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Archive for May, 2010

Love Lasts Part II – Collage Discussion

Now’s the time where we’re all going to explain why we choose to create our collages the way that we did. Go around the room, one by one, and take your time explaining your collages. Ask questions of each other and get to know each other through the art you each created. This can take the whole discussion time if it needs to—it’s that important to share how you really feel!

But after/if you do get done and there’s more time left, here are some more things to talk about as a group.

In the Gospel of John, John writes, “To all who received him (Jesus), to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to be children of God…” (John 1:12)

• How often do you think of yourself as a “child of God?” Frequently? Ever at all?
• How does thinking of yourself as a “child of God” influence the way you think about God? Does it change or help the way you understand what a relationship with God is supposed to look like?

Paul, who wrote a good portion of the bible himself, prayed for the believers he was writing to. He wrote, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may opened so that you may know the hope that you have been called to, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his people, and the incomparably great power to those who believe.” (Ephesians 1:18-19)

• Paul asks us to “open the eyes of our hearts.” What does that mean for us? Do you sometimes feel “blind” to what God is doing? When was the last time it was really hard for you to see God’s involvement in your life? Is that right now for you?
• Paul wanted us to “know the HOPE that we have been called to.” What do you have in your life right now that you are placing your hope in? What are you looking forward to right now in your life? Has God helped put those things in your life?
• What is an “inheritance”, and what inheritance do you get from God as a believer?
• Paul finishes up by saying that if we believe in God, we will know “the incomparably great power” that God has. Has God ever moved in a very powerful way in your life? If so, how? If not, what would you like to see Him do for you in your life right now?

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Love Lasts Part I

Main Idea – The Christian life is about BEING, not just DOING.

• Make a list of every rule you’ve ever heard about how Christians are supposed to follow. Use the following categories if you need help thinking of things: school, sex, parents, money, church, obedience to authority, what we say, what we wear, what we watch. (Leader: You might want to bring something to write all these down on so everyone can see.)

• Some of the things on this list may be good things. Some may be ridiculous. But let’s just focus on the good ones.
  • How many of you have broken at least one of these?
  • At least three?
  • At least five?

• Is how “good a Christian” we are determined by how well we follow this list?

• Why or why not?

Read Exodus 20:4-17

⁴“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. ⁵You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. ⁶But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

⁷“You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.

⁸“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹You have six days each week for your ordinary work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

¹²“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³“You must not murder

¹⁴“You must not commit adultery.

¹⁵“You must not teal

¹⁶“You must not testify falsely against your neighbor

¹⁷“You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

• How many of you have broken at least one of these?
• What do you think is the hardest of these commandments to keep?
• In the few thousand years these commandments have existed, how many people do you think have done every, single one of them perfectly their entire life?
• Why did God give these commandments in the first place?
• Is it kind of cruel for Him to give us commandments we’re not capable of keeping?

Read Romans 5:20

God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.

• According to the first half of this verse, why did God give “the law” (of which the 10 commandments are a part)?
• This verse makes God sound kind of mean, wanting us to always know how messed up we are. Why do you think God does that? If you’re having a hard time understanding why, reread the bold print.
• The end of verse says that as we sin, God’s “wonderful grace” becomes “more abundant.”
  • What does grace mean?
  • What have we been given by God that we don’t deserve?
  • What does it mean that what God has given us is “more abundant?”

For some reasons that we’ll never fully understand, in the past, God used this old thing called the “Law”—basically a list of things not to do—to show us how much we need His help to live our lives as a truly loving person. The Ten Commandments were a list of standards that humanity should be able to live by. Like not killing, or stealing, or cheating on each other. But we all fail that list in some way. God gave the world that list so that people could show God their love for Him, but as we fail somewhere on that list, we fail to love God the way He asked to be loved.

But NOW—well 2,000 year ago actually—God sent Jesus so that we can show love for God in a way that’s better than following a list. For us now, because of Jesus Christ, loving God is not about following a “holy list”. Loving God is now about believing in Jesus Christ FIRST, then living a life according to his teachings.

The big question you need to answer right now is: “What does loving God look like for you? What does your relationship with God look like?”

And that’s what you’re going to do right now—show us. We’re going to spend the rest of today making collages. We’re going to make visual representations about what you feel, think, do, understand, or wonder, about YOUR relationship with God. Don’t copy your neighbor, take some time, think about it, and then start creating a picture of what you think your relationship with God looks like. There is no right or wrong answer—only what you think or feel described through pictures. Next Sunday we’ll talk about it as a group.

So for the rest of the time:  1-Take the cardstock and on one side, write 5-6 sentences describing your relationship with God, or what you feel or think, about God.  2- look through the magazines and cut out pictures, words, or phrases that you feel describe your relationship with God. 3- Start gluing/modpogding the pictures to the other side of the cardstock in whatever way you’d like. Get as far as you can, and if you need to you can put extra pieces in a ziplock bag or leave your collage on the table to dry and finish for next Sunday.

