Issue Intro Check in with your students on how they re doing with applications from the last session. By way of review, ask:

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1 J a m e s 1:1-18 Do You Have Issues? Teach It COLLEGE AGE Session 2 1. Materials For this session each student will need the James 1 Scripture sheet the student journal page for Session 2 his or her own Bible, pen, and notebook You ll also need a whiteboard and markers colored pencils (at least two colors per student) the promo movie trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, from the special features DVD that accompanies the movie. (At its Main Menu, click Theatrical Trailers, then click Final Trailer. You may also be able to find this trailer online.) black-and-white pictures representing life issues (see Taking It Inward) any available camera phones from students 2. Intro Goals of Session 2 As students experience this session, they will explore the problems faced by the first readers of James. discover how James instructions and encouragement on these issues can help us today. examine their personal struggles and apply the encouragement from James. Prayer Once the group has gathered, give them a quiet minute to take a mental break from their busy day. Open with a prayer of thanks that although we face all kinds of struggles in life, God is always there for us. Ask him to speak to students hearts and show them how they can overcome every trial or temptation. Open Issue Intro Check in with your students on how they re doing with applications from the last session. By way of review, ask: What were the four key issues faced by James readers? -They faced trials. -They faced lack of wisdom. -They faced humble circumstances. -They faced temptation. 1 Write these issues on the whiteboard, leaving space to write beneath them. Ask the students to write these under Issues in the chart on the journal page.

2 Show the promotional movie trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, found on the special features DVD that accompanies the movie. (From its Main Menu, click Theatrical Trailers, then click Final Trailer.) The trailer gives a brief but dramatic overview of the film s major characters and themes. Then prompt a discussion of the movie by asking the following questions. (You ll be relying on those who ve seen the movie (or read the book) for input, and if no one is familiar with the movie, you will need to give some background information.) What in the movie (or the book) represents trials? Orcs, Mordor, snow, mountains, and war represent trials. What in the movie (or the book) represents humble circumstances? Hobbits, little people, the Shire, dwarves, and journeying with just what was in their sacks represent humble circumstances. What in the movie (or the book) represents wisdom? Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, and the elves represent wisdom. What in the movie (or the book) represents temptation? The ring and the palantir (or Seeing Stone) represent temptation. What are some lessons or principles you took from the movie (or the book) about how to handle these four issues? Can good come of them? -Trials can build character and teach perseverance. Trials also teach us what is important. -Humble circumstances teach us that God works through the lowliest people to achieve the miraculous. Humble circumstances also allow us to clearly see when the miraculous has happened. -Wisdom allows us to know when something is beyond our control and to ask for help. Wisdom also shows us when we should walk away. -If we give in to temptation we are not only risking our own well-being but also the well-being of those around us. If we can walk away from temptation we will see the rewards of obedience. Based on these four issues, which Lord of the Rings character do you most relate to right now? -Frodo is the unwilling hero. -Pippen is the innocent damaged by circumstances. -Merry is the lighthearted scamp turned hero. -Gandalf is the wise leader. -Elrond is the distant observer. -Aragorn is the courageous loner. -Legolas is the action hero. -Samwise is the loyal and humble servant. -Gollum is torn between good choices and bad. -Gimli is the stalwart defender. -Galadriel is the mysterious queen. -Arwen is the behind-the-scenes supportive heroine. If time permits, explore a few of the following questions. Students can answer from a personal perspective or on behalf of college students in general. What trials are you currently experiencing? 2 Have you ever found yourself wishing you were someone else, in different circumstances? Describe. What situations are you facing in which you could use a dose of wisdom? How are you being tempted?

