Lesson 16 One Life: Live With No Regrets Scope and Sequence Doctrinal Truth: Theology Future Lesson Objective Students will be motivated by the Rapture to live life with no regrets. Sticky Statement Live with no regrets. Key Verses Titus 2:12-13 Definitions Imminent: ready to take place Rapture: to snatch up or take away believers, both living and dead, to meet the Lord Jesus in the air and return with Him to Heaven Checklist 1. A PowerPoint is available for this lesson. 2. The Don t Text and Drive PSA video: https://teachersource.wol.org/resource/sbs18/16-1/ (1:01) 3. The Are You Ready? video: https://teachersource.wol.org/resource/sbs18/16-2/ (2:07) Resources 1. A L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology, WM Beerdmans Pub, Grand Rapids, MI 1939, 695 2. Charles Ryrie, Basic Theology, Victor Books, Wheaton, IL 1986, 462-463 3. Williams Evans, The Great Doctrines of the Bible, Moody Press, Chicago 1974 4. Mike Bere, Bible Doctrines for Today, Abeka Books, Pensacola FL 1988 One Life Page 155
Lesson Overview Regret means a negative, emotional response to past actions or behaviors that leaves you feeling shameful, embarrassed, depressed, annoyed, or guilty. The Rapture, the Next Big Event Rapture means to snatch up or take away believers, both living and dead, to meet the Lord Jesus in the air and return with Him to Heaven. I. The Next Big Event is Inevitable A. It is a Promise. B. It is a Picture. II. The Next Big Event is Imminent. Imminent means ready to take place. A. It happens in a Moment. B. It is a Mystery. Live with no regrets. Hook How many of you have ever said something and regretted it? Maybe you barked at someone in haste or in frustration only to regret every word that spewed out of your mouth? Or worse, you posted it all over social media for everyone to read! The next day you found out you that you misunderstood what they said that made you mad. Later that night you lay in bed rehearsing what happened and how you regret every word you said but now it s too late and the damage is done. What are some things students do that cause regret? One Life Page 156
Teacher s Note: Allow the students some time to respond to this question. If no one chooses to respond, select a few from the list below to help them understand possible areas of regret. Be sure to use examples that would resonate with your group. You told your parents you hated them. You went to a party and drank alcohol and maybe even got drunk. You lost a good friend because you gossiped about them. You got in a bad accident because you were texting and driving. You cheated on a test knowing it was wrong. You lost your virginity. You sent someone an inappropriate picture of yourself and it got posted online. You looked at pornography and your parents found it on your ipad. You tried to outrun a cop and got arrested. You didn t witness to your grandpa before he passed away. You didn t fill out the paperwork for a college scholarship and now you can t get it. You chose to play video games instead of studying and now you have to repeat 8 th grade. Why do students choose to do or not do these things that cause regret? Possible answers might be: 1. They felt like it. 2. They didn t think about the consequences. 3. They didn t care if it s wrong or not good for them because they liked it. 4. They caved to the peer pressure. 5. They didn t realize the feelings of regret they would get. We can all agree that we have either done or said something we regret; or we didn t do something that we now regret. In either case, we know what it is like to live with regrets. People live with regret much too often. Some regret the words they expressed; others regret something they did in the past, or something they wish they had done. Bottom line: people make bad decisions and regret grips their hearts. It has been said that regret squeezes the juice out of life and leaves you dry. Regret means a negative, emotional response to past actions or behaviors that leaves you feeling shameful, embarrassed, depressed, annoyed, or guilty. Can living with regret actually be avoided? Is it really possible to live with no regret? The answer is YES! Now understand, we can't control the circumstances or situations that happen as a result of our choices, but we can control our choices. The real question is, are you making the right choices? Let s illustrate this point. Let s say you get in an accident on your way home and you total your car. You were going home the same way you always go. Are you going to regret your choice to go home that same way, or wish you had gone another way? No! It was an accident. Let s say however, that you decided to text and drive when you were driving home and you got in an accident and totaled your car. Would you regret your choice to text and drive? Yes! Why? Because it was an unwise choice. One Life Page 157
Teacher s Note: Show video called https://teachersource.wol.org/resource/sbs18/16-1/ Don t Text and Drive PSA (1:01) The girl texting and driving didn t give much attention or concern to what might happen. Do you think she would have texted if she knew she would drift into the other lane and crash head-on with the other family? Of course not! Do you think she lives with regret (if she lived)? Of course. When we make decisions, even mundane, daily decisions, without considering the possible ramifications we are more likely to experience regret. Too many of us live life making decisions without thinking about the lasting results. We get focused on the immediate satisfaction, entangled in the web of selfish gratification, and ignore any possible ramifications of our decisions. How can you avoid making decisions that could lead to regret? To do this, you need to