Taught the weekend of Dec 28th - 29th

SIMPLE STEPS TO SOLVING LIFE'S PROBLEMS

NEGATIVE RESPONSES TO PROBLEMS

1. Avoiding the problem. Pretending that it isn’t there.

a. It’s like when a small child wants to play hide and go seek. They run and sit in the corner and cover their eyes. “If I can’t see me, then you can’t either!”

2. Talk, talk, talking to everyone about it. What usually happens when you do this?

3. Whining about it. “Poor me, look what happened!”

a. If you fall in the pigpen with mud and manure, is sitting and whining about it going to change anything?

10 STEPS TO VICTORY

[First, read the story in 2 Chronicles 20 about King Jehoshaphat’s situation.]

1. Identify and classify the problem.

a. 2 Chronicles 20:1–2—The Moabites and the Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to make war on Jehoshaphat.

b. Do we really have a problem? Is it ours or someone else’s?

c. Collect the facts.

d. Classify. Is this a natural, emotional, physical, social, or spiritual problem?

e. Find the source of the problem.

f. Don’t falsely accuse or blame God. He wants you to have “life to the full” (John 10:10).

2. Seek the Lord.

1. 2 Chronicles 20:3–5—Jehoshaphat fasted and sought the Lord.
2. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

3. Pray and apply biblical principles.

a. 2 Chronicles 20:6–12—Jehoshaphat’s prayer.

b. Prayer unlocks God’s potential.

4. Stand in faith.

1. 2 Chronicles 20:9, 20—Jehoshaphat declares his faith.
2. [Read Ephesians 6:13–20.]
3. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “We live by faith, not by sight.”
4. Accept the situation with the eye of faith. Don’t live in denial.

5. Focus on the answer, not the problem.

a. 2 Chronicles 20:12—We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.

b. Romans 4:17 talks about “the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.”

c. Control your thoughts: Philippians 4:6; II Corinthians 10:5

d. Don’t allow your mind to play the “what would happen if” game.

e. Control your words.

6. Put your problem in perspective.

a. 2 Chronicles 20:15,—Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the big army. The battle is God’s!

b. Think about it. The God who created the heavens and the earth is the same God who is on your side.

c. How does your problem compare to God’s ability and resources?

7. Pursue God’s wisdom and plan.

a. 2 Chronicles 20:16–­17: “Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz.”

b. Most of the time our response hinders the situation instead of helping.

c. God’s plan will lead you out of the jaws of defeat and into victory.

8. Cast all your cares upon Him.

a. 2 Chronicles 20:18 says, “Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down to worship before the Lord.”

b. You can rest in Him when you worship Him.

c. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

d. Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

9. Take the necessary natural steps.

a. 2 Chronicles 20:20—“Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa.”

b. Were they afraid? You bet! But they would have never seen victory unless they took action.

c. James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

10. Look for the blessings.

a. 2 Chronicles 20:25 says, “So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it.”

b. I believe God not only wants to get you through your problem, but to bless you in the process!

Taught the weekend of Dec 13th - 14th

Core Scripture: Isaiah 40:12-15

Memory Verse:
Matthew 19:26 (NIV) "Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.' "

Discussion Questions:

1. When you think of God, what are some of the adjectives that come into your mind to describe him? Name the first three that come to mind. Have you experienced God as any one of those things in your life? Do you think of God as mighty? Why or why not?
   
2. Why do you think it is so hard for us to see God as both a helpless baby and a Mighty God? When the prophet Isaiah told the people of Israel what to expect in their Savior, how do you think they responded to hearing He was a Mighty God?
   
3. What are some ways that you need God to be "mighty" in your life? Are there things that you are afraid He can't handle? What are they?
   
4. What kind of "messes" in your life do you need Him to work in the middle of?
   

Bottom Line:
In your journey to understand who God is and what our role is as we relate to Him, we have to try to get our head around every aspect of Him. When we see the helpless form of a baby this Christmas, we need to learn to see Him at the same time as mighty and as big as He is too. And when we learn to do that, we can be confident that He is able and willing to work through the messes we have in our lives as well. He can handle it. Whatever it is that any one of us is going through, we can't afford to ever forget that He is a mighty God.

