lesson loop 5.22.13

Middle School and High School

Last night we watched the final episode (9) of our Gospel Journey Maui series, and we addressed this question -

1. What is Jesus' Message?

This was the most intense discussion so far, because everything has been leading to this. Everyone respected each other greatly during the dialogue, but there was some passionate and emotional responses to the challenge they each were given to read the book of John. Rachel Officer expressed frustration with the way that Greg and Zane and many other Christians do not consider her a Christian because she doesn't believe that Jesus is God, but only God's Son. Jonathan also was extremely emotional because he can't get past his Jewish ancestors who survived the holocaust. Why God would allow this is something that cannot be easily explained, and that really bothers Jonathan. Jassar was also pretty closed to Christianity, even after this entire trip. And yet he still respected everyone else and said he was going to keep an open mind going forward. The rest of the cast all expressed that they were becoming more and more open to Christianity. Emma Blue said this was the first time she ever read a Bible, and she was really beginning to be interested in Jesus Christ. We found out after the video that she was the first to receive Jesus Christ as her Savior! No one expected that since she had a mixture of Buddhist and New Age religions that she held to. The other Rachel confessed that she was very close to following Jesus as her Savior.

All in all, I believe that this series has been so incredible for several reasons -

1. Our teens have seen their faith in Jesus as the God-man grow strong. I have heard a few students mention that they had doubts before but now are convinced.
2. Our teens had an opportunity to bring out their unchurced friends to hear the gospel. A number of them took advantage of this!
3. The students who came as visitors heard the gospel clearly every week!
4. Our teens observed that you can boldly share your faith and still maintain respect for those who disagree with you.

Next week we have a special speaker sharing with the students - David Day (a former Ebenezer student!)

The week after that we will begin a brand new series on the book of Judges. I am excited about this.

One last thing - I wanted each of you parents and staff members to know that I often post articles relevant to student ministry or the Christian life, and I do so on Google + . If you would like to find me on there, you can do so here - gplus.to/markculton

Here is the outline of what was covered in small groups this past Tuesday -
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VYn5oM-eRkqFsi9gMtiYUmDx1KdI3G32n9loETQyBQM/edit?usp=sharing

lesson loop 5.15.13

Middle School and High School

Last night we watched Episode 8 of our Gospel Journey Maui series, and we addressed this question -

1. Who is Jesus Christ?

It has been interesting to see how each week the conversation has become more and more intense. Each cast member has a mutual respect for each other, but we are starting to get to the heart of what everyone believes about Jesus, and that tends to divide people. Jonathan in particular is getting uncomfortable with having Christianity "pushed on him" as he put it. But some of the other students are really thinking about what Greg shared, and I believe the Holy Spirit is drawing at least a couple of the students. This past episode they visited a leper colony and talked about one man and woman who decided to risk their lives by moving to the leper colony and caring for those who were there. Everyone else had abandoned these individuals, but one man in particular showed the love of Christ - Father Damian. He eventually contracted leprosy and died from it.
Greg used this as a perfect illustration of what Jesus Christ did when He came to earth and took our sin upon Himself and died for us.
The gospel was shared more clearly and throroughly than any previous episode, and I was really impressed with this week's conversation.
As far as our youth group, I heard several growth group leaders share how their students have really been growing through the GJM, and even this past week a few students who aren't Christians felt comfortable enough to share they didn't believe Jesus was God. So I am thankful for the honest dialogue we are getting and I am praying that God uses His powerful gospel in each student's heart.

Here is the outline of what was covered in small groups -
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17W5BX8pNplbRrzgbxSUaftSJVCI7SDDF_36BOhHYQSQ/edit?usp=sharing

Please continue to encourage your child to invite their friends! We had brand new visitors again this past week!

lesson loop 5.2.13

Middle School and High School

Last night we watched Episode 7 of our Gospel Journey Maui series, and we addressed this question -

1. What happens after we die?

This was some of the cast's least favorite question to talk about, because no one likes to think about death and what happens afterwards.

As they talked they came up with 3 options -

Extinction
Reincarnation
Resurrection


Greg took extra time to talk about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and its validity. If Christ truly rose, than that opens the door for our resurrection. We can trust everything He said. If He did not raise from the dead, we cannot believe His words. Everything hangs or falls on the resurrection.

They also discussed heaven (and the holiness of God) and a literal hell. 

One of the things that was also talked about is the law of non-contradiction. This is a logical argument which basically rules out the option that all 3 possibilities (extinctino, reincarnation and resurrection) can be right.
 Here is a short description and illustration (using a chair) that I find helpful: http://carm.org/dictionary-law-of-non-contradiction

I want to really encourage you this week to ask your child about the video, and what they think about the afterlife. I find most young people today struggle with the idea of an eternal hell for people who are "good" but don't receive Christ.
You can check out the small group discussion questions for more ideas on how to intelligently talk with your child.
Here is the outline of what was covered in small groups -
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oGwq89rYn4y9ecU4mf_T3M9WNamDf_ZUr4SbHqvSI_4/edit?usp=sharing

Praying for God to use parents and youth leaders together for His glory and the growth of our students!