Is Bible Conference important for your teenager?

Next week, we have a unique opportunity as a church to discuss one of the key topics of our Christian faith. October 12th - 15th is Bible Conference with Pastor Ken Brooks. Pastor Brooks’ desire is to help give us a better understanding of how we received our Bible. I believe that the Bible is the Word of God and is essential to live a successful life. So, it is crucial that we take every opportunity to learn more about it. God has placed your teenager in the perfect circumstance to learn these truths at a young age.

So why should you plan to be here for every service of Bible Conference? 

1. The preaching and teaching of the Word of God is important. 

If you were to write a list of the most important things that you needed to accomplish today, what would be on that list? As you think about it there are probably a lot of important things going on in your life. Family, school, and a myriad of other activities would probably all make the list, but where does increasing in the knowledge of God and His Word place? In a culture that is rapidly running away from God and His Truth, you would think that we would place a priority on the preaching and teaching of His Word. Sadly, it is just the opposite. Sometimes it seems that we as Christians are trying to minimize our exposure to God and His Word. Spiritual leaders challenge young people to give God “at least a few minutes” each day. Adults and teens alike complain about how long the church service was. Families don’t have time to be at church more than once a week. These trends tragically show how much value we put on the Word of God. In 2 Kings we read of a young man named Josiah. Josiah was an eighteen year old king when he grasped the importance of the Word of God. He thought it was so important that he gathered everyone together and had it read publicly. 

2 Kings 23:1-3 And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.

I wonder what the attendance of Bible Conference would be like, if there were no stories, no illustrations, or special music. Would your family make it a priority to be there? 

2. The Devil desires to deceive our young people. 

The devil desires to destroy you, your spouse, and your children. He is trying to deceive us in anyway possible. We know this is true, so we work hard to protect our families! We teach them, pray for them, and protect them from evil things. I honestly believe we would fight to the death to protect our children from satan’s attack. Next week, Pastor Brooks will be teaching on one of the most critical ways Satan will attack your young person. Satan will target their belief in God’s Word. If the devil can shake their belief in God’s Word, he wins. This plan isn’t new or innovative. It has been his plan since Adam and Eve. 

Genesis 3:1 Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

On Sunday morning, Pastor Ferguson transparently described his battle over the Word of God even at a Christian college. The battle against the Bible is real, and if our young people are ignorant of this, the devil will exploit that weakness. I honestly believe that this years Bible Conference is one of the greatest ways to defend against Satan’s attack in your home! 

3. The knowledge of God’s Word provides the greatest foundation for life. 

When John wrote to a mother in the book of 2 John, He expressed his excitement that her children were walking in truth. 

2 John 1:4 I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. 

John echoes the same sentiment in 3 John.

 3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 

One of my goals as a youth pastor is to help families establish a biblical foundation for their children. Like John, the greatest joy that I could have in ministry is to see your children walking in the truth of God’s Word. We all know of people who “lived” the Christian life because someone told them to. They did some things, and they didn’t do other things because the pastor said so. I’m sure there are a number of people in our church that read the version of the Bible they read not because they have a conviction, but simply because someone said it was the best. It really is an opportunity to have a man of God who has exhaustively studied the Word of God take time to help us understand how we received the Word of God. I don’t know if you have questions about these issues, but I am sure your young person does. These topics, if not addressed, can be confusing to a Christian young person. Most young people don’t have the maturity of the psalmist who prayed “Stablish thy word unto thy servant.” (Psalm 119:38) This week would be a great time to establish the importance of God’s Word as a family. You don’t have to have a doctorate in Biblical studies; you simply have to join in with your local church, and we can all grow together.

I didn’t write this to guilt people into coming to church or because I have nothing better to do with my time. I understand that our schedules are busy. But, I really believe that in a society where the Word of God is minimized and mocked this conference is what we need as families!