GOD’S BIG STORY Week 3: Redemption—The World Can Be Fixed

Our lesson tonight moved our group into the third "part" of God's Big Story, building on the previous themes of how God created the world as something good, and how Adam and Eve made a choice that caused the world to become broken. This week, we saw how God provided a way to fix our brokenness, but the remedy of Jesus is one we must receive for ourselves. God does the fixing, and we can only receive it-we can't do it ourselves.

Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 2:8-10 - God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Lesson Objectives:

• WHAT: Although our world is broken, God has a remedy to fix things.
• WHY: Redemption adds purpose to our lives as we join God in His plan for the world.
• HOW: We examined God's plan to fix our broken world through Jesus and saw how each of us must decide if we will receive the gift God offers.

We started with a game that involved the youth dropping clothepins while standing on chairs into cups on the floor.  For each clothespin they made into the cup, they received one ticket.  They then were able to redeem those tickets for pieces of candy....and an example of something being redeemed for something else of greater value.

There were two main points to tonight's lesson.

1. God provided a way to FIX the world.

• God created the world, and it was good. Adam and Eve chose to sin, and the world became broken. How is Jesus the solution to the world's brokenness?
• How has Jesus fixed problems or challenges in your life?
• Earlier, you redeemed your paper tickets for something better-some cool prizes. What's the similarity between that experience and Jesus helping you and me experience something better in our lives?

Being a "slave" to sin is like having sin as your boss; that's why the Apostle Paul talks about the "wages of sin" in this verse. When you work at a job, you receive money-wages from the boss. So, if we're working for sin as our boss, we'll receive the payment of death-eternal separation from God. But God's remedy for our sin and for our broken world was to send Jesus to pay the price for our sins by dying on the cross-and then coming back to life again. God redeems through his Son Jesus-but it's a solution we must choose to accept and receive.

2. We must choose to RECEIVE God's remedy.

• Romans 6:23 says that "the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." How would you explain this to your friends?
• Explain in your own words what it means to "become a Christian" and how you make the choice to receive God's remedy of forgiveness and redemption through Jesus Christ.

When we talk about God "fixing" the world, we're really talking about God's plan of redemption-that which was broken can now be fixed, restored, redeemed through Jesus Christ. And the word "receive" is important because God is the one who does the fixing. We can only receive His gift of being "fixed" or redeemed through Jesus-we can't do it ourselves.

We let a few kids attempt to "fix" a clay flower pot that had been broken.  As you accept the gift of God and see that your life is redeemed from a broken mess and restored to something useful again, the next step is to join God in His plan for fixing the brokenness in our world. When we live the way God intended us to live, we bring small pieces of redemption to the world we live in. This is what God intended us to do.

We ended with some take-home challenge questions for the kids to think about and work on during the next week as they continue to reflect on Romans 6:23 and Ephesians 2:8-10.

GOD’S BIG STORY Week 2: Fall—The World is Now Broken

Tonight's lesson moves into the second "part" of God's Big Story, building on the first week's focus on how God created the world as it ought to be, and He saw that it was good. This week, we see that God, in His perfect love, gave humanity the capacity to love him back. The first humans-Adam and Eve-chose to disobey God. Through that decision, sin entered the world, and now everything is broken, including the relationship with God.

Lesson Objectives:

WHAT: When Adam and Eve chose to sin, our world became a broken place.

WHY: The pain and brokenness we experience in life are rooted in the choice Adam and Eve made and in the continuing effects of sin in our world.

HOW: We examined the choice Adam and Eve made, how our world now suffers the consequences of that choice, and how our choices affect our lives and the lives of people around us.

We started by watching this great Francis Chan YouTube, "Two Scariest Lies in Our World Right Now" .

