‘Sorry’
15 minutes
Stick the A3 paper with the ‘Sorry’ lyrics on the wall and place a bucket underneath it. Say: thankfully for us, God isn’t just the God of second chances; he gives us as many chances as we need. We all make mistakes that we deeply regret. No matter how great or small those mistakes, Jesus is enough. In the Old Testament, people were required to bring a lamb to be sacrificed so that their sins were forgiven and redeemed in the eyes of the Lord. Read Leviticus 4:34- 35 together.
Say: In the New Testament, Jesus took the place of the lamb and became the ultimate, perfect sacrifice. By doing this, he created a new covenant. Through dying on the cross, he took on the sins of the world – past, present and future – and put them to death. He cleansed us of our sins and made us whole.
Read 1 Peter 1:18-19 and say that all we need to do is kneel at the cross and say ‘sorry’. Encourage your young people to write something they need to ask God’s forgiveness for on a post-it note. Ask them to scrunch up the post-it and place it in the bucket.
Key Point 1
‘He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.’ (Psalm 103:12) Our sins are completely gone.
‘What Do You Mean?’
15 minutes
Write ‘1 Peter 3:15’ in the middle of a flipchart. Ask your group if they have ever been questioned about their faith and what questions they were asked. Write these questions in a spider diagram around the Bible reference.
Read 1Peter 3:15 together. Ask your young people if they had answers for the questions that they were asked and discuss briefly what was said. Say: it is important to be able to give a reason for what we believe. Blind faith (faith without reason) or a faith simply inherited from your parents is not going to help when you are bombarded with questions from non-Christians. Faith is a balance of ‘head’ and ‘heart’. We need to experience God’s love and his Holy Spirit for a relational connection to our heavenly father (heart), but we also need to have knowledge of why we believe what we do: a knowledge that is rooted in something more than just our feelings which are constantly changing (head). It is ok not to have all of the answers and to question our faith – it is often when we work through these doubts that our understanding of who God is becomes clearer.
Explain to your young people that when they are struggling for answers, it is best to be honest and say, ‘I don’t know’. Suggest that your young people go and ask older Christians for their opinion / wisdom about specific (real) questions and then go back to the friends who asked those questions with wellstructured, thought-out answers. Remind the group that the most helpful thing they can do before (and during) conversations with their non-Christian friends is to pray, both for their friend and for wisdom and courage for themselves.
Discuss and write on the spider diagram possible answers to some of the questions that were raised earlier in the session. If the members of your youth group are really engaged in this task, it may be worth doing a follow-up session in apologetics. There are some helpful resources here.
‘Love Yourself’
15 minutes
Spread magazine articles on the floor – use pictures of celebrities who have put on weight, or had journalists criticise them for one reason or another. Ask the group what they think / feel when they see these images. Does it affect them in any way?
Say: We are daily bombarded with images in the media like these. We grow up learning to criticise others, judging them for what they look like. Ask the group whether they find it hard to accept who they are – what they look like, what school they go to and the friends they do or don’t have. Do they fear not fitting in?
Say: We need to know that our identity is not rooted in what others think, our success or our failures, but in God. He handcrafted us perfectly. We are precious and loved by the creator of the universe. Read 1 John 3:1 together and ask your group to write down one thing they don’t like about themselves on a post-it note. In a black marker, write ‘1 John 3:1’ in large letters over their words. Remind your young people that their insecurities are covered by the love of God. Get them to place the post-it in their Bible or journal as a constant reminder. You may want to play a song, such as ‘No Longer Slaves’ by Jonathan and Melissa Helser during this activity.
‘Purpose’
15 minutes
Ask: What are your goals / focus in life? Fame, popularity, good grades, getting into a good university? What happens if some of these hopes and dreams fail? How would you feel?
Say: Justin Bieber had it all: fame, fortune, success, girls at his beck and call and yet he felt like something was missing in his life. There was a void that he couldn’t fill. Read the chorus of ‘Purpose’ together.
Say: While the world and other people will fail you, God never will. Our purpose needs to be in him, rather than in worldly achievements and goals. Trust that God has a great plan for your life. That he will guide you and walk alongside you, even in times of darkness and uncertainty. Read Jeremiah 29:11 together.
Close by praying for each other – particularly for anything that came up in this session. Perhaps also pray for Justin Bieber and other famous Christians: for strength and opportunities for them to share their faith, as well as for people to support and encourage them.
Anna McGarahan is an actress, volunteer youth worker and worship leader.
