Crosswalk

Personal Faith

P*E*E*R A*R*M*Y - Week 1

We often talk about peer pressure, but now we're talking about using peers for a positive purpose. The next several weeks will each focus on one letter in P*E*E*R A*R*M*Y, what it can stand for as we equip young people to enter into discipleship with Christ. Our first - and probably most important lesson is about Personal Faith.

"They said to the woman, 'We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.'" John 4:42.

The teen with personal faith doesn't just believe what they have heard from others, they own their faith. It's not dependant on second knowledge. It comes from first hand experience.

For our group to become an army it has to be made up of "real" soldiers. Teens who have made a personal decision to follow Jesus. They didn't do it because of a friend happened to be given their life to Jesus.

Salvation is an individual decision because of...

1. Conviction by the Holy Spirit.
2. An awareness of personal sin.
3. Recognizing the need for forgiveness.
4. Realizing Jesus is the only way to be saved.

It's not a decision based on...

1. Friends making a decision.
2. Seeming like it's about that time.
3. Parents' wishes.