We also re-visited the object lesson of our clay flower pot from our last lesson.  Last lesson when we introduced this pot, we saw in Isaiah 64:8 that God is the potter and we are like the clay.  God is forming and molding each of us into something awesome. In the first part of God's Big Story, we focused on the words "creation" and "good" to help us remember that God created our world perfectly. But tonight, in part two of God's Big Story, God's good creation is broken because of a choice. We took out a hammer then and, with our pot wrapped in a towel, proceeded to break the pot into pieces..  Sin enters the world, and the world becomes broken, just like this pot.

This week's key words to focus on that help sum up the lesson's big idea are CHOICE and BROKEN.

We discussed things like:

• In the beginning, Adam and Eve were perfect and sinless. What do you think it would be like to be perfect and sinless?
• Why do you think God would give Adam and Eve the capacity to choose-even though it meant they might make the wrong choice?
• What does this tell you about God?
• How do you define the word "sin?"
• What are some of the real, deep, underlying reasons we choose to sin?

Adam and Eve chose to sin. They disobeyed God's instructions. But perhaps the most remarkable truth in this whole story is that God made a choice before Adam and Eve made their choice: God, in His perfect love, chose to give humanity the capacity to love Him back. If God forced us to obey, it wouldn't be true love. We display our love for God by choosing to obey and honor and worship and follow and trust God. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve's choice had some big-time consequences.

When Adam and Eve sinned, evil was introduced into the world-the world became broken. It was no longer "good" like God had originally created it to be. When things break, they lose their ability to function as they were intended. And when you look at our world, you see so many reminders that things don't function the way God intended. It can leave us wondering if there's any hope and if there's an answer or remedy to our problem.

We asked the kids then:

• What are some ways your choices have negative consequences on your life-or on other people's lives? Give some examples.
•  What are some ways your choices have positive consequences on your life-or on other people's lives? Give some examples.

Each day, you make tons of choices. In fact, if you tried keeping track, you'd probably lose count of all the big and small choices you face in the span of just 24 hours! Here's something to think about: Every choice has either positive or negative consequences-it all depends on the kind of choice you make. As a follower of Jesus, you have the opportunity to become a person who makes better, wiser choices. Being aware that ALL of your choices have some kind of consequence helps you in this process.

A lesson for ALL of us!  Amen!

GOD’S BIG STORY Week 1: Creation—God Saw That It Was Good

This week we started a four-week series called “God’s Big Story.” This series will provide teenagers with a big-picture view of God’s story, with the goal of giving students a healthy understanding of what the Bible is about and how it applies to their lives.

In this first week, we looked at Genesis 1–2 and examined the picture of how God created the world. The world is broken, but God didn’t create it that way. He created a world that was truly “good.” It’s important for our teenagers—and for adults—to remember how God meant things to be. We live in a world filled with pain and difficulties, but God designed a world that was good.

Each week in our series, we’re giving students two key words to help them remember the big idea. This week our key words were CREATION and GOOD. Simply put, God created the world, and it was good.

Tonight we looked deeper at:

WHAT: God created the world as it ought to be-and it was "good."
WHY: When we understand that God is creative, good, and loving, we can take a step toward trusting him more with our lives.
HOW: We examined what it means to be made in God's image and discuss how this might affect the way we view other people in our lives.

We watched a short creation video that outlined the basics of Genesis 1.  We also used a clay flower pot to exemplify things created with purpose to be used for a specific purpose.  God is working in our lives like a potter working with a lump of clay. God formed us into what He wanted us to be-amazing, loved, talented, and good. God did not make a mistake when He created us. He did not mess up. God did not have to settle for us because He was unable to get exactly what He had hoped for. No! God got exactly what He wanted. He got each of us! This is the heart of part 1 of God's story.

Looking forward to all God's Word has to reveal to us about Himself and His will for our lives!

You Can't Outgive God!

Tonight we talked about giving....or tithing, and what that means.  

First, we had the kids watch the French Fry Tax...a cute video explaining what tithes are and why it is important to give them.

Next, we discussed what things could be tithed or given back to serving God and for His glory.

