Archive for the ‘youth group’ Category

I’ve been reading about temptation in Jim Burns book titled “Uncommon Bible Study Outlines and Messages”.

Preparation
For the introduction, you will need:

• Two gift boxes (or any boxes you want)
  
• newspaper  (to stuff the boxes with)
  
• Wrapping paper and ribbon
  
• A candy bar
  
• small rock

Before the meeting, prepare two identical boxes. Fill one box with a rock. Fill the other with paper and a candy bar. Wrap the boxes the same.

Opening Game…

We’ve all faced temptation at some point in our lives.  Sometimes we come through victorious and sometimes we fall flat on our faces. Temptation comes when we are deceived into believing something false—that we can get something that really isn’t there.

Ask for two  volunteers to come to the front of the room.  Have one of the volunteers choose one of the boxes. Give the other box to the other person. Before having the volunteers open the boxes, tell everyone that inside one box is a candy bar, while the other box contains a rock. Ask the
group members and your volunteers to guess which box contains the candy bar.  After a few guesses, have the volunteers open the boxes. Then ask the following questions:

1. Why did you think the box that you selected had the candy bar in it?
2. What was the only way to find out which box contained the candy bar?
3. How did you feel when you opened your box and found just a rock inside it?

Finish the illustration by talking about how temptation is just like the box without the candy bar. It looks nice on the outside, but when you open it, you will find out that the promises are just empty. In the same way, Satan uses empty promises when he tempts us. Temptation comes when we are faced
with a situation where we are enticed by what appears on the outside to be something of value to us. Today, we will look at how Jesus faced temptation and what that means for each of us.

Here are the Bible verses we will be covering on Temptation:

Psalm 103:11-12 (New International Version)

¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;

¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us

Psalm 119:11 (New International Version)

¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Jeremiah 31:34 (New International Version)

³⁴ No longer will a man teach his neighbor,or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’
because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.

Matthew 4:1-11 (New International Version)

¹Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. ²After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

⁴Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’^[a]”

⁵Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
” ‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’^[b]”

⁷Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’^[c]”

⁸Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

¹⁰Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’^[d]”

¹¹Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Luke 4:13 (New International Version)

¹³When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (New International Version)

¹³No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Hebrews 4:14-16 (New International Version)

Jesus the Great High Priest

¹⁴Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,^[a] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. ¹⁶Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

James 1:13-15 (New International Version)

¹³When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. ¹⁵Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

1 John 1:8-9 (New International Version)

⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 2:1-2 (New International Version)

¹My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ²He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for^[a] the sins of the whole world.

Here are the questions we will be going over:

Temptation

1. What are the top 10 temptations that teenagers face today?

2. What makes temptation so tempting?

3. What are some of the consequences of giving in to the top 10 temptations?

4. What was a time in your life when you gave in and suffered the consequences of sin?

5. What do the following verses have to say about temptation?

· Psalm 103:11-12

· Psalm 119:11

· Jeremiah 31:34

· 1 Corinthians 10:13

· Hebrews 4:14-16

· James 1:13-15

· 1 John 1:8-9

· 1 John 2:1-2

6. Complete this sentence: “The most difficult area for me in dealing with temptation is . . .”

7. How does (or should) knowing that Jesus went through temptation help you personally?

8. How can Jesus help you in dealing with temptation?

9. How can your friends or the youth group members help one another in dealing with temptation?

26 Kids

8  Adult leaders

Serving 1 God

2 cooks that cooked 350 meals

192 Sandwiches at lunch time

4 Worship Leaders

500 Tamales raised for the tamale fundraiser

3 devotion leaders

100lbs of gravel (used for the courtyard at First Christian)

10 new pavers

91 hours spent together

320 showers at Ottawa University

more than 70 families served at Hope House

100 fingernails painted at Ottawa Retirement Village

35 Bookshelves cleaned and dusted at the Friends of the Library

1 dumpster cleaned out complete with dead mice at the Senior Center

7 bookshelves painted at Franklin County Daycare

1 Kickball and over 25 COF residents

35 Fully Rely on God Pens were made

8 decks of cards

1 laptop with one glass of water dumped on it

18 Franklin County Fair risers painted

1 playground cleaned up at Head Start

2 Senior Center Buses Cleaned

43 T-Shirts

1000′s of Text messages never sent

his week.. August 2nd – 7th I will be on a Mission Stay. What is a Mission Stay? Instead of going somewhere, we are helping in our own community. Here are my photos of the day. for August 7th..

Packing to leave..

My breakfast..

#2 and some old lady kissing him..