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Main Idea

We forgive, because we’ve been forgiven.

• A popular plot in some movies is the hero getting revenge for something someone did to him or her. What are some movies you can think of that are like this?

• What do these movies say we should do when someone wrongs us?

• Forgetting about what the Bible says for a moment, how are these movies’ messages about revenge inaccurate? (If students are struggling for answers, use the additional thoughts below to get conversation going.)

• Does revenge really make us feel better in the long term?

• What kind of person do we become in the process of getting revenge?

• Does the cycle of “getting even” ever really end? (It might be helpful to point out here that many of the wars in the world today are – on some level – about getting even.)

• A lot of times forgiveness is hard because we feel like we’re “losing,” that the other person did something wrong to us and we have to set things right. Has there ever been a time you felt like you were “losing” if you forgave? If you feel comfortable, tell a little about that.

Read Luke 23:33-49

³³When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left.

³⁴Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.

³⁵The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” ³⁶The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. ³⁷They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” ³⁸A sign was fastened to the cross above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”

³⁹One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”

⁴⁰But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? ⁴¹We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” ⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

⁴³And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

⁴⁴By this time it was noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. ⁴⁵The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. ⁴⁶Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.

⁴⁷When the Roman officer overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshiped God and said, “Surely this man was innocent.” ⁴⁸And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow. ⁴⁹But Jesus’ friends, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching.

• What details do you know about what crucifixion was like?

• How did Jesus end up on the cross in the first place?

• What had He done wrong?

• If anyone had a reason to “get revenge” it was Jesus. Not only had He a) done NOTHING wrong, but b) He was being tortured to death and c) He was the God who CREATED all these people in the first place. If anyone had the means and the right to get revenge, it was Him. But He doesn’t. Instead, what does He say in v. 34?\

• What was Jesus accomplishing by dying?

• Re-read vs. 43-49. According to this passage, why does the thief on the cross believe in Jesus?

• The truth is that Jesus’ radical act of love and forgiveness is still changing the world. If you watch the movie The Passion of the Christ, there’s something inherently powerful about His story. The fact that Jesus was focused on doing God’s will, not “getting even,” changed the world. We’re not the Son of God, obviously, but the idea is still the same.

• Why is the story about the Amish that Doug told at the beginning so powerful? Why do you think their story has affected so many people?

• What do you think NOT forgiving does to a person?

• How do you think forgiving someone works? Is it a one-time decision?

• If you’re struggling with forgiving someone right now, what do you think it will take to START forgiving?

• What would your life be like in a year, if you let go of any grudges you’re currently carrying?

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Main Idea – Love Multiplies

WE don’t change the world, GOD does . . . and allows us to be a part.

• At the beginning of the video, Doug talks about times as Christians when we just KNOW we’re never going to sin again or that we’re going to convert our entire school to Jesus – it’s kind of a “Christian high.” Then, two weeks later, we are disappointed, disillusioned, and feeling like we’re right back where we started. Have you ever had a time like that?

• Where did your “Christian high” start? (church camp/retreat, etc.)

• What happened to “kill your high”?

• How did you feel when your “Christian high” ended?

• Have you ever felt like God was calling you to do something, but when you tried to do it you fell flat on your face? What do you think happened?

Read John 6:1-14 together

¹After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. ²A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. ³Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. ⁴(It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) ⁵Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” ⁶He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.

⁷Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”

⁸Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. ⁹“There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”

¹⁰“Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) ¹¹Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. ¹²After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” ¹³So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.

¹⁴When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!”

• Look at vs. 5-6. What does Jesus ask Philip in v. 5?

• Why do you think Jesus asks him that?

• How does Philip respond in v. 7?

• Look at vs. 8-9. What does Andrew offer as a solution?
• How are Philip and Andrew’s answers similar?

• Both Philip and Andrew thought their ability to obey Jesus hinged on how much food or money they had. What factor were they missing?

• Do you think we sometimes are like Philip and Andrew? Why or why not?

Read Philippians 1:6

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

• According to this verse, who completes the work God is doing in us?

• If there is sin in our lives, who fixes us: ourselves or God?

• If you are trying to reach someone for Jesus, who changes their life: you or God?

• Do you normally think of your Christian journey as a work YOU are doing or a work GOD is doing?

• What do you think are the benefits of knowing that GOD is the one who changes us, not ourselves?

• Does all this mean that we can just sit back and do nothing and God will do all the work?

Read John 6:9 again

“There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”

• Did the BOY actually feed all 5,000 people?

• What role did he play in the story then?
• How is his role kind of like our role?

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