• Our Time (missions trip, outreach events, helping someone in need with cleaning, driving someone to the store, visiting an elderly person, etc...)
• Our Talents (organizing or cleaning for someone, cooking someone a meal, babysitting, singing at a nursing home, etc...)
• Our Possessions (lending someone our car, giving some groceries to someone who needs them, passing along our gently used clothes to people who need them, donating our old eyeglasses to people who need them, etc...)
• Our Money (tithing, helping support a missionary, sponsoring a child, etc...)

Then we re-enacted the widow's offering from Mark 12:41-44, using a small tin pail and some change.  The noise that was made by dropping in a handful of coins was impressive compared to the noise made by dropping in two pennies, but God was more impressed with the widow's measly offering because she gave all that she had out of her poverty, whereas the others were giving some of what they had out of their wealth.

Using the same tin pail, we then demonstrated the truths found in this YouTube that teaches Proverbs 11:24 with a very powerful video object lesson.

To further drive home the point that you can't outgive God...but instead, when you are faithful to give back to Him what He already deserves of yours, He will bless you abundantly beyond what you could have ever imagined...I turned a $1 bill into a $20 bill.  Yep, I attempted magic, something I have long wanted to learn and incorporate into my science experiments and object lessons.  Let's just say I spent a long time at my computer watching, pausing, rewinding, and re-watching YouTubes on magic!  And then I practiced...a lot!  And while I am no Penn r Teller, I think the kids were quite impressed with my ability to pull the trick off.  I left more than a few of them scratching their heads wondering how I did it.  I'll never tell!  ;)

We gave the kids one more example of how, when we give to God, He will always bless us more than what our tithes, be they of our time, talents, possessions, or money could ever bless Him or others.  Sometimes we worry that, if we give what we have, we won't have enough for our needs, our necessities.  But God promises that, if we are faithful in this area of our Christian walk, He will provide for us all of our needs, even the ones we didn't know we had!  Here is the link to the way we demonstrated this for the kids.

Lastly, we asked the kids to put their money where their mouth is.  To challenge the kids to give sacrificially of themselves and in a very practical way, we introduced them to the eBay Offering Challenge. We asked each of the kids to bring in something of value (monetarily and of value to themselves personally) that they would consider a sacrifice to part with. It could be an electronic device, a collection, a doll, a video game, a collectible, ...whatever. We are then going to eBay each of these items and give the money as our gift to the TPCC food pantry.

It'll be interesting to see what the kids bring in for this challenge! We challenged them to try and outgive each other, but reminded them that they can NEVER outgive God!

God Opposes the Proud

1 Peter 5:5b-6 - All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

We started tonight by playing a game called "I am".  We went around the room and let each youth state something they are and are not good at, each statement beginning with, "I am".  Interestingly enough, for most of the kids, it was easier to state something they are good at than something they are not good at.

Then we played another game.  We divided the kids into two teams.  Each team had a bucket of water, a sample bar of soap, and a towel.  Kids on each team took turns going to the bucket and using the soap to wash their hands.  Then they dried their hands on the towel and went to the end of the line.  This relay went on for 5 minutes.  The team with the smallest bar of soap at the end of the relay won.

We also watched a clip from the movie Battleship where soccer player Alex Hopper insists on kicking the free kick that could send the game into overtime even though he is dazed and injured after being kicked in the face by a player on the opposing team.  We talked about where Alex went wrong in this scene and what negative character quality he displayed.

We told the kids then that tonight's lesson was all about pride.  We started with the definition of pride...a high opinion of oneself...looks, deeds, accomplishments, social status, possessions, etc...  We talked about how it's ok to be proud of yourself for a job well-done...winning a talent competition or sports event, getting good grades, etc...  

