When you go through hard times, it feels lonely. The great thing about Jesus coming to this earth is that He understands what we are going through. He knows what it feels like to go through tough times because He went through tough times. Not only does Jesus get how you feel, but He can help you. Because of Jesus, you can know that you're never alone.

We all make mistakes and we all sin. And sin is damaging because it always takes something away from someone and creates distance. Most of the time, sin hurts us or hurts someone else. It hurts friendships, dreams, relationships, your self-worth, your health, and any of the other things you value most. But sin is the very reason why Jesus died on the cross. We tend to let our past hold us back from the relationship that God wants with us. But when we look to the cross, we realize that we are forgiven of our sin. Our past doesn't have to hold us back.

For many of us, we go throughout life making decisions based on whether or not that decision will make our lives better or not. We can do that same thing with church and our relationship with God as well. In turn, we start to think about our faith being more about rules, so we can decide not to attend church or engage our faith on a regular basis. But Jesus came down to this earth not to establish more rules for us to follow, but to show us how we can live life to the full. In order to have that life, we need to say yes to Jesus, to say yes the things that He said yes to, and to serve others along the way.

Jesus came to fulfill all the Old Testament Law...but why is there still bad in this world? Why do bad things happen like war, hunger, racism, sexism, genocide, injustice and pandemics still happen? Well, Jesus had a plan for making wrong things right. It wasn’t just miracles, and it wasn’t temporary politics when He was walking on this earth. His plan was us. We, as Christians, are the ones who He calls to make wrong things right.

40% of middle school and high school students feel lonely or disconnected from others most of the time. Maybe you have felt that way too. The great news is that Jesus came down on earth to show us that God cares for us. You can feel distant from friends and family but God is close to you. You can be confident that because of Jesus, you can be close to God. You are never alone.

Many of us probably think of prayer as a way to ask God for something. Maybe for him to fix a problem you are going through. Or maybe it's for something good to happen that you are expecting. Or maybe it's to do well on your math test coming up. For many of us, prayer is a one way street...just us talking to God. But what if we saw prayer in a different way? What if we saw prayer as more than just one way? There are many ways that we can pray, but what's most important is for us to be real, be honest, and to be consistent. When we practice prayer, we learn to find the way that we connect with God the most.

When we're praying in church, sometimes we get the idea that we have to use fancy words, formal words or even fake words to sound more spiritual to God. Maybe even if we pray the right way, then we'll get what we want. But the point of prayer is not what you say to God, but rather about being near and close to God. The way we get close to God is similar to how we get close to friends...we have real and honest conversations. God can handle our thoughts and the things we say to Him in prayer and He wants that honesty to grow a close relationship with you.

If you want your faith to grow, you need to establish spiritual habits in your life. You cannot just expect God to grow your faith while just showing up to church on Sunday and that is all you do throughout the week. In order to create good spiritual habits, you need to start small and continue to grow those habits. Just like any sport or instrument that you play, there is always a starting point. So start learning the ins and the outs of how you connect with God, and keep growing in it on a daily basis.

We will all go through hard turning points in our lives. These turning points can effect our faith in two different ways: It can pull us away from God or push us towards God. When we look at the story of Jesus and Lazarus, we can know that Jesus is with us in our emotions throughout these turning points. When we acknowledge that God is with us, these turning points can grow our faith.

It's easy to go to church and listen to sermons on a regular basis, but when you actually start to put into practice when you learn, then you can really see what God wants to do through you. A main part of our faith is serving others. When you truly learn who Jesus is, He changes your heart to learn to love others better. Whether it's starting small like serving within your life group, or something bigger, like serving on a mission trip, take the step today to serve other people. When you serve, you'll realize that you cannot get over what God wants to do through you.