Breaktrail Week 5-Jesus Can Be Trusted

WHAT? What are we talking about today?

ACTIVITY | A Special Guest

Welcome to Week 5 of Break Trail! This isn't just an ordinary week. We have a very special guest who wants to say hi before we get started. It's somebody you may have heard of before, but you probably never thought you'd be hearing directly from them.

INSTRUCTIONS: Before your program, arrange to have a celebrity or influencer record a video greeting for your students. You can either pay for a video like this through a site like cameo.com or you can identify a local celebrity you or your church is connected to and reach out! Either way, be sure to pick someone who your students would recognize and be excited to hear from.

IMAGE | A Verified Account

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose a celebrity or influencer your students would recognize who is "verified" on social media. It could be the same person you used in your opening activity, but it can be anyone you'd like! Take a screenshot of their social media profile where the "verified" symbol is visible and display it on your screen.

Look closely at this image.

Can anyone tell me what that little symbol means next to this person's name?

Yeah, that little symbol shows us the account is "verified." Whether the account belongs to a celebrity, business, team, or organization, that little check mark is really useful! For some people, it's a really exciting moment when they reach "blue check status" and get their social media accounts verified. That blue check mark is necessary because so many fake accounts exist. To be sure we can trust the posts we're seeing actually come from our favorite singer, athlete, actor, or team, that "verified" symbol is really important.

STORY | Talk about a famous adventurer.

We all know there are famous celebrity singers, actors, athletes, and more . . . but did you know there are also famous celebrity hikers?

INSTRUCTIONS: Tell the story of a famous adventurer who needed to rely on the information, guides, or equipment they were given to succeed in their adventures. This could be a story from a book or movie you've seen or you can choose one of the 14 stories found here. Be sure to emphasize how they blazed a new trail for other hikers.

*Pic*

1. Grandma Gatewood

I would never have started this trip if I had known how tough it was, but I couldn't and wouldn't quit. Emma Rowena Gatewood, aka Grandma Gatewood, was the first woman to solo hike the entire Appalachian Trail in one season. She completed the feat in 1955 at age of 67. Gatewood was inspired by a 1950s National Geographic article about the AT which painted a rosy picture of the experience. She told her adult children that she was going for a walk and started the thru-hike wearing a simple pair of Keds sneakers, and carrying nothing but a blanket, a raincoat and a plastic sheet inside a homemade denim bag. News of her journey spread and she was featured by the Associated Press and Sports Illustrated. She hiked the AT a total of three times and also covered the 2,000 mile Oregon Trail before she passed at age 85, in 1973

There have been some pretty trailblazing hikers throughout history. At some point in each of their journeys, all of them probably had to decide who and what they could trust. Could they trust . . .

Their guide? Their equipment? Their training? Themselves?

POLL | "On a scale of 1-5 . . . "

INSTRUCTIONS: For each of the following questions, have students respond by holding up their fingers, numbering 1-5. "1" means "absolutely not" and "5" means "100% me."

On a scale of 1-5 . . .

How trustworthy are you?

How easily do you trust others?

How much do you trust the food at fast food restaurants?

How strong is your trust in ladders?

Bridges?

Plastic chairs?

How much do you trust that famous people tell the truth?

How trustworthy are your friends?

Looks like we have some people who trust pretty easily and others who don't trust people quite as much! I get it. It's hard to trust other people sometimes — especially when . . .

Someone broke your trust in the past. A lot of people have broken your trust, over and over again. Someone hasn't taken the time to earn your trust. For these reasons and more, it can be difficult to trust other people. And because we sometimes assume God is a lot like the people we know, it can be difficult to trust God too.

SO WHAT? Why does it matter to God and to us?

STORY | Talk about a time you doubted someone.

For the last few weeks, we've been on a "journey" toward Easter. But even though Easter Sunday has come and gone, our journey isn't over yet because Jesus' journey didn't end with His resurrection. When Jesus rose from the dead, it was only the beginning of a brand-new path.

Last week, we saw how Jesus' closest friends and followers first heard the news of Jesus' miraculous resurrection from the dead. But here's the thing — although they were told Jesus was back, they hadn't actually seen proof yet. An empty tomb, after all, could mean a lot of things. You can imagine why Jesus's disciples might have some trust issues with Jesus, right? After three years of following Jesus around and listening to His teachings, their hero was killed in a public execution. Everything they had worked toward for three years seemed to have suddenly disappeared. I'm sure they wanted to believe Jesus was back, but it makes sense that they still found it difficult to trust. I'm sure we can all relate.

