EQUIP WEEK
WHAT IS SIN?
LEADER PREPARATION
Lesson Summary:
Note: These lessons are designed to be 30 minutes long. If your club time is shorter than this, we encourage you to be prayerful about parts of this lesson to put more or less emphasis on. If limited on time, we urge you to prioritize Tool Time and summarize Dig In, as Tool Time is what prepares you for sharing the Gospel. As always, let the Holy Spirit guide your leadership.
This week’s lesson will help us understand the broken state of our world by defining what “sin” actually is: our failure to hit the mark that God has designed for his creation.
Take a look at this video from BibleProject as you prepare: Khata/Sin
– https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/khata-sin/
Main Point
Because we have fallen short of God’s intended purpose for creation, we are in need of a Savior.
Team Roles
Host: This Student Leader will lead the Start Up section of the lesson, helping create a fun environment, making everyone feel welcome and included.
Speaker: This student leader will guide the group in growing deeper in their faith by reading and reflecting on passages of scripture. They will then connect the content to the group’s daily lives by asking practical questions and leading the conversation.
Other Roles: Promo, Welcome, and Follow Up.
Scripture References
Materials Needed
- Blindfold, tossable snacks (cheeseballs, gummies, etc.)
- Prayer Cards to hand out
(7 minutes)
Say: Welcome to First Priority. As we kick off our new month, let’s review the mission and vision of First Priority.
- Mission: To take the Hope of Christ to every student.
- Vision: Students Reach Students.
Icebreaker Game: World’s Worst Waiter
Supplies Needed: Blindfold, tossable snacks (cheeseballs, gummies, etc.)
Ask for a few students who trust each other to stand in the front of the group. Place a blindfold on one and have the other stand three steps away. The blindfolded student will then toss individual snacks toward their partner who will attempt to catch them using only their mouth. Be sure the student catching the snacks does not have any food allergies. After 30 seconds of tossing, call up a new pair of students to play the game. Repeat as time permits.
DIG IN
(5 minutes)
Say: We all have “targets” we are aiming for. Whether it be in sports, school work, or even our hobbies, we have goals we want to achieve. However, even though we might try really hard, we often miss the mark.
Before we get started with today’s lesson, ask yourself this question: What target does God call us to aim at in our lives? (Let students think about this for just a moment.)
As you continue to think about that question, let’s look at a passage in the Bible together.
Read Scripture:
Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39)
Say: In this passage, Jesus breaks the entire purpose of our existence down into two simple concepts: love God and love people. Every choice we make and every word we say should be rooted in a deep sense of love toward our Creator and His favorite creation: all of us.
We see this purpose being proposed in the very first pages of the Bible. God called Adam and Eve to live in harmony with each other and with His creation. He also told them not to eat from the tree that would give them knowledge of what is good and what is evil.
Although they had literally been given the world, they still wanted more – they wanted to live on their own terms, and they ate the forbidden fruit.
From that moment on, sin has devastated the world, bringing with it pain, suffering, and death.
It shattered the perfect picture God created for humanity to dwell in, leaving everyone in its path feeling confused and afraid.
Think about every conflict you’ve learned about in your history classes, or the bad things you see coming across your news feed – things like injustice, oppression, abuse, and manipulation.
Would these events have happened if we selflessly loved each other as images of God?
Ask: Where do you see this brokenness in our world or in your community? (Take a few moments for students to share.)
TOOL TIME
(18 Minutes)
Say: So the big question is SO WHAT? What
exactly is sin? (Let students think about this for just a moment.)
Read Scripture:
Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. (James 4:17)
What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever. (Isaiah 5:20-21)
Say: Sin is the source of everything that is wrong in this world. It invades our thoughts with selfish desires that destroy the loving harmony we were meant to live in. The Bible actually uses the same word to describe sin as it does when an archer misses their target. The word is “khata”, or: “someone who has a goal in mind but fails to achieve it.”
Sin robs us of what it means to be truly human. It places a blurred lens over our eyes, corrupting us from within and altering our aim as we determine what and who we are going to live for.
Ask: How does this view of sin affect how you see yourself?
Ask: Sin can also alter the way we view others and the compassion we have for them. Think about a friend who does something that is sinful. How does this view of sin affect how you see others? Does it lead you towards judgment or compassion?
This is why we need a Savior-this is why we need Jesus! Our world is broken, but He came so sin could no longer have power over us-to restore us back to what God intended for us.
Before we close our time in prayer, let’s remember our main point for today: Because we have fallen short of God’s intended purpose for creation, we are in need of a Savior.
Ask: Oftentimes when others think about people who evangelize, they fear being judged by others. How can we show compassion in the way we share about Jesus with others?
Last month, we looked at a tool that helps us share how God’s plan for our lives doesn’t need to be hindered by our sin. God sent His son Jesus to save us from this sin, and we can tell others this truth by using The Four. If you recall from our last Equip Week, The Four is a set of symbols that represents God’s love, the sin that separates us, Jesus’s sacrifice, and the decision we make to follow him. The second symbol, sin, (the division sign) is not where it ends for us, we still have the hope of Christ and the decision to follow Him so that we can have eternal life!
We can use The Four as a tool to outline our conversations and share this message with others. Is there someone in your life that needs to hear this truth? This week, look for ways to share about Jesus’ love to someone impacted by sin.
Closing: Pass out prayer cards to each student. Remind students to write names of friends they would like to pray for on their prayer cards and spend some time praying for them before they leave today.
Say: One of the most loving things you can do as a follower of Jesus is to pray for others. Let’s spend some time thinking about who we can pray for. Write their name down on the card and pray for them before you leave today.
End your time together with prayer.
Say: God, there are people in our world and in our community that are broken and hurting. They need the hope that comes from knowing you.
Please shine your light in the darkest places of our world so we may all learn to love you and each other. Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Take a minute to announce the upcoming meeting date and anything else members of the club need to know to be ready for the next meeting or event.
