Maury Christian Camp
Group: Juniors
June 2007
Short Mountain
“Acts in Action: Teaching the importance of evangelism”
Monday:
Morning Textual Study:
I. What “good news” do we have to offer teenagers? (Acts 8:12)
Ø Discussion Starter:
1. Do you know someone who is in a gang?
2. Do you know someone that does drugs/alcohol?
3. Do you know someone who has done harm to themselves (cutting, strangling, etc.)?
4. Do you know someone who is currently having premarital sex?
5. Do you know someone who has an addiction?
6. Why do teenagers engage in these behaviors?
Ø Textual Discussion:
1. Sometimes we tend to view Jesus as being someone that only church-fanatics are interested in.
2. Who did Jesus come to earth for? Read Luke 5:31-32
3. We read of how people first became Christians in the book of Acts.
4. Philip went to people who were “undesirables” and “outcasts” (Samaritans) and he began sharing his faith with them.
5. Philip did not begin a religious debate over doctrine, rather he “preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12).
6. Upon hearing the “good news” many responded, both men and women, and were baptized.
Ø Application Discussion:
1. Who do you think are prime candidates for evangelism? (people who feel alone, isolated, and are hurting).
2. What is the difference between inviting someone to church and sharing “good news” with them? (inviting someone to church encourages religion, while sharing good news encourages faith development).
3. In what ways are teenagers hurting today? (feel alone, confused about purpose)
4. What “good news” do we have to share that can help their pain?
Evening Illustration & Application: OBJECT: BAND-AIDS
II. Application: Band-Aid Exercise
Ø Introduction:
1. In the lesson this morning, we were challenged to think about sharing spiritual good news with people.
2. To have good news to share, we must identify the pain that is in the lives of others and how the gospel offers healing.
3. You can’t be a teenager in today’s world and not have some kind of wound on your heart.
4. This is a broken world and we are broken people.
5. In this afternoon’s exercise, we are going to think about our own wounds that are on our hearts.
Ø Activity:
1. Have each student find a place where they can be alone.
2. Instruct each student to find some kind of pain in their life, something that has hurt them or something they are currently struggling with.
3. Have the student write that struggle with an ink pen on their arm while they pray to God about it.
Ø Discussion:
1. Then distribute band-aids and instruct the student to place the band-aid over the writing.
2. Have the students draw a cross on the outside of the band-aid.
3. READ: Isaiah 61:1, a description of Jesus’ mission
4. Sharing good news is telling people how that Jesus can heal their wounds.
Tuesday:
Morning Textual Study:
I. The influence of teenagers in spreading the good news (Acts 17:6)
Ø Discussion Starter:
1. What are some strange trends or styles that are “cool” among teenagers today?
2. How does something strange become the “in” thing to do?
3. Are teenagers easily influenced? If so, why?
Ø Textual Discussion:
1. When the good news began to be preached on Pentecost, the Christian faith rapidly grew.
2. First there were 3,000 (Acts 2:41), then 5,000 (Acts 4:4), multitudes (Acts 5:14), continued increasing (Acts 6:1). The church may have been well over 10,000 before the persecution (Acts 8:1).
3. People from various backgrounds were converted; Jews (Acts 2:5, 41), Greeks (Acts 6:1), some of the priests (Acts 6:7), Samaritans (Acts 8:5, 12), and eventually Gentiles (Acts 10:45, 48).
4. The Christian faith was contagious! It was quickly transforming the lives of entire nations of people!
5. When the message of good news came to Athens, Greece, the Athenians recognized that the message of Christ was “turning the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).
Ø Application Discussion:
1. Who are teens most influenced by? (parents, friends, teachers, etc.)
2. Why are teens so influenced by one another?
3. The teenage years are “moldable” years—the crucial time for developing true faith (cf. Ecc. 12:1).
4. Who can have the most influence on teenagers to win them to Christ?
5. How can the Christian message provide good news for teenagers in their struggles?
6. Discuss some ways that teenagers can make their faith contagious with others.
Evening Illustration & Application:
II. Application: Starting a trend: Making Encouragement Bracelets
Ø Introduction:
1. In the morning lesson we discovered how that the message of good news rapidly spread over the world in the book of Acts until the whole world was turned upside down.
2. We also discussed how that teenagers are easily influenced by other teenagers and how that Christian teenagers have more of a chance of converting their friends than anyone else.
3. How many people did Jesus message start with? (12 apostles).
4. Their message offered such hope to people that it became contagious until the church grew to over 10,000 in less than 5 years.
5. As a teenager, you have tremendous power of influence at your disposal.
6. Many teenagers are influenced to do evil things because this power is so strong.
7. Could we not utilize this tremendous power of peer-pressure for good?
8. Have you ever known someone who took something that looks stupid to most people and make it the cool thing to do? (hairstyle, clothes, fashion, etc.).
Ø Activity:
1. In our exercise, we are going to try and start a trend in camp and test how powerful our influence can be.
2. We are going to invent the next cool trend at Maury Christian Camp—Encouragement Bracelets.
Ø Discussion:
1. How can we offer a message of hope to teenagers?
2. Do you think that our group today could start a major movement among the teenagers in Maury County.
Wednesday:
Morning Textual Study:
I. Being Separate from the World, but a Light to the World
Ø Discussion Starter:
1. What do you think is the biggest “turn off” to teenagers about church?
2. What is the biggest thing that keeps teens from going to church?
3. What is the biggest thing that hinders the spread of the good news?
4. How do teenagers view inconsistency?
5. How do you think teenagers feel toward Christianity when they see “supposed Christians” acting just like they do?
Ø Textual Discussion:
1. When the church began they were people very different from the world; they spent all their time with each other (Acts 2:44), sold possessions to help any in their group that had need (Acts 2:45), and visited in each others homes (Acts 2:46).
