ANDY STANLEY COLLECTION BOTTOM LINE: THERE IS A DIRECT CONNECTION BETWEEN YOUR FAITH AND YOUR SERVE. INTRODUCTION Did you know that your spiritual growth is linked to your service? That s right. You get something out of filling that volunteer position in the nursery or children s ministry. You re not just doing a job, filling a slot you re growing. God uses that service to teach you something about Him and others. And even if you don t feel like you re the best person for the job, or if you wonder, Why am I doing this? God says that if you want to grow, you have to serve. WONDER. DISCOVERY. PASSION. WWW.WHATISORANGE.ORG/ XP3STUDENTS CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jared Herd WRITER Andy Stanley XP3 TEAM Tim Walker Sarah Anderson Sarah Bragg CONTRIBUTORS Mark Brown Laura Whelan Wyndi Lebrecque USER AGREEMENT The rethink Group, Inc. gladly grants permission to churches, schools and other licensees to tailor XP3 TM materials to fit their unique leadership requirements, locale and format preferences. However, if you wish to edit the content substantively, including teaching scripts, small group dialog and any other content in which biblical principles and concepts are presented, you are obligated to do so within the doctrinal guidelines we ve expressed in our Statement of Faith (see page 2). These resources are intended to be downloaded and printed for use by the subscribing entity only and may not be electronically transferred to or duplicated by other non-subscribing entities. Any unauthorized reproduction of this material or incorporation into a new work including podcasts or video of this content is a direct violation of U.S. copyright laws. 2010 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. XP3 and the XP3 logo are trademarks of The rethink Group, Inc. GRAPHICS Scott Bragg ORANGE SPECIALISTS Kristie McCollister Jeremy Zach TECHNICAL & WEB SUPPORT Hadley Brandt Alex VanRossum CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Reggie Joiner CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Reggie Goodin
STATEMENT OF FAITH ABOUT GOD God is the one and only true God, yet He exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. God is the Creator, so everything belongs to Him and is under His control. God is holy, so He is righteous, majestic and loving. God is all knowing and purposeful, so He s at work to bring about His will. No person, thing or idea compares to God. ABOUT THE SCRIPTURES God reveals Himself to us through the Bible, and it is 100% accurate, reliable and authoritative. ABOUT PEOPLE People are made in God s image and for His pleasure. But everybody falls short of God s intention, or ideal, for people. In other words, everyone has sinned. As a result, we are all separated from Him, even though He wants an intimate relationship with each of us. ABOUT SALVATION That s why Jesus, God s Son, came and lived on this earth, died and rose again. God offers His free gift of salvation to all who believe in Jesus and accept Him as Savior, the only way to be forgiven and reconciled to God. Anyone who accepts this gift is adopted as a son or daughter into God s family and will live with Him forever in heaven. Scripture marked NIV is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
CREATING THE ENVIRONMENT We believe that the set, stage, music and everything in your room communicates a message without you saying a word. That s why we put together a list of production ideas to help you set the stage for the session and the series. From the music you play when students come into the room to the worship set your band plays, we want to make sure that your room conveys Grow Up in a multi-sensory way. There is a downloadable checklist available in your series downloads that will give you all the elements for this session (and the entire series). BACKGROUND PLAYLIST FOR THE GROW UP SERIES Beautiful Mistake by Eddy (from Start An Uproar!) Gotta Serve Somebody by Nichole Nordeman (from Brave) You re Not Shaken by Phil Stacey (from Into the Light) Jump Then Fall by Taylor Swift (from Fearless) Walk On by U2 (from All That You Can t Leave Behind) Mamas Don t Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys by Willie Nelson (from Willie Nelson s Greatest Hits) Held by Natalie Grant (from Awaken) This Is Your Life by Switchfoot (from The Beautiful Letdown) Move Forward by Bethany Dillon (from Bethany Dillon) Calling All Angels by Train (from My Private Nation) We Never Change by Coldplay (from Parachutes) WORSHIP PLAYLIST FOR GROW UP SESSION 5 Micah 6:8 by Charlie Hall (from Flying Into Daybreak) We Unite by Elevation Worship (from God With Us) Awaken Us by Casey Darnell (from Words In Motion) Learn To Love by Leeland (from Love Is On The Move) THE SET For the Grow Up Series, the set will be dynamic, meaning that it will change over