But their is a point when pride in ourselves can harden our hearts towards God.  We think so much of ourselves, that everything else around us looks so small, including God.  To demonstrate this, we gave the kids a magnifying glass and gave them each the opportunity to look through the wrong side of it at objects that now appeared super small compared to their original sizes.  This is the way we see things and others around us when we are filled with too much pride.  Pride is taking the glory that belongs to God alone and keeping it for ourselves.

So what does God think about pride?  Why is it that big of a deal?  

• When King Nebuchadnezzar took the credit for how great a city Babylon had become and became prideful, he was stripped of his status as King and spent the next seven years of his life eating grass in a field with his hair growing long all over him and his nails growing as long as a bird's claws.  He was insane.
• In Esther, Haman became angry when Mordecai wouldn't bow down to him because he thought he was all that.  Haman ended up hung on the very gallows he built to hang Mordecai on.

In reality, there are so many stories of pride and Scriptures relating to the topic that we could have talked all night about them!

The opposite of pride is humility.  It is a modest or low view of oneself.  Jesus demonstrated humility when he lowered Himself to that of a servant and took on the task of washing His disciples' feet in John 13.  Hence, our hand-washing, soap-shrinking game ;)!

We ended our lesson on pride talking about its consequences.  We demonstrated this by blowing soap bubbles.  The bubbles are filled with pride, making them rise to the top in their thoughts about themselves.  Eventually though, what comes up, must come down.  The loftier we think of ourselves, the lower God will humble us to regain the glory we have unrightfully stolen from Him.  After all, anything we are or have accomplished is all because of God anyway.  He created us and blesses us.  We cannot take the credit for any of it.

We demonstrated this with vinegar in the bottom of a 16 oz. water bottle as well.  We put a balloon with baking soda over the top of the water bottle's mouth.  When the baking soda made contact with the vinegar in the bottom of the bottle, the reaction between the two caused the balloon to blow up, seemingly by itself.  After a few minutes though, the balloon deflated back to its original size.

Pride can be a tough concept for kids, as the majority of them believe the world revolves around them and their existence.  But prayerfully, after tonight, they will look at pride...and themselves...a little differently.

Responding to Times of Tribulation

1 Peter 4:12-13 - Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

Tonight we talked about our attitudes during times of tribulation. 

We started the evening off with me re-enacting the story Pastor Mike told about Bob Reccord in his book, "Forged by Fire". I played an angry and bitter Bob who suffered from severe pain from a back injury. I was tired, dependent on medication, my left arm was useless, and I couldn't work anymore. Sitting outside on a cold and rainy day, I saw and heard a bird singing nearby. I was irritated by the bird's audacity to sing in such miserable weather, but the bird kept singing. Then the weather cleared and the sun came out and warmed things up. The bird was there still, singing just as before. Then it occurred to me that the bird sang in the cold rain as well as the sunny warmth. It didn't matter what his outward circumstances were. Internally, the bird had a song to sing joyfully. Convicted, I realized God was showing me that I too had the same choice as the bird. I could let my circumstances...pain, no job, left arm, and medication addiction shape my attitude and keep on living bitter, angry, and full of resentment. Or my attitude could rise above those circumstances and I could choose joy. 

No matter the weather, the birds still sing. That's because their singing has nothing to do with the weather.

We talked then to the youth and asked them the same question. What about them? Who do they "sing" to during difficult circumstances? Do they let those circumstances mold their attitudes? Do they try and choose to rise above those circumstances instead?

Next we gave each of the kids a piece of sponge. We had several sponges as well. We put one sponge into a shallow dish of water and let it soak it up. We told the kids that we are those sponges and time in prayer and studying God's Word is the water. The more we are immersed in time with God, the more the Holy Spirit can fill us.

Then we squeezed out our sponge. The "squeeze" represents the tribulations we go through. But if we are full of the Holy Spirit when those trials come, when we are squeezed, only an attitude that reflects that we are Spirit-filled will come out of us.....the fruits of the Spirit...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

At the same time, we had another sponge soaking up grape juice in a nearby dish. The grape juice represented the other things we choose to fill ourselves with besides God. We showed the kids that, when squeezed, nothing good came from those sponges...only what they had allowed themselves to be filled with,  which wasn't very pretty.