Taught the weekend of Dec 6th -7th

Subject: Wonderful Counselor
Core Scriptures: Isaiah 9:6 (NKJ) “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Memory Verse: Hebrews 13:5b (AMP) “..for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)!”
Discussion Questions:

1. When Isaiah prophesied about Jesus coming to earth, God gave him names to use to describe who Jesus was going to be for his people and for us. If you could pick four names to use to describe who you need Jesus to be, what would they be? Why? Share them with the group.

2. Who are you tempted to go to, or where are you tempted to go to, to find a counselor or some advice? Do you usually go to your friends? Parents? Why do you think it is easier to go to someone other than Jesus for this?

3. How have you seen Jesus work as a Wonderful Counselor in your life? Share a time when you took a situation to Him, and He showed you the answer you needed.

4. How can you approach Jesus during hard circumstances and see him as a Wonderful Counselor?


Bottom Line: For a lot of people, Christmas is not an easy time of the year. Because of family situations, bad memories or painful experiences, Christmas isn’t always a time of excitement or expectation. This is not a surprise to Jesus, to our Wonderful Counselor, who knows our every experience, hurt, and fear. When we choose to worship Jesus, He does not become a cure all for every problem and make every disappointment disappear. What He does is even better. He offers us himself, as our Wonderful Counselor in the middle of everything. If things are hard this holiday season, if Christmas doesn’t feel like a time to be happy, or feel joy, remember this in the middle of everything you are going through: In every need Jesus can fill you with wonder.

Taught the weekend of Nov 29th - 30th

MESSAGE OUTLINE OPENING

1. [Pull out one flare, calling it a "dynamite stick."] This is highly explosive! Most people won’t handle or touch it.

2. Yes it is dangerous! But when it is used properly, it can have explosive results!

a. Demolition teams use it to level old buildings to make room for new ones. b. Ski resorts use it to set off avalanches in a controlled environment. This prevents avalanches from happening later when there are people on the mountain.

c. It is also used to reach gold and precious stones locked within a mountain, to blast tunnels and cut a path for a highway.

3. James 5:16 says, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." Prayer can be like dynamite.

4. Are you daring enough? Do you have the guts? Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone?

5. Tonight we are going to talk about the five most dangerous prayers!

Dynamite Prayer #1: GOD SEARCH ME!

1. Psalm 139:23-24 says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

2. We have to allow God to enter every closet and corner of our lives.

3. Are we willing to look at what He finds?

4. Psalm 51:10 says, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

Dynamite Prayer #2: GOD STRETCH ME!

1. Isaiah 54:2 says, "Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back, lengthen your cords."

2. Our prayer should be: "Stretch my vision and my heart for the lost. Help me to be a better person, student, and employee."

3. A rubber band is not useful until it is stretched.

Dynamite Prayer #3: GOD BREAK ME!

1. Hosea 10:12 says, "Break up your fallow ground for it is time to seek the LORD."

2. Break any hardness, bad habits, bitterness, unforgiveness, addictions, and negative attributes.

3. Matthew 23:12 says, "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

4. Pride is like a flagpole and humility is like an elevator.

a. When you climb a flagpole and reach the top, there’s only one thing left to do: go down!

b. On an elevator, I am not actually climbing, I am on my knees before God, humbled. But the next thing I know, I’m at floor 32 and I never changed positions!

Dynamite Prayer #4: GOD LEAD ME!

1. Matthew 26:39 says, "Not my will, Father, but your will be done."

2. [Read Proverbs 3:5-8.]

3. We must know, trust, and believe in His direction!

4. John 16:13 says, "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come."

Dynamite Prayer #5: GOD USE ME!

1. Isaiah 6:8 says, "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’"

2. Luke 10:2 says, "He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’"

3. Who are the workers? You and I! Not some stranger down the street.

4. I dare you to ask God to use you each morning.

a. You can pray, "God send people across my path to minister to. I pray that your Holy Spirit would guide me to those individuals who need a touch from you. Give me the words to speak."

