Study in the Book of Revelation: Overview (part 1)

In this is the first part, lesson one, in our study in Revelation we are briefly going to do an overview about what prophecy is and what apocalypse is. We will also discuss what Revelation is and why it is written in the first century context.

Stand Your Ground (Week 8)

Through His Grace/Where Do You Stand

Think About/Discuss It

1.      Do you ever think about God’s plan for your life?

2.      Do you ever question if you will reach your goals?

3.      Have you ever felt like your sin trips you up in life? How do you handle these times?

4.      How would you define the term Christian?

5.      What does being a Christian mean to you?

6.      What are the ABC’s of becoming a Christian?

THE ABC’S

A: Admit to God you’re a sinner

B: Believe that Jesus is the son of God      

C: Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord

·         I want you to keep those in mind as we go through these two lessons.

Read: Mark 8:22-26

Verse 22: They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. Verse 23: He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him Jesus asked. “Do you see anything?” Verse 24: He looked up and said, “I see people, they look like trees walking around.” Verse 25: Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Verse 26: Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village.”

Forgiveness

·         Everyone sins!!

·         It’s a part of who we are.

·         We will sin until we are with God in heaven.

·         That is why God offers forgiveness and unconditional love

o   He will never stop loving us

o   He will always be there for us

7.      Have you ever been forgiven for something (not necessarily by God)?

8.      Have you ever done something so horrible, you felt you didn’t deserve forgiveness?

·         Even during these times…

o   God is there

o   All we have to do is ask and we will be forgiven

Read: Ephesians 4:32

Verse 32: Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Everyone Needs Forgiveness

9.      Do you think God should be the only one who forgives people? Or should we all be willing to forgive others?

10.  How hard is it to forgive someone who has done something wrong?

·         As in the scripture we just read, God should not be the only one forgiving people.

·         We should also forgive one another.

·         It is kind of like the saying Treat Others The Way You Want To Be Treated.

o   We expect God to forgive us, so we should also be willing to forgive others

·         I’m the first to admit that forgiving others is hard, but it is what God expects us to do.

·         Besides, holding grudges takes a lot of energy, which we could be using to glorify God.

Walk Of Faith

11.  Does your sinful nature ever trip you up in your walk of faith?

12.  Do you think you should be perfect in your walk of faith? Do you think God expects perfection?

·         We can’t expect to be perfect in our walk of faith.

·         However, like I said God offers forgiveness every day for all our stumbles.

·         He knows you’re going to stumble and fall short

·         As it says in Romans 3:23

o   For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

·         He just wants us to remember that he is there to offer us forgiveness and his love

·         His love never goes away just because we sin.

Being Washed Cleaned

·         When we fall, God is there to pick us back up.

·         He helps us to take a few more steps towards him

·         If we never tripped, we would never know how it felt…

o   To be picked up in the hands of the Savior

o   To be brushed off and washed clean in a flood of grace

·         Just like he did for the blind man in Mark 8:22-26

·         The only thing making all this possible is God’s unfailing love in Jesus Christ

·         He loves us so much that he takes the time to continually mold us, shape us, and form us into the beautiful children He created us to be.

·         Now, let us look at being a Christian and what that actually means.

The Term Christian

·         Take a look back at questions 4 and 5

o   How would you define the term Christian?

o   What does being a Christian mean to you?

·         Many people have their own stereotypes of how Christians should act or dress.

13.  Do you know any of these stereotypes?

·         Here is what the word Christian means, according to dictionary.com

·         Christian: of, or pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.  Exhibiting a spirit proper to a follower of Jesus Christ

Reviewing The ABC’s

A= Admit

B= Believe

C= Confess

Read: 1 Corinthians 1:18

Verse 18: For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Being A Christian

14.  Do you think being a Christian means more than just attending Church on Wednesdays and Sundays?

·         Yes there is more.

·         Just because you attend church, doesn’t mean you are a Christian

·         I see many people who attend church every Sunday and Wednesday, but they don’t act like Christians outside of church.