Sometimes, circumstances and influences we can't control come into our lives though. Again, we let our water sponge soak up as much water as it could hold. Then we placed it in the dish of grape juice, or things that would cause us to have bad attitudes. Because the sponge was already full of water, it could not soak up any of the grape juice in addition.

When we do what we can to make sure that we are full of the Holy Spirit by spending time with God everyday, things beyond our control that come along and try to rob is of our joy will not affect us the way they would if we were dry and shriveled up like an unsaturated sponge.

Only one thing is guaranteed in our walk with Christ. Squeezes will come! What will pour out of us when they do? We choose!

Spiritual Gifts

1 Peter 4:10 - Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms.

We talked about spiritual gifts tonight.

We started out with a game where we asked the kids to go to one side of the room or another based on their answers to the following questions:

Would You Rather...

kiss a dog or a cat on the mouth?
eat cow eyeballs or monkey lips?
die by a fire or by a drowning?
win free tickets to a professional football game or baseball game?
live without TV for one year or be homeless for one month?
have a phone or a TV in your room?
keep your siblings or be an only child?
win a million bucks all at once today or get $1000 a week for the rest of your life?
lose both arms or both legs?
work during the summer or stay at home all day?

Everyone is alike in some ways and everyone is different in some ways, as the previous game revealed.

I also showed up tonight wearing some crazy mismatched knee socks.  After a few strange comments and even stranger looks from the kids, I explained that in the early morning darkness and rush of getting ready, I didn’t manage to grab socks that were exactly the same.  The socks didn't match.  They were different.  However, both of them will keep my feet warm.  They will still accomplish the purpose for which they were made.  They do not look the same.  They might even feel slightly different.  But they will still protect my feet so they can function well.

We explained that, as people, and as members of the church, we are like that, too.  Paul writes in the book of 1 Corinthians about the church as compared to a body…there are different parts, but all work for the same thing:

1 Corinthians 12:27-30 - Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.  Are all apostles?  Are all prophets?  Are all teachers?  Do all work miracles?  Do all have gifts of healing?  Do all speak in tongues?  Do all interpret?  

Some people might not seem to “match” others…some are older, some are younger.  Some look different.  Some approach problems or tasks in unique ways.  But each and every person is created by God and we can all serve the same purpose…just like my funny socks!

Then we talked about what a spiritual gift is and is not.

What it is not:

• A talent (something you just happen to be good at)
• An ability (a developed skill)
• A personality trait (whether environmental or genetic)

What it is:

• You get it when you become a Christian (Ephesians 4:7, I Corinthians 12:7)
• There are no believers without gifts
• There are no unbelievers with gifts
• It is a supernatural ability that works through God's Holy Spirit (I Peter 4:11)
• The reason you have it is to do God's work
• You supply the availability and God will supply the ability
• Your gift is not for you -- it is for the youth group and the Church (Ephesians 4:12)
• God gave us all different ones so that we could all work together (Romans 12:4 - 6)

So what exactly are the spiritual gifts?

Apostle/Missionary (I Corinthians 12:28)

• Leave home/family/friends
• Travel on the road
• Adapt to foreign cultures/food/etc.

