The English speaking world is abundantly blessed with a wealth of materials across a range of centuries that point us to Christ and living for him. The landscape of post-Reformation thought is particularly rich with texts that span the Reformers themselves, the Puritans who followed them, the literature of the Great Awakening, and the blessings of 19th century evangelical thought. All of this, and one has not even touched the 20th or 21st century!
Arguably one of the most pastorally helpful writers from the 19th century is JC Ryle. His works have been in circulation and held in high esteem for much of the period since his lifetime, and continue to carry resonance and currency even though our world has changed so much. One of the many gems to have come from Ryle’s pen is Thoughts for Young Men – a series of exhortations that are searching, pastoral, applied and resolutely grounded in the gospel of God’s free grace. I have read and reread this text with great profit and passed it on to many other men who have likewise testified to being challenged and changed by the truths it contains.
Recently I have been working on a series of handouts/booklets that hope to make sharing Thoughts for Young Men even more meaningful. These booklets make up two sets of studies which, it is hoped, will not just connect men to Ryle and to their peers, but that might provide a way for more mature Christian men to engage with and disciple young men in their families and church fellowships. The booklets are based on the Banner of Truth edition of the text.
The basic structure of these studies is as follows:
1. The adult-appropriate studies: these comprise two studies that work right through Thoughts for Young Men taking two sections at a time. It is hoped that these studies might quickly familiarise adult believers with concept and content of Ryle’s little book and help them to think and pray through what is shared.
2. The youth-appropriate studies: these comprise four studies that work through Thoughts for Young Men section by section and are designed to be simpler in language and slower in pace.
My aspiration and prayer is that men who benefit from the first set of studies might then feel encouraged and equipped to share the book with younger men and formally or informally study through it with them.
These studies are in the rollout stage in my own church family at the moment, but I am sharing the first of them in this post (in PDF format for online and printing) with the prayer that your work as a Pastor/small group leader/Bible Class teacher/parent might be enriched by taking these, developing them and deploying them in your own context. Access to these materials is free of charge, and as the studies develop I will share more files over time. I am deeply indebted to one our church members, Andrew Watkins, who did such a marvellous job on the graphic design of these resources.
Thoughts for Young Men has such an important message to bring to all generations, with counsels that cut to the heart, point to the gospel and bring us to Christ. May JC Ryle’s powerful work continue to bear fruit in individual lives, study groups and new discipline relationships across the church and within families.
Thinking Pastorally 