1
Creation
Fall
Promise/pledge
Judgment
Jesus Life
Jesus Death
Jesus Resurrection
New Creation
- CREATION
DISCUSSION STARTER
If you could create any two animal hybrid, what would it be and why?
(eg catdog)
GAME
‘Let’s get creative’
Get everyone to make a paper aeroplane and then see who’s flies the furthest-Talk about the creativity of everyone in the room. Make the point that we are creative because our God is creative.
MEDIAThe awe factor of God-Francis Chan (youtube.com)
BIBLE PASSAGEGenesis 1:31-2:1
MAIN POINTS (from the Matthias Media xv bible app)
- Who God is - God is our creator (Genesis 1:1)
- What God does - God creates and it is good. He gives life and purpose; to be in loving relationship with God and each other, and to rule over the world. (Gen 1:27-30)
- How God works - God creates by his powerful word (Psalm 33:9/Hebrews 11:3)
ILLUSTRATION
e.g. You are sitting at home, everyone has forgotten about tea/dinner and all you have to do is say “Let there be insert food”. “Let there be insert other food”. What power that would demonstrate. This is how God created.
QUESTIONS
Q. Why do you think God created human beings?
Q. What have you been reminded of/learnt today that amazes you about God?
Q. If you could get credit for creating anything in the world, what would it be?
BEFORE YOU GO…
CHALLENGE for the week ahead - As you look outside be amazed by God’s goodness shown to us through creation.
- FALL
DISCUSSION STARTER
What do you think is the biggest problem in the world today?
GAME
‘Falling short’
Put a target on the ground (e.g. an empty bin), get volunteers to come up, take off a shoe and try and throw it into the target. Ask ‘will you get the perfect result or will you fall short?!’
Or
Dart Board ACTIVITY – Trying to hit a Bulls Eye
MEDIAIdol Worship-Skit guys/ Everyone worships something-fervr
BIBLE PASSAGERomans 1: 25
MAIN POINTS
Sin: putting ‘I’ in the middle, this is what sin is. It is putting ourselves in place of God, wanting to be ruler of our own lives rather than allowing God, the creator, to have control.
- Who God is -The Creator hates it when humans reject/rebel against his kingship (Gen 6:5-6)
- What God does - God responds by bringing judgment on all humans and all creation (Gen 3:14-19)
- How God works: God judges and punishes sin by reversing the blessings he had originally given. Humanity’s rule over creation is disrupted as is seen in the verses. (Genesis 11:8-9)
ILLUSTRATION
Archer firing an arrow and the arrow falling short of the target, this is like us with God.
QUESTIONS
Q. Do you think sin is the biggest problem in the world? Why/why not?
Q. What do you/I worship more than God?
Q. Was God fair in his response?
BEFORE YOU GO…
CHALLENGE for the week ahead Think about items in the news stories, think about how the Bible teaches that most of the bad stories stem from people’s rejection of God, rebellion and choosing to put self at the centre of their own lives
3.PROMISE
DISCUSSION STARTER
What is the most important promise you would want someone to keep?
GAMEPromise kept or promise broken? (e.g. create Presentation)
Create a QUIZ thinking of examples of someone famous were a promise was either kept or broken e.g. Barack Obama invading Syria, Split them into teams, ask them to write down if they think the promise was kept or broken.
MEDIADemi Moore/ Ashton Kutcher’s I pledge video
BIBLE PASSAGE
Genesis 12:1-3
MAIN POINTS
- God keeps his promises (Galatians 3:6-9)
- God is loving and generous (Hebrews 6:13-20)
- God is faithful (Genesis 15:5-6, Romans 4:16-17)
ILLUSTRATION
When we hear the word ‘promise’ or ‘pledge’ sometimes, because of previous experience from others, we almost expect to be let down. As we saw when we were thinking about sin, humans miss the mark or fall short of the target, humans are flawed. Today we see that God is not. So think of a promise you would like someone to keep-it may be to go to Disneyland, to love you, to be there for you. God always comes through on his promises.
QUESTIONS
Q. How do you think Abram felt when he first got God’s promise?
Q. When we hear God is faithful to his promises, what does it make us think of God?
Q. How should we respond to this faithful God?
BEFORE YOU GO…
CHALLENGE go through your bible and try and find a promise from God that you can hold on to and share next week.