CLOSING

1. What would the result be if each one of us prayed and lived out each one of these prayers? [Tape the five sticks together.]

2. Think of the new things God could do, the lives that could be saved, and the riches of heaven that would be unlocked.

3. Are you willing to light the match? Are you ready for some explosive results in your life?

4. [Set aside a time of prayer and worship. Allow the students to spread out around the room and spend some time alone with God. Encourage them to take a few minutes and pray through these prayers.]

Taught the weekend of Nov 22nd -23rd

Nov 22^nd – 23^rd Through Prophets’ Eyes / Our world or His word?

Habakkuk 3:16-20

• Transition statement: In this improv exercise, only the last word rules the day. Habakkuk learned that God has the last word in the story of our lives and our world. This leaves us with this choice: our world or His word?

• Background summary: Habakkuk is the only minor prophet who didn’t address the people directly. Instead, this book is much like a journal of the prophet struggling with God.

• Transition statement: Have you ever yelled at God? If you haven’t, then maybe you haven’t looked at life in a while without sanitized gloves on, and you need to look through Habakkuk’s eyes.

• Teaching point: Why? is the question that summarizes Habakkuk’s attitude. The good news is that God was not caught off guard by Habakkuk’s questions. He offered Himself and asked Habakkuk to trust Him. So the question of why was replaced with a Who.

• Teaching point: Habakkuk chose to see God’s word instead of his world. This is the question that this prophet invites us into as well: our world or His word?

• Transition statement: We can take a lesson from the Survivor Tree and find hope in the midst of the rubble. We can choose to trust God’s word over our world.

• Teaching point: We can ask God the hard questions. But our hope is that, as we grieve and ask and ponder, we will move from why to Who and move from just seeing the world around us to trusting God’s word.

• Teaching point: This is the hinge on which true discipleship swings: The moment we realize that God really is good and that He really can be trusted. In this moment, God builds in us faith that can face the fire and come out on the other side.

• Teaching point: No matter what is going on in our lives now, as followers of God we can trust the truth that God has the last word in our lives. So today, we make this choice between our world and His word.

Core Scripture: Habakkuk 3:16-20

Memory Verse: 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJ) "For we walk by faith, not by sight."

Discussion Questions:

1. Look up the memory verse. Explain what this verse means to you.
2. Do you think God gets "mad" when we question Him? Why or why not?
3. What does God feel like when we choose "our world" over "His Word"? What things make us want to choose the world over Him and His Word?
4. How can we choose God's word over our world?
5. Does "walking by faith, or trusting God" mean you have every question answered in your life?
6. How do you walk by faith when you don't completely understand the negative things happening in your life or in the world around you?

Bottom Line:

• Habakkuk chose to see God's word instead of His world. This is the question that this prophet invites us into as well: our world or His word?
• We can ask God the hard questions. But our hope is that, as we grieve and ask and ponder, we will move from why to Who and move from just seeing the world around us to trusting God's word.
• This is the hinge on which true discipleship swings: The moment we realize that God really is good and that He really can be trusted. In this moment, God builds is us faith that can face the fire and come out on the other side.
• No matter what is going on in our lives now, as followers of God, we can trust the truth that God has the last word in our lives. So today, we make this choice between our world and His Word.

Taught the weekend of Nov 15th - 16th

November 15 & 16 - Hall of Justice

• Transition statement: We all want justice for ourselves, but sometimes we fail to fight for justice for others because we just don’t see it. So through Micah’s prophet’s eyes, we find the question justice or just us? Are we taking the time to reach out to others like Jesus?

• Background summary: Isaiah and Micah were contemporaries. While Isaiah focused more on sins of sexual morality and worshiping other gods, Micah’s message concentrated on the plight of the poor and destitute and on social justice.

• Teaching point: Micah saw the sin that others often overlooked. As he stared into the eyes of the poor and destitute, Micah saw just how corrupt power can be. So Micah spent his time standing up for them.

• Teaching point: For Micah, true religion was not about ritual or a great worship service. Rather, it was about putting Others First by acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God.

