https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/I-Wish-Someone-Had-Told-Me.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Proverbs 5:7-14<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. I ran across an article by Chuck Lawless about “Ten Conversations I Wish Someone Had\nwith Me as a Teenager.” \n
A. Hindsight generally reveals that mistakes could have been avoided <\/p>\n
B. I constantly get told: “I wish someone had told me just how bad this could get”<\/p>\n C. And the real problem is that few people are willing to talk about problems that\naffect them – Ecclesiastes 1:11\n
II. Things to discuss with teenagers<\/p>\n
A. You’re not the only one struggling as a teenager<\/p>\n 1. Even though a teenager has lived more than a decade of life, so many\nthings are new.\n 2. There are the obvious things, like sexuality, but there are subtle changes,\nsuch as the way you think, the responsibilities you have, the freedoms you\nare given.\n 3. The teenager doesn’t like talking about it his problems, so the assumption\nis that no one else is having the same problems.\n
4. Temptations are common<\/i> to man – I Corinthians 10:13<\/p>\n a. Knowing this doesn’t solve the problems, but knowing that you\naren’t alone means help is available.\n b. Knowing that others have faced it and overcame it means there is\nhope for you as well\n
B. Pornography and lust<\/p>\n
1. Lust isn’t a new problem – Matthew 5:28<\/p>\n
2. Pornography isn’t unique to this age – I Thessalonians 4:3-5<\/p>\n 3. What has changed in recent times is how easily pornography is accessible\nto people of all ages, including children, in private.\n 4. Almost everyone realizes it is wrong, that is why they hide it, but exactly\nwhat is wrong and what damage it causes is difficult for young people to\ngrasp.\n 5. There are too many ways to access pornography, so a complete blockage is\nnot likely to happen, but parents ought to take proactive action to make it\nharder to see.\n 6. It needs to be discussed so that when it slips through, the child knows what\nneeds to be done\n a. Young people don’t have a full appreciation of just how strong\nsexual desire is\n
C. You’ll remember your sinful choices the rest of your life<\/p>\n 1. It is easy to put your foolishness on display on social media. But then\nthose remarks that you thought long forgotten comes back up in a job\ninterview – Ecclesiastes 10:20\n 2. A young person doesn’t realize that the personal memory of bad choices\ndon’t go away either. The guilt haunts them.\n
3. Paul still remembered his past – I Timothy 1:12-16<\/p>\n a. Herein is also the way to deal with the guilt – to realize you are no\nlonger the person you used to be\n
b. But better is not to have the chain of guilt there in the first place<\/p>\n
4. Have fun, but remember there is still judgment – Ecclesiastes 11:9-10<\/p>\n
D. Plans change<\/p>\n 1. Just because you are certain that something is what you want or what you\nare going to do, it doesn’t always work out that way\n
2. God might have something else in mind – Proverbs 16:9<\/p>\n
3. We don’t know what the future holds – James 4:13-16<\/p>\n 4. The world doesn’t come to an end just because something you wanted\ndoesn’t work out\n
E. You’re going to be challenged<\/p>\n 1. Surprise! People who grew up in other families don’t have the same views\nas you do\n 2. People are going to tell you are wrong. They are going to try to get you to\ndo sinful things – Proverbs 4:14-17\n 3. Authority figures, such as teachers, will tell you that your parents are\nignorant – I Peter 4:3-4\n
4. This can be upsetting if you’ve led a sheltered life.<\/p>\n 5. Parents, one of your jobs is to prepare your child to reason, to find flaws in\nbad arguments, to present responses in a calm manner, to know how to\nfind answers to questions.\n
F. Date only faithful Christians<\/p>\n 1. More often a non-Christian will pull a Christian down than a Christian will\npull a non-Christian to the Lord – I Corinthians 15:33\n
2. Don’t assume other people have the same values as you do <\/p>\n
3. Don’t be afraid to pull the plug on a bad date<\/p>\n a. When something goes bad, the best thing to do is leave – II\nTimothy 2:22\n
b. Flee fornication – I Corinthians 6:18<\/p>\n 4. Recognize the signs of seduction, such as being told exactly what you like\nhearing – Proverbs 5:3-4\n
G. Watch out for pride<\/p>\n 1. Youth is a time when you are capable of so much more. You have\nstrength, you have broadening knowledge, you have a big future ahead of\nyou. But it is easy to forget that you are not better than other people.\n 2. Teenagers are notorious for thinking their parents are outdated and out of\ntouch.\n
3. But pride keeps you from seeing dangers – Proverbs 11:2<\/p>\n
H. Even young people die<\/p>\n 1. It sounds morbid, but it is true. Life is not guaranteed to continue to old\nage – Hebrews 9:27\n 2. But being prepared to face God at any time needs to be discussed. Their\nquestions about the seriousness of the hereafter needs to be addressed.\n
