Gospel Grown Series Introduction

Search the Scriptures: A Series for Youth

It is difficult to know whether or not young people today face harder struggles than previous generations—though they certainly face different struggles. In navigating these years, young people begin to decide for themselves what moral standards and what truth—if any—they believe in. God’s Word remains the unchanging source of truth upon which Christian youth can stand firm through these years—but they need to know it well.

Young believers, though young in age, need not be young in faith. Born-again youth can be, and ought to strive to be, examples to the whole church body. Older believers need to recognize the role that believing youth play in their local church body and encourage them to live out and continue growing in their faith. One very important area in which to encourage them is in the study of God’s Word.

Search the Scriptures is a series of in-depth studies into books or major themes of the Bible. These studies are biblical-theological in nature. In other words, they do not start with a common problem, such as peer pressure, and then apply the relative Scriptures to the problem. Rather, they start with the categories and framework of Scripture itself. It is in studying and embracing the overarching story of Scripture and its major themes that one will form and develop a robust biblical worldview. Armed with this biblical worldview, Christian youth will then be strengthened to address the diverse issues that they face in the world.

While these studies can be used entirely on their own, they are also intentionally created as companion study books to Gospel Grown’s illustrated books bearing the same title. Our goal in doing so was for families with young and older children to study the same topic in Scripture at the same time, yet in an age-appropriate way. These studies are able to be completed individually, as part of a family devotion, or together in a youth group.

Our prayer for all who would use these studies is that they would find God’s Word sweeter than honey and more desirable than gold, and that they would build their life upon this solid rock.

Gospel Grown Series Introduction

The Bible’s Big Ideas: Series Introduction

Children love a good story. They are captivated as they are transported to other times and worlds, meet fascinating characters, hear new phrases, and experience new customs. They are gripped with plots of good versus evil as their innate sense of justice gets roused. And even when the story is over, the story often lives on with them, as they imagine themselves living in such a world, pretending to be such a character, and utilizing their newly expanded vocabulary.

The Bible is the greatest story ever told, itself chocked full of extraordinary places and exciting peoples, unique characters and strange customs, new words and novel phrases, memorable events and momentous battles, all within an overarching plotline, the greatest triumph of good over evil.

The central message, or The Story, of the Bible is the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus Christ. However, the Bible is a Story made up of many stories, sub-plots to the Gospel Story, each with their own setting, characters, and plot. These stories highlight, develop, and illumine the various themes of the main plot, the Gospel Story. Therefore, knowing the parts well will deepen our understanding of the whole.

Rather than summarizing the whole, The Bible’s Big Ideas is a new series for children that focuses on these parts. Each book published within The Bible’s Big Ideas highlights an important biblical theme, teaching, or word and traces its development throughout the biblical storyline showing in its contribution to the Gospel message. The goal of this series is to help children see how the big picture is made up of many pieces and so deepen their understanding of the Gospel.

May this Gospel, the greatest Story, live on with our children as they enter in and embrace the world of the Bible, not in their imagination but truly, as the only way to make sense of their story.