Spiritual Habits Pt. 2

     We continued our series on Spiritual Habits by taking a look at prayer. Asking students to pray can be almost a foolproof way to get them quiet and I think a lot of times it is because students are unsure or have misguided views on what prayer is. We used the night to talk a little bit about what prayer is and what it isn't as well as giving them a model that they can use during their own prayer time. Below you will find some notes of the evening as well as some follow up questions that you may want to use with your students throughout the week.

Prayer is not...

     1) Prayer is not a show. In Matthew 6:5-7 Jesus tells his disciples, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. And when you pray do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.”

     2) Prayer is not a vending machine. James 4:3 tells us, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” Prayer is not a case of stepping us to this cosmic vending machine, putting in our quarter, pressing the buttons for what we want and then waiting as the coils turn and it falls down and we pick it up.

Prayer is...

     1) Prayer is talking with God. “Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord.”1 Samuel 1:15

     2) It’s Supernatural. Revelation 5:8, “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.”

 

     3) It’s connecting to God. Jeremiah 29:12-13; “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.”

The Model

“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

A – Adoration     (Praising God For Who He Is)        

C – Confession   (Confessing our Sins)                     

T- Thanksgiving  (Praising God For What He Has Done)         

S – Supplication  (Asking God for our needs)

Spiritual Habits

We kicked off the new year with a new series we are calling Spiritual Habits. Over the next four weeks we are going to be taking a look at four habits we can use on our journey with Christ to grow and experience what a relationship with Christ really is all about.

We started off taking a look at our T.A.W.G. (Time Away With God). We spent the evening looking at 10 steps that we can do to get the most out of our regular time with Him. Here is the list that we looked at.

1) Do them early in the day

2) Pray before you get in the Word

      - Confess any sin that you might have

       - Ask God to show you what it is that He wants you to learn

Psalm 119:18

            Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your law

 3) Read short amounts at a time

 4) Re-read what you just read

5) Try to figure out what the writer of the book was trying to get across

                        -Who?            -What?           -Where?          -When?           -Why?             -How?

 6) Meditate on how it could apply to your life specifically!

Psalm 119:27

          Help me understand the meaning of your commandments, and I will meditate on your wonderful miracles!

          Some things to ask yourself: Is there a…

                        a) Sin to confess?                                          

                        b) Promise to claim?                                    

                        c) Attitude to change?

                        d) Command to obey?

                        e) Example to follow?

                        f) Prayer to pray?

                        g) Error to avoid?

                        h) Truth to be believed?

                        i) Something to thank God for?

 7) Write down in a journal or notebook anything that you learn

 8) Memorize the key verse in the passage

Psalm 119:11

          I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you

 9) Pray that God would help you remember and apply what you have read

 Psalm 119:97

          Oh, how I love your law! I think about it all day long!

           

10) Share what you learned with at least one person every day

Psalm 119:13

          I have recited aloud all the laws you have given us.

Fear

This past Wednesday night we finished up our series entitled "Soul Detox" by taking a look at how fear can pollute our souls and stop us from becoming and doing all that God wants us to. We took some time to examine four different types of fear. Those four types were; 1) Fear of loss, 2) fear of rejection, 3) fear of failure, and 4) fear of the unknown. At the same time we took a look at how sometimes our fear is a reflection of where we trust God the least.

Here are some of the Scriptures that we used to determine what our response should be in the face of each of those fears.

Psalm 46:1

            God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Isaiah 41

            So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 43

            But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God,    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

Psalm 34:4

            I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

     We ended the night be taking a look at Psalm 34:4 as our blueprint to really dealing with our fears. If we seek God and find refuge in Him, then He will deliver us from our fears and allow us to experience life as He intended.

Here are some questions that you might want to use to further the discussion with your student.

What is one of your biggest fears you have in life?

Out of the four, which category seems to be where most of your fears come from?

