Jake Kircher

Our 20s and 30s group discuss the list of things Paul says we should avoid and compares it to the things he says to "put on."

We discuss how we know if the Bible is trustworthy or not and how we determine which rules we need to follow and which ones are outdated.

We discuss Colossians 2:6-15 and look at what it means to walk in our faith, the idea that Jesus is the FULL embodiment of Deity, and what it's important to remember that a spiritual world surrounds us.

What is the mystery that Paul discusses in Colossians and what does it mean to have "Christ in us?"

Our group of 20s and 30s discusses Colossians 1:15-23 and talk about "all things" being created by God and for God, what role confession and forgiveness play in our lives, and what it means that God is reconciling "all things" to himself.

We begin a series discussing the book of Colossians. This week, we looked at 1:1-14 and the topics of loving others, what the point of church is, what it means for our lives to "bear fruit and grow" and how we grow in the knowledge of God.

Why are Christ's death and resurrection so important and how does it connect with our every day lives?

We discuss if Jews, Christians and Muslims worship the same God or not.

What do tolerance and religious freedom really mean and how should they play out in our lives?

How do we live as singles and prepare ourselves for a potential marriage? How do we know if we have the "gift" of singleness?

How do we find, assess and live our our calling and vocation?

Relationships, dating and sex are three things that come with a lot of questions, interest and at times, frustration for our kids. They are not always easy topics for parents to initiate or discuss with our kids. Often times it can be uncomfortable and we don’t always have all the answers. And, with the ability to Google things, sometimes our kids don't even come to us with their questions anymore...which is probably not always a good thing.

God has made us each unique and understanding what makes us different is the key to being at peace with who you are and beginning to figure out your calling and vocation.

What does it look like to have a healthy dating relationship and how can we approach potential relationships with wisdom.

What does it really mean to be a good friend? Why are friends so important? How do we go about finding good friends? How do we know if we should walk away from a friendship? And if so, how do we do that?

How do we overcome the negative voices we can all too often be stuck with and replace them with what God says about who we are.

Jake Kircher

What would a content life look like for you? How do obtain contentment?

Are you consumed with following the rules or consumed with the One who rules?

What does it mean to live as citizens of heaven and why does Paul use language like fight, wrestle and struggle when it comes to the Gospel.

More and more research is showing that many teens end up walking away from church, and possibly their faith, once they graduate from high school. How can we as parents help guide them in their faith so that it becomes personally meaningful and lasting? Based on his book, Teaching Teenagers in a Post-Christian World, Jake discusses some tools to help this process, things we can do to help our children develop a more meaningful faith and some of the factors that hinder this process.

Our priorities are going to dictate what we do and how we respond to life. So what are your priorities and do you really, actually care about the Jesus story?

When Paul prays that "our love may more and more overflow," what did he mean and what does that look like in our lives?

What is communion and why do we do it? We explore three different Bible passages and discuss.

When someone begins a relationship with Jesus, the churchy word for that is salvation; or being saved. But what does that actually mean?

What is prayer and how should we approach conversations with God?

Many people argue against Christianity and the Bible because they feel the Bible condones slavery. What does the Bible actually say about this issue? And is the slavery that is discussed in the Bible the same thing we faced in the 17th Century, or today?

Discussion at the Grace Youth Gathering on January 25th, 2015 by Youth Pastor Jake Kircher, Youth Director Raquel Welsh and Grace Church Elder Emeritus Marcus Asante. Does race, color and differences matter to God? If so, how? Should there be a difference in how you parent kids of different races? Or are their universal things that matter no matter what color you are?

The story of Jonah is one of those funky stories in the Bible that make some people discredit the entire Bible. A man being swallowed by a fish is certainly hard to believe. Is it possible that the story of Jonah is fictional though, and does that change anything about the Bible as a whole? Or is the story definitely historical?

What are the things that usually make you angry? Going deeper, WHY do those things make you angry? What can we learn about our anger from the story of Jonah?

Is the world better better or worse? And when you look at your future, are you fearful or hopeful?

How do we find out how God thinks about us and what does he actually think?

How we see ourselves is a crucial issue that dictates our ability to give and receive love to both God and others.

How we see ourselves is a crucial issue that dictates our ability to give and receive love to both God and others.

What does it really mean to be an adult? Being financially independent? Having a job? Having a GOOD job? According to some of the leading phycologists and sociologists, it really can be boiled down to one main thing. And unfortunately, the struggle to embrace that one thing dates all the way back to the Garden of Eden.

During our teen years, a lot is being done to plan for our future, pad our college resumes and figure out what we want to do with our lives. Where does Jesus play into this picture and would God ever ask you to do something you don't want to?

Technology is only going to more quickly develop and change. What does the Bible have to say about our technology use? We can actually learn a lot from rocks and bricks...

As James closes off his letter, he discusses the power of prayer. What exactly is prayer though and how do we handle James' seeming promise that if you ask for prayer when you are sick, you WILL be healed.

Is having money and lots of stuff a bad thing? James starts chapter 5 by warning the rich about their wealth. But what does the warning actually entail and who does it apply to?

What role should planning have in our lives as a Christ follower? And according to the Bible, is planning actually a bad thing?

What does it take to be successful? More so, does God view success in the same way that the world view success?

Sticks and stones break my bones but words will never hurt me...is a complete lie! Our words have power and James was going so much deeper than just our vocabulary when we talked about taming our tongue.

When it comes to a relationship with Jesus, what's more important: belief in Jesus or doing things for Jesus? James 2:14-26 answers this question with a resounding, "Yes!"

How do you see yourself? Like, really, deep down, see yourself? What are the names you call yourself, the hurts you hold onto, the things other people have said that you cling to? And how does all that compare to the way that Jesus sees you?

We all have plans, goals or ideals for our lives yet life often has a habit of not going the exact way we planned. As Christ followers, how should we respond when life throws us a curveball and what is God's role in it.

Should a relationship with Jesus impact our TV, music, movie and other media choices? If so, how?

How should our relationship with Jesus impact how we use social media? Here are four questions to consider about our usage.

What is the big difference between Jesus and Buddha, Muhammad, Joseph Smith or other religious leaders? Was Jesus' goal to come to earth to create another religion for us to follow or did He have something much bigger in mind? Spoken word via Jefferson Bethke:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDG... Order Bethke's book, inspired by the spoken word:http://ow.ly/jNA68

What is your value? Are you good enough? Do you have worth? These are all important questions that we ask ourselves, especially in our teenage years. What does Jesus have to say about our value and how we earn it?

What drives your life? What motivates you? What makes you want to get up in the morning? Understand the answer to these questions is important because it says more about ourselves than we may sometimes realize.

Emotions impact every area of our lives, but what does the Bible have to say about our emotions and how they should impact our decisions and actions?