III. But teaching is only good enough if it is applied<\/p>\n A. Many times when I’ve taught a class at the college, some student will claim, “My\nteacher never discussed that in the previous course.”\n 1. The few times I checked, it was discussed. The student wasn’t paying\nattention.\n B. Too often we don’t realize just how important the lesson was until we need it –\nProverbs 1:23-33\n C. Teens have to also learn that they also have a responsibility to listen and apply\nwhat they were taught – Proverbs 3:1-2\n
IV. Things aren’t hopeless if you make mistakes<\/p>\n A. Sure, you’ll make life harder on yourself, but even in hardships there is growth\nand improvement – Hebrews 12:11-14\n
1. Don’t let your mistakes put you out of joint<\/p>\n
B. Don’t give up – Proverbs 24:16<\/p>\n
C. God forgives, even when we don’t think we deserve it – Isaiah 55:6-9<\/p>\n
V. The best time to change is now – II Corinthians 6:1-2<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Proverbs 5:7-14 I. I ran across an article by Chuck Lawless about “Ten Conversations I Wish Someone Had with Me as a Teenager.” A. Hindsight generally reveals that mistakes could have been avoided B. I constantly get told: “I wish someone had told me just how bad this could get” C. And the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1033,119,1028,32,1034],"tags":[665,149,763,156,29,226,126,107,1495,395,309],"class_list":["post-49939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adolescence","category-audio","category-parenting","category-sermon","category-teenager","tag-child-rearing","tag-dating","tag-decisions","tag-lust","tag-parenting","tag-pornography","tag-pride","tag-raising-children","tag-regrets","tag-teenagers","tag-youth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37767,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-16-year-old-is-being-disrespectful\/","url_meta":{"origin":49939,"position":0},"title":"My 16-year-old is being disrespectful","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a 16-year-old son who has been very disrespectful in this household. It's all because he asked if he could stay with a friend one night and I told him yes. But I called to check on him, and he had gone to a party that had alcohol.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14067,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-should-a-teenager-start-buying-his-own-toiletries\/","url_meta":{"origin":49939,"position":1},"title":"When should a teenager start buying his own toiletries?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 25, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When should a teenager start buying his own toiletries? Answer: When a teenager has cosmetics, soaps, shampoos, shaving cream, etc. that he wants of a specific brand and desires to use exclusively, then it is time to start purchasing them on his own. For example, if he uses the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Parenting"","block_context":{"text":"Parenting","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/parenting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21045,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-can-i-do-about-my-teenage-sons-obsession-with-diapers-and-his-hiding-food-in-his-closet\/","url_meta":{"origin":49939,"position":2},"title":"What can I do about my teenage son’s obsession with diapers and his hiding food in his closet?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question regarding my teenage son's obsession with diapers. I have found out he has been on inappropriate web sites about diapers. This has been going on for about three years that we know of. The school found he was on a diaper site, and in fifth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adolescence"","block_context":{"text":"Adolescence","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/parenting\/adolescence\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16512,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-change-when-you-made-a-mess-of-raising-your-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":49939,"position":3},"title":"How do you change when you made a mess of raising your children?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How do you change things that have gotten worse?\u00a0 I am a single mother of four all by different fathers. I have always known the Word but refused to follow it, all along knowing I was making the wrong decisions. It's no wonder why my 14-year-old is where she\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34282,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-my-boyfriend-proposed-to-me-he-said-that-he-had-a-child-when-he-was-a-teenager-if-i-marry-him-will-that-make-me-an-adulteress\/","url_meta":{"origin":49939,"position":4},"title":"When my boyfriend proposed to me, he said that he had a child when he was a teenager. If I marry him, will that make me an adulteress?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, We are two people in love and about to marry. He proposed to me but before I gave him an answer, he said, \"I have a child by my ex-girlfriend. It was a mistake. 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