Eg 2 Peter 1: 4
Matthew 11:28-29
Philippians 4:19
4.JUDGEMENT
DISCUSSION STARTER
Give an example of a situation when you said “that’s not fair”
GAME
Get a volunteer and explain to them that if they get three answers correctly then they will win the game, but if they get even just one wrong then they have to face the consequence…ask two very easy questions, then ask a really difficult one that they will never know… give them a task as a punishment (e.g. 50 press ups/sit ups etc)
MEDIAAndy Stanley-that’s not fair movie clip
BIBLE PASSAGEHebrews 9:27
MAIN POINTS
- God won’t let us rebel forever
- God’s punishment for sin is death and judgment (Romans 6:23a)
- God is a judge, sin matters to him. He will not let it go on forever, but God is also just. He gives people what they deserve. (2 Kings 17:18-20)
ILLUSTRATION
Get the pupils to imagine what it would be like to make their own plasticine man (or woman). Imagine the relationship they would have with their plasticine friend-a great relationship were they want what’s best for them because they made them. Then get the pupils to imagine their plasticine friend turned their back on them, what would they want to do? The answer you will hopefully get is to splat the plasticine. In our sin, our rebellion-we tell God to get lost, to go away and leave us alone.This is exactly what he does but since God is the source of life, as we saw in the first session (creation) then being away from God means death and separation from him-hell. We tell the one who made us that we don’t need Him, just like our plasticine friend. He could choose to punish (splat) us…
QUESTIONS
Q. Do you think it is fair that God would do this? Why/why not?
Q. Why might people think God is horrible judging people?
Q. Why is he right in judging?
BEFORE YOU GO…
God’s justice might sound harsh, but he has to do something about sin. Otherwise it wouldn’t be fair. Remember this isn’t where the story ends, there is hope, so come back next time to hear the good news of Jesus.
What is the hope that God has for people?
5.JESUS LIFE-WAS HE JUST A GOOD TEACHER?
DISCUSSION STARTER
Who do people think Jesus is? What do people think of Jesus in our school?
Eg just a man, a myth, a good teacher…
GAMEWho am I?
Give each person the name of someone famous (stuck to their back on a Post it) Go around, asking each person one question and try to find out who they are.
or Split the room in two, get a volunteer to come up with a buzzer for their team, then read out a description of a person and ask them to buzz when they think they know the answer. Do best of five.
Explain that in this session we are looking into the identity of Jesus and who he is.
MEDIA
Mark Chapter 8
Ask Was Jesus just a good teacher?
BIBLE PASSAGEMark 8:27-30
MAIN POINTS
- Jesus isn’t simply a prophet with good teaching, He is the Messiah.
- Messiah means God’s promised King
- Jesus Identity is revealed.
ILLUSTRATION
CS Lewis in Mere Christianity:
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, theSon of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ... Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God”
This is a longer quote but in essence is trying to say:
The trilemma from Jesus life and teaching – either, he is mad, bad, or God, who do you say he is?
QUESTIONS
Q. Why do you think there is so much confusion over who Jesus is?
Q. Why do you think he came?
Q. How does his identity link to all we have looked at so far?
BEFORE YOU GO…
We have dealt with Jesus Identity, who he is, but we need to understand why he came, we will be looking at this next time.
6.JESUS DEATH - WHAT IS CHRISTIANITY ALL ABOUT?
DISCUSSION STARTER
Christians talk about Jesus death a lot, why do people think he died? What have they heard of from friends, family, newspapers, conversations about why Jesus died?
GAME
True or False Culture game:
Give out true or false statements about different countries
Eg True or False, in Kenya and Tansania, the Masai tribe greet eachother by spitting? True
Finish by explaining that some thing we find weird because it isn’t our culture, but in Jesus day, one way they executed people was by putting them on a cross, yet today we see them as tattoos and earrings etc.
MEDIAThe cross or the crowd ( )
BIBLE PASSAGERomans 5:6-8
MAIN POINTS
- At the cross, love and mercy meet, because we see
The judgment (session 4)
sin (session 2) being dealt with by God for us.
the pledge from God (session 3) being fulfilled
Because we can’t deal with sin and judgment on our own, we can only get right with God, sort out the broken relationship through Jesus, no other way (John 14:6).
ILLUSTRATION
Quote from John Chapman (Australian Evangelist)
“How many of you-if you had a young child-would give the child away…to strangers…to strangers who would attack and kill the child? You would rather die yourself, wouldn’t you? So when God the father-who is in total command with absolute love and wisdom-gives up his Son to strangers to kill him-it’s got to be pretty serious, hasn’t it? And our sin is serious.”
QUESTIONS
Q. Why was it necessary for Jesus to die?
Q. How is Jesus death a picture of God’s love for us?
Show video:
The proof.
If possible, you can use some of the material from the Christianity Explored ‘Soul’ series.
