Our Testimony

In the first 21 verses of Acts 22, Paul gives his testimony after being arrested in Jerusalem.  It wasn't the only time Paul felt compelled to share his testimony.  In fact, there are three other accounts of Paul sharing it in the New Testament...Acts 26, Philippians 3, and 1 Timothy 1.  We decided to find out a little more about testimonies tonight...what they are, why they are important, and what can destroy them.

We started the night by defining a testimony.  We gave the kids some Jelly Belly jelly beans.  They took turns eating each one they'd been given and then testifying as to the flavors of each.  They couldn't tell the flavors by the colors.  Sometimes we have to experience or feel things to know for ourselves.  Bearing our testimonies is simply bearing things we know to be true...things we've experienced or felt.  Wikipedia translates testimony in Latin to be the same as the word witness.  It defines testimony like this:

Christians in general use the term "testify" or "to give one's testimony" to mean "the story of how one became a Christian"; it may also refer to a specific event in a Christian's life in which they believe God has done something deemed particularly worth sharing.

We talked about examples of witnesses testifying about what the Lord has done in their lives in the Bible...Paul, John the Baptist, David...to name just a few!

Most of the kids are a little young in our group to have much of a testimony just yet, but we allowed any to share who felt led.  We talked to them about how their testimony is a witness for Jesus Christ to be shared with others.  Others are listening to and watching us all the time to see if we live what we believe.  Our lives, words, actions, and thoughts are a testimony that others observe everyday.  Yikes!

Keeping that in mind, we talked about the different testimonies we can have.  To demonstrate them, we used a large piece of paper and several different writing instruments.  We used each to write the word testimony.  This is how we described some of the different testimonies out there:

• Regular ink pen - Most Christians have an average testimony, but we should strive to be even better than average.
• Crayon - This is the testimony of a new "baby" Christian. He may be unsure about some things, but he is still learning, and eager and excited
• Squiggley pen (the kind that needs batteries and makes your writing very wobbly) - This person has as unsure testimony, people can't be sure if he's really a Christian because his behavior is sometimes not what it should be. One's testimony should match one's behavior.
• White chalk (can't be seen even though it's there) - This person is saved but no one knows it but he and the Lord. Maybe he does not want to live right.
• Bold red marker - This person is leading a stand up, bold, victorious Christian life. No one could doubt his stand or his sincerity.
• Mechanical pencil (with no lead) - This person is living a completely, defeated Christian life. People know he's saved but he doesn't look it. Getting right can give him a good testimony again. (Reinsert lead into the BIC pencil to write "testimony" on the poster board.)
• Lipstick - This represents a self-centered Christian who puts himself first before the Lord and others. He is more concerned about worldly and carnal things than things of the Lord.
• Multi-pointed pen or pencil with different colors - This is a Christian who works for the Lord whenever and wherever he can in many different ways.
• Yellow marker - This Christian is a coward. He is afraid to speak for God
• Regular wooden pencil with a broken point - This is an unhappy Christian because of sorrow or circumstances. Getting close to the Lord can sharpen that testimony and make a useful Christian (resharpen the pencil and write "testimony.")
• Pen or pencil flashlight that looks just like a pen but isn't made to write - This person may look like a Christian but he's not made for writing and has no real testimony at all. He needs to be saved.  

Looking back over each of the testimonies, we gave the kids a few minutes to ponder which writing instrument they thought best fit them.  Be very proud of your youth because some of them were courageous enough to tell us and their peers where they really felt they were in their walks with the Lord.

Then we talked about what things can destroy our testimonies.  We role-played a few scenarios that had corresponding scrambled words on the board.  The kids had to first figure out what behavior or characteristic we were acting out and then unscramble the word on the board to determine the testimony killer.  For example, we began talking about some of the youth in S.T.O.M.P. and sharing rumors about them.  The word on the board may have looked like this...SPNGISOGI.  If the kids guessed and unscrambled GOSSIPING, they were right and we moved on to the next testimony killer.  We talked about LYING, DISOBEDIENCE, CURSING, IDOLATRY, BULLYING, and DRUGS.

Last, but not least, we talked about why our testimonies are important.  We used the candlelight service candles from Christmas Eve, turned the lights out, and lit one candle.  Then we passed the flame around until everyone's candle was lit and the room was no longer in darkness.

Matthew 5:14-16 - “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

It doesn't mean that everyone we share our testimony with will become a light in the darkness.  God alone chooses whom His salvation is for.  Nonetheless, we are called to be His witnesses and bear testimony to what He has done in and through us.

Acts 1:8 - "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 13:47 - For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

We challenged the kids to ask three Christians they knew over the next week to share their testimonies with them.

Courageous

Acts 21:10-14

We talked to the kids about Paul's courage tonight.  We demonstrated how Agabus said Paul would be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and how Paul's only reply was that he was "ready not only to be bound, but also to die" for the sake of  the gospel.

The kids took turns then reading Scripture on fear and courage.


Deuteronomy 31:6 
1 Chronicles 28:20 
Psalm 27:1 
Psalm 56:3-4 
Isaiah 41:10 
Isaiah 41:13 
Isaiah 54:4 
Matthew 10:28 
1 Corinthians 16:13 
2 Timothy 1:7 
Hebrews 13:5-6 
1 Peter 3:13-14 
1 John 4:18 
Joshua 1:3-9

We talked about what it truly means to be courageous and how it doesn't just pertain to police officers and fire fighters.  We're asked to show courage every single day in how we stand up for what we believe in, boldly proclaim the gospel to others, and live lives that are considered NOT NORMAL!

We played a little game then called, "Where Is the Christian?"  It's the game where a Ping-Pong ball is under one of three identical cups and, after scrambling them really fast, the kids guess which cup they think the ball is under.  We talked about how some Christians are like that little Ping-Pong ball.  They try very hard to get lost in the crowd and aren't brave enough to stand up for Christ.  They receive Christ into their hearts, but get absorbed back into the world, back into what is considered normal.  But God tells us not to be afraid to stand out for Him (Isaiah 41:10).  In Philippians 2:13, He tells us that He is at work within us.  So we must fight not to get scrambled around or pushed into a corner by others and subsequently lose our courage.  Christ is in us!  What have we got to be afraid of?

We ended by talking about some of the examples of courage we're given in the Bible...Gideon, Joshua, Moses, Abraham, and Daniel.

Contranormal

We started off tonight making birthday cards for Djibril, as his birthday is the beginning of July and it takes a while for mail to get to where he is in Africa.  Then we had accountability time.

Then we spoke to the kids about "normal".  This year's Acquire the Fire theme was Normal's Not Enough.  It's not enough to be normal, fit in, go with the flow.  What Jesus did on the cross for us was not normal and we are called to be the same...contranormal.  Though a few of the kids did not go to ATF this year, they could certainly understand this as we discussed scenarios they face everyday at school and at home and what would be considered "normal" reactions.  The we talked about how we're to respond to those same situations as Christians and contranormal.

At ATF, the final challenge was for kids to name 3 ways they were going to be contranormal for now on.  As leaders, we were encouraged to not let the kids forget their commitments to Christ.  Statitistics show that, if kids don't make the changes they've committed to make within three to four days after the event, they likely never will.  So we asked the kids to confidentially write their three contranormal challenges on slips of paper and fold them and put their names on the outsides.  We prayed over our lists then and reminded each of the kids that, though we didn't see each other's lists, God knew what was on each one of them and was expecting them to keep their commitment to Him.

We put the slips of paper in a safe place to be re-visited a few months from now to see how everyone was progressing.

We also challenged the kids to memorize a second Scripture verse for this next month...

Romans 12:2 - Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will.