The Song of Songs (dun dun dun)

So tonight I had to teach on the book that most teachers dread: The Song of Songs. In our youth group we have been going through basically a survey of every book in what we're calling the "Race to Revelation". We've been truckin' along, some books taking a little longer than others, but still our kids are now getting more grounded in knowing their Bibles than most kids even outside of Uganda. It's been really cool getting them to learn about books that they maybe never would have tried to attempt to read or even skim though. Song of Songs is one of those books.

I have to admit that I was pretty leery about teaching this one for a couple of reasons: 1) I'm 24, 2) I'm not married, 3) The kids in our youth group range from 10-20+. But really as I studied this book and listened to teachings, I got more and more stoked on how I was going to be able to convey some of the awesome truths that this book holds. Now, of course I made it PG (maybe even G), but I tried to still cover the important lessons this book has to offer with a bit of a comical twist and with a little Kelli flair. And for the hour long teaching, the kids seemed to stay pretty engaged and grasp what was being taught.

The kids here are bombarded by sex probably even more than the kids in the States. I seriously know only a handful of girls over the age of 20 who haven't had a kid (seriously!). As I was preparing for this teaching, I wasn't sure who was going to come but this morning I prayed that God would just bring the kids He wanted to come and the cool thing is that the kids who came, were who I would call our "innocent" bunch. These kids were the younger ones who had fairly stable home lives, and I just hope that what was taught would encourage them in their innocence.

Now, of course I was in a perpetual state of blushing even though I steered clear of some of the more embarrassing things for that audience, but there was still so much to teach them! The main thing that I was able to emphasize was "do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires" and telling them that no ifs ands or buts, unless they are married, it is not the right "time".

Being reminded about the beautiful relationship that exists between man and wife not just physically but in true love, is just seriously one of those things that still boggles my mind. I believe that this book is to be taken literally, and even just seeing the sacred relationship between the man and woman, amazes me that God's love for us is even more awesome then that.

All in all, it really was a blast teaching it to the kids and I'm really glad I didn't "outsource" the teaching to someone else. It's very true when we read that "ALL Scripture is God-breathed".