Church Group Time: This time is going to be used for addressing your groups as a group. In Bible study the students have been able to think through things individually. In small groups youʼve been able to debrief Bible study in how they are relating to it. Worship is also a time for inward focus when it comes to our personal relationship with Jesus. But what about the ministry group we belong to? How do we apply what weʼre learning about to our youth group? Welcome to your church GROUP devotion time. Just like anything else at camp, you will get out what you put in. If something is going on within your group, follow the Holy Spiritʼs leading. But this guide is here for you to examine as a group what Jesus is telling you. Sunday: What is Character? Materials Needed: A full deck of cards per 15 students. A small rock or stone, about the size of a strawberry. Objective: To examine the Character of your youth group as a whole, working structure. Break your group into groups of 15 or less. Each group needs a deck of cards. Instruct the students that together they have to use as many cards as they can to build a structure/building that will hold the stone/rock without collapsing. Then, let them work on the structure for no more than 10 minutes. Adults need to observe the groups and how they work together. For this illustration, their result is not as important as the means to get there. Allow the groups to test their structure, even if they are not finished building after the designated time is over. Here are a few questions to ask and important things to hit on when debriefing this activity: 1. Have the adults talk about things the things they observed within the groups of students. How did they work together? How did they treat each other? What were their attitudes like? Ask the students if they noticed anything within their own group. 2. Sometimes, we get so focused on the end goal that we ignore our behavior during the process of reaching the goal. Something like this activity, which doesnʼt really mean anything whatsoever, can easily cause us to get frustrated, annoyed and bothered by the people around us. 3. Our true character is shown most when we are in situations that put us under extreme pressure, pain or complications. Itʼs easy to trust Jesus when life is going peachy. But what about the tough times? How does your youth group respond to situations when one member is going through something difficult? When they have approached you with a sin in their life?
4. Turn to Joshua 1 and read verses 10 through 18. The Israelites have been through a lot over the years. Moses had been leading them through their exile from Egypt. They knew what they had been promised through God, but they were not always trusting in their actions. Throughout their journey, as the followed Moses, they did a lot of whining. There were times they questioned Moses and times they just didnʼt want to do what he was asking. The problem here is that they knew the promises God had made. They knew that God had entrusted Moses with the task of leading His people to those promises. But in their actions, the Israelites often looked as if they didnʼt trust God. In Joshua, they have a new leader, someone else that God has placed over them to continue their journey. Focus on verses 16-18. The Israelites are once again promising their allegiance to Joshua, to continue with the plans God had for them. They promised obedience with their words, and they were obedient to Moses and God, but it wasnʼt without some attitude problems. 5. Think about your group. Do your attitudes match your words? God has placed leadership over you, and just like the Israelites, your leaders have a vision for your group. Spend some time talking through true character. Do you measure up when put under pressure? Do you continue to trust that God is sovereign? Even through struggles, conflicts within your youth group, difficult decisions and things you donʼt agree with? How does your character reflect your true heart through these situations? Spend some time in prayer asking God to reveal to you personally and as a group what your actions & behavior say about your true character. As a group, talk honestly and openly about how your group responds to struggles within itself. Pray for guidance on how you can work better as a group. Ask God to change your attitudes to reflect HIS heart.
Monday: Cloud of Witnesses Church Group Devotions Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 Today in Bible study you talked briefly through this verse. This verse is really encouraging, both as an individual follower of Jesus, but pay close attention to the first part of this verse: surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses... God has surrounded you with people who have stories. People that have stories about God working in and through them. You are literally surrounded by those people, not just this week, but at home in your youth group. So, the question for your group is how is your cloud? 1. Do you know each others stories, or their witnesses? Our witness to other people is the story of what God has done in our lives. You need to know your fellow youth and their stories. The only way to do that is to ask others and be willing to share your own. Donʼt assume that just because you see someone in youth group and church every week that you actually know them. It is everyoneʼs responsibility to ask each other what their God story is. 2. Are you encouraging each other in your ever evolving stories? Our stories evolve by God continuing His work in our lives. Christian brothers & sisters assist God in His working by holding each other accountable, being honest and open with each other. Are you helping each other in your walk by approaching burdens and sin in each otherʼs lives the way Jesus would? Itʼs our job as fellow believers to approach all sin with the desire to turn far from it, not only in ourselves but also with each other. 3. Are you using Jesus as the perfecter of your faith or me,your youth pastor? Or perhaps our senior pastor? We are not the perfecter of your faith. We are human just like you. We are trying to walk the best life for God as well, but we are not God. It is wise to get counsel from us, to seek advice and to see us as role models, but you must be focused on Jesus as the only perfect follower of God. You will be disappointed by your me at some point in your life. Jesus will not disappoint. Jesus proved His perfection by living the perfect life, suffering and dying and then rising again to glory. I am here as your leader doing the very thing you are doing, running a race with endurance. And I have guidance to offer you for your life, wisdom and other things, but your eyes need to be focused on Jesus and not me. One day you will leave the youth group, and if your faith is built on my presence in your life, you will be thrown once you leave the group. Jesus has run this race Pray through this verse as a group. This is about sharing your story with one another and taking the pressure off one another. You are Godʼs helpers, not the perfecter of each otherʼs faith.