the course of this six-week series. For the first couple of weeks, create a set that looks like a kid s room. Decorate with things that were popular during your students childhood. Think along the lines of old toys, curtains with Power Rangers, Barbies, etc. (You may want to enlist the help of parents for some of this stuff.) You may even want to put a single bed on stage with a comforter that has a kid-friendly print. Then slowly, over the remaining four weeks, begin to replace the toys and items in the room with older, more sophisticated items like computers, stereos, pillows, and a cleaner, more modern design (Ikea-ish). SERIES ART Art for PowerPoint backgrounds and for series promotional ads is available as a free download with every series. Visit the XP3 web site, log on to your account and download the images to use in your presentation, newsletters and web site. VIDEO Both a video bumper and a video communicator are available for the Grow Up series as a video download from the rethink store. You can purchase the videos by logging into your XP3 account and clicking on the XP3 videos link. The Grow Up video communicator was created to be used in Session 1 of this series in place of a live communicator. The bumper video was created to be used as an intro for all six sessions of Grow Up series.
MIDDLE SCHOOL ADAPTATION The following activities and illustrations will help middle school students connect with the subject matter in ways that engage them physically, mentally, socially and sometimes emotionally. You can also adapt the Grow Up series for middle school students by using the teaching outline found in this document to edit the teaching script to a 20-minute presentation. In addition, by using the separate middle school small group dialog questions (found in the series downloads) that are geared specifically for 6th-8th graders, you can make each section more middle school friendly. SESSION 5 GAME: POPCORN (Play this game as an icebreaker to Session 5.) For the game Popcorn, everyone mills around in the playing area, you could be moving to music, or whatever, so long as people are moving around. The leader then calls out a number and an object. Participants quickly form groups of that number, then use their bodies to make the object. For example, 2, rocking chair! and you ll suddenly see pairs forming themselves into rocking chairs. Once everyone has made their object, then it s time for more mingling and the next object! Here are some ideas for objects: washing machine toaster car piano waterfall eagle elephant a church building SESSION 5 ILLUSTRATION: SERVE STORIES (Use this illustration at the beginning of the APPLICATION section of the teaching script.) If you have a student (or students) who is volunteering in another ministry at your church, have him or her (or several students) share some things they have learned about God while serving. You may want to meet with that student (or students) beforehand and allow them some time to be more comfortable in sharing their stories. You may want to ask some of these questions to help guide them: Where do you serve? What does that involve? Were you nervous the first few times you did this? What has been the most challenging thing about serving in this area? What has been the best thing about serving in this area? What has God taught you through serving in this area?
TEACHING SCRIPT The teaching script is divided into five sections. INTRODUCTION This introduction is intended to connect you, the communicator, to the audience usually through a personal story or observation. We ve included our stories, but you may want to substitute your own story in this section. TENSION The tension moves the message from the me mentality of the introduction to a we mentality. For example, a transition statement might be, At some point in our lives, we have all been jealous of someone over something. TRUTH Once the tension builds, the next logical step is to uncover the truth of what the Bible says about the topic. APPLICATION At this point, the message moves to a you mentality in order to teach the application. The you is the student. Take God s truth and unpack how it relates to each student so that he or she can apply it to everyday life. LANDING Here it is important to land the message on what each student needs to know and do with what they ve heard. Just as the message began with a personal story or observation, the message also ends with a me mentality. For example, one possible landing statement might be, I have a greater sense of purpose knowing that God created me in His image. Leave the students with a clear sense of what all of you should do with what you ve heard. Unless otherwise noted, the landing will always set up the small group dialog and give students an opportunity to process and internalize what they ve heard.
