Woven. Woven. A Re t re at for T e e n Girl s

Woven A Re t re at for T e e n Girl s When threads are woven together, a beautiful tapestry emerges. A convergence of color, style, and pattern bring together elements that become stronger as a whole than they would be on their own. The same applies to the body of Christ. God weaves together diﬀerent personalities, gifts, and callings, creating a beautiful tapestry that glorifies Him. This study will help you understand what creates unity... and what can destroy it. It will help you recognize the elements that bring your group together and guard against negative elements that threaten to tear it apart. And hopefully, you ll discover that you play an irreplaceable role in that tapestry. Woven A Re t re at f o r T e e n G i rl s

Woven A R e t r e a t f o r T e e n G i r l s LifeWay Press Nashville, Tennessee

2009 LifeWay Press Portions of this resource have been adapted/taken from One Heart, a LifeWay Bible study by Ann Cannon. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing by the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to LifeWay Press, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0174 ISBN: 9781415867266 Item: 005190073 This book is a resource in the Personal Life category of the Christian Growth Study Plan. Course CG-1452 Dewey Decimal Classification: 248.83 Subject Heading: TEENAGE GIRLS \ INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS \ SPIRITUAL LIFE Printed in the United States of America. Student Ministry Publishing LifeWay Christian Resources One LifeWay Plaza, MSN 174 Nashville, TN 37234-0174 We believe that the Bible has God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter and that all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. The 2000 statement of The Baptist Faith and Message is our doctrinal guideline. Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Scripture quotations marked The Message are taken from The Message. Copyright Eugene H. Peterson, 1993, 1994, 1995. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Cover flower fabric by Amy Butler Design: www.amybutlerdesign.com.

Contents editor s note 4 Se ssion 1 Stitched 5 Se ssion 2 Pieced 13 Se ssion 3 Frayed 21 Se ssion 4 Torn 33 Se ssion 5 Woven 41

4 / w o v e n editor s note Get any group of girls together and conflict is inevitable. Girl drama, cliques, different personalities, and rapidly changing maturity levels all combine to create a volitile atmosphere. Add into the mix today s it s all about me self-centered mentality, and you ve got a lot on your hands! This Bible study is geared at helping you diffuse that emotionally charged atmosphere and to challenge girls to look beyond themselves to see the importance of unity as a group. Hopefully, girls will get a glimpse of what their group, their church, and their world might look like if they focused on the things that bring them together instead of the things that drive them apart. The most important preparation you can make for this study is to pray. Pray for girls hearts to be open to hear the truths from Scripture. Some of the topics like the destructive power of closed groups have the potential to put the girls on the defensive. Pray for girls minds and hearts to absorb those truths. Pray for girls actions to change because they ve been impacted by the truth. Pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal areas in which girls have caused conflict, strife, and disunity. And ask God to give girls a glimpse of what He can do with their lives individually and as a group if they seek to live in unity. Pray also for yourself. Ask God to show you ways you may have been a negative influence. Pray for wisdom to use teaching ideas that will be most effective with the unique groups of girls you teach. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak through you to say what needs to be said and to keep quiet when necessary. Pray that God would use this study to bring healing in your own life. God s blessings on your journey. May He bring unity to your group like never before. And may He allow you to see the fruit of your labor. Pam Gibbs editor

wove n / 5 se s sion 1 Stitched What does unit y re ally me an?

6 / w o v e n I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding, and have the knowledge of God s mystery Christ. In Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. Col. 2:2-3 What do the following things have in common? team band recipe church family mall neighborhood sweater Give up? Each of these is a unit, or a whole thing, but each is made up of different parts. A baseball team is made up of a pitcher, a catcher, a second baseman, a manager, several trainers, and so forth. A band consists of at least a drummer, guitarist, and lead singer. You tell your mom you re going to the mall, but you re actually going to the music store, your favorite clothing store, and the food court which are all at the mall. The parts work together to make the whole function. What would happen to a baseball team if all the outfielders decided to take the day off? How many people would go to the mall if the food court was never open? What would happen if one house in your neighborhood operated a crack house? The parts work in unity; the whole is called a unit. That s the topic for this Bible study unity. Word study: Unity: from the Latin word unus, meaning one. Defining Unity Circle the number beside the statement below that you think best describes unity. 1. Unity means every part knows how to do every other part s job and can take over if necessary. 2. Unity means every part does its job in cooperation with the other parts. 3. Unity means caring enough to do the very best. 4. Unity means doing the same thing over and over. 5. Unity is the sum of the whole divided by the total of the parts. Here are a couple of definitions of unity: the state of being joined as a whole harmony between people or groups the state of forming a complete and pleasing whole

wwove o v e n / 7 How whole is your life? Mark below how complete each area is. Totally Un-unified Totally unified your family 1 2 3 4 5 your school 1 2 3 4 5 your favorite sports team 1 2 3 4 5 your friends at church 1 2 3 4 5 your closest friends 1 2 3 4 5 Word study: Woven: formed by interlacing; intertwined; produced by combining elements; united as a coherent whole. What would help those areas become more whole? And I Pray... This is a study of unity: its characteristics, problems, and people. The early Christians lived and worked together with a strong sense of unity against the threat of punishment and death by Rome. In that time, a Christian group was called a community. Notice that unity is a part of that word. On His last night on earth, Jesus Christ prayed for you and me. In His prayer, He talked about unity.

