Welcome to the Thee Generation Podcast. I’m Bobby Bosler, and I’m speaking to you today from Lisbon, Ohio. Well, as I’m sure many of you are aware, we are one month away from the Thee Generation Youth Summit.

The Cola Clash Plus, which is going to be happening in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, October 15, 16, and 17, here this fall. And one of the reasons why I wanted to highlight that here at the beginning of our podcast is because Monday is the deadline to receive a $10 discount on your registration. Our registration is $75 to come and attend.

And boy, I’ve been really encouraged. In fact, just yesterday, I believe, we had a group of 20 sign up to come. And I know there will be more coming in here throughout the weekend.

But I wanted to make you aware that we’ve got a lot of amazing new things. Now, this is our fourth annual Youth Summit, and I know some of you listening have attended. You’ve seen it.

You’ve experienced it. But this year, we’ve really tried to go the extra mile to make things a little bit different in a good way. We’ll be having 10 preaching sessions like we have in the previous four years.

But this year, we’ve got two brand new competitions. I want to tell you about just one of them real quick. So some of you have seen big ball basketball four ways, four teams all on the same court at the same time, about 300 on the field.

This year, we’re going to be doing a new variation on big ball basketball, something I call high-risk half court. We’re going to be having four fused together basketball hoops in a square in the very center of the field. Each team will have a quarter of the field around those four basketball hoops.

And here’s the trick. If you get it in two of the hoops, two out of the four, you’ll get two points. If you get it in one of the hoops, you’ll get three points.

But if you get it in the other hoop, you will lose one point. It adds a whole new dynamic to the game. That’s one of the new competitions we’re going to be doing.

And in fact, I’ll mention the other one maybe in a future podcast. But one of the other variations that we’re doing is we’re going to have some variations in tube tug and spoke tackle. In fact, during tube tug, we’re going to be having a girl’s square and a guy’s square, both going at exactly the same time.

We’ll call the numbers. They’ll go out and run, and whoever gets more tubes combined will get the points for their team. Really excited about that.

Then Spoke Tackle, we’re actually going to be having two entire wheels going at the same time. Don’t worry, we won’t have you racing like having the races intersect with each other or anything. That would be a little bit too crazy.

I don’t think our insurance would like that. But anyway, we’ve got a lot more. In fact, we’re going to be having during our workshop session on Thursday, 15 workshops for you.

You’ll get a chance to go to two of them, but the rest of them will be posted on thegeneration.org after the week is done. Also, there’s one other thing I wanted to tell you about I’m really, really, really excited about, and that is soda squads. Soda squads are a smaller division within your team where you’ll be able to band together and do a number of different things together as a soda squad.

So for instance, on the Coca-Cola team, there might be the Cherry Coke Soda Squad, or on the Mountain Dew team, there might be the Baja Blast Soda Squad. Each of those will be led by an undergraduate team leader, and there will still be the large groups, the whole team during the competitions, but you’ll have a smaller identity for lunch sessions. We’ll have some Bible study times in your Soda Squad.

We’ll have some team meetings and a refreshment time after the evening services as well. And there’s one other thing I want to mention, and this is kind of a part of the bigger aim of this year’s Youth Summit. We will be having a training session on how to give the gospel.

And I’m so excited about this. If you’ve listened to the podcast at all here this summer, you’ve known that this is one of the things I’ve been passionate about for you. And Pastor Gilmore is, Lord willing, going to be in his session having a very practical time of training to train you how to share your faith with somebody else.

So we’re really looking forward to all of those things. And it’s really an exciting thing for me to be able to tell you about it. And in fact, I would really encourage you, if you’re at all thinking of coming, sign up on the website.

There is plenty of information there. It should be all that you need to know. I know a registration is ahead of last year.

I don’t know exactly what that’s going to end up being at the end of everything, but I sure am excited about what God is doing right now, what he’s doing in your hearts, and what he’s going to do at our Youth Summit here this year. So if you’re able to sign up by midnight on Monday night, you’ll be able to get the registration price at $75. After that, it’s going to be $85 per person.

And we really look forward to seeing you there. Now, there’s one thing I want to challenge you with, just a thought. You know, I don’t know if you’ve thought about this, but in my Christian growth and in my walk with God, there has been one thing that has defined.

It’s been a catalyst for me in my forward movement for God. And Paul talks a little bit about this in 1 Corinthians 1. and he is discussing the ministry that he’s had and kind of some of the reasons for why he did things the way that he did.

In 1 Corinthians 1, chapter 1, verse 17, here Paul says, For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. But unto us which are saved, it is the power of God.

For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe?

Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God.

And here’s what I want to focus on. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. And you know, for me, one of the biggest things in my life has been placing myself in environments and situations where the foolishness of preaching can do its work in my life.

You know, young person, that means that if you are going to let the power of God impact you, you need to listen to preaching. For some of you, that means you need to be faithful to your local church. You need to be there on Sunday in Sunday school, in the Sunday morning service, the Sunday evening service, your midweek service, whenever that is.

Because you know what? That is not just a time to gather together with believers. It’s not just a time to dress up and sing praises to the Lord.

