Adult & Teen Challenge is an arm of the Church. We are a mission of the Church & our mission field is THE (Spiritual) BATTLE FIELD OF ADDICTION.
Describe Addiction. Core is sin. Deep yearning. Sinful nature. When we give over to it, we become slaves to it (Jeus words).
THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED TO ME.
It doesn’t have to be chasing intoxication through drugs & alcohol, it can be: chasing money, business, anger, lust…. The core word of intoxication, is TOXIC, because it is destructive to our souls, we are never fully satisfies, and we are left wanting more. That is the sinful nature.
John 4:5-18, 28-29
Jesus invites us to come to Him, and drink and be fully satisfied in Him. In fact, so much so, that it Wells up to Eternity. And later in John 7:37-39, Jesus also says that whoever believes in Him, Rivers of Living Water will flow from within them (and He is talking about the Holy Spirit).
**JESUS, THANK YOU FOR FULLY SATISFYING
(So Jesus stayed in that town for 2 days then continued to travel, healing along the way and was making his way to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast.
—John 5:2-9
“Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” (9) AND AT ONCE THE MAN WAS HEALD, and he took up his bed and walked.
(VICTIM. // The man remained there because he had HOPE. Adult & Teen Challenge is like that pool, and a place of healing.)
I thank GOD for the work of His Church, and a for a mission like Adult & Teen Challenge; where Jesus Shows up, heals men (like myself), and so many others. Offers us a drink from His eternal well. And that He heals us! No longer a victim, and blind, lame and paralyzed in bondage. We become truly alive in Christ.
Those who the Son set’s free, are free indeed!
He’s done it for me, and Now I get to be on mission as a husband, a father, delight in Jesus, and serve some incredible men at ATC for His Kingdom Sake.
But He is also warns us to “sin no more, than nothing worse may happen to you.”
I have decided, to follow Jesus;I have decided, to follow Jesus (draw near),
The Cross before Me, the world behind me,No turning back, no turning back
** TESTIMONY: Corey & David
He calls us out and re-forms us to be like Him. We were de-formed by all the wrong things, but now He makes us new.
We used to be (Sinners) addicts, but now we are child of God who experiences the promised (John 10:10) abundant life that Christ came to give us (He rescued us).
Justification / Sanctification – learn to Sacrifice, and Suffering for Him and His Kingdom (we need His grace to walk this out!) / Glorification
Adult & Teen Challenge exists: To share the Good News of Jesus -- who heals, delivers, transforms, empowers and makes all things new. To shepherd students away from the kingdom of darkness, and toward the Kingdom of the Son of the God.
We work really hard to provide a strong program, and a beautiful campus that is conducive to this new way of living, following after Christ. (Sin / archery) – IT’S A CHALLENGE
Through our COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH model (Brokenness/Sin/Bondage – Healing, Transformation)
Turning Point helps us do that. Thank you for your partnership, and investing in the work.
Why do people sin (use drugs/alcohol)? Because it offers something, but it’s counterfeit. Jesus came that we may have life and life abundantly.

Unoffendable

"I think a mature Christian is someone who is very difficult to offend." Dallas Willard
PART ONE: THE CLAIM WE MAKE FOR OURSELVES

"My Anger Is Different"

Ephesians 4:26 NIV
“In your anger do not sin”
Ephesians 4:26–27 NIV
“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
Ephesians 4:31 NIV
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
James 1:19–20 NIV
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
PART TWO: WHAT ANGER ACTUALLY DOES TO YOU

The Carrion We Won't Put Down

Paul's instruction in Romans 12 is one of the most counterintuitive things in the New Testament:
Romans 12:19 NIV
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
PART THREE: THE FREEDOM ON THE OTHER SIDE

What Unofficial People Look Like

Ephesians 4:32 NASB 2020
Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

What the World Sees When Christians Stay Offended

John 13:35 NIV
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
What offense are you carrying right now that you have labeled righteous? What anger are you maintaining because you believe you are owed something?

We are currently experiencing the largest and fastest religious shift in U.S. history. Greater than the First and Second Great Awakenings—and every revival combined—but in the opposite direction.

The Great Dechurching

Dechurching simply means stopping church attendance.

Deconstruction

Deconstruction is something more internal. It is the process of pulling apart the architecture of your faith: questioning doctrines you were handed, examining foundations you were never allowed to examine, asking whether what you were taught is actually true.

For some people, "faith deconstruction" means that they have come to see the historic teachings and doctrines of the church as crafted to make us pawns and suppress our personhood. They are walking away from both the church and traditional Christian faith altogether.

For them, deconstruction—a dismantling—is the end-point of the process.

