lesson loop 5.12.16

Middle and High School - "What makes a good relationship?" (SALT final week)

We started with an icebreaker where students had to guess which movie famous pairs came from. The point that we were showing was that almost every movie has relationships at its center, because relationships are central to life as humans.

The students discussed the following questions:

• Why do you think relationships are so important to us?
• What do you think a healthy relationship looks like?
• What kinds of things nurture our relationships?

Then we considered what love looks like. Different people have different ideas of what love really is, and different people like to be loved differently. In a perfect world we would always love people just as they want to be loved, and our love would be perfect. But... we don't live in a perfect world. Sin has marred every relationships, and because of sin we face many challenges in our relationships.

We then watched the video which focused on the brokenness that happens in every other relationships except a relationship with God made possible through Jesus Christ.

Students then considered the following:

• Is it true that at some point every human relationship will let you down?
• Do you think that deep down, every person wants unconditional love?
• Why is it so hard for us to love unconditionally?

We talked about the 3 main Greek words for love in the NT:

• Eros - erotic love
• Phileo - brotherly love
• Agape - self-sacrificing love (God's love)

We then turned to 1 Corinthians 13 and Romans 5:8, and we considered the kind of love that God has. While 1 Cor. 13 passage is most often applied to marriage (and it certainly does apply to marriage),we considered how this passage points to the love that God has for His children. Students were challenged to replace the word "love" with the word "God", and then meditate on the passage. They had an opportunity to journal a prayer or thought to God after pondering His agape love. 

I finished by highlighting the gospel - encouraging anyone who does not know what it means to have a relationship with God to talk to their growth group leader.

lesson loop 4.28.16

HS & MS - SALT Evangelism Series ("Why does God let bad things happen?")

This past Tuesday we addressed an extremely difficult topic that we all struggle with to some degree. Why does God let bad things happen to us? There is no easy answer to this question, but we addressed this topic with some Scripture and a video from Dare 2 Share.

KEY SCRIPTURE: JOHN 16:33, 2 PETER 3:9, 1 COR. 13:12, 2 COR. 1:3-4

After the video and some discussion, we split into Growth Groups and we considered the following questions:

• Tonight’s video discussed the question - “why does God let bad things happen”? Do you struggle with this? Do any of your unsaved friends struggle with that question?
• Are we ever going to be able to completely figure this out? Why or why not?
• What are some ways you think God could “redeem” the difficult things that happen in our life?
• Do you have any struggles right now that you want to ask prayer for? Something that you are questioning God about?
• If you have time, spend it in prayer for your unsaved friends - those who you plan to share the video with.

The video that students are sharing with their friends this week can be found here: http://www.somethingamazing.net/why

Some of the questions they were encouraged to ask their friends after they watch the video are:
• What did you think of the video?
• Have you ever wondered about this question before?
• What’s your theory about why the world is so messed up?
• Why doesn’t God just wipe away everything bad?
• I’ve heard it said that if God wiped away all evil, we would all be wiped away too. Do you agree
or disagree? Why?
• Have you ever been mad at God?
• Do you have the kind of relationship with God that you can go to Him with your anger or pain?

Ask your kids who they plan to (or already did) share the video with. Then pray with them for that friend.

lesson loop 4.1.16

HS & MS - SALT Evangelism Series ("Have you ever wondered about God?")

We began our new evangelism series this past Tuesday, which includes a helpful video that lays out some Scripture which relates to the video that students are to share with their friends.

KEY SCRIPTURE: MATTHEW 5:13, COLOSSIANS 1:15, PHILIPPIANS 3: 8-9

We began by considering Matt. 5:13 when Jesus said to His followers, "You are the salt of the earth."

We talked about how this means that we bring flavor and preservation to this world which is in desperate need of "God-flavor". We are to bring "God-flavor" to everything we do - sports, academics, relationships, etc...

Students wrote down in their books the first 5 words that came to their head when they heard the word "God". Then, they shared some of them. It is interesting to hear how many different thoughts people have of God, which further emphasizes the need to discuss with people what they think about God.

After the video, the students answered several questions that I asked related to the video:

• Do you agree that people pick and choose their view of God like they pick and choose their hats? Why do you think that?
• What do you think are some of the most commonly held views about God among your friends?
• Are some of the different views of God contradictory to each other? Can all the different views of God be right? Why or why not?

