graduating seniors

Transcription

graduating seniors

Youth Leaders Only / Music Resource Book / Volume 87 / Spring 2012
Cover: Switchfoot
INSIDE:
GRADUATING
SENIORS:
HELPING THEM FINISH STRONG
AND START EVEN STRONGER
Maximizing Music &
Media in Youth Ministry
Avoiding The Ultimate Dropout page 4 Seniors May Be Dangerous To Your Health page 7 ConGRADulations! Class of
2012 Music-Media-Gift Book page 10 Man Up Movie (Feat. Lecrae) page 22 Special Features: Twelve Switchfoot
Discussion Guides page 48 Grad Prep Sessions (Finances, Worldview, Relationships) page 10 Heart of the Artist: Thousand Foot Krutch
page 19 Switchfoot page 17 Rachel Chan page 16 Nine Lashes page 18
®
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CONTENTS
MAIN/MILD/HOT
ARE LISTED ALPHABETICALLY BY ARTIST
FEATURE
ARTICLES:
MAIN:
Artist:
Album Title:
Song Title:
Study Theme:
MILD:
Artist:
Album Title:
Song Title:
Study Theme:
HOT:
Artist:
Album Title:
Song Title:
Study Theme:
DEPARTMENTS:
4
6
7
Avoiding The Ultimate
Dropout
Tripping With
Your Seniors
Seniors May Be Dangerous
To Your Health
20
116 FEAT. LECRAE
ALBUM
22
116 FEAT. LECRAE
DVD
10
CONGRADULATIONS!
CLASS OF 2012
Authority
ConGRADulations! Class of 2012
Grad Prep Sessions
Relationships, Finances, Worldview
30
ELIZABETH
SOUTH
32
36
LEELAND
RACHEL CHAN
26
34
BRINSON
28
CLOSE
YOUR EYES
Empty Hands And Heavy Hearts
Valleys
Forgiveness
World We View
Anthem Of The Lonely
Peer Pressure
2
3
54
Man Up
Man Up Anthem
Biblical Manhood
Do It Afraid
I Will Trust You
Trust
O.M.G.
He Said He Loved Me
Faith
Letter From The Editor
Man Up
The Great Awakening
I Cry
Dependence
How To Use This Resource
GO
Lame
Life; Purpose/Meaning
NINE LASHES
Thematic Index
MUSIC RESOURCE BOOK:
Volume 87 • Spring 2012
Maximizing Music & Media
in Youth Ministry
The Youth Leaders Only Music
Resource Book is published quarterly
by Interlínc, Franklin, TN
Direct any questions or comments to
interlínc at 1-800-725-3300 or visit
www.interlinc-online.com
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1
8
10
16
The Long View
CONGRADULATIONS!
Class of 2012
Grad Prep Sessions
Relationships, Finances,
Worldview
Heart Of The Artist:
Rachel Chan, Switchfoot,
Nine Lashes, Thousand
Foot Krutch
46
STARFIELD
The Kingdom
The Kingdom Of Our God
Testimony
48
SWITCHFOOT
Vice Verses
Entire Album Discussion Guides
38
THE REND COLLECTIVE
EXPERIMENT
Homemade Worship By Handmade People
Christ Has Set Me Free
Freedom
44
SOUTHBOUND
FEARING
52
THOUSAND FOOT
KRUTCH
58
64
The Anthem Of Angels
Unseen
Spiritual Warfare
Modern Worship Section
40
RUSH OF FOOLS
We Once Were
Come Find Me
Jesus; The Good Shepherd
The End Is Where We Begin
Be Somebody
Self-Identity; In Christ
re:Tuned
67
Ministry Resource Section
STAFF:
Publisher: Allen Weed • Editor: Ken McCoy • The WriteGroup: Rick Bundschuh, Cindy Engøy, Eric Gargus, Mary Wilson, Dave McGinley, Todd Pearage,
Doug Ranck, Paul Turner, Rusty Van Deusen, Jeremy White • Art Direction: Ken McCoy • Cover & Article Design: Thomas Ryan Design • Magazine Layout:
Ken McCoy • Production Manager: Glen Allen Green • Proofing: Dale Weed, Jeannine Ugalde, Anne Conley
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2
LETTER FROM
THE EDITOR
By
Ken McCoy
I have always had a love/hate relationship with high school seniors. I love seeing the young men and women they have become
since that dorky freshman year. I love how they can step up and
take leadership responsibilities within youth ministry. And I love
watching them take significant steps into the future that God has
for them.
A Strong
Finish
her she told me that she had been listening to ConGRADulations!
in her car prior to the accident and it was helping to provide the
peace of God in the situation.” (Aaron Kennedy)
“I’ve been i n student ministry for over 30
years, and I’ve given many types of ‘Grad’
gifts. I’ve been using ConGRADulations!
for several years. A couple of years ago
my daughter graduated. It was an emotional experience; I recognized her along
with the other graduates in our service. I
gave her the gift. Fast-forward two years
to last week – her sophomore year in college. I had to drive her car and in the
player – her grad gift. Thanks for putting
together such a great resource.”
(Donnie Sisk)
And yet I hate seeing some of them drift away from youth ministry once they get that acceptance letter from a college or branch of the military. (Yeah, I live in a
military town.) I hate saying
goodbye to them once they
graduate. I hate not having
their training, knowledge,
influence, and enthusiasm
to help get next year’s ministry going strong.
And so I try to finish strong
with my young friends who
are about to leave high
school. I try to give them
skills and inf ormation they
will need to continue growing in their faith. I hope to
give them the encouragement they’ll need when they
go off into their future. An
important tool in that
process has been interlínc’s
ConGRADulations! Class of… grad gift. And I’m not the
only one. Maybe you can relate to these comments
from other youth leaders trying to finish strong.
“I have given ConGRADulations! to my graduating senior s for
years. Each year I get a couple more than necessary to have one
or two to give to seniors that may show up late in the year. It’s
also been a perfect opportunity for me to make a connection with
some wayward seniors – kind of an excuse to reconnect with
them. ‘Hey man, I have a gift for you! Can we get together?’ Who’s
going to say no to that?” (Scott Egan)
“A few days after receiving ConGRADulati ons! last spring, one of
our seniors was involved in a car accident. Thankfully, everyone
was okay but our graduate was shaken up a bit considering she
only had her driver’s license a few months. When I checked up on
This year’s GRAD gift includes a couple of items that are important to me.
My friend, Patrick Ivison, graduates
this year – his video and testimony are
included. And San Diego-based
Switchfoot’s song “Afterlife” is a key
song included. (Mark Pittman and I are
proud of our hometown band!) Those two
items, along with the other v ideos, songs,
and resources, make this a special GRAD
for me. I hope you’ll experience just how
important it can be to finish strong with your
graduating seniors!
ConGRADulations! isn’t the only valuable tool
in this edition of YLO. Make sure you check out
all the great music with corresponding Bible studies, the awesome
Man Up project, the complete-album discussion guides for
Switchfoot’s Vice Verses, the t on of leadsheets included in the
Modern Worship Section, and more! You won’t find this breadth of
resources anywhere else – so make the most of them!
Godspeed,
Ken McCoy
Editor
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How to Use this
YLO MUSIC
Resource Book
Sure, at first glance you notice how great it looks—very current, very
stylish. Go ahead—flip through this book a bit. Notice the helpful
design? Did you catch the organizational details? The more you look
at this book, the more you will appreciate the functionality that has
been built into it. Here is a quick tour…
The Cover
If you’re like most of us, you keep
your YLO (Youth Leaders Only) books
stored on a bookshelf. When you want
to search for a song or video that deals
with a certain topic, slide each book
out a couple of inches and read the
themes and featured articles for each
issue. Cool!
The Index
Take a look at the index or “table of
contents”—notice the colored bars?
They represent sections in the book
and they clue you in on which albums /
Bible Studies are “Main,”“Mild,”or “Hot.”
You will notice in the Bible Studies
section that each Leader Guide / Student
Guide is color-keyed the same way.
Wow! Someone’s been thinking!
Featured Articles
Each issue of YLO has a certain “flavor.”
Around that theme are a couple of
“Feature Articles” as well as some of the
other items you have in your YLO box.
These articles give you insight into the
heart and ministry of some of the
musicians included in the YLO box.
Bible Studies
What makes Youth Leaders Only more
than “cheap music” are the musicbased Bible Study resources provided
for you to use in your programming.
Finding good Christian music isn’t hard,
but coming up with ways to use it in
your ministry with teenagers takes time,
talent, and energy. Real-world youth
leaders write the Bible Studies; the
sessions are field-test ed and proven
effective with real-world teenagers.
Thematic Listing
Not every song on every CD has a
Bible Study written for it. That doesn’t
mean you can’t use those other songs
in your ministry with students.
Modern Worship Section
In this section you’ll find encouraging
and enlightening resources to help you
develop your youth’s worship ministry.
You’ll find articles from recent SPIN
versions of YLO or other worship
leaders and Lead Sheets of songs
from some of the CDs in this YLO.
Although they are not really the kind
of Lead Sheets most bands use, these
pages of “lyrics with chords over them”
are a great help when you want to teach
the high school praise banda new tune.
Many youth leaders tell us that the Lead
Sheets are an invaluable resource.
re:Tuned
Take advantage of some popular
secular songs to introduce a theme,
supplement your regula Bible Study
lesson, or outreach event. Use the
opening questions and discussion
ideas to get your students talking
and thinking about the theme.
Reviews
Not every available contemporary
Christian music CD can make it into
the YLO box. So, we try to give you a
taste of what else is available in your
local store. Since interlínc often gets
“pre-release” copies of upcoming CDs,
we can give you a “heads up” to new
releases that might be just right for you
and your young friends.
We hope this effort helps you reach
and disciple more young people
to be go-for-it Christians!
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4
FEATURE
ARTICLE
Avoiding
the
Ultimate
Dropo
ut
© 2012, INTERLíNC. INTERLINC-ONLINE.COM / 800.725.3300
<<
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By
Jeremy White
Valley Church
Vacaville, California
[email protected]
Many evangelical watchdogs are sounding alarms concerning a
disappointing type of college dropout: those dropping out of the Christian
faith the moment they hit their university campuses.
“Dropping out” of the Christian faith raises all kinds of theological questions,
so I will begin by affirming that I have a strong personal conviction about the
doctrine of eternal security. I believe that born-again person can never be
lost or un-born, and I respect my Christian brothers and sisters who see
it differently.
When my wife explained that God is not afraid of her honesty, but rather
pleased by it, and that Jesus prioritized the object of faith (Himself) over the
amount of faith (i.e. the mustard seed parable), Mary began to take baby
steps. She now realizes that, like Thomas, God won’t reject her as she wrestles with questions.
But here’s the point: many students arrive on college campuses each year
only to walk away from the very faith that once gave them guidance. While
many will return to church involvement later in life, even a temporary hiatus
can involve grave earthly consequences related to their future hopes and
dreams. How can we help nurture a faith that remains strong even in the face
of the pressures of college and young adult life?
Realize that apologetics is still important – but also changing.
I am a natural skeptic, and early on God used the writings of many classic
apologists from C.S. Lewis to Francis Schaeffer to Josh McDowell to help
solidify my faith. But in addition to evidential apologetics we need to engage
in experiential apologetics. Students need to know not only that Christianity
is true – but also that it works.
Be theologically rich in your teaching ministry.
I am surprised at the way I often underestimate the capacity of students to
comprehend and apply deep truths of Scripture. With ready-made resources
offering to supplement our supposed lack of time for prep and study, we are
tempted to allow the canned resources to replace our pursuit of study, meditation, and reflection on the Scriptures. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve thanked
God more than once for resources like the one you’re reading now when I’m
pressed for time or need something cool for supplement. But, a shepherd
cannot guide the flock of God to places where he or she has never been.
It works when it’s keeping us from sin and its consequences. And it works
when we fall into sin and face its consequences. It works to bring peace
among enemies and it works to bring peace in the soul. It works in being
realistic about the present and it works to bring hope regarding the future. It
works to rescue the soul from the grip of Hades and it works to rescue the
body from the grip of poverty. As theology moves from the classroom to the
laboratory – as kids have the opportunity to both witness and participate in
the “living out” of faith – they are much more likely to embrace Jesus as the
holistic answer to all life’s complexities and not simply view him as a “Get
out of hell free” card (as important as that is).
Theological richness stems from your personal growth with God. Are you
growing in both your cerebral AND experiential understanding of God?
Students can sense when you’re talking from personal passion and experience versus having read someone’s idea out of a book. Even when you use
some of the great pre-written material available, your ambition should be to
make it your own. Wrestle with it, think through it, and tweak it until you
believe what you’re teaching and are ready to live it out.
Be honest about your own struggles with doubt.
We’ve communicated to students that “doubt” is the enemy of faith.
However, I believe that apathy is the real enemy of faith. Giving up is what
quenches the fire of faith. Sharing openly about the questions you’ve struggled with and how you came to various resolutions can go a long way in
assuring students that true faith is not the opposite of doubt – but the opposite of apathy. When a student becomes confused and then ceases to care
and gives up, he or she is a prime target for believing a false message. That
message may come in the form of secular humanistic philosophy or a false
religious system or something else – but come it will – and students need to
know how to let doubt become a friend to their faith instead of a foe that
leads to apathy.
Just this morning my wife and I awoke to one of the best text messages we
could ever have received. It simply read: “Sunday the 4th of January, I accept
Jesus Christ as my savior. I ask him to be a part of my life and in my heart –
Mary.” The reason for our joy is obvious, but even more so when you know
something of Mary’s story. My wife has been Mary’s small group leader for
two years. Mary comes to our youth gatherings regularly and is someone to
whom faith has not come easy. She is a skeptic, a doubter, and someone
we’ve consistently loved and shared the Gospel with since we met her. She
always told us how she felt ashamed to come to God because of her doubt.
Partner with Parents.
I am amazed at how many youth workers want little or nothing to do with
parents. This is one of the great scandals of modern youth ministry. Even
non-believing parents want their kids to be solid, healthy, productive members of society. Make your priority to be even MORE available to parents
than you are to students. When they walk into the room, acknowledge them.
Invite their involvement in any way possible or appropriate. Offer gatherings
and training for them. Talk to them about specific struggles they face in the
raising of their kids. This will not only earn you much credibility in their eyes,
but will keep your finger on the pulse of the home life, enabling you to minister with greater wisdom and sensitivity.
John was a likeable kid who I wished would sign up for one of our camps –
but he never would. He was friendly, quirky, and a bit immature for his age—
but very loveable. Finally, after getting to know John’s dad over a cup of coffee, I was made aware that John’s biological mother had severely abused
him as a younger child. Because of this background, John struggled with a
few behavioral difficulties that made his dad nervous about sending him
away overnight. My new compassion for John and his dad led me to arrange
for a handful of male leaders to be brought into the inner circle of awareness
so that they could effectively monitor and minister to John – and next month,
as a senior in high school, he will be heading to winter camp with us for the
very first time!
So be encouraged! You ARE making a difference! That appointment you
recently squeezed in to make time for somebody; that extra ten minutes you
spent to pray with that student; that late night conversation after they had
blown it, it’s all working to remind your students that Christianity is not only
true – it works.
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6
FEATURE
ARTICLE
Tripping
WithYour
Seniors
By:
Mark Pittman
interlínc
San Diego, California
[email protected]
You know how a “good idea” can get shoved
to the bottom of the priority list in a busy
youth ministry schedule? I had an idea for a
senior trip, but it took a back seat to a confirmation class that I was informed I would
“have to do” for four important seniors.
Towards the end of the class someone suggested that we take a trip to celebrate, which
seemed like a good wrap-up event to me. So
we went. After the weekend was over, I
drove home stoked about the good conversations we had. Right then and there I knew
that the senior trip would become a yearly
ministry event.
My students were insanely busy, so I scheduled our senior trips to occur about seven
weeks before graduation. This made sure
that we had an open weekend and wouldn’t
infringe on finals or the many grad activities.
Doing the trip so early meant I was able to
set the table for graduation—the words and
memories from our senior trip would be the
frame for them as they threw the cap and
looked toward life on their own.
A good senior trip can be a perfect time to
push “pause” and clarify the things in their
life that contributed to their spiritual growth. I
wanted them to finish the trip with a clear
plan to get plugged-in to a church and keep
growing after graduation. So the purpose of
the trip was both celebration and reflection.
We had a lot of fun decorating the vehicles
that we used—shoe polish on the windows,
streamers inside—we made the trip feel like
a party. We even created mix CDs of songs
from all four years of their high school and
played Name That Tune while we drove.
Since we spent most of Friday traveling we didn’t
have much time or energy to do a big meeting. I
always started with playing a fun grad-focused
board game (you can download it from
grad2008.com). The game is like “Candyland” or
“Chutes and Ladders,” but the players encounter
various college situations (“Eat Roommate’s Food,
Go Back 3 Spaces”). After the game I had them
start on their “written plan” for continuing to grow
in their faith after graduation. The paper had these
questions: “What are the three biggest questions /
concerns you have as you graduate? What way
do you think you’ll change the most after graduation? What about who you are do you think won’t
change at all? What kind of pressure do you think
you’ll feel the most at college / on your own?”
On Saturday, we played. I took lots of pictures,
had a ton of fun, and made sure that I had some
good solid time with each senior. By the end of
the day I knew what everyone was doing for the
summer, where they were going in the fall, what
their major was going to be, and when they were
leaving. We also reminisced—I could easily get
them going on the “remember when…” stories.
Saturday evening or Sunday morning I had a
graph that the students filled out. On the horizontal axis was their age (1–18) and on the vertical
access was “Close to God” and “Far from God.”
The graph helped them see that spiritual growth is
not a 45-degree line, but that there are ups and
downs. I had the seniors write down two “victories”—times that God showed up in their lives big
time. I think it’s very powerful for seniors to see
their spiritual progress graphs and be able to look
at them again later.
I had the students unpack Proverbs 3:5 & 6. I
also loaded them up with a bunch of verses about
how we must bring God into our decisionmaking process. I then had them talk
through Matthew 21:28–31 and write the
answers to: What decisions have you made
that helped you live out your faith? What
decisions might you need to make before
you’re faced with a situation?
Finally, I had the seniors write what aspects
of church helped them grow, what parts of
discipleship helped them grow, what life-values helped them grow, and what service
projects helped them grow. They ended up
with a list of what to search for and reconnect with in a new church or college ministry.
I then had them fold up the paper and stick it
in the front cover of their Bible.
I tried to have coffee with each senior individually sometime between the trip and graduation. Walking a senior through his or her
spiritual growth over the last four years and
highlighting gifts or traits that you love about
him or her can have a huge impact. In
August I called all the parents and got the
new addresses and e-mails for the grads.
Then I sent encouraging e-mails monthly and
asked my former seniors about the church /
ministry where they were plugged-in. I also
scheduled coffee or lunch with those grads
when they came back home for Christmas
break.
Go to grad2012.com for a pdf of Mark’s
Senior Trip “Student Sheet.”
<<
Page
FEATURE
ARTICLE
By
Scott Wilcher
The UpStream Project
Chesapeake Virginia
[email protected]
7
Seniors May
Be Dangerous
To Your Health
I have hated graduation time for twenty years now. When all those
graduation announcements arrive in the mail, I start to get a little grumpy.
Then, well-meaning people say to me, “You must
be so proud to see these kids graduate!” I paste
on a polite wooden smile and say, “It’s quite a
day.” But inside I snap, “No! Can’t you see that
I am losing my best kids – the ones I enjoy
the most?”
Clearly that is too dramatic, but anyone in youth
ministry who has a brain, a heart, and three years
of experience understands that the job is dangerous to your health. The longer we stay in it, the
more we learn the dangerous truth: seniors leave,
and it hurts when they do.
That loss at graduation may affect our ministry.
As each school year begins, fully pouring yourself
into the new kids is more difficult because you
know they will leave eventually. But every fall,
young ones show up, bouncing and smiling,
demanding silently, “Love us as you loved them!”
We smile back, and then stagger away, unable
to remember the recent graduates ever being
this goofy.
If we pull back just a little each year, at some point
we realize that we are closer to the folks in the
fading photographs on the wall than the real people standing there in the room. It becomes easy to
say that we have “aged-out” of youth ministry. If
the loss gets bad enough, someone will eventually
find us in some storage closet tangled in volleyball
nets, mumbling about pizza toppings. Or worse,
we become senior pastors.
The normal human response is to go numb or go
away, but we are not called to be normal. We are
the Christians. More correctly, we are the leaders
of the Christians. So how do we respond? Yes,
there is need for Sabbath. Yes, there is need for
us to take the time to process the grief of loss at
graduation. Yes, we need to avoid punishing the
new kids for our pain.
Every school year, I reread Philippians 2:5-8
and remember that Jesus stepped from His worship-drenched, angel-guarded throne into a dangerous world that assured Him pain and death. He
left the safe place to go to a risky place, because
He loves us. We, as His weak imitators, must
leave the safety of our emotional defenses and
love the new kids. Through that process, we better understand the persistence of God in moving
toward us, better understand the sacrifice of
Jesus for us, and then live it out in front of kids,
so they can better understand it by watching us.
Have a reunion.
After you have been in ministry for a while, have a
reunion of your graduates. Make it a big deal or
just have dinner and talk. Get some of the influencers from past years to organize it. Show old
pictures and videos. Let some of them talk if they
want. Invite them all, the “problem children” and
the “golden children.”
I am not calling for denial or perfection, but rather
a measured, intentional fulfillment of our painful
calling to love well. I’m suggesting we lay down
our lives in imitation of Christ and not allow the
fear of future loss to derail our calling and our
impact right now.
Take a break.
Shut your ministry down for August to mark the
end of one school year and the beginning of
another. Use the break to train leaders and to
rest. The rest and the new energy at startup
are valuable.
Here are some ideas to ease the pain of graduation.
Take a personal retreat to reflect on the past
year or two of ministry. If you determine that you
are called to youth ministry, but are distant from
kids, consider asking for a few months or some
weeks and pull back to do something completely
different. Learn something new. Travel. Do whatever refreshes you. Then jump back in and love
those kids with as much Christ-like sacrifice as
grace allows.
Celebrate the transition.
Have a Junior/Senior dinner a few weeks after
graduation. Invite your adult leaders, your graduates, and your rising seniors to a nice dinner. Have
them dress up. Let the parents come as well.
Ask the seniors to talk about their best memory,
worst memory, and most significant lesson
learned. Just use it as a time to debrief. Tell each
one what your best memory was of him or her.
Be honest. Tell them it is difficult to send them
out. Tell them they will leave holes in the ministry,
not to make them guilty, but to value them and
their contributions.
