6 ways
to teach teens about real
romance that honors Christ
By Rhonda Stoppe
In 18 years of youth ministry my
husband and I learned a lot about teens
falling in love. In fact, I’ve enjoyed
watching countless couples fall in
love. I consider it a perk of being in
ministry! I especially loved observing
God’s blessing on those who honored
Christ in their romance. I can honestly
attest to the value of exposing our
children to real life love stories that
glorified Christ. Our children’s idea of
godly romance was strongly influenced
by watching couples who loved God
and obeyed His plan for their love lives.
In a generation where the culture has
stolen real romance, and when it comes
to sex, anything goes, we must look
for opportunities to talk to our teens
and model for them love that brings
glory to God. How can we expose them
to romance that honors Christ? As a
parent, you must realize that teaching
your kids a biblical view of romance is
so much more than just having “The
Talk.”
1. Acknowledge their longing to be in
love. It’s tempting to tell your pimply-
faced adolescent, You’re too young to
have those feelings. But a wise parent
will listen to them share their heart.
If you shut them down, they’ll still
have those feelings, they just won’t
tell you about it. You’ll also forfeit the
opportunity to guide their thinking
toward purity and biblical romance.
2. Talk plainly to them about sex.
Equip them for purity. How far is too
far? Bottom line - it’s all sex. Short of
intercourse, everything that couples
attempt to do outside of marriage is
foreplay. There’s no way around it. Your
kids are naive when they’re are messing
around in the back seat of a car, telling
themselves, I’ll know when to stop. I
can handle this. Help them understand
they are engaged in foreplay and their
minds are preparing their bodies for
intercourse, and eventually they will
give in to sex before marriage.
• Sex is Amazing. In an attempt to
defer your child’s interest in sex, to
side step the idea of how pleasurable
sex can be will only serve to frustrate
them. Rather, acknowledge how
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