• Transition statement: The Superfriends’ headquarters was called the Hall of Justice (this is in reference to the old comic known as the “Justice League” where all those with super powers came together to help mankind). In this place, they combined their super powers in order to plot goodness for the world with each other. Maybe they were on to something…

• Teaching point: Micah calls us to pick up the fight of justice for those who cannot fight for it themselves. This includes people who have less than us, people who are a different race than us, and people who are weaker than us.

• Teaching point: We can see through prophets’ eyes and use our special powers to make things different. Our churches can become Halls of Justice where we work together for the good of the world.

• Teaching point: The struggles of justice are the struggles of our world. Thankfully, Christians around the world are getting involved. Today, you too can join the movement, both in your school and around the world.

Core Scripture: Micah 6:8

Memory Verse:
Matthew 5:7 (NIV) "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."

Discussion Questions:

1. In what ways do people choose "just us" over justice?
2. What would it look like for us, as Christians, to choose justice in our lives? How will this lead us to put Others First?
3. How does loving mercy help us choose justice? How can we do this?
4. How does walking humbly with God help us choose justice? How can we do this?
5. What things can we do to help bring justice to people who have less than us? How can we bring justice to people who are a different race than us? How can we bring justice to people who are weaker than us?

Bottom Line:

• Micah saw the sin that others often overlooked. As he stared into the eyes of the poor and destitute, Micah saw just how corrupt power can be. So Micah spent his time standing up for them.
• For Micah, true religion was not about ritual or a great worship service. Rather, it was about putting Others First by acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God.
• Micah calls us to pick up the fight of justice for those who cannot fight for it themselves. This includes people who have less than us, people who are a different race than us, and people who are weaker than us.
• The struggles of justice are the struggles of our world. Thankfully, Christians around the world are getting involved. Today, you too can join the movement, both in your school and around the world.

Taught the weekend of Nov 8th - 9th

Nov 8th – 9th
• We continue looking through prophets’ eyes by looking at Nahum’s curse on Assyria and asking ourselves the question judgment or what the Judge meant?

• Background summary: Nahum’s name means “comfort.” We must remember that Israel would have seen God’s judgment against Assyria as comfort that He had not forgotten His people or overlooked that nation’s violence against them.

• Read Nahum 1:2-3.

• Judgment is never God’s heart; it is what God is forced to do when people refuse to live the way the Judge meant, or intended. He is good, and so at times He is driven to defend His goodness and defeat evil. This is Nahum’s message.

• Teaching point: Nahum tells us two things. First, God is slow to anger. Second, God does not leave the guilty unpunished. This means that, as much as God hates judgment, He hates evil more.

• Teaching point: Today the prophet Nahum leads us to ask this question: judgment or what the Judge meant? This leads us to think back to how Paul told church in Rome to “consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God.”

• Teaching point: Consider the kindness of God today. Life with God is about more than avoiding judgment. It is about learning to live in the way the Judge meant for us to live and to put Others First in our lives.

• Sometimes we break others, and sometimes others break us. Nahum challenges us with the kindness and sternness of God and calls us to go through life choosing between judgment and what the Judge meant.

• Teaching point: The ball is in our court. How will we live? Will we see the world and life through prophets’ eyes, or will we go on acting as if we had never heard Nahum? Judgment or what the Judge meant – the choice is left to us.

• How can we live by what the Judge meant in our everyday lives?

Core Scripture: Nahum 1:2-3

Memory Verse: John 12:47 (NIV) "As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it."

Discussion Questions:
1. What is your definition of "judgment"?
2. Who do you think "deserves" judgment?
3. Why do you think we look at judgment this way?
4. Do you think most people judge themselves or others more harshly? Why?
5. How do you think God wants us to view judgment? Is that easy or hard?
6. How can we help others see the kindness and sternness of God appropriately?

Bottom Line:
• Judgment is never God's heart; it is what God is forced to do when people refuse to live the way the Judge meant, or intended. He is good, and so at times He is driven to defend His goodness and defeat evil. This is Nahum's message.

• Nahum tells us two things. First, God is slow to anger. Second, God does not leave the guilty unpunished. This means that, as much as God hates judgment, He have evil more.

