Middle School - "The Church - Your role in it"
Big Idea: In the body of Christ, God has decided that we are valuable, unique and useful.
At the beginning of the lesson, we first noticed that God is the one who places people in the body of Christ and He decides our gifts and purpose!
God has decided that we are...
1. Valuable (1 Cor. 12:12-16, 21-27)
Often, we treat people like they are an injured body part that annoys us. But in reality we need each person, and we have no right to ignore or "cut someone off" from our group.
We need to beware of cliques!!!
2. Unique
We are each a masterpiece being crafted by God with unique gifts and abilities. There is no one exactly like us and we are each needed and wanted in this youth group!
God composed each of the members - like a symphony or delicious food dish.
3. Useful (Eph. 1:22-23)
This is different from valuable. Some valuable things just sit there. But God has an incredible purpose for us!
We get to partake in and dispense the "fullness of Christ" (this is an incredible idea that none of us can fully understand!!)
We somehow contain the fullness of Jesus Christ - we are partakers in the divine nature - 2 Pet. 1:3-4
God wants us to care for one another in "the body", and take the fullness of Jesus to those outside the body in the world.
High School - Ecclesiastes 1:1-2:11 ("Emptiness of the Secular Life")
Background Info:
*OT poetry / wisdom literature
*written from the perspective of Solomon who is called “The Preacher” (but written in 1st person as well as 3rd person - likely the author was not actually Solomon)
*author was a collector of Proverbs, particularly Solomon’s.
*written initially for Israel
Big Idea: The secular life - with all its wisdom and pleasure - is emptiness.
1. The secular life is emptiness (READ 1:1-11)
*The secular life lived with no regard for God is described in Ecclesiastes as life lived "under the sun"
*man’s attempt to “gain” in this life is - VANITY (trying to grasp the wind)
*If you haver ever felt like your life was pointless and you were just spinning your wheels, you understand what the author of Ecclesiastes was describing.
*Even the world, in its complex beauty, if removed from its creator is pointless and just a never-ending cycle.
*All of us desire: satisfaction & significance.
2. Secular wisdom is emptiness (READ 1:12-18)
*The information age has not answered the fundamental problems of life, and neither will any amount of wisdom apart from God!
...because “what is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.” - 1:15
3. Secular pleasure is emptiness (READ 2:1-11)
2 things that are probably the greatest temptations in college (and some start before) - wisdom and pleasure
Very important...
*Scripture is honest about life! (2:4,8,10; even back in 1:16)
*Realistic - There is pleasure to be had!! (2:10); but here is the uncanny thing about worldly pleasure...
Upon further evaluation it is vanity (emptiness) - quickly evaporates, cannot be grasped.
Concluding thoughts...
*We cannot find lasting fulfillment in anything this world has to offer (even good things!) “emptiness” (vanity)
*Until we realize this we will continue to make the same mistake the Preacher in Ecclesiastes did.
1:15 > We cannot make the crooked straight, and we cannot provide what is lacking
*1:10 > “Is there anything new?” Yes, because there is more than what is simply “under the sun”!!
*The author of Ecclesiastes will show us more meaning, but not yet...
But, of course we have the whole Scriptures, and we know that Jesus Christ entered into this world “under the sun” (but always in communion with His Father in heaven). He lived life as it was meant to be lived and died the death we as sinners are meant to die so that we can find newness and true meaning!
*Ultimately the meaning of life is found in Jesus.
Our goal for every student is that they would find this to be true for themself.
*Not because their parents have said Jesus is the meaning of life...
*Not because we as youth leaders have said that...
*Because they believe it!!
- You could decide that you are going to test it out for yourself… OR
- You could learn from Solomon’s life and seek the God-centered life!
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