- by Reagan North

Earlier this week, I happened across Dr. John Piper’s latest sermon. Entitled “Let No One Despise You for Your Youth”, the sermon is a passionate call to pre-teens and teenagers to live now for the glory of Jesus and an entreaty to their parents and others in the church to give of themselves to pass on their faith in Jesus to the next generation. I have listened to the sermon several times this week, each time grasping more of Piper’s great wisdom in this area. I highly recommend that you listen to it if you are a pre-teen or teenager, a parent with children of any age, a believer in Jesus who cares about the faith of the next generation, or a Christian. In other words, listen to it!

Piper Sermon

Like any Piper sermon, this one is full of Scripture. This sermon and the series it introduces focus on Paul’s encouragement to his young apprentice, Timothy.

“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” – 1 Timothy 4:12

Piper explains that he has been convicted by the following passage from the psalms and has responded by preaching to teenagers, both at his own church during Sunday services and in the youth ministry and at youth conferences across the country.

“So even to old age and gray hairs,

O God, do not forsake me,

until I proclaim your might to

another generation,

your power to all those to come.” – Psalm 71:18

I pray that this passage of Scripture would be true of Mars Hill Church.

If as a result of Dr. Piper’s sermon or the above Scripture you have a desire to invest in the future generations of believers in Jesus and would like help in doing so, please feel free to email shorelineyouth@marshillchurch.org