4 Great Youth Sermon Topics

Last updated on: March 21, 2016 at 8:24 pm by Jack Wellman

4 Great Youth Sermon Topics 2016-03-21T20:24:18-05:00 Jack Wellman

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Here are four great youth sermon topics they should love.

Joseph’s Life

The life of Joseph is a great story about life being unfair. The fact that Joseph’s brothers tried to kill him and then found out that they could make a profit by selling him to slave traders. They thought they had seen the last of Joseph and for all intents and purposes, he was dead; at least in their minds. They even deceived their father Jacob about it, making him endure needless grief over what he thought was the life of his favored son. Joseph was special to Jacob because he was the youngest born to his more beloved wife, Rachael, whom he loved dearly and so Joseph had a special place in Jacob’s heart. Imagine what he must have felt like for many years, since Joseph would be there for at least 8 years when his brothers finally came from grain due to a severe famine that had struck the whole region. The point is Joseph never complained and although God never directly communicated with Joseph, even in prison, it was said “And the Lord was with Joseph” (Gen 39:2). It probably didn’t look like it to us because he was sold into slavery, falsely accused and thrown into prison, forgotten about, and yet, “the Lord was with Joseph” (Gen 39:21). Never forget that God is always with you and even in the silence of God there is the presence of God (Heb 13:5) and will turn evil into His own good for us (Gen 50:20; Rom 8:28).

John Mark’s Second Chance

When the Apostle Paul said that he wanted to “go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing” (Acts 15:36), “Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work” (Acts 15:37-38) however “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches” (Acts 15:39-40). Who was right? Was it Barnabas who was willing to give John Mark another chance after bailing out on them in the previous missionary trip? Barnabas thought John could make it this time but Paul didn’t, so they split up. Who was right? Both were as the gospel spread twice as fast than it would have with all four of them still together. Later, the Apostle Paul would commend John Mark for his faithfulness, apparently having heard the reports of Barnabas and John Mark in their missionary work. The point is, be an encourager because “love believes all things” (1st Cor 13:7) or gives people the benefit of the doubt or thinks the best of someone, regardless of what the circumstances look like. Be a Barnabas, which means literally, “the son of encouragement.”

Daniel’s Obedience

Daniel shows that true obedience to God is obeying when no one is looking. Really, God is looking, but humanly speaking we know that a person’s character is revealed by what they do in the dark or alone would be the same thing they do in the light, in front of everyone. Daniel was a young teen when he was brought into captivity but he was separated from the rest of the Jews because of his intellectual capability and when they brought Daniel some of the king’s food, “Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself” (Dan 1:8). Daniel was willing to risk his life to reject the king’s feast. He would have been outraged and Daniel wouldn’t have lived past the day. Maybe this is why Daniel tried to reason with chief of the eunuchs (Dan 1:9) but the chief was afraid for his own life saying “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king” (Dan 1:10). Daniel couldn’t partake of the king’s feast because it likely had unclean foods on it and Daniel was not about to disobey God so he told the chief of the eunuchs, “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see” (Dan 1:12-13). What happened was “At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables” (Dan 1:15-16). This reminds me of a great point that Dr. Charles Stanley often says, “Obey God and leave the consequences up to God.” I like that.

The Apostle’s Stand

There are going to be times in these young people’s lives when they will have to take a stand for what is right, even if it means jail. The example I am speaking about is the freedom that we have to preach the gospel. When the Jewish authorities arrested the apostles for proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, Peter and the apostles said “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29b). Thankfully, God’s favor came in their case, surprisingly from a wise Pharisee named “Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people” (Acts 5:34) who said, “if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice” (Acts 5:38-39). I take it they didn’t want to risk fighting God. Sounds scary, doesn’t it? After this, “they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name” (Acts 5:40-41). They obeyed God over man and they paid a price for it, but look at how they responded. They didn’t go to the council demand equality. They grasped for humility and took the beating as a great blessing from God, which it truly is (Matt 5:10-12). The truth is, if you suffer for doing what is right, then you re blessed, but you must obey God over man’s law when they conflict, and this might bring suffering for their faith. It may help to keep in mind what Peter promised; “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1st Pet 4:14).

Conclusion

I would urge you to use biblical examples when teaching the youth, every single time. That’s because there is the power of God contained in the gospel of salvation (Rom 1:16) and it takes the Word of God, from a teacher of God, mixed with the Spirit of God, to make these youth into the children of God, and all for the glory of God.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

Previous Post

March 21, 2016

Qualifications To Look For When Searching For A Pastor

Next Post

March 21, 2016 What Is The Parsonage Allowance For Taxes For A Pastor?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Bible Answers Bible Definitions Bible Story Bible Study Bible Verses Christian Books Christian Entertainment Christian Fathers Christian Mothers Christian Quotes Devotional Famous Christians Music News Parables Prayers Quotes Sunday School Lesson Uncategorized Youth Sermons

Select a Month October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which country has the largest number of Christians?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Brazil Germany Russia United States