Then have a graduate challenge the rising seniors
to set examples in the group. Have graduates pray
over the rising seniors and pass the mantle of
leadership to them. Charge the rising seniors to
come to group no longer as students but as leaders who have a responsibility to serve and bless
the younger kids. (This eases the problem of seniors wandering off because of lack of purpose.)
Keep in touch.
Keep up with your graduates through email or an
alumni website. If they go off to college, consider
a road trip with another leader to visit and encourage each one to follow Christ faithfully.
Distribute the joy and the grief.
If you find yourself unable to bear the weight of
persistent loss, get some folks on your team to
share the weight of it. You cannot pastor every
child. Build a team of leaders who you can talk to
and who understand the loss of graduates. Talk to
other youth workers about it. Encourage one
another to press into new relationships.
Meditate on Philippians 2.
What would leaving the safe places of your life to
move into relationship with your family look like for
you? The leaders you work with? The kids in your
group? Talk about it with your senior pastor or
mentor. How have you withdrawn over the last few
years? Do you see a distance forming? Is it a life
pattern or just a ministry pattern? Meditate on
Philippians 2 in such a way that you may love
as Christ loves – without fear.
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8
FEATURE
ARTICLE
I sat in the circle, twentyseven years old, two years
out of seminary, only a few
years into my first full-time
youth ministry position.
People in ministry know about the circle. The circle is where you often sit with other ministry teammates. In the circle, you go around and share. On
this day we were sharing, or more correctly, presenting our ministries. The assignment of the
moment, “Tell us about your youth ministry.”
What youth pastor/leader, to some degree, has
not dreaded this time? In these conversations we
hear about the amazing things God is doing at
other churches while we fidget, knowing the reality
of our ministry, and wonder if we are the right person for the job after all.
Whenever we sit in the “circle”, we tend to compare. But when we compare, we lose. We either
become proud, or we wallow in martyrdom.
The root of this problem is usually found in our
need to be successful. We want others to know
we are capable and have something great to offer.
If we cannot present a positive front, our biggest
temptation is to then produce a successful “spin.”
What is your definition of “success” in youth ministry? Is success having a full youth room on
By
Doug Ranck
Free Methodist Church
Santa Barbara California
[email protected]
<<
Page
FEATURE
ARTICLE
Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings? Is it
having the biggest group at your winter camp? Is
it having growing and active small groups with
students who carry a Bible/notebook and are
eager to learn? What do you talk about when people ask you to describe your youth ministry? What
would cause you to feel like your youth ministry
is effective?
Our descriptions, lists, and profiles mostly focus
on the “here and now.” For too many years, I
defined my success only in terms of temporary
fruit. I believed if youth said they wanted to follow
Christ and were actively living their faith that we
had succeeded and could now move to the next
“project.” I also believed the inverse of those kids
who rebelled and made a stand against participating in the youth ministry and following Christ. This
thinking, I now understand, was shortsighted. We
limit ourselves with “small picture” thinking while
God is only interested in the “big picture.”
After twenty-nine years of youth ministry there are
many times I feel that I know less than when I
started, but one thing I do know: there is a “long
view” to youth ministry. Keeping my eyes on a
9
teenager beyond high school into adulthood gives
me a greater glimpse of God’s perspective.
Here are three tentative conclusions (with accompanying comments) I have made which helps me
navigate a healthy evaluation of success and failure in my own ministry:
This is not my ministry.
My role is to be a faithful servant/shepherd and to
offer opportunities for youth to begin a relationship with Christ, grow in their faith, and serve Him.
I cannot make anybody do these things or be a
Christian. God completes the work as people
choose to follow Him.
There are many different scenarios in the
faith journey of youth.
•Youth may be great Christians throughout their
time in the youth ministry but reject it in the college years.
•Youth may be growing Christians through middle
school and reject it in high school.
•Youth may not follow Christ at all through their
teen years, but come to Him later in life.
•Youth may do one of the first two scenarios and
come back to the Lord in college or later in life.
No program or even a fully invested relationship
can guarantee the path of a teenager in his or her
relationship with the Lord. What works for one
may not work for another. We are all different, and
we have the freedom to choose to follow the Lord.
We must accept these different journeys as a part
of the youth ministry profile and remember this is
God’s ministry.
The
Long
View
Long view = Hope view
Opening my eyes wide to the possibilities of God’s
work in a person’s life, at any time, offers me a
whole new frame of reference to assess the “successes and failures” of ministry. I have learned
after all these years (twenty-five of them in the
same ministry) to never give up hope.
Some will measure their success by how many
former students are now in full-time ministry, missions, etc. To hear them speak of those youth we
would naturally guess they were active, growing
Christians in their teen years; carefully groomed
and nourished through the loving investment of
youth leaders. However, over half of our youth
who now serve God full-time in ministry or missions were not even Christians through most of
their adolescent years!
The next time you sit in the “circle” and wait for
your turn, in the moments that you are tempted to
second guess your “success” – may God remind
you that His work is not yet done. May He affirm
in you the passion to continue your walk with
youth beyond high school graduation into the rest
of their lives.
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Theme
Transition
Graduates, for the first time in their lives, will have the opportunity to
choose their social networks. Previously, friendships were created for
them – they just seemed to happen naturally around the kids they grew
up with, played sports with, sat with in homeroom, etc. Now students
need to learn the skill of searching for, finding, pursuing, and building
quality relationships. This video is part of the “CollegeReady” materials.
You can find more great resources like this one at collegeready.com.
• Can you remember your best friend from 2nd grade? Are you still
friends with that person?
Objective
Grads will learn about the opportunity of choosing with whom to
build close relationships, and will understand the value of
empowering friendships.
Note
This session is built around a six-minute video from the
ConGRADulations! Class of 2012 “Media Disc.” Even though this
session is designed for high school seniors, you can easily do this
with your entire group – especially since it uses a cool video. The
video clip incorporates an intro voiceover segment that explains the
Empowering Friendships theme. If you have any questions, call
800-725-3300 or email [email protected].
Warm Up
Start a discussion about choices in life by talking about the things that
were chosen for you by your folks when you were younger, but now you
have the opportunity to choose for yourself. Use a chalkboard or a large
sheet of paper to list similar choices that students can add. (Example:
clothes, food, movies, music, time to go to bed, etc.)
Transition
After creating the list, discuss:
• Now that you’re away from home, how much freedom of choice do
you have?
• John Bryson on the video said, “Life is a team sport. Your circle of
friends will determine, to a large extent, your future pathways.”
How have you seen the truth of that statement?
• How would you describe what “Relational Passivity” is?
• What makes someone your friend?
• What kind of friend would you say you are?
Bible Study
Use these Scriptures and discussion questions to guide you through the
Bible Study time of your meeting. Have the students look up the verses
and then write the answers to the questions before you
discuss the Scriptures as a group.
1 Corinthians 15:33 – We can only live life at a high level, and stay
there, with a band of good brothers and sisters around us.
• Restate this verse by making it a positive statement instead of the
negative one.
• Why do you think people of “good” character are sometimes
attracted to “bad” characters?
• What qualities would you notice in someone of “good” character?
Proverbs 17:17; 18:24 – The kinds of friendships we build can
either be shallow or authentic.
• Do you have a friend that is closer than family? What does that kind of
relationship feel like?
• What is the difference between a shallow friendship and an
authentic friendship?
• Why is the wise person cautious in friendships? What does the
Scripture say will happen if you are unwise?
• Is freedom of choice a privilege that is earned or a right that comes
by being on your own? What is the difference and why did you pick the
statement you did?
Proverbs 12:26; 27:6 – We need “empowering” friendships that
build us up.
The Video
• What are “wounds” from a friend?
Hand out the Student Guides and explain that while we did get to choose
our friends, they were chosen out of those we just happened to be
around. Now, as we leave high school for college, the military, or the
workforce, we have a completely different opportunity and responsibility
to choose our friends. Show the video.
• Rewrite 12:26 in your own words.
• How can you know if you can trust the hurt you experience
from a friend?
Wrap Up
Discuss:
• What’s the common theme from all the Bible passages
about friendship?
• How are you allowing those close to you to really know you?
• What steps can you take to move your friendships from shallow
to real and create trust and accountability?
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Proverbs 12:26; 27:6 – We need “empowering”
friendships that build us up.
Rewrite 12:26 in your own words.
Proverbs 17:17; 18:24 – The kinds of friendships
we build can either be shallow or authentic.
Do you have a friend that is closer than family?
What does that kind of relationship feel like?
What are “wounds” from a friend?
1 Corinthians 15:33 – We can only live life at a high
level, and stay there, with a band of good brothers
and sisters around us.
Restate this verse by making it a positive statement instead of the negative one.
What is the difference between a shallow friendship and an authentic friendship?
Why do you think people of “good” character are
sometimes attracted to “bad” characters?
What qualities would you notice in someone of
“good” character?
Why is the wise person cautious in friendships?
What does the Scripture say
will happen if you are unwise?
How can you know if you can trust the hurt you
experience from a friend?
Leader Guide
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The Video
With all the attention that “money” gets in the news (government bailouts, stimulus funds, jobs, bills, etc.) you would think that today’s grads
would have a good handle on handling money. Unfortunately, grads
are as materialistic as ever – maybe more so. Once they get out of high
school they will be bombarded with significant money decisions to make:
school loans, easy-to-obtain credit cards, entertainment, gadgets, insurance, clothes – and on and on. Grads must learn solid principles for handling money. The decisions they make today will have a huge influence on
their financial future.
Hand out the Student Guides and show the video to your group.
This clip is from the “Next Chapter” Bible study series.
Objective
• Define “stewardship” in your own words.
Transition
Discuss:
• What message did you get from the video?
• How would you respond to a person who says, “I own my stuff and can
do what I want with it”?
Grads will learn about wise money practices.
Bible Study
Note
God has a LOT to say about handling money – too much to cover in this
session, unfortunately. So, focus on these three issues:
This session is built around a video from the ConGRADulations! Class of
2012 “Media Disc.” The video is an excerpt from a powerful student Bible
study series called “Next Chapter” that offers fourteen weeks of Scripture study, videos, application, resources, and ways to connect with others who will help make the transition out of high school a success. Check
out “Next Chapter” resources at nextchapter.bgco.org. Any questions call
800-725-3300 or email [email protected].
Warm Up
Hand out 3x5 cards and pencils. Have the students imagine that they
have just been given $1000. Instruct the students to list on their cards
how they would use that windfall – be sure that they list how every dollar
would be used. Inform the group that you’ll be reading the cards aloud,
so they shouldn’t write anything silly or embarrassing. When they have
finished writing, tell them to put their names at the top of their cards.
Collect the cards, then read them to the group. Have the kids try to
guess who wrote each card.
Transition
Love God, Not Money (Matthew 6:24; 1 Timothy 6:9-10)
• What is incompatible between pursuing money and pursuing God?
• Notice that money isn’t the root of all kindWho or what causes ruin,
destruction, and grief?
Have a Plan for Your Money (Proverbs 21:5, 20; 27:12)
• Describe how you keep track of what you spend your money on.
• What are the differences between a “wise sensible” person and a
“foolish simpleton”?
• How can you strengthen the wise side of your money management
and minimize the foolish side?
Avoid Borrowing Money (Deuteronomy 28:44; Proverbs 22:7;
Romans 13:8)
• Do you spend more money than you have? If so, how do you cover
the difference?
• How will you handle the offers of easy-to-get credit cards?
Discuss:
• What happens to the person who borrows money?
• What did you notice about the way people want to spend
their money?
Wrap Up
• How would you describe the spending habits of people your age?
Explain that how a person handles his or her money is an indication of
his or her character – wise, smart, and disciplined or foolish, simple,
and spontaneous. Remind students that Jesus said, Do not store up
for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and
where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures
in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not
break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also. (Matthew 6:19-21) Although money is necessary, it is not how we
determine value. We love God, we plan for our spending and saving, and
we live within our means.
• What can you learn about a person by observing his or her
spending habits?
Explain that spending isn’t a problem, but we can spend it wisely or foolishly. God’s advice about this area of life is important to learn now, before
foolish decisions cause big problems.
Bible Study
Love ________________ , Not ________________
Matthew 6:24; 1 Timothy 6:9-10
• What is incompatible between pursuing money and pursuing God?
• Notice that money isn’t the root of all kinds of evil. What is that root?
• Who or what causes ruin, destruction, and grief?
Have a ________________ for Your ________________
Proverbs 21:5, 20; 27:12
• Describe how you keep track of what you spend your money on.
• What are the differences between a “wise sensible” person and a
“foolish simpleton”?
• How can you strengthen the wise side of your money management and
minimize the foolish side?
Avoid ________________ Money
Deuteronomy 28:44; Proverbs 22:7; Romans 13:8
• Do you spend more money than you have? If so, how do you cover
the difference?
The Video
• What message did you get from the video?
• How will you handle the offers of easy-to-get credit cards that
you’ll receive?
• What happens to the person who borrows money?
• How would you respond to a person who says,
“I own my stuff and can do what I want with it”?
• Define “stewardship” in your own words.
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The Video
“Worldview” is a comprehensive conception of the universe and humankind’s relation to it. A Biblical worldview focuses on the big, basic issues:
the existence of God, the nature of reality, the existence and knowability
of absolute truth, and the moral and ethical implications of these and
other primary questions. The “worldview” that incoming freshmen will
encounter in college will be, in many ways, at cross purposes with a
Christian worldview. The video is an excerpt from a powerful student
Bible study series called “Next Chapter” that offers fourteen weeks of
Scripture study, videos, application, resources, and ways to connect with
others who will help make the transition out of high school a success.
Check out “Next Chapter” resources at nextchapter.bgco.org.
Show the video.
Objective
Christianity doesn’t make sense – (1 Corinthians 1:27)
God’s way of thinking is not the world’s way.
Grads will be motivated to be prepared to handle the opposition they will
experience to their Christian faith.
Note
This session is built around a video from the ConGRADulations!
Class of 2012 “Media Disc.” Any questions call 800-725-3300 or
email [email protected].
Warm Up
Agree/Disagree – Gather the group into the middle of the room. Explain
that you will read a statement. Those who agree with the statement move
to the right side of the room, and those who disagree with it move to the
left. There is no middle ground. When you have read a statement and the
students have chosen a side, call on a few students from each side to
explain their thinking. Use provocative statements such as:
• Every word of the Bible is literally true.
• You can’t prove the existence of God.
• What a person believes is truth – for that person.
• Faith means believing in something you can’t see.
• Evolution is incompatible with Christianity.
• Etc.
Transition
Discuss how truth is not relative, and yet we live in a society that has a
vastly different worldview from that of believers. That worldview will be
very prominent and persuasive in college.
Transition
Discuss the students’ reactions to the video. Have they ever experienced
anything like what the video portrayed? If so, let them tell their stories.
Bible Study
Hand out the Student Guides. Use this outline to teach the Bible Study,
and encourage the students to take notes. Encourage group discussion
around the questions under each point.
• What are some “foolish things of the world” that God uses?
• What are some “weak things of the world” that God uses?
• Why does Christianity pose such a threat to the contemporary
way of thinking?
Christianity does make sense – (1 Corinthians 15:32)
Jesus’ resurrection is proof enough.
• How is your life more than what you experience here on earth?
• How does Jesus’ resurrection prove the viability of Christianity?
• Put Paul’s way of stating today’s worldview into your own words. Christianity won’t make sense unless you know your stuff –
(2 Timothy 4:2) – The reason God has us here is to share the good news,
to correct false thinking, to rebuke those who’ve crossed the line, and to
encourage each other to hang tough.
• What can you do to prepare yourself in your first year
on campus?
• Why is “correcting” someone considered wrong today?
• Have you ever been rebuked? Want to tell that story?
• Note the last two words: “careful instruction.” What would
you need to be able to do what this verse says?
Wrap Up
Explain that having faith in God is reasonable, not nonsensical.
Jesus is a historical figure, who died, was buried, and came back
to life. No one can explain the empty tomb except that Jesus was
resurrected. Since He did come back to life, He validated everything
He did and said, and proved that He is God. Close in a prayer.
Christianity
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16
HEART
OF THE ARTIST
Rachel is the teenaged daughter of best-selling author and speaker, Francis
Chan. This singer/songwriter recently chatted with interlínc’s Scott Osterbind.
Rachel says, “I want to share the message with my peers to go and make
disciples and to look different from the rest of the world in our actions.” Hear
more about her mission behind her music.
As a 16-year-old singer/songwriter, what message do you want to
relay to your peers?
Teenagers make the excuse that they’re “too young to get serious about God
now,” and so they decide to wait until they’re older to truly follow Him, but
that’s not what the Bible says. 1 Timothy 4 says that in our youth we are
supposed to be examples to all believers. Since God is an awesome Go d, it
should be our joy to follow Him. I hope to relay the message that we can’t be
lukewarm in our faith if we want to call ourselves Christians. John 14 says that
if we believe in God we will do greater things than Jesus did and so, in order to
take on the name of Christ, we must be Christ-like. The Bible tells us that God
will come back like a thief in the night and therefore my hope is that when He
returns His children will be doing His will.
At your age, where do you draw inspiration to write such
great songs?
Mr. Lubben (that’s Dave from the band, Kutless – he produced Rachel’s album)
and I are on the same page when I say that the inspiration comes completely
from the Lord. Each song involved much prayer and time in the Word. I’ve
written many songs about random things, but none of them were as “blessed”
as the ones written for the glory of the Lord. Writing for Jesus is such an honor,
and God inspires all the words.
How did your dad (Francis Chan, the popular speaker and author)
contribute to your song, “Prove It”?
That song was written to let others know about my fun and intimate
relationship with my dad. Dad and I are best friends. I know that so many kids,
especially teenagers, struggle wi th obeying their parents. This song gives
listeners a peek into how fun my friendship is with my dad and how much he
truly loves me – more than any boy could for a long time. The fact that dad
rapped on the album was not my idea, and I actually opposed it for a while –
until Mr. Lubben convinced me to at least hear it. When I heard the speaking
that my dad did, I realized that it was a perfect way to e xpress the fun, dorky
relationship we have. The song is also a glimpse into my relationship with
Christ in how He allows me to talk to Him and have a relationship with Him,
and how He protects me and calls me His “daughter.”
How do you hope your music will help students?
I want to share the message with my peers that they should “go and make
disciples” and to look different from the rest of the world in their actions. My
music will only help so much, because the real help has to come from a
relationship with Christ. I do hope that it will encourage kids to be bold in their
faith and to not be cowardly in obeying God’s commandments. Turning to
finite things won’t fill the infinite desire God puts in our hearts to thirst for Him.
RACHEL
CHAN
Check out the Rachel Chan Bible Study
materials on page 36.
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HEART
OF THE ARTIST
17
SWITCHFOOT
Maybe it’s because they’re based in San Diego. Or
maybe it’s because we’ve been following them
since they were still teenagers. Switchfoot always
seems to surprise us with their sound and their
content. Their latest album is proof that this band
keeps growing and thinking. Read on to catch a
glimpse of their heart behind the music.
With its play on words, Vice Verses, the title of
Switchfoot’s new album, coherently suggests the
album’s theme: everything has two sides. “Every
blessing comes with a set of curses,” singerguitarist Jon Foreman sings on the title track, all the
while wondering if “there’s a meaning to it all.” That
theme runs through the album’s songs and is even
reflected in the album’s black and white cover.
“The whole thing is about polarity,” says Foreman.
“We wanted to write about the polarity of being
human, the lights and darks. I’m intrigued by the
tension that exists between life and death. When
making Hello Hurricane, there was a graveyard
right by the hotel we were staying at while we were
mixing it. I spent time there each morning walking
through and sorting it out—really, Vice Verses
started there. This record is as much about loss as
it is about what we still have while we’re living.”
One example of that quest for meaning includes
the Foo Fighters-like “Afterlife,” in which Foreman
contemplates mortality. In the ballad “Thrive,” he
muses, “Am I myself, or am I dreaming?” Foreman
starts “Dark Horses” by admitting, “I’ve made my
mistakes.” And in “Souvenirs,” he sings, “Nothing
lasts forever.” But the one track that will really
throw fans for a loop is “Selling the News,” a Beck like song with a hip-hop beat that finds Foreman
performing spoken word.
“I think the song is inspired by a lot of different
things,” Foreman says of “Selling the News.” “We
are bombarded by a lot of talking heads and
salespersons in terms of billboards and television.
I began to ponder the idea that these enormous
media machines are fed by advertisers, and they
are happy when there’s something sensati onal
going on in the world. This is a new paradigm that
we haven’t seen before. There’s this onslaught of
information – the idea that we are raising
generations that are completely accustomed to
watching wars on TV is a little frightening to me.”
The album’s title track was actually one of the last
songs the band wrote for Hello Hurricane. But it
wasn’t quite right for Hello Hurricane, so it was left
on t he cutting room floor.
saved it for another record. We decided then that it
would be the title for the next record, whatever it
would look like. Long before Hello Hurricane came
out, Vice Verses was well under way.”
Vice Verses expands the band’s sonic palette by
experimenting with a variety of sounds. There’s a
great rhythm to songs such as the groove-oriented
“The Original” and “Blinding Light,” which benefit
from a hip-hop beat. “The War Inside” really puts
the rhythm section up front, and the snappy “Rise
Above It” features a punk-funk vibe.
“It’s funny because for us, we’re usually holding
back,” Foreman says. “On this record we let a little
bit more out.” “We grew up listening to soul music
and Motown,” says Butler. “We took that influence
and made sure a song like ‘Restless’ has an
emotional element to it.”
Check out the Switchfoot special section with
Discussion Starters for all 12 songs on their new
Vice Verses Album on pages 48 - 51.
“I was reluctant to put it on Hello Hurricane
because it didn’t really fit with the other material,”
Foreman says of the song. “So we shelved it and
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18
HEART
OF THE ARTIST
Nine
Lashes
Tooth & Nail Records’ newest band, Nine Lashes, visited interlínc’s home
office in Franklin, Tennessee recently. These guys are so excited to get their
music into the hands of youth leaders; they have a big heart behind their hardcore music. Here is a portion of their conversation with interlínc staffer,
Scott Osterbind.
How did a festival promoter help you get a record deal?
We were just trying to get a concert scheduled. There’s a promoter who
organizes a festival in our hometown, and we sent our album to him hoping he
would let us play. He liked the music, but the first thing he asked was, “Can
you do it live?” We asked him to come to our next concert and see for himself.
He came but had a prior engagement, so when he left in the middle of our set,
we thought “He hated it.” Through all this we had no clue that this man had
worked with Trevor McNevon from Thousand Foot Krutch, to whom he sent
our album – also without our knowledge. Trevor had time to listen to it because
he was at home resting from a ruptured appendix. Long story short, God was
involved and no TFK singers were harmed during the creation of this story.