2. Those who were truly converted to Jesus began to be known as a peculiar group of people called “the Way” (Acts 9:2; 19:9; 19:23; 22:4; 24:14; 24:22).
3. Eventually they became known as “Christians” (Acts 11:26).
4. READ: John 15:19; 17:16. What does it mean to be “not of the world.”
5. READ: James 4:4. What does it mean to be a “friend of the world?”
6. READ: 1 John 2:15. What does it mean to “love the things in the world?”
7. READ: 2 Cor. 6:14. What does it mean to be “unequally yoked with unbelievers?”
Ø Application Discussion:
1. What is the difference between a “relationship” and a “friendship?”
2. Are Christians supposed to be “friends” with unbelievers and people in the world?
3. If you are a “friend” to a person in the world, what does that communicate to them?
4. If we are “friends” with the world and then suddenly “spring” a religious conversation on them, how does that make our faith look? (fake, compartmentalized, not who we really are).
5. Who should our close friends be as Christians?
6. Should we have “relationships” with unbelievers and people in the world?
7. How should we view these relationships? (Matt. 5:14-16; Luke 5:29-32).
Evening Illustration & Application:
II. Application: Can you tell the difference in the coins?
Ø Introduction:
1. In the morning lesson we discovered how that the early church was very different from the world.
2. People could clearly tell that Christians did not live like unbelievers.
3. Christians in the early church stood out and had something to offer.
4. In the wicked world that we live in, people are crying out for something different, something real, something genuine.
5. As Christians we are not to be “friends” with people in the world, our friends should be fellow believers.
6. We should, however, have relationships with people in the world but those relationships should be viewed as evangelism (we must challenge people with the truth).
Ø Activity:
1. Have a penny, a nickel, a dime, and a Susan B. Anthony dollar.
2. Have them close their eyes and give them one coin at a time.
3. Have them guess the value of each coin.
4. After they have guessed each coin tell them many they got right.
5. No one will guess the dollar (they always think that it is a quarter).
6. It isn’t different enough.
7. The government replaced the Susan B Anthony coin because too many people assumed that it was a quarter.
Ø Discussion:
1. Can our friends tell the difference in our lives that result from us being Christians?
2. Or are our lives so similar that they don't think Christ makes a difference in people's lives?
3. Does the way we live show that there is greater value in living the Christian life?
Thursday:
Morning Textual Study:
I. Being Bold with the Truth (Acts 5:28-29)
Ø Discussion Starter:
1. What does it mean to be confident?
2. Does confidence make a person attractive? If so, why?
3. Do you find a person with confidence more, or less believable? Why?
4. How do you view a person who is timid about what they believe?
Ø Textual Discussion:
1. When the gospel began to spread in Jerusalem, the believers encountered resistance from the religious leaders.
2. The large religious group (the popular ones) were threatened by the growing popularity of the Christians and they were jealous (Acts 5:17).
3. To try and stop the growth of the church, the religious leaders put the apostles in jail (5:18).
4. They were miraculously released by an angel and continued preaching, even under threat of imprisonment and possible death (5:19-20).
5. When the religious Council questioned the apostles they told them “we gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name” (Acts 5:28).
6. Peter and the Apostles responded, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
7. Following this, they were beaten for their teaching, but they rejoiced they were able to suffer for Jesus’ cause and kept on teaching (5:41-42). As a result, the believers kept increasing (6:1).
8. Where the Apostles confident in what they believed and were teaching?
9. What did the boldness of the Apostles communicate to people about Christianity?
Ø Application Discussion:
1. Why are we sometimes timid about our faith and sharing it with others? (cf. 2 Tim. 1:7).
2. What does timidity communicate about our beliefs? (doubt, lack of commitment, it really doesn’t matter).
3. What is the difference between being bold in your faith and being arrogant in your faith?
4. Discuss some ways that teenagers can be bold in their faith.
Evening Illustration & Application:
II. Application: Tug of war with slippery footing.
Ø Introduction:
1. In the morning lesson we studied how that the early church stood bold and strong for what they believed.
2. The confidence that they had in their faith presented an aroma of genuineness that made Christianity contagious in the first century.
3. If we do not take a firm, bold stand for our beliefs we will never be able to advance the gospel or influence others for the truth.
Ø Activity:
1. Objects needed: a rope, plastic sheet, and dish soap.
2. Divide the group into two teams for a traditional game of tug of war.
3. The game will be played with both teams standing on a plastic sheet.
4. Let the teams compete for a while in a traditional way.
5. For the next game, squirt dish soap under the feet of one of the teams.
Ø Discussion:
1. Why was it difficult to win the game with soap under your feet?
2. How does this apply to advancing the gospel without taking a firm stand?
3. Will it be difficult to advance the gospel with a firm footing? (it requires work to win a traditional game of tug of war).
4. Discuss ways that teenagers can be bold in their faith.
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