MINNESOTA STUDENT MINISTRIES DATE: Oct 25 Nov 15 SERIES: MVMNT

Transcription

1 MINNESOTA STUDENT MINISTRIES DATE: Oct 25 Nv 15 SERIES: MVMNT WEEK 1 // OCT 25: FOLLOWERS OF JESUS // Chsing t spend time with Jesus. Jhn 12:26 WEEK 2 // NOV 1: DISCIPLES OF JESUS // Trusting leaders t invest in yur spiritual jurney. Heb 13:7 WEEK 3 // NOV 8: APOSTLES OF JESUS // Living in bedience t reach the wrld. Acts 9:15 WEEK 4 // NOV 15: CELEBRATE // 321 Challenge Night! 1 f 6

2 WEEK 1 // OCT 25: FOLLOWERS OF JESUS SCRIPTURE // Anyne wh wants t be my disciple must fllw me, because my servants must be where I am. Jhn 12:26 NLT (Insert a persnal stry abut when yu first cmmitted t spending time with Christ) I remember being n a yuth grup vernight trip and feeling s spiritually empty at the same time. I was s frustrated because I knew s much abut Jesus, but it just didn t seem genuine. I headed alne t the htel lbby with my Bible and just began t read it. I remember reading verse after verse cnfirming that Gd was real and that He had a purpse fr me. It was frm that pint n I decided t fllw Jesus, and I will never turn back. We really can t get t knw smebdy if we dn t spend time with them. We might knw Lebrn James plays fr the Cavs and is ne f the greatest athletes in the wrld, but nne f us culd prbably tell a stry frm his childhd r really describe what he s like. It s because we haven t spent time with him. Similarly, we might be able t tell recite sme facts abut Jesus, but cmpletely miss knwing wh He is. In the same way, we need t spend time with Him. Years befre Peter, James, Jhn and the rest f the disciples were knwn as apstles and began a mvement that changed the wrld, they each respnded t a challenge frm Jesus t fllw Him. Jhn 1:43 says, The next day Jesus decided t g t Galilee. He fund Philip and said t him, Cme, fllw me. As fllwers f Christ they learned t trust Gd, understand His purpse and act in bedience t establish a church that has nw grwn beynd what they culd ever have imagined yet in its mst basic frm, fllwing Jesus simply meant spending time with Him.. walking with Him. Jesus is calling yu t fllw Him, t spend time with Him, and get t knw wh He is and the plans He has fr yur life. Jhn 12:26 says, Anyne wh wants t be my disciple must fllw me, because my servants must be where I am. Maybe Yuth Cnventin was the first time yu decided t fllw Jesus. Or maybe yu ve been ging t church since yu were brn. It desn t matter where yu are in the jurney, because the challenge is the same, Cme, fllw me. Or in anther way, Cme, spend time with me. Gd is calling all f us the same way, but hw will we respnd? What will it take fr us t spend time with Jesus? We first need t decide t d it. (Reference yur pening stry) My life was changed the mment I decided t spend time simply reading my Bible in the htel lbby as a teen. We then need t read ur Bible and pray. It sunds t simple, yet it s the key t life. Which is why they teach us as kids t sing, Ready yur Bible and pray every day and yu ll grw, grw, grw. Imagine what culd happen if we all chse t fllw Jesus like the disciples did. It wuld start a mvement in ur church and schl that culd frever impact ur cmmunity. (Leaders, take time t share practical things yur yuth grup and church uses t encurage Bible reading and prayer like SOAP, daily devtinal apps, prayer guides and ther resurces. Make sure these resurces are ready t be handed ut r shared) SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION // 1. Why is it imprtant t spend time with Gd? 2. When is the best time f the day fr yu t spend time with Gd? 3. Hw can we help each ther stay cnsistent? 2 f 6

