Five tips to help you apply the Bible to teens

14/06/23

How amazing is it when you get to see God tangibly working in a young person’s life as they hear and respond to his word! It’s one of the great joys of youth ministry!

 As youth leaders, we have the immense privilege of proclaiming and applying the Word of God to teenagers, in one of the most formative phases of their entire life. Sometimes this feels super hard and there may be times when you’re left wondering whether anyone has even heard anything you’ve said! But time and again when I have felt this way, God has shown me that these young people actually do listen to us— often giving us much more credence than we may be aware of.

 “Whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

James 1:25

As we teach the Bible, it’s important that we do so in a way that seeks to propel young people forward towards taking the next steps in their journey as a disciple of Christ. After all, “Sitting under the Word of God”, ought not be a passive, consumeristic thing— as James points out we must, “Not merely listen to the word”, but also, “Do what it says” (James 1:23).

In other words, when teaching the Bible we need to work hard on applying the Word in their lives in meaningful and tangible ways. Here are some thoughts to help direct us as we work hard on application in our teaching.

Application Then & Now

When teaching a Bible passage, an important step is understanding the difference between how it would have applied THEN, i.e. to the original recipients, versus how it applies NOW to young people in the 21st century. This differentiation is critical if we are to apply the Bible accurately— particularly when it comes to teaching the Old Testament.

The first step is to begin your exegesis of the passage by digging into its context. This can be done by answering questions such as, “When was the book written?”, “Who was it written to?”, "Where do the events of this passage take place?”, as well as identifying where the passage fits within the unfolding story of the Bible, and what has happened between then and now which impacts how we apply the passage?

Example from Exodus 12 (The Passover):

General & Specific Application

Sometimes when we apply God’s word, we apply it in a general sense to everyone, such as the above application from Exodus 12 — “We need to actively put our trust in Jesus to save us from facing Gods wrath for sin”, is a general application that can be applied to anyone and everyone. It is good to make general applications because it helps to set a culture for how the people of God ought to respond to the Word collectively.

But the Word of God also penetrates the heart of individuals in different specific ways, depending on our own personal contexts. It is good, therefore, to identify specific applications for those we are teaching. These specific applications may be categorically true for all believes, but will speak to specific situations that people might find themselves in, meaning that they will be even more applicable for some.

“The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Hebrews 4:12

Example from Exodus 12:

General Application

We need to actively put our trust in Jesus to save us from facing God’s wrath for sin.

Specific application

1) Stop trying win God’s favour by being a good person and rest securely in the knowledge that Jesus’ blood turns away God’s wrath.

2) Because faith in God is shown through our obedience to his Word, stop being lazy and actively seek to follow Jesus.

Head – Heart – Hands

When applying the Bible, it’s scarily easy to fall into a kind of Christian moralism where we simply give young people a weekly to-do list of what they must do in light of the passage. This is especially the case when our application points are always imperatives (i.e. they lead with phrases like, “you must….” and “we should…”). But if we are really proclaiming a gospel of grace, mercy and forgiveness, we will push beyond the simplistic, “What we must do”, application points towards something more holistic.

A good way to achieve this is to use the, “Head-heart-hands”, framework as you consider your points of application. In other words, thinking through how this passage applies to our:

HEAD— i.e.,  understanding about or knowledge of God, the world, and ourselves.

        Hint: ask yourself, “What do we know now that we’ve read this passage?”

HEART— i.e.,  attitudes, affections, beliefs and desires.

        Hint: ask yourself, “How does this passage convict us?”

HANDS— i.e.,  our actions.

        Hint: ask yourself, “What do we do now we’ve read this passage / how do we live it out?”

The idea is not to get the trifecta each time we apply a passage, but rather to use this tool to ensure we consider the whole person in our application, and to teach young people that the gospel shapes our beliefs and affections, not only what we do.

Example from Exodus 12:

·        Head – God is the one who saves us, we do not save ourselves.

·        Heart – when we appreciate Jesus’ sacrifice for us, it will evoke a profound thankfulness within us that we are no longer facing God’s wrath.

·        Hands – Actively trust in Jesus by obeying God’s Word.

Articulate the Wrong Application

Once you’ve identified what we should do in light of a passage, it can be helpful to articulate what it would look like if someone missed the point. This will help identify what to steer clear from as we live out the Word.

Example from Exodus 12:

Wrong Application– Keep working hard to please God because if you’re a good enough person he will turn away his wrath from you.

Leading With Application

When it comes to presenting application to young people, often preachers will seek first to build their argument from the text, raising unanswered questions for the listener before revealing their application points at the end of their talk to tie it all together in a clear way forward. It’s true that good application flows from exegesis (as I mentioned above), but that doesn’t mean that we unveil the application only after we’ve done all the preparatory work. Teaching this way sometimes becomes a little predictable and trite for the young listener, especially if the questions raised don’t particularly address their felt needs.

Instead, why not try switching things around in your next talk and leading with the application? This is a method that many classroom teachers use to help their students achieve the outcomes they are aiming for in the lesson. By clearly stating the outcome we are aiming for at the beginning of the talk, it can help young listeners to know where the teaching is heading and why what you’re saying is relevant.

Youth leaders have the immense privilege and responsibility of proclaiming and applying the Word of God to teenagers, in one of the most formative phases of their entire life. It can sometimes feel like a hard slog! But one of the greatest joys of youth ministry is when you get to see God tangibly transforming them to be more like Christ as they hear and respond to His Word.

So, let’s work hard at applying the Bible well, to ensure we help young people to grow in their understanding of how the gospel of grace impacts all of life.