It is fine to choose according to our preference when it comes to food or clothing, but not when it comes to our belief about God. God is who He is, and we cannot fashion our own image of God.

In fact, God has already shown us exactly what He is like in Jesus Christ, the perfect image of God! (John 14:8-9)

We looked at Colossians 1:15 and 20 and saw a couple aspects of God's nature based on Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:8-9 teaches us that nothing could be more important than knowing Jesus Christ. He is God, and knowing Him is knowing God.

2 of the primary ways we get to know God is through reading His Scriptures and through prayer.

We then did an exercise with looking through a few of the "I am" statements in the book of John to see what we can learn about God. Students were challenged to choose the I am statement that meant the most to them based on where they are right now with their relationship with God.

• “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger. And whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35 ESV) (Satisfies my spiritual needs)

• “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 ESV) (Shows me how to live)

• “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 ESV) (Establishes my relationship with the Father)

• “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 ESV) (Lives in me and empowers me)

The students sketched a picture of whichever of the statements they chose.

We finished by encouraging students to share the video with a friend and follow up with them. If they weren't sure where to take the conversation, they should point to the cross and John 3:16.

Finally, we split into GG and discussed some questions related to sharing our faith and our views on God.

lesson loop 3.26.16

Family Night - "Simplified Wisdom" (Ecclesiastes 12:9-14)

We ended the HS study of Ecclesiastes at our Family Night this past Tuesday. It was a great way to cap it off, with parents and family members with us. What an awesome end to the book, where the author boils down for us what wisdom really means.

Big Idea: Wisdom can be simplified as fearing and obeying God.

Before we looked at those 2 simple directions, we considered first from the texts how valuable wisdom really is!

Wisdom is precious

• v. 9 - Wisdom (in Scripture) was included by God carefully & purposefully
• v. 10 - Wisdom presents truth in a pleasant way
• v. 11 - Wisdom presents truth that is painful -  correction (like a goad); being corrected by God or even our parents is not fun, but it is an important part of learning.
• v. 11 - Wisdom comes through knowledge of a Person - “The Shepherd”; our goal in youth ministry and parenting is to teach the Person of God through Scripture, not just Biblical facts.
• v. 11 - Wisdom (of God’s Word) is inspired by Him (His very words)
• v. 12 - Wisdom (of God’s Word) is sufficient.; be careful about eclectic wisdom out there (especially online!)

All the wisdom in Ecclesiastes can be boiled down to 2 simple instructions...

• Fear GOD (apparently, the fear of the Lord is the beginning and end of wisdom!)
• He is Omnipotent
• He is Sovereign
• He is Judge - don't forget however that if we are in Christ, we will never be condemned, we are clothed in Jesus' righteousness.

Fearing God allows us to obey Him (keep His commands); important - obedience flows from worship

Keeping God’s commandments demonstrates that we love and fear God!

• Keep His COMMANDS
• Obedience brings wisdom, knowledge and joy!; obeying God actually grants wisdom which helps in further obedience!!
• Obedience is best for us (even when it seems like it isn’t)
• Obedience = real holiness (not self-righteousness or self-indulgence)

We closed by recognizing that many do not agree with the thesis of Ecclesiastes - and they believe life's meaning is found in things other than God, or there is no meaning at all. We want to hold out the hope of the gospel and a meaningful life in Christ constantly to a lost world!

“Thou hast made us for thyself, and our heart is restless till it rests in thee.”

St. Augustine

lesson loop 3.19.16

Middle and High School - Ecclesiastes 11:1-12:8 (Do Something Now!)

Since we are in between units with the MS students, we also went through the Ecclesiastes passage this past Tuesday. It seemed appropriate given the youth emphasis in the text.

Big Idea: Now is the perfect time to do something for your Creator!

