PREPARE WEEK
A NEW WAY OF LIFE
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.
God is making His home among us, and this home comes with life rules that contrast with the ways of the world.
Main Point
When we look at Jesus, we see that He reflects a Father who reaches out to us to show us how to live.
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
- Invite Cards
- Testimony Guides
(7 minutes)
Welcome everyone and be sure to get the names of any new friends.
Icebreaker Game: Listening Letters
Instruct everyone in the group to find a partner. (If you have an odd number of students in your group, include one alternative group of three.) Explain that each pair will have 60 seconds to discuss what they did last weekend. Here’s the catch: Each student must begin their responses with a word that starts with the last letter of their partner’s previous sentence.
Example:
- “How was your weekend?”
- “Didn’t do much of anything. Were you able to go to that concert?”
- “Too much noise for me. I stayed home and ate snacks.”
- “Sounds like a great weekend to me!”…
Begin the game once the group has a clear understanding of the rules.
DIG IN
(5 minutes)
Ask: Before we get started, we want to hear from you. What were some of the challenges you experienced in this game? (Take a few moments for students to share.)
Say: This game required us to pay close attention to your partner so you could catch that last letter!
Similarly, when we stay close to Jesus, we can see how we ought to live. By paying attention to Jesus’ example in Scripture, we can learn what qualities are most important to live out daily. Just like in the game, if all we’re thinking about is how we want to respond, we’ll probably miss what Jesus is saying and struggle more than we need to! Today, we will discover more about this new way of life that Jesus offers.
Read Scripture: Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
Say: To follow Jesus and to be his disciple requires not only that you turn away from what is comfortable and expected but also that you turn toward Jesus and His ways.
When Jesus invites us to be His disciple, the first step is to deny ourselves. This means we must set aside our old way of living and pursue His ways.
There is a promise in this verse that we can count on Jesus to lead us along this path and to show us this new way. In John 10, Jesus showed the disciples an example of what living a sacrificial life looks like.
Read Scripture: When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.“ (John 13:12-17)
Say: Jesus kneeling to wash their feet is a very powerful reminder that He calls us to humility in our interactions with other people. Just imagine what the disciples felt as their Lord knelt before them and took their dirty, stinky feet in his hands and washed them. If Jesus was kneeling in front of you with your foot in his hands, would you feel grateful, embarrassed, uncomfortable, or a mixture of all three?
With this example, Jesus showed us that the path to true power is through servanthood, and the way to have a rich and abundant life is to take up our cross every day to serve others.
TOOL TIME
(18 Minutes)
Ask: So the big question is SO WHAT? What does the example of Jesus show us about how we are to live? (Let students think about this for just a moment.)
Say: Taking up our cross daily tells us that following Jesus requires an exchange. When He calls us to deny ourselves, it isn’t a call to self-loathing or hatred. God is clear about your worth to Him. He has created you for his glory. Instead, Jesus is calling you to turn away from your false self – the self corrupted by sin – so you can embrace the fullness of who God made you to be.
Do you find yourself being fake or doing things you wouldn’t normally do to belong to a certain social group? Jesus is calling you to turn away from those behaviors and be yourself in Him.
Do you find yourself totally obsessed with your grades and ranking to the point that your academic performance is how you value yourself as a person? Jesus is calling you to turn away from an identity based on your performance and instead rest in who He made you to be.
When we deny ourselves, we exchange our own plans and dreams for those of Jesus and, in turn, experience God’s highest purpose for our lives. When we look at Jesus, we see that He reflects a Father who reaches out to us to show us how to live.
Ask: How might Jesus’ call to you, to deny yourself and follow Him, lead you into situations where you’re sharing the Gospel with people more regularly? (Take a few moments for students to share.)
Before we leave today, we want to be sure that we are prepared to share the Gospel no matter where we are or the situation we are in. If you are new to club, we use tools to help us be prepared and ready to share our stories and the Gospel.
This week, we are going to take a look at the My Faith Story sheet as a way to be prepared. As you practice writing out your story, think about the ways Jesus has called you or might be calling you to leave behind the old you and have new life in Him.
When we accept Jesus into our lives, He changes us and shapes us for the better. He gives us the gift of eternal life, while also transforming us into disciples for Him. Think about how Jesus has changed you as you write out your story. (Be sure to allow time for students to work on their stories and have them practice/share with friends or the group.)
Closing: Pass out invite cards. End your time together with prayer.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Say: Remember that next week is INVITE Week. While we want our friends to be able to come any week, next week, we will be clearly sharing the Gospel and will give everyone an opportunity to make a decision to follow Jesus!