• Consider the kindness of God today. Life with God is about more than avoiding judgment. It is about learning to live in the way the Judge meant for us to live and to put Other First in our lives.

• The ball is in our court. How will we live? Will we see the world and life through prophets' eyes, or will we go on acting as if we had never heard Nahum? Judgment or what the Judge meant - the choice is left to us.

Taught the weekend of Nov 1st - 2nd

November 1 & 2, 2008

• Background summary: The book of Haggai was written after the Exile, which was the lowest point in Israel’s history. Years later, the people of God returned home.

• Teaching point: Haggai called the people to a different way of life. He implored them to stop and “give careful thought to their ways.” He wanted them to see if the way they were living was really beneficial.

• Teaching point: Haggai said the people should stop working on their own houses and start working on God’s house. While they worked on God’s house, perhaps God would work on their houses.

• Teaching point: Our house or God’s house? This question gets to the heart of how we see life and the world. Are our lives all about us? Is the world all about us? Or should our lives be about something bigger?

• Teaching point: We don’t have to spend our lives concerned about our own houses. Instead, we can look to put Others First and the most important Other, God, first by working on His mission while we trust Him to work on our houses.

• Teaching point: Our lives can be about something bigger, something better, something that really matters – others and the Other, God. It’s time for us to spend our lives looking through prophets’ eyes by choosing to work on God’s house and trusting God to work on our houses.

Core Scriptures: Haggai 1:1-11

Memory Verse: Matthew 6:33 (NIV) “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Discussion Questions:

1. What kind of situation were the Israelites in at the time of this passage? What did they see when they looked around? How did this affect them personally? How did this affect them spiritually?
2. What choice did the Israelites make: our house or God’s house? Why did they make this choice?
3. How do we also tend to choose our houses over God’s house? What does this choice look like in our lives? What forms does this choice take?
4. What did Haggai see that the Israelites needed to do? How did he speak into this choice?
5. What would Haggai say about what we need to do? How can we stop? How can we give careful thought to our ways? How can we choose God’s house instead of our houses?

Bottom Line:

• Our house or God’s house? This question gets to the heart of how we see life and the world. Are our lives all about us? Is the world all about us? Or should our lives be about something bigger?
• We don’t have to spend our lives concerned about our own houses. Instead, we can look to put Others First and the most important Other, God, first by working on His mission while we trust Him to work on our houses.
• Our lives can be about something bigger, something better, something that really matters – others and the Other, God. It’s time for us to spend our lives looking through prophets’ eyes by choosing to work on God’s house and trusting God to work on our houses.

Taught the weekend of Oct. 25th - 26th

This weekend's subject - "The Joker"
Core Scripture - Matthew 5:43-48

Memory Verse:
Matthew 5:44 (AMP) "But, I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."


Discussion Questions:
1. What law was Jesus completing in this teaching? Why did it need to be completed?
2. What new spin did Jesus put on this law? What did he say was at the root of our view of our enemies?
3. Why did Jesus tell us to love our enemies? Why is this difficult for us? How does this affect our enemies' perception of God?
4. What are some specific ways we can love our enemies? What is a first step you can take to do this in the coming week?
5. How will loving our enemies lead us to wholeness? How will it lead us to live out our God-given identity? What will this look like in our everyday lives?
Bottom Line:
• Most of us have been desensitized to the smoking ace that Jesus played when He said love your enemies. But this smoking ace was so hot that there was not anything like it in the Jewish or pagan writings of the time.
• This teaching is just as shocking in our day. We can spend so much time isolating and protecting ourselves from those who reject God's law and love that it is easy for us to forget we are called to love them.
• Just when you thought the joker was all out of jokes, Jesus set off one last smoke detector: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." The Hebrew word for perfect can also mean wholeness. Jesus tells us to be wholehearted, complete, and single-minded in our devotion to God. We can only do this by allowing God's grace and generosity for us to flood over us, in us, and through us all the way to our enemies.
• The question is whether you are living in this smoking-aces reality and whether it is living through you. The opportunity is here and now for you to be a part of a revolution that radically reverses the social and political landscape of our world. It's your turn - what card are you going to play?