Your World We View album is a nice blend of indie, modern,
alternative, and even screamo rock. How excited were you to work
with Ryan Clark of Demon Hunter on the song, “Our Darkest Day”?
Very excited. We were really just wishing out loud about him guest appearing
on our album. The next thing you know, Aaron Sprinkle was on the phone
making it happen.
Check out the Nine Lashes Bible Study
materials on page 34.
What is the overall theme that ties World We View together?
Basically, what you see around you is not your final destination. Dreams can
be achieved. Goals can be reached. Worlds can be changed. With God, all
things are possible. There are many themes throughout the songs, but this is
the one that you see over and over.
The name Nine Lashes is a reference to the “Cat of Nine Tails”
whip used on Jesus. What Scripture inspired your band name and
the album’s title?
The Bible speaks of how Jesus’ torture was for our benefit. Everything He
went through was to restore us to our Father in heaven. We never want to
forget this.
When someone leaves your concert or listens to your album, what
do you hope they understand?
We want them to understand that God is a living being, who understands you,
hears you, teaches you, guides you, comforts you, laughs with you, cries with
you, and walks with you. He doesn’t want you to have the right words in your
prayers or the right answers for your friends; He only wants your honesty. He
wants you to be real with Him and trust Him. All other things will fall into place
when we do that.
<<
Page
HEART
OF THE ARTIST
19
Thousand
Foot Krutch
TFK’s front-man, Trevor McNevan caught up
with interlínc’s, Scott Osterbind to talk about
their new album. Make sure you read this entire
interview to learn the advice that Thousand
Foot Krutch has for your graduating seniors!
Okay, for what is probably the
bazillionth time, what does “Thousand
Foot Krutch” mean?
The name symbolizes the support system that
our faith is to us. It’s the realization that we
can’t do it on our own strength. A common
misconception is that the name is saying that
we should use God as a crutch. Our faith is
who we are.
Besides what you do on stage,
what is Thousand Foot Krutch
passionate about?
Our live concert is a big part of this band’s
identity, and that connection with listeners is
such a blessing. We get so excited to team up
with great forward-thinking teams like
Compassion I nternational; our hearts are both
to connect and to love people and there’s
nothing more exciting than doing it together. I
took a trip with Compassion last year to
Uganda – what they’re doing there and all over
the world really is incredible. We each proudly
sponsor several Compassion children of our
own and it’s such a blessing to be a part of. We
also work with a suicide hotline called Your
Life Counts .
How was The End Is Where We Begin
made possible by a fund-raising
campaign?
manager, Tony Patoto, and the Fuel Music
team, and we couldn’t be more excited
about our new frontier together. We are just
getting started!
We had many great options and some
incredible deals on the table, but we felt like
the right thing for us was to go independent,
record, and release our music without a
traditional music label. Fifteen years ago we
sold our records out of our cars and booked
ourselves. We used to play 300 concerts a
year, driving all night, setting up, playing,
tearing down, and heading to the next one –
and forgetting to eat and sleep because there
was no time! So we’re no strangers to doing
things independently. God has brought us a
long way.
The “War of Change” lyric that sticks
out is “Everything’s about the change.”
How do you handle change (good or bad)
within the band?
Doing it on our own also means covering all the
cost, so we started the process with a
Kickstarter campaign online. It allowed us to
create unique packages that people could
pledge for, from Skype calls with t he band, to
early downloads of the album, even earlier
downloads of certain songs, a free song if we
hit our goal, a PRS custom TFK guitar, limited
edition vinyl, handwritten lyrics, you name it.
We weren’t sure what the result would be, but
through the faith and trust of our supporters
and audience, it finished being the secondlargest Kickstarter campaign to date. We were
blown away! We wanted to do thi s together,
and they made that possible; we’re so
incredibly thankful. We’ve teamed up with our
We make the mistake of reacting sometim es,
and we’re not perfect, but prayer is the key –
trusting God, believing He knows what’s best.
If you try to carry the weight, you’ll be crushed.
I speak from experience there, haha!
“Graduating Seniors” is the focus of this
current volume of Youth Leaders Only.
What advice would you have for
students who are about to graduate into
a much bigger world?
What I would say is, “Be the change.” Believe,
even wh en you feel as though one voice won’t
make a difference. Fight for it, even when your
hands are tired. Trust Him for the strength and
ability to accomplish your calling and dreams.
Sometimes you have to take a step even when
you don’t see the ground in front of you. God
promised that if we do the possible (that’s
everything you can do), then He’ll take care of
the impossible. Believe it!
Check out the Thou sand Foot Krutch Bible
Study materials on page 52.
Page
Leader Guide
20
116 FEAT. LECRAE
Artist:
Album Title & Record Company:
Song:
Study by:
116 FEAT. LECRAE
MANUP116.COM
MAN UP ALBUM
REACH RECORDS
MAN UP ANTHEM
JOEL VAN DYKE
Theme
and use a series of targeted questions to
allow this group of young ladies to speak
to the subject of what it might mean for
young men to “man up” in the way our
video will to call to attention. Here are
four potential questions for the girls. I’m
sure you can come up with better ones:
Bible Study
geous leadership. Also, what kind of
reward does the world promise (temporal, superficial, etc.)?
Biblical Manhood
Objective
Your guys will consider seriously the
conflicting ideas of what being a man
in today’s world means; your girls will
be instrumental in helping to make that
challenge to the guys.
Warm Up
Bring a bunch of newspapers and
magazines that the students will rip
pictures and phrases from. Split into
smaller groups, mixing guys and girls
or keeping them separate depending on which is best for your group.
The assignment is to make a collage
of pictures, phrases, images, etc.
that encapsulates the way the world
defines “manhood” based on its
advertising, etc. Post the collages up
on the walls of your room and have the
students rotate around the room and
look at the work of the other groups.
When finished, ask them what patterns
they noticed in the collages, etc.
Transition
Select a group of 3-4 of your sharpest
(and most vocal) young ladies to be on
a panel sitting in front of the rest of the
group. Select a female moderator that
can keep some lively discussion going
•What is the most frustrating thing for
you about guys your age? (Let them
have some fun with this one to break
the ice!)
•As a woman, what are your thoughts
about the world’s definition of manhood that we see hanging on the
walls around us?
•How does the way you have personally been treated by men your age or
older make you feel as a woman?
•Share an example of a man truly
acting as the kind of man you trust,
respect, and admire. (This can be
from real life or an example from a
movie or book.)
The Video
Show the “Man Up Anthem” video by 116.
Transition
Ask your students about their general
impressions of the video. What imagery caught their attention most? What
stood out most to them from the lyrical
content? What would they have done
differently if they were in charge of
producing this video?
©2012, interlínc / interlInc-online.com / 800.725.3300
Hand out the Student Guides. Explain
that Robert Lewis, a well-known pastor, has written and taught extensively
on Biblical manhood. He defines a
real man as someone who “rejects
passivity, accepts responsibility,
leads courageously, and expects the
greater award.” In light of the “Man Up
Anthem” video that we just watched, in
what ways were the guys affirming this
definition?
This definition comes from comparing Adam in Genesis with Jesus (as
second Adam). Take a look with your
students at Genesis 3 and point out
the ways that Adam lived out the
exact opposite of the above definition. For example, he was passive in
3:6, refused to take responsibility in
3:12, etc. This seems to be what KB is
getting at in the second stanza of the
Man Up Anthem when he spits out this
theologically astute rhyme: Right after
Adam every atom in our anatomy had
to make adamant after what Adonai
is against let me take you back to the
Trinity never really just Seen the evil
deceit but Adam is the one who let it
in. (Man up) Standing Leading no…
Ask your students to look around the
room again and point out from the collages the ways that the world encourages men to be passive, to refuse to
take responsibility, and to avoid coura-
CENTER FOR TRANSFORMING MISSION
GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA
[email protected]
Now, contrast the second Adam
(Jesus) with the Genesis 3 Adam.
Jesus lived out the above definition
of manhood all over Scripture but
nowhere is it more pronounced than in
the last few hours of His life:
•Rejected Passivity: Luke 22:7-38
(especially vs. 14-16)
•Accepted Responsibility: Luke 22:3946 (especially vs. 42)
•Led Courageously: Luke 22:47-53
(especially vs. 51)
•Expected the Greater Award: Luke
23:32-43 (especially vs. 43)
We need to “Man Up” and follow
the model given to us by the second
Adam! The world pushes us to follow
the first Adam, but Jesus showed us
that to “Man Up” means to reject passivity, accept responsibility, lead courageously, and expect the greater award.
Wrap Up
Read through the final Man Up video
scene with your students under the
Man Up heading on the Student
Guide. Then, close in prayer.
Student Guide
116 FEAT. LECRAE
Artist:
Song:
Theme:
116 FEAT. LECRAE
MANUP116.COM
MAN UP ALBUM
REACH RECORDS
MAN UP ANTHEM
BIBLICAL MANHOOD
Definition
A real man is someone who…
The First Adam
Genesis 3
Man Up!
All: Man Up!
Leader: Let the process begin, separate the boys
from the men
R___________________ P___________________
All: Man Up!
A___________________ R___________________
L___________________ C___________________
Leader: Doesn’t matter how you started, partner, it’s
about how you end
The Second Adam
All: Man Up!
R___________________ P___________________
(Luke 22:7-38)
Leader: Jesus is the model, follow us we go follow
Him
E___________________ the greater
All: Man Up!
A___________________
A___________________ R___________________
(Luke 22:39-46)
Leader: We the last of a dying breed, it’s time that
we…
All: Man Up!
L___________________ C___________________
(Luke 22:47-53)
E___________________ the greater
A___________________
(Luke 23:32-43)
interlinc-online.com / 800.725.3300
Page
Leader Guide
22
116 FEAT. LECRAE
Artist:
116 FEAT. LECRAE
MAN UP DVD
MANUP116.COM
Note
Know The
Content And
Materials:
We asked Maina Mwaura, youth pastor at Greenforest Community Baptist
Church in Decatur, Georgia to write up
a “How To Do A Man Up Event” guide
for you to use in your ministry. Maina
has been closely involved with the Man
Up campaign, and much of the video
on the Man Up DVD was shot at his
church. In addition to Maina’s “How
To” ideas, we have included one of the
six lessons that are a part of the Man
Up curriculum. For more information,
check out manup116.com!
Hosting A
Man Up Event
Three Key Facts in implementing the
“Man Up” campaign with your group:
1. Know the content/materials
2. Know the director/creator of the
project: Sho Baraka interview
3. Plan a meaningful event
Now we holding you to Man Up ’cause
we were made in His image. Start looking at what you came from. – Lyrics
from the “Man Up Anthem”
The Campaign
Confusion over what manhood is has
plagued our cities, families, and lives.
The concept of a Biblical man has
been lost in our generation. Unfortunately, many churches struggle to
provide its members, much less those
beyond their walls, with a tangible
definition of a real man.
Man Up is a campaign calling men of
all races to rise up and understand the
true Biblical manhood that comes thru
Jesus Christ. It a call for men to repent
for their failure to become the men that
God has created them to be and for
believers to live as whom they truly are
in Christ.
The campaign is made up of three
parts: soundtrack, short film, and small
group curriculum.
Song:
Study by:
MAINA MWAURA
Greenforest Community Baptist Church
Decatur, Georgia
[email protected]
The Short Film
And Curriculum
The short film and curriculum are made
up of six areas: Authority, Responsibility, Envy, Courage, Sexual Temptation,
and Repentance.
The Soundtrack
The soundtrack is made up of songs
from the artists of Reach Records:
Lecrae, Trip Lee, Tedashi, Pro, KB, and
Sho Baraka.
Where the men at? Seems like they all
lost, none of them are on the scene,
Seems like they died off. They extinct
but my dream is to rise up,
We chasing the prize of the King the
divine boss,
But we fell away, now we ungodly
We lose and we really got the blues
like Navi,
I wanna celebrate the dudes that’s
beside me
Fellas let’s elevate we through with
the lobby
– Trip Lee, from the “Man Up Anthem”
Meet the Creator
of the Man Up
Campaign:
Interview with Sho Baraka: Director
of Man Up
What inspired the Man Up project?
I wanted the focus of the project to be
on manhood and healthy relationships.
I hoped to provide encouragement for
fathers and sons, or mothers and sons.
What should churches expect to get
out of this project?
Every church should be able to look
at the six focus points of the project
and curriculum and be able to dialogue
around them.
If you were planning a man up event
what would it look like?
I would play the soundtrack, watch
the movie, and dialogue about what
people just watched.
If you could say one thing to youth
pastors about this project, what would
it be?
Don’t allow the curriculum to dictate
what the students watch. Everyone
can feel challenged. Every student is
dealing with one of the six focal points.
Student Guide
116 FEAT. LECRAE
Artist:
Song:
Theme:
Plan A Man Up Event:
Eight steps to plan an eventful Man up campaign:
• Start With Prayer – Prayer is often the one thing that we seem to leave out
when planning event. Man up is too powerful of a resource to not ask God to
use. “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have
received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)
• Know The Event – I know this sounds so simple, but knowing the purpose of
an event is very important. Man Up is an event that every student, no matter
which region or location, needs to participate in. Knowing the event and the
purpose of why you are doing it is very important.
• Know The Group Dynamic – Knowing whom you are targeting the event or
campaign for is HUGE. Are you using the Man Up resource to reach young
men and women, or just men? Will middle schoolers be allowed to be a part of
it, or is it just for high schoolers? Knowing the answer to these questions will
help you go a long way in using the Man Up resource.
• Promotion – Making sure you use the interlínc promotional materials is important – young men are very visual, so promotional materials are a must. Don’t
forget to make use of the soundtrack!
• Reflect/Questioning – Don’t forget to reflect on the importance of the
campaign and short film.
• Commitment/Challenge – Asking students to make a commitment is not the
end of the Man Up campaign – it’s the beginning. Young men can take the
challenge to use tools that can help them become Men of God versus Men
of the World. What make the “Man Up” series powerful is asking students the
powerful questions that take place in the short film, such as “What makes you
a real man?”
Being a man got nothing to do with age.
You can be a boy till the day you lay in your grave.
None of us behave in the image of who were made, ‘cause
• Date And Time – What time of year will this resource be beneficial for your
ministry? Knowing when students will be more receptive is very important.
We fallen the ways it’s better known as the prey.
Running from responsibility
Really we crave the easy way out of places that call us to pull our weight.
Man they’re going through everyday decisions are made,
• Location – What will be the best place to kick off the campaign or watch the
short film? Make sure you plan BIG for this campaign and event!
Responding to the call God’s giving ’em from the Man Up!
Page
Leader Guide
24
116 FEAT. LECRAE
Artist:
Man Up Curriculum Lesson:
Song:
Study by:
116 FEAT. LECRAE
MAN UP DVD
MANUP116.COM
AUTHORITY
MIGUEL DAVILLA
Warm Up
Transition
Discuss:
Discuss:
•Look at verse 4. What was the choice
that David had in this moment?
Jesus As The Man
•Who is the hardest person for you to
obey in your life? Why?
•How were his friends pressuring him?
Rubber Band Activity – Each young
man will receive a rubber band. Ask
the group, “What is a rubber band
designed for?” The rubber band was
designed to flex and stretch to hold
things. At its resting state, no one will
ever want to use it. But, when it yields
to the force/will that its user exerts on
it, it will then be used in the way it was
created. The rubber band’s desire is
to be at rest and not be stretched, but
it is not accomplishing the purpose
for which it was made. It was made to
yield to the force of its owner and do
the work its owner wants it to do. It is
only here when it is stretched that it is
doing what it is created to do.
In the same way, we are like the rubber
band. We like to be lazy and stay at
rest--to do what we want. We were
created to yield to the owner and
creator of our lives and do what he
desires. He will stretch us as we yield
to him and his will, but we will be doing
what we were created to do and glorify
him in the process.
•What are the different areas of our
lives where we have someone over us
who tells us what to do?
•How do you feel about those people?
•Do they ever abuse their power? How?
Bible Study
•See verse 5. How did David respond
to King Saul, who was an authority in his life? Why do you think he
responded that way?
•Imagine someone was trying to harm
you. How would you respond? How
should a real man respond to this?
1 Samuel 24:1-13 – Background info:
The DVD
•En Gedi is a wilderness area 30 miles
south of Jerusalem on the western
shores of the Dead Sea.
Watch Video clip of Authority. Discuss:
•Who are the authorities and laws in
Brian’s life?
•David was on the run from King Saul.
Saul did not like David and thought if
he could just kill him, all of his problems would be over. Saul thought
David wanted to harm him, so Saul
launched a big campaign with many
men to hunt David down and kill him.
Saul even sent hit men to wait outside
David’s house to kill him.
•Who are the different voices influencing Brian to obey or disobey the
authorities? What were they saying?
•Remember, David had already been
anointed by Samuel to be the next
king of Israel. The Holy Spirit had left
Saul and was now with David.
•Who does he listen to and why?
•What are the consequences for not
obeying the authority?
•Do you think his consequences were
fair? Why or why not?
ReachLife Ministries
Atlanta, Georgia
[email protected]
•Can you think of a story of when
Jesus had to obey His parents?
(Luke 2:41-52)
•Can you think of a time when
Jesus had to obey the government? (Mark 12:14)
•Read Matthew 27:38-44. Jesus
always had a choice to do what
His Father in heaven wanted or
to do what He wanted or others
wanted. What was His choice in
this situation? Why would this be
hard to obey His Father and not
the people yelling at him?
Student Guide
116 FEAT. LECRAE
Artist:
116 FEAT. LECRAE
MAN UP DVD
MANUP116.COM
Song:
Theme:
AUTHORITY
1 Samuel 24:1-13
DVD Video Clip
Jesus As The Man
•Look at verse 4. What was the choice that David
had in this moment?
•Who are the authorities and laws in Brian’s life?
•Can you think of a story of when Jesus had to obey
His parents? (Take a look at Luke 2:41-52.)
•How were his friends pressuring him?
•Who are the different voices influencing Brian to
obey or disobey the authorities?
•Can you think of a time when Jesus had to obey the
government? (Read Mark 12:14.)
•See verse 5. How did David respond to King Saul,
who was an authority in his life?
•Why do you think he responded that way?
•Imagine someone was trying to harm you. How
would you respond?
•What were they saying?
•Who does he listen to and why?
•Read Matthew 27:38-44. Jesus always had a
choice to do what His Father in heaven wanted or to
do what He wanted or others wanted. What was His
choice in this situation?
•What are the consequences for not obeying
the authority?
Why would this be hard to obey His Father and not
the people yelling at him?
•How should a real man respond to this?
•Do you think his consequences were fair?
Why or why not?
Page
Leader Guide
26
BRINSON
Artist:
Song:
Study by:
BRINSON
GODCHASERZ.COM
O.M.G.
GODCHASERZ
HE SAID HE LOVED ME
JEFF WILLIAMSON
faith in their peers. When the person
jumps off of the board, he or she will
likely crumple to the group because
the group was so much closer than
expected. Everyone should get a
good laugh, and you should make
your volunteer into a hero!
Bible Study
Theme
Faith
Objective
The objective of this lesson is to help
students work through their doubts
and fears.
Warm Up
You will need a strong board that
will not break when a kid stands on
it. Send some students out of the
room and explain to the rest of the
group what you will be doing. Have
four of the strongest youth grab the
ends of the board and hold it about
six inches off the ground. One at a
time let the youth back in, blindfold
him or her, lead him or her over to
the board and have him or her step
onto it while holding onto your head
for balance. Tell him or her to jump
from the board. Now have them step
back onto the board and explain that
you will have the youth on the end
of the board to raise it higher. This
time the students holding onto the
ends of the board will gently shake
the ends as though they are raising
it while you bend your knees so that
the person blindfolded thinks that
the board is really being raised. Now,
tell the person on the board to jump.
The students may doubt this activitywill work because they may not have
Transition
Explain that faith in God is not a
blind faith. Faith is not something
that you just decide to have one day.
You acquire faith as you experience
God at work.
The Song
Have students listen carefully to “He
Said He Loved Me.” Encourage them
to pay close attention to any concepts
or ideas that jump out at them about
being focused on God’s love and how
we should respond to it.
Transition
Do you believe these words: “A man
of faith even had fear”? The artist talks
about having doubts that God was
around while his mother was in the
hospital. When was the last time you
let your doubts and fears overcome
your faith? With the Lord on our side
we can kick fear to the curb and let
faith stay inside.
©2012, interlínc / interlinc-online.com / 800.725.3300
Remember that faith is not something
you just decide to have one day. Faith
is something that you acquire – as you
see God at work, as you experience
Him in your life, and as you see the
amazing things He does!
• Elijah was a prophet – a man who
could hear God very plainly and
communicate these words of God to
other people. During Elijah’s lifetime,
a man named Ahab became the king
of Judah.
• Ahab wasn’t such a bad guy on
his own, but his wife was another
story. She came from a culture that
worshipped the Phoenician god,
Baal. When she came to Judah, she
convinced Ahab to build altars and
temples to worship Baal.
• Elijah challenged Ahab to gather all
the prophets of Baal and meet him on
Mount Carmel for a big showdown.
After the showdown, Ahab went back
and told sweet little Jezebel everything that had happened, and she got
pretty mad. She vowed to kill Elijah,
no matter what the gods (or God)
would do to her. Elijah was afraid, and
so he went and hid in a cave.
•At Elijah’s bleakest moment, God
spoke to him, but not in a way that
we would expect. When we think of
God’s power, we think of big, powerful, loud, obvious things – winds,
UNION AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
[email protected]
earthquakes, fires, etc. God does
sometimes use those things to get
our attention, but more often He
speaks to us in stillness and quiet. A
wind tore through the mountain; then
an earthquake rocked the mountain,
but that wasn’t God. Next, a fire
came, but again – not the Lord. Finally, a gentle whisper came – and in
that gentle whisper, Elijah heard God
speaking to him, and he found his
strength from and faith in God again.
Wrap up
Have the students complete the
exercise. Have the students reflect
on a time when they heard the gentle
whisper of the Lord. This moment was
their opportunity to experience “His
Strength and Faith” and no longer
have their “Doubts and Fears”! Close
in prayer.
Student Guide
BRINSON
Artist:
Song:
Theme:
BRINSON
GODCHASERZ.COM
O.M.G.