3 WEEK 2 // NOV 1: DISCIPLES OF JESUS SCRIPTURE // Remember yur leaders, thse wh spke t yu the wrd f Gd. Cnsider the utcme f their way f life, and imitate their faith. Hebrews 13:7 ESV (Insert a persnal stry abut f smene wh invested in yu t help yu becme a better athlete, musician, etc.) When I was in 4 th grade I really wanted t play the drums but my mm tld me I had t take a cuple f years f pian lessns first t learn sme music thery and hw ntes and rhythm wrks. The next step was t find smene wh culd wrk with me in my limited skill set. I had t find a patient, talented teacher. S we did sme checking and fund a lady wh had experience wrking with beginning music students and was clse t ur hme. She was always patient and kind and I learned a lt frm her. Over time my desire t play drums went away but I remember hw imprtant it was fr me t have a teacher wh culd help me becme the musician I desired t be. She mdeled the drive, talent and practice it wuld take t be the best I culd be. Think abut peple in ur lives wh have invested in helping us grw. Maybe it s a teacher, a cach, a mentr wh challenges us t grw and becme better. We have been talking abut Mvement. A mvement requires actin and the ability t grw. If we are ging t have a mvement that changes this wrld we need t be willing t grw as disciples. This will require us t have thers farther ahead f us in the jurney t invest in us. These spiritual leaders will als need t release yu t g and try t d the things Gd has been speaking t yu t d. After we becme fllwers f Jesus the next step is fr us t becme disciples f Jesus. Discipleship is the prcess f becming mre like Jesus. As we becme disciples we d the things Jesus did, we say the things Jesus said. We invite thers t jin us t reach mre peple. Jesus mdeled this very thing in Luke 10:1-9 >> Read the passage In Luke 10 we see Jesus has invested in His disciples and He nw releases them t g d the things He has been teaching. Disciples dn t just talk abut it, they start living it ut. Hw are yu currently grwing as a disciple f Jesus? Reading yur Bible, praying, and giving t STL are great ways t live ut yur faith, but we als need t g ut and reach thers. Disciples have the gal f helping thers becme like their master, their teacher. Disciples f Jesus shuld be mtivated t help as many ther peple knw Jesus, that s truly why we are giving and why we are sacrificing during this mnth fr STL. A mvement grws when peple wrk twards a gal bigger than themselves. We need peple arund us wh will challenge us t grw. Wh is investing in yur spiritual jurney? Read Hebrews 13:7 ESV >> dn t g at yur faith alne, find thers t invest in yu! S tnight, lk at where yu are at in yur faith. Are yu a disciple wh is grwing nt just in understanding, but in als ding smething with yur faith s thers can jin in the mvement? Jesus said the harvest is large but the wrkers are few, are yu ready t jin in a greater way? As yu raise funds this mnth yu are als helping thse wrkers acrss the wrld reach peple! Find smene wh yu trust wh will help yu grw and mdel a life a faith fr yu! As we d this we culd change a schl, change a twn, change the wrld fr Jesus. Are yu ready and willing t be a bigger part f smething greater than yurselves? Take the next step tnight get invlved in a small grup, campus club, discipleship grup! Clse in Prayer (Give pprtunity fr salvatin and maybe even have a list f leaders pen t discipling students that yu culd have students cnnect with that night) SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION // 1. What adult has invested in yu and hw have they dne it? 2. What is the imprtance f having smene invest in ur spiritual lives? 3. What culd happen if we all cmmitted t living ut what we believe? 3 f 6