8 / w o v e n I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in Me through their message. May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me. John 17:20-21 Read John 17:20-23. What phrase shows that Jesus was praying for you? What three different kinds of unity did Jesus talk about in verses 20-21? What is the purpose of this unity between humanity and God? A recipe is made up of parts, but operates as a whole. Write a recipe for unity using the verses that you ve just read. Jesus prayed for His followers, including you and me. You are a part of God s family through Jesus Christ. And the reason for unity is so that through it, the world would believe in God through His Son Jesus Christ.

wove n / 9 Answered Prayer Jesus prayer (remember John 17?) began to be answered soon after His resurrection when His followers carried Christianity to others. People who believed in Christ joined together and formed churches. These early churches, like our churches today, were made up of different people who had unique gifts but were unified because of their relationship with Christ. Read Ephesians 4:11-13 and find out how the church functioned. What abilities were identified? What is the reason for these abilities? What is the purpose of the church, according to these verses? And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ s fullness. Ephesians 4:11-13 Why was maturity important? If you were to compare the early church to something modern, like a team, how you would describe it?

1 0 / w o v e n One person is not as wise as two together. Unknown Introducing... In this Bible study, you ll meet six other girls. Perhaps you already know girls who are like them. Maybe you ll even see yourself in one of them as you read about them. Sam likes school, but she doesn t brag about her GPA. She is usually quiet unless she has an idea or suggestion. Sam grew up in the church and attends many student activities. She made a decision to follow Jesus as a child and tries to live a good life as a Christian. As a junior, Sam wants to be a leader. Unfortunately, the others don t look to her for leadership. Like Sam, Tonia wants to be a leader at church. Unlike Sam, others look to Tonia for leadership. Because of her personality, Tonia makes friends easily. She grew up in a Christian home and moved to this church five years ago. Tonia is active in the student ministry, but she has never made a decision to follow Christ. Everyone assumes she has. Tonia tells herself that she is waiting for the right moment. Amy spends her life entertaining others. She lives with her mom near the church and was introduced to the youth group at a lock-in. Her mom doesn t come to church. Amy uses her jokes to get attention, but nobody really knows her. She comes to church because she feels good here. Amy has never made the choice to follow Christ. Maria is a shy senior who doesn t know how to fit in. She stands by herself while the others talk and joke around. Tonia talks to Maria, but Tonia can t get others to talk to Maria. On mission trips or service projects, Maria takes on the one-person jobs, no matter how difficult, just so she doesn t have to talk. No one knows what Maria believes about Jesus. Brandi attends many church activities because her mother makes her. She would rather be hanging out with her friends, about whom she tells her parents, They re not bad kids, just different. She doesn t tell her parents that she smokes, does drugs ( Only a little ), has stolen stuff from stores ( Big stores never miss it ), and parties most weekends. Brandi judges those in the youth group as silly and immature. Deep inside, however, Brandi feels like something is missing in her life. Brandi thinks her problems will

wove n / 11 be over next year when she goes away to school. She anticipates a whole new life free from her family and this whole religion thing. Isabella is the only person to whom Brandi talks. That s because Isabella is always asking, Why do we have to do this? Like Brandi, Isabella doesn t participate much, preferring to sit on the sidelines. She can t wait until her senior year, when she thinks she will feel like someone important. She s certainly not important at home. Her mom and dad fight all the time. They re even talking about divorce. Isabella made a profession of faith in seventh grade because several other girls were doing it. Although Brandi talks to her, Isabella knows Brandi uses drugs and doesn t want to get involved. She d rather talk to Amy. Every individual has a place to fill in the world and is important in some respect whether he chooses to be so or not. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne Pick one of these six students. Describe her by completing each of the personal issues that follow. Be creative. If you need more information, make it up. feelings about herself feelings about her family feelings about the youth group at church feelings about Jesus Christ feelings about a new person coming into the youth group

1 2 / w o v e n A Look Inside Now it s time to look at your own life. This time, provide your own personal responses. Be honest. You won t have to share your answers with anyone. my feelings about myself my feelings about my family my feelings about the youth group at my church my feelings about Jesus Christ my feelings about a new person coming into our youth group Weaving In Your Own Story A time when I ve experienced unity in a group was... The way I felt about that experience of unity was...