GODCHASERZ
HE SAID HE LOVED ME
FAITH
Faith is not something you just decide to have one
day. Faith is something you acquire…
• as you see God at work,
Bible Study
______________________ was a prophet – a man who
• as you experience Him in your life,
could hear God very plainly and communicate these
• as you see the amazing things He does.
words of God to other people. During Elijah’s lifetime,
The Song
Listen carefully to the song “He Said He Loved Me”
by Brinson. Pay close attention to anything that
reflects your “Doubts and Fears”. Write them down
if you’d like.
Think It Through
When was that time in your life that you recall hearing the gentle whisper of the Lord?
a man named ______________________ became the
king of Judah.
– ______________________ wasn’t such a bad
guy on his own, but his wife was another story.
She came from a culture that worshipped the
Phoenician god ______________________ . When
When do you recall feeling His presence?
she came to Judah, she convinced Ahab to build
altars and temples to ______________________
______________________ .
– ______________________ challenged
______________________ to gather up the prophets
of ______________________ , and meet him on Mount
Carmel for a big showdown. After the showdown,
______________________ went back and told sweet
little ______________________ everything that had
happened, and she got pretty mad. She vowed to
This moment was your opportunity to experience
“His Strength and Faith” and no longer have your
“Doubts and Fears”!
kill ______________________ , no matter what the
gods (or God) would do to her. Elijah was afraid, and
so he went and hid in a ______________________ .
Page
Leader Guide
28
CLOSE YOUR EYES
Artist:
Song:
Study by:
CLOSE YOUR EYES
FACEBOOK.COM/CYEBAND
EMPTY HANDS AND HEAVY HEARTS
VICTORY RECORDS
VALLEYS
DEREK MANSKER
Theme
Transition
Bible Study
Wrap Up
The Song
Philippians 3:12-14
Transition
•What is your motivation for pressing
on in Christ? Is it the same as Paul
lists? Why or why not?
Forgiveness
Objective
Students will be challenged to live in
the forgiveness of Jesus Christ instead
of dwelling on their mistakes.
Warm Up
Hand out the Student Guides and
pencils. In small groups have the students come up with the top ten list of
things Christian teenagers promise but
don’t actually do. For example, “I will
read my Bible every day.” “I will show
gratitude to my parents.” These could
be things that retreats or conferences
bring out, or just things that they have
on their minds. Once they have compiled their list, have them share their
list with the group.
Explain that we often have good intentions about how we want to live as
Christians. Too often those good intentions are met with everyday life and are
more of a challenge to fulfill than we
think. Trying to obey God can be even
harder. Living with our unfulfilled promises and our sin can be discouraging.
Play the song. Have the students focus
on the struggle that the artist is experiencing.
How would you describe the struggle
that this artist is experiencing?
Scripture gives us a clear picture of
the struggle of not doing what we
know we should do. This outline
takes a look at three examples from
the New Testament. For each verse,
have someone read it through aloud
a few times before the students
answer the questions.
•What does Paul say needs to happen
in order for you to truly understand
what Jesus Christ has done for you?
Romans 7:18-25
•What is the tone behind this writing of
Paul? (happy, sad, frustrated etc)
•Why do you think Paul felt the way
he did?
•How do you relate to this?
John 3:16-17; Romans 8:1
•In light of what Christ has done for you,
how should your life be described?
•What role should your past failures
play in your current relationship with
Jesus Christ?
•How have you experienced selfcondemnation by punishing yourself
for your mistakes?
CAPE COD BIBLE ALLIANCE CHURCH
BREWSTER, MASSACHUSETTS
[email protected]
Condemning yourself for all the times
you have tried and failed can be so
easy to do. But, you don’t need to
dwell on your mistakes. Rather, grab
hold of all that Jesus Christ has for
you. Every moment you live is an
important one when God can work His
plan in you and shape you into the person God intended you to be. This does
not mean you will never sin again, but
as you fall you get back up again and
pursue Him. Do not give up because
you have sinned, but rather press on
for a better life that will one day be fully
realized in Jesus Christ. You have been
forgiven in Christ, so live life knowing
this is true!
Before closing in prayer, have each
person write a simple prayer to God.
“God, I need to stop condemning
myself for __________________ and
receive Your forgiveness.”
Close in prayer. Pray that any sense
of condemnation would be removed
and that the forgiveness and freedom
of Christ would take over. Pray that all
would press on toward Jesus Christ
and desire Him above all else. Thank
God for that life and forgiveness and
that trying more or trying harder is not
the issue anymore – it is all about faith.
Student Guide
CLOSE YOUR EYES
Artist:
Song:
Theme:
CLOSE YOUR EYES
FACEBOOK.COM/CYEBAND
EMPTY HANDS AND HEAVY HEARTS
VICTORY RECORDS
VALLEYS
FORGIVENESS
Top 10 Commitments Never Kept
1.
2.
3.
4.
Bible Study
Philippians 3:12-14
What does Paul say needs to happen in order for you to truly understand what
Jesus Christ has done for you?
What is your motivation for pressing on in Christ? Is it the same as Paul lists?
Why or why not?
Romans 7:18-25
5.
What is the tone behind this writing of Paul? (happy, sad, frustrated etc)
6.
Why do you think Paul felt the way he did?
7.
How do you relate to this?
8.
John 3:16-17; Romans 8:1
9.
10.
In light of what Christ has done for you, what should characterize how you live?
What role should your past failures play in your current relationship with
Jesus Christ?
How have you experienced self-condemnation for your mistakes?
Wrap Up
God, I need to stop condemning myself for _______________________________
and receive Your forgiveness.
Page
Leader Guide
30
ELIZABETH SOUTH
Artist:
Song:
ELIZABETH SOUTH
ELIZABETHSOUTH.COM
DO IT AFRAID
ELIZABETH SOUTH MUSIC
I WILL TRUST YOU
Theme
Transition
Bible Study
Objective
•Did fear influence your decisions?
Trust
Your students will think about the fears
that keep them from doing what they
know God wants them to do, and they
will read about some young people
who made the right choices despite
their fears.
Warm Up
Create your own game of “Deal or No
Deal” meets “Fear Factor.” Have at least
three “prizes” and three “risks.” (You
may want to take a few of your interlínc
CD’s and create a prize stack of music
or simply use a one, five, or ten-dollar
bill. The risk can be retrieving worms
from a plate of dirt or a note requiring
them to eat a biscuit held in the youth
leader’s armpit.) Start by giving the
volunteer(s) the choice of a lunch bag or
box (old tin lunch boxes are great for this
if you want to use volunteers to re-create
a set like “Deal or No Deal”) and allow
them to open their choice. Then give
them the option to keep their “prize” or
“risk” or trade for one of the unopened
lunch boxes/bags. Use the phrase, “You
can walk away now with what you have
or take a chance on what is inside bag
#1, bag, #2 or bag #3...” Play as long as
you have prizes and risks.
Have your students discuss:
•What were you afraid of?
•Do you like taking chances?
•If you finished with a worse option
than what you started with, how did
that make you feel?
•Do you like knowing what you are
getting? Why or why not?
•How often does “fear of the
unknown” affect your choices?
The Song
Have your students listen to the song
and then make two lists on their
Student Guides:
•Things they know God wants or calls
them to do.
•Fears that keep them from acting.
Shadrach/Meshach/Abed-nego, Mary,
and David were all young people faced
with the choice of doing what God
wanted them to do or giving in to their
fears. Read about them and answer
the questions.
Daniel 3:13-18
•Did Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-nego know what God wanted
them to do?
•Were they afraid?
•What was their answer to king
Nebuchadnezzar?
Luke 1:26-38
•Did Mary know what God was asking
of her?
•Was she afraid?
•What did she say to the angel?
1 Samuel 17:20-27; 32-40
•Did David know what God wanted
him to do?
•Was he afraid?
•What did he say to Saul?
Study by:
MARY WILSON
UNKOMMON MEDIA
MACON, GEORGIA
[email protected]
Wrap Up
Have a large deep bucket of water
in the room, 3-5 large light-colored
stones per student, and enough nonpermanent markers for every student.
Ahead of time, write Luke 1:37 from
the New American Standard Version
– “For nothing will be impossible with
God” in permanent ink on enough
stones for each student to have one.
Place a pile of stones near the bucket
of water and tell your students to
grab a stone for each of the “Fears
that keep me from acting” they listed
on their Student Guides. Have them
write one of those fears on each
pebble/stone with a non-permanent
marker. Allow time for each student
to take their pebbles/stones to the
bucket of water and drop them in,
and, as they do, hand them a Luke
1:37 stone to keep.
Close by having everyone read from
his or her “Luke” stone in unison.
Student Guide
ELIZABETH SOUTH
Artist:
Song:
Theme:
ELIZABETH SOUTH
ELIZABETHSOUTH.COM
DO IT AFRAID
ELIZABETH SOUTH MUSIC
I WILL TRUST YOU
TRUST
While You Watch
Fill in these two lists:
Things I know God has called me to do
Fears that keep me from acting
Bible Study
Daniel 3:13-18
Did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego know what
God wanted them to do?
Luke 1:26-38
Did Mary know what God was asking of her?
1 Samuel 17:20-27; 32-40
Did David know what God wanted him to do?
Was he afraid?
Were they afraid?
Was she afraid?
What did he say to Saul?
What was their answer to Nebuchadnezzar?
What did she say to the angel?
For nothing will be impossible with God. – Luke 1:37
Page
Leader Guide
32
LEELAND
Artist:
Song:
Study by:
LEELAND
LEELANDONLINE.COM
THE GREAT AWAKENING
ESSENTIAL RECORDS
I CRY
JOEL JACKSON
Theme
Transition
might be going through a rough situation and may feel many of the same
emotions expressed throughout ‘I Cry.’
God has given us a great gift in the
book of Psalms. The Psalms are praise
songs that interact with real life. Many
of the Psalms are expressed by people
who question their faith, struggle
through the heartaches in life, feel a
lack of God’s presence in the midst of
their situation, and yet continue to live
out their faith in God. Psalm 22 is such
a Psalm. The words expressed in it
are so raw and honest that even Jesus
Christ uttered words from this Psalm
as He died upon the cross.”
Dependence
Objective
Students will realize that God is present in all moments of life, even when
they feel that He has forsaken them
and feel that their prayers seem to
bounce off the sky.
Warm Up
Ask for a volunteer, and have him or
her leave the room. Instruct the rest of
the students to create a maze using
chairs, other objects in the room, and
themselves as the boundaries of the
maze and as obstacles within the
maze. Remind them that there must
be a discernible entrance and exit to
the maze and that there should be
a number of wrong paths. When the
maze is complete, invite the volunteer
back. Blindfold the volunteer and lead
him or her to the beginning of the
maze. Instruct the volunteer to make
it through the maze as quickly as possible, and explain that you will time the
run. After the volunteer has completed
the maze, record the time. Have another volunteer leave the room, have the
students remake the maze, and then
have the student who left the room
walk the new maze blindfolded in order
to beat the previous time. Repeat this
with as many students as time allows.
Say, “Sometimes life can feel like a
maze. Finding the right path is sometimes easy, and we feel that we can
just see our way through. Other times
we cannot really see the right path, but
we feel that God is right there showing
us the way. And sometimes we feel as
though we cannot see the path, and
there is no one there to guide the way.
We may feel as though God has left us
in the middle of the maze – there is no
light, – and yet we still have to make it
through the maze. We might pray for
guidance, but it seems our prayers just
hit the sky and bounce back down to
the ground. We might look to Scripture
for encouragement, but the verses we
read just don’t seem to apply. We cry
out to God, somehow trusting He is
still there. Yet, the silence remains.”
The Song
Hand out the Student Guides. As the
song plays, have students write their
answers to the questions under The
Poetry Of Song.
Transition
Ask for volunteers to share their
answers to the questions. Say, “This
singer is obviously going through
something rough. You all had some
great ideas about what the singer
might be experiencing. You yourself
Bible Study
Have the students answer the questions in the Student Guide and then
discuss them together as a group. Use
these notes as you lead the discussion
of each question.
•While the writer of the Psalm feels
forsaken, he looks at the experience
of the Israelites and knows that God
has proven Himself in the past. The
writer is perplexed because the stories he has heard do not measure up
to his experience. This is an important point for youth to realize. As the
Psalm continues, the writer realizes
God’s presence even amid the pain
and questions.
•“I am a worm” implies a state of
decay and unpleasantness. A worm
ST. THOMAS CHURCH
BERNVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA
[email protected]
would have been despised in Israel
because of the agrarian economy.
“Animals stalk me” – the bulls mentioned would have been strong and
potentially menacing. The roaring
lions would be a threat as lions often
attacked shepherds and outlying
settlements in Israel in that day.
Dogs were filthy scavengers, not the
nice house pets that we have today.
“Poured out like water” – the experience of a drought. “Bones out of
joint.” “My heart has turned to wax.”
“My tongue sticks to my mouth” – I
am tired of yelling out my prayers.
“I am pierced” – like a criminal sentenced to death.
•a. God is our strength; b. God is our
deliverer; c. God is our Rescuer; d.
God is our Savior
•b. He listens; c. All people, the rich,
the dead
Wrap Up
Have the students turn over their Student Guide and write a personal poem
that explores the same issues as those
mentioned in both “I Cry” by Leeland
and Psalm 22. Encourage them to
explore their own feelings of forsakenness or sorrow within this poem.
Encourage them to conclude the poem
by making statements of praise similar
to the statements of the writer of the
Psalm. Once everyone has finished,
close in prayer.
Student Guide
LEELAND
Artist:
Song:
Theme:
LEELAND
LEELANDONLINE.COM
THE GREAT AWAKENING
ESSENTIAL RECORDS
I CRY
DEPENDENCE
The Poetry Of Song
As you listen to “I Cry” by Leeland, answer these questions:
•List the 4 attributes of God that are mentioned in verses 19-21. How do these
attributes help you to depend on God in the midst of your tears?
a.
What emotions does the singer express throughout the song?
b.
What kind of situation do you think the singer might be going through?
c.
d.
How is faith in God expressed throughout this song?
•The final verses of the Psalm express praise toward God along with assurance of
God’s presence. Think on the following:
The Poetry Of Psalm 22
Read through Psalm 22 and answer these questions:
•In verses 1-5, how do the experience/feelings of the writer battle with the
writer’s expression of faith? How does life contradict what the writer has
learned through faith?
a. Do you declare the name of the Lord to others even amidst your struggles?
b. According to verses 24-26, why do we praise the Lord?
c. Who will praise the Lord?
•Why do you think Jesus referenced this Psalm while hanging on the cross?
•How can knowing this Psalm grant us comfort when we cry out to God?
•In verses 6-18, the writer explores his pain through a number of images. Read
through the Psalm and list as many images of pain you can.
The Poetry in Your Heart
On the other side of this paper, write your own personal poem that explores the
same types of feelings found in “I Cry” and Psalm 22. Think about times when
you have struggled to experience God. Do your best to conclude the poem with
thoughts of praise.
Page
Leader Guide
34
NINE LASHES
Artist:
Song:
Study by:
NINE LASHES
NINELASHES.COM
WORLD WE VIEW
TOOTH & NAIL RECORDS
ANTHEM OF THE LONELY
CHRIS KEATING
Theme
Transition
Peer Pressure
Objective
•Have you ever felt as though your
friends were pulling you in opposite
directions?
Students will learn what the Bible has
to say about peer pressure and how to
overcome it.
•What did you do?
Warm up
Nine Lashes explains, “This story
was playing out in my head and I
tried to capture the feeling of the
person having to stand strong on
their own. For me, this was salvation: a treasure I had to hang on to
for dear life, being surrounded with
friends and enemies alike pulling me
in different directions.” Play “Anthem
Of The Lonely” and encourage your
students to think about what pulls
them in different directions.
Case Study – Brad is a kid at school
who is awkward and doesn’t have
many friends. One day, several
popular kids decided to include Brad
in their group by inviting him to the
movies . However, this movie was
known for having a lot of profanity
and an explicit sex scene. Brad really
wanted to fit in and be a part of the
popular group but he also didn’t
want to compromise his beliefs. If
you were Brad, what would you do
and why?
The Song
Optional Activity – Give every
student a banana and explain,
“Just like this banana, when we
are all in a bunch we are together
and protected – but when we are
separated, we become vulnerable
and can easily become peeled
and eaten. As Christians we need
to stick together so we can stand
strong against peer pressure.”
Bible Study
Have volunteers read these Scriptures.
Use the questions to generate discussion.
•1 Corinthians 15:33 – Who do you
think “bad company” refers to in
this passage? How can your friends
corrupt your character? Would your
character be positively or negatively
affected in the following examples?
Why or why not? (Cheating at
school, Abstinence, Telling the truth,
Making a stand for what is right, Not
entertaining gossip)
•Romans 1:16 – Do you need courage to stand and not be ashamed of
being a Christian? Why or why not?
What does “power of God for the
salvation” mean to you?
•Hebrews 12:1-2 – What does
being “entangled” mean? (cause
to become twisted together with or
caught in) What hindrances do we
have that entangle us? How will fixing our eyes on Jesus help us take
our stand for him? How do we get
the strength and endurance to “run
with perseverance the race marked
out for us”?
FAITH ASSEMBLY OF GOD
CARTHAGE, TEXAS
[email protected]
Use this outline to help the message
sink in.
•Think Eternally (Romans 8:18) Sometimes making a stand for what is right
may require us to stand alone, but it
will be worth it when we are enjoying
God’s presence in heaven.
•Think Like Jesus (John 2:23-25)
Jesus wasn’t concerned about what
other peoples’ opinions of him were.
He was solely focused on doing the
will of God.
•Think About Others (Proverbs 29:25)
When we say no to peer pressure, we
are actually an example giving strength
to those who are watching us.
Wrap Up
Discuss and come up with three ways
we can say no to peer pressure. When
you have identified your three ways,
close in prayer.
Student Guide
NINE LASHES
Artist:
Song:
Theme:
NINE LASHES
NINELASHES.COM
WORLD WE VIEW
TOOTH & NAIL RECORDS
ANTHEM OF THE LONELY
PEER PRESSURE
Case Study
Brad is a kid at school who is awkward and doesn’t have many friends. One day,
several popular kids decided to include Brad in their group by inviting him to the
movies. However, this particular movie was known for having a lot of profanity
and an explicit sex scene. Brad really wanted to fit in and be a part of the popular
group but he also didn’t want to compromise his beliefs.
If you were Brad, what would you do and why?
Bible Study
1 Corinthians 15:33
Who do you think “bad company” refers to in this passage?
How can your friends corrupt your character?
Would your character be positively or negatively affected in the following examples? Why or why not?
•Cheating at school?
•Abstinence?
•Not telling the truth?
•Making a stand for what is right?
•Not entertaining gossip?
Romans 1:16
Do you need courage to stand and not be ashamed of being a Christian?
Why or why not?
What does “power of God for the salvation” mean to you?
Hebrews 12:1-2
What does being “entangled” mean?
What hindrances do we have that entangle us from being all that Christ wants us
to be?
How will fixing our eyes on Jesus help us take our stand for him?
How do we get the strength and endurance to “run with perseverance the race
marked out for us”?
Think __________________________________________ (Romans 8:18)
Think Like __________________________________________ (John 2:23-25)
Think About __________________________________________ (Proverbs 29:25)
Come up with three ways you can say no to peer pressure.
1.
2.
3.
Page
Leader Guide
36
RACHEL CHAN
Artist:
Song:
Study by:
RACHEL CHAN
RACHELCHANMUSIC.COM
GO
IN:CIITE
LAME
CINDY ENGØY
Theme
Transition
Objective
The Song
the wisest person ever, thought that
everything is meaningless—everything is lame. So if he, in all his wisdom and knowledge, came up with
that outlook on life, what do we have
to look forward to? Does anything
in life really matter? Is everything is
meaningless and lame? Let’s see
what the Bible has to say.
lives. Even King Solomon came to that
same conclusion; that what we do for
God is what is important and what is
meant to last forever. Ecclesiastes
3:14 says, I know that everything God
does will endure forever…
Your group will understand that while
what is going on around them may
seem important now, those things
and issues will pass. What they do
for Jesus is what is really important.
Warm Up
What I Think Is Lame – Have chairs
sent up in a circle. Everyone will be
seated with one person in the middle.
The person in the middle will say, “I
think most things are lame, but what
I really think is lame is…” – and that
person will say something that he
or she thinks is lame. Everyone who
agrees runs across the circle and
sits in an empty chair. Whoever is left
standing must go in the middle and be
the “it” person. Play this Lame Game
for a while.
Have student discuss why they though
certain things were lame.
Hand out the Student Guides and tell
the students that they are going to
listen to Rachel Chan’s song called
“Lame.” They will listen to what she
thinks is lame. Have them write on
their Student Guides what they agree
with Rachel are lame. You might need
to play this song a couple of times.
Transition
After listening to the song a couple
times, have students share the lame
things they agree with Rachel and why.
It might be good that if you have a
white board, write these things down.
Bible Study
There is a lot that is lame. You guys
mentioned some, and Rachel Chan
mentioned some in her song. You
know, if we focus only on the lame
stuff, life could get pretty depressing.
Believe it or not, even people in the
Bible felt the same way. What does
King Solomon say about it? Let’s
read Ecclesiastes 1:2, 8, 9, and 14.
Everything is meaningless. Wow! Talk
about a bummer – talk about being
depressed! King Solomon, who was
Read Isaiah 1:17 – Learn to do
right! Seek justice, encourage the
oppressed. Defend the cause of
the fatherless, plead the case of the
widow. Okay, helping the helpless
isn’t so lame.
Who has Luke 6:31 and what does
it say? Do unto others as you would
have them do to you. That sounds
like a good suggestion that isn’t lame.
Treating others the way you wanted to
be treated.
What does Romans 10:15 say? How
beautiful are the feet of those who
bring good news! Now that doesn’t
sound so lame does it? Bringing the
good news of Jesus to others is definitely NOT lame.
So really, what the Bible is saying is
that when we take our attention from
ourselves and instead focus on what
Jesus wants us to do, then life isn’t
so lame. This really brings life into
perspective and gives meaning to our
YESWESERVE
LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA
[email protected]
Wrap Up
Brainstorm ways in which your students can do something for Jesus
that will last. Have the students get
into their groups (or brainstorm as a
whole group) to come up with ways
they can do God’s will to be His
hands and feet. Some ideas maybe
to help out at a senior citizen’s home,
do a canned food drive for a local
shelter, help with an after school
program. Have them write their suggestions on their Student Guides and
then share them with the rest of the
group. Close with, “See, those suggestions aren’t so lame! Let’s plan
these activities into our program!”
Then, close with prayer.
Student Guide
RACHEL CHAN
Artist:
Song:
Theme:
RACHEL CHAN
RACHELCHANMUSIC.COM
GO
IN:CIITE
LAME
LIFE; PURPOSE/MEANING
Oh, that’s so lame…
What I think is lame!
