Introduction
Begin the session with an impromptu dance contest and discover whether you have the next Diversity or Fred Astaire in your group! You could set up your own judging panel, complete with glittery scorecards and award a small prize for the winner.
The session
Play the track, providing copies of the lyrics. Ask the group: which of the lyrics stand out the most to them and why? Can you relate to the urge of the singer, to completely let go of all that might hold you back? Is it always a good thing to be able to be so uninhibited? Can you think of a time when it might or might not be positive?
Explain that you are going to look together at a famous episode from the Bible, a time when someone danced without restraint. Provide Bibles and ask someone to read 2 Samuel 6. You may find it helpful to use a modern translation such as The Message. You may need to explain the context of this chapter and some of the things described in this episode.
Draw attention to verse 14 (‘David was dancing before the Lord with all of his might’) and ask your young people what they think this would have looked like? Why do you think David ‘danced with great abandon’? How does this compare to the lyrics of the track?
Ask your group to reflect on their own experiences of worship. Can they recall a time when they have been totally ‘sold out’ in worship of God? What does it mean to ‘lose control,’ before God? Invite your young people to share some of their own experiences and create space to discuss the issues raised. Remind your group that when we talk about worship, we often limit our understanding of what worship is to shared singing in church on a Sunday. In this story, David set himself free from rules and social norms to lay himself in total adoration of God. What might this look like for us?
Explain to the group that you are going to give them the opportunity to respond to the story we have explored. Explain that it will take a bit of nerve, but we cannot just talk about worshipping with all that we are and then close the book and move on; we too are invited to respond to God’s immense greatness by worshipping him with everything that we have and are. Make time to create a safe space where you can play the track again, or perhaps an appropriate worship song, and invite your young people to respond in ‘great abandon,’ inviting them to dance, to shout out and be totally free before God.
