Speaking Topics

Below are some of Ken’s speaking topics. Each message is designed to provide students with a direct challenge from Scripture. Audio-visual aids including PowerPoint, pictures, music and video are used to illustrate main points and help students walk away with something to remember. No matter where a message starts, it always concludes with a presentation of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

In every message, Ken tries to help students answer these four questions:

1. What does the Bible say about it?

2. Why does God want me to know it?

3. What does it mean to me?

4. How can I remember it?

Expect the presentation of most messages to last between 35 and 40 minutes. The information below is grouped into five sections...

Discipleship Opportunities
Seminars
Series
Individual Messages
Gospel Messages

Discipleship Opportunities

Practicing Christianity 2-Month Study	This is a two-month long study that Ken is preparing for a small group discipleship class. Ken wants to take five or six high school Juniors and Seniors through a detailed verse-by-verse study of the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 to help students learn how to take Christianity from their heads and hearts and put it into action in their day-to-day lives. The emphasis will be on building character. Call for specific information on this opportunity.
Revelation: What's in There? 3-Month Study	Are you a middle or high school student living in the Atlanta area? Ever wanted to know just what's in the book of Revelation in the Bible? Now's your chance. This fall, Ken Edwards will be leading a weekly Bible study designed specifically for you to dig into the mysteries of that book at the end of your Bible! We'll meet at a central location one day a week before school, or possibly in the evenings. We'll read through the book together, look at how that part of God's Word applies to our lives, and answer some interesting, challenging, and sometimes tough problems. The study guide costs $5, and you'll be responsible for arranging your own transportation to the study and then on to school. Call for specific information on this opportunity.
The Seven Checkpoints 3-Month Study	Everything you could ever possibly want to know about how God intends for you to live your life to the fullest. Sound interesting? This study will take you through an in-depth look of the principles every teenager needs to know... Authentic Faith Spiritual Disciplines Moral Boundaries Healthy Friendships Wise Choices Ultimate Authority Others First

Seminars

Exposing the Net

Half-day seminar

This is a half-day seminar for parents and students to attend together. Ken looks at the positive and negative impact the Internet can have in the life of a Christian student, as well as what the Bible has to say about this tool. The seminar is broken up into three parts...

"Exposing the Net" - for parents and students together
"Help for Parents" - a question and answer session for parents only
"Help for Students" - a question and answer session, including a challenge, for students only.

Discipleship First

Half-day seminar

This is a half-day seminar for youth leaders, parents, students and adults interested in working with students. Ken talks about the importance of discipleship and mentoring, including how-to's on starting a discipleship program individually or through a church.

Students and adults participate in some interesting ice-breakers and games to help build an understanding for and appreciation of the challenges of discipling and mentoring.

"We Missed The Boat"
"Where to Start"
"How to Open Up"
"What Have I Gotten Myself Into?"