It’s a time to let your wrong thinking, my wrong thinking, be confronted by the preaching of God’s word. In our 100th episode, which if you haven’t had a chance to listen to that, I’d encourage you to listen to episode 100. It’s a little different.

But in that episode, we asked you to share testimonies of kind of how God has worked in your heart through the podcast. And I know in one of the testimonies, there was a testimony from our New Life meetings, which I’m going to put a link in the description again in the post on thegeneration.org and also in the description for the podcast. Tap or swipe in the cover art to see the show notes.

but I really want to encourage you. I know for me last week, it was a time where God confronted me. He confronted me with some areas of wrong thinking in my life.

And to be honest with you, had I not been there under the sound of the preaching of the word of God, I’m not sure those areas of wrong thinking would have been confronted. Now, this isn’t to diminish the importance of personal Bible study, of you getting alone with God every day, of you reading the word of God, letting the Spirit of God speak to you through His Word. That’s so important, and you need to have a time.

In fact, John Pound, he spent some time a few podcasts ago just how to have a time with God. I’d encourage you to check that out. But that’s no replacement for preaching.

You need to allow the foolishness of preaching to confront you. And in fact, for some of you, maybe you’re here and you’ve grown up in church, and you go to church every Sunday and every Wednesday or whenever the midweek service is, can I encourage you? Why don’t you take it a step further?

Why don’t you subscribe to some podcasts or find some good, trusted sermon resources on the internet where you can listen to the Word of God explained, expounded, applied, and let the preaching of God’s Word confront you.

Maybe when you’re walking into school or maybe when you’re on the bus or in your transit to school, in the vehicle, or maybe if you’ve got a job and it’s the kind of job where you can listen to things while you’re on the job, or maybe when you’re just doing things around the house or mowing the lawn in the backyard or something like that, listen to preaching and let preaching shape your thinking.

Now, just a little anecdote about a man, and I won’t mention his name, now a man heading to the mission field that I’ve had the privilege of getting to know. He was in a time of depression in his life, he shared with me. And at one point when we were with him, one of our team members recommended a particular sermon to him that had been a blessing to our team member.

And he had, I believe he downloaded the sermon. He didn’t listen to it, though, for probably a good year or two. This man had a job, and I think he drove a forklift or a mower or something like that, and he would make it a practice just to listen to preaching.

Well, this depression, this discouragement just wouldn’t leave him. This was something that was plaguing him for months. He and his wife, they were aware of this, and yet he didn’t know how to kick it.

Well, he was on this forklift, I believe, and he, here this day, just happened to open up this MP3 and start listening to it on his phone as he was driving. And as he listened to the truth of our position in Jesus Christ, far above all principalities and powers. All I’ll say is God connected the dots for him there in his heart.

He came home from work that day. He was actually on his way to church. He was going to be preaching at church, his church there that evening.

And as he was on the way, he was just thinking about the message that he’d heard and the fact that he did not have to be depressed or discouraged. In fact, that this depression and discouragement was oppression from the enemy. And there in that car ride, with his hands on the steering wheel, he took the step that he learned about of resisting the enemy.

And instantaneously like that, God delivered him. The clouds of discouragement and depression which were from the enemy dissipated like the morning fog when the sun comes out. And he found freedom.

He turned to his wife and he said, I’m over it. his wife turned to him and said, just like that, you’re over it. And you know what, young people, there are some issues in your life that are plaguing you, that have been plaguing you for years.

And it just might be that if you would listen to some preaching where somebody opens the Bible and shows you forcefully, clearly, in a way that makes sense to you what God says about the issue, it could very well be that you could take the step of faith or change your thinking or agree with God, whatever the action step is, and you can find freedom yourself.

And you, through the foolishness of preaching, can find the power of God that’s able to deliver you. And maybe you can say, I’m over it. You know, the preaching is something God uses, like I’ve been saying here, to confront our wrong thinking and to lead us to victory, to deliverance, to salvation.

if I could put it that way, from the things that are ensnaring us. And so I just want to encourage you young people, listen to preaching. In fact, I’ll just point out this.

If you’ve got some particular issues that are keeping you down on thegeneration.org, up in the header there in the menu, you’ll see Battle Plan. We’ve actually recently replaced the resources tab with the Battle Plan page.

There, scroll down, find the issue that’s getting you, Read the verses, listen to the sermons or podcasts that are attached to that, and let the foolishness of preaching confront you and change your thinking and lead you to find victory in the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, if there’s a topic you’re wrestling with and it’s not listed in those list of issues, send us an email.

In fact, you can email me at bobby at thegeneration.org, B-O-B-B-Y at T-H-E-E generation.org and let me know. Hey, there’s an issue here I’d love to see some resources on and we’ll do our best to work to that end. But you know what, young people, we’re for you.

We want you to find freedom. We want you to find deliverance. And it just so happens in our lives and in the opinion of the Apostle Paul, preaching is one of the ways that you can find the truth through the word of God.

And you know that’s our heart. You know what God shows us. We want to surrender to it.

Where God speaks to us, we want to agree with him. And that’s why our tagline for the generation is total surrender and total dependence to turn the world upside down with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thanks so much.

And don’t forget, make sure you register for the Thee Generation Youth Summit by Monday night to get your discount. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you soon.