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Introduction
Here are outlines for two separate sessions, but you could adapt these to use them together if more appropriate.
Session one: GOD WORKING IN US
Begin your session by explaining that we are going to be looking at ourselves and thinking about what God sees when he looks at us.
Track: Stop Tryna Change Me (track 9) Play the track, providing copies of the lyrics for your young people to follow. Ask your young people to think about what pressure the singer feels within his relationship. Remind your young people that although some change can be positive, we should never feel under pressure to change who we are simply to please other people.
God, however, knows us better than anyone else ever could, even ourselves. He also knows who we can become through him. Provide Bibles and the following references: 1 Samuel 16:7; Isaiah 43:19; Romans 12:3; 1 Corinthians 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Philippians 2:13. Ask your young people to take a look at them in pairs. What does the Bible have to say about who God wants us to be?
Invite your young people to share what they have discovered from these passages. Conclude your session by reminding your young people that God loves us just the way we are, but he also sees what we can be and so works in us to make us more like him.
Session TWO: GOD WORKING THROUGH US
Begin your session by explaining that we are going to be looking at ourselves and thinking about what God sees when he looks at us.
Track : Inner Ninja (22)
Begin the session by asking your young people what they know about the story of Paul (Saul). Ensure that they have an overview of his story and help them to see that his life was a mixture of highs and lows, where there were times of real struggle.
Play the track, Afterwards, ask your young people to consider where the singer’s sense of inner strength comes from. Invite someone to read Philippians 4:10-13. How do these thoughts of Paul compare with the lyrics of the song?
Help your young people to understand that our strength does not come from an abstract concept, but from God himself who enables and equips us to do his work. Invite one or two of your leaders to share an example of a time when God enabled them to achieve something which they could not have done in their own strength. As you close, pray for your young people, inviting them to share their own particular situations where they feel they need to see God particularly at work.