shift your focus away from the immediate satisfaction and gratification of what you want now, and focus on the delayed satisfaction (Romans 8:18) and gratification of doing what God wants. God knew this was going to not only be difficult, but also be against our human nature. Knowing this, God gave us a promise to focus on. It is a big event to anticipate with great excitement. This promise gives us hope that we don t live like everyone else but we live for something bigger than ourselves. This big event is the promise of His return, the Rapture. The Rapture motivates us as believers to focus on living this life looking for the promise of Christ s return, not on the self-centered feelings or desires we have right now. The result is living with no regrets. Lesson Content The Rapture, the Next Big Event Take your Bible and turn to 1 Thessalonians 5:6 and let s read it together. In this verse we are instructed as believers to watch! Watch for what? The answer is found in the previous chapter, 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18. [Have a student read 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18.] This passage introduces us to a great doctrinal truth; an event that is yet to happen called the Rapture. The Rapture means to snatch up or take away believers, both living and dead, to meet the Lord Jesus in the air and return with Him to Heaven. Jesus is coming back. According to God s timeline, the Rapture is the next big event. Understanding the Rapture should motivate you to live with no regrets. What recent event or concert could you not wait to go to? [Let students share answers.] What did you do to get ready for this event or concert days or weeks leading up to it? Teacher s Note: Possible answers: Bought a ticket, tried not to get sick, put it on your calendar, behaved so you wouldn t get grounded, made a countdown on your phone, tweeted your excitement, etc. One Life Page 158
The anticipation leading up to the event or concert is great, and you wouldn t dare do anything that would keep you from going. You are on your best behavior days leading up to it. It's all you talk about with your friends. You simply can t wait! The anticipation is killing you. The event or concert is actually motivating you to make good decisions and be on your best behavior, so that you won t regret missing it. On a greater scale, the anticipation for the Rapture should motivate us to make wise decisions and be on our best behavior. Although the Rapture is alluded to in multiple verses, there are three main passages of Scripture that help us understand this next big event. The first passage we will look at is 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. [Have student read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.] A truth we learn from this passage is the Rapture is inevitable. I. The Next Big Event is Inevitable Mark it down, the Rapture will happen! We don't know when but we know it will happen because it is a promise. A. It is a Promise. The Rapture is certain. It is a sure thing! The Apostle Paul tells us in verse 13, not to be ignorant concerning the Rapture. It is the next big event that will happen. God promised it based on His very own words in verse 15. What can be surer than the very words of God? You can trust Him and bank on what He says. Still not sure the Rapture is inevitable? How about verse 16? We are told that the Lord Himself shall come down from Heaven! Wow! This big event is so important that Jesus Himself is coming. He s not sending an angel to come get us, He s coming for us. Now, if Jesus Himself promised He is coming, you can be sure He is. The Rapture is inevitable because it is a promise. The Rapture is not only a promise, it is also a beautiful picture of God s mercy and grace. B. It is a Picture. In Ephesians 5:25-27, the church is described as the Bride of Christ. Let s read this passage. [Have a student read Ephesians 5:25-27.] Christ loves His church which He calls His bride! How many of you have been to a wedding? How excited do you think the bride and groom were on that day? Leading up to that special day is great anticipation. Some of the girls here have already day-dreamed about that day. Girls, you will spend months preparing for this special day, and you will do all you can to look your best on that day. Guys, you too will look your best on that day and you will stand in front with great anticipation for your bride to come down the aisle. One Life Page 159
When Jesus comes at the Rapture, He s not coming incognito, stealthy, or quietly. He s coming for His church with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trumpet of God! Jesus is not ashamed of His church. Why is He coming? He is coming to remove His church before God s judgment comes. Throughout the Scriptures, God removes the righteous before judgment. Think about it! When God sent judgment to the earth with a flood, He removed Noah and his family from the waters of judgment. When God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, He removed Lot. God s pattern is to remove the righteous before His judgment. God is a loving, merciful, and gracious God! God s future judgment is coming upon this earth and He will remove His church prior to that judgment because of His mercy and grace. Have you experienced God s mercy and grace in your life? You can experience His mercy and grace tonight by placing your faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus paid for your sin on the cross and He offers you forgiveness. Please let us know if you would like to discuss how you can have your sin forgiven and experience the mercy and grace of God. The Rapture is inevitable: it is going to happen. Are you ready? Are