Hello Parents. This corner is to provide you with information, resources and interesting articles with parenting helps that will help you minister to your youth and family.
    At times there will be special notes to parents about upcoming topics or events that your youth will be benefiting from. The greatest spiritual influence on your youth outside of the Holy Spirit is you! Your feedback and participation will be appreciated.

1.  Our goal is for each youth to develop a personal relationship with God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ.

2.  That each youth through their relationship with Jesus Christ will start seeing others as Christ sees them and then love and build relationships with them in hopes to bring them into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

3.  To develop each youth to have a heart for service to God and others.

4.  That each youth is cared for and mentored by a Godly adult within our youth group.

5.  That each youth grows spiritually with their parents.

The following Links may be helpful Parenting Articles:

 Web News Watch - Youth Ministry Information
 Sexting and the Teenage Brain - I think sexting is probably one of the biggest youth culture issues addressed by the news-media in the last year.
 Parenting Wisdom From Surprising Sources - How popular culture has stolen a page right out of the Old Testament.
 Are Teens Listening? - Where do your youth get the wisdom that they need for life?
 Stopping The Dropouts - Take the Lasting Faith Scale Survey offered by Dr. Wesley Black
 One Youth Pastors Journey - A letter by Pastor Dennis Tinsley of Dahlonega Baptist Church
 Is Allah Identical to the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ?

ARTICLE

Is Allah Identical to the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ?

by Ergun Mehmet Caner

   This is a difficult question, especially in the English language. Linguistically, anyone who uses the term “God” is basically saying the same thing: They are referring to the uncreated Creator of the universe. In this fashion, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus, and all others are referring to the Lord of the universe when they use the term “God.”
   With regard to Islam, the similarities of Allah and Jehovah are greater for two reasons: (1) Islam embraces monotheism, which means “one God,” just like Christianity and Judaism, and (2) Muhammad used many of the people cited in the Bible when he created the Qur'an, such as Noah (Surah 6:84), Jacob (Surah 2:132), and Jesus (Surah 3:45-47).
   The similarities end there however. Think of Islam as a form of "medieval Mormonism." Like Mormonism, Islam is based on the faulty premise that the Bible’s description of God and Jesus Christ is incorrect. Like Mormonism, Islam teaches that both Christianity and Judaism are false religions, and that Islam through the Qur’an is the only true faith.
   Ultimately, this is not an issue of vocabulary; it is an issue of definition. The Allah of the Qur’an is described and defined in a way that clearly shows Muhammad was not presenting the same God. The God of Islam is remote, and not intimate (Surah 112). Allah does not have a son (Surah 2:116), is not a Trinity (Surah 5:72), and does not love unconditionally (Surah 8:53). In Islam, Jesus is simply a prophet, and emphatically is not the Son of God (Surah 5:72), and the angel Gabriel is the Holy Spirit (Surah 2:193).
   Remember, when Muhammad was alive (A.D. 570-632), the Bible was already in its complete canonical form. This is not an issue of ignorance. Muhammad, living just over 700 miles south of Jerusalem, knew the Bible and rejected it. Instead, he created a system that changed the nature and attributes of God, but still used the name.
   Indeed, these differences cover the entire theology of Christianity. In Islam, there are “angels” that are created from fire (called jinn, Surah 72), a Tree of Zaqqum in hell (Surah 3:62-67), and virgin servants in heaven (Surah 4:57). In fact, even the creation in Islam is corrupted. In Islam, Satan’s fall was due to his unwillingness to bow to Adam (Surah 2:34).
   In summation, one can state it thus: Islam rejects the fatherheart of God, the divinity of the Son, and the person of the Holy Spirit. You cannot change the nature of the God of the Bible without changing the "god" you are presenting. It is not the same God.¹