Winterfest 2013
Group Devotional Ideas for Saturday Night – 3
“I AM The Light”
The best devotional you can lead for your group is one that is tailor-made for them by you. Listen to the sermons and lessons and as you absorb what is being said at Winterfest, ask yourself, “What question can I ask in our devotional that will allow my teens to process, unpack, and apply all this?” One well-worded, relevant question can take a long time for your group to work through.
You can always ask the question, “What have you seen or heard at Winterfest that really hit you?”
Listen attentively as each student shares their response. Make appropriate follow-up comments. Follow where it leads.
Winterfest is planning to give each participant a small flashlight at the event. This flashlight will be a good reminder of the truth contained in this lesson. You will want to use the flashlights at some point in your devotional. Maybe you can turn off the lights in your devotional room. Make it as dark as possible.From memory, say something like: Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” As his followers, we are to reflect the light of Jesus into the dark corners of the world. That is what we are to be all about. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Organize your group so that one at a time, each person turns his or her light on in the dark room. One little light makes a big difference. And when everyone shines their lights, it makes all the difference!
There are some discussion questions provided for you below. These questions are based on Jonathan Storment’s Saturday night lesson and will provide good follow-up opportunities.
1. "Why does John start his Gospel with "In the Beginnning?"And Jesus at a wedding? How does that change the story of Jesus John in telling?
2. What does Jesus not condemning this sinful woman say about Jesus view of church?
3. What ways have you seen your church, filled with imperfect people,reflect the light of Jesus in the world?
4. Jonathan mentioned that the main metaphor for church in the New Testament isn't a building or program, but a Bride. How does that change the way you think of church? How does it change the way you think God thinks of Church?
5. C.S. Lewis said that romance gives us a glimpse into the heart of God, because romance helps us look past someone's flaws and imperfections and love them anyway. How does romance influence the way you think God views you?
6. What does it mean to say Jesus is the Light of the World. Is that a relief? Does it make you view your own flaws, or the flaws in the church differently? Why or why not?
7. Baptism is seen often in the Bible as a kind of ceremony of promise, of making vows to God, like a wedding. Does that make you think of baptism differently? Does that make you think of God's invitation to Baptism differently? How?
Also included are two illustrations that may serve to “prime the pump” for your group discussion. Each has an application that fits with the evening’s theme. These stories can be found inMore Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks by Wayne Rice.
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In the Dark
A young soldier and his commanding officer got on a train together. The only available seats were across from an attractive young lady who was traveling with her grandmother. As the four engaged in conversation, the soldier and the young lady kept eyeing one another. There was an obvious mutual attraction.
Suddenly the train went into a tunnel, sending the train car into darkness. Immediately two sounds were heard: the smack of a kiss followed by the whack of a slap across someone’s face.
The grandmother thought, I can’t believe he kissed my granddaughter, but I’m glad she gave him the slap he deserved.
The commanding officer thought, I don’t blame the boy for kissing the girl, but it’s a shame that she missed him and hit me instead.”
The young girl thought, I’m glad he kissed me, but I wish my grandmother hadn’t slapped him for doing it.
And as the train broke into the sunlight, the soldier couldn’t help but smile. He had managed to kiss a pretty girl and slap his commanding officer and get away with both!
Where to Take It from Here... It’s hard to get away with anything in the light. That’s why so many people love the darkness. (John 3:19)
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The Mirror
Author Robert Fulghum tells this story of one of his professors, a wise man whose name was Alexander Papaderos.
At the last session on the last morning of a two-week seminar on Greek culture, Dr. Papaderos turned and made the ritual gesture—“Are there any questions?”
Quiet quilted the room. These two weeks had generated enough questions for a lifetime, but for now, there was only silence.
“No questions?” Papaderos swept the room with his eyes.
So, I asked.
“Dr. Papaderos, what is the meaning of life?”
The usual laughter followed, and people stirred to go.
Papaderos held up his hand and stilled the room and looked at me for a long time, asking with his eyes if I was serious and seeing from my eyes that I was.
“I will answer your question.”
Taking his wallet out of his hip pocket, he fished into a leather billfold and brought out a very small round mirror, about the size of a quarter. And he went something like this.
“When I was a small child, during the war, we were very poor and we lived in a remote village. One day, on the road, I found the broken pieces of a mirror. A German motorcycle had been wrecked in that place.
“I tried to find all the pieces and put them together, but it was not possible, so I kept only the largest piece. This one. And by scratching it on a stone, I made it round. I began to play with it as a toy and became fascinated by the fact that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never shine—in deep holes and crevices and dark closets. It became a game for me to get light into the most inaccessible places I could find.
“I kept the little mirror, and as I went about my growing up, I would take it out in idle moments and continue the challenge of the game. As I became a man, I grew to understand that this was not just a child’s game but a metaphor for what I might do with my life. I came to understand that I am not the light or the source of the light. But light—truth, understanding, knowledge—is there, and it will only shine in many dark places if I reflect it.
“I am a fragment of a mirror whose whole design and shape I do not know. Nevertheless, with what I have I can reflect light into the dark places of this world—into the black places in the hearts of men—and change some things in some people. Perhaps others may see and do likewise. This is what I am about. This is the meaning of life.”
And then he took his small mirror and, holding it carefully, caught the bright rays of daylight streaming through the window and reflected them on my face and onto my hands folded on the desk.
(From It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It by Robert Fulghum. Copyright 1988, 1989 by Robert Fulghum.Adapted by permission of Villard Books, a division of Random House, Inc.)
Where to Take It from Here... Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5) and as his followers, we are to be like that little mirror, reflecting the light of Christ into the dark corners of the world. That is the meaning of the Christian life. “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
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