INTRODUCTION
Many of our young people struggle with maintaining a public image that lives up to other people’s expectations. This session explores what it means to live with integrity, and challenges us to think about the secrets we may keep. This session may raise safeguarding issues. Remind your young people they can speak honestly to you about things that worry them.
THE SESSION
Play a game in which three leaders tell three unknown ‘facts’ about themselves (where only one is actually true) for the group to work out which is true. Explain that, during this session, we will think about what it means to reveal or conceal things about ourselves, and why we might do this.
TRACK: SECRETS
Play the track and provide copies of the lyrics. As a group, discuss these questions:
- Can you relate to what the singer says regarding making decisions every day about what to share?
- Are you more of a ‘wear it on your sleeve’ or ‘let the monster out’ person? (You may need to explain these terms.)
- Who are you most open with?
- When do you find it hardest to share?
Look at 1 John 1:5-10. Talk about the imagery of darkness and light. They could consider how we understand darkness to represent things that are hidden or negative, and light to represent truth, positive experiences and openness.
Discuss the following questions:
- What does it mean to live ‘in the light’?
- What does ‘living in darkness’ look like?
- What does it mean for us to try and hide things from God?
- What is the measure of a real relationship with God in this passage?
Explain that you are going to share some questions for them to think about for themselves rather than discussing aloud:
- Do we sometimes hide our faith in God from our friends?
- Are we the same person in this group as we are at school with our friends, or in the privacy of our own bedrooms?
Explain that, just like Adam and Eve who tried to hide from God in the garden, and just like the singer, who tells of working out what to share, we all tend to hide our darker sides from others.
