1. Loving God With Your Mind Understanding the Times 20-25

2. Teenagers THERE WERE NO TEENAGERS UNTIL AFTER WWII. Before WWII (Generally Speaking) Today Adult hood began in teenage years. Adulthood delayed until mid 20’s Education often stopped between 8 th grade and High School Education continues well into college. Median Marriage Age 20Median Marriage Today 26 Understanding the Times 20-25

3. Teenagers Teenagers are often marketed to with negative cultural icons (role models). Understanding the Times 20-25

4. How Did We Get Here A. The Church “ Around the Middle 1800’s Christians became Anti-Intellectual. Essentially the church became illiterate.” 1. The Awakenings of the 1800’s ( a different view) T he evangelistic preaching of this day was largely built on emotions and feelings only. Understanding the Times 20-25

5. How Did We Get Here 2 2. Secular Attacks – “ Right when the church had a whole bunch of new converts that did not know very much about the Christian faith a tremendous assault was launched against Christianity in the centers of Higher Learning.” Understanding the Times 20-25

6. How Did We Get Here 3 Philosophy and Science 1. David Hume (Late 1700’s) …If you can’t see it, touch it, taste it, it is not real 2. Charles Darwin (On the Origin of Species) 3. The Scopes monkey Trial ( 1926). Christians were unprepared in their thinking and looked ignorant. Won the trial – lost the battle Understanding the Times 20-25

7. Anti-intellectualism in the Church 1. The Separation of Faith and Reason 2. The Separation of the sacred and the secular. 3. The Gospel in Our Culture 4. World Missions 5. A Lack of Courage Understanding the Times 20-25

8. The Empty Self A.Individualistic: A person that thinks about his or her self; not about his or her role in the community. B.Self Centered: A person who believes everything exists to make him or her happy. C.Infantile: a person that is preoccupied with appearance and pleasure. D.Passive: a person that is a consumer of entertainment and incapable of creating Understanding the Times 20-25

9. Overcoming the Empty Self A. Denying ourselves for the Cause of Christ 1. Learn to Serve Others 2. It takes practice B. Learn to understand what why we believe what we believe C. Knowledge is not BAD 1. The abuse of knowledge is bad not knowledge 2. The solution to knowledge ”puffing up” is not ignorance but humility. Understanding the Times 20-25

10. Luke 10:27 He answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. Understanding the Times 20-25

11. The Biblical View of The Mind A. God is pictured as a rational, intelligent, thoughtful God. B. In certain Eastern religions you have to abandon your mind C. If you want to learn how to authentically share your faith read the book of ACTS. D. Specific commands regarding our minds Matthew 22: 37-39, Luke 10:27 Understanding the Times 20-25

12. Developing A Christian Mind A. Ask Questions 1. Don’t act as if you understand something that you do not 2. Be real in seeking answers to your questions 3. Unbelief is sin, but doubt and questions are not B. Study the Bible; Learn to think logically C. Take you studies seriously Understanding the Times 20-25

13. Preparing for College and Beyond Find Christian resources relevant to your field. Ask questions Act on your study (run for office, blogs, letters to the editor) We need improvement in Biblical education in our churches. Understanding the Times 20-25

14. Concluding Remarks Many of the important world-changing movements in history were started by young people. If you are going to change the world you have to be informed. Understanding the Times 20-25