4 WEEK 3 // NOV 8: APOSTLES OF JESUS SCRIPTURE // G! This man is my chsen instrument t prclaim my name t the Gentiles and their kings and t the peple f Israel. Acts 9:15 (Share a persnal stry f a time where bedience t Gd led t an impactful mment.) One summer at Lake Geneva, I felt Gd speak t me during the altar time. I had been praying up frnt when Gd tld me t leave where I was and start walking. He tld me t keep mving until I had reached the ppsite back crner f the rm. When I gt there I lked arund and saw a camper I had previusly cunseled. I went and sat dwn by him and asked if I culd pray. He lked really shcked when I sat dwn. After I gt dne praying he said that he had just tld Gd that If yu are real, I want my cunselr frm last year t cme and find me and pray fr me. I was blwn away by hw Gd had just spken t me and used me. I was s glad I had beyed! There are many times we dubt that it was Gd speaking t us. We might think we re just making things up in ur head. Yet Gd has a purpse fr each f us. He wants t send us ut t reach this wrld and we have t learn t listen when He speaks. Imagine if everyne n a ftball team decided they wanted t run a different play? Or if all the emplyees in McDnalds wanted t make their wn sandwiches instead f the regular menu? It is imprtant that we knw wh ur leader is, we trust that they will lead us in the best directin, and we bey when they give us directin. It is imprtant that we bey when Gd is speaking t us because we never knw the pssible utcme f what Gd is asking us t d. After Jesus had gne back t heaven, the early church was starting t frm. It was grwing and the disciples were nw becming knwn as apstles. An apstle is smene wh has been sent ut.. Smene wh has been given a missin t reach peple fr Christ. The church was grwing, but there were peple lking fr ways t stp this new mvement. A man named Saul was persecuting Christians when Jesus appeared t him in a bright light. Saul became blind frm this encunter. Jesus tld him t g int the city f Damascus and wait. In Damascus was a disciple named Ananias, and Gd spke t him. (Read Acts 9:10-19) Ananias didn t want t pray fr Saul because he was scared f him, and rightfully s! But he had n idea the impact that his bedience wuld have nt just n him, but n the entire wrld! Saul changed his name and became knwn as the Apstle Paul and then wrte ver a dzen bks frm the New Testament! He shwed us what it meant t be sent ut as an apstle (r missinary) in his travels. He is ne f the mst influential and imprtant Christians t have been alive. And it maybe wuldn t have happened at all if Ananias didn t bey Gd. It can be hard t tell if Gd is speaking t yu. The first thing we have t d if we want t hear his vice is take time t listen. We have t remve distractins and give him a chance t speak. The mre we listen fr his vice and step ut in faith, the mre we will recgnize his vice. Gd wants t send yu ut like an apstle and use yu t reach yur friends and family. But he can t d that if yu wn t bey what he asks yu t d. As fllwers and disciples f Jesus, we need t listen and bey the cmmands he gives us like Ananias and the apstles. If we d that, we culd see lives arund us changed. What is he speaking t yu tnight? Has He previusly asked yu t d things yu haven t fllwed thrugh n and yu need t g back and d? Just like Ananias, yu never knw the cnsequences f yu nt fllwing thrugh n what Gd is asking. Clse with a time where students can listen fr Gd s vice. Have leaders psitined t pray with the students and help discern what they are hearing. SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION // 1. Hw wuld yu have reacted if yu were in the same situatin as Ananias? 2. When was a time yu felt Gd was asking yu t g and d smething? 3. Why is it imprtant fr us t d what He s called us t d? 4 f 6