Do something! (11:1-6)

• The "casting your bread" thing is a bit confusing, but it seems to indicate giving with a risk.
• Do something risky - We challenged to students to consider when the last time was that they did something risky? (for the Lord)?
• Do something generous - "give a portion" refers to being generous with food
• There is a lot of uncertainty!
• There is a lot that we don't know!
• About how life works - i.e. how a baby grows in the womb
• About God's specific will for our life (there are a lot of things teenagers wish they knew about the future, but God does not reveal them to us)
• The best way to respond to uncertainty is to make the most of the time - both morning and evening (v. 6)!
• There is a spiritual work to be done; a spiritual harvest! (seed of the gospel)
• Many of us tend to procrastinate, but that is dangerous. God wants us to get involved.
• We challenged the students to think about where they can serve in the church or in youth group. God can use them now!!

Make the most of your youth! (11:7-12:8)

• Enjoy life!
• Joy is not permitted. It is commanded!! (11:9-10)
• Enjoy life for the Lord!
• “Know that God will bring you into judgment” 11:9b
• “Remember your Creator!” 12:1
• Points to life before us
• Points to life above us
• Points to life beyond life “under the sun”
• “Remember” - more than simply a memory; “passionate loyalty”
• A vital part of true joy is pleasing God
• Part of finding true joy is in committing our heart and body to God - 11:10
• Here and other places in Scripture - the eyes can either lead to worship in the heart, or sin (jealousy, lust, anger)
• Enjoy life for the Lord while you are young!
• Before you are old
• poetry - old age described as...
• an impending storm
• a house in decline
• While you still have life
• life is a valuable but fragile work of art

There are no guarantees. Life is fragile. And even a full life is shorter than you realize. (“Seize the Day” for God’s glory!!)

Enjoy life. For the Lord. While you are young.

• (Make the most of your youth!)
• Do something!!

lesson loop 3.13.16

Middle School - "Following Up"
This was the final lesson in our series on "Sharing our Faith". It also concludes the bigger unit on being a "Community of Believers"

Big Idea: Before, during and after sharing the gospel... it is important to show love.

Before

• “Pre-evangelism” - just treating others in a respectful way (“Love your neighbor”)

During

• Watch out for being forceful, demeaning, angry, etc…

After

• How do we respond...
• when someone accepts the gospel?
• when someone rejects the gospel?

What does it look like to show someone love after we have shared the gospel?
(from 1 Cor. 13)

Love is patient and kind

• patient
• μακρο-θυμία - literally "takes a long time to boil over"
• kind
• God's kindness leads us to repentance. Perhaps our kindness could lead those who have said no to the gospel to a place of repentance
• we need to be patient and kind to those who are "baby Christians" as well

Love does not envy or boast

• envy
• boast
• It's not about us. We should not boast about anything except Jesus Christ!

Love is not arrogant or rude

• arrogant - literally means "puffed up".
• rude - Christians are often accused of being rude. We want to make sure this is not our attitude or behavior whether someone accepts Christ or not.

Love does not insist on its own way - this is the heart of love!!!

Love is not irritable or resentful

• irritable - We should not be miserable as Christians
• resentful - keeps no record of wrongs!!
• we cannot be angry when people reject Christ - God has forgiven us for all of our disobedience
• we cannot keep a record of how baby Christians fail - God doesn't do that with us - Psalm 130:3

Love rejoices not with sin but with truth

• We should never glorify sin

Love bears, believes, hopes and endures (all things)

• bear - cover, support, protect
• believes - not suspicious or cynical
• hopes - we can never give up hope that God will save

We finished by encouraging the students to substitute the name of Jesus for love in 1 Cor. 13. After that, they should substitute their own name in the place of love, asking - is this how I love others?

High School - Ecclesiastes 10:2-20 ("Living Wisely Under Foolish Rulers")

The relationship of Christians to politics is a tricky issue!

Big Idea: We should live wisely regardless of how wise our leaders are.

Wisdom & Folly are traced to the heart

Prov. 4:23

Wisdom protects us (v. 1-11)

• from rulers (v. 4)
• angry rulers
• foolish rulers - God is in control and He will take care of them
• time and chance (ch. 9) cause unlikely things to happen - the foolish succeed and rule; wisdom is cast aside
• from ourselves (v. 8-11)
• we are our own worst enemy
• wisdom allows us to be effective - like sharpening a tool

Wisdom produces discernment of speech (v. 12-15)

Sooner or later, wisdom literature will address the tongue - acid test of wisdom

• v. 12) wise speech brings favor (word = grace)
• v. 12) foolish speech eats you alive
• v. 13) foolish speech is a snowball - begins in the heart
• v. 14) less can be more (with words)

Wisdom promotes respect for authority (v. 16-20)

• Tough!!, because sometimes our leaders are…
• immature (v.16)
• inappropriate (v. 16)
• indulgent (v. 17)
• indolent (v. 18) - lazy

We must be respectful to leaders (even when they don't deserve respect). We must be respectful...