— Tim Keller, "Reconstructing Faith," Gospel in Life (2022)

The Cave (1 Kings 19)

1 Kings 19:1–3 NIV

1 Kings 19:4 NIV

1 Kings 19:5–7 NIV

1 Kings 19:9–10 NIV

1 Kings 19:11–12 NIV

Part Four: Why It Happens (And What the Church Must Own)

1. Suffering and injustice
2. Disillusionment with Christian leaders
3. Conflating primary and secondary beliefs
4. Faith that was never truly owned

What We Are Called to Do - Go Into Caves

Hebrews 10:24–25 NIV

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Teach People to Doubt Their Doubts

Christians in our cultural moment will have to rethink their faith, but at the same time they must learn to "doubt their doubts." They must deconstruct not only their tacit, mistaken beliefs, but also just as importantly, the cultural narratives that are offered as the alternatives to Christian faith.

— Tim Keller, "Reconstructing Faith," Gospel in Life (2022)

The Prophetic Word

There is a generation right now, in Spokane, in our city that is deconstructing quietly, drifting painfully, sitting in caves. They need to encounter a community that will come in after them. Not to lecture them back into church. To bring them bread. To sit with them. To ask: what are you doing here? And to stay long enough to hear the answer.

Jeremiah 17:7–8 NIV

Artificial Intelligence

What does it mean to follow Jesus in a world being reshaped at the level of truth, identity, relationships, and what it means to be human?
Four thoughts in response as a follower of Jesus to Artificial Intelligence:

First Thought,

We Need to Understand the Moment

Meet Martha, Again

Luke 10:41–42 NLT
This Is Not the First Time the Church Has Been Here

Ecclesiastes 1:9–10 NLT
History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.
“Think of AI as an intelligent, capable seminary intern at your disposal. It reduces administrative burdens, but just as churches wouldn’t outsource pastoral care to an intern, they shouldn’t use AI as a shortcut for spiritual leadership.”

- Kenny Jahng, National Association of Evangelicals

What AI Actually Is (And Isn’t)

•What AI IS: a capable tool, a research assistant, an organizer, a translator, an amplifier
•What AI IS NOT: a soul. It cannot feel conviction, shepherd a grieving widow at 2am, or pray with faith. It has read every commentary ever written and has never once wrestled with God over a text at midnight. That matters.
Colossians 2:8 NLT
Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.

Second Thought,

Know Who You Are

The Inner Life AI Cannot Touch, But Can Disrupt

Matthew 6:31–33 NLT
You Are an Image-Bearer, Not a Data Point

Psalm 139:13–14 NLT

Third Thought,

Four Places the Church Must Hold the Line

Psalm 139:1–6 NLT
Psalm 139:23–24 NLT

1st Line to Hold: Spiritual Guidance.

Hebrews 4:12–13 NLT

2nd Line to Hold: Our Kids Are Not Ready For AI. Get Them Ready!

Proverbs 13:20 NLT

3rd Line to Hold: Truth and Deepfakes are Blurred. Character Is the One Thing That Cannot Be Faked

“In a world already polarized and skeptical, deepfakes will erode the final remnants of shared reality, where no photo, video, or voice recording can be trusted without verification.” - Carey Nieuwhof
John 14:6 NLT

4th Line to Hold On AI and Death: The Resurrection Answers What AI Never Can

1 Thessalonians 4:13–14 NLT

Final Thought,

How Do We Respond?

Use It as a Tool, Not a Teacher or a Companion

Proverbs 3:5–6 NLT
Philippians 4:8 NLT

Double Down on What AI Cannot Do

Acts 2:42–47 MSG
Micah 6:8 NLT

“A Time To Remember”

Joshua 4:1-9 NLT

1 When all the people were safely across the river, the LORD said to Joshua, 2 "Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. 3 Tell the men to take twelve stones from where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan and pile them up at the place where you camp tonight." 4 So Joshua called together the twelve men 5 and told them, "Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the LORD your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder--twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes. 6 We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future, your children will ask, 'What do these stones mean to you?' 7 Then you can tell them, 'They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the LORD's covenant went across.' These stones will stand as a permanent memorial among the people of Israel." 8 So the men did as Joshua told them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River, one for each tribe, just as the LORD had commanded Joshua. They carried them to the place where they camped for the night and constructed the memorial there. 9 Joshua also built another memorial of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, at the place where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were standing. The memorial remains there to this day.
5 REASONS WE NEED TO BUILD MEMORIALS IN OUR OWN LIVES
1.Memorials are a reminder of our most important VALUES
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 NLT

6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again. 8 Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

2.Memorials helps us to be GRATEFUL
Psalms 103:2

Praise the LORD, I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me. 3.Memorials remind us toavoid life’s pitfalls
Judges 2:10-12 NLT

10 After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the LORD or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did what was evil in the LORD's sight and worshiped the images of Baal. 12 They abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They chased after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the LORD. NLT

3. Memorials remind us to AVOID LIFE'S PITFALLS

Judges 2:10-12 NLT

After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the LORD or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did what was evil in the LORD's sight and worshiped the images of Baal. 12 They abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They chased after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered the LORD.

4. Memorials helps us cope with our GRIEF
1 Thessalonians 4:13 NIV

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.

Philippians 1:3 NLT

Every time Ithink of you, I give thanks to my God.

