Ice Breaker: Start as You Mean to Go On? (5 mins)

Transcription

1 Theme: Josiah: A Clean Sweep Title: New Term, Fresh Start Target Group: Mainly Church Background Age: 14+ Aims: Equipment: Print-outs: Using the example of Josiah of the Old Testament: to look at lessons from his life to explore how and why he is shown as a man of obedience to teach that, like him, we may need to revise our own relationship with God and make the relevant changes that his word commands to challenge the young people - to kick start their new term with a fresh look at the Bible and God, and to adopt principles that can help them keep fit and fresh in their faith Pens; paper; three or four newspapers; one air freshener; Bibles Print-out 1 (Keep Fit for Dummies); Print-out 2 (Mission Impossible?) Bible Base: 2 Kings 22:1 13, 19 20; 2 Kings 23:1 3, 25 Ice Breaker: Start as You Mean to Go On? (5 mins) As the young people arrive encourage them to talk with each other and to any newcomers. Do this by giving each person a pen and paper and ask them to write up the New Year s resolutions that were made by the group, or by individuals, at the start of the year. They should also be asked if the resolutions were kept, or not! Activity: Failing Fitness Fanatics! (7 mins) Give each of the young people a copy of the Keep Fit For Dummies list (Print-out 1). Explain to the group that the examples on the list are actual exercises that can be carried out in every day life as a means to keeping fit. Ask each person to put a line by the exercises that they think they would be able to keep up on a daily basis for one month. Encourage honesty, but reassure them that you won t be checking up on them! After each person has done this ask the group members share their responses and thoughts with the rest of the group. Talkie Bit: (2 mins) Give a short talk, making the following points: New times in our life, such as the New Year or the start of a new term, are often times when we decide to make significant changes to the way we do things. For example, at the start of January many people may welcome in the New Year by saying they are going to try the next best diet.

2 The unfortunate fact is, however, that we can all think of examples when such resolutions or intentions have failed. There are times when we may approach God and the Christian faith by making a fresh start. Following youth events, or church activities, or God filled CU meetings, we may set off with great intentions of getting to know God more, or reading his word more often, or praying every morning. But, like the dummies fitness tips we have just looked at, the routine may be hard to keep up. When the routine breaks down we may grow weak, and there are those times when we just simply make a mess of following God on a day-to-day basis. So how do we kick start the faith-fitness regime again? Bible Bit: Josiah A Fresh Start (7 mins) As a group read 2 Kings 22:1 13, 19 20; 2 Kings 23:1 3. If your group does not have access to lots of Bibles you could print out copies of the passage from the Darby Translation. This is one of the few free on-line translations in the UK. It is a bit of an old translation, but at least it is free. You can find it at Prepare a small talk based on the passages above highlighting the following key points: The Old Testament describes many kings, but Josiah is one of the only kings described by the Bible as a man who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Because of a long line of evil kings and their rule, God s law had been lost and almost forgotten. But when God s law was found and presented to Josiah, at age 26, he realised that sudden and serious changes needed to take place. Josiah recognised the power of God s law and the fact that he and his people had drifted far from it, to the point that he tore his robes, and immediately started making reforms amongst his people. When Josiah realised the poor state of Judah s relationship with God he did something about it. He was ready to let his faith motivate him into action, it wasn t enough to just simply read and believe in God s words. In just one reading of the law, Josiah was prepared for change! Josiah s obedience to God s word gave his nation an opportunity to have a fresh understanding of God and his word. God s grace and mercy gave them the opportunity to have a complete fresh start in their relationship with him. In making a fresh start Josiah also made sudden positive changes to the community in which he lived and had influence: he burnt the idols made to false gods (23:4); he did away with pagan priests (23:5); he pulled down symbols and temples that promoted sexual immorality (23:7); he desecrated pagan sites of worship so they were no longer used as sites for immoral practices (23:10). Group Challenge: More than Words (8 mins) a) Introduce the next activity by reading aloud the following: When Josiah wept and tore his robes God responded in mercy and compassion (v.19). Josiah used the custom of his day to show how sorry and remorseful he was. He recognised his own fault and his nation s lack of faithfulness towards God. God s

3 mercy meant that Josiah had an opportunity for changing his own relationship with God, which in turn meant he was able to change the community where he lived. b) Mission Impossible (Print-out 2) Ask the students to form groups of three or four and give each of the groups a newspaper and a copy of Print-out 2. Ask each of the groups to complete the activity sheet. Give them time to share the responses of the groups all together. Then together discuss the following: Do you think Christians could actually make any difference in some of these issues? Do you think your individual faith could make a positive difference in any of the issues? God used Josiah to change the way a nation understood God and his word, do you think God still uses his people in similar ways today? Can you think of any examples? Response: Faith-Freshening! (4 mins) a) Visual Place a Bible on a table and place a simple air freshener next to it; use the spray if you think the classroom needs it! b) Discuss: God s word challenged Josiah to completely refresh his understanding of God and change the way he and others lived. What daily activities can we do which keep our relationship with God fresh and active? (Be prepared to help the students: they may identify activities such as making more time for God in a morning / evening, making more space to pray, picking up a new Bible study resource to encourage them to take more time reading the Bible, or you may be able to give information to the students on any local Christian events / holidays that aim to give them a fresh encounter with God). Going Deeper: Keep Fit for Christians! (5 mins) Ask a leader to read out 2 Kings 23:25. Read out the following in order to encourage the students to further apply to their lives the issues we have explored in this session: When you enrol in a gym you are assigned a personal tutor who helps you draw up a fitness programme which is relevant to you, and which will help you keep to your aim of staying fit and healthy. Why don t you draw up a basic keep faith-fit programme for yourself and try to keep to it between now and the next time we meet? You may include things like, a three minute prayer each morning and night a bite out of God s word in the evening when you get home from school

4 a mid-week coffee meeting with a Christian mate to chat and pray Make sure you keep it realistic. Try and plan a programme which will help you keep healthy and active in your walk with God throughout the week ahead.

5 Print-out 1 Keep Fit For Dummies! If you re going to break wind in public, cough at the same time to cover up the noise. This is a good stomach exercise! At breakfast, mix fruit juices with 50% tap water to aid absorption, prevent your sugar levels rising rapidly and also to save your parents some money! By switching hands whilst eating you are less coordinated at meal times, this would result in you dropping food on yourself which in turn would cut down your calorie intake! Aim to do cardiovascular type activities five times a week (e.g. cycling, running, and swimming) as this will decrease your chance of type 2 diabetes by almost 45%! Eat loads of garlic. It may mean you have very discomforting breath for others, but it causes your body to release nitric oxide which keeps your arteries more healthy. When you skip home from school try to avoid the main roads, as diesel fumes have been found to contain 41 dangerous substances. Diesel may give you more miles to the gallon, but it may also come with a side order of fatal diseases! Buy, rent, or borrow a dog. One of the best aerobic exercises for anyone wanting to keep fit is walking. But don t forget to take the dog with you!

6 Print-out 2 Group Challenge: More than Words Mission Impossible? Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to go through the newspaper/magazine that you have been given in your group and agree on two issues which you think are major problems in the world today (e.g. Third World poverty, death, natural disasters). Then, when you have found these issues and agreed on them, answer the questions in the boxes below. Issue 1 What is the issue? What do you think are some of the causes of this issue? Is there any way in which we, as humans, could make a fresh start in the way we try and deal with this issue? Issue 2 What is the issue? What do you think are some of the causes of this issue? Is there any way in which we, as humans, could make a fresh start in the way we try and deal with this issue?