• in thoughts - sinful words start first in the heart and mind. This is going to be really hard, so we need to pray much, asking God to change our heart towards that individual
• in words - how do you talk about your leaders? about the president?

We finished with John Piper's "Prayer for the Election". You can find that here: http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/a-prayer-for-the-election

lesson loop 3.1.16

Middle School - "Telling the Story"
Romans 10:13-18

We began with an activity where students had to try to tell a friend about their favorite story without using words. They had masking tape over their mouth. We then related this to the difficulty (impossibility) of sharing Christ without using words.

Big Idea: Telling the good news is a beautiful thing!

• We tend to be so excited to share with someone a present we bought for them, or maybe even sharing the newest gossip, but we seem so reluctant to share the greatest gift and the greatest news ever!
• God designed the process of salvation, and He has given us the privilege of being part of that process!!

People are saved when they call on the name of the Lord

• "everyone" - all people, regardless of background are saved when they call on the name of the Lord
• While Christianity is always accused of being exclusive, it is the most inclusive "religion" in the world
• Because of this we should share Jesus with everyone, even those it is difficult to share with
• The "calling" in this passage may or may not be out loud, but it must be humble

People call on the name of the Lord when they believe in Him as Lord

• hearing is not enough (though they can't believe if they don't hear)
• This is more than believing Jesus existed - Paul seems to equate Jesus with Yahweh
• It's about receiving Jesus as LORD!
• This is important as you are sharing Christ - help others understand they must "count the cost"!

People believe in Jesus as LORD after they hear the gospel

• We talked about the quote attributed (falsely) to St. Francis of Assisi - "Preach the gospel. Use words when necessary."
• While we discussed the intention of this quote, students were able to identify how this quote does not square with Romans 10.

People hear the gospel when someone preaches it!

• being "sent" is a beautiful thing!
• We reviewed the definition of "gospel" - good news

We finished by considering the lyrics from Jimmy Needham's song - "Speak"

High School - Ecclesiastes 9:11-10:1

We began by discussing the breakneck speed of technology development. We live in the information age, and we have SO much information at our fingertips today. Unfortunately, this information does not automatically produce wisdom. Wisdom is knowing how to live skillfully the information you have learned. We need others for this.

Big Idea: Wisdom is valuable!

Wisdom is humble (We are not as strong as we think we are) (9:11-12)

• you can't rely on speed, strength, wisdom or intelligence
• wisdom has no built-in guarantees
• Time & Chance are 2 things which are completely out of our control.
• this is a death blow to our confidence
• this is a catalyst for faith
• In a world where everything is getting faster, more powerful, and more knowledgeable, we as followers of God need to be humble and have enough wisdom to realize that only God is in control, and nothing matters except what He desires.

Wisdom is power (9:13-17)

• example of a siege (probably a real life example)
• "wisdom is better than might" - students shared example from Scripture where this is true

Wisdom is free (9:15)

• The wise man in the passage is poor. It requires no money to be wise
• In the book of Proverbs wisdom calls out to all who will listen
• Irony - that which is of immense value is free

Wisdom is undervalued (9:15-17)

• Throughout all time, wisdom has not been as valuable as power, speed, influence, etc...
• Today, information is far more valuable than wisdom
• side note - You can’t rely on the approval of man - people are fickle! (one minute you are the hero, the next moment you are forgotten)

Wisdom is a weapon against sin (9:18-10:1)

• Proverbs 2:6-8, 11-12
• There are many “nets” out there, Satan seeks to catch us in them
• Wisdom is very beneficial in the fight against sin!
• There is a battle going on, and a lot is at stake.
• Satan wants to destroy us, but thankfully God has given us victory in Christ!