lesson loop 11.21.12

Middle School & High School

As I studied the Ephesians passage for high school (Eph. 6:1-4), I realized it would be perfect for next week since it is Family Night. So, last night was a perfect opportunity to do something different.

I really believe we need to make evangelism a priority, and I know this is in concert with the elder's desire for the church overall.

In keeping with that vision, last night we talked about the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Each student (and leader) were challenged to share our faith, because that is our purpose here on earth.

We talked about how evangelism is a missing link in the process of discipleship. We build the body up (the church) with many excellent Bible studies, youth group, sermons, etc., and yet we are often not accomplishing the Great Commission of making disciples because we are missing the evangelism component.

We imagined what our youth group would be like if we all shared our faith more often, and at the end I gave Dare 2 Share's 48 hour challenge - each of were challenged to share Jesus with one person in the following 48 hours - in person, through facebook, text, at Thanksgiving, whatever.

Each of us on youth staff are praying that God would move in our hearts as a student ministry and that we would see new converts during the next year. This would be so exciting!

Here is what the small groups discussed:

Growth Group Questions 11.20.12

Matthew 28:18-20

1. What is your favorite youtube video?

(You can let the students have a little fun and talk about this, just don’t let them diverge too far or talk too long.)

2. Why do certain youtube videos go “viral” (spread like wildfire)?

(there could be a lot of answers here, but you are looking to help the students understand the concept of multiplication - If 10 people tell their friends about a video, and then all of those people each tell a person, it spreads...)

3. The Bible teaches in Matthew 28 that the gospel is supposed to go “viral” too. Each person who is changed by the gospel is supposed to share with others, who will in turn share with others. Why does it seem that it is sometimes easier for a youtube video to circulate around the earth than the gospel?
4. Why is it easier for us to tell our friends about our favorite video or song than what Jesus has done for us?

Leader - Talk about what holds us back - fear, lack of passion for Jesus when compared to the “stuff” in our life, lacking knowledge of the Scriptures...

5. Imagine for a moment what Ebenezer’s youth group would be like if during the next year each teen saw a friend believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior, and then they joined the youth group. Dream a little bit, and talk about what that would look like.

Leader - talk about what would be awesome, what would be difficult (we would need a totally different youth room...)

6. Share 1 person who you know needs to follow Jesus but hasn’t yet. Spend a few minutes praying for the people your group mentioned.

Leader - you may want to jot these down or have a teen do that.

7. If you still have time, talk about what the gospel is. Use the G.O.S.P.E.L. acrostic if it is helpful -

God created us to be with Him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sins separate us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds. (Genesis 4 - Malachi 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew - Luke)

Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life. (John)

Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever. (Acts - Revelation)

Instagram – Is It Okay for Kids? What Parents Need to Know

Here is a blog post from a woman named Mary Kay - not the make-up lady, but a woman who helps parents understand technology and how it affects their children. I recommend parents become familiar with her and her resources. They are pretty helpful.

Instagram – Is It Okay for Kids? What Parents Need to Know

Lesson Loop 10.17.12

After a time of worship last night, all the students broke into growth groups and then helped to prepare things for the Prayer Walk next week. We are excited to see God bring our congregation together in prayer next Wednesday night. I hope most of you youth parents will be able to join us with your whole family next Wednesday for this time. The Prayer Walk will be from 6:30-8:30, so you can come anytime in there.
Reminder: no youth group next Tuesday as our whole church rests from normal activity and depends on God in prayer.

lesson loop 10.10.12

Middle School

Matthew 18:15-20

"Committed to Community"

• Every type of "community" has their own code of conduct or "rules"
• The church also has a code of conduct - we must seek to live righteously, and we must keep ourselves accountable to each other.
• When a Christian refuses to live righteously, they must be humbly and lovingly confronted by other Christians.
• Often we don't follow the Matthew 18 process. Instead, we ignore sin, or tell everyone else instead of confronting.
• We considered the rich value in being part of the church - unity, encouragement, love, etc...
• Students were challenged to value the church and love people enough to confront them humbly, always being willing to receive instruction as well.

MS Growth Group Questions

1. What do we usually do when we hear about another Christian’s sin? What about when we know our Christian friend is struggling with something? (leader - students may need some help thinking about the ways we usually handle this: ignore it, talk to other people about it, downplay it as not a big deal, etc...)
2. Should we confront someone who we see is struggling with sin? What gives us the right since we are sinners too? (leader - because we live in such an accepting culture, it is often looked at as self-righteousness if we lovingly confront. Help your students understand that if we truly love someone, we will humbly challenge them about their sin. We should want the same from our friends. You may want to consider Matthew 7:1-5)
3. Case Study: Devon finds out that her good friend has been using her cell phone to cheat on tests in math class. She knows it isn’t right, especially since her friend claims to be a Christian and is very involved at the youth group that both of them attend. However, Devon is nervous about saying anything because she doesn’t want to hurt their friendship - what should she do?
4. Continuing the Case Study: What if Devon followed the directions of Matthew 18 and confronted her friend about the cheating, but her friend rejected what she said and decided it was none of Devon’s business. According to Matthew 18, what should Devon do next?
5. The Scriptures we looked at tonight gave us many benefits of being in community with other Christians. But what if we are too busy to get to church? What if we have a job someday where we are scheduled every Sunday morning? What if we just connect with other Christians through facebook and email? Can we accomplish all that we are meant to be as a body of Christ digitally (on the internet, email, social networking, etc...)?
6. Have each student read the paper they were given and discuss how these different perspectives on the group compare or contrast with their own. Pray together, asking the Holy Spirit to convict and change us in areas that we need to grow, and asking God to help us live out commitment to God’s people.