Series

Beyond Belief Up to 9-Part Series	Is the Christian life more about Religion or Relationship? Adrenaline or Passion? Happiness or Holiness? In this series, Ken looks to explode some of the myths and half-truths about what being a Christian is all about. (This series is being developed for Spring and Summer 2003. Check back for more details later.)
More Than Survivors Up to 9-Part Series (a.k.a. "Field of Dreams")	Is it really true that God has given you everything you need for life? In this new series of messages, Ken explores eight key components of what your Heavenly Father wants to develop in you. Each component is explored in detail, and students are encouraged to grow in their relationship with Christ as Ken discusses each component and leads students through practical applications to their lives. Introduction Faith Goodness Knowledge Self-Control Perseverance Godliness Brotherly Kindness Love Daily devotional guides and skits are also available for this series.
The Jesus Weekend 4-Part Series	Ever feel like you need to re-focus? Re-align your priorities? Refresh your heart and mind on what's really important? This series is designed to bring students back to what really matters, by focusing an entire retreat weekend or camp on Jesus--who He is, what He's all about, what He did, and what a relationship with Him has to offer.
The Right Stuff Up to 9-Part Series	What does it take to live the ultimate Christian life? Do you have the right stuff? In this series, students will learn the "ultimates" of the Christian life... Introduction The Ultimate Balance The Ultimate Hope The Ultimate Follower The Ultimate Prayer The Ultimate Team The Ultimate Disciple The Ultimate Focus The Ultimate Life Daily devotional guides and skits are also available for this series.
The Making of a 21st Century Disciple 6 Part Series	At the beginning on the 20th Century, Time magazine's cover asked the question "Is God Dead?" On the brink of a new century, is there reason to ask that question? In this world of declining morality, pain and suffering, hunger, and catastrophic destruction, students need to understand how God fits in. Has anything really changed in the last 100 years? What will the new century be like? Does Jesus still desire His followers to be disciples? "Welcome to the 21st Century!" "What is a 21st Century Disciple?" "Why would I want to be a 21st Century Disciple?" "What does a 21st Century Disciple do?" "Who are some 21st Century Disciples?" "What is the mark of a 21st Century Disciple?"
How Do I Know I'm Growing Spiritually? 8-Part Series	This series of messages covers 20 ways to know if you're growing spiritually. Students are challenged to discover Christianity in their day-to-day lives, and learn that spiritual growth is an on-going process where God's desire to make us more like Him meets up with our willingness to let Him change us.
World's Worst Sins (A.K.A. Biblical Principles for Busting Free) Up to 8-part series	While all sin is equal in God's eyes, there are certain sins that have a life-long impact on a student. This series seeks to define sin and discover God's plan for moving us away from it, and then look at some of these devastating sins... A 4-Step Solution to a 4-Step Problem The Sin of 'Skimping' The Sin of 'Compartmentalizing' The Sin of 'Rationalizing' The Sin of 'Spiraling' The Sin of 'Hypocrisy' The Sin of 'Playing God' The Sin of 'Floundering'
The Next Step 4-Part Series	This series is designed for students who are ready to take the next big step in their Christian walk--sharing their faith with others. The messages challenge students in understanding how the Holy Spirit, teamwork, God's Sovereignty and preparation fit together to give them the power to share Jesus Christ with their family, friends, co-workers and community.
Hypothetically Speaking 5-Part Series	This series is designed to make students stop and think. Each message centers around a hypothetical question (the first one is "If you could invite anyone to dinner living or dead who would it be?) and draws students to evaluate their faith in 5 areas: submitting to Christ, making disciples, eternal life, change, and character.
Revolutionizing Your Witness 4-Part Series	This series is designed to help students understand their Christian witness in a revolutionary new way and how God can use them to build a bridge to reach out to non-Christians. Students are directed through four phases of building the bridge—the design, the foundation, the pillars and the surface.
A New Vision 4-Part Series	This series challenges students to get a new and fresh vision of life with Christ. In Session 1, "A New Focus", students unlearn the myths of Christianity and focus on what Christianity is really all about—a relationship with Christ. In Session 2, "A New Life", students are challenged to live a radical Christian life. Session 3, "A New Family", focuses on developing through discipleship, mentoring, personal growth and accountability. Session 4, "A New Yearbook", focuses on direction for the future in God’s will.
Sizing Up the Enemy 3-Part Series	This series is a very informative message on Satan—his purposes and his goals for the lives of students. Students are encouraged to understand the enemy to make them more effective in battling him.
Extreme Living 5-Part Series	This is a powerful series of messages appropriate for Christians and non-Christians alike. Students are led through a discussion of five aspects of the Christian life—grace, hope, peace, joy and love. For example, students discover what hope means to most people, and what constitutes hope in most people’s lives. Then, students learn what extreme hope is in Christ and how much more important living with extreme hope is. Students are challenged at the core of their faith.
Infallibility 4-Part Series	This is a series of challenging and informative messages on the infallibility of God’s Word. Students are challenged in the area of their faith, and learn how and why we can trust the Bible to be God’s way of speaking to us.
Transformed 3-Part Series	This series helps students focus on their minds and their though life, and see how important these are in their Christian walk. Students will look at how we use our minds, and how God intends for our minds to be used. Students learn how to renew their minds through God’s Word.
It’s Possible with God 4-Part Series	This series of messages is designed for a Spiritual Emphasis Week, and includes 4 challenging, hard-hitting messages to help students deal with issues that may be clouding their perspective on the Christian life. The messages are "A New Focus" on the Christian relationship, seeing God as "A Perfect Father", seeing the Bible as "A Relevant Word’, and "A Circle of Friends".
Five Huge Things About God 4- Part Series	These messages get students intimately involved in five messages that reveal huge things about who God is and what He’s up to. The student involvement makes the messages fun and interesting, but powerful and convicting as well.

