Let’s listen to these verses again through the ears of a teenager who desperately wants to be picked and chosen. The message of these verses is God has already chosen you. He has already picked you. You are holy, which means you are set apart for a greater purpose. Step into his mercy. Your past mistakes do not disqualify you from future joys. Lean into his grace. You are forgiven. Revel in his love. In his loving embrace. And these are the clarion calls of any youth for Christ. Staff, person to be. Proclamation to call youth into priestly service. To call them up to holiness. To represent the love of God by choosing ourselves. To spend time with them. To choose to compassionately and boldly say Jesus. To choose to call them to the life changing, missional joy of changing the world, one friend at a time. This is what we declare to this generation. Let’s listen to this text one more time.

1 Peter 2:9-10:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Ask yourself, what message have I been declaring and celebrating to and with this generation? Does it sound like these verses?

Romans 10:9 says, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. This verse is often relegated to a one time salvific moment, but I believe that this verse alongside Peter’s words is proclamation. It’s part of a lifestyle. It is not enough to just know that we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. We are all of this when we surrender to his Lordship and celebrate his resurrection power for mission. He doesn’t just love us enough to save us. He loves us so much that he also sends us. He sends us out as lightning rods to catch the power of heaven and display it gloriously here on earth. We are one youth for Christ. We are one body of Christ. We are one body in Christ. We are one kingdom of God. Lord, have mercy on us. On behalf of a generation. For the sake of the kids, Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.

As we gather. Soon as your people at our National Ministry conference to celebrate our missional identity, we pray for unity. We pray for renewed redemptive zeal for this generation. We affirm that the harvest is ripe and that the youth workers are few. Lord, send more labourers who are chosen wholly and royally invested in this great commission with you.