Bible Study
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 8, 9, & 14
What King Solomon thought was lame:
On second thought – not so lame…
Isaiah 1:17
Luke 6:31
What Rachel thinks it lame – and I agree!
Romans 10:15
“Un-lame” Suggestions:
Page
Leader Guide
38
The REND COLLECTIVE
EXPERIMENT
Artist:
Song:
THE REND COLLECTIVE EXPERIMENT
HOMEMADE WORSHIP BY
HANDMADE PEOPLE
KINGSWAY MUSIC
CHRIST HAS SET ME FREE
Theme
our sin. Each one of us, from the day
we are born, is trapped within our corruption. It is nearly impossible for us to
find the freedom we long for, the freedom that we need. We can only find
freedom through Christ! Listen carefully
to this song by The Rend Collective
Experiment. As you listen, consider the
things the singer lists from which we
can be set free through Christ.
Bible Study
RENDCOLLECTIVEEXPERIMENT.COM
Freedom
Objective
Students will realize the freedom they
receive through Christ’s sacrifice and, if
they have not done so already, accept
Christ into their lives so they might
experience the fullness of the freedom
He gives.
Warm Up
Form pairs. Have each twosome face
each other. Then give each pair a
couple of three-foot-long strings to
tie their hands together. Have leaders
help them tie their hands together. One
person’s string should be intertwined
behind their partner’s string so that
they are linked. Then challenge them
to get free from each other without
untying the strings or breaking the
strings. (Secret: To escape, pass the
center of one partner’s string through
the wrist loop and over the hand of the
other partner.) After the students have
struggled for a while you can give them
the secret or cut them loose.
Transition
Ask the students how difficult it was
to get free from the strings. Then
explain that we are all slaves, we are
all trapped, and we are all tied up in
The Song
Hand out the Student Guides. As students listen, have them list the items
from which the singer is set free by the
work of Christ. When the song is over,
have the students come up with other
things from which we are set free by
Christ’s sacrifice.
Transition
Say, “Jesus Christ came so that we
could be set free from the sin that
entangles us. Each of us has been
trapped in our own selfish lifestyles
since day one. God wants nothing but
that we might be set free and able to
live a life of freedom in relationship with
Him. We will look at a passage from
Romans that explains the action of
Christ on our behalf. As we learn what
Christ has done for us, please consider
if you have truly experienced the freedom that Christ offers to you.”
Read Romans 7:24-8:4 to the group.
Explain, “The book of Romans was
written by Paul. Within the book, he
develops the fullness of the Gospel
message and what it means for everyone. In this passage we are nearing
the apex of his argument in which he
declares that it is only through Christ
that we can be set free. Paul tells us
in chapter 7 that he tried to depend
on the law, his own efforts, and acts
of obedience – but failed miserably.
In fact, the law only opened his eyes
to the fullness of his depravity and his
need for some other method of deliverance. In enters Jesus Christ our Lord.
Like Paul, many people think they can
reach heaven on their own efforts, by
acting the right way, or by making the
right choices. We fail because of our
wretchedness. In enters Jesus Christ
our Lord.”
Allow students time to answer these
questions in their discussion guide:
•Re-list some of the things from which
we need to be set free from our discussion about the “Christ has Set Me
Free” song. This is what Paul refers
to when he declares he is a wretched
man. We are all wretched because of
the sin that entraps us.
•Where did Paul find his freedom from
those things that entrapped him? (In
Christ Jesus the Lord)
Study by:
JOEL JACKSON
ST. THOMAS CHURCH
BERNVILLE, PA
[email protected]
•What happens when we are in Christ
Jesus? (We are no longer condemned, we are set free)
•Why do you think it was important for
Jesus to come in the likeness of man?
(Because only a man can take the
punishment – death – of those who
are trapped in our sinfulness)
•What does this passage say in your
own words?
•If you believe in Jesus Christ and
follow Him, what does His sacrifice
do for you?
Wrap Up
Have a time of silence – encourage students to contemplate their
relationship with Christ. They should
ask themselves whether they have
taken advantage of the freedom that
He offers them. If they already have
then they should come forward and
take a string and a 3x5 card. (Six-inch
pieces of string should be tied to 3x5
cards that say “I have freedom through
Christ.”) If they want to make a decision now they should be encouraged
to talk to a leader about the decision
and then receive a string and a card
from that leader. Each student who
receives a string with a card tied to it
should be encouraged to display it on
their book bag, purse, or elsewhere
where it declares their freedom.
Student Guide
The REND COLLECTIVE
EXPERIMENT
Artist:
Song:
Theme:
THE REND COLLECTIVE EXPERIMENT
HOMEMADE WORSHIP BY
HANDMADE PEOPLE
KINGSWAY MUSIC
CHRIST HAS SET ME FREE
FREEDOM
RENDCOLLECTIVEEXPERIMENT.COM
The Song
As you listen to the song, write down anything the
singer declares he is now freed from because of
Christ. After the song is over, write down other things
from which Christ sets you free:
Freedom Declared
Romans 7:24-8:4
Re-list some of the things from which we need to be
set free from our discussion about the “Christ has Set
Me Free” song. This is what Paul refers to when he
declares he is a wretched man. We are all wretched
because of the sin that entraps us.
Response To Christ
In this time of silence please consider your relationship with Christ. Do you experience the freedom that
Christ grants to those who believe in Him? If you do
great, praise God. Come forward to receive a testament to your belief. If not, please consider belief in
Him and come talk to one of the adult leaders.
Where did Paul find his freedom from those things
that entrapped him?
What happens when we are in Christ Jesus?
Why do you think it was important for Jesus to come
in the likeness of man?
What does this passage say in your own words?
If you believe in Jesus Christ and follow Him, what
does His sacrifice do for you?
Page
Leader Guide
40
RUSH OF FOOLS
Artist:
Song:
Study by:
RUSH OF FOOLS
RUSHOFFOOLS.COM
WE ONCE WERE
EONE MUSIC
COME FIND ME
DAVE WEISS
Theme
Transition
Bible Study
Jesus; The Good Shepherd
Objective
In this lesson we will look at how Jesus
cares for us.
Warm Up
Before your group arrives, set up a
series of safe obstacles in the room
and place three bags of candy or
other snacks on the opposite side of
the room. Have your students group
up in teams of four. Blindfold three
of the four students on each team.
These players will be the Sheep and
the other student will be the Shepherd. The object of the game is for
the shepherd to shout instructions
to the sheep to get them to the other
side of the room, to get the snack
bags, and to return back to the starting point. Time each team, and at the
end of their round return the snack
bags to the other side of the course.
The team that gets the best time wins
the snacks. To make the game more
interesting, the other teams are also
allowed to shout false instructions to
try to slow down their opponents.
The point of allowing the other students to shout false instructions is
simple – in order to get through the
obstacles of life, we have to learn to
listen to the right voice and pick that
voice out from all the others bent on
slowing us down and keeping us from
our goals and dreams.
The Song
Hand out the Student Guides. Have
the students fill in the blanks for the lyrics as they listen to the Rush of Fools
song, “Come Find Me.”
Transition
Say something like, “The songwriter
speaks of being a sheep that’s gone
astray, leaving the other 99. Have you
ever felt that you’ve gone astray –
you’ve listened to the wrong voices,
gotten way off track, and needed help
to get back on the right path? The
Bible tells us that Jesus is the good
shepherd who lay down his life for His
sheep. Today we’re going to look at
two passages of Scripture that explain
what that means to us.”
Have your students read Luke 15:3-7.
Discuss:
•When the man in the story lost one of
his sheep what did he do? (He left the
99 to go and find the one.)
•What did he do when he found it? (He
picked it up and carried it back to the
rest of the flock, and he rejoiced to the
point of throwing a party.)
•Verse 7 gives the moral of the story.
What does this tell you about Jesus’
feelings toward the people who have
gone astray? (He loves them and
wants them back and He celebrates
when they come home.)
The have them read John 10:1-15 and
answer these questions:
•Remember in the game when others
were shouting out trying to keep you
from reaching the goal? What “voices” in your everyday life do the same
thing? (These could be any “voice”
that draws us away from God and His
will for our lives.)
•What did Jesus say (in verses 1-5)
about those conflicting voices? (They
are thieves and robbers.)
•How can you avoid following the
wrong voices?
•What should you do instead of following those voices?
NEW CREATION FELLOWSHIP
READING, PENNSYLVANIA
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•How can you know the voice of the
good shepherd? (By getting to know
Jesus through prayer and the Word;
learning to follow what He said.)
•What did Jesus say in verse 8 about
your conflicting voices? (Once again,
they are thieves and robbers – don’t
listen to them.)
•What’s the difference between the
good shepherd and the hired hand?
(The hired hand is not invested and
runs at the first sign of trouble. The
good shepherd lays down his life for
His sheep.)
•How do we know that Jesus is the
good shepherd? (He laid down his life
for His sheep.)
Wrap Up
Revisit John 10:10 and say, “Why is
following the right voice so important?
One voice leads to destruction, but
the good shepherd – the one who laid
down His life for you, the one who left
the 99 to come and find you – wants to
give you a full and meaningful life.” Ask
your students which voice they have
been following. Give an invitation of
prayer for anyone who wants to say to
Jesus, “Come Find Me.”
Student Guide
RUSH OF FOOLS
Artist:
Song:
Theme:
RUSH OF FOOLS
RUSHOFFOOLS.COM
WE ONCE WERE
EONE MUSIC
COME FIND ME
JESUS; THE GOOD SHEPHERD
The Song
Leaving The 99
Come Find Me
In a _____ that can’t seem to find what it _______
•When the man in the story lost one of his sheep
what did he do?
•Remember in the game when others were shouting
out trying to keep you from reaching the goal? What
“voices” in your everyday life do the same thing?
Fill in the blanks.
Luke 15:3-7
Give me ______ in a ________ that my _______ have
John 10:1-15
not ______
•What did Jesus say (in verses 1-5) about those conflicting voices?
Walk in to the ______ of my _______
•How can you avoid following the wrong voices?
Take hold of the _______ that are
•What should you do instead of following those
voices?
So _________ like ________ gone astray
And if you ever leave the ___________
•What did he do when he found it?
•How can you know the voice of the good shepherd?
•What did Jesus say in verse 8 about your conflicting
voices?
Come __________ _______
Come shine Your light in my __________
•What’s the difference between the good shepherd
and the hired hand?
Come __________ _______
Put consuming fire in my heart
In a _____ that can’t seem to find what it _______
•How do we know that Jesus is the good shepherd?
Give me ______ in a ________ that my _______ have
Reread John 10:10
not ______
_______ since the day I __________
Learning how to _______ for Your _______
You’re _______ this _________ gone astray
•Verse 7 gives the moral of the story. What does this
tell you about Jesus’ feelings toward the people
who have gone astray?
•Why is following the right voice so important?
•Consider the choices you’ve been making. Which
voice have you been following?
•Are your choices destructive to you and/or others?
Why or why not?
And I pray You’ll leave the ______________
•Are your choices leading to an abundant meaningful
life? Why or why not?
Come __________ _______
•Is it time to call out to the Good Shepherd and say,
“Come Find Me”?
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Page
Leader Guide
44
SOUTHBOUND FEARING
Artist:
Song:
Study by:
SOUTHBOUND FEARING
SOUTHBOUNDFEARING.COM
THE ANTHEM OF ANGELS
RED CORD MUSIC
UNSEEN
MARY WILSON
Theme
The Song
Bible Study
Wrap Up
Spiritual Warfare
Objective
Students will consider standing up to
the unseen forces in their lives.
Warm Up
Have your students pick a partner (or
pair them off yourself by height) and
decide which one will be blindfolded
and which one will have their hands
tied behind their back. (A cheap bag
of XL men’s tube socks work well as
blindfolds and hand ties.) Give each
pair of students a task such as putting
together a Mr. Potato Head or a child’s
floor puzzle. They must work as a pair
to complete the task – one blindfolded,
and one with hands tied behind their
back. (You may need to serve as quality control for the restraints.) The first
pair to finish wins. You may provide a
small prize for the winner.
Transition
•How did not being able to see affect
your ability to complete the task?
•Did having “another set of eyes” help?
Hand out the Student Guides and have
your students answer the questions as
they listen to “Unseen.”
•By the way, how is he?
•What is fighting him? (Demons)
•What does he want to feel? (Something more)
•What does he want to fight? (The
unseen)
•What is he giving away? (It all)
•What is crashing around him? (Waters)
•What does he know? (What he’s
been told)
•Who does he feel by his side?
Listen to the song again and then
answer these questions:
•What keeps you awake at night?
•What demons are you fighting?
•What does the water represent to you?
•What if all you knew was what you’d
been told?
•Is there anything (including demons)
that can separate you from God
and His great love for you? (Read
Romans 8:38-39.)
•Who got the most frustrated?
Read 2 Kings 6:15-18 and then
discuss:
•Why was the servant afraid?
•Who could see the truth?
UNKOMMON MEDIA
MACON, GEORGIA
[email protected]
Close the meeting by reading Romans
8:38-39 as a responsive reading. (You
may need to adapt the participant
categories to your specific group.)
•How were the servant’s eyes opened?
All: For I am convinced
•Who did he see was there to fight
for them?
Leader: that neither death
•Do you need God to open your eyes?
•What battles in your life do you need
God’s help to fight?
Guys: nor life
Girls: neither angels
Leader: nor demons
All: neither the present nor the future
Guys: nor any powers
Girls: neither height
Guys: nor depth
Leader: nor anything else in all creation
All: will be able to separate us from
the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
Student Guide
SOUTHBOUND FEARING
Artist:
Song:
Theme:
SOUTHBOUND FEARING
SOUTHBOUNDFEARING.COM
THE ANTHEM OF ANGELS
RED CORD MUSIC
UNSEEN
SPIRITUAL WARFARE
Listen To It
Unpack It
Learn About It
Wrap It Up
Answer these questions as you listen
to the song:
What keeps you awake at night?
2 Kings 6:15-18
Why was the servant afraid?
Romans 8:38-39
By the way, how is he?
All: For I am convinced
What is fighting him?
What demons are you fighting?
Who could see the truth?
Leader: that neither death
Guys: nor life
What does he want to feel?
How were the servant’s eyes opened?
Leader: nor demons
What does the water represent to you?
What does he want to fight?
All: neither the present nor the future
Who did he see was there to fight for
them?
What is he giving away?
Guys: nor any powers
Girls: neither height
What if all you knew was what you’d
been told?
Guys: nor depth
Do you need God to open your eyes?
What is crashing around him?
What does he know?
Girls: neither angels
Is there anything that can separate you
from God and His love? (Check out
Romans 8:38-39)
What battle in your life do you need
God’s help to fight?
Leader: nor anything else in all creation
All: will be able to separate us from
the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
Who does he feel by his side?
Page
Leader Guide
46
STARFIELD
Artist:
Song:
STARFIELD
THE KINGDOM
STARFIELDONLINE.COM
THE KINGDOM OF OUR GOD
Theme
The Song
not have to rely on our own power to
do this; we can call on God to give us
strength. God will provide and make
our efforts successful. Ask, “What
does being successful in sharing Christ
mean to you?”
Testimony
Objective
Students will learn that the best way
to proclaim the greatness of God is
through their own testimonies.
Warm Up
Have your students write about something exciting that has happened to
them. Instruct them to give as many
details as possible, but keep it anonymous. When they’re finished, collect all
the papers and read them aloud. See
whether anyone can guess who might
have written each story.
Transition
Say, “We know, inside ourselves,
that God is great. However, the Bible
commands us to share the greatness
of God with everyone we meet. (Acts
1:8) We are always willing to share
about our exciting events, but not as
willing to share about the greatest
event ever: our salvation when Christ
entered our lives.”
Hand out the Student Guides. As “The
Kingdom Of Our God” plays, encourage your students to describe under
the My Testimony section how they
came to Christ. Note: If unsaved students are present, you could encourage them to listen to the words and
focus on the fact that they can experience the greatness of God that the
song mentions.
Transition
Say, “This song points out that not only
is God great, He wants to live in each
of us. Part of the way we experience
that is by our sharing the story of how
He changed our lives. This song serves
as a call to all believers to sing the
praises of God.”
Bible Study
We all want to be part of something
great. No one wants to fail and then
share about those failures. Rather, we
seek to share our accomplishments
and those things that we are really
excited about. Acts 1:8 tells us that
we can be part of something great.
God will empower all His children with
the Holy Spirit for the cause of telling
about Him. Believers tell about God by
sharing their testimony – simply sharing what God has done in them. We do
There is no way to fail when you obey
God’s command to witness. God does
not measure success as the world
does—the world forces people to not
only act, but also produce results.
God calls His people to act, and He
produces the results (1 Corinthians
3:6). When we obey Him and share
our testimony, not only is His will being
accomplished, but we become successful – regardless of the results – by
way of our obedience. If someone
accepts Christ because of our testimony, we receive an added blessing from
God. Someone accepting Christ after
we share our testimony is simply an
added blessing that God has given us.
Ask, “What are some reasons people
are afraid to share their testimonies?”
(Discuss answers)
The best way to overcome our fear is
to pray for boldness. We need to follow the examples of Peter and John
in Acts 4. Peter and John acknowledged the importance of sharing
their testimonies (vs. 20) and prayed
that God would give them boldness
to take a stand (vs. 29). God is faithful and keeps His promises. Peter
Study by:
DAVE JONES
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
MILTON, PENNSYLVANIA
[email protected]
and John’s request for boldness
was answered in Acts 4:31. All we
need to do is obey and pray since
we know that God will answer our
prayers, too.
Wrap Up
Say, “God truly is great; but how will
the world know that truth if believers
fail to share it? God has promised us
the Holy Spirit. God has promised to
take care of the results Himself. All
believers need to be willing to share
what God has done in their lives, praying for boldness in the process. Let
us not miss out on the fact that God
wants to build His kingdom by utilizing His people.” Encourage students
to sign the Testimony Commitment
Card, then tear it off and keep it in their
Bibles or some other place where they
will not easily forget it.
Before closing in prayer, you may
want to encourage those who are
unsure of their salvation to stay after.
Some youth leaders are not comfortable giving an altar call at each youth
service. However, this study provides
a natural progression to an altar call
and could be adapted to most any
youth group settings.
Student Guide
STARFIELD
Artist:
Song:
Theme:
STARFIELD
THE KINGDOM
STARFIELDONLINE.COM
THE KINGDOM OF OUR GOD
TESTIMONY
My Testimony
In the space below, describe who, when, where, and
any other details surrounding how you came to know
Jesus as your Savior.
Bible Study
Acts 1:8
How can believers be great?
What is the difference between success according
to the world and success according to God?
Testimony
Commitment Card
I commit to sharing my testimony with people that
God brings into my life. I will call upon God to equip
me with the Holy Spirit to accomplish His work.
Signature:_____________________________________
Date:__________________________________________
1 Corinthians 3:6
How can believers partner with God in the building
of His kingdom?
Acts 4
What can be learned from the example of Peter
and John?
Page
>> Switchfoot • Vice Verses
48
discussion GUIDES
Switchfoot’s Vice Verses is about questions and hope. It’s a dichotomy between the now and the not yet. It sums up the life of everyone, especially a teenager’s life.
Switchfoot challenges us to look at life as a whole and not just its parts. God has made an art form of painting pictures of things that don’t go together – a servant
king, a king savior born in a manager, and dying to live. The students in your group don’t just need to hear these songs, they need to wrestle with them, use their
Bibles as a high-wire walker uses a pole to balance himself 100 ft. off the ground. After all the wrestling, they can lay on their backs, look up in the sky, and see hope.
Paul Turner, a longtime Youth Leaders Only member, interlínc WriteGroup member, and the youth pastor at the tornado-ravaged Pleasant Grove Assembly of God
Church in Birmingham, Alabama created a Discussion Starter for each song on Switchfoot’s latest album. Use these Discussion Starters in small Bible study groups,
car rides with a bunch of kids, or even as the basis for cabin discussions at retreats or camps.
Afterlife
When you were little, what could you not wait until
you were old enough to do? There are so many
things we have to wait to do until we are old enough:
drive a car, date, get married, get a job, vote, join the
military, collect Social Security.
Play the song.
Character Study: Peter (Matthew 14:22-33) Peter
lived life large. He acted or spoke first and thought
later. Contrast James and John – who argued about
the afterlife and who would be next to Jesus
(Matthew 20:20-21) with Peter – who wanted to
experience the power of the afterlife now, as seen
in his jumping out of a boat to go to Jesus. Like the
song says, “I’m ready now, I’m not waiting on the
afterlife.” Discuss:
•Have you ever done something without thought
– maybe even recorded it and put it on YouTube?
Explain.
•What was the difference between Peter and the two
brothers James and John?
•How can we move from talking about the afterlife to
experiencing it here and now?
The good news is that Jesus wants us to know Him,
enjoy Him, and live for Him now. Have a student read
John 10:10. Jesus said that He came to give life
“more abundantly.” Ask the students:
•How do you know something is alive?
•Is there a difference between living and being
alive? What?
•How can we enjoy the abundant life Jesus is talking
about here, right now?
Jesus came to show us how to live life to the fullest. He hung out with the wrong crowd to show
them the right way, performed miracles, and
showed us what living out our faith to the fullest
is like. There is a line in the song that says, “And I
wonder why would I wait to come alive, I’m ready
now.” What are you waiting for?
The Original
Which Is Better? – Name a re-made movie, re-mixed
song, or updated product, and ask, “Which is better, the original, or the new? Why?” “Which movies
do you like, the old or the new?” “Which do you like
when it comes to music?”
The War Inside
Jesus was one of a kind. He is the only religious
figure of any religion to die for the sins of the world
and rise from the dead. Jesus did things in a new
way. Where hate was the way, He showed love.
Where judgment was the way, He showed mercy.
Jesus was an original.
From the time we get up in the morning we face
small battles such as, “Should I get out of bed, or
sleep a little later?” The war within us is made up
of many small battles, but the battles intensify the
further we go into our day. The choices get harder:
“Should I talk to that new girl, or should I sit with
that lonely kid at lunch?” The battles get even more
intense when we are deciding major issues of life
such as whether we should do drugs, or drink just
to get along with everyone, or have sex although we
know it’s wrong. These battles all spring out of the
original battle between Adam and Eve and Satan.
Play the song.
Play the song.
Character Study: The Centurion (Matthew 8:5-13)
You would think it would take a lot to blow Jesus
away, but a simple request from a Roman soldier did
just that. The Centurion’s servant was sick. He knew
Jesus was a healer, so he went to ask for healing for
his servant. Jesus offered to come to his house and
heal him, but the Centurion told Jesus, “Lord, I do
not deserve to have you come under my roof. But
just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, I have not found
anyone in Israel with such great faith.” Jesus said, in
essence, “I have found an original!”
