INVITE WEEK
GOD WITH US
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.
We don’t need to climb our way to God. In Jesus, God came to us to make His home with us, and we can experience His presence daily in our lives.
This week, choose from one of the following options for DIG IN:
- Have a Student Leader share the Gospel message using something they’ve created, found, or by using the provided Gospel presentation sample below.
- Have a Student Leader share their testimony. They can use these questions to help guide their thoughts:
- “What has Jesus shown me about God’s love and care for me?”
- “How have I experienced God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness through Jesus’ words and miracles?”
- “How do I experience God’s presence in my life?”
Main Point
Jesus bridges the distance between us and God. Jesus became a man so that we could see the Father through His words and actions.
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
- Prepared Gospel Presentation or Student Testimony
- First Priority Bibles
- Student Response Cards
(7 minutes)
Say: Welcome to First Priority. We know that you could literally be anywhere else right now, so we are so pumped that you chose to be here with us!
Icebreaker Game: Problems in Paradise
Divide the group into two teams. Ask the teams to appoint one spokesperson who will debate on their team’s behalf. Instruct each group to choose the perfect vacation destination. Once each group has their answer, ask the spokespeople to share them.
After both teams have shared, the groups will then choose something they think would ruin the other team’s vacation destination (i.e. sharks on the beach, bears in the mountains, the resort walls are made of butter, etc.). The spokespeople will then each take 30 seconds to present why their group’s destination is still the best choice. Finally, the Host will choose the destination they would rather stay at.
DIG IN
(5 minutes)
- Option 1: Student Leader shares Gospel message (sample provided below).
- Option 2: Student Leader shares testimony.
Option 1: Gospel Presentation Sample
Say: Today we will be sharing the story of how God, the one who made you and knows you completely, wants to make His home with you. This truth is known as the Gospel or the “Good News.” The story of the Gospel is that God sent His Son, Jesus, to serve as a bridge between God and his creation, you. Because He was fully man and fully God, Jesus was the only one who could fulfill God’s purposes.
Say: You may be thinking, “Who is this God? If He knows me so well, why would He want me?
Doesn’t He know all the ways I’ve failed?” Let’s look at what it meant for Jesus to be fully man and fully God.
Read Scripture: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)
Say: Jesus is the very Word of God. He has been with God since the beginning. When He came as a man, He revealed the very life and light of God. Jesus came to remind God’s people that no darkness can overcome God’s light.
In Jesus’ day, like today, there was a lot of darkness in the world. We have all seen or even experienced the darkness of broken promises, violence, abuse, isolation, and hopelessness.
Ask: What does it mean to you that nothing can overcome the light and the life of Jesus? (Take a few moments for students to share.)
TOOL TIME
(18 Minutes)
Say: So the big question is SO WHAT? What does it mean that Jesus is fully man and fully God? (Let students think about this for just a moment.)
There is nothing that is hidden from God. He knows your deepest fears, sins, and shame.
But the truth is that this holy God pursues a relationship with you and calls out to you to make His home in you. Take a moment just to listen to this truth-the God who spoke the universe into being wants to be with you! There is nowhere he would rather be than with you right now.
Read Scripture: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
Say: God became a man in the form of Jesus so that you would never doubt his love for you. He suffered poverty, hunger, abuse, and even a hideous death so that you would never doubt His love. Because Jesus came as a man, not only does He understand what you are facing each day, but He alone is able to help you overcome it.
Ask: What does it mean to you right now that God wants to make His home with you? (Take a few moments for students to share.)
Say: Underneath it all, you may feel broken beyond repair. You might think that your past has marked you so deeply that you cannot overcome it. You may have tried over and over to do the right thing only to find yourself failing over and over.
Say: Jesus, who is fully God, became a man so that you can stop striving. Because of His obedience, God can see you as obedient. Because of His sinless perfection, His death paid for all the times you missed the mark of God’s holiness.
Jesus bridges the distance between us and God.
Jesus became a man so that we could see the Father through His words and actions. Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, died on a cross, and rose back to life to restore you once and for all. This is why it is called Good News. Your debt, the penalty for all your mistakes and disobedience, has been paid in full.
All it takes for your sins to be forgiven is your acceptance of what Jesus did for you. If you admit you have sinned, confess that you believe in Jesus, and invite Him to make his home in you, He will forgive you of your sins and give you everlasting life in eternity with Him.
Say: If you’d like to follow Jesus today, please close your eyes, and we will all say this simple prayer together. Repeat after me:
Dear God,
Thank you for loving me and wanting a relationship with me. I know that I cannot save myself. Please forgive me of my sins. Jesus, I believe you died for me, then rose again. Help me to truly live for you all the days of my life. Amen.
Closing: If you prayed that prayer for the first time, or if you were recommitting your life today, then we want to celebrate you! This is the most important decision you will ever make!
We would love to talk with you and answer any questions you might have. We also want to give you a Bible and connect you with a church if you don’t have one. As we end our time today, we will pass out some cards where you can mark if you made that decision today or if you want more information as you are learning about God. (Give students a moment to fill out the cards.)
Create a reminder for yourself this week so that you don’t forget that God is actively pursuing a relationship with you. Put it on your screensaver or post a note on your mirror. God will show you the love He has for you in Jesus.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Pass out student response cards. Announce the upcoming meeting date and anything else members of the club need to know to be ready for the next meeting or event.