SCRIPTURE | John 20:19-31

For Jesus' friends and followers, losing Him was terrible. He had been their spiritual leader — their trailblazer. But then he was gone.

Who was going to lead them now? Now that Jesus was gone, was everything He'd said about God untrustworthy? What were they going to do now? They were disappointed, grieving, and terrified — after all, the people who killed Jesus might want to kill them too. So let's see what happened next.

INSTRUCTIONS: Read John 20:19-31

John 20:19–31 NIV

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

All of the disciples were having a hard time with Jesus's death and rumored resurrection, but Thomas seemed to be struggling more than the rest. Thomas wasn't with the rest of the disciples when Jesus showed up, so he missed the big moment. When everyone began to tell Thomas what had happened, he was still hesitant to believe.

Maybe Thomas thought his friends were messing with him. Maybe Thomas thought someone else was pretending to be Jesus and messing with all of them. Maybe Thomas thought they were delusional and their grief was causing them to believe in impossible things. So when Thomas got his moment with Jesus, he was curious, but hesitant.

He probably didn't want to get his hopes up. Thomas had invested so much of his life and so much hope into following Jesus. Imagine how much more it would hurt to be convinced that a miracle had happened, only to find out it was all a lie? So Thomas asks Jesus if he could touch the wounds that Jesus received on the cross. Not because Thomas was weird, but because Thomas needed confirmation he wasn't imagining things.

OBJECT LESSON | Six-Inch Nails

Thomas had to see Jesus's wounds to verify that Jesus was who he claimed to be. Thomas needed to be absolutely certain that there was nothing fake about the man talking to him.

INSTRUCTIONS: As you teach, hold up a few six-inch nails like these. If you'd like, pass a few more out to your students so they can pass them around.

These nails are six inches long. The nails in Jesus's hands, sides, and ankles were likely to be seven to nine inches long, so a little bigger than these. They would have been made from a heavy iron material, just like these. Crucifixion was a brutal, extremely violent, and inhumane act. But unfortunately, it was also a form of execution that was common enough that a person like Thomas would understand how it worked. Thomas would've known . . .

Nobody can survive a crucifixion.

Nobody's wounds would be gone in just a few days if they had been crucified. The wounds resulting from a crucifixion would be obvious. Nothing else would look the way these would look. Thomas needed to see Jesus's wounds so he could believe the truth. Before this moment, it's likely Thomas felt . . .

Betrayed.

This was a leader who Thomas thought would bring hope, peace, and change to the entire world, but in a moment that dream died with Jesus. What if Jesus had been a fraud the entire time?

Lost.

If Jesus was gone, what was Thomas supposed to do next? He had built his whole life around this man and His message. Now what?

Foolish.

He probably felt like he had bet his life on the wrong leader. Maybe he thought back to all of the miracles he saw Jesus perform and wondered if they were all just elaborate illusions or magic tricks.

Devastated.

Jesus was not just Thomas's leader. Jesus was Thomas' friend. They spent all day, every day, together for years and it was over way too soon. Thomas . . .

Trusted Jesus when He was alive.

Wondered if his trust had been misplaced after Jesus died. But then trusted Him more deeply than ever after Jesus' resurrection. When everything Thomas had hoped about Jesus was shown to be true, Thomas realized without question that Jesus can be trusted.

SCRIPTURE | Proverbs 3:5-6

There is another character from the Bible who might be able to help us understand trust. This was a guy named Solomon who lived centuries before Jesus was even born.

Solomon was a king of Israel who achieved great wealth and success, and was widely known for being a wise leader. I don't know much about being a king or being overwhelmingly wealthy, but I think we can relate to Solomon when it comes to how Solomon saw God. Solomon never saw Jesus with his own eyes. Solomon never got the chance to touch the wounds in Jesus's hands when he rose from the dead. Solomon didn't even know that God would be sending someone named Jesus to change the world forever. But even though there was a lot Solomon couldn't see for himself, he saw the importance of trusting God. That's why he wrote some poetry, which we know today as the book of Proverbs, to help us understand that trusting God is the most crucial element for us to find true wisdom.