Switchfoot sings, “Ain’t no killer like pride, ain’t no
killer like I, no killer like what’s inside.” What do you
think Switchfoot means by “the war inside”?
•What made the Centurion an original in Jesus’ eyes?
•Would you call yourself an original or would
you consider yourself a copy when it comes to
faith? Explain.
Read Matthew 7:15-20. Jesus said you could tell
the original from a copy by the fruit (actions, speech,
etc.) of a person’s life. The question is, do we look
like the original Jesus or have we become a poor
knock off version of Him?
Read 2 Timothy 3:1-5. What does Paul say about
these copycat Christians?
“One essential ingredient for being an original in the
day of copies is courageous vision.” (Charles Swindoll) Let’s pray that we will choose to be an original
when it comes to our faith.
Character Study: Paul (Romans 7:14-20) – (Read this
in multiple versions, e.g. The Message paraphrase,
so the youth know exactly what Paul was trying to
get across.) Paul knew the evil that was in him. As a
former persecutor of the church, he was a man who
would drag believers to court, to prison, and possibly
to their deaths. There was a battle within him – not to
go back to the old life, but to pursue what he knew
was right. For most of us, going back to bad is easy.
It’s easy to sin and disobey God. What is not easy is
our pursuit of good and the best God has for us. Paul
knew it then and we know it now.
•Does this war continue today? How so?
•How does Satan continue the war today in our lives?
Read Galatians 5:16-18 and James 1:13-14.
Although Satan can become a convenient scapegoat whenever something goes wrong (“The devil
made me do it.”), the Bible is clear that we have a
major scar from the original battle. After receiving
Christ we now have a choice to make: the old way
or Christ’s way?
Have a bowl of sand available. Have students pass
the bowl of sand around. Ask the students to, one at
a time, draw a line in that sand and pray to pursue
the side of the line that represents Christ. After they
have said a silent prayer, have them erase their line
and pass the bowl.
<<Page
Switchfoot • Vice Verses
discussion GUIDES
Restless
Augustine was an early church father, a Bishop in
Africa who wrote a book called City of God that
includes this quote: “You have made us for Yourself,
O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find
their rest in You.” This song would have been Augustine’s favorite song.
Play the song. Ask, “Which of these metaphors that
the song uses most relates to when you are feeling
far from God?”
•Broken, leaking pipes (your desire for God is a constant, almost annoying, drip)
•A raindrop seeking the deepest part of the earth
(always wanting more of God)
•The breaking seas try to reach shore (a tumultuous
heart waiting to reach God)
Character Study: David (Psalm 77:1-6; 102; 22;
37; 43; 130) David, the giant killer and the writer of
many of the Psalms, was restless for God. He often
wondered when God would vanquish his enemies
or when his trouble would be over. We all become
restless when life does not seem like it’s coming
together, or worse, it’s completely falling apart. Restlessness is not bad; it is our soul’s signal that we are
connected to something great than this earth and we
have a divine nature created by God. We ultimately
won’t be happy until we are connected with Him in
this life, and we will not be satisfied until we are with
Him in the next.
•What are some things that David was restless about
in these Psalms?
•How are you like David?
•Finish this statement: “I get restless (inwardly
dissatisfied) with my spiritual life when…”
Play the song again, and encourage the kids to
reflect on the lyrics and on their own restlessness.
Blinding Light
In this song, a young man and young lady are
encouraged to be themselves and not buy into the
false promises of the American Dream. It is said that
a young person will see or hear over 3,000 media
messages a day – most of the messages are trying to sell something. Ads on YouTube, games, and
cellphones are trying to define their habits based on
a product or a way of life. It’s as old as the promise
made by Satan himself in the Garden of Eden; he
told Eve, “If you eat this, you will become this.”
Play the song – encourage your students to identify
what each young person is being sold.
49
Selling The News
Recently, the “supreme leader” (the dictator of North
Korea) passed away. Kim Jung Ill’s son Kim Jung Eun
took his place. Here is what the Korean people were
told of the former dictator: a bright star lighted up at his
birth; he made five hole-in-ones in the same golf game
and shot a 38; his fashion was a global trend; people
celebrate his birthday all over the world and throw festivals in his honor; he invented the hamburger; if he gets
addicted to a drug, so does everyone else; and finally,
the whole world loved him. The people of North Korea
had no way to disprove this.
Play the song.
•What are some of the promises being made to the
young people in the song?
•Do you watch the news? If not, how do you find out
what is going on in the world?
•What are some of the things that advertise
promises? (e.g. If you use this product, you will
become this.)
•Are news shows biased one way or the other? What
do you think?
•Have the world’s ideas and promises of success come
through for America’s youth? Why or why not?
Character Study: The Rich Young Ruler and the
Prodigal Son (Mark 10:17-27; Luke 15:11-32) The
song continues, encouraging youth that they are better than what the world paints them and better than a
cheap promise, but they respond they are still hopeful that the world will give them what they are looking
for. In the two stories above, each young man looked
to riches as the answers. The Rich Young Ruler could
not do without them, and the Prodigal son could not
hang on to them. In each case, riches played a part
separating a young person from God’s best.
•Do you think they received what riches promised?
•Why are we so easily fooled by false promises?
Read 2 Peter 1:4; Matthew 7:26-28; 1 John 2:17;
Psalm 145:13. Discuss:
•What contrast do these Scriptures offer between the
promises of God’s and the promises of the world?
•Even if the world could make good on its promises,
would people be better off than with God’s promises? Why or why not?
Have each student empty their pockets or wallets
of money and place it in front of them. Ask, “Is what
is in front of you enough to separate you from God?
Why or why not? Is there an amount that could
separate you from God? Let’s pray that there is not!”
Ask the students to take their money, hold it in their
hands, and pray this simple prayer, “Father, do not let
riches or the false promises of riches come between
me and You.”
•Do you think the news exploits or takes advantage
of people? Why or why not?
Character Study: Solomon (1 Kings 3:6-28) Solomon
wanted to please God more than anything. He could
have asked God for anything, but he asked to be
able to tell the difference between good and evil.
That’s called “discernment.” Right after Solomon’s
dream he had two women come to him and asked
him to solve a dispute involving a baby. Solomon
had to choose wisely. He did not just want to make
a decision, he wanted to provide justice – to do the
right thing based on the information he had.
•Do you filter the information you hear to make sure
it’s true, or do you believe what everyone says?
•Does everyone on the news/YouTube tell the truth?
Why or why not?
•What do you use to help you tell the different
between what is right and wrong in God’s eyes?
•Is the Bible more reliable than the news? Why or
why not?
Read Philippians 4:8. Discuss.
•If this verse became your standard for watching the
news or any other show, for that matter, how would
this change your viewing habits?
•Why do you think God wants you to have such
a high standard for what goes through your eyes
and ears?
The message of Jesus is called the “gospel”, a Greek
word that means “good news.” Consider the news
Jesus offers the next time you are presented with the
bad news of man’s opinion.
Page
>> Switchfoot • Vice Verses
50
Thrive
This song is the story of us all. We have days where
we don’t feel like ourselves. We have to take a long
look in the mirror to know whether we are thriving or
surviving. Once we’ve stared down our image, we
have to make a declaration to do one or the other.
The person in the song is very honest; he openly
admits that he is not right. That is the trouble with us
all. Let’s examine the song and see if we can figure
out a way to thrive and not just survive.
Play the song.
•Can you relate to this song? Explain.
•What is the definition of someone who is just “surviving” in life?
•What is your definition of someone who is “thriving”
in life?
•The song says, “A warm body does not mean I am
alive.” What does this mean to you?
Character Study: Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) You
might say that Zacchaeus was tired of surviving
and he wanted to thrive. He knew of Jesus but had
never seen Him. So he climbed in a tree to get a
better look. Jesus noticed him and called him down.
Zacchaeus was a wealthy man, but wealth was
not enough. From his brief encounter with Jesus,
Zach’s life went into thrive mode. His heart changed
to the point where he returned money to those he
had cheated, and Jesus ate at his house that day.
Sounds like thriving to me!
Read Matthew 23:27. Jesus called out the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the time, as only looking
alive on the outside.
•Do Christians have this problem today?
•What are some of the activities we paint ourselves
with to show others we are alive, when we are really
dead inside?
discussion GUIDES
Dark Horses
Have you ever heard a sportscaster talk about a
team being a “dark horse”? The term “dark horse”
was first used in the 1800’s to describe an unknown
horse winning a race. Later the term came to mean
an unlikely political candidate who could possibly win
an election. Sportscasters use the term to describe
teams who are unlikely to make it to the championship but are still possible contenders. The definition
from the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy is: “an unexpected winner.” The Bible is filled with dark horses—
winners who did not expect to win.
Souvenirs
Whenever I travel to a state I have never been
to, I pick up a deck of cards from that state for
my daughter. The souvenir is for her, not for me.
We often pick up souvenirs to remind us of great
trips and fun times with friends and family. Every
time we look at the souvenir, we are reminded of
those moments.
Describe your favorite souvenir. Where is it from?
What makes it special?
•How do you know if you are winning with God?
The song describes looking back to a time of youth
and inexperience. For many college students, faith
is a memory, something left behind because they
suddenly outgrew it. Youth Camp, prayer meetings,
Bible studies, and great times with the Lord become
souvenirs instead of milestones. How can we keep
from putting our faith in a box in the attic?
Play the song.
Play the song.
Character Study: Peter (Luke 5:1-11), the woman at
the well (John 4), and the woman to be stoned (John
8:1-11) Discuss:
Salvation is an unexpected gift. The Bible says we
cannot know God unless the Holy Spirit draws us to
Him (John 6:44). Jesus often popped into people’s
lives and declared them winners, although they did
not look like winners and did not even know they
were in the race. Have you had this experience?
Character Study: Peter, James, and John (Matthew
17:1-13) Peter, James, and John went on a day trip
with Jesus. On this trip they did a little mountain
climbing. On the mountain, something amazing
happened. Moses and Elijah appeared to them! The
guys’ response was to want to build three altars
there – one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for
Jesus. It was a good idea, but Jesus was not interested. The disciples missed the point. Then the voice
of God thundered, “This is my Son, whom I love; with
him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” Maybe we’ve
built an altar to Jesus at camp, or we built Jesus an
altar at church, and we only hear from Him when we
visit those places.
The song declares to “not count us out.” Don’t count
yourself out; God doesn’t.
•Is there a place you sense Jesus more than others?
Where?
Discuss:
•How do you know if you are wining with your
parents?
•How do you know if you are winning in relationships?
•In the world’s eyes, what made these people losers?
•According to Jesus, what made each of them
winners?
Read James 2:22-25. The song says, “The stranger
in the mirror is wearing my clothes.” Could we feel
like strangers because we look in God’s Word but
don’t see ourselves? Part of thriving as a believer is
spiritual authenticity. Let’s not be afraid to look in the
mirror. The truth hurts but dishonesty hurts us worse.
Hand out a paper and a pen to each student. Ask the
students to divide the paper into two columns: Surviving and Thriving. Ask them to write in the Surviving
column everything that makes them feel they are
“surviving” in life., In the Thriving column, ask them
to write whatever makes them feel they are “thriving”.
Close in prayer and challenge students to live by the
list that makes them feel alive in Christ.
•The Father’s command to the disciples was to listen
to Jesus. How can we do a better of that when we
are not at the special place?
Read Hebrews 10:32. The writer of Hebrews says
we should remember those days when we strongly
felt God’s presence during hard times. If you were
asked about your faith five years from now, what
would you be able to look back on that made a difference in your life? Being young is a short trip; pick
up a few souvenirs of faith along the way, but don’t
stop travelling.
<<Page
Switchfoot • Vice Verses
discussion GUIDES
51
Rise Above It
Vice Verses
Where I Belong
The world is real, but not reality. The reality is that life
is brief. If we are blessed enough to live 80 years, it
still does not seem enough, does it? What do these
Scriptures say about this life? (James 4:14; Job 7:7;
Psalm 39:5; 78:39)
Water is used throughout the song and album to
describe the fluidness of faith. Like the tide, we are
up and down, in and out, searching, reaching, and
crashing. The tide never disappears. The tide is
erratic but is always present. If you could describe
your faith in terms of water (it’s bigger than the
ocean, it’s cold like an Arctic fishing hole), how would
you describe it?
•How important to you is belonging to the “right
group”?
Sometimes, life feels phony, as though we’re playacting. Shakespeare said in As You Like It, “All the
world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely
players.” Do you sometimes feel that way? Why?
Play the song.
What is the song asking us to rise above? This song
can be a just another slogan or it can be a lifestyle.
In truth, we’re either rising above life’s difficulties and
phoniness or sinking deeper into it. A line from the
song says, “Hear us sing tonight like it’s the last night
on earth.” Live this life to the fullest but let’s not forget that this life is not all there is.
Character Study: The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke
16:19-31) Have you ever wondered why you born in
America and not elsewhere? Have you ever wondered why you have all you need and someone is
barely getting by? We cannot control where or when
we are born, but we can control how we live the
life we are given by the choices we make. We don’t
know why Lazarus was born and wound up this way,
and the same for the rich man. If Lazarus lived in our
time we’d say, “Get a job!” Well, we know that is not
so easy anymore.
We don’t know why Lazarus could not “rise above.”
The rich man had everything, and by all accounts
looked as if he had risen above everything—everything, except pride and arrogance. In the end, Lazarus did rise above and the rich man did not.
•If the rich man heard this song how do you think he
would interpret it?
•If Lazarus heard this song how do you think he
would interpret it?
•How do you interpret the song for you?
•What do you need to rise above?
Read 1 John 2:27 – “The world and its desires pass
away, but the man who does the will of God lives
forever.” Close in prayer.
There are quiet times when we think deep thoughts
such as, “Why am I here?” or “Where is God?”
Those are good questions that lead us to diverse
answers and possible solutions.
Character Study: Solomon (Ecclesiastes 1) Does
this sound like your experience? Before you think
of jumping off a cliff because of these somewhat
depressing statements, consider that Solomon
asked many questions and eventually came up with
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.
Let’s ask all the questions we can. Let’s meditate and
daydream. Let’s complain and moan like in the song,
“Where is God in the earthquake?” These questions
will always exist until we see Jesus face to face. In
fact, that will be the only time when we will have all
the answers.
Read 1 Corinthians 13:12 – “Now we see but a poor
reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to
face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even
as I am fully known.”
•If you were allowed to ask Jesus a question right
now and receive a direct and immediate answer,
what would you ask Him?
•Why is that important to you?
Solomon tried many things in his life and came
up empty. When we are young, we usually do the
same. Sometimes it takes time to separate the
worthwhile and the worthless. The song says “a
little resurrection every time I die.” There are blessings and there are curses. Solomon discovered
both and so shall we.
Knowing where we belong is an important issue in
life. If we know where we belong we can get on with
whatever we think we are supposed to do. Unfortunately, for many teens and adults, this search goes
on too long.
•Why do we spend so much time trying to find the
“right group”? What do we think it will gain?
•Is there a place (looking at the stars, the ocean, the
mountains, etc.) that makes you feel as if earth is not
the final place you belong?
The song reminds us of something very important
while we are searching, “This skin and bones is a
rental.” The Bible is clear to remind us that earth is
not our final resting place.
Character Study: Jesus (Matthew 26:36-46) The
reality of where we belong hits home when we read
about Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. I
do not know what Jesus was thinking but His words
are clear. He wanted to know whether this painful
place was where He belonged. He had seen crucifixions before. He knew His death would be painful.
But He knew, after prayer, that this was where He
belonged.
Sometimes we can feel that we do not belong in this
place, this home, this family, this church – and yet,
we may be exactly where God wants us. Jesus had
to be at this place, at this time for our sakes – to take
our sin so He could one day say, “In my Father’s
house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would
have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for
you.” (John 14:2) He is preparing a place where we
all belong.
Read 2 Corinthians 5:1; Job 4:19; and 2 Peter 1:1314. The joy of being a Christian is our hope – life with
God. The song says it well when it says, “Where the
weak are finally strong, where the righteous right the
wrongs.”
•What are you looking forward to most about
heaven?
•What wrongs do you want to see righted?
To quote the song again, and to encourage you to
live out your faith to the end, “And when I reach the
other side, I want to look you in the eye, and know
that I have arrived, in a place where I belong.” Heaven is the place where we all belong.
Play the song again, and ask students to think about
heaven and eternity. Gather everyone together and
hold hands or put hands on each other’s shoulders
for prayer. Ask for volunteers to pray for any needs in
the group. Instead of asking everyone to say “Amen”
ask students to say, “We belong.”
Page
Leader Guide
52
THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH
Artist:
Song:
THOUSANDFOOTKRUTCH.COM
THE END IS WHERE WE BEGIN
THE FUEL MUSIC
BE SOMEBODY
Theme
Transition
Bible Study
Objective
Your students will realize that they are
loved and valued by God.
Warm Up
Clumps – Tell the students to form
groups or “clumps” based on height,
hair color, number of cavities, number
of siblings, shirt color, month of birth,
grade, school you attend, etc. Once
they are in their groups, read a question from the list below (or write your
own) and ask everyone to answer within their group. When the groups have
finished, tell the students to mingle
again. Sample questions:
•What is your favorite cartoon (or
cartoon character)?
Ask, “What did you learn about our
group?” (They should say things like,
although we are similar in some areas,
we are still very different and unique.)
The Song
Hand out the Student Guides and say,
“We’re going to listen to ‘Be Somebody’ – a new song by Thousand Foot
Krutch. This is TFK’s seventh studio
album, and after 15 years they still
know how to RAWK. As I play this
song, listen to the words and fill in the
blanks on your handout.”
Transition
Say, “What did you think of the song?
Okay, let’s split up into small groups
and talk more about this song and
what it means.”
•Who do you most admire?
•What animal is most like your
personality?
•What would you do with $100,000?
•What do you hope to be doing in
ten years?
As the students get settled, have them
share their names and discuss:
•If you could trade places with anyone in
the world, who would it be, and why?
•Take a look at the chorus; did you
get all the blanks filled in? (Answers:
down, sound, chemistry, me, fire, I
really am, somebody, far)
•What do you think when you hear the
phrase, “We all want to be somebody,
we just need a taste of who we are”?
What do you think the band is trying
to tell us with that statement? (Allow
students to respond and get them to
say something like we are somebody,
but sometimes we don’t realize it.)
The Bible tells us that we are someone.
God is crazy about us. (Read Psalm
139:13-17.) Discuss:
•What does this passage tell you about
how God sees you?
•Has anyone ever sent you a card,
email, or text message that just said
something like, “Hey just wanted to
let you know I’m thinking about you;
have a great day”? If so, how did that
make you feel?
•The last line of that passage says,
“How precious are your thoughts
about me, O God. They cannot be
numbered!” How amazing that God
thinks about us continually, and that
they are good thoughts!
Study by:
TODD PEARAGE
THE GATHERING
DAYTON, OHIO
[email protected]
Wrap Up
I want you to think about two things:
•We all want to be somebody – and
in Christ, we are somebody. So write
your name in that first blank. Who do
you think gets his or her name in the
second blank? (God)
•You probably know someone who
doesn’t think they are somebody.
What can you do to share this lesson
with them? What do you think would
happen if you sent them a quick text
message that says, “THINKIN BOUT
U! U R AWESOME!” If they ask why
you sent that, are you willing to share
with them some of the things we
talked about here tonight? Let’s pray
for God to use you to share with your
friends that they are SOMEBODY.
Then, let’s text our friends!
Student Guide
Artist:
Song:
Theme:
THOUSANDFOOTKRUTCH.COM
THE END IS WHERE WE BEGIN
THE FUEL MUSIC
BE SOMEBODY
SELF-IDENTITY; IN CHRIST
Fill In The Blanks
Psalm 139:13-17
After all the lights go _________________,
I’m just the words, you are the _________________,
A strange type of ________________,
How you’ve become a part of ________________
And when I, sit alone at night,
Your thoughts burn through me,
Like a ________________, ...you’re the only one,
Who knows, who, ________________
____________________ is SOMEBODY, because
______________ says so!
We all want to be ________________,
We just need a taste of who we are,
We all want to be somebody,
TXT: THINKIN BOUT U! U R AWESOME!
We’re willing to go, but not that ________________
>>
Page
THEMATIC LISTING
54
These are the themes represented by all the songs in
this volume of Youth Leaders Only. The songs listed
in red type have complete Bible study sessions writ-
Acceptance
Determination
Distractions
Ambition
Devotion
Doubt
Brinson
O.M.G
Last But Not Least Outro
Dominic Balli
American Dream
(feat. Sonny Sandoval)
Biblical Manhood
116 FEAT. LECRAE / Page 20
Man Up Album
Man Up Anthem
Brokenness
Brinson
O.M.G
Breaking Down
(feat. Jermel Forehand)
Commitment
Brinson
O.M.G
Don’t Rap No More
How
they
are
listed:
Theme
Artist
Album Title
Song
ten for them. The page number for these studies are
listed after the artist’s name. For a comprehensive
list of the Scripture verses for each theme, point your
Switchfoot
Vice Verses
Rise Above It
Brinson
O.M.G
Going God
(feat. Aye Day Fothousand)
Devotion; Seeking
God
Rachel Chan
GO
Show Me More
Switchfoot
Vice Verses
Restless
Difficulties; Hope
Within
Close Your Eyes
Keep The Lights On
Complacency
Diligence
Confidence, In Christ
Thousand Foot Krutch
This Is A Warning
Southbound Fearing
Drums
Brinson
O.M.G
Beastmode / F.S.A.
(Favor Shield Activated)
Contentment
Brinson
O.M.G
Green Grass Theory 80/20
Dependence
Leeland / Page 32
The Great Awakening
I Cry
Rachel Chan
GO
Resting In You
Nine Lashes
World We View
Our Darkest Day
Discipleship
Jamie Grace
You Lead
Discipleship, Cost Of
The Rend Collective Experience
Homemade Worship By
Handmade People
The Cost
Starfield
The Kingdom
Innocence And Other Things
Lost
©2012, interlínc / interlÍnc-online.com / 800.725.3300
web browser to the “What The Bible Says About...”
(http://wbsa.logos.com) and type in the theme.
