Materials on Election/Predestination

Jim Osterhouse's "Faith Unfolded" is a really helpful and fairly short explanation of the Doctrines of Grace.  It's not necessarily geared for youth, but is very accessible - it even has study questions so you could study this together as a group.  When I was in high school I was pretty upset by the "unfairness" of the doctrine of election, until I read R.C. Sproul's "Chosen By God".  Its also not geared for youth, but I read it as a teenager - as did both of my teenage children.  Sproul does a great job of demonstrating that the doctrine of election is not only not "unfair", but also a beautiful doctrine that leads to praise.  Of course, the best reading material on election would be Ephesians 1-2, Romans 9, 1 Peter 1, and pretty much the rest of the Bible! :)

I will not offer up reading material nor will I go into an exegesis or explanation. I will suggest, however, that both election and predestination are misunderstood more often than not and this does no service to either our ministry or mission and certainly does not enhance our relationship to the Lord. Beware of who is being addressed and who is not being addressed when each of the subjects is raised. Use good logic when seeking to understand them, being aware of arriving at false conclusions. And, of course, context and the whole counsel of God is critical.