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Prisijungimas redaktoriams

Prisijunkite, norėdami redaguoti svetainės turinį.
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Prisijungimas

2006 - 2013 metų ref.lt archyvas

Ši svetainė yra 2006 - 2013 metų archyvas.

Klausimas

Užbaikite Šv. Rašto citatą: "Jei Viešpats panorės..."
 
„Kalbėdami tiesą su meile, aukime visais atžvilgiais tame, kuris yra galva, - Kristuje.“ (Ef4, 15)
Lietuvos reformacijos istorijos ir kultūros draugija
LERD "RADVILA"
Introduction
Youth.The word itself arouses emotions that are lively and vigorous. As for the older generation the word makes them feel nostalgic and brings reminiscences or even makes them worry about a youth in their home. A single word contains a great amount of experience. Different descriptions of youth would be provided by a policeman, a psychologist or a physician and a special one by a poet. How would youth be described by parents or by theologians? Is it on the whole possible to write something and say: "This is youth I have described". I do not think so. Youth are like all other people. Man is God‘s work capable of creating and living freely in God. He who gave freedom has also the power to preserve it since He paid a high price for it, He paid with His life and blood of Lord Jesus Christ.

In this section of the website on the left one can find materials divided into different categories. These are like separate pictures from life reflecting youth service in our congregations and organisations which unite the active youth to achieve certain goals. It is impossible to describe and record everything. We kindly invite everybody to share their experience in this field of spiritual service. Inspiring testimonies and examples strenghten us. We will make the effort to put more articles on the website so as to help stimulate christian youth service. We will try to highlight for the reader the experience of adults, children and youth in the life of Church. The youth life is like a river as it never stops and keeps changing and remains like this through centuries being young, vigorous, pure, sometimes naive, aggressive and cowardly but always sincere. But isn‘t the sincerity of faith one of the most precious treasures of the Church of Christ.

What picture of children and youth in Church can we provide? What is the spiritual service of children and youth?

Infancy is followed by childhood that does not last long, let us say, till we reach the age of 10. After that we enter the early adolescence period the length of which cannot be exactly determined either but ir relatively lasts four years. Taking into consideration the above mentioned periods of life we can divide the spiritual service into smaller groups, i. e. for infants, for children and for adolescents (juniors and seniors) who later become youth. They frequently are the most active members of the service. Being still young they are already a perfect example for the infants, children and their younger brothers and sisters, namely teenagers. Youth can also include the people who crossed the line of the "prolonged" age of youth long ago. They are adults who are independent and responsible for their life. They are mature enough to understand that experience and career positions cannot disturb the friendship with a younger brother or sister of Church. In their families they learn to be not only parents to their children but also friends, elder brothers and sisters in Christ. As students would put it, they could be called the filisters of Church who through the word of God have been called to become God‘s children.

We understand that youth are not a privileged "class of Church." Paying attention to them means that we are paying attention to ourselves, not so much to them. Sacrificing our means and time for the youth service we are creating the present day, not the future. The future home is already being built on the foundation laid long before us, i.e. Lord Jesus Christ. The spiritual service of youth is the same spiritual service in the vocation of Christ where the most responsible people are those who are most entrusted, namely the elders and the young ones who have been called. They are a team like in an ancient army: the elders are the infantry and cavalry who are heavily armed and strong. They are the shock troops and defensive force. They are the weight of the army. However, they cannot see far and wide. They need reconnaissance detachment, agile and fast troops. Youth are the light cavalry, fast and lively. They are not armored, that is why without the cover of the heavy cavalry or infantry they would be easily scattered and would not achieve their goal. Different army troops operating wisely and unanimously obey orders of the commander in chief and win a victory over the enemies no matter how numerous they are.

The spiritual service of children and youth is not only the work in the Youth Prayer or the Bible study groups. It does not mean only the work at Sunday schools or children and youth camps. This kind of service is most apparent in small groups where youth gather. Before or after gathering this service is most important in everyday life, in homes where children and youth live, learn and study. All spiritual gifts of a person no matter whether they are young or elderly are valuable in this service. Everyone who has a calling for it has no age limit. Those who are called have full responsibility before the Lord and rejoice at the hard work for the Lord and the fruits of their labour.

R.M.