5 WEEK 4 // NOV 15: CELEBRATE (Last year we chse t use One Night as a strategic utreach fr students in ur cmmunity. We tk the ffering during wrship s the mney culd be cunted and message culd be directed t the nn-believers in the rm.) Nt nly did ur yuth students give thusands f dllars t change peple arund the wrld, but we saw 50 teenagers give their hearts t Gd in ur wn cmmunity in ne service. This is the perspective f the Celebrate Night Message that fllws.) SCRIPTURE // Thrugh [Jesus] we all receive gifts f grace beynd ur imaginatin. Jhn 1:16 The past mnth we have been talking abut BELIEVING that we are Gd s masterpiece, TRUSTING Gd s plans and PURSUING the unknwn adventure that He has fr ur lives. And tnight we get t CELEBRATE all that Gd has dne. (Insert a persnal stry abut a celebratin mment in yur life) Last year my grandmther turned 100 years ld. 100! That s an entire century f legacy. We threw her a huge party and flew in family frm arund the cuntry because a milestne like that is wrth celebrating! We lve t celebrate gd times. We lve t celebrate wins. And we shuld, these are mile markers in ur lives. Yur parents prbably celebrated when yu slept thrugh the night fr the first time They certainly cheered when yu finally were ptty trained (well, mst f yu ) It was a great day when yu finally finished elementary schl When yu scred yur first gal, r sang yur first sl, r landed yur first kick flip. While sme victries are a part f grwing up, mst are achieved thrugh hard wrk and practice. Sme f yu have wrked s diligently and sacrificed s much ver the last few weeks and we want t celebrate that tnight. Cnsider having sme student testimnies f what Gd did thrugh the 321 Challenge. Vince Lmbardi says it this way, I firmly believe that any man s finest hur, the greatest fulfillment f all that he hlds dear, is that mment when he has wrked his heart ut in a gd cause and lies exhausted n the field f battle victrius. As we are listening t these stries f sacrifice, sme f yu may be wndering, why wuld anyne wrk s hard r give s much up fr peple that they will never knw? Sme f us in this rm wuld never use the wrds church and celebrate in the same sentence. Yu might have grwn up with a very religius mindset f Gd: Gd is all abut rules Gd is n fun He s mad at me fr the way I m living If Gd really lved me, my life wuldn t be the way it is N matter what yur image f Gd has been in the past, the truth is this: Gd Celebrates Yu!! Gd knws everything abut yu, lves yu deeply, and wants a persnal relatinship with yu. Jesus wants t empwer yu t live the life yu were created fr a life beynd yur dreams. Thrugh [Jesus] we all receive gifts f grace beynd ur imaginatin. Jhn 1:16 This is the ne decisin that yu cannt wrk fr, practice fr, sacrifice fr, r earn. Everything has already been dne fr yu thrugh Jesus. As much as we ve sacrificed the past few weeks fr peple we dn t knw, Jesus knew every detail abut yu and still chse t give up everything t have a relatinship with yu. The questin is, what will yu d with this great sacrifice that Jesus made can yu g beynd yur image f Gd yur past hurts yur desire t d life yur wn way and chse t allw Gd int yur life? Gd wants t take yu beynd what yu thught was pssible and change wh yu are frm the inside ut. Scripture says when ne persn asks Gd int their life, all f heaven celebrates. (Luke 15:7) SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION // Celebrate!!! 5 f 6

6 Practical Celebratin Ideas: Last year we did a stick stmp with sme f ur leaders if yu have anyne that might be rhythmic! In the past we have dne the entire night in black light befre. We gave ut glw-sticks t everyne and tld ur leaders t wear shirts apprpriate fr black light. We had different numbers spray painted n bxes. These were just cardbard bxes that we painted black and then spray-painted randm nen numbers n. When we annunced ur ttal, we started with the cents t build it up mre. It lked smething like this: , , A few things we typically d include: Firewrks (yu may need t disable yur sprinkler system fr this and get fans!) Smke cannns (here s a link t hw t build this simple, awesme additins) Cnfetti (we literally just chp up a tn f clred paper and use fans r leaf blwers t dispense it frm the tp f the rm) Balln drp (always fun and easy, yu can make yur wn with a tarp cheaper than buying ne) We added tilet paper leaf blwers last year. Here s a link t making them: Beach balls are great t thrw arund during celebratin time t If yu have access t liquid nitrgen, we made an explsin using the clrful plastic ball-pit balls and it was awesme! Here s a link t the way t d it: We try t read ff the ttals f ther yuth grups as they cme acrss the chatline Lud music (live is always best if pssible) We have pizza fr all the students at the end f the night s celebratin If yu have the Square App- USE IT!! Leaders can give thrugh this. 6 f 6