Bible 101

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the Christian faith? Do you have the desire to read about a certain issue or topic but don't know where to begin? Do you have questions about Christianity but don't know where to turn? Reformed Youth Ministries' passion is passing the faith on to the next generation. Our hope for the Scratching the Surface Series is to pass on the doctrines of the Christian faith in an easy-to-read/beginner-style format for students. Be sure to pick up this title – and others in this series – to gain a better understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ.

On episode 1026 of "Ask Pastor John," John Piper was asked the following question – "What's the last thing you would tweet?" He replied, "I thought about saying, 'Read your Bibles and pray for insight,' because there is so much that needs to be known about God that cannot be put into one sentence." Instead of saying that, he summed the gospel up in 140 characters. However, a longtime pastor and theologian thought about boiling his last words down to: Read your Bible and pray. He said that there's so much that can be said which is difficult to fit into 140 characters. Therefore, he's encouraging God's people to open up the Word and ask the Spirit to work through their reading. This is exactly what this book seeks to do. More specifically, it seeks to teach students (and parents and youth leaders) what the Word of God is and how they should read it. There are so many things about life we must be teaching the next generation, but if we boil it down to one thing, Bible reading is essential. Can you think of anything more important? If we raise a future generation of Christians who know how to learn, live, and love God's Word, we will be raising a generation prepared for whatever this world throws their way. Bible 101 is broken into short chapters. It is an introductory study on the doctrine of Scripture . . . hence, 101. While the book is aimed at middle school students - it would also be a good refresher for any student or adult. It is the prayer of RYM that this book would be used to spread the beauty of the gospel to the next generation.

John Perritt is the Director of Resources for Reformed Youth Ministries (rym.org) and serves as the host of The Local Youth Worker podcast for RYM. He is the author of Your Days Are Numbered (2016), What Would Judas Do? (2017), & Time Out! (2018). He and his wife, Ashleigh, live in Ridgeland, MS, with their five children.