Fill in the blank

                I am fearful of losing _________

                I am scared of failing at _______

                I am afraid of being rejected by ___________

                The thing that scares me most about my future is ___________

Culture

     On Wednesday, we took the opportunity to begin to examine the culture that we allow to be part of who we are. We defined "culture" by the games that we play, the TV and movies that we watch, the music that we listen to, the things that we read, the friends that we hang out with, and the web that we surf. The students were encouraged to begin to examine each of their own lives and see if culture was having a negative impact on who they were. In evaluating this, we asked them to answer three questions. 1) Why do I watch/play/listen/hang out with _________________? 2) Does this bring me closer to God or draw me further away? 3) How does this affect me?

     Our basis for the night came from several different Scripture. Romans 12:2 (Message), Philippians 4:8 (TNIV), 1 Corinthians 6:12 (TNIV), and Proverbs 25:26 (TNIV).

How to Worship

We wrapped up our worship series this past Wednesday night by taking some time to look at how we should worship in our response to who God is and what He has done for us.

To start the challenge, we gave the opportunity for students to share moments in the past week in which they were awe of who God is. Many students took the opportunity to share with each other the many ways they had been in awe of God. From the setting sun, friends, to an opportunity to serve someone else, it was amazing to hear the students response.

We then moved into a time of looking at how we worship. We centered our focus once again on John 4 and Romans 12 and discussed our attitude and actions when it comes to how we worship. Our attitude should be one of desire instead of obligation. Our attitude gives our worship purpose and meaning and moves it beyond just singing a song.

We then talked about our actions when it comes to worship. Hebrews 13:15-16 was our focus for this section. We encouraged the students to be who God has created them to be in worship. If that means they raise their hands, close their eyes, kneel, etc. However they worship, let it be what comes naturally to them. Also, we encouraged them to not value one "style" of worship over another. We then took time to discuss how worship is not just the songs that we sing, but the life that we live. Everything we do can be done in worship when it is done to glorify God.

Here are some questions that you may want to use in follow up this week::

1. How often do you think of your actions as worship?
2. What needs in the lives of people around you seem most urgent to you?
3. What needs in the world around you tend to weigh down your own heart the most?
4. What’s one thing you can do this week to worship God by serving others?

Worship

     There is an interesting portion of Scripture that is found in Romans 12:1-2 that says, “Therefore, I urge you brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is true worship.” And in another part of Scripture where Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman there comes a point in the conversation where He tells her that, “a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”

    And if you were listening at all to those two portions of Scripture, you will find that there is a common word in both of those verses. Worship. Worship. Think about that word for a minute. Worship. What does that word mean to you? For some it is the songs that we sing on a Sunday morning or a Wednesday night. Others it is a time to stand up and catch up with our friends will all that is going on since no one else can hear them right? For some it’s that awkward moment when we may feel like everyone is watching us and so we are not sure what to do. But at its core, what is it? What is this thing that we call worship?

       This was our intro into this weeks series opener dealing with worship. We used this past Wednesday night to explore what exactly worship was. With the main thrust of the evening being that when you boil it down to the simplest of ideas, worship means to pay great honor to. To have  profound love and admiration for. To be stricken with awe.

      Psalm 65:8 says, “The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.” We need to see the awe around us. Both in the big and the small. To begin to see God is the middle of everything. To be amazed at what He has done. When we begin to see God in everything around you, when you begin to find Him in the big and the small, and you begin to truly be in awe of Him, our natural response will be worship.

     I'd encourage you to find an opportunity this week to talk with your teenager about our lesson. Here are some questions that might generate some good conversation:

        1. Why is it so hard to focus on God sometimes?

        2. When was the last time you were in awe of something? What was it?

        3. How have you seen God in everyday things in your life?

Here is a video that we used in the lesson as well.

Labels

     We finished up our Wednesday night series entitled "Identity" by taking a look at the labels that we sometimes place on others. We discussed how if labeled a certain way over and over again, that is the image that they begin to see in the mirror, so we need to be careful in regards to the way that we talk to and about people.

      We also talked about how the labels we can place on people can tarnish the fact that they are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). We also encouraged the students to examine their speech towards others in light of how Paul encourages us to speak in Ephesians 4:29.

Here are some questions you might want to use as you talk with your teenager about this week's lesson:

Why does it seem to come so naturally to label people?

What are some of the ways you have seen people labeled?

How are some of the ways that you have been labeled?

How have you been guilty of labeling someone?