you anticipating the Rapture and is it motivating you to live with no regrets? You can t escape it and you can t stop it. You can only prepare for it! II. The Next Big Event is Imminent. Now take your Bibles and turn to 1 Corinthians 15:51-58. [Have a leader read 1 Corinthians 15:51-58.] Here in this passage we find another important truth used to explain the Rapture. It is imminent! Imminent means ready to take place. This means the Rapture can take place at any moment. Teacher s Note: Show the video, https://teachersource.wol.org/resource/sbs18/16-2/ Are You Ready? (2:06) How did that video make you feel? [Possible answers: scared, surprised, made me really think, etc.] In verse 52, how did Paul describe how the Rapture would take place? [Possible answers: in a moment, twinkling of an eye.] A. It happens in a Moment. A moment is a short period of time, an instant. That moment is described as a twinkling of an eye. Everyone, blink your eyes right now as fast as you can. When you blink your eyes, it takes just under half a second. That s pretty fast. A twinkle is a reflected particle of light seen in the eye. This twinkle travels at the speed of light, one billionth of a second. Now that s unbelievably fast! That is how fast the Rapture will happen. When you heard that your favorite music artist was coming to town and you wanted to attend the concert, you had time to prepare. You had time to sweet talk your parents into letting you go, be extra nice to your siblings, and show that you are behaving responsibly. That s all great until days after the concert when you slip back into your old ways. One Life Page 160
Since you know that the Rapture will happen, but don t know when, you need to always be prepared. Look at verse 51; how does the Apostle Paul describe the Rapture? Right. He describes it as a mystery. B. It is a Mystery. One reason the Rapture is described as a mystery is because although it could happen any moment, we don t know when it will happen. Even Jesus said that only the Father knows the hour in which it will happen (Acts 1:6-7). Many people have tried to predict when the Rapture would happen. One of the most famous people that has tried to predict the Day of the Lord is Harold Camping. He calculated and predicted the Lord s return to be May 21, 2011. When this day passed, he said he miscalculated and the day was actually October 21, 2011. Obviously he was wrong again. Harold Camping died in December of 2013, without the Rapture ever happening. The Rapture is a mystery. Don t try to predict it or follow anyone who does. It is unpredictable. Connection The Rapture should motivate the believer to live their life with no regrets. Remember the feeling of regret we talked about at the beginning of this lesson? We acknowledged that when we make a poor or wrong decision, regret can grip our hearts. If you were to Google, How to deal with regret, or ask a psychologist, you might find some practical advice. Advice like, learn to forgive because forgiveness will help you move forward. Maybe you'll be told to let go of negative feelings or be encouraged to find the lessons you can learn. Not bad advice, but rather than trying to learn how to deal with regret, wouldn't it be much better to live with no regrets? Well, you can! In several of the passages we just studied in this lesson, the Apostle Paul was using the truth of the Rapture to motivate the believers. Let s go to Titus 2:12-13. [Have a student read Titus 2:12-13.] What does the Apostle Paul exhort the believers to do? Teacher s Note: Possible answers: deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and live soberly, righteously, and godly. In other words, you are not supposed to pursue immediate satisfaction or selfish gratification, but rather purposefully and thoughtfully pursue godliness. Paul tells the believers what to do and then tells them how to do it in verse 13. What instruction does Paul give? He instructs believers to be looking for the blessed hope of Christ s return. In other words, get your focus off of the false happiness this world offers you and place it on the lasting hope that God gives you. Every decision or choice you make in life will have a consequence, whether small or great. The Rapture should motivate you to live a godly life by making biblical decisions or choices. Remember the list we made of things students do that lead to regret? Every one of those decisions that caused regret could be avoided. One Life Page 161
Here is what it looks like. When you are anticipating the next big event (Christ coming back for you) your focus moves to this hope of meeting your Savior. You begin to live for something much greater than yourself. Your decisions become less about what satisfies you and more about what pleases God. This is what it looks like. Remember the things we discussed that students do that cause regret? Let s apply this truth to these decisions. Teacher s Note: Use the chart (located at the end of this lesson) as a guide. Be sure to use the same examples that you used above to show the students how they could please God instead. If possible, revisit the ideas listed by the students and show how they could have chosen to please God instead. The purpose is to show that living in view of the promised rapture helps us make godly decisions, like we have discussed. Regret can be avoided in your life. If you live your life realizing that Jesus could come back at any moment then you should be motivated to make decisions that leave no regrets whether it is something you did or something you wish you had done. Here are some questions you can ask yourself that will help you learn to live with the Rapture in mind as you make daily decisions. 