Note to Pastor/Teacher
Thank you for your desire to teach theology to young people. Too many Christians think teenagers will be bored or otherwise uninterested. I don’t believe that. When doctrine is presented well, your youth group will be surprised how they will enjoy it.
As you already know, volumes have been written on each of these “branches” of systematic theology, so obviously here I had to be brief. Further, these branches are not absolutely distinct from each other. Some overlap is necessary. As such, you may wonder at times why I placed a certain question under that particular category. That brevity became too painful for me, so I decided to create some endnotes, which are also helpful for any student who is wanting to go deeper on a topic. I placed the endnotes on a separate page so that they would not make the lesson plans too “busy.” As noted in another part of this series of lessons, the key verses (as well as the other Scripture quotes) are from the Updated New American Standard (© 1995). Another page in this package contains a bibliography with some annotation. I hope the resources listed will be a good supplement to your own favorites.
Of course feel free to modify each lesson plan so that you are comfortable with it. I find it very difficult to teach something well if I’m not understanding it or certainly if I disagree with it. You will notice perhaps fairly quickly I am quite conservative in my theology.
May the Lord bless you and help you as you build into the young minds He has brought your way!
I would love to hear from you! If you have any comments or questions, feel free to email me at:
Charles H. Ray