Right questions / Right Answers

Questions to ask....

What did you get for Christmas?

Can anyone tell a story using these 5 words: Turkey, Car, Tree, Horse, Ice Cream?

A new year is a great moment to help middle schoolers reset their hearts and habits around Scripture, Prayer and Evangelism.

Big Idea: Because God has been faithful in the past and promises to be with us, this new year is a chance to build new habits of loving God through his Word and obedience.

Target passages: Deuteronomy 6:1–9, Philippians 4:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:8, Matthew 4:4, Mark 16:15, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Opening activity

Quick poll: Ask, “Who has ever made a New Year’s resolution?” Then, “How long did it last?” Let them be honest and laugh a little.

Transition line: “Resolutions are usually about changing our outside (grades, sports, looks), but God is most concerned about our hearts and who we are becoming.”

Hand out sheet of paper and ask them to write as many “goals” as they can in 60 seconds (fun or serious).

Then ask: “Which of these goals actually helps you follow Jesus more closely?”

Scripture: Love God first

Deuteronomy 6:1–9

Read it together

What is the main command here? (Love the Lord with all heart, soul, strength.)

Where should God’s Word be? (On your heart, in your house, in conversations, as reminders.)

How does God’s Word get there? ( by reading it, daily)

Remember the question we asked at the beginning: “What did you get for Christmas?” That is how we know what you received—you told us.

In the same way, God has told us about Himself and what He has done through His Word. God communicates to us through the Bible, and everything written there is “God‑breathed” and useful to teach, correct, and train us. When we open the Bible, hear about Jesus, and the Holy Spirit uses that truth to change our hearts—helping us trust God more, repent of sin, and obey Him—that is how we know God is speaking and working in our lives

Key teaching points :

God doesn’t just want a New Year’s promise; he wants our whole heart.

God’s Word is meant to be in our everyday life, not just on Sundays or Wednesdays.

Application questions:

After Christmas or Thanksgiving, there are usually leftovers. What is the downside of leftovers? You do not get everything that was offered in the first meal.

Now think about your week. If someone watched how you spend your time, would they see that you love God with your all, or that you give Him only your leftovers? Deuteronomy says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”.​

When we live on spiritual “leftovers,” we are trying to survive on only what we heard Sunday morning instead of getting a fresh helping of God’s Word each day. Jesus said that we do not live by bread alone, but “by every word that comes from the mouth of God”.​

Ask: “Where could God’s Word show up more in your normal day?” Answers will vary—before practice, at lunch, before bed, on the bus—but the goal is the same: not leftover love, but an everyday love for God with all our heart.

Bible habit for this year:

Read 5–10 verses a day (start with Psalms, Proverbs, or a Gospel).

​Listen to an audio Bible passage while getting ready or riding in the car.​

Read 5 minutes a day in the Gospel of Mark before you check any social media.

Start a “verse of the week” where you write one verse on a sticky note and keep it on your binder/locker.

Scripture: Praying

Philippians 4:6 – “In every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”.

​1 Thessalonians 5:17 – “Pray without ceasing” (keep on praying).​

Matthew 4:4 – We do not live on bread alone, “but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”.​Lesson Flow

Starting off the new year by communicating with the Lord means choosing, on purpose, to talk with God and listen to Him every day through prayer and His Word, not just on Sundays or when life is hard. This kind of daily communication keeps hearts close to God and helps students begin the year with dependence on Him instead of on themselves.​

Key Teaching Points:

Explain that God invites us to bring every worry, decision, and plan to Him in prayer.

“What does Paul say he is ‘forgetting’ and ‘pressing toward’?”

“What might that look like for a middle schooler in a new year?”

Following Jesus is a lifelong race, not a one‑week resolution.

We don’t have to stay stuck in last year’s failures; we can move forward in Christ.

Following Jesus is a lifelong race, not a one‑week resolution.

We don’t have to stay stuck in last year’s failures; we can move forward in Christ.

Emphasize that prayer is a relationship, not a ritual: God hears us and cares about what we say.​

The Lord gives us a model prayer in the gospels.

The Lord went to pray. Jesus was perfect and He prayed, how much more should we be praying?

Psalm 116:2 “Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.”

God listens to me, it is not just empty word floating out in space.

Connect that we also “hear” from God primarily through His Word, which feeds and guides us like daily food.​

Questions to ask:

“What makes it hard for you to pray regularly?”

“When have you felt closest to God—was prayer or reading the Bible part of that?”

“If you could ask God one thing about this new year, what would it be?”

Application:

Prayer habit for this year:

Pray for 2 minutes before school each day.

Pray one simple prayer before homework or practice.

Keep a short list (in a notebook or phone) of 3 people to pray for this month.​

Set a 2‑minute “prayer alarm” on your phone once a day to pray for your friends, family, or school.

Scripture: Evangelism

Mark 16:15 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

Key Teaching Points:

Ask the students for their definition of evangelism?

Evangelism means announcing the good news of Christ’ death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.

Jesus sends every believer—middle schoolers included—on a mission to share the good news about Him with the people around them. This is not just for pastors or missionaries; it is for all who know Jesus.​

Jesus gives a command, not a suggestion

“Go” means move toward people, not wait for them to come to you. Jesus’ followers were to take the message beyond their comfort zone and into “all the world”.​

“Preach the gospel” means to announce or share the good news that Jesus died for our sins, rose again, and offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who believe.​

The message is for everyone

“All creation” or “every creature” means every kind of person—every background, every school, every family—not just people who already seem “churchy”.​

God’s heart is that people from every place would hear about Jesus, and He chooses ordinary believers to carry that message.​

We do this in His power, not ours

The disciples were scared and weak at first, but Jesus promised to be with them and to send the Holy Spirit to give them courage.​

We do not have to be Bible experts; they simply need to know Jesus, rely on His Spirit, and be willing to speak and live for Him.​

Application:

Pray for three people

Invite students to write down the names of three friends or family members who may not know Jesus.

Challenge them to pray for those three people every day for one week, asking God for an opportunity to show love or talk about Him.

Finishing up // Summary of Lesson

What a way to start the year off by being reminded to:

Be in the Word of God everyday

Be praying and communicating to God everyday

Be praying for the lost and then being willing to share the gospel with others

Close out by having one of the students to pray.