Beyond - Senior High Youth Group in Review 11/21/2010

Lesson Series - "Live"

Lesson Title - "Unstoppable"

Big Idea - If Jesus is for us, who cares who is against us?

Bible Verses - Romans 8:26-39

Overview of the night

Gym game - We let the students hang out while the Colts lost on the big screen in the gym.  Some of the students played Bombardment (a dodgeball game), while others hung out, talked, and laughed.

Announcements -

1. We have a worship night next Sunday night from 6:30 - 8:30 pm.  Parents are invited to come as well as students.  The band will lead in some music, and we will have several interactive worship stations set up by students that everyone can take part in.

2. December 5th is our Christmas on the Circle trip.  Sign ups are due by next Sunday.

3. On December 12th we will be sending everyone out on service projects for Christmas.  Everyone will need a permission form, and if you'd like to drive, let us know.

4. We will not be meeting on December 19th or 26th.

5. We have Nerf Wars on Tuesday December 28th

6. We have a Video Game Challenge on Wednesday December 29th

7. We have cards students can fill out to turn in prayer requests each week.

8. We have One Minute Bibles available for $5.

Lesson - The lesson was taught by Vince Bradburn.  It's Vince, by the way, not Mr. Bradburn.  Just so we have that straight.  We showed a video called Iron Head.  You can see it here.  Vince did an amazing job of walking students through a section of Romans that was very, very packed. 

His points were:

1.God Helps Us All - God is not picky in who He loves or cares for.  None of us are outside of His passion and love.

2. God Wants to Complete Us  - God has amazing plans for us, and will see them through.  If we trust Him, He wants to make us the best we can be as we become more like Him.

3. Nothing Can Separate Us From God's Love - No matter what we may do, or how bad we may mess up, if we want His forgiveness, He gives it to us every time.

4. Knowing Him and His love for us changes how we face our problems - When we follow Him, we are not ruled by our fears and mistakes, but by His love and wisdom.  It makes all the difference in the world.

Everyone ended the night in small groups.

Follow Up - It was a great night, full of fun and truth.  Here are some questions to ask your students/friends about what they learned:

1. When you think about the four points Vince taught, which one is the easiest for you to believe?  Why?

2. Which of the four points is the toughest for you to believe?  Why?

3. How does knowing that God loves you forever change how you approach your problems?

4. What is one thing here at home we can do as a family to trust God more?

the Edge in review - November 17, 2010

I am stealing this idea from a couple of friends of mine.  I'm going to try and post a basic review of what went down at youth group the night before, so that parents and any students who couldn't be there can see what went on.  If I miss any details, feel free to add them in.

Lesson Series - "What I Really Want to Know Is..."

Lesson Title - "How Can I Know that God is Real?"

Big Idea - We know God is real through faith.

Bible Verses - Hebrews 11:1

Overview of the night

Gym game - We played Four Team Smashball for our game.  It's baseball, only with tennis rackets and tennis balls, and a whole lot of chaos.  We had a great time, everyone laughed a lot, and I have no clue whatsoever who won.  But no one asked, so it's all good.

Table Teams - For our table game, we did a flash game on the screen where the students had to scream as loud as possible to drive a car down a race track.  We went guys verses girls, with the boys claiming the win both times.  Our boys are loud!  They also work together surprisingly well.  You can see a sample of the game here: Race This!

 If you want to see our announcements, they are available here:

The Edge Announcements on Prezi

Each week we do a drawing for dumb prizes.  If a student memorizes a verse from the Bible, quotes it to their table leader, and can explain what it means, then their name goes in a drawing for prizes.  Last night, we had 16 students enter, five were drawn for prizes.

Lesson - The lesson was taught by Jason Richardson.  He did an excellent job walking the kids through the idea of faith.  His points were:

1. We use faith everyday. - The idea of faith is nothing new.  There are all sorts of things we believe in that we can't see or touch.  (Love, wind, farts, etc.)  Faith is nothing to be afraid of, it's normal.

2. Faith is not the same as pretending. - Sometimes people accuse Christians of just wanting there to be a God, when there isn't.  They think Jesus' followers are playing pretend.  But when we are pretending, we know it.  We are clear about it.  No one accidentally plays pretend.  We know that faith is different.

3. God proves Himself to us everyday. - There are a 1000 things a day that God does to show Himself to us, if we are willing to look.  The issue isn't whether or not He shows up, but whether or not we are looking for Him.  Jason encouraged the students to look for themselves and see if God was trying to get their attention.

Everyone ended the night in small groups.

Follow Up - It was a great night, full of fun and great truth.  Here are some questions to ask your students/friends about what they learned:

1. What do you think faith is?

2. What is something that you can't see or touch that you think is easy to believe in?  Why?

3. What is something that you can't see or touch that you think is hard to believe in?  Why?

4. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being easy, and 10 being crazy difficult, how hard is it for you to believe in God?  Why?

Let me know what else you'd like to know about the night.  We'll try to post these after Beyond on Sunday nights, and the Edge on Wednesday nights.  Thanks!