An Epoch is defined as, “the start of a new period in the history of anything” or “a period of time in terms of noteworthy events, persons, etc.” In formatting a Bible Study for young singles, we wanted to capture the essence of Paul’s word to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 7:32-35, “an unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs - how he can please the Lord,” and “an unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.”Although, our people will not remain single for the rest of their lives, unless they have the gift of singleness (Matt 19:10-12), we do want them to take full advantage of this unique time in their lives and concern themselves with “the Lord’s affairs.”

Our group is at a point in life where we have enough time to do 2 things: take advantage of the present and prepare for the future. No other period in our life will grant us the freedom to come and go as we please and to spend our resources and energy how we please. At this point, we don’t have mouths to feed, bills to pay (we do pay bills, just not ‘family-sized’ ones), and mortgages. We’re out of college and not quite into ‘real adulthood’ and we need to take advantage of this time, for this time is short (James 4:14).

But how is all of this done? Where do we turn to make this happen? We turn to where the mouth of God can reach the ear of man. We turn to the Bible.

Mark Twain once said, “It’s not the verses in the Bible that I don’t understand but the verses in the Bible that I do understand that scare me.” If today’s church were to express a similar sentiment, it would sound like this: ‘It’s not the verses in the Bible that I understand that scare me because I don’t understand enough of them to make any sense of the book.’

Churches in our time and era have begun to regard the Bible as outdated, incomprehensible, and inconsistent. Because of these and other reasons, they now regard God’s Word as altogether irrelevant. And this is a problem of horrendous consequences.

Many of you may feel the same way. Although your home church may have helped you in this area, you still have a lot of confusion as to what the Bible says and if you can trust it. That is where we want to come in.

2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” We want all of you to be “thoroughly equipped for every good work.” In order to do that, you must understand the Bible. God wrote it so you can understand and apply it. Our Bible Study wants to help you do that.

Everything you believe about God affects every other area of your life. If you believe God sees everything you do, you will be careful to watch your behavior. If you believe God wants you to marry another Christian, you will be careful to date the right people. If you believe God wants you to tithe 10 percent of your income, you will watch your budget and make sure that can happen. All areas of life are affected by who we think God is.

We want to help you shape your thinking around the Bible by helping you understand it. Gregory I once said, “Scripture is a river in which the lamb may cross and the elephant must swim.” The Bible is simple but it is deep. For those of you who are only ready to cross, we want to hold your hand as you do so. For those of you who are ready to swim, we’ve got our SPEEDO’s ready. Either way, we want you to understand God by understanding His Word.

We have one shot at our 20’s. There are few second chances in life. Most of us will only be single for a few more years. Let’s make this time count for the glory of God and the good of our souls. Let’s begin a “period of time in terms of noteworthy events, persons, etc,” let’s start an epoch.

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