Recent statistics suggest that teens today have different priorities than previous generations of adolescents. Youth are spending less money and less time at the mall, and fewer teens are rushing to the DMV to get their driver’s licenses as soon as they turn sixteen. Today’s young people, like so many generations of teenagers before them, are challenging the norms and expectations of the culture in which they live. During the Advent season, we prepare our hearts and minds for the One who challenged all the norms and changed our understanding of how to live and be in relationship with God. LinC looks at how Jesus defied expectations and how he calls us to do the same. Key Scriptures: Isaiah 11:1-9; Luke 6:27-28; Acts 11:1-18. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opened last weekend to critical acclaim and impressive box-office returns. Teenagers Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, who survived the Hunger Games in the first installment of the franchise, return to the arena and are again expected to fight their fellow contestants to the death. But in Catching Fire we see signs of hope for Katniss, Peeta, and all the other people who are suffering in the twelve districts of Panem. During the season of Advent, we celebrate the hope that we have in Christ. Regardless of the circumstances we encounter in our earthly lives, we know that God is ultimately in control. Next week LinC looks at ways we can embrace and live as people of God’s hope.
