It’s no secret that in youth ministry God’s Word suffers from neglect. But now, more than ever, teens are asking for depth. As youth leaders we want to feed their hunger—and we, too, desire meaningful encounters with the Word. But barriers like our own sense of inadequacy and a packed agenda often relegate Bible study to the bottom of our priorities. That’s a long way from the payoff God promises if we take His Word—and our students’ hunger for depth—seriously.
Scripture Text
As you read these passages:
– mark the actions associated with God’s knowledge, commands and words;
– put a “smiley” or a “frowny” emoticon over the payoffs or consequences resulting from these actions.
Hosea 4:6 (NIV)
6 [M]y people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.”
Proverbs 2:1-11 (NIV)
1 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, 2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, 3 and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, 4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, 8 for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. 9 Then you will understand what is right and just and fair— every good path. 10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. 11 Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.
Think About It
The Consequence
By Hosea’s day, Israel had done a lot of wrong. But their ultimate undoing as a nation boiled down to one thing: lack of knowledge. The kind of knowledge God sought from them wasn’t a recitation of facts but a deep-seated knowledge of His
Law that fostered a relational knowledge of Him. Without that, Israel was ultimately useless to God and needed to be removed from the land. And the same consequence holds true today. Our students’ lack of knowledge won’t result in their removal from the land, but the destruction is real. Without the knowledge of God, the deceptions of the Enemy become invisible land mines of destruction; and temptations turn into “gotta haves.”
The Payoff
Rewind to the payoffs following the “then” in Proverbs 2:5. These give us a ready-made mission statement for student ministry—things we want to see happen in the lives of our students. But did you notice? The actions associated with God’s Word in this passage also give us a ready-made “how to” for meaningful Bible study.
Apply It
God packed His Word with analogies and descriptions regarding how we’re to study and teach His Word. None of these call for casual reading or haphazard discussion—the typical default approach in student ministry.
God called for an intensity that trusts His Word to work. So grab your hungry kids and your favorite Bible chapter, and go after that chapter together, using the actions in Proverbs 2. As you do, answer these simple questions:
What is God saying in this chapter?
What does it mean?
What do I need to do?
Teens are seeking depth. God is seeking deep seekers. Let’s put the two together and reap the payoff!
A 20-year youth ministry veteran, Barry Shafer is the founder and director of InWord Resources (www.inword.org), a ministry that encourages depth in youth ministry by enabling students and youth workers to become better equipped with God’s Word. Shafer is the author of numerous student devotionals and small-group studies, including James: 12 Inductive Sessions on Practical Christianity (YS).