5.Memorials helps us to keep OUR PRIORITIES straight.
Luke 12:21 NLT

"Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God."

Part One: Guarding the Door (2 John)

2 John 1–3 NASB 2020The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because of the truth which remains in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
2 John 4–6 NASB 2020I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received a commandment to do from the Father. Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you are to walk in it.
2 John 7 NASB 2020For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.
2 John 10–11 NASB 2020If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.
2 John 8–9 NASB 2020Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not remain in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

Part Two: Opening the Door Wide (3 John)

3 John 1 NASB 2020The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.
3 John 2 NASB 2020Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.
3 John 3–4 NASB 2020For I was overjoyed when brothers came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.
3 John 5–7 NASB 2020Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brothers and sisters, and especially when they are strangers; and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles.
3 John 8 NASB 2020Therefore we ought to support such people, so that we may prove to be fellow workers with the truth.
3 John 9 NASB 2020I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say.
3 John 10 NASB 2020For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with malicious words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brothers either, and he forbids those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.
3 John 11 NASB 2020Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does what is good is of God; the one who does what is evil has not seen God.
1. Gaius: generous, truth-loving, open-handed.2. Diotrephes: self-serving, controlling, closed.3. Demetrius: a life so aligned with the gospel that the truth itself serves as his character reference.
Which portrait looks most like yours?

Bringing It Together

Guard the truth.Advance the truth.Resist the spirit of Diotrephes.Be a Demetrius.
John started as a Son of Thunder: impulsive, ambitious, ready to call down fire on his enemies. He ended as the Apostle of Love, still fierce in his devotion to truth, but entirely consumed by the love that had transformed him.
That same transformation is available to every one of us.
"Little children, keep yourselves from idols." — 1 John 5:21
Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)

Faith, Testimony, and the Assurance of Eternal Life

This final chapter is about the confidence that belongs to every believer—confidence in our identity, confidence in our testimony, confidence in our prayers, and confidence in the eternal life that is ours in Christ.

Central Idea: Rooted in Christ, you don't just survive — you overcome.

1. Faith That Overcomes the World (vv. 1–5)

1 John 5:1 NASB 2020

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

1 John 5:2–3 NASB 2020

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and follow His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

1 John 5:4 NASB 2020

For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

1 John 5:5 NASB 2020

Who is the one who overcomes the world, but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

2. The Threefold Testimony (vv. 6–12)

1 John 5:6 NASB 2020

This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

1 John 5:7–8 NASB 2020

For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

1 John 5:9 NASB 2020

If we receive the testimony of people, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son.

1 John 5:10 NASB 2020

The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.

1 John 5:11–12 NASB 2020

And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

3. The Confidence of Answered Prayer (vv. 13–15)

1 John 5:13 NASB 2020

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

1 John 5:14–15 NASB 2020

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

4. Protecting One Another and Keeping from Idols (vv. 16–21)

1 John 5:16 NASB 2020

If anyone sees his brother or sister committing a sin not leadingto death, he shall ask and God will, for him, give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death; I am not saying that he should ask about that.

1 John 5:18–20 NASB 2020

We know that no one who has been born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

1 John 5:21 NASB 2020

Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

Application: Living as Overcomers

• First, settle your assurance.
• Second, pray with confidence, aligned with His will.
• Third, protect your brothers and sisters.
• Fourth, keep yourselves from idols.

Testing Spirits, Perfecting Love

Central Idea: Testing the spirits and loving one another can't be separated. The God who is truth is the same God who is love.

We live in a world overflowing with spiritual voices. Podcasts, books, social media influencers, and self-proclaimed prophets compete for our attention, each claiming to speak truth.

• How do we know which voices are from God and which are not?

• And in a culture that often reduces love to a warm sentiment, what does it actually look like to love as God loves?

1. Test the Spirits (vv. 1–6)

1 John 4:1 NASB 2020

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

1 John 4:2 NASB 2020

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;

1 John 4:3 NLT

But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.

1 John 4:4 NASB 2020

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

1 John 4:5–6 NASB 2020

They are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. The one who knows God listens to us; the one who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

2. God Is Love (vv. 7–12)

1 John 4:7–8 NASB 2020

Beloved, let’s love one another; for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:9 NASB 2020

By this the love of God was revealed in us, that God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him.

1 John 4:10 NASB 2020

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1 John 4:11 NASB 2020

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:12 NASB 2020

No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us.

3. Abiding in Love, Abiding in God (vv. 13–16)

1 John 4:13 NASB 2020

By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit.

1 John 4:14–15 NASB 2020

We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God.

1 John 4:16 NASB 2020

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.

4. Love Casts Out Fear (vv. 17–21)

1 John 4:17–18 NASB 2020

By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, we also are in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

1 John 4:19 NASB 2020

We love, because He first loved us.

1 John 4:20 NASB 2020

If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

1 John 4:21 NASB 2020

And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.

Application: Discerning and Loving

1. First, develop a Christological filter for every teaching you encounter.
2. Second, let God’s prior love be the engine of your love for others.
3. Third, stop loving God and hating people.