When I say the word warfare in the youth group, the first thing that comes to mind is the Xbox game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. This is a good and a bad thing. It is bad in the sense that it makes warfare seem virtual and not real. But it also can be good because there is many applicable things about the game that parallel with Christian warfare. We started teaching through 1 Timothy, and there comes a part in the first chapter where Paul exhorts Timothy to wage the good warfare, to hold the faith, and have a good conscience. Most people associate 1 Timothy with a letter that is written to a pastor and that is only applicable for full time church staff, which couldn’t be further from the truth. I believe it applies to anyone, and especially Christians who are battling with things not going as planned, and being discouraged. The message given by Paul is simple. He says to keep teaching the word, battle, have faith, and keep a pure conscience. I shared with the youth last sunday that even though they aren’t on a church staff, their job is to build the church, and that is a battle, much like Modern Warfare. It will take some knowledge of the enemy, a battle plan, supporting soldiers, and a passion for Jesus which compels us to fight. So many of our kids are masters at the Xbox game, and I believe the parallels are very similar. It is my prayer that they would take the concepts found in a video game battle, and translate that into their everyday lives. The walk as a Christian is a battle, and we face a constant adversary, and we need to be waging war against the enemy. Please pray for our youth that they would be strong and victorious, and to remain faithful to being a Godly influence to the people that they are around.
Modern Warfare and Youth Group
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