10 Kids Who Are Listening

Someone once told me, "If you speak to broken people, you'll always have an audience." When we're speaking to teenagers, it's important to remember who is actually listening. As I'm writing a talk for youth group, I try to think about how it will relate to different kids who might be listening. 

10 Kids Who Might Be Listening:

1. A high school junior who is exhausted and feeling like a failure because she can do it all.
2. A kid who grew up in church but hasn’t been in a while because of his parents' divorce. He's back visiting with a friend this weekend, but not really sure what to believe about God anymore.
3. A gifted senior who is passionate about Jesus, ready to serve, and hungry to learn what it means to follow him. They long for an older person to notice them and invest in their life.
4. A teenage guy who is distracted by his phone and could care less about what the Bible says. He just wishes his parents would let him sleep in on Sundays and finds church irrelevant to his teenage life.
5. An 8th grade boy who feels like a hypocrite because he looked at porn last night and is sitting in church this morning.
6. A middle school girl who has been sexually abused but is too afraid to tell anyone. They've been betrayed by someone they love and not sure they can trust anyone ever again.
7. A teenage girl who can’t focus on your talk because they’re trying to figure out a way to not have anyone notice when they throw up on purpose after their family lunch at the Mexican restaurant following church. They’re going to the pool this afternoon and can’t eat and wear a bikini on the same day.
8. A doubter, searching for truth and hope. It was a big risk to even show up in a church, but they’re not sure where else to look.
9. A 6th grader who is trying to understand and learn, but is also drawing pictures of Pokemon while soaking up more than they’re letting on.
10. A student who feels like a disappointment to their parents, like they’ll never be good enough.

How does the Gospel speak to their situations, fears, and hopelessness?