Switchfoot
Vice Verses
Blinding Light
Rush Of Fools
We Once Were
Help Our Unbelief
Dreams & Desires
Nine Lashes
World We View
The Intervention
Emptiness
Nine Lashes
World We View
The Void
Eternity
Owl City
Galaxies
Evangelism; God’s
Representatives
Starfield
The Kingdom
Light Of The World
We Are
Evangelism;
Witnessing
Nine Lashes
World We View
Write It Down
Let The Sparks Fly
Faith
Brinson / Page 26
O.M.G
He Said He Loved Me (feat. Nitty)
Nine Lashes
World We View
Believe Your Eyes
Family; Parents
Rachel Chan
GO
Prove It
Forgiven
Brinson
O.M.G
Dirty Laundry (feat. Readywriter)
Forgiveness
Close Your Eyes / Page 28
Valleys
Freedom
The Rend Collective
Experience / Page 38
Homemade Worship By
Handmade People
Friendship; Support
Nine Lashes
World We View
My Friend
Frustration
Southbound Fearing
200K Miles
<<
Page
THEMATIC LISTING
Glorifying God
God’s Love
God’s Patience
God’s Eternal Nature
Rachel Chan
GO
Even Here
Rachel Chan
GO
Ready And Waiting
Homemade Worship By
Handmade People
You Are My Vision
Rush Of Fools
We Once Were
Beginning To End
God’s Faithfulness
Close Your Eyes
Carry You
Rush Of Fools
We Once Were
Inside And Outside
God’s Forgiveness
Close Your Eyes
Erie
Elizabeth South
Do It Afraid
Still
God’s Intimacy
Homemade Worship By
Handmade People
True Intimacy
God’s Judgment
Leeland
The Great Awakening
Pages
Elizabeth South
Do It Afraid
Higher
Rachel Chan
GO
You And Your Love
Rachel Chan
GO
You Must Love Me
Rush Of Fools
We Once Were
No Other Love
Rush Of Fools
We Once Were
You’re The Medicine
Nine Lashes
World We View
Get Back
God’s Plan
Elizabeth South
Do It Afraid
Arms Of The Savior
God’s Presence
Leeland
The Great Awakening
I Can See Your Love
Rachel Chan
GO
So Close
Rachel Chan
GO
Still Singing
55
God’s Sufficiency
Starfield
The Kingdom
All I Want Is You
God’s Word
Southbound Fearing
Never Fails
Grace
Grace
Brinson
O.M.G
Light Club (feat. Young Chozen
& Dre Murray)
Rush Of Fools
We Once Were
Grace Found Me
Heaven; Citizenship
Southbound Fearing
This Is Not My Home
Homemade Worship By
Handmade People
Keep Me Near
Switchfoot
Vice Verses
Where I Belong
Switchfoot
Vice Verses
Souvenirs
Leeland
The Great Awakening
Holy Ghost
All I Need To Know
Holy Spirit
Hope; In God
Close Your Eyes
Heavy Hearts
Humility
Newsboys
I Am Second
How
they
are
listed:
Theme
Artist
Album Title
Song
>>
Page
THEMATIC LISTING
56
These are the themes represented by all the songs in
this volume of Youth Leaders Only. The songs listed
in red type have complete Bible study sessions writ-
Inspiration
Close Your Eyes
Paper Thin
Jesus Incarnation
Homemade Worship By
Handmade People
Shining Star
Jesus; Lordship
Elizabeth South
Do It Afraid
Surrender
Starfield
The Kingdom
Speak Now Jesus
Jesus; The Good
Shepherd
Rush Of Fools / Page 40
We Once Were
Come Find Me
Fly On The Wall
How
they
are
listed:
Theme
Artist
Album Title
Song
Rachel Chan/ Page 36
GO
Lame
Switchfoot
Vice Verses
Thrive
Switchfoot
Vice Verses
Vice Verses
ten for them. The page number for these studies are
listed after the artist’s name. For a comprehensive
list of the Scripture verses for each theme, point your
Love For God
Homemade Worship By
Handmade People
Desert Soul
So Far Gone
Money
Next Chapter / Page 12
Stewardship: Finances
Obedience
Elizabeth South
Do It Afraid
Do It Afraid
Peer Pressure
Nine Lashes/ Page 34
World We View
Anthem Of The Lonely
Perseverance
Rush Of Fools
We Once Were
Won’t Say Goodbye
Down
Perseverance;
Endurance
Elizabeth South
Do It Afraid
Desert Rose
Elizabeth South
Do It Afraid
Don’t Give Up On Your Love
Nine Lashes
World We View
Adrenaline
Nine Lashes
World We View
Memo
Courtesy Call
©2012, interlínc / interlÍnc-online.com / 800.725.3300
web browser to the “What The Bible Says About...”
(http://wbsa.logos.com) and type in the theme.
Perseverance;
Obedience
Close Your Eyes
Injustice
Positive Attitude
Me In Motion
Yes We Can
Prayer
Brinson
O.M.G
Every Knee (feat. Knine)
Salvation,
Redemption
Homemade Worship By
Handmade People
Second Chance
Salvation;
Regeneration
TobyMac
Changed Forever
(feat. Nirva Ready)
Priorities
Salvation;
Sanctification
Procrastination
Self Sacrifice
Relationships
Self-Confidence
Brinson
O.M.G
Fully Persuaded (feat. Knine)
Close Your Eyes
Hope Slips Away
College Ready / Page 10
Empowering Friendships
Nine Lashes
World We View
Afterglow
Restoration
Southbound Fearing
Bring It Back
Revival
Leeland
The Great Awakening
The Great Awakening
Homemade Worship By
Handmade People
Build Your Kingdom Here
Salvation
Brinson
O.M.G
O.M.G. Cypher (feat. Bless’ed,
Big R, H.E.A.V.Y., Tha Mic,
Readywriter, D.King & Oppose)
Leeland
The Great Awakening
Chains Hit the Ground
Rush Of Fools
We Once Were
End Of Me
Switchfoot
Vice Verses
Dark Horses
Brinson
O.M.G
Over The World
(feat. Rossi & Cstraight)
Thousand Foot Krutch / Page 52
Be Somebody
Self-Image/
Uniqueness
Switchfoot
Vice Verses
The Original
<<
Page
THEMATIC LISTING
57
Servanthood
Spiritual Warfare
Trust
Worship; Praise
Starfield
The Kingdom
Burn For You
Leeland
The Great Awakening
Not Afraid Anymore
Starfield
The Kingdom
Just Surrender
Elizabeth South
Do It Afraid
Holy Holy Holy
Starfield
The Kingdom
I Have Decided
Southbound Fearing
Fighting Words
Skillet
Hero
Sin, Confession Of
Starfield
The Kingdom
Natural Disaster
Close Your Eyes
Wormwood
Sin; Consequences Of
Close Your Eyes
Scars
Close Your Eyes
Wolves
Sin; Repentance
Rush Of Fools
We Once Were
The Wrong Things
Sin; Struggle With
Switchfoot
Vice Verses
The War Inside
Social Action
Leeland
The Great Awakening
While We Sing
Close Your Eyes
Empty Hands
Southbound Fearing / Page 44
Unseen
I Get Wicked
Surrender
Rush Of Fools
We Once Were
A Civil War
Testimony
Starfield / Page 46
The Kingdom
The Kingdom Of Our God
The Bible
Brinson
O.M.G
The Stereotype (Skit)
Transformation
Rush Of Fools
We Once Were
We Once Were
Elizabeth South / Page 30
Do It Afraid
I Will Trust You
Victory
Leeland
The Great Awakening
All Over the Earth
Wisdom; Discernment
Switchfoot
Vice Verses
Selling The News
Elizabeth South
Do It Afraid
Fall To My Knees
Southbound Fearing
The Only Word
Starfield
The Kingdom
Heart And Flesh
Zeal
Worldview
Southbound Fearing
Irresistible
Worship
Switchfoot
Vice Verses
Afterlife
Next Chapter / Page 14
Worldview
Jeremy Camp
Unrestrained
Leeland
The Great Awakening
I Wonder
Light Up The Sky
Leeland
The Great Awakening
Unending Songs
Homemade Worship By
Handmade People
Alabaster
Homemade Worship By
Handmade People
Praise Like Fireworks
Southbound Fearing
Beautiful
How
they
are
listed:
Theme
Artist
Album Title
Song
Page
>>
58
modern worship section
The Creative Journey
By Will Herron
The Rend Collective Experiment
In May 2010, Ali, Pat and I went to see Gareth and
Chris compete in the Belfast marathon. We found
ourselves a good spot by the finish line to see our
athlete friends complete the marathon hand in
hand! The finish line, although the most glorified of
all stages of the marathon, is but a fraction of the
journey up to that point. Much blood, sweat, and
tears were shed through previous months of training in the build up to that moment.
I say all of this because it bears similar resemblance to the creative process. The completed
work, whether a song, sermon, or book, is a finish
line of sorts but it bears only a fraction of the creative journey as a whole.
Over the past couple of years we have been writing and crafting songs for our second album,
Homemade by Handmade People. Having had
time to reflect post-writing/recording, I have a few
thoughts of how we should approach the creative
process as followers of Jesus.
In no way do I think that we, as a band, have
cultivated the optimum environment for pursuing
creativity. However, I do think that we are learning
something of where creativity can reach its greatest potential.
Jesus’ teachings carry a heavy emphasis on the
quality of our relationships. The most important
commandments He highlighted relate to our relationship with God and those around us. So often
we can get caught up in the pursuit of creativity
while losing sight of these fundamental commands. However, these were given as principal
directives within every area of life including the
creative process.
Alabaster
The process of creativity must be found within
the greater context of our pursuit of God. If we
pursue creativity outside of this context, we open
ourselves up to self-indulgence and competitiveness where the end product can impede, rather
than aid, the church. As we pursue God, the Spirit
crafts His heart within us. The desire for selfrecognition and attention dwindle in the light of
the divine desires for God’s glory and the beauty
of His bride.
Writing within a group brings the added dynamic
of our relationships with one another. In the context of a band, this often calls for honesty and
compromise in regards to lyrical or musical ideas.
(Which, for creative people, can often be a challenge!)
The best environment for this kind of dialogue is
in the midst of relationships founded upon trust
and humility. This is why the continual dynamic of
our relationship with God is so important. These
characteristics come only through intimacy with
God as the Spirit forms in us the heart of Christ.
A creative environment of trust and selflessness
is formed, the product of which lies parallel to the
heart of God.
The prospect of the church pursuing creativity and
originality is an exciting one. However, if we are
to echo the heart of God to the world within what
we create, we must first hear the initial sound of
His voice.
Intro:
Bm7, A/C# / D (2x)
Verse 1:
Bm7
Bm7
Bm7
Bm7
A/C#
D
I am broken at Your feet
A/C#
D
Like an alabaster jar
A/C#
D
Every piece of who I am
A/C#
D
Laid before Your majesty
Chorus:
D
A/C# Em D Bm7
I will bow my life
at Your feet
G
A
At Your feet
D
A/C#
Em7 D Bm7
My lips, so lost for words, will kiss Your feet
G
A
Kiss Your feet
Verse 2:
Oh the gravity of You
Draws my soul unto its knees
I will never be the same
I am lost and found in You
(Repeat Chorus 2x)
Thanks for reading and journeying with us!
Written by The Rend Collective Experiment. © 2011 Thankyou Music (PRS) (adm. worldwide at EMICMGPublishing.
com excluding Europe which is adm. by Kingswaysongs)
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
<<
Page
59
ALL Over The Earth
AS CLOSE
Beginning to End
Leeland
Rachel Chan
Rush Of Fools
Intro:
D, Bm, A, G
Gm
Gm/F
We’re as close as we wanna be
C7
EbM
To resting in a perfect peace
Gm
Gm/F
C7 EbM
We’re as close as we wanna to be to God
Gm
Gm/F
We’re as far as we wanna be
C7
EbM
From living for eternity
Gm
Gm/F
C7 EbM
We’re as far as we wanna to be from God
Intro:
D D/F# G/B G
Chorus:
EbM
BbM
Jesus came to seek and save
Cm
Gm
To make a friend out of a slave
EbM
BbM
Cm D
To bring us close though we were far away
EbM
BbM
God is with us every place
Cm
Gm
His open arms are filled with grace
EbM
BbM
Cm D
He’ll draw us near as we draw near by faith
Pre Chorus:
Em
D
C
Now Your glory has opened up the skies
Verse:
D
Bm
Oh, we give you praise
A
G
for You alone are holy
D
Bm
Jesus, your name is Greater
A
G
for you alone are holy
Chorus:
Bm-A
We wanna see
Bm-A
Your victory
Bm-G
All over the earth
Bm-G
All over the earth
Bm-A
Your kingdom come
Bm-A
Your will be done
Bm-G
All over the earth
Bm-G
G-G D
All over the earth
Break:
Bm, G, Bm, D - D, A
Bridge:
Bm G Bm D - D A
All glory in the highest
Verse 1:
Bm
D/F#
Nothing was created
G
Not a mountain or the ocean, without You there
Bm
D/F#
Before there was a heaven
G
You were bound to nothing, but You were there
Chorus:
D
G
From beginning to end, God You reign, You reign
Bm
D/F#
G
Over time and space You stand as You remain,
sovereign over all
Intro
Verse 2:
No one could have formed You
Although many hands have tried to, and mine were there
No one had to save You
Cause You alone have stayed true, and I’m aware
We’re as lost as we wanna to be
If we were blind but now can see
We’re as lost as we wanna to be today
We’re as down as we wanna to be
If the joy of Christ has set us free
We’re as down as we wanna to be today
Pre Chorus:
Em
D
C
That You’re the one who opened up my eyes
Chorus 2x
Chorus
Gm
Gm/F
We’re as close as we wanna be
C7
EbM
To resting in a perfect peace
Gm
Gm/F C7
We’re as close as we wanna to be to God
Bridge:
C
G/B
Em
All the things I can’t control,and all the dreams I’ve
tried to hold
C
G/B
Em
G
All the times I’m losing hope, You’re never letting go
D
G
Chorus x3
Outro:
D D/F# G/B G - Bm D/F# G D
Words and Music by Leeland Mooring & Jack Mooring ©
2011 Meaux Mercy/The Devil Is A Liar! Publishing (BMI)
(adm. at EMICMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved.
Written by Rachel Chan and Dave Lubben ©2011 Tent
Creative Songs/ Rachel Chan publishing designee/ Indelible Creative Songs (ASCAP). All rights reserved. Used by
permission.
Words & Music by Wes Willis, Kevin Huguley, Jason Ingram
& Matt Bronleewe. © 2011 Meaux Hits / Wes Willis Music /
Songs For Sinners (ASCAP) (Admin. at EMICMGPublishing.
com) / Sony ATV/Timber Publishing / West Main Music /
Windsor Hill Music (SESAC) / SonyATV/Cross Keys Publishing / Songs From The Science Lab
© 2012, interlínc / interlinc-online.com / 800.725.3300
Page
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60
Build Your
Kingdom Here
Dark Horses
Grace Found Me
Switchfoot
Rush Of Fools
Verse 1:
G
D
G
D
Come set Your rule and reign in our hearts again
G
D
A
Increase in us we pray, Unveil why we’re made
G
D
Come set our hearts ablaze with hope
G
D
Like wildfire in our very souls
G
D
A
Holy Spirit come invade us now
Intro: A5 C5 F5 D5 (x4)
Verse 1:
A5
F5
D5
I’ve made my mistakes, I’ve seen my heart cave in
A5
F5
D5
I got my scars, I’ve been to hell and back again
Verse 1:
D
G Bm
I never thought that I would amount to anything
D
at all
G Bm
I get that things have changed yet I still feel the same
D/F# G
but I’m not alone
Pre-Chorus 1:
G D
A
G D
A
D
We are Your Church, We need Your power in Us
Chorus:
Verse 2:
We seek Your kingdom first, We hunger and we thirst
Refuse to waste our lives, For You’re our joy and prize
To see the captive hearts released
The hurt; the sick; the poor at peace
We lay down our lives for Heaven’s cause
Pre-Chorus 2:
WE are Your church, We pray revive this earth
Chorus:
A
Bm7
G
D
Build Your kingdom here, Let the darkness fear
A
Bm7
G
A
Show Your mighty hand, Heal our streets and land
G
Bm7
G
D
Set Your church on fire, Win this nation back
A
Bm7
G
A D
Change the atmosphere, Build Your kingdom here we pray
Verse 3:
Unleash Your kingdom’s power
Reaching the near and far
No force of hell can stop
Your beauty changing hearts
You made us for much more than this
Awake the kingdom see in us
Fill us with the strenghth and love of Christ
Pre-Chorus 3:
We are Your church
We are the hope
On earth
Written by The Rend Collective Experiment © 2011 Thankyou Music (PRS) (adm. worldwide at EMICMGPublishing.
Pre-Chorus:
A5
F5 D5
Born for the blue skies, We’ll survive the rain
A5
F5
Born for the sunrise, We’ll survive the pain
A5
C5
We’re singing hey, you can’t count us out
F5
D5
We’ve been running up against the crowd
A5 C5
F5
D5
Yeah, we are the dark horses
A5
C5
We’re singing wait, it’s not over now
F5
D5
We’ve been down but we’ve never been out
A5 C5
F5
D5
Yeah, we are the dark horses
Verse 2:
We found a way out, The city takes everything it can
But outside the crowds, I can feel my lungs again
Pre chorus
Chorus
Tag:
A5
C5
F5 D5
We’re singing la, la la, la la la la
A5
C5
F5 D5
La, la la, la la la la
Interlude: A5 C5 F5 D5 (x2)
Bridge:
A5
C5 F5 D5
Born for the blue skies (repeat)
A5
F5 D5
Born for the sunrise, We’ll survive the pain
Interlude
Chorus
Tag (Remove “We’re singing”)
Interlude (x1/2)
Outro (whispered):
Keep running with the dark horses
Hope makes the blood change courses
Keep running with the dark horses
Stand up for the dark horses
Written by Jonathan Foreman and Tim Foreman. © 2011
Publishing Schumblishing/ (ASCAP)
Chorus:
G
D
A
’Cause your grace found me, I thought I wasn’t breathing
G D
A
my heart now sings
G
D A Bm
’Cause you chased for me, I never saw you coming
G
D
A
My eyes now see your grace found me
Turn: G D A - G A D
Verse 2:
If you had given me up I would have nothing left, at all
Nothing to give of myself and no one to take my place
but you came along
Chorus
Bridge:
D/F#
G
I’m covered over
Bm
I’m so wrapped up
A
It’s all your love
E
G
It’s all your love
G
D
A
Your grace found me, when I wasn’t breathing
G
D
A
grace found me
Chorus
Words & Music by Wes Willis, Kevin Huguley, Jacob Chesnut,
Jacob Blount, and Jamie Sharpe. © 2011 Meaux Hits /
Wes Willis Music / Songs For Sinners (ASCAP) / Meaux
Jeaux Music / Rush Of Fools Music (SESAC) (Admin.
at EMICMGPublishing.com)
<<
Page
61
I Have Decided
I Will Trust You
I Wonder
Starfield
Elizabeth South
Leeland
Verse 1:
C
Am
I have decided to follow Jesus
F
C
Am
F
C/E
G
C
No turning back, No turning back
[Capo 4]
Verse 1:
G
D
You are God forever and ever
Em
C
Evermore my friend
G
D
You’re my refuge always in trouble
Em
C
Guide me to the end
Verse 1:
D
At the stars in the night, I wonder
Bm
At your lightning in the sky, I shudder
A
G
D
Your glory is a blanket that covers every living thing
D
Chorus:
F
G
Am
I will follow You, I will follow You,
F
Dm
Am C/B C
I will follow You my God
Am
Verse 2:
Though none go with me still I will follow
Chorus (2x)
Verse 3:
The world behind me, the Cross before me
Chorus (2x)
Verse 2:
I’m in awe at the majesty of who you are
Bm
Your love is a seal burnt inside my heart
A
G
D
All of the day I want to be where you are, Holy Father
Pre-Vhorus:
Em D
C
G
C
So I will trust you Lord with all my heart
Em
D
C
I’ll lean on Your Word for understanding
Em
D
C
And You will guide me home
Chorus:
G
D
I will trust You, I will love You
Am
C
I won’t be afraid anymore
G
D
Em
C
I will trust You, You will always be my strength
G
D Em C
I will trust You
Verse 2:
You are love, You died for me You
Heal my weary soul
You lift me up and keep me from falling
Forgive and make me whole
Bridge:
G
D
Em
C
You are the Maker of the heavens and the earth
G
D
Em
C
You are the only One who knew me before birth
Chorus
Pre-Chorus:
G
D
And it feels like there’s not enough praise inside of me
G
D
With all these words, all my heart can sing is “Holy”
A
You are Holy
Chorus:
D
Jesus Christ, you bled your love,
Bm
laid down yourself and gave me life
Em
In naked shame you hung and you were lifted high
D
D7
Here I lay in awe and wonder
D
I am afraid, for no one’s ever sacrificed
Bm
and loved me this way
Em
So on my face I fall under your heavy grace
D
Here I lay in awe and wonder
G
D
Ohh, Ohh, and I wonder
Verse 2
Pre-Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Written By Tim Neufeld/Jon Neufeld. © Neufeld Music)
(SESAC)
Written by Elizabeth South & Billy Smiley © 2011 by Elizabeth South Music / ASCAP and Mission Group Music /
ASCAP (adm by Alex Morris at musicservices.org)
Words and Music: Leeland Mooring. © 2011 Meaux Mercy/
The Devil Is A Liar! Publishing (BMI) (adm. at EMICMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved.
