Melissa and Jake are both teenagers and have been dating for several months. On their sixth date, Jake told Melissa that if she loved him she would have sex with him. Although reluctant, Melissa felt compelled to express her true love. Since that first time, sex has become the main activity of their dating life. Now Melissa has just discovered that she is pregnant. How will Melissa and Jake tell their parents? What should they do about the baby? Should Melissa abort or should she keep the baby? What does God have to say about it?
Teen pregnancy rates had dropped between 1995 to 2005, but between 2006 and 2007 they rose 3%. Georgia’s teen pregnancy rate is 54.2 per 1,000 girls (ages 15 – 17) the 10th highest in the country. Bartow county’s teen pregnancy rate is 45.9 per 1,000 girls between (ages 15-17), That means that this year approximately 150 teenage girls who live in Bartow county will get pregnant. Do you know one of these girls? Will one of these girls be your daughter? What would you say to one of these teenagers?
33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:33-34
Ask God to help our teens abstain from premarital sex. Pray that churches will reach out to teens who are struggling with sexual issues or unexpected pregnancies. Talk to your own children about sex! If you know a sexually active teenager without judging them let them know God’s will for their sex life and help them reclaim their own sexual purity.
Good post Warner, shunning and looking the other way is not the answer. If the church is the “bride” of Christ, forgiven and dressed in purity because she is cleansed by His blood, how much more should she teach others to be part of His bride as well.