Lesson 4. True on the Inside

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Luke Gibson
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1 Lesson 4 True on the Inside Promise of the Week: I will fill my heart with true things. Memory Verse: Luke 6:45a (ESV), A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. Leader Note: Do you ever wonder how much Eve talked? If women really do use more words than men, did Eve talk all the time? Did she comment on flowers, trees, animals, or Adam s beard? Did Adam listen to every word or just nod here and there? None of us have to wonder how much 6 th grade girls talk a lot! I would also propose that 6 th grade boys can talk a lot too. Girls and talking go hand in hand. Not just in elementary school or middle school but in college and adulthood and even in old age. I think talking can get us into trouble. Our words hold so much power! Where do our words come from? The Bible says they overflow from our heart which means what is in our hearts is very important. The things that we see and hear all day, every day, float around in our minds and hearts. If we see enough of the same kinds of things, they can get stuck there like bad words, sadness and a feeling of being unworthy, jealousy, angry moods, and hateful ugliness. We can fool ourselves into thinking it doesn t matter, but wisdom and experience tell us different. - When stressful moments press us flat, what comes out can be overwhelming anxiety, irritation and griping. - When jealousy slaps at us, what comes out is criticism and slander. - When all you hear is cussing, it will shock you how fast it too comes out. This is the first week of Whatever is True. Today we start with what fills our heart; the idea that our inside must be true before our words can be true. Next week we will address how that overflows into our speech and the ways our words can bring harm.

Lesson 4: True on the Inside CAPTIVATE: Overflowing Props Clear glass cup (fill halfway full of water) Saucer/plate to sit underneath Glitter of any color (not white or clear and bigger sized

2 Lesson 4: True on the Inside CAPTIVATE: Overflowing Props Clear glass cup (fill halfway full of water) Saucer/plate to sit underneath Glitter of any color (not white or clear and bigger sized glitter) Pitcher of water Spoon Does anyone remember what THRPPGEW stands for? (If you brought a prize then give it to the girl that can share the acrostic correctly.) A couple weeks ago we discussed how the Bible tells us to THINK on these things. Thinking about something usually means we ve allowed something on the outside to get into the inside of our mind. Example: - Watching a movie and then replaying a scene in your mind. - Hearing a song and singing the words in your mind. - Listening to your parents argue and then wondering if they ll get a divorce. - Seeing someone around town that looks poor or disheveled and wondering what happened in their life. - Overhearing gossip at the lunch table and then making judgements about that person. Our thoughts come from the things we see, hear, do, witness, and experience around us. Those thoughts get tossed around in our mind and then sometimes settle into our hearts. (sprinkle glitter and then stir it with a spoon, some will settle to the bottom and some will stay on the top) Life is rarely calm because there s always something happening around us homework to do, chores, practices and games, fighting with your siblings, your mom asking a million questions, trying to make friends, trying to keep friends, trying to be a likeable friend. (pour water into cup as you talk about life fairly quickly) Eventually whatever is inside of our hearts comes out, in the things we say or the way we act. (water will overflow onto the saucer along with the glitter)

3 CONNECT: Today we re going to talk about how to fill our hearts with true things. If we know what s inside comes out, then if we re full of truth, that will overflow to those around us, especially in the words we use. We said that our thoughts settle into our hearts. And our thoughts come from the things we allow into our eyes and ears. How can we determine what s in our heart? Let s use a tree as an example. Does anyone have a fruit tree in their yard or maybe have picked fruit off someone else s tree? - What kind of fruit tree was it? - Did you plant the tree or just see it when it was bearing fruit? - How did you know that is was an tree? The fruit growing on the tree showed what kind of tree it was. Have you ever seen an apple tree grow peaches? Or a peach tree grows apples? Luke 6:43-45 (ESV), 43 No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit means we know what s on the inside by what comes out on the outside. Last week we presented the gospel and some of you made decisions to follow Jesus. Congratulations!!! When you become a child of God, God plants something new inside of you; something different than anything you can do yourself because it can only come from Jesus. Jesus plants himself inside you the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit lives in us directing and guiding us. Romans 5:5 (ESV), because God s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You can now bear good fruit because you have Jesus on the inside! The other thing Luke 6:45 tells us is that what comes out of our hearts (the fruit that we grow) comes from what is stored up in our hearts. The

4 thoughts that settle in your heart (glitter) overflow in everyday life. What is stored in your heart? CULTIVATE: Let s discuss some of the things you see and hear every day! (You can draw this chart on the board or print it out for each girl to have.) *You don t have time to discuss all of these so choose what is most appropriate for your group of girls. Don t get overwhelmed with all the possibilities of what some of these topics hold. Throughout the year of Girlz 4 God we will expound on many of them. We re planting seeds of truth for God to grow and we can t do it all in one day. Movies Let s use movies for our first example. When we watch a movie, the language, characters, theme of the movie and the visual images fill our mind and move to our hearts. If we had to put movie ratings in these different boxes, where might we put a movie rated G? PG? PG-13? R? Hollywood has given us ratings according to what age they think you should be to see their movies (PG-13 is 13 and older, R is 17 and older). Do you think Hollywood upholds our Christian values? No. You can t just take a rating as truth. You need to know what the movie is about before you

