The Way to God (For Teens)

Dwight Lyman Moody was an American evangelist, born in 1837 on a farm in Northfield, Massachusetts. His father died when he was four, and he had only about five years of schooling. He became a Christian at eighteen while working in his uncle’s shoe store in Boston, started a huge Sunday school in Chicago, and went on to preach to millions in America and Britain. He founded schools and the Moody Bible Institute, and died in 1899.

It comes from Jesus’ words to Nicodemus in John 3: “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Moody explains that it means a new life from God’s Spirit, not just going to church, trying harder or turning over a new leaf. It is something God does in us when we turn to him and trust Jesus.

No. Moody says it is dangerous to wait for someone else’s experience. Some people come to God suddenly, others so gradually they can’t tell when it started, like the dawn. What matters is not the story but whether you really belong to Christ.

Moody calls it “right about face”: turning around from going your own way to going God’s way. It is not just feeling bad, being scared, or giving up one sin. It is a change of mind that shows itself in a change of direction.

Moody says yes: John wrote his first letter so that believers “may know” they have eternal life. Assurance rests not on your feelings but on what Jesus has done and what God has promised.

Moody’s first chapter is all about the love of God, which does not change when we fail. If you feel unloved, very low, or have thoughts of hurting yourself or not wanting to be alive, please tell a trusted adult straight away, or contact a local crisis line. You matter, and help is there.

No. It is a retelling for teenagers in plain modern words, drawn from all nine of Moody’s chapters and keeping his own sentences and stories where they say it best. The full The Way to God is also available.