Page
>>
62
Restless
Second Chance
Switchfoot
Intro: B Bsus4 B Bsus4 (x2)
Verse 1:
B
I am the sea on a moonless night
Bsus4
Calling falling, slipping tides
B
I am the leaky, dripping pipes
Bsus2
The endless, aching drops of light
B
I am the raindrop falling down
Bsus4
Always longing for the deeper ground
B
I am the broken, breaking seas
Bsus2
Even my blood finds ways to bleed
Pre-Chorus 1:
Abm
Even the rivers ways to run
E/G#
Even the rain to reach the sun
Abm
Even my thirsty streams
E/G#
Even in my dreams
Chorus:
B
E/B
B
E
I am restless, I am restless, I am restless, Looking for You
B
E/B
Abm
I am restless, I run like the ocean to find your shore
E
Looking for you
Verse 2:
I am the thorn stuck in your side, I am the one that
you left behind, I am the dried-up doubting eyes,
Looking for the well that won’t run dry, Running
hard for the other side, The world that I’ve always
been denied, Running hard for the infinite, With the
tears of saints and hypocrites
Bridge:
Intro: D / A / G / D, A
B
E
I can hear you breathing, I can feel you leading
B
E
More than just a feeling, More than just a feeling
B
E
I can feel you reaching, Pushing through the ceiling
B
E
’Til the final healing, I’m looking for you
Verse 1:
D
My future hangs on this
A
You make preciousness from dust
G
D A
Please don’t stop creating me
D
Your blood offers the chance
A
To rewind to innocence
G
D, A
Reborn, perfect as a child
Pre-Chorus 3:
Abm
G#m2
Until the sea of glass we meet
E
At last completed and complete
Abm
Where tide and tear and pain subside
E
And laughter drinks them dry
Refrain:
B
(E)
I’ll be waiting, Anticipating,
B
F#
All that I aim for, What I was made for
Abm
E
With every heartbeat, All of my blood bleeds
B
E
B
Running inside me, Looking for you, Looking for you
Bsus4
B
Bsus2
Looking for you, Looking for you, Looking for you
Chorus+
B (lead into interlude)
Looking for you
Interlude: B E (x3) B Bsus4
Bridge
Outro:
B E B E
I’m looking for you
Pre-Chorus 2:
Oh, blood of black and white and grey
Oh, death in life and night in day
One by one by one, We let our rivers run
Chorus:
Bm7
G
D
Oh Your cross it changes everything
Bm7
G
D
A
There my world begins again with You
Bm7
G
D
Oh Your cross it’s where my hope restarts
Bm7
G
D
A second chance is Heaven’s heart
Verse 2:
When sin and ugliness
Collide with redemption’s kiss
Beauty awakens by romance
Always inside this mess
I have found forgiveness
Mercy, as infinite as You
Chorus
Bridge: (2x)
D
A
Countless second chances
G
D
We’ve been given at the cross
Verse 3:
Fragments of brokenness
Salvaged by the art of grace
You craft life from our mistakes
Black skies of my regrets
Outshone by this kindness
New life dawns over my soul
Chorus
Bridge
Chorus
Written by Jonathan Foreman. © 2011 Publishing Schumblishing/ (ASCAP)
All rights reserved. Used by permission
<<
Page
63
The Kingdom
YOU AND
YOUR LOVE
You Are My Vision
Starfield
Rachel Chan
Intro:
Em D/F# G Em C G
Ab
What’s the point of chasing after
Fm
Bbm Eb
dreams that never satisfy my soul?
Ab
Fm
Once I reach the place I’ve longed to be
Bbm
Eb Bbm
Eb
I finally see, my deepest need is You and Your love
Intro:
E
Oh, oh, oh (2x)
Verse 1:
Em
Oh Oh Oh
D/F#
G
We have come to testify
Em
C
Oh Oh Oh
G
Our God is surely Great
Em
Oh Oh Oh
D/F#
G
His love is like a river wide
Em
C
So let everyone beneath his skies
G
Lift their voice and sing
Chorus:
Em
D/F# G
For the Kingdom of our God
Em
Carries on
C
Carries on
G
Carries on
Verse 2:
Oh Oh Oh
His kingdom is inside of you
Oh Oh Oh
It’s everywhere you are
Oh Oh Oh
Celebrate your life made new
Come on let His freedom bloom
Lift your voice and sing
Bridge:
G
Everybody sing Hallelujah
G
C
G
Written By Tim Neufeld/Jon Neufeld/Allen Salmon ©
Neufeld Music)(SESAC)
Chorus:
Ab
Eb
You make me happy
Fm Bbm Eb
You take all my cares away
Ab
Eb
Your love completes me
Fm
Bbm Eb
Now I search for what to say
AbM
Words can be so shallow
Fm
Bbm
Eb
And it’s easier to borrow what I say
Ab
Fm
So listen to my heart and take me far away
Bbm Eb
From what keeps us apart
Db
Eb
I need You and Your love
Verse 1:
E
You are my vision, O King of my heart
B
A
B
Nothing else satisfies, only You Lord
A
C#m
E/G#
A B
You are my best thought by day or by night
E
C#m
A B
E
Waking or sleeping, Your presence my light
Verse 2:
You are my wisdom, You are my true word
I ever with You, and You with me Lord
You’re my great Father, and I’m Your true son
You dwell inside me, together we’re one
Verse 3:
You are my battle-shield, sword for the fight
You are my dignity, You’re my delight
You’re my soul’s shelter and You’re my high tower
Come raise me heavenward, O power of my power
Verse 4:
I don’t want riches or man’s empty praise
You’re my inheritance, now and always
You and You only, the first in my heart
High king of Heaven, my treasure You are
2nd Chorus:
You make me happy
Now I search for how to say, I love You.
Db Eb
Jesus, I love You.
Ab Bbm
Jesus, I love You.
Db Bbm
I love you
Verse 5:
High king of Heaven, when victory’s won
May I reach Heaven’s joy, O bright Heaven’s Son
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O ruler of all
(Repeat last 2 lines)
You make me happy
Now I search for how to say that
Repeat 2nd Chorus
What’s the point of chasing after dreams that never
satisfy my soul?
Written by Rachel Chan and Dave Lubben. ©2011 Tent
Creative Songs/ Rachel Chan publishing designee/ Indelible Creative Songs (ASCAP). All rights reserved. Used by
permission.
Page
>>
64
RE:TUNED
Unavoidable. Pervasive. Inescapable. Secular pop music is everywhere.
Even if you can get your young Christian friends to switch their listening habits from secular to sacred, they are still going to hear the top
popular songs everywhere they go. In this section we provide you some
Artist:
ideas to take advantage of some of the most popular secular songs.
Use the opening questions, the thematic concepts and discussion
ideas to spice up your Bible study, Sunday School lesson, camp/retreat
meeting or outreach event message.
The Black Keys
Artist:
Breathe Carolina
Artist:
Song: Lonely Boy
Album: El Camino
Song: Blackout
Album: Hell Is What You Make Of It
Song: Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)
Album: Stronger
By: Benjamin Squires
[email protected]
By: Jeff Williamson
[email protected]
By: Doug Ranck
[email protected]
Teaching Point:
The best wisdom learned is to seek the wise
choice.
Teaching Point:
Perseverance
Teaching Point:
Jesus experienced lonely moments in order to
save us.
Opening Question:
When have you been most lonely?
Discussion:
The Black Keys serve up some greasy, blues-infected rock on “Lonely Boy.” At first glance, the song
seems to be about a man who loves a woman who
doesn’t feel the same way about him. He keeps
waiting for her to love him, so he’s a “lonely boy.”
•Have you ever been in a situation when you had
affection for someone who didn’t feel the same
way about you?
•What makes that a lonely feeling?
Take a second glance at the song. Could it be
Jesus singing the blues about you? Jesus left His
place in the throne room of Heaven to save us. Well,
I’m so above you/And it’s plain to see/But I came to
love you anyway. His people rejected Him and sent
Him to the cross. So you tore my heart out/And I
don’t mind bleeding. When people refuse to believe
in Jesus, or when we don’t follow in His way, we’re
keeping Him waiting. Jesus is a “lonely boy” who
longs to take us to be with Him. (Luke 13:34).
The song then gets specific about someone whose
father left her. Jesus, though, says that God should
have left us; all people should have been judged to
death for sin. Yet, God in His mercy put the punishment on Jesus, so that we could be forgiven.
(Ephesians 2:1-5) The song asks, Am I born to
bleed? Jesus was born to bleed for us.
•How do you feel about thinking of Jesus as the “lonely boy” who is waiting for you to return His love?
•Does it help you to know that Jesus can relate to
your loneliness when people turn away from you
because you are a Christian?
•When have you wandered and caused Jesus to
keep waiting for you?
•What does knowing that Jesus has “a love that
keeps [Him] waiting” for you, that He will continue to work in your life to forgive you and draw
you closer to Him, mean to you?
Conclusion:
Jesus overcame the “lonely” place of being
rejected and killed. He conquered death so that
our lives could be transformed and have the hope
of life after death. Jesus waits with us for that day
when we will love Him with new, pure hearts.
Discussion:
Breathe Carolina invokes the easiest answer
given by most teens after a moment of destruction: “I thought I was in control!” In the song, a
group of friends are hanging out, the music is
loud, the beat is perfect, and the temptations
begin. But the singer is convinced that he is in
control; this time he will not blackout. The lyrics
speak the rhetoric well; the music video shows
the environment as the perfect “sought after”
party atmosphere. But come on, how “real” is
this? Are you really in control? The title of the
album is a very appropriate reality based on the
choices played out in the song.
•When was the last time you said, “But, I was in
control”? Ok, so maybe you have never said it,
but when was the last time you heard someone
allude to being in control?
•If you have ever participated in something that
led to a “blackout” or an “I forgot that night”
moment– was the experience really worth it?
So often we ask, “What is the wise decision?
Everyone expects so much of me; what should
I do?” Remember, we can over-indulge, overconsume, and over-do it: however we cannot and
will not over-live!
Psalms 90:12 (HCSB) Teach us to number our
days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in
our hearts.
Ephesians 5:15-17 (MSG) Watch your step. Use
your head. Make the most of every chance you
get. These are desperate times! Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand
what the Master wants.
Conclusion: In light of past experiences, current
responsibilities, and future dreams, what is the
wisest way to invest your time? What is the best
choice for you to make that will highlight the nonvaluable things in your life, but rather focus on the
valuable thing: Christ?
©2012, interlÍnc / interlinc-online.com / 800.725.3300
Kelly Clarkson
Opening Questions:
What is the most difficult experience you have
had in life? Though it was hard, what are one or
two things you learned as a result?
Discussion:
We will all face challenging situations or even
tragedies. This is the reality in our world of sin
and death. Knowing how to respond to each of
these different circumstances is difficult.
Our culture offers a few options to our pain: 1)
Deny it. Tell everyone you are okay and it’s not
that big of a deal; 2) “Milk” it for all it’s worth. Let
everyone know you are suffering and continue
using this as an excuse for every choice you
make; 3) Blame it on God or somebody else. Run
with the philosophy that there is always a logical
reason for any pain or tragedy in your life.
Kelly Clarkson sings about a busted relationship:
Think you left me broken down/Think that I’d
come running back? The response she offers is,
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger/Stand
a little taller. In fact, she sings, Thanks to you I got
a new thing started. Thanks to you I’m not the
broken-hearted. Thanks to you I’m finally thinking
about me.
The songwriter actually took the Biblical
approach. The Bible is littered with sad, discouraging, and tragic stories – but through all and in
all the characters were encouraged to endure
because their life was in God’s hands. In James
1:2-4 we learn to “consider it pure joy” when
hard times come. How does that work? Joy is
not a feeling. Joy is the attitude that comes from
knowing that no matter what happens, something
good will come either in this life or in our heavenly reward of eternal life. Our trials will produce
greater perseverance. We will be stronger! We
can finish well.
Conclusion:
Are you practicing what you learned from your
painful experiences? How are they helping
you to be stronger? How could you take what
you have learned and be an encouragement to
somebody else?
<<
Page
RE:TUNED65
Artist:
Artist:
Artist:
Lil Wayne
Maroon 5
Taylor Swift
Song: How To Love
Album: Tha Carter IV
Song: Moves Like Jagger
Album: Hands All Over
Song: Ours
Album: Speak Now
By: Chris Keating
[email protected]
By: Kirk Moore
[email protected]
By: Eric Gargus
[email protected]
Teaching Point:
Jesus showed us how to love by His words
and actions.
Teaching Point:
Sometimes nothing feels right.
Teaching Point:
Healthy relationships require maturity, hard work,
and God.
Opening Questions:
•What is love?
•How do you know if you are in love?
Discussion:
Lil Wayne’s song is about a girl who has had a
lot of crooks tryna steal your heart but who never
seemed to find the right guy. Bad relationships
in the past led to her current insecurities. Those
relationships left her lonely, confused, trying to
find love and acceptance anywhere she can –
from alcohol to stripping. She felt her self-worth
was tied up in other people’s opinion of her.
•Do you know someone like that?
•Have you ever felt that way?
•What would you say to someone like the girl in
the song?
•What do you think Jesus would say to the girl in
the song?
Read John 8:3-11 – the incident of the woman
who was caught in the act of adultery (oh my!)
who was brought to Jesus. The woman’s arrest
had to have been a set up, because they didn’t
bring her partner along.
•What do you think the phrase had a lot of crooks
tryna steal your heart means?
•Do you think the crooks were trying to steal her
heart or her body? Why?
God has created us with a need to love and to
be loved. In a perfect world we would first give
our love to God and then to our husband or wife.
However, we often give our love away to others
who don’t love us with a nurturing, sacrificial love
like God has for us. So we are broken and disillusioned. What are some ways we try to fill our
hearts other than with a relationship with Jesus?
Conclusion:
The only way we can truly learn “How To Love” is
to first accept Jesus’ love and to live our lives as
an expression of God’s love to others. What do
you think Romans 6:13 means?
Opening Question:
What makes you feel better?
Discussion:
“Moves Like Jagger” is about sex. And dancing. And sex. And Mick Jagger. And sex. And
kissing. And sex. Oh, and sex. The video shows
scenes from a Mick Jagger impersonation event.
The video and the song are catchy, sensual, and
sexy. And in the middle of all the lyrics and visuals
about sex, a simple question arises.
What makes you feel better?
For the song performers, it seems that the
answer is in relationships and sex.
But what else in life makes you feel better?
Luke 14:12-24 describes a banquet where the
“acceptable” invited guests didn’t show up,
so the host invited the poor, the crippled, the
blind, and the lame to the event. When there
was still more room, the host called for everyone on the roads and country lanes to come
to the banquet. They arrived just as they were.
The scene doesn’t describe any of them “getting better” from the banquet, only that they
were invited and welcomed.
God loves people just as they are. You are
acceptable to God just as you are.
•How does that make you feel about yourself?
•How does that make you feel about God?
•What does it make you want to do?
Conclusion:
You may have the moves; you may not. What you
do have – every last thing about you is precious
to God. You are loved. You are accepted. You are
God’s child.
Opening Questions:
•What are the main things you look for in someone
to date?
•Whose opinion do you seek about relationship
choices?
•Is it important that the people you love and trust the
most approve of your date? Explain.
Discussion:
Taylor Swift explained, “[‘Ours’] is about being in love
with someone, and people don’t necessarily think it
is a good idea. Everybody’s giving you a hard time
about it, but you don’t really care. It says, ‘the stakes
are high, the water’s rough but this love is ours.’”
In the first verse, Swift declares: Seems like there’s
always someone who disapproves, they’ll judge it like
they know about me and you.
•Who is most likely to give you the “blunt truth”
about your new dating interest?
•What are some reasons a friend might approve or
disapprove of your relationship choices?
•What factors determine whether or not you respect
a person’s opinion of you and your date?
Swift cautions: You never know what people have up their
sleeves. Ghosts from your past are gonna jump out at me.
•What does a person need to know about the past of
a new relationship interest?
•Is dating a person with a bad reputation wise? Why
or why not?
•Which is better: trying to change a person or finding
a person more compatible from the start? Explain.
2 Corinthians 6:14-15 cautions us to be “equally
yoked” in our relationships. This means a guy and girl
need to be like-minded about matters of faith. Dragging
a person into the mud is easier than dragging a person
out of the mud. Are you being selective enough with
whom you date? What makes dating someone who
shares your beliefs wiser than dating someone who
does not? Be specific.
Conclusion:
Relationships are never a good place to be rebellious. Consider these three questions before you
embark into the minefield of teenage romance:
•Can I handle breaking up if things don’t work out?
•Will I honor and respect the other person, even on
bad days?
•Will I keep God both above and in the middle of
this relationship?
Page
>>
66
RE:TUNED
Unavoidable. Pervasive. Inescapable. Secular pop music is everywhere.
Even if you can get your young Christian friends to switch their listening habits from secular to sacred, they are still going to hear the top
popular songs everywhere they go. In this section we provide you some
ideas to take advantage of some of the most popular secular songs.
Use the opening questions, the thematic concepts and discussion
ideas to spice up your Bible study, Sunday School lesson, camp/retreat
meeting or outreach event message.
Artist:
Artist:
Song: Red Solo Cup
Album: Clancy’s Tavern
Song: Tattoo
Album: Clancy’s Tavern
By: Kirk Moore
[email protected]
By Paul Turner
[email protected]
Teaching Point:
It’s all fun and games until someone…
Teaching Point:
This song is about tattoos and how some people
use them to communicate and identify themselves to others. God want us to do the same
thing, minus the ink.
Toby Keith
Opening Question:
What makes a good party?
Discussion:
Toby Keith’s whimsical party song celebrates
the oft-seen prop at many parties – a Red Solo
Cup filled with a beverage. The song also celebrates what the artist sees as a typical weekend celebration – filled with booze, sex, smoke,
and inflatable swimming pools.
•What do you like to put in your Red Solo Cup?
•What things are necessary for you to consider a
party as successful and fun?
•What kinds of things do you think are best to
stay away from at parties?
Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 talks about living life as a
celebration, grabbing all the fun you can before
you die.
Proverbs 23:19-21 cautions the reader to be
wise and to stay away from eating and drinking
too much, lest things will go poorly for them.
Romans 13:13 offers encouragement for living
wisely – staying away from drunkenness and
promiscuity.
•Can you be a Christian and also have fun?
•What guidelines do you think are best for you to
follow when it comes to parties?
Conclusion:
The Bible describes celebrations that may have
gone overboard. It encourages folks to celebrate
their lives. It also encourages wisdom and smart
choices. So have fun. Be smart. And remember
to write your name on your Red Solo Cup!
Van Halen
Opening Questions:
How many people do you know with tattoos?
What is the weirdest tattoo you’ve ever seen?
Did you know someone who got a tattoo and
it changed him or her? How? Do you think tattoos are cool or trashy? What are some reasons
people get tattoos?
Discussion:
The earliest culture to use tattoos was in Egypt,
2,000 years before Christ. The most recent find
was on a body that was 5,200 years old! Tattoos
have been around a long time.
Artist:
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Tattoos communicate without saying a word. The
interlinc-online.com
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•What is someone “screaming” when they get 800-725-3300
a tattoo?
•As Christians, how do our actions and speech
act as a tattoo?
Tattoos don’t just share a message; they communicate identity such as, “I’m a Marine” or “I used
to be in jail” or “I’m in or used to be in a gang, so
you’d better back up.”
•What do the “outer markings” of your life tell others about your faith or relationship with Christ?
•Read John 13:35. What is the “mark” of a
believer and follower of Christ? Christians
should being showing off their “love tattoo”!
A line in the song says that getting a tattoo can
take a mom from mousewife to momshell. Getting a tattoo is a way of telling others, “I am different now; something has changed in me.” Jesus
wants our lives to be marked by transformation.
Read Matthew 12:33 and Acts 11:23.
•How has God transformed your life?
•How does that show?
Conclusion:
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 says that when we come
to Christ, God “tattoos” us (“sets His seal of
ownership”) with His Spirit. Ephesians 4:30 says,
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with
whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” A seal is a spiritual tattoo from the king. The
question is will we wear it on our hearts and not
just our skin?
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As teens explore the theology of the gospel, they’ll come away
personally transformed and better prepared to share the Good News
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Check out a sample lesson at
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blog
Some of our thoughts on
music, media, and student ministry
interlinc-online.com/75
MORE RESOURCES FROM
INTERLINC-ONLINE.COM
INTERLINC-ONLINE.COM
The interlinc website is the best
online resource for your ministry
when it comes to music and
media! You can listen to samples
of all the music included in each
volume of Youth Leaders Only,
watch video clips from the Music
Video Loops and read artist
interviews and bios. You can also
download articles on how to use
music in your ministry, scope out
our up-to-date Music Comparison
Chart and check out other
amazing resources to keep your
youth ministry rockin’!
REGIONAL PROMOTION
interlínc is all about relationships.
That's why we have three regional
directors: Mark Pittman in the
SouthWest Region (San Diego
Office), Troy Hargrave in the
SouthCentral Region (Dallas Office)
and Chris Renzelman in the
NorthWest Region (Seattle Office).
They are long-term youth
ministry guys who love kids and are
passionate about helping you use
music in your ministry. Contact them
for all your youth ministry music
needs. Mark: [email protected] Troy: [email protected] Chris: [email protected]
NEED2KNOW EZINE
Don’t miss out on free resources,
downloads and more in our everyother-week e-newsletter. You’ll get
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music and video downloads, event
information and more—all delivered
straight to your inbox. Sign up at
interlinc-online.com/email
YOUTH LEADERS ONLY
Youth ministry's original low cost
music subscription service. Get all
the tools you need to use music and
media to connect with students.
YLO Original: 36 CDs each year
plus DVDs, posters, chord charts,
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TO ORDER CALL 1-800-725-3300 OR GO ONLINE AT INTERLINC-ONLINE.COM
INTERLíNC
SURVIVING MIDDLE SCOOL
BOOK AND MUSIC
SOUNDTRACK VERSION 2.0
Middle School (some people know it as
“Junior High”) is a whole new world full
of new people, new schedules, weird
situations and bizarre relationships. It’s
a time of life when “transmogrification”
takes place in kids’ bodies, homes,
friendships, and brains. Middle School
is when they learn to navigate the
important issues of life.
Surviving Middle School Version 2.0:
The Book & 9-Song Soundtrack has a
plethora of tips, tunes, advice and
wisdom to guide the middle schooler.
Family Force 5, Relient K, and Stellar
Kart join surfer-author Rick Bundschuh
in bringing the wisdom—and the fun!
CONGRADULATIONS!
MUSIC-MEDIA-GIFT BOOK
With over 1.2 million copies given
to graduates by 25,000 churches,
ConGRADulations! is the #1 grad
gift of this decade. BRAND NEW
for 2012 it is a New Music (CD or
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Close Your Eyes / Valleys
Freedom / 38
The Rend Collective Experiment /
Jesus; The Good Shepherd / 40
Rush Of Fools / Come Find Me
Life; Purpose/Meaning / 36
Rachel Chan / Lame
Money, Stewardship / 12
conGRADulations! Class Of 2012
Peer Pressure / 34
Nine Lashes / Anthem Of The Lonely
Relationships / 10
Self-Identity; In Christ / 52
Thousand Foot Krutch /
Be Somebody
Special Section! Entire Album
Discussion Guides / 48
Switchfoot
Spiritual Warfare / 44
Southbound Fearing / Unseen
Testimony / 46
Starfield / The Kingdom Of Our God
Trust / 30
Elizabeth South / I Will Trust You
Worldview / 14
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Recursos para la Parroquia Encíclica del Papa Francisco

ROLE:!!JERRY!LEE!LEWIS!

Here are the songs we sang this Sunday. This shows the song name

Your Love is a Song - Switchfoot.pub

September 2015 Parents Newsletter

summer wednesday evening service - First Presbyterian Church of

Liner Notes Only - Dartmouth College

Ministries - North Pointe Community Church

Cry Me a River