Intro Activity Where do they begin? Start here! Each lesson begins with an experience to help students launch into the Core Concept for the week.

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1 Thanks for downloading! Letter to the Leader: Hi, there! You re about to dive into what it means to be a disciple of Christ. This lesson unpacks one of many concepts or practices expected of a person who strives to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. Whether your students are just beginning their faith walk, or if they ve grown up in the church their entire lives, this study will challenge them where they are. Before you get started, we ve laid out how their student Bible study works. We have also included tools for you, the leader to teach large groups and lead a small group discussion. Ready? Let s go! How to use the student Bible Study Intro Activity Where do they begin? Start here! Each lesson begins with an experience to help students launch into the Core Concept for the week. Core Concepts Every lesson has a core concept which includes a one-sentence main lesson idea and key word(s) with a definition to help students further their vocabulary and understanding. Core Content The Bible Study begins with a Scripture passage. Don t skip this. Always have your students start with reading God s Word first. Next, read through the study. Core Verse(s) The core verse serves as the focal point for the lesson. As students are exploring the Bible study content, have them read the context of the passage, or even memorize the verse. Questions After students have read through the study material, they have the chance to further reflect on the topic. These questions can be the basis for a small group discussion. Have your students begin or build on the practice of spending time reading and studying God s Word every day. Like what you see? Use lessons like this from Disciples for your entire ministry year. Buy one resource and get 32 weeks for less than your monthly coffee (or energy drink) budget! Check out the full list of resources online. Visit AwanaYM.org/Disciples

2 sin Think about the last sporting event you watched. Did you notice the emotions and reactions of the players, coaches, or spectators? Sometimes competition can be ruthless, or use passive resistance as a way of manipulation. How natural was it to see an edge that tears people down instead of building them up? As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Romans 3:10-12 read Romans 3:9-31. What s one thing that unites all of humanity? It s something we all have in common, no matter our race, gender, IQ, or favorite video game. We are all under sin together. Every one of us (with one obvious and crucial exception). In Romans 3, Paul really wants us all of us to understand how hopeless our situation is, how completely trapped we are by our own sinfulness. It s not just the bad things we sometimes do. Sin is embedded into our hearts from the moment we re born. So what is sin? Paul describes it as our universal nature to turn away from God and serve ourselves no matter who gets hurt. And though this sinfulness is inside of us, it comes out through our bodies. Paul shows how sin involves our mouths, our limbs, and our eyes. We think our willingness to hurt and hate will somehow help us get what we want, but instead we are miserable. Our sin prevents us from ever finding peace. Mankind is broken due to the effects of sin. sin: Our desire to be God, to replace Him Finally, we look at God without fear, meaning we don t respect Him or care what He thinks or wants us to do. We demand to run our lives our way. That s sin. Paul s picture of humanity is bleak, isn t it? Sin owns us. We can t do any good in the eyes of God. We re doomed. But that s not the end of the story, is it? God has provided a solution for our sin problem through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (v. 22). God offers to take Jesus death as the payment for our sins and to give us credit for the sinless, righteous life Jesus lived. Only God s free gift of grace can rescue us from our desperate situation. As we accept His gift by placing our faith and trust in Jesus, God invites us out of the darkness of our sin and into the light and freedom of a loving relationship with Him.

3 How would you define sin? awanaym.org Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide Awana Clubs International