Individual Messages

Purpose-Direction- Vision-Drive-Focus Jeremiah 1	This message helps students understand five very important concepts that highlighted the life of a great prophet and most likely led to the rash of recent school shootings. What do Kip Kinkel, the 15-year-old who opened fire on his Oregon high school cafeteria, Michael Carneal, the 14-year-old who opened fire on his school’s prayer circle members, and Jeremiah, one of the greatest prophets of all time, all have in common with Christian and non-Christian students? The answer may surprise you.
The Hands of God Psalm 37:23-24, John 10:27-28	This message is a unique approach to describing the Christian life and leading students to salvation by painting a picture of God’s hands. Students are led through Scriptures that explain how God’s hands uphold, rebuke, convict, save, guide, satisfy and protect. This message is ideal for both Christians and non-Christians.
A Relevant Word Proverbs 2:1-5	This message answers the question, "Is the Bible relevant to teenagers in the 90’s?" Students are challenged with new, practical ways to approach God’s Word and make it relevant to their every day lives.
Bad Decisions John 14:6, Psalm 119	This talk goes through the 13 factors in a bad decision, and helps students understand why we make mistakes and bad decisions, comprehend the impact bad decisions have on our lives, learn how to recover from bad decisions, and uncover ways to avoid making them in the first place.
Third Person Singular Romans 8:5-7	This message helps students understand the importance of the Holy spirit in directing their lives, especially with regard to sin. A scene from the movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" sets the stage for this talk.
Christian Walk Colossians 2:6-7 1 Peter 3:15	This is a powerful lesson on walking the Christian walk. It helps students understand how their Christian walk changes as they grow closer to God. The lesson centers on the 6 steps to an effective Christian life, and includes an interesting except from the popular movie "Forrest Gump".
Priorities Matthew 6:25-34	One of the biggest struggles for teenagers is setting priorities. This lesson helps students analyze where and how they are spending their time and shows them that time = priority. Students are challenged to change their priorities by changing how they use their time.
Standing Alone Acts 7:54-60	One of the biggest fears for students is the prospect of having to stand alone—for anything. This talk encourages students in the area of standing alone for Christ.
Setting Goals 1 Kings 3:5-14	This talk is an "in your face" talk about setting goals. Students are encouraged to turn the focus of their goal setting toward God. Students are led to identify an area of weakness in their lives and set a goal to get God involved in working on that area of their life.
A Perfect Father Matthew 28:20, John 15:13	This is a powerful lesson to help students learn to see God as the only Perfect Father in the areas of approval, acceptance, love, security and presence. Students are then led to explore their relationship with their earthly father. This has been a life-changing message for many students.
One-on-One Ministry	This message uses real-life stories and examples from God’s Word that point to the criticality of one-on-one ministry in this generation. This message is ideal for leaders and mission-minded Christians.
Understanding Holiness	Students are actively led through the process of "ceremonial cleansing" described by God in Leviticus as a way of helping them understand the importance of God’s Holiness. Students are challenged in their own lives regarding the pursuit of happiness vs. the pursuit of holiness.

Gospel Messages

The Gift	The Gospel is presented as God's unconditional gift to us--Jesus Christ, and the gift of eternal life. The concept of grace is explained.
Life is a War	The Gospel is presented with the illustration of a battle where God is one commander and the Enemy is the other. Students are given an opportunity to come to God's side, where Jesus Christ is the only way to "change sides".
Beyond John 3:16	The "not perishing" part of John 3:16 is discussed. A picture is painted for students of what the final judgment might be like for them and the people in their lives who don't know Jesus Christ.
The Most Important Part	Christianity is discussed from the perspective of church. Why have church? Youth group? What's the point? What's the most important part? What's the thing that makes everything else work?