Tag Archives: how to teach teens

Feb 1 2010

KTL 2010 – 03 – How to Teach Christ as the Center

Free resources for youth pastors:

KTL 03 – How to Teach Christ as the Center (mp3)

            The Christocentric hermeneutic continues!  Remember that Christocentric means “Christ-centered” and hermeneutic means “view or interpretation of Scripture.”  This lesson is extremely important on how to preach Christ in every sermon and from every Biblical text.  I believe these are the keys to a truly powerful sermon that changes lives!

            Should we point to Christ in every sermon?  From what we learned in the last lesson…absolutely!  Usually we hear most in our churches about the will and the glory of God – and Jesus is both of them (Eph 1:9-11, Phil 2:9-11).  We also saw that all of Scripture is ultimately pointing us to the person and the work of Christ – His identity and His accomplishment – Who He is and What He has done, is doing, and will do forever.  Preaching is calling people to become like the person of Christ by trusting in His work!   Continue reading →

Mar 30 2009

KTL 2009 #9: Teaching Teens to Preach Christ – How to Intro, Need, and Conclude Your Sermon

ktlYep, you guessed it.  There’s no article yet.  But there is an mp3 of the class session on how to use introductions, create a need for every person to listen, and how to conclude the sermon.  So listen up! 

09 – KTL – Intro. Need. Conclusion (mp3)

Mar 24 2009

You Asked For It, So You’re Gonna Get It!

youaskedforitIf you’re one of our students, you’ve asked for it, so you’re going to get it!  For the rest of you who have no clue what I’m talking about…a couple of Wednesdays ago I gave our students an option of what I would teach them on this Wednesday.

Option 1: Do a Q and A for them on eternity, the New Earth, the Heavens, and whatever else they’re wondering about.

Option 2: Walk them through how we order our sermon/lesson/messages every Wednesday night.

I really would have thought they would choose option 1.  An overwhelming majority voted for option 2.  I love it!  How many student ministries actually WANT to hear how to formulate a sermon, point it to Christ, and then apply it to their lives.  I couldn’t be more impressed with our student ministry!  It has been a huge success to teach our KTL ministry how to structure a sermon from text to Christ to life.  Those guys say that they get far more out of the sermons knowing the why we do what we do.  I’ve had some trusted pastors in the past tell me that they’d rather their sermons be the Space Mountain ride (don’t know what’s coming next) at Disney World rather than the Jungle Cruise (on your left is an elephant, on your right is a crocodile).  Well, I guess I’m going a little more Jungle Cruise this Wednesday.  My prayer is that our students get more insight into the way we do our sermons, that they learn how they can teach the Bible to others, and how they can get even more out of their devotions through this.

Jan 8 2009

YOU GOT SKILLS: Discovering Your Spiritual Giftedness #3 – “What’s Your Ministry?” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)

yougotskills-blog-pic1Free files for youth pastors:

You Got Skills – 3 – What’s Your Ministry? (mp3)

You Got Skills – 3 – Whats Your Ministry (fillout sheet)

You Got Skills – 3 – What’s Your Ministry? (ppt)

Before we move forward, lets review exactly what these spiritual gifts are. What good will it do us if we move forward while forgetting what we’ve learned so far? Lesson 1 – Spiritual gifts include our passions, abilities, personality, and experiences that were once used for Satan’s kingdom. Jesus Christ our King has plundered that evil kingdom, rescued our gifts, and now we can use them for His kingdom! Lesson 2 – God has recorded many spiritual gifts in His Word, but not all of them are found there. He just gave us an idea to understand what they are and what some of them are. Our spiritual gifts can include many different abilities that Jesus has given us to use for His glory in the church. Looking at our spiritual SHAPE is very helpful. Now moving on… Continue reading →

Jan 8 2009

YOU GOT SKILLS: Discovering Your Spiritual Giftedness #2 – “What’s Your Skill” (Romans 12:3-5)

yougotskills-blog-picFree files for youth pastors:

You Got Skills – 2 – What’s Your Skill? (mp3)

You Got Skills – 2 – What’s Your Skill? (fillout sheet)

You Got Skills – 2 – What’s Your Skill? (ppt)

Let’s review from the last lesson on what spiritual gifts actually are. Spiritual gifts are our God-given passions, abilities, personality, and experiences that were once used for Satan’s Kingdom. Jesus Christ plundered Satan’s kingdom by His death, rescued our giftedness from Satan, and now He has given them back to us so that we can use our spiritual gifts for His glory in His Kingdom. We use them for Him!

