E.A.G.E.R.L.Y. Defending the Faith

At Sun Valley Community Church we recognize the importance of Equipping, Teaching, and rearing our children, kids, and youth, instructing them in the ways of the Lord. This is obviously the primary responsibility of the parent, but as a local church we know that in this society we need to get our Children born again and in relationship with God. It is through the gospel of Jesus Christ and the equipping of the Biblical facts of history where we teach our children what it means to have a faith that they can stand on and defend. This is the core of apologetics!

In 1 Peter 3:15 we read that as Christ Followers we must “sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in us, with meekness and fear”. In Colossians 4:6 we see that each and every Individual’s speech is always to be gracious, seasoned with salt, that we may know how we ought to answer each one.

The bible is to be obeyed and it clearly teaches us that we are to Train up a child in the way he should go, And when they are old they will not depart from it (Pr 22:6). When God was giving Israel the law in Deuteronomy 6 Moses writes that God has commanded to teach you His statutes and judgments and that they are to be observed in the land which they were to cross over and possess. Then we read from verse 4: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

In other words, the statutes, commands, precepts, and laws of God are to be taught diligently and consistently. It is not only at church but everywhere, including our own homes and families. It is through learning from the commands of God to Israel and a confirmation of that through the New Testament that we as a church teach the very same truths to our children so that they may be equipped in the message of the gospel.

That’s why we have come up with the acronym E.A.G.E.R.L.Y. defending the faith:

Explanation

Application

Godly Examination

Reality

Logic

Youth