapter 3—The Teenage Christ Increased in Maturity

      Chapter 4—The Teenage Christ Increased in Favor With God

      Chapter 5—The Teenage Christ Increased in Favor With Man

      Chapter 6—The Teenage Christ Remained Subject to His Parents

      Chapter 7—The Teenage Christ Learned a Wage-Earning Skill

      Chapter 8—Putting It All Together

      Chapter 9—Glorious Even in Failure

      Chapter 10—A Brief Word to Parents

      Chapter 11—A Brief Word to Youth Workers

      Chapter 12—About My Father’s Business

      INTRODUCTION

      As a Christian teenager, how many times have you thought, Wouldn’t it be great if the Gospels contained some record of the teenage years of Jesus? Why didn’t God lead those who penned the Scriptures to include some stories of the Lord as a teenager? What was He like? How did He spend His time? What was important to Him?

      As a youth pastor and parent, I’ve asked these questions—and more! Perhaps the most repeated statement that I make to the young people of our church is, The ultimate goal of the Christian life is to be like Jesus! Wouldn’t it be easier for our teens to achieve Christ-likeness if they had some idea what He was like as a teenager?

      I have good news. It’s right there in the Gospels in black and white. And, as you would expect from Christ, it is life-changing.

      In the following pages I will present a scriptural examination of the teenage years of Jesus. I have written this book as if I were writing to one of my own teenagers. I will be straightforward and honest with you and, at times, maybe painfully blunt. I have found that most teens would rather hear the truth from a preacher than have their ears tickled.

      Are you ready?

      "The ultimate goal of the Christian life is to be like Jesus!"

      How about it, teenager? Are you ready for the ultimate challenge?

      Chapter One

      THE TEENAGE CHRIST

      Let’s try something. Pick out in your mind someone who has recently graduated from high school, preferably a Christian. Got one? Now, on a piece of paper, list the six things that were the most important to him during his teen years. The items on your list must be determined by the amount of time he spent investing in these activities. Okay? When you’re finished, read on.

      Like those of the person you’ve selected, your teen years will also one day be summarized with a similar list. People who know you well will be able to compile a short summary of what was most important to you, based on what you spent the bulk of your time pursuing. They may not include any specific stories, but from the list, we can picture what kind of teenager you were.

      For instance, imagine the type of teens that come to mind based on the following short lists:

      Teen 1: Football, baseball, basketball, weight lifting, cross-country, track.

      Teen 2: Boys, hairstyles, boys, shopping, boys and boys.

      Teen 3: Mathematics, chess, science club, computers, astronomy, model planes.

      Teen 4: Soul winning, school, church bus route, piano, after-school job, sewing.

      Teen 5: Sports, fast food, car, girlfriend, money, TV.

      Do you get the picture? No specific stories have been told. Yet from these simple lists we get a sense of what these teenagers were like and how they spent their time—what was most important to them.

      In Luke, chapter 2, God gives us a similar list describing the teenage years of Jesus Christ. We know that the items on this list describe specifically His teenage years because they follow the story of Christ in the temple as a twelve-year-old boy. Notice the content of the following passage of Scripture:

      "And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them….

      "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."—Luke 2:51,52.

      These verses give a summary of the activities of Christ in the years following His twelfth year—His teenage years. Consider the following summary list of the main activity and focus of Christ during His teenage years:

      The teenage Christ: wisdom, maturity, favor of God, favor of men, subject, work.

      The following list expands each of these and adds scriptural support:

      1. Increased in wisdom—Luke 2:52.

      2. Increased in stature (maturity)—Luke 2:52.

      3. Increased in favor with God—Luke 2:52.

      4. Increased in favor with men—Luke 2:52.

      5. Remained subject to Joseph and His mother—Luke 2:51.

      6. Learned a wage-earning skill—Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3.

      I’m not against many of the other interests listed above for our imaginary teenagers. The purpose of this book is not to convince you to eliminate holy interests or healthy hobbies. My intent is to challenge you to make the priorities of your teenage years the same as those of the teenage Christ.

      Chapter Two

      THE TEENAGE CHRIST INCREASED IN WISDOM

      Don’t miss what I am going to say next. The pursuit of wisdom needs to be the principal priority of your teenage years. Notice carefully these verses:

      "Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

      "Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.

      "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding."—Prov. 4:5–7.

      Wisdom is the principal thing! Solomon, through the inspiration of God, wrote to his son that of all the things clamoring for his time and attention, he must not neglect to get wisdom; that he must get it with all his getting.

      I’ve worked with teenagers for more than twenty years. I’ve met intelligent teens. I’ve met many more who were clever, talented and even gifted. I haven’t met many who are wise. It is not because they are incapable of becoming wise. Most just do not see the pursuit of wisdom as being important.

      One of the greatest misconceptions among teenagers is that wisdom is the result of age and experience alone. There is no doubt that a person who has lived longer has had more opportunity to accumulate wisdom, but wisdom is available to people of all ages.

      In Proverbs, chapter 8, Wisdom is crying out, trying to get the attention of men. Notice verse 4: Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.

      Wisdom is seeking young people. The entire book of Proverbs is written to a young man, Solomon’s son. At age twelve, it is said of Christ that He was filled with wisdom (Luke 2:40).

      We have pointed out that from age twelve on, Christ increased in wisdom. Young people can be wise! Teenagers can be wise! It does not, however, happen by accident. Anyone who becomes wise must follow the Bible formula for obtaining wisdom.

      Let’s start by nailing down a clear Bible definition for wisdom.

      WHAT IS WISDOM?

      All true wisdom comes from God. He is Wisdom; therefore, He is the only source of wisdom. The world has always tried to produce a counterfeit and pawn it off as wisdom. The wisdom of this world excludes God and ignores His Word.

      "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

      "For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."—I Cor. 1:20,21.

      The world by her wisdom chooses to exclude God. Anything that labels itself as wisdom and ignores the clear teachings of the Word of God is not wisdom. It is a counterfeit.

      "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

      "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy

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