Tuesday: Giving in to good, Ignoring Great The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, Quick, let me have some of that red stew! Iʼm famished! (That is why he was also called Edom. Jacob replied, First sell me your birthright. Look, I am about to die, Esau said. What good is the birthright to me? But Jacob said, Swear to me first. So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright. Genesis 25: 27-34 Today in Bible study we talked about Jacob and Esau and what happened when Esau gave up his birthright for stew. As dumb as that sounds, we often settle for good things instead of waiting on God to provide the great thing. Esau was so concerned with his hunger that he sought out the most immediate fix, no matter what it cost him. God has promised that He works all things together for the good of those who love Him, (Romans 8:28) but often we donʼt see things as God sees them. He wants us to have the best life. The problem is we often think we know whatʼs best and we try to attain the best life while ignoring what God wants for us. Sometimes, He just wants us to be patient and wait for the things He has prepared for us; the things we are yet unable to see. 1. Personally spend a few minutes reflecting on your own life. God has promised us all a life of purpose. Do you have things in your life that are immediately satisfying but mean nothing in the long run? 2. Spend some time sharing things in our lives that could easily be labeled as immediate satisfaction. What is so appealing about those things? Speak as honestly as you can, because we all have things we accept even when we know God has something better planned for us. 3. As a group, are we accepting stew when we have our birthright on the line? What that means for our youth group is this: God wants us to be a part of His Kingdom, and He wants that to happen every day. Not only that, but He tells us as part of His Kingdom that we are to draw others to Him. We can only do that if we are actively telling people about Jesus and His Kingdom. So the question stands, what are we doing as a youth group to reach out and help others know about Jesus? Or instead, are we making sure that weʼre having fun every week and just spending time together? Those things are good, but they are not great. We are settling for stew when we should be honoring out birthright.
Wednesday: What are we Idolizing? King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then he sent messages to the high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up. So all these officials came and stood before the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then a herald shouted out, People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the kingʼs command! When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzarʼs gold statue. Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. Daniel 3:1-7 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesnʼt, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up. Daniel 3:12-18 Today in Bible study we talked about a faith that stood up to persecution. Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego refused to stand against God, instead they stood for Him, knowing the danger involved in doing so. Tonight, I want us to focus on the problem the king laid before the 3 men. He put before them an option to worship an idol. Not only that, but he demanded it from them, and not only them, but all his people. 1. Think personally about idols in your own life. What are the things you have placed before God? It can be as simple as television or as complicated as idolizing othersʼ approval of you. Talk within the group about the things you feel are idols in your lives. 2. Is it possible to idolize something as a youth group? Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego decided as a group not to idolize the thing they were demanded to idolize. The stood together for their faith in God. How can our youth group stand together in facing these idols that we talked about? It was a pure faith that gave those 3 men the courage to stand up. They knew it was worth more to be obedient to God. It would cost them an eternity separated from God had they worshiped the idol the king offered them. 3. This one might be difficult to talk through, because we often cannot see the idols in our lives. Itʼs also possible for us to hold our youth group as an idol. Itʼs easy to take our focus off of Jesus and worship our youth group instead. Do you think thatʼs possible? How can we, as a group, make sure weʼre not putting too much importance in ourselves and put the importance back onto Christ?
Thursday: Worthy of the Call And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9-14 Tonight I want to challenge you as a group. God has given us a worthy cause and He calls us to join Him in that. Not only has He called us into this worthy cause, He provides us the refining we need to become better and better for Him. Paul is addressing the Colossians here, telling them of his prayers for them. 1. Know that as your youth pastor, I am praying for you all. I am praying for these things for you. For you to be filled with Godʼs knowledge. For you to gain His wisdom. For you to bear fruit that will show others the God you serve. 2. I want us to spend time talking through the calls He has put on our lives. Above all, even if you feel He hasnʼt revealed to you something specific to you, He has already called you to a purpose. Your purpose is to obediently follow Him and spread His truth. The way you do that is unique to you. 3. God has made us promises that we need to remind ourselves of every day. He will strengthen you to endure everything life has to offer. He has promised you provision in Him. He has promised you eternity with Him. He has promised you redemption for every thing you have ever done just by a simple belief in Him. You can never hear that too many times. Do you feel like you are walking worthy? 4. One final question. What can we do as a group to walk worthy in the manner of Christ, and better serve His kingdom here on earth?