BEFORE YOU GO…
We have thought about Jesus identity now we are thinking about Jesus’ mission, why he came, to die to take the punishment for our sin. Death is always tragic yet Jesus’ death is part of the ‘good news’. Death is not the end …
7.JESUS RESURRECTION-DID JESUS REALLY RISE FROM THE DEAD?
DISCUSSION STARTER
Do you wish you could live forever? Why/why not?
Or
If you could have any type of supernatural power, what would it be?
GAME
Dead or Alive Quiz
Show famous celebrities and ask the pupils whether they are dead or alive-nominate a person to come up with a buzzer noise with each side of the room.
Finish by showing/saying ‘Jesus’ to hear the response.
Or
What happens next?
Show some clips and get the group to guess ‘what happens next’
Explain that with this part of the bible, it would have been a complete shock to people.
MEDIAThat’s my King
BIBLE PASSAGEActs 17:31
MAIN POINTS
- Jesus really did rise from the dead (1 Cor 15:1-8)
- It proves his identity. God is the giver of life, Jesus is God’s promised King. He has power over death.
- If we trust in Jesus and in his power over death, we are ‘born again’. We can have a new life because of him.
ILLUSTRATION
Get pupils to think through what they have done over the past 40 days.
-What have you done in the past 40 days?
-How many people did you meet?
The Bible tells us that Jesus was on this earth after his resurrection for 40 days, over a month. It refers to 500 people who saw him at the one time
(1 Cor 15:6).
QUESTIONS
Q. What things did Paul consider to be ‘of first importance’ (1 Cor 15:1-8)
Q. What do verses 5-8 tell you about Jesus’ resurrection?
Q. Why do you think people struggle to believe in the resurrection?
BEFORE YOU GO…
If Jesus really did rise from the dead, this has serious consequences for, not just our lives now, but for the eternity. Come back next week to find out what it means!
8.NEW CREATION ‘NEW BEGINNINGS’
DISCUSSION STARTER
Why do you think people prefer things that are new? Eg new technology-phones, computers, TVs…
GAME10 years from now?
Hand out pen and paper to everyone. Get them to write their name at the top and fold over the paper to cover their name. Then pass the paper around in a clockwise direction and get everyone to write down an occupation. Repeat the process writing down
-How many kids they will have
-What type of car they drive
-What style of hair they have and anything else you want to add.
Read out a few ‘10 Years on’ profiles . Explain that none of us know what will happen over the course of the next ten years, but we do know what the new creation will be like whenever it comes…
MEDIAThe story of everything- fervr.net
(
BIBLE PASSAGERevelation 21:1-5
MAIN POINTS
- God is bringing in a new Creation
- We don’t know when, but we do know it will happen (Matt 24:36-51)
- We know there will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain.
ILLUSTRATION
Think of the last time you cried, you were hurt, in pain, physical or emotional. Explain that although all of us know what it is like to be hurt or in pain, to fight the tears but the Bible tells us that in God’s new creation all pain, all tears will be wiped away.
Quote from ‘RISE’ by Jason and Rachel Gardner (page 22)
“We know that the ultimate thing that Jesus saves us from is a life without God. On one level you might think that life without God can’t be all that bad. The sun shines, the shops still open, the TV still works. But take a moment to think about how all the things in life have come to exist and what would happen if the being who holds everything together were to leave. For Paul this is pretty much unthinkable. This is what he writes about Jesus to the new church in Colossae.
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together-Col 1:17
Life without God doesn’t simply mean you and me not going to church or Christian festivals any more-it means choosing to live in a world where we think that everyone is better off without the Creator of life, love, peace, joy, freedom. The Bible has a word for that kind of place-‘hell’…
The truth that Christians live by is that the best life possible is one that is lived in the presence of God-a life that is up close and personal with the beautiful Creator who made everything. Becoming a Christian isn’t just about being saved from something, but for something. The moment we say ‘yes’ to Jesus, we start out on the greatest adventure of our lives and we discover something truly priceless; a life lived side by side with God for ever.”
Or
Q. From looking around the world, is it a good thing that God will make it new? Why/why not?
Q. Do you think it would be a good thing to be part of this New Creation? Why/why not?
Q. From previous sessions, how are we certain we will get here?
Q. What do you think it will be like to be with God forever? Why?
QUESTIONS
Q. How can Christians keep going in the Christian life? (Hebrews 12:2)(Get them to understand, that it is by having the new creation on their minds and focus)
Q. What in the new creation sounds good to you?
Q. How does the promise of a new creation connect with some of the previous sessions we have done?
BEFORE YOU GO…
1 Cor 15:24-26
From Jesus, we see that death has been defeated. When the new creation is ushered in there will be no more death! What an incredible place new creation will be.
From Creation to New Creation
God is bringing in this new creation, will you be apart of it?