4 preparation >> Lesson Objectives >> Students will know the destructive nature of sin. Students will know that sin is more than bad choices or mistakes, but a brokenness that cannot be escaped. Write your own: Mankind is broken due to the effects of sin. SIN: Our desire to be God, to replace Him core content >> From student bible study read Romans 3:9-31. What s one thing that unites all of humanity? It s something we all have in common, no matter our race, gender, nationality, religion, worldview, or favorite video game. We are all under sin together. Everyone of us. In every corner of the globe. On every page of history. (with one obvious and crucial exception). In Romans 3, Paul really wants us all of us to understand how hopeless our situation is, how completely trapped we are by our own sinfulness. It s not just the bad things we sometimes do. Sin is embedded into our hearts from the moment we re born. To make the point, he builds that ugly poem in verses from six Old Testament passages in Psalms and Isaiah. He wants to make sure his Jewish readers know this is coming from their Scripture, from the very Word of God. So what is sin? Paul describes it as our universal nature to look away from God and serve ourselves no matter who gets hurt. It s worse, even, than just making a choice to do bad things. We don t even have the ability to do good on our own. We don t want to and we can t. Period. And though this sinfulness is inside of us, it comes out through our bodies. Using the Scriptures, Paul shows how sin involves our mouths, our limbs, and our eyes (vv ). We use the power of our words to create death instead of life, to lie to each other, to curse each other, to break relationships. Romans 3:10-12 As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. We use our feet to carry the destructive power of our sinfulness from place to place, spreading it everywhere we go. We think our willingness to hurt and kill will somehow help us get what we want, but instead we are miserable. Our sin prevents us from ever finding peace. Finally, we look at God without fear, meaning we don t respect Him or care, really, what He thinks or wants us to do. We demand to run our lives our way. That s sin. Some of Paul s Jewish readers made the mistake of thinking that they didn t have to worry about sin because God had given them the Law. Paul said they were wrong: The Law had revealed just how sinful they were because nobody could keep the Law. The Law wasn t going to save anyone from their sin (v. 20). Paul s picture of humanity is bleak, isn t it? It may be the darkest view of human nature in any philosophy of his time or ours. Sin owns us. We can t be righteous (good in the eyes of God). The Law can t make us righteous. And nothing unrighteous can ever be with God. We re doomed. But that s not the end of the story, is it? God made a way for human beings to be made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (v. 22). God offers to take Jesus death as the payment for our sins and to give us credit for the sinless, righteous life Jesus lived. Only that gift of grace can make us righteous. Only God s grace through faith in Jesus can rescue us from our sin.

5 interaction >> time: minutes INTERACTION >> Here are three suggestions for engaging your students. Use the open space below to write out your plans. GAME 1: Aliens vs. Predators (See AwanaYM Game Book, page 6, for materials list and how to play. ) what do you need? Make a list of everything you need so you don t forget anything. GAME 2: Rope Roundup (See AwanaYM Game Book, page 79, for materials list and how to play.) service project: Laundry service You might have the blessing of having a washer and dryer in your home. Your students might have one as well. It s a very modern and standard appliance in most homes. However, there are people who spend several evenings or even an entire day at a laundry facility. In the summer, the laundromat can be hot. In the winter, it can be cold. Parents have to balance corralling the kids while sorting, washing, and folding. It can be expensive as well. Let s plan on serving them and being a blessing to help them wipe those stains away. Pick a laundry facility and pay for all the wash for an entire day, morning, or afternoon. Plan games for the kids that come and provide refreshments for everyone. Have a couple of your students provide full wash and fold service for everyone who comes in the door. It will be hard work. However, it will be a great lesson on what Jesus has done for us. And it will be a huge blessing in the lives of the people who walk through that laundromat door. You plan it What are you going to do tonight? >> TIME: transition >> Video clip Skit Mixer Worship Minutes Announcements: What one or two important things do the students need to know before they leave tonight?

6 large group >> time: minutes INTRODUCTION >> TIME: (Based on the students intro experience) Minutes This week the students played a game with their friends, watching for how sin and brokenness hide just under the surface. Play Don t Laugh (page 35 in the AwanaYM Game Book) with a couple of students, but you be the comedian. Pay attention to people s emotions and reactions. Keep an eye out for the foul, the trick, or the deception. Did you or the students try to trick, foul, or manipulate the game in any way? Optional transition >> teaching notes: When did you first realize you were a sinner? sin

7 large group >> As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Romans 3:10-12 SHARE A STORY >> Storyteller: (Someone who can tell a great story about the time when they first realized they were a sinner) Tell your story by answering these four questions. 1. What were the circumstances that tempted you to sin? 2. What was going through your mind and heart during these circumstances? 3. When did you realize that what you did was a sin? 4. How did you react after you realized your sin? teaching notes:

8 large group >> CORE content outline >> Misconception: Sin is simply bad choices or mistakes that I make. There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. Ecclesiastes 7:20 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men s bones and everything unclean. Matthew 23:27 But the LORD said to Samuel, Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 For further study, check out these verses: Genesis 3, Leviticus 4:3, Romans 5: RESPONSE >> Just because sin is an inevitable reality of every person s life does not leave him or her without guilt or blame for that sin. We are still responsible for the sin in our lives. Remind students that there is freedom from sin when they trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sin. Give your students an invitation to receive the gift of eternal life through a gospel presentation. teaching notes: Illumination: All of mankind is infected with sin. It affects everything we encounter. It impacts all of our interactions as well as our thoughts. We cannot get away from it. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:45 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 1 John 3:9 Tell your students that to ignore the issues of sin will bring devastating consequences. It s like ignoring a leaking dam. One day the dam will break and it will be too late. Ask them to think about whether they are ignoring and leaving a sin unchecked in their lives.

9 small group >> time: minutes FACILITATION HELP: don t hog the mic! Part of being a good discussion leader is making sure you, the adult, do not spend the entire time talking. Once you ask a question, don t rush in to answer your own question just because the room is silent. Silence can be a good thing. It means your students are thinking about what you just asked. Give them a few moments to process, and then wait for them to reply. If they cannot answer your question, try to rephrase it or make it personal for them. The truth is that these students have something to say. Keep them on track but don t take over the discussion. ESSENTIALS QUESTION: How would you define sin? STUDENT DISCUSSION 1: Are some sins worse than others? Why or why not? (1 John 5:16-17, Mark 3:28-29, John 19:11) Mankind is broken due to the effects of sin.

10 small group >> STUDENT DISCUSSION 2: Why does Paul choose passages from Psalms and Isaiah to prove his point in verses 10-18? Jewish teachers frequently cited passages from the Hebrew Scriptures to prove their point. In referencing a particular verse, they were also calling attention to the whole passage. Check out these passages in Psalms and Isaiah to gain further insight into what Paul was saying. STUDENT DISCUSSION 3: What metaphors or concepts help you understand your sinfulness? (For example, dirty water, disease, fire, or broken plates. See fallingplates.com * ). * References to websites and resources not created by Awana are for your information and are not necessarily an endorsement of content. Drop The Mic >> Conclude your discussion with: ACTION PLAN: How do you plan to think and act differently? FINAL REFLECTION: Sin is an unavoidable reality of our human nature. No matter what we do or don t do, we are infected with sin and the only thing that can redeem us is putting our trust and faith in Jesus Christ. FINAL QUESTION: What sin are you struggling with in your life?

11 evaluation >> want to know more? check out this book! Making Sense of Man and Sin, by Wayne Grudem* disciples.awanaym.org/library *References to websites and resources not created by Awana are for your information and are not necessarily an endoursement of content. Evaluation >> What went well... what didn t go so well? Record how the night went and spend some time as a leadership team discussing this on a regular basis. Continual evaluation helps to refine what you do and continues to help make this the best night of your student s week. preparation interaction large group Follow Up >> Sometimes it s hard to remember all the prayer requests and things going on in the lives of students. Use this space to record prayer requests, students contact information, meeting times, and information. Or use it for your students to copy down when their next game or concert will be. date: Name Requests/Events/Contact Info small group awanaym.org Scriptures taken Scriptures from taken the Holy from Bible, the New Holy Bible, International New International Version, NIV Version., NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, Copyright 1984 by Biblica, 1973, Inc. 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by by permission of of Zondervan. All All rights reserved worldwide Awana Clubs International

12 parent guide summary: We hit the ground running in this first week of Journey: Disciples talking about sin. In Romans 3, Paul really wants us all of us to understand how hopeless our situation is, how completely trapped we are by our own sinfulness. It s not just the bad things we sometimes do. Sin is embedded into our hearts from the moment we re born. As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Romans 3:10-12 Lesson 1.1: Sin scripture: Romans 3:9-31 discussion questions: Talk to me about the most interesting thing you learned from this week s lesson. What is so destructive about sin? When did you realize that you were a sinner? But that s not the end of the story, is it? God made a way for human beings to be made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (v. 22). God offers to take Jesus death as the payment for our sins and to give us credit for the sinless, righteous life Jesus lived. Mankind is broken due to the effects of sin. Sin: Our desire to be God, to replace Him Do you feel like sin is weighing you down? Have you felt the relief of Jesus forgiveness? Describe your next steps based on what you ve learned. How can I help? niv 2016 Awana Clubs International