ANDY STANLEY COLLECTION TEACHING OUTLINE PG.1 BOTTOM LINE: THERE IS A DIRECT CONNECTION BETWEEN YOUR FAITH AND YOUR SERVE. INTRODUCTION There is a direct connection between our faith and our involvement in ministry, in service. TENSION The decision to serve is not just about the group or ministry s need. The bigger issue is that you just may be missing out on something God has in mind for you by choosing to be uninvolved. TRUTH Matthew 14:13 says: When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place (NIV). Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and he healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, This is a remote place and it s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go into the villages and buy themselves some food (Matthew 14-15 NIV). Jesus replied, They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat (Matthew 14:16 NIV). We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish, they answered (v. 17 NIV). Bring them here to me, (v. 18 NIV). And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples (v. 19 NIV). And the disciples gave them to the people (v.19 NIV). They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children (vv. 20-21 NIV). Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it (vv. 22-24 NIV). When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. It s a ghost, they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: Take courage! It is I. Don t be afraid (vv. 26-27 NIV). Lord, if it s you,... tell me to come to you on the water (v. 28 NIV). Come, he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus (v. 29 NIV). So he asks for Jesus invitation, saying, Jesus, I ll do what I can do, and I ll let You do what only You can do.
ANDY STANLEY COLLECTION TEACHING OUTLINE PG.2 APPLICATION But when he saw the wind, he was afraid. In other words, he was reminded of what he couldn t do. And, beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me! Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. You of little faith, he said, why did you doubt? (vv. 30-31 NIV). And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God (vv. 32-33 NIV). LANDING This is something you have control over, something God uses to grow your faith. This week, would you be willing to do what you know how to do in terms of serving and where God is nudging, and trust God to do what only God can do?
GROW UP: SESSION 5 COMMUNICATOR NOTES The goal this week is for students to feel compelled, challenged and encouraged to serve, but not guilted or pressured to. Be sure to focus on the benefits that comes from serving and not just work at making an emotional appeal to your students that may involve them in volunteering for a time, but doesn t have the staying power a genuine response might. Also, to prep for today s talk, dialog with the other generational ministries, like preschool or children s, and line up some places for students to serve. There may also be opportunities with your greeting team or other areas in the adult service. MAKING IT PERSONAL (Points in the teaching script you can make more personal) This week, be intentional about looking at the areas of life where you serve and you re not paid to do it. Maybe it s at home. Maybe it s in your neighborhood. Maybe it s in a local homeless shelter. And if you aren t serving anywhere, find a place to serve that falls outside the boundaries of a job description.
ANDY STANLEY COLLECTION TEACHING SCRIPT PG.1 BOTTOM LINE: THERE IS A DIRECT CONNECTION BETWEEN YOUR FAITH AND YOUR SERVE. INTRODUCTION A. We ve been talking about the ways that God grows our faith. We ve talked about how when we apply Biblical truths to our lives, when we live them out, then we begin to grow. We ve also said that God brings what we called providential relationships into your life at different times. Maybe it was a coach, a teacher, a neighbor or a friend, but I bet there has been someone who encouraged you and pushed you forward in your spiritual growth. That person or those people made you want to know God more, and we can be that person for other people as well. Then we said that spiritual disciplines, those things that we do to direct our hearts and minds towards God, are a key way we initiate growing our faith. Whether it s prayer, reading our Bibles or giving, how we spend our time and how we treat our money are ways to increase our trust and our confidence in God, growing our faith. Today, we re going to talk about another way we grow spiritually. And it happens when, instead of being on the receiving end, instead of simply going to church and sitting there, we engage in being a part of the church. B. A lot of times when people describe an instance in their life when God really stretched their faith, they ll talk about a time when they were invited to take part in some sort of ministry, program or service. It could be through participation in a mission trip, a service project or volunteering, but in some way they were actively involved in something bigger than themselves. Maybe at first they were hesitant to say yes because they didn t feel adequately equipped or it seemed like they didn t have the time to commit to it. But for some reason, they felt a nudge to accept the opportunity. So they did. Not only did it affect the lives of the people in the ministry, service or program, but their own life changed, too. C. In other words, there is a direct connection between our faith and our involvement in ministry, in service. TENSION A. Some of you might be in a tug of war with God right now over a similar decision. Maybe God has been urging you to join in or take part in something, and you re struggling over making that commitment. You may say that Sunday is your only day to sleep in, so working in the church nursery is out of the question. You may say that your favorite show is on Mondays, so committing to serve at the homeless shelter is out of the question. B. The important thing to keep in mind is that the decision is not just about the group or ministry s need. Because chances are they will survive without you. The bigger issue is that you just may be missing out on something God has in mind for you by choosing to be uninvolved. God might be using this opportunity to move you outside of your comfort zone and skill set to stretch and grow your faith. This is a faith issue.