·         As I said in another lesson,

o   You should strive to be like Christ

o   Or at least be a reflection of God’s image

15.  Are you showing people you believe in Christ?

Christian Friends

·         It is important to have friends that are going to keep you on your Walk Of Faith

·         If you have friends that are leading you away from Christ, or distracting you from our ultimate goal.

o   Then my suggestion is you shouldn’t hang around with them

·         God shared the Ten Commandments with us for a reason.

o   The Ten Commandments are God’s Laws not 10 good suggestions

o   You and your friends should strive to follow them.

The Gospel

·         The Ten Commandments aren’t the only things God has shared with us.

·         The Gospel may be foolishness to the world…

o   It is the message of salvation for those who repent

·         Jesus gets us out of the low places of our sinful lives

·         He also gets us out of our destructive attitudes.

·         The Gospel shares the power of God against destruction by persecution or rejection.

Outreach

·         Sharing the gift of God with others can be intimidating and very difficult.

·         This is true for anyone.

·         Like I said, “The Gospels shares the power of God against destruction by persecution or rejection.”

·         It says in Psalms 27:1

o   “The Lord is my light and salvation, whom shall I fear?”

·         We are so afraid of being rejected, when we try to reach out to someone, about Christ, we don’t bother.

·         Christians need not fear rejection because we have Christ with us.

16.  What is that compared to Christ’s love for you?

·         It’s nothing, compared to Christ’s love

·         So we should teach others about Christ

·         It says in Luke 6:22

o   “Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man”

·         Even if people reject you…

o   You are blessed because you believe in Jesus Christ.

What Makes You a Christian

·         Being nice, going to church, or being concerned about prayer doesn’t make you a Christian

·         Other people can fit this description too.

·         You are a Christian because of God’s free gift of faith

·         Jesus died and lives for you and me.

17.  How can we not boldly live and die for him?

18.  How can we not proclaim His Gospel?

The Challenge

·         I have a challenge for you, it is similar to the one I had for you last week.

·         As I said, we are always worried about what others are going to think when we start talking about Christ.

·         This week I want you to try and outreach to someone. Tell them about God’s forgiveness and unconditional love.  Also, tell them about the ABC’s of becoming a Christian  However, feel free to share anything that enters your heart.

Silent Prayer Time

·         Write a prayer asking God to forgive your sin and wash you with his grace. Also ask him to help you to outreach to someone this week. Don’t forget to tell him anything else that may be on your mind.

Holy and Acceptable: There's a Right Way to Handle Wrong Decisions

This is our final session in Holy and Acceptable, we have learned a lot in these past few months about how God wants us to make our lives pure and holy for Him to resided in. What we need to do now is to take what we have learned and apply it to our lives, if that means distancing ourselves from friends, then so be it. We have also learned that people in our Youth Group could lead us astray, so we need to minister to them and be their accountability partner, especially in times of trouble. God is Good!

Holy and Acceptable: Bulletproofing Your Life (part 2)

This is the second part, two Wednesday's ago we learned how to bulletproof are life. Remember that if you have any questions about what you hear leave a comment.

Stand Your Ground (Week 7)

Goals/Bringing Home the Trophy

Discuss/Think About It

1.      What are some of the goals you have for your life?

2.      Do you ever think you will not reach your goals? How do you handle this feeling?

3.      What should be our ultimate goal?

4.      Who are some of your role models?

5.      Are these people we should be looking up to?

6.      Have you ever had a setback that made you turn from Christ?

7.      Have you ever felt unsupported in your life? What did you do or how did you feel?

Read: Philippians 3:12-14

Verse 12: Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Verse 13: Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. Verse 14: I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

God and Our Goals

·         I have goals in my life, just like every other person in the world.

·         Like I have said in many lessons before, God has a plan for us.

·         Our goals may not fit with his plan.

8.      Do you believe that you decide what you want to do with your life, or does God?

·         I believe in the power of free will.

·         God is guiding our free will

·         He has a plan for your life

Rough Times With God

·         There are moments where these goals may be put on hold.