5 go! Hollywood might rate a horror film as PG and you think, Great, I can see that! But what if you knew that movie was about witchcraft or murder or senseless killing would that be something excellent to put in your mind and heart? Music Music is everywhere! It s in your room, on your phone, in the car, even in stores when you re shopping. When you go to church and hear worship music, where does that fall on our chart? (write worship under Excellent ). What music might be considered bad? Why is it bad? (language used, subject matter, honoring to all people or degrading to a certain group of people, sexual nature). What are some bands or songs that are fun and upbeat but may not sing about God? Are those excellent or good? Conversation/Language What kind of conversations are Excellent? What kind of conversations are Bad? Colossians 3:8-9 (NLT), But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Ephesians 4:29 (NLT), Don t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. Going to school and sports practices means you are around people that may not believe or talk like you. You may hear cursing, bad language or gossip in the hallway or on the volleyball court. It may even come from an adult or your parents. You can t always control what you overhear. What words could we fill our hearts with that would reinforce good language? 1. Read your Bible and fill your heart with God s Words. 2. Control what you can movies, television, music, etc. 3. Ask God to protect your ears. Reading Where does the Bible fall on this chart?

6 What about teen magazines? What about books from the library? Social Media This might be something new for some of you or not even part of your life yet. Social media is a place where people can post words and images freely; about their life, what they think, what they re wearing, how they decorate, what they ate, and so much more. As you scroll through the site, your mind takes in what it sees immodest outfits, gossip, negative thoughts, selfies and bullying. If you spend an hour seeing all this, what might overflow? Should you be on social media at this age? Why or why not? How can you control what you see on social media? Responding to Parents (to be funny and lighten the mood!) What would be the best response if your mom asked you to unload the dishwasher? Yes Ma am! What would be a good response? Yes Neutral response? OK Bad response? Do I have to Evil response? Not now and not ever! You get a lot of choices in life. You can choose to seek excellent things that you know will fill your heart with truth, or you can seek evil things that corrupt, put others down and are negative. When your heart overflows into life, whatever is on the inside will come out. Will it be true or false? COACH: How do I guard what I see and hear so that my heart is full of excellent, true things? Luke 6:43-45 in the Message translations says it like this, You don t get wormy apples off a healthy tree, nor good apples off a diseased tree. The health of the apple tells the health of the tree. You must begin with your own life-giving lives. It s who you are, not what you say and do, that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds.

7 You must begin with YOU. What kind of a person do you want to be? Ask the girls to list qualities on the board of who they want to be. Kind Respectful Friendly Honest Outgoing Good student AND THRPPGEW!!! These are all true things!! If we seek these things, we can fill our hearts with truth. This week my challenge to you is: 1. Every morning, wake up and ask God to protect your eyes and ears. Ask him to help you see and hear things that are true. 2. Seek to fill your heart with truth. Read your Bible, say no to certain television shows, and start truthful conversations at the lunch table. Be an initiator of truth! 3. Every night tell God if there was something untrue that happened that day. If you said it, then ask for forgiveness. If someone else said it, pray for God to show them a different way. As members of Girlz 4 God, we don t tear others down when they mess up. We give grace, lift them up and pray for them. Promise of the Week: I will fill my heart with true things. Memory Verse: Luke 6:45a (ESV), A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. Leader Note: Ask the girls to raise their hands and make the following promise: Girlz 4 God Promise of the Week: I will fill my heart with true things. Memory Verse: Luke 6:45a (ESV), A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.

8 to the Parents: Re: Girlz 4 God Lesson 4 True on the Inside Dear Girlz 4 God Parents, Thank you for allowing your daughter to attend Girlz 4 God this week! For the fall semester we will be taking each letter of THRPPGEW and digging deeper into what it means and how we can embrace it in our lives. This week we started with T TRUE. What we see and hear settles into our minds and hearts. If we want to live-out true lives, then we need to put-in truth. (ask your daughter about the glitter illustration) Luke 6:43-45a 43 No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. We had a great discussion on what they watch on TV, music they listen to, conversations they re part of, books they read and even their social media and internet usage. What are we planting in our hearts? Our challenge was 1. Wake up and ask God to protect your eyes and ears. 2. Seek to fill your heart with truth. Read your Bible, say no to certain television shows, and start truthful conversations at the lunch table. 3. Every night tell God if there was something untrue that happened that day. Ask for forgiveness and pray for your friends. Girlz 4 God Promise of the Week: I will fill my heart with true things. Memory Verse: Luke 6:45a (ESV), A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.

Lesson 5. True on the Outside. Promise of the Week: I will speak truth and bring good not harm.

Lesson 5. True on the Outside. Promise of the Week: I will speak truth and bring good not harm. Lesson 5 True on the Outside Promise of the Week: I will speak truth and bring good not harm. Memory Verse: Luke 6:45b (ESV), For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Leader Note: This is our second