True North High School Ministry

Our next text discusses two brothers who respond in opposite ways when tempted by sexual sin. Judah runs into it and Joseph runs away from it. We need to order our lives by insights we gain from Judah and Joseph’s examples.

We are starting a new series this week on the life of Joseph where he is treated unfairly but patiently trusts God. In Genesis 37, each family member acts selfishly. We should learn from their bad example and also see God’s sovereignty in the sinful choices of the people in our lives.

Jacob has to deal with God before he is confronted by his brother Esau after a 20-year-long break in their rivalry. Jacob needs the mercy of God and his brother! So he struggles all night with the angel of the Lord, and he is humbled, then changed. We must go through a similar experience of “wrestling” as we deal with God to find mercy!

RWE 2025: Session 3

RWE 2025: Session 2

A More Sure Word (2 Peter 1:16-21) | Revival: Winter Edition 2025 | Pastor John Fabarez

In these four chapters, we cover 20 difficult years in Jacob’s life where he is refined by pain that God allows in his life. It all starts with God’s promise to be with Jacob through it all. This is the right perspective for Christians today to have about their pain, trials, and discipline from God.

Each member of the patriarchal family sins in Genesis 27, and they wreck their relationships with each other. Each family acts in their own self-interest without considering what God would want them to do. I want our students to consider God’s desire for their actions every day!

Isaac’s life seems ordinary compared to his father Abraham’s and his son Jacob’s adventurous journeys. Our students can learn to study the truth of old times and walk in the steps of faithful people who have come before us.

We are introduced to Isaac, Rebekah, Esau, and Jacob: a family of sinners. Our text shows Esau indulging his fleshly appetites and throwing away his future because he doesn’t care about eternal and spiritual things. How many church kids throw away spiritual blessings because they are enticed by their appetites!

In a break between Genesis sermons, we spent our time talking about everyone’s favorite question-producing topic: dating. We discussed the things the Bible clearly condemns and then talked about some wise guidelines for navigating romance leading to marriage.

In our day of abundance of Bibles, it is a shame that most Christians choose to direct most of their attention to worthless things instead of God’s life-giving word. This is a self-inflicted wound that our students can avoid by establishing good habits to read their Bibles.

Isaac, the promised son, is finally born after 25 years of waiting in faith. Then Abraham is told to banish Ishmael and sacrifice Isaac. In both scenes, God’s word is clear and Abraham’s obedience is immediate. We need to learn obedience from Abraham.

God told Abraham his plan to destroy Sodom but Abraham pleads for mercy for the sake of the righteous. Then God’s angels mercifully save Lot. Our students need to adopt the attitude of Abraham about God’s wrath and avoid the self-destructive compromises of Lot.

Sometimes God wants his people to wait patiently. Sometimes he wants us act quickly. Abraham and Sarah show us how to fail and how to succeed in these two areas. Our students will benefit from learning patience from their example instead of from the pain of God’s consequences.

In the midst of God’s great promises to Abram, the text of Genesis tells us that Abram trusted God and God considered him righteous. In Romans 4 and Galatians 3, we find out this is the experience of every person who places their faith in Jesus as well.

After a terrible failure of faith in Egypt, Abram bounces back in his separation and subsequent rescue of his nephew Lot. Our faith in God will be tested, and when we fail, we should get back up and respond like Abram.

We are introduced to Abram, the father of people who have faith in God. He receives a command to leave his homeland and a promise from God, so he responds with action. Our students should exercise the same faith in God’s word.

Wrapping up the Primeval History of Genesis 1-11, Moses tells us the tragic account of the Tower of Babel when humanity banded together against God and his authority. The world is still doing the same things today! We should humbly live by every word that comes from God.

We are still living in the post-flood world, where God’s instructions and rules for Noah’s descendants apply! Genesis 9 is an important passage to mold our Christian worldview.

God brings judgment to the sinful world through a universal flood and God is bringing judgment upon the world again for its sin. Our students need to find safety in Christ.

Cain and Abel show us a frightening example of how bad sin can get when we let sin fester in our hearts. My prayer is that those of our students who live like Cain would be turned by God to a new kind of life!

When Adam and Eve sinned, they faced massive consequences from God. We bear the same kinds of repercussions for our sinful actions as well. Thankfully, in the midst of the curse God promises hope of redemption through Christ.

Satan’s main tactic in temptation is to attack the truthfulness of God’s word and the goodness of God’s commands. Our students need to be trained to stand up to Satan’s age-old schemes by trusting and obeying God’s word.

God says it is not good for man to be alone so he makes woman, and he will explain more the implications of this truth in the rest of the Bible. It is essential for our students to know and believe what God says about marriage and gender in our confused and rebellious world.