There are many spiritual gifts found in the Scriptures. In four different passages we see an apostle looking at the life of a church and noticing how they have been gifted spiritually. In Ephesians 4:11, Paul tells that church that Jesus has given out spiritual gifts for some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers in the church. In Romans 12:6-8, Paul tells that church that he has noticed their spiritual giftedness of prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giver, leadership, and mercy. In 1 Corinthians 12:28, Pauls tells that church that he has noticed their spiritual giftedness of wisdom, knowledge, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, interpretation, helping, administration, etc. Lastly, in 1 Peter 4:10-11, Peter tells the church that he has noticed their spiritual giftedness of speaking and serving. Continue reading →

Oct 16 2008

Part 6: How to Preach/Teach to Teenagers

Scriptures on Christ-Centeredness in All Things and Preaching (doc)

I remember being at a weekend conference for student ministries and hearing the dynamic speakers chosen to preach.  I was amazed that both speakers preached two different sermons, but their sermons were both so much alike.  They both introduced their sermon with the topic they thought the text hit on.  One preached on frustration and the other on gratitude.  The way they introduced their sermon was by going into a comedy monologue by telling a life story that had to do with their topic.  Then they talked about the importance and life impact of their topic.  Then they went to a passage of Scripture that addressed the biblical issues that go along with that topic.  Then they closed their sermon with a challenge on how to live that topic for Christ. 

To be honest with you, I think they both were good sermons.  I think they both honored God and the Word of God very well.  But I came home with many questions and even some confusion.  Is this how God intends His Word to be preached?  Is the Bible merely a spiritual self-help book that is written in the form of addressing many different topics and issues of our day?  Is it just a book on morality?  Do our sermons and lessons to students need to be heavy on application to their lives?

Personally, I think the primary thought we should have when preparing to preach/teach to teenagers is…JESUS CHRIST! Continue reading →

Oct 14 2008

Part 5: How to Preach/Teach to Teenagers

You probably will think I’m crazy, but the greatest preaching and teaching I’ve ever heard…  I’m talking about the most passionate, most engaging, most clear and understandable, most personal, most theological, most applicable, and even most humorous…  I didn’t hear these greatest sermons and lessons at the coolest, hippest conference around, nor did I hear them from the new, innovative church.  However, the best preaching and teaching I’ve ever heard in my life were from the 4 years that I spend in seminary.  See, I told you that you’d think I’m crazy!

Seminary was amazing.  Honestly, I miss it like crazy.  Being around a bunch of people who desired to go as deep as you do, soaking in the biblical knowledge from professors who were also pastors over the weekend, getting to study the best of books, being forced to study all of the notes, and constantly being pointed to Christ…  Agh, I miss those grueling days.  But to be even more honest, I would never trade it for the church.  There is nothing more rewarding than using what I’ve learned in seminary here in the church.  I’m so thankful for my seminary because my professors weren’t weird, crusty, old, decrepid, boring, antiseptic, snoozers.  Rather, they were pretty cool guys who could put the deepest of theology in the clearest and understandable way. Continue reading →

Oct 13 2008

Part 4: How to Preach/Teach to Teenagers

I’ve heard some teenagers say, “I hate going to church because I never can remember everything.”  Those students feel like every message is different with a different moral, a different truth, a different discipline, or a different skill to adopt to their life.  On the other hand I’ve heard teenagers say, “I hate going to church because the preacher says the same thing every Sunday.”  Honestly, I think they are both right…and both wrong.  When we preach/teach to teens, we need to communicate the vastly different stories while always coming back to the same point…the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Continue reading →

Oct 3 2008

Part 3: How to Preach/Teach to Teenagers

Free file for youth pastors:

Diagram – How To Preach OT for Christ

I can remember looking out of the car window very intently while riding through Alberta, Alabama as a young little dude.  Trying to see all the way across the street and into the Krispy Kreme restaurant, I usually could catch a glimpse of my Uncle Paul there in the evenings.  From what I remember, he would love to meet his friends there pretty regularly to have a cup of coffee and a doughnut with them.  I always used to wonder what they would talk about so often for so long.  Now, without even ever getting to be a part of those conversations, I’m convinced I know.  How do I know?  I’ve been around people for 30 years now.  Old, middle-aged, married, single, college students, teenagers, and children…we all love to sit and talk about life in stories.  Continue reading →

Oct 2 2008

Part 2: How to Preach/Teach to Teenagers

I remember being in Uganda, Africa a few summers ago.  While I was there, a group of high school sophomores from Ireland came through.  They were of the “conservative-Christian” political class in Ireland.  After asking them questions, I quickly found out that “conservative-Christian” has a much different meaning there than here.  Not one of the teenagers believed or even knew the gospel, only a couple of them said that the Bible may be true in some parts, and many of them doubted God’s existence.  Believe it or not, Bono’s(from the band U2) daughter was there.  I preached in the church service at the local orphanage on a Sunday morning with the teenagers also present.  I preached on the gospel of Christ through the lens of being adopted into God’s family as a son through Jesus.  But I didn’t just give the facts, rather I preached the gospel of Jesus emotionally, passionately, and compellingly.  At the end of the service, the Irish students came up and said that if a preacher preached like that in their country…in such a way that it was obvious he believed what he preached…his church would be packed out.

Youth pastors, when we are preaching and teaching our teenagers, we must preach in a way that is passionate and compelling. Continue reading →