PREPARE WEEK
BEING SPIRITUALLY TRANSFORMED
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.
Being spiritually transformed enables us to live according to the laws of the Spirit and not of the flesh. Jesus calls us to lives that are in radical opposition to the ways of the world as the Spirit strengthens us to live as citizens of God’s Kingdom here on earth.
Main Point
As we follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit transforms us so that we live according to the ways of God’s Kingdom rather than the ways of the world.
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
- Large Container
- Scratch Paper
- Pencils/Pens
- Invite Cards
- Testimony Guides
(7 minutes)
Welcome everyone and be sure to get the names of any new friends.
Icebreaker Game: Do You?
Supplies Needed: Container, scratch paper, pencils/pens.
As students arrive, ask them to write down their dream job on a scrap of paper and place them into a container. Begin the game by instructing students to draw one dream job from the container without showing it to anyone.
Students will then find a partner and take turns asking each other questions in the form of “Do you _?” as they attempt to discover what job their partner drew. The goal is to discover their partner’s dream job using as few questions as possible. The student who is able to guess their partner’s job with the fewest questions is the winner.
DIG IN
(5 minutes)
Ask: Before we get started, we want to hear from you. In our game, how would it have helped you to be able to use motions or actions, rather than just words, in your answers? (Take a few moments for students to share.)
Say: Communication involves all our senses and not just our ears. Seeing how someone acts is a huge part of understanding the meaning of their words. Today we’re going to talk about how we are transformed into a life in the Spirit when we choose to follow Jesus. As followers of Christ, we are called to live in this world but not of this world. This means that our lives are to be an expression of the truths found in Scripture. It’s through the Holy Spirit that we are taught how to live our lives as citizens of God’s Kingdom rather than of this world.
Ask: What do you think this new life Jesus offers, living life in the Spirit, looks like? (Take a few moments for students to share.)
Say: Living a Spirit-empowered life means that we live a life of faith trusting that the Spirit will guide us to the truth in all things. It will help us be sensitive to the needs of others, to serve other people well and to care as God would. When you live by the Spirit, you recognize that you don’t need to be anxious or worried about your circumstances because your life rests upon God’s solid foundation.
The first Christians lived a Spirit empowered life with the Holy Spirit as a guide or advocate in their life. The Spirit guided them to live lives in community with one another, sharing their possessions, caring for one another, seeking the welfare of others over their own, and making sure that both their actions and words exemplified those of Jesus. Similarly, the Holy Spirit guides us to live out the truths of Jesus in our lives today.
Ask: Do we see this same type of community in our society today? Why or why not? (Take a few moments for students to share.)
Say: When we’re living under the belief that God is king, life looks different. We are transformed by the Spirit and live life differently. Our lives should reflect how the early Christians lived, not how the world tells us to live today. We should not be easily swayed by the culture and world around us. Instead, we live as part of a different Kingdom.
The world today is ruled by all kinds of false kings and false idols that put themselves in the place where God should be in their lives. For those first disciples of Jesus and for us today, it is not hard to point out the evidence of a life lived in the flesh versus one lived for our own desires.
Read Scripture: The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
Say: As we hear these verses, we realize how accurate they are even today. We are too familiar with the devastation and brokenness of others and ourselves living as members of the “kingdom of me.” Racism, violence, isolation, hopelessness, and hatred are just the visible parts of a life lived for ourselves. Most of us agree that this way of life leads to death.
But Jesus offers us a way to experience God’s Kingdom, not just when this life is over but every day. Let’s read what the Apostle Paul describes in Galatians 5:23-26 about the evidence of this right-side-up Kingdom.
Read Scripture: But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5:23-26)
Say: When our life is transformed by living under God’s rule, we begin to live in a new way. Instead of doing whatever we want, we allow the Holy Spirit’s work in our life to guide us to the truths of Scripture. These truths are found throughout the Bible. A simple way we can begin living as God desires is to exemplify the characteristics that are found in Galatians 5:23-26. These characteristics of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will allow us to live in such a way that others will see Jesus working through our words and actions.
TOOL TIME
(18 Minutes)
Ask: So the big question is SO WHAT? How does the Spirit lead us into a life that reflects God’s Kingdom rather than the ways of the world? How can our thoughts, words, and actions reflect God’s reign here and now? (Let students think about this for just a moment.)
Read Scripture: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship. (Romans 12:1)
Say: Because life in the Spirit is so contrary to the world’s ways, let’s run through some situations and discuss what it would look like for someone to respond in their flesh and then in the Spirit.
Scenario #1: A friend is upset because they believe a teacher has graded a group project unfairly. What advice would you give to reflect a worldly perspective? What advice would you give if you respond in the Spirit? (Take a few moments for students to share.)
Say: For every act of the flesh, Jesus lays out a parallel act of the Spirit. Anger is replaced by peace and arguments by what the Bible calls a gentle answer. In God’s Kingdom, pride and greed are replaced with humility and a desire to elevate others and not just ourselves. Because you can take confidence in God’s opinion of you, you don’t need to diminish someone else’s contribution to your group project so that you look better.
Scenario #2: You hear that another student is being bullied by other students. What would a response from the world be? What about a response from the Spirit? (Take a few moments for students to share.)
Say: A natural response would be to put distance between you, the bully, and the bully’s victim.
You certainly don’t want the bully to turn on you or to risk your own social status by siding with the victim! A response from the Spirit means you recognize the injustice and take whatever action you can without regard to how it impacts your popularity. You choose to align yourself with the victim and offer them support and protection.
Scenario #3: A friend is under a lot of pressure to do well on a test to satisfy their parents’ expectations. They tell you that they have access to the test answers, and they must use them to get a good grade. What would a response from the world be? What about a response from the Spirit? (Take a few moments for students to share.)
Say: As citizens of the Kingdom of God, Jesus calls us to respond in radical and Spirit-led ways.
Instead of anxiety and fear, people of God can live in peace and faith. Instead of pride, we can trust God is at work for us so we can be humble and put others first. Instead of believing that this life is all there is or that God is far off and disinterested, we know the truth is that God created us to live forever in his Kingdom.
For every act prompted by the world or our flesh, the Spirit guides us on how to respond in the Spirit and gives us the power to do it. And let’s not forget: Living a Spirit-led life will grow our faith as we are internally transformed.
How can we let the spirit lead us to share God’s love, His purpose and the good news of eternal life with Him? It is so important that we don’t just hold the Good News of the Gospel inside us and hide from sharing it! We must let the spirit work through us by praying and asking for God’s hand to guide us in spreading His word. Although sharing the Gospel should be Spirit led, and God inspired, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t practice or do our own work to be prepared.
Let’s take one last look at the My Faith Story Sheet that we have been using all year. We have used this tool to help prepare us to be ready for the Spirit to work and lead in our lives.
Maybe some of you have used this tool, maybe you are still discovering what your story is, or maybe this whole “story” and “Gospel sharing” is totally new to you. I challenge you to take the last few moments of club today to work through this sheet.
But as you do, pray and ask God to guide you in each area. Ask God to send his spirit to lead you through sharing this message. Maybe you want to ask God to help you discover exactly what your story can mean to someone else.
No matter where any of you are in your relationship with God, you all have a story that is evolving and changing constantly. We can see God working in new ways in our lives daily, which is why we should always be taking time to ask God how He can use us and our stories to share His Good News! (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, and while we want our friends to be able to come any week, next week we will be sharing the Gospel in a clear way and will give everyone an opportunity to make a decision to follow Jesus!
