Outline: "come Hungry to the Bible" (Hebrews 4:12)

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15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect... (bold emphasis added).

1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

We stand here in a new century with a significant challenge before us. Recent research suggests that the church is losing young adults, even those who 'grew up' in the church. David Kinnaman says young adults leave in part because the church as field to help them think about and answer difficult questions. Similarly, the largest study on the religiosity of youth in America showed that church teens were surprisingly inarticulate about their faith. When researchers posed questions about what they believed, young people said it was the first time that an adult had asked them about their beliefs, and they seemed unable to answer basic questions about the central doctrines of the Christian faith. Though there is a lot of teaching in the church, could it be there is not as much learning?

​"We need to revitalize the task of teaching the next generations, but not with default, 'they way we've always done it' approaches or with an 'anything goes' pragmatic recklessness that misses the mark in helping students grow in maturity. The next generation needs teachers - engaging teachers, wise teachers, joyful teachers, and well-studied teachers. Young people need to be engaged deeply in relevant ways beyond elementary teachings. They need a 'thought-full' faith rooted in Scripture, empowered by the Spirit, and connected to everyday realities to face contemporary challenges, historical tensions, and difficult questions" (Teaching the Next Generations, p. xi-xii).