3 3. Digging In What Do You Find Here? After some discussion, explain 1. As James wrote about each of these issues, he also gave his readers encouragement and instructions. 2. Read James 1:1-18 using your Scripture sheets. 3. As you read, draw a circle around anything you would consider an encouragement in facing these issues. 4. Use your colored pencils to draw boxes around any instructions related to these issues. When most have finished, say Look at what you marked. According to James, how are we asked to respond to these issues? Write their observations beneath the corresponding issues on the whiteboard, and ask them to write the info in the spaces provided on their journal pages. Your whiteboard will look something like this: Trials Lack of wisdom Consider it pure joy (1:2). Ask God for wisdom (1:5). Humble circumstances Temptation Take pride in your high position (1:9). Don t blame God for the temptation (1:13). James instructions tell us how we re to respond to these issues. But they may sound a little ludicrous. Consider it pure joy when we face trials? Yeah, right. But James words of encouragement tell us why we can respond this way, and it may not be so ludicrous after all. Ask Looking at the phrases of encouragement you circled, what are some reasons why we should respond to these issues the way James said to? As students share, add this info to the whiteboard. Invite them to write it on their journal pages. Trials I m being made mature, so I won t be lacking anything (1:4). Lack of wisdom God wants to give wisdom generously, without finding fault (1:5). Humble circumstances Temptation The rich will pass away like a wild flower (1:10). Every good and perfect gift comes from God, who doesn t change (1:17). We are born through the word of truth and are the firstfruits of all God created (1:18). As you write these points on the whiteboard, discuss how each can be an encouragement. 3

4 4. Digging Deeper Make It Personal Build Your Own Share that there s a good chance your students identify with some of these issues more than the others. In this next exercise, they ll have an opportunity to experience more insight and encouragement on the issues they relate to most. Explain these steps: 1. Take a minute to prioritize these four issues in order of relevance to your life. 2. Then take your Bibles and journal pages, and move to a place where you can get alone with God for a few minutes. 3. Explore these issues in the order you ve just listed, starting with the issue at the top of your list. It s okay if you don t get to all four in the time allotted. Follow the instructions on your journal pages under Digging Deeper, and open your heart and mind to all that God wants to teach you. 5. Taking It Inward Taking It to Heart If you own the resource Every Picture Tells a Story: 48 Evocative Photographs for Inspiring Reaction and Reflection by Mark Oestreicher (Youth Specialties), use it to select images for the next exercise. If you don t, use a search engine (such as Google Images) to find pictures depicting the four issues James is addressing. (Search words like grief, anxiety, poverty, wisdom, and humility.) You may want to include some movie stills from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; these can also be found at Google Images. You ll need at least one picture per student. Print the pictures in grayscale mode or on a black-and-white printer (grayscale gives a more dramatic effect), at least 5 x 7 in size. Give students a few minutes to do the Digging Deeper exercise and then call them back together. As students regroup, have each student take a picture that represents an issue ranked high on his or her list in Digging Deeper. Then ask What did you learn about your issue(s) in your solitude time? If you were to teach one thing to the rest of the group about any of the issues from your solitude time, what would you teach? Can you share a Wow! moment from the Scriptures you looked at? How does the image you chose represent the issue you focused on in your alone time with God? You may want to close out your discussion with these general questions: How do these issues help with the big question: why do bad things happen? James instruction and encouragement about trials give us a big-picture perspective. These tests will have great 4 benefit in our lives, even though they don t seem to at the time.

5 Agree or disagree: The reasons people give for leaving the Christian faith could be traced back to one or all of these issues. Agree: Some of the big reasons people give for not believing is that a loving God would never let people go through trials; poverty and humble circumstances are evidence that, if there is a God, he is checked out; religious leaders who have moral failure through temptation are evidence that the Christian faith doesn t really work. Disagree: One of the biggest reasons people give for not believing is that the big premises of the Christian faith like love and grace are not seen lived out in most people who follow the Christian faith. 6. Wrapping It Up You Too Can Keep from Falling Invite each student to pair up with a partner for prayer. Encourage them to share any specific prayer needs related to the issues they looked at. If they want to keep their issues private, that s okay. As a reminder to pray for each other throughout the week, have the partners swap pictures. Another option: Students with camera phones can take photos of their partners holding their pictures. When each pair has finished praying, dismiss the group. 5