INSTRUCTIONS: Read Proverbs 3:5-6

Proverbs 3:5–6 NIV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

This passage says to trust in God with all of our hearts. Even when we don't understand what's going on, or why something terrible has happened, or if Jesus is who He says He is . . . we can still trust God.

When our trust in God is shaky, Jesus won't get angry with us, just like He didn't get angry with Thomas.

Instead, He'll offer us His scarred hand and invite us to keep trusting. If we do choose to keep trusting, we'll one day see what Thomas saw — that Jesus has always been trustworthy. Because

Jesus can be trusted.

NOW WHAT? What does God want us to do about it?

STORY | Talk about a time you needed to trust God.

INSTRUCTIONS: Tell a story from your own life (or ask a volunteer or student to tell a story) about a time you needed to trust God. This could be a time when you had to make a tough decision, or do something scary you knew God was calling you to do, or show love to another person even though it seemed impossible or unnecessary.

A year after high school, I started working at the Nissan car Factory in TN.

It was a good paying job, and I really didn’t have to worry about money at all because I was making as much as my parents while not having to pay rent!

I was not a Christian when I started this job, so I was kind of stupid and wasteful with that money I made.

Fast forward a few years… I’m living in my own apartment, going to school full time and still working all night in the factory… living for myself completely.

Then I gave my life to Christ, and everything changed.

God told me clearly to move back home and serve in any way I could in church.

I was worship leader at times, Sunday School teacher, sound guy, tech guy, ran a music venue at the church, and became the youth pastor there.

All the while I was still working at this great-paying job.

Then I felt God calling me to full time ministry.

Which meant I had to give up that job.

Mom didn’t want me to do it, I was wondering how I was going to support my future wife and keep paying for the house I bought, and all kinds of other stuff.

But i quit that job two months before getting married.

Then, a little over a year after we got married, Bray was born.

And then when Bray was still tiny, God called us to Charleston, WV to be the Youth and Worship Pastor at a church there.

WV was and is an ENTIRELY different culture from Middle TN.

And things were not easy for us AT ALL there...

But we did our best to trust in God and follow where He led us.

And then 35 months later, God called us here…

I had never been with and hour of Science Hill, KY.

And we had to trust that God knew what He was doing.

Still have to trust Him every day, even when the days are tough in ministry.

Trust doesn’t really show itself unless we’re faced with a tough situation that we can’t control.

Do we really believe that “all things work together for the good of those who love God.”

When life is in chaos?

I may not have been able to see, hear, or touch Jesus like His friends and followers once did, but I still knew Jesus could be trusted (even when it was scary). How? I knew I could trust Him because of . . .

The evidence of His presence in my life.

The evidence of God's faithfulness to us in the Bible.

The stories of other people who have found God to be trustworthy.

HOW TO TRUST

When it comes to knowing God, Jesus blazed a new trail for us by proving He could be trusted. But how do we grow our trust in Him?

BE HONEST ABOUT YOUR QUESTIONS.

Thomas didn't hide his hesitations and questions from Jesus. He didn't fake his trust. He asked Jesus to give him the evidence he needed in order to trust Him better, and Jesus did. You can be honest with God about your doubts.

REMEMBER WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY DONE.

If you're struggling to trust, reflect on how God has been proven trustworthy in the past. Look at your life, the lives of people you know and trust, and the lives of the people whose stories are told in Scripture. God has been trustworthy in the past and will continue to be trustworthy.

PRACTICE TRUSTING.

If you're struggling to trust God right now, start where you are. Even if you can't say, "God, I trust You," maybe you can say, "God, I'm trying to trust You," or, "God, please help me trust You."

MUSIC | "Do It Again" (Elevation Worship)

We're going to close today with a song declaring our trust in God.

If you're not sure if you believe these words just yet, that's okay. You can be honest with God about that. Remember the patience, kindness, and grace Jesus showed Thomas when he had his doubts? Jesus will show the same to you. And if you can sing these words with full trust and confidence in God, do it! As you sing, say thank you for the ways God has been faithful to you in the past.

INSTRUCTIONS: Play the song “Do It Again” (Elevation Worship)

We all find ourselves like Thomas sometimes. We all have moments where we wonder if Jesus can really be verified as trustworthy. But the more we look, and the more questions we ask, I believe the more we will see that

Jesus can be trusted.

He has proven trustworthy before and I'm believing He'll do it again.