Ministry opportunities
Missionary (home or foreign)
Traveling business person who adapts to and witnesses in each new situation
Reaching beyond your own clique and group at school to reach people different from you

Prophet/Preacher (I Corinthians 14:3-4)

• Not afraid to tell individuals and groups that they are right/wrong in God's eyes
• Apply God's Word to specific situations to determine right/wrong
• Sense the need for revival in the youth group or Church

Ministry opportunities
Help individuals see that they need to turn back to God
Bring about revival in the youth group and Church
Help others resist peer pressure by encouraging them to do what's right

Evangelist (Ephesians 4:11, II Timothy 4:5)

• Talk about Jesus anytime, anywhere
• Identify with people right where they are and explain the Gospel in related terms
• Know just what to say to people when witnessing

Ministry opportunities
Form a specific witnessing effort at school
Win people to Christ one by one
Come up with new and unique ways to share Jesus

Pastor/Teacher (Ephesians 4:11-2, Romans 12:6-7, James 3:1)

• Strong desire to see individuals and groups learning God's Word
• Sensitive to people caught in sin -- you want to help them get back on track gently
• Can communicate easily and well to others

Ministry opportunities
Lead small group Bible studies
Counsel Christian friends on what to do in tough times
Unify the youth group and Church

Encourager (Romans 12:6-8)

• Sense when someone is down
• Help others see the bright, spiritual side of things
• Spend time and energy cheering others up spiritually

Ministry opportunities
Christian comedian
Deliver or send cards/letters/gifts to people who are down
Spend time one-on-one in person or on phone with people who are down

Messenger of Knowledge/Wisdom (I Corinthians 12:8)

• Know what to do in a crisis situation
• Know what to say to unbelievers' questions about God
• Know how to defend your faith on the spot when it is attacked/challenged/debated

Ministry opportunities
Pull the youth group closer together during a crisis
Step to the front of the pack during times of persecution
Explain to others intellectually why Jesus is real

Server (I Corinthians 12:6-7)

• See things that need to be done and do them
• Accomplish tasks very well
• Work behind the scenes to take care of things others don't think about

Ministry opportunities
Help set-up and tear-down for youth activities
Form a team to Adopt-a-Highway and pick up trash in the community
Ask youth workers/leaders how you can help

Hospitality Giver (I Corinthians 12:8)

• Sense physical needs of others
• Give time, money, effort to helping meet those needs
• Let go of your own possessions to help others for a time

Ministry possibilities
Collect and send food/clothes to disaster relief victims
Let others borrow/have your things to meet their own needs
Share your room with a foreign exchange student and help them fit in here

Giver (I Corinthians 12:8)

• Sense a financial need/burden in others
• Give your own money to help others
• Organize people to give money to help others

Ministry possibilities
Donate money to help someone else go to camp
Organize youth to give money to help someone in the group/Church that has a need
Find and meet financial needs of lost people in your school/community

Leader/Administrator (I Corinthians 12:28)

• Sense what needs to be done and how to do it
• Accept challenges and organize people/resources to solve them
• Motivate people to become a part of your vision for God's work in the youth group and Church

Ministry possibilities
Organize teams of people in the youth group to perform a specific function
Plan and lead a Backyard Bible Club made up of several youth group members
Take charge of problems and help solve them

Mercy (Romans 12:8)

• Have deep compassion for people who are in pain (emotional/physical/mental/etc.)
• Can comfort others with ease
• Very considerate of other people's feelings

Ministry opportunities
Reach out to the handicapped in our group/church/community
Defend and stand by those who get made fun of
Instill confidence and comfort in the underdogs around you

Faith (I Corinthians 13:2)

• Sense God's presence when no one else can
• Sense that God is at work when no one else can
• Trust in God in spite of tremendous obstacles

Ministry opportunities
Organize a prayer ministry to pray for big things
Challenge others to win their campuses to Christ
Motivate others in the youth group and Church to rely on God in tough times

Discernment (I Corinthians 12:10)

• Sense hypocrisy or dishonesty in the others
• Sense when God is at work
• Sense when Satan is at work

Ministry opportunities
Steer the youth group clear of Satanic influences (astrology, Ouija boards, etc.)
Steer the youth group toward depending on God's Spirit for guidance
Point out hypocrisy in the youth group and Church

Obviously, the youths' lives are ever-changing at this age and so they are likely not sure what their spiritual gifts are yet, but we wanted to give them an overview of the gifts just the same so they could start thinking about them.