Find time during the week to check-in with your youth. Whether at dinner, in the car or right before bed, having these conversations about faith is not only important for them, but you might find that these discussions can help your own spiritual development as well!
youth check-in
how to begin?
underestimated
week of January 8
Bible READ: John 1:43-51
slideshare DISCUSS: Talk to your youth about a time when you were underestimated or overlooked by someone when it felt like it really mattered. Has your youth ever felt the same way? Why do you think you were overlooked like this? In these verses, the people overlooked Nazareth as unimportant even though that’s where Jesus grew up. Take some time to talk about where God may be working in the overlooked people/places in our lives!
Praying Hands PRAY: God, help us to see the movement of your spirit in the places in our life where we may not be paying close enough attention. Help us to notice the people we encounter and not overlook them as well.
perspective
week of january 15
Bible READ: John 3:22-30
slideshare DISCUSS: Talk to your youth about whether you/they would consider yourselves more optimistic or pessimistic. What about your opinions of each other’s persuasion? How do you think these perspectives shape the way we see our relationship with Christ? These verses include John the Baptist talking to his followers who didn’t understand. What does he have to say about the joy he has received? How do you think verse 30 might impact us?
Praying Hands PRAY: God, we pray that we might see that joy when we hear your voice. Help us to be more of you and less of ourselves in the way we live our lives.
living water
week of january 22
Bible READ: John 4:1-26
slideshare DISCUSS: Have you ever felt like you weren’t good enough when you really messed something up? What happened? How did you feel after the fact? Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman in these verses, something that would have been very scandalous at this time because of the tense relationship between the Jews and Samaritans (and also her position within her own society). Do you ever feel ‘not good enough’ for God’s love for you? What does Jesus say here about living water? How does that make sense in these verses as an analogy for salvation?
Praying Hands PRAY: God, we recognize where we fall short but we thank you for your love and forgiveness even where we mess up. Help us to see that trying to ‘do it all on our own’ isn’t enough but that we need you in our lives to guide and grow us.
looking for answers
week of january 29
Bible READ: John 5:1-15
slideshare DISCUSS: Ask your youth about where they usually look when there’s a problem they’re trying to solve. Where do you usually look? A recent study has shown that teenagers are more likely to search TikTok than a search engine when trying to answer a question. How much does the source of your problem solving really matter to the quality of the answer? In these verses, a man was looking for healing in this pool of water but where did he really find his healing? How often do we look elsewhere for solutions in our lives rather than looking toward Jesus?
Praying Hands PRAY: God, we pray that we can be more willing to look toward you for guidance and for answers rather than just the answers that the world provides.