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THIS WEEK’S PASSAGE John 15:9-17
BACKGROUND PREPARATION Prepare the status updates given in ‘Why post?’ (or prepare your own) so they are printed out or written up on large paper beforehand for more visual impact. Have Bibles to hand.
Social media quiz
10 mins
Start with a quiz about current social media statistics. Ask the group to answer the following questions about social media:
• What is the fastest growing social network? (Pinterest)
• What is the most popular activity on Facebook? (Uploading photos)
• How many Facebook apps are there: two million, four and a half million, six million or ten million? (Ten million)
• On average how many tweets are sent per day? (400 million)
• How many comments per second are put on Instagram? (1000)
• What is the most re-pinned Pinterest Pin? (Garlic cheesy bread)
• What percentage of Facebook users check their account more than five times a day? (23 per cent)
Ask if they are surprised at the answers. How much do they use social media? Are they tweeting right now?
HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?
10 mins
Split the young people into small groups and ask them to discuss these questions:
• When do you use social media?
• Is it mainly on your phone?
• Are you always connected?
Ask the groups to feed back and then get them to write out a normal day with what they might be doing. Ask them to think of points during the day when they check their social media. Or if they use Twitter or Facebook on their phones, get them to log on and look at what their activity has been on a specific day. Encourage some open discussion around whether they think they use social media too much - do they enjoy it or does it sometimes feel like they are addicted to checking their feeds? Perhaps share your own experiences too if you think it might help the group. Ask the group to think about whether or not we are as connected to God as we are to people online - do we take time out of our day to be with him and let him know what we have done today?
WHY POST ?
15 mins
Ask the group what they think when they read statuses like these:
• Ill again, bleugh
• I have such amazing friends #blessed
• Out at *insert latest place to be* - such an amazing place
• So mad right now
• Science sucks #school
After they’ve looked at those, get the young people into small groups and ask them to discuss these questions:
• Why do you use social media?
• Does it affect the way you feel about yourself if no one likes your status or photo?
• When you feel lonely do you ever post to make yourself feel less alone?
• Is what you put on social media a true reflection of you?
JESUS AS OUR FRIEND
15 mins
Read John 15:9-17 through with the group. Think about being sat with Jesus when he shared these truths. How do you think the disciples felt when he called them friends? Explore this passage and the reaction to it by constructing it in social media form.
Using the passage, imagine what might have been put on Facebook or Twitter as a result of Jesus teaching on this day by those who were there, including Jesus. For example, ‘@Peter1: Oh my days! I’m Jesus’ friend and so are you?! How crazy is that #friendofjesus’. Get the group to write out their tweets or posts in chronological order including comments or posts and how many RTs a post received.
Say: in biblical times, there would have been a really clear division between masters and servants, and it was very accepted that masters didn’t talk to the servants in the same way that they would talk to their friends. Jesus is crossing this boundary and explaining that he loves the disciples and wants to converse with them. He is always there waiting for us to communicate with him.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A FRIEND OF JESUS ?
10 mins
Ask the groups whether we can truly feel loved by likes, retweets or other interactions on our social media. Does this feeling persist or disappear quickly?
Say: being a friend of Jesus is lasting and reliable - not defined by whether he likes what we are doing or saying. He loves you no matter what, not because of the way in which you live your life but because he chose you as a child of God to live a life for him. This is where your worth comes from; the love of the king of kings and the true friendship of his son. He calls you his friend because he wants to be involved in your life. He wants you to keep in touch and share what is happening in your life with him. He is your friend no matter what.
KEY POINT #1
Social media is a really exciting development in technology but as with everything we must be wise with it. You need to be aware of its impact on your life, how much time you are spending on it and (as Christians) whether it helps or hinders your relationship with Jesus.
KEY POINT #2
We can become reliant on how many people comment on our statuses, RT our tweets or like our photos to make us feel like we are of worth. We need to know that God is the one who loves us and gives us a sense of worth through his love and purposes for our life.