ANDY STANLEY COLLECTION TEACHING SCRIPT PG.2 TRUTH A. The best example of this in the Bible is one of the most popular stories people read. Matthew 14:13 says: When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place (NIV). The news Jesus had just heard in this verse was that Herod had murdered Jesus cousin John. Essentially, John had been preaching against Herod s improper and incestuous marriage Herod married a woman who was both his sister-in-law and his niece and John s outspoken disapproval of this marriage led to his arrest and eventual beheading. Jesus loved John deeply, and He was grieved. B. The story continues: Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and he healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, This is a remote place and it s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go into the villages and buy themselves some food (Matthew 14-15 NIV). C. The disciples are hungry; the people are hungry; they re out in the middle of nowhere. Basically, it s time to eat! But Jesus does something interesting here. Jesus replied, They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat (Matthew 14:16 NIV). Jesus says, You know what? You re right, disciples. Everyone is getting really hungry. I have an idea. Why don t you come up with some food and feed all of us? D. This is the same tension that we ve all felt or will at some point feel as Christians. It s that feeling you get when you sense that someone has a need, and there s something in you that takes notice. Your heart goes out to that group or that person. As you re sensing the need, you feel this nudge, and you hear God saying, You re right, they do have a need. You meet it. You meet it! E. More often than not, however, instead of answering the call, we ll say, Nah. I ll just pray for the right person to come along and fill that need. I don t have what it takes, the time or the skills. The disciples were no different. They did the same thing they made up excuses. Listen to their reply: We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish, they answered (v. 17 NIV). They re saying, Hey, we re not prepared or equipped to meet these people s needs. You ve got the wrong guys! F. Jesus replies: Bring them here to me, (v. 18 NIV), meaning the existing loaves and fish. What Jesus says to His disciples here is the same thing He says to us Bring Me what you have. But we answer back to Him: But, Lord, I don t have enough time! And He tells us to bring Him what we have. God, I don t have enough talent! And He tells us to bring Him what we have. But what if they ask me hard questions? I don t know enough about the Bible. I don t have enough experience! Or patience! Just bring Him what you have. This is what the disciples did. G. Verse 19 says: And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples (NIV). Imagine that. Jesus is sitting there with this small portion of food, and He breaks it into little pieces and hands back to you what you ve given Him. It appears to be only enough for you. So what do you do? The disciples turned around and handed it out to the people in need. H. Once Jesus handed them the bread and the fish, they did what they knew how to do: serve people. You see, that s all they could do. They didn t know how to feed five thousand people with that little bit of
ANDY STANLEY COLLECTION TEACHING SCRIPT PG.3 food. But they did know how to turn and hand out what was in their possession. Here s how the Bible puts it: And the disciples gave them to the people (v.19 NIV). I. They did what they knew how to do, trusting that Jesus would do a miracle, something only God could do. What does this mean for you? It means when you feel that internal nudge, you have to put all your excuses aside, simply do what you know how to do and trust your heavenly Father to do the rest. Because the tension and anxiety you feel is actually your faith muscle being stretched and pumped up. It is part of the growing process part of having your faith challenged and grown. The future of your faith is at stake. It s not so much about the need you re meeting as it s about your trust and confidence in God growing you because you are stepping out in a way you never have before. J. The story continues: They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children (vv. 20-21 NIV). The disciples walked away, not in awe of themselves, but giving credit to God for showing up and doing what only He could do. Jesus had a very, very specific agenda in doing this miracle. Jesus was looking at more than just a crowd of hungry people and wanting more than just His