High School

Ephesians 5:1-21

"True Love"

• Students considered how the world warps our understanding of "true love"
• We saw that the only sure model of true love is Jesus Christ and His love - we should imitate Him.
• In Ephesians 5 we see two different ways of living - Worldliness, and True Love
• We talked about purity in our speech and actions.
• We discussed what it means to imitate Jesus

HS Growth Group Questions

1. What is love like in the movies, books, and music?
2. Do these representations mess up our understanding of love? How?
3. How can you know if you have true love for someone?
4. On a scale of 1-10, how pure would you say the conversations are in the hallways of your school or in your circle of friends (with 1 being very impure and 10 being completely pure)?
5. How hard is it to remain pure and still show love for others who don't believe in Jesus? Talk about this struggle.
6. How did Jesus show love to sinful people yet remain free from sin. What can we learn from His example?

Lesson Loop 9.19.12

Middle School
Psalm 112:5-9; 2 Corinthians 9:6-9

Main Thrust: As Christ-followers, we are called to give to others. Giving is a heart issue, and the more generous our hearts are, the more blessing we will receive. We discussed numerous blessings that a "giving Christian" experiences.

MS Small Group Questions

1. Name the most giving person you know (could be $$, time, caring). What is it like to be around them?
2. Do you know any “stingy” people? How happy do they seem?
3. Can you give too much money? Would it ever be unwise to give to someone?
4. Out of the benefits of giving, which do you want the most right now? Why? stability (your life seems out of control), good reputation (you don’t have a great reputation right now), courage (you are struggling with fear), victory (you feel oppressed by evil and temptation)
5. How much should we give to our local church (Ebenezer) compared to other organizations around the world (Compassion International)?
6. Why do we give tithes and offerings to our church?

High School
Ephesians 4:17-32

Main Thrust: As Christ-followers, we should no longer live like the world. It may be "normal" to live in sin, but it isn't right.
We considered why the world rejects Christ and sins without much concern, and we saw that while it is possible to live like the world, it will destroy our life and sadden God. We also touched on eternal security.

HS Small Group Questions

1. Some teens think they'll wait until they're older to try to live a holy life. What is flawed about that way of thinking?
2. How would you explain your decision to follow Christ to someone who thinks you're missing out on lots of wild fun you're supposed to have when you're young?
3. Is it possible for a Christian to live like an unbeliever?
4. Look at vs. 21. Sometimes we assume that the people in our youth group are all Christians. Should we do this?
5. How can we tell if our faith is real? How do we know if we have truly been changed? (think the book of 1 John) 
6. What does it mean to “put-off” sin and “put on” a new way of living (vs.22-23)? Give a specific example of how you should be living differently than those without Christ?

Lesson Loop 9.12.12

For those of you who are new to the blog, the "Lesson Loop" is a weekly post that outlines what we discussed this week in youth group. This way you as parents can know what your children are studying, and our hope is that you will be able to discuss it with them this week!

We are all on this journey together!

Middle School Lesson

You Are Created to Serve
John 13:1-17,34-35; Philippians 2:1-4

The thrust: The distinguishing mark of the church is humble service to others, especially other believers. The students are going to go to 3 different stations where they contemplate building up the body of Christ, caring for the needs of those in our church, and praying for each other.

Middle School Growth Group Questions

1. Jesus had a confidence in who He was (and who His Father was) that allowed him to serve others. Talk as a group about who you are in Christ.

2. Describe a time you witnessed an example of true humility or sincere service recently.
3. Tell about a time in your life when someone served or helped you. How did it affect you?
4. We know (Jn. 13:17) that God wants us to be humble servants. But it is another thing to actually do humble service. Where is it the hardest for you to serve (family, school, friends)

5. Tell about one time that you served and you felt blessed and happy after doing it.
6. Pride is one of our greatest enemies. All sin is rooted in pride. What are a couple areas where teenagers tend to get proud and struggle with staying humble?

High School Lesson

Ephesians 4:7-16

The thrust: Growing with (and in) the body of Christ. We are going to consider how students should be doing ministry right now, not waiting till they are adults. We will consider what spiritual growth looks like, and where students are in that process. Lastly we will notice that the church exists to bring glory to God, and when we serve and the church grows that is exactly what happens.

High School Growth Group Questions

1. Share with the group one of your strengths, gifts or abilities.
2. What areas of church ministry usually include teenagers and which seem to be only for adults?
3. Are there certain places that only adults should serve? Are there places where teens could serve but are not yet serving?
4. As you examine your own spiritual journey, where would you say you are?
   • spiritual infant -> spiritual toddler -> spiritual child -> spiritual teenager -> spiritual adult

5. How can you tell if someone is spiritually mature? What are the signs?
6. List some of the reasons we should serve in church? What benefits are there?

Another good article - about the importance of parents during the teen years

Here is an article which shouldn't surprise any of us who know how the Bible emphasizes the role of a parent. But it is good, especially for fathers.

Here it is: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/08/21/teens-benefit-by-spending-more-time-with-parents