9.      Have you ever had something happen that kept you from fulfilling your goals?

10.  Do you have a hard time knowing God is there when you run into these rough times? What do you do?

·         I know I have, and so have people in my family.

·         During these times it is hard for us to realize what God’s plan is for us.

·         The important thing to remember is…

o   God is there to help you persevere through these hard times.

·         When we use Christ to get through these situations…

o   We show others God’s power and light through us.

o   This can be a very powerful outreach tool.

Our Ultimate Goal

·         Let’s look back at question #3

o   What should be our ultimate goal?

·         Our Ultimate goal is heaven.

11.  How do you think we attain our ultimate goal?

·         There are two ways we attain this goal

o   Faith

o   Through Christ

·         God guides everything we do as we attain this ultimate goal

·         We should also be outreaching to others to make sure they understand what the ultimate goal should be in life.

·         I know that this can be difficult, at your age; it is even difficult for me.

·         We should want to share this news with everyone and not be afraid.

·         Remember what it says in Philippians 4:13

o   I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Achieving our Goals

12.  Who helps you reach your goals?

·         We are blessed with many role models in life.

·         Some are there just to look up to, while others help us achieve our goals.

·         There are role models who persevere in the face of obstacles. They help us to:

o   Rise above

o   Stand Firm in our Faith

o   Await the Prize God has for us in heaven.

·         As I said last week, God will use your talents for his will, but he will also use them to help you achieve your goals.

·         God uses some role models to help guide you on the path he has made for you.

·         Look back at question #5

o   Are these people we should be looking up to?

o   Has your answer changed?

·         Now let us use what we have just learned and try to see how you can use Christ to endure suffering and pain.

Read Luke 9:22

Verse 22: And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

13.  What does this passage mean to you?

God’s Sacrifice

·         As it says in Luke 9:22, Christ would endure

o   Suffering

o   Rejection

o   Death

·         He did all this to save us.

·         His body was

o   Physically Beaten

o   Whipped

·         He endured a lot to save us, including:

o   The pain of the crown of thorns

o   The pain of the nails driven through his flesh

·         He was spit on, made fun of, called names, and rejected by the people he came to save.

·         He endured more than one man or person should so we could have…

o   Everlasting Life

Think About It

14.  Could you endure that kind of pain and suffering?

15.  Would you be able to keep going, knowing the crowd was against you?

16.  Would you continue to compete/perform, or would you quit?

17.  Would you be willing to forgive/save the people who were tormenting/torturing you?

The Big Trophy

·         Jesus didn’t endure the pain and suffering so he could win first place and a trophy for himself.

·         He did it so we could have the prize/ reach our ultimate goal

o   The Treasure of Heaven

Christ Pushed Himself

·         Jesus didn’t stop after his death

·         He kept going exceeding the limits of his physical body.

o   He rose from the dead

·         He did all of this so we

o   Can live forever with Him

·         Christ pushed himself and his body for us

·         This helps remind us where we get our strength from

·         God doesn’t care if you win all the time, just as long as you try your best and let him do the rest.

·         Remember this mantra:

o   “Do Your Best and God will do the Rest”

·         Christ did the rest

o   He rose again

·         We can believe that the trophy/ our ultimate goal of heaven is ours

Related Scripture:

John 1:11

Verse 11: He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

Luke 10:16

Verse 16: “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

Romans 6:23

Verse 23: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Matthew 28:20

Verse 20: and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.

The Challenge

·         As I said, one of the most challenging things we have to do, as Christians, is outreach.

·         We are always worried about what others are going to think.

·         This week I want you to try and outreach to someone. Tell them about our ultimate goal, and how God has a plan for everyone.  However, feel free to share anything that enters your heart.

Silent Prayer Time

·         Write a prayer asking God to guide your life and the goals you make for yourself.  Also, thank him for the sacrifice he made so we could reach our ultimate goal.  Don’t forget to tell him anything else that may be on your mind today.