disciples to know how to follow directions. This was a lesson in trust. And He knew that if He had His disciples full trust here, in handing out the fishes and the loaves, then they would better understand and trust Him when it came to His death. He starts here with this faith-stretcher in order to move them to something bigger. K. Look at what happens next: Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it (vv. 22-24 NIV). Now the disciples had been out there rowing in the storm all night, and shortly before dawn Jesus went out to the boat, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. It s a ghost, they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: Take courage! It is I. Don t be afraid (vv. 26-27 NIV). L. And this is the moment when Peter gets it. Peter realizes that they, the disciples, can do anything Jesus asks of them as long as they bring to the table what they have and trust Him for the rest. So Peter tests his theory. Peter says in verse 28, Lord, if it s you,... tell me to come to you on the water (NIV). And here s the important part Peter understands that he can t just jump out into the water and trust that Jesus won t let him fall. That wouldn t be faith that would be stupidity. Peter realizes that it takes Jesus invitation, His calling us out of the boat, out of our comfort zone, to create these types of miracles. Peter knows that if he does what he knows how to do, Jesus will do the rest. But Jesus has to invite him first. Come, he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus (v. 29 NIV). You see, this is the same thing Peter does when he hands out the bread and fish. He doesn t know how to prepare food for five thousand people, but he does know how to serve others with what he has. In the boat, Peter knows how to get out of the boat, and he knows how to walk. But he also knows his limitations. So he asks for Jesus invitation, saying, Jesus, I ll do what I can do, and I ll let You do what only You can do.
ANDY STANLEY COLLECTION TEACHING SCRIPT PG.4 APPLICATION A. That is the Christian experience. I dare you to start praying the prayer Peter prayed. Lord, please invite me out of my comfort zone. When You invite me out of my comfort zone, I ll do what I can do and trust You ll do what You can do. B. So here is my question for you: What is stopping you from volunteering in a certain ministry? You know how to walk down a hall. You know how to fill out a form. Why can t you rely on Jesus for the rest? We can come up with a million what ifs to keep us from stepping out. Here s what happened to Peter: But when he saw the wind, he was afraid. In other words, he was reminded of what he couldn t do. And, beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me! Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. You of little faith, he said, why did you doubt? (vv. 30-31 NIV). In other words, Peter began looking at his inability, and, when he did that, he doubted Jesus. When Peter looked around and took stock of all his shortcomings, he began to doubt Jesus and his faith suffered. C. We ve prepared a list of areas you can be involved in here in this church. For some of you, this will just be a starting place. You ll find areas in your school or in your community to get involved. The list will make some of you very nervous. It s definitely outside of your comfort zone. But push through it. Try it. Give it your best and see what happens. D. And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God (vv. 32-33 NIV). LANDING A. So here is the question: Where is God nudging you? What is God urging you towards? The truth is, we all have plenty of excuses for why we don t do what we feel nudged to do. But if I had to guess, I would say, this feeling of needing to do something just won t go away no matter how hard you try to ignore it or suppress it. And there is more at stake here than just an opportunity to serve. The issue is your faith. God wants to do something inside of you. God wants to do something in your relationship with Him. You have a role to play. You just need to throw your legs over the side of the boat even though you don t know how to walk on water. B. This is something you have control over, something God uses to grow your faith. This week, would you be willing to do what you know how to do in terms of serving and where God is nudging, and trust God to do what only God can do? Will you respond to His invitation to get involved in a way you never thought you could? If you do, you will experience God in a brand-new way. Your faith just may begin to take off. [TRANSITION INTO SMALL GROUPS]