1. Is this decision wise or foolish? 2. If I decide to do this, would Jesus be pleased or would I have regrets? 3. If I decide not to do this, would Jesus be pleased or would I have regrets? 4. Would I want to be doing this if Jesus came back right now? 5. Is this hindering me from being ready for when Christ comes back? Did you know that the Apostle Paul was motivated by the Rapture? Turn to Philippians 3:14 and let s read it. Paul was a focused individual. He was consumed with living for God and focusing on his Savior. Now let s read verses 20-21. What kept Paul focusing on his Savior? The truth that Jesus was coming back. The anticipation of Christ s return gave Paul hope that God would keep His promise to come get him and change him. Paul wanted to be ready and have no regrets when he saw his Savior face-to-face. Paul didn t know when Jesus was coming but he knew that Jesus said to be ready because no one knows the hour of His coming (Matthew 24:44). If Jesus came back this hour, would you be ready? Decision We can all live with no regrets if we allow the imminent return of Christ to motivate us to make wise decisions that pursue godliness and focus on what is important. If we do, we are all on our way to living with no regrets. Are you willing to filter every decision you make through the reality that Jesus could come back at any moment so that you choose the right decision that would leave no regrets? How can you keep the return of Christ in your mind so it will motivate you to make better decisions? One Life Page 162
Tonight, I want to ask you to take a simple and very practical step to helping yourself remember that Jesus Christ is coming back. If you have a smart phone, a tablet, or computer, will you change your background to a picture that reminds you of the return of Jesus? If you really want to be bold, how about changing your profile picture on your favorite social media site to a meme that reminds you (and others) that Jesus could come back at any moment? Typically, your background or profile picture reflects something or someone that is important to you. Ask yourself, is living with no regrets important enough to me that I will highlight the return of Christ to help me to remember to make wise choices? Help remind yourself not to make decisions that you will regret by keeping the fact of Jesus return in front of your eyes. My challenge to you would be to keep that change for at least a week. When you return next week, be ready to share in your small group or with me how your decision making changed as a result of being aware of the imminent return of Jesus. Sticky Statement Live with no regrets Small Group Discussion Questions 1. Share something you have done or said that you regret. (Leaders, be sure to remind the students to share only what is appropriate knowing that regrets can be very serious. You might want to share one yourself of something you have done or said that caused you regrets.) 2. How can you avoid making decisions that could lead to regret? (Leaders, remind your students to shift their focus away from the immediate satisfaction and gratification of what they want now, and focus on the delayed satisfaction (Romans 8:18) and gratification of doing what God wants. Explain that maturity is the ability to think about consequences before acting on a decision.) 3. How can you be ready for the Rapture? (Leaders, this is a great opportunity to share the Gospel. Be sensitive to your group and be ready to talk one-on-one with a student that might need to receive Christ. Direct the students to acknowledge that they need to depend on God to help them live a life that is pleasing to Him.) 4. In light of the Rapture, what needs to change this week about the way you are living your life? (Leaders, the goal is for each student to name one thing that needs to change in their life. It might be their music choices, their bad language, their negative attitude, choice of friends, viewing habits, etc. It could also be an unforgiving spirit, jealousy, resentment, rebellion, etc.) One Life Page 163
Focus on what I want, my feelings of happiness: You told your parents you hated them. You went to a party and drank alcohol and maybe even got drunk. You lost a good friend because you gossiped about them. You got in a bad accident because you were texting and driving. You cheated on a test knowing it was wrong. You lost your virginity. You sent someone an inappropriate picture of yourself and it got posted online. You looked at pornography and your parents found it on your ipad. You tried to outrun a cop and got arrested. You didn t witness to your grandpa before he passed away. You didn t fill out the paperwork for a college scholarship and now you can t get it. You chose to play video games instead of studying and now you have to repeat 8th grade. Focus on what pleases God, His promise of hope: You respect your parents and show them God s love. You avoid the party and remove yourself from the temptation that could lead to sin. You encourage your friends and accept them as created by God. You wait to text because you value life and maturely thought through possible consequences. You studied hard doing your best for your Savior. You value your purity and wait for marriage because it is God s design for intimacy. You respect and value yourself as one created in God s image. You resist your lustful desires because you want God s blessing on your life. You obey the traffic laws and submitted to authority because obedience is important. You make the most of the opportunities God gives because you know life is short. You live with urgency because there is no time for laziness. You do your best for your Savior because He gave His best for you One Life Page 164