In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

     Did you read the article in the Gazette lifestyle section last Monday, July 23rd? The title was, "It's all in their heads", subtitled, "State of brain development in teenagers may explain bad attitudes and poor choices." The first sentence of the article states, "A memo to parents of teenagers: Don't blame your angst-ridden Rebels Without a Cause if they've spent the summer sleeping in and testing boundaries. Blame their brains."

     Well, what a relief that is! We all thought they were demon-possessed! We all thought it was just our bad parenting! We all thought they'd fallen in with the wrong crowd, were succumbing to peer pressure, and were going to end up in jail for the rest of their lives! How reassuring to know, it's just their brain development-which suggests they will simply grow out of this erratic, strange, rebellious, irritating behavior, when their brains fully develop! And, in the meantime, the newspaper gives some parenting tips for how to survive even the most difficult periods with children and adolescents. I might add, the paper doesn't tell us where these tips come from, but surely, the Gazette references only the most skilled, educated counselors and clinicians. So, here are the suggestions-oddly enough, there are 10: stay calm and consistent about your values; listen without judgment sometimes; show intimacy; give approval; allow growth; hold them responsible; be accessible; talk to them; provide a stable home, and the number one parenting tip: keep your sense of humor-sometimes the only thing you can do is laugh!

     I think these are good suggestions, wherever they come from-but most of you parents who are struggling with children and teens in the household have probably already heard them from your family therapist. Nothing really new, or different, or surprising in these top ten suggestions. Stay calm and consistent; listen, show intimacy, give them approval; provide a stable home-laugh-okay, no rocket science there-nothing most parents haven't heard before. Most of us know those things-we just find it hard to follow through with them. So, we'll just keep trying-trying, trying, to do the best we can to get through these difficult years, and finally have kids whose brains are fully developed, and yes, bearable! But, if you are at the end of your rope; if you are having particularly difficult times with your children or teens; if you have tried all of these 10 suggestions and you just don't know what else to do.here's an eleventh suggestion. PRAY!

     Now, I know how it is for parents. When you are really stressed, a suggestion like that sounds like all the other suggestions. Nothing seems to work-we've tried everything, so don't give us some silly, overly-simplistic suggestion like, "pray for your children". Trust me, I know how hard it is. Besides being a single dad for several years, Christopher tried, experimented with, did just about everything an adolescent can these days. He gave me permission to share this with you, and we both hope it might give some strength to parents and some wisdom to our teens. The only thing Chris wasn't really into was drinking-because he was too involved with marijuana and drugs. He got caught for possession and had to go to court. He told Susan he was getting interested in flowers and plants and wanted to do some seedlings in his room-which of course turned out to be pot seeds he was planting. He ran away from home-not for long, but for long enough. He seemed to never choose good friends-even though one of his best friends was from one of our church families, and he seemed to never make good choices, but to revel in making the worst choices. He struggled with depression for a while, was on medication, we went to counseling. He made us crazy, and we made him crazy. And there were days it seemed we might as well give up. But we didn't give up. And now, Christopher is faithful, responsible, loving and kind, a hard-worker, and a pleasure to be around! And how did this happen? How did we get from there, to here? I credit God, and prayer. Oh, we did everything humanly possible. We sought professional help, we worked at being consistent, we tried to provide stability, and yes, we found some times to laugh. But through it all, Susan would put sticky notes on her bathroom mirror, one for Chris and one for Rebekah, to remind her to pray, and to remind her what she needed to be praying for that day. Like the man who pounded on his neighbor's door asking for bread, Susan brought our kids to God persistently, twice a day morning and evening-partly, because we believe in prayer, and partly because we weren't always sure what else to do-and mainly, because God answers prayer! God promises to answer prayer! Jesus himself says to us, "Ask, and it will be given you; search and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." When we are at the end of our rope; when we feel we are doing everything we can; when we are really struggling with kids-our own or others-still, the best and the first thing we should do-is PRAY! Ask, search, knock! Go to God in prayer so often, and so persistently that he will answer, if for no other reason than that you're being such a bother! Jesus says there's nothing wrong with that-in fact, Jesus is encouraging this kind of prayer. And if you are one of those good Lutherans, but not so good Christians, who are always feeling you don't now how to pray-use the prayer Jesus teaches us! There is no better prayer, than the Our Father-because it is so all-encompassing. Jesus' prayer praises the Father, and pleads for the kingdom to come, fully, here and now. We pray in the Lord's Prayer for daily bread-Martin Luther says in the Small Catechism, this includes everything needed for this life: food and clothing, home and property, work and income, a devoted family, an orderly community, good government, favorable weather, peace and health, a good name and true friends and neighbors. And then Jesus teaches us to pray for forgiveness, even as we forgive others. And-and maybe this is most important for families with teens, "do not bring us to the time of trial" is how it's translated in the New Revised Standard version. Deliver us from evil-do not put us to the test. In the Small Catechism, Luther explains, "we ask in this prayer that God would watch over us and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful self may not deceive us and draw us into false belief, despair, and other great and shameful sins. And we pray," writes Luther, "that even though we are so tempted, we may still win the final victory."

     You see, if you have trouble forming your own prayers-for children, for youth, for yourself-simply pray the prayer our Lord has given us-for in that prayer, all our needs are covered-and when we pray the Lord's Prayer, we are joining Jesus in prayer-and Jesus is joining us, in ours. And surely, there is no better prayer partner, than Jesus! And yet, at the same time, let us all be prayer partners, with our families and parents and children and youth! I can almost imagine there are some here who are thinking, "well, this sermon doesn't have much to do with me-because my kids are grown, or I don't have kids." The truth is, the children of our church belong to all of us! We adults are all to be spiritual fathers and mothers for the children of our parish-encouraging them, teaching them in Sunday School, serving as mentors for them in Confirmation-and yes, joining their parents in prayer, for all the children and youth of our congregation! We, as members of the Church have a vested interest in every single child in our community of faith-because, as it's so often said, our children are the future of the Church. Well, actually, Jesus is the future of the Church, and of the world. But healthy, strong, faithful children, will one day become pastors, and deaconesses, and missionaries, and councilpersons, and teachers and assisting ministers, and ushers, and yes, some will even be parents! So--I charge each and every one of you here this morning, to be praying for the children of our parish, and praying for the children of Colorado Springs, and praying for the children of our nation, and praying for the children of our world! Interestingly, in the same chapter of Ephesians when St. Paul gives exhortations to children and parents-and slaves and masters, he also says, "pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication-in prayer for all the saints! That is our charge, and our responsibility-so that all the saints, old and young, parents and children, teens and youth, will know, we are praying for them! That we are praying for each other-knowing, knowing, that God will respond-that God hears our prayers and answers. That everyone who asks will receive, and whoever seeks shall find, and whoever knocks, the door will be opened! And in that, we are comforted, and encouraged, and find strength and support. And in that, we find true freedom and relief! Because its not all up to us! Because God is at our side, as we strive to raise faithful, godly children! Because God is at our side, as we strive to be faithful, godly adults and parents. And God is there, picking us up when we fail, and urging us on when we falter. And most of all, God is there, guiding and leading and renewing and reforming our children-24/7-even when we aren't. That is the good news for parents and adults, and for children and youth.that God is faithful! That God is a work in us and for us! That God is the gracious, heavenly Father of us all!

     Oh, and by the way-Christopher did want me to add, that Rebekah wasn't perfect either. Our happy, delightful, obedient, respectful daughter--married an Army guy!

     In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.