The Body#1 - Because I am not...[fuse]

BIG Point: There is a place for you, there is a reason for you.

Todays: point: Becasue I am not like others there is a place for me.

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ME: - Orientation

Establish Common ground, Introduce question/delimma/ problem, Build tension.

Feeling like I didn’t belong

I just wanted to take some time today to tell you all a little about myself.

Becasue you are probably wondering who this weird guy is that just showed up.

I grew up in Arizona and for as long as I can remember I have been going to church.

Anyone else like that — your whole life as much as you can remember you have come to church?

Well that is me— we went to church 3 times a week

On Sundays we had Sundat school and then church and then Sunday night church

Then we had church again on wednesdays and My mom would bring us to all of it.

I would have fun at church and had some good friends at church and most of the time I liked church.

But even though I liked church I still sometimes had a hard time feeling like I fit in — Like I belonged

and I would go to school and I didnt have a lot of friends and I felt like I was on the outside looking in — like I didnt really belong

Like there wasn’t a place for me

the problem was I would see the other kids and some of them were really smart — and I wasnt as smart as them

or they were really good at sports — and I wasn’t - in fact I didnt even know the rules for most games.

then there were those that had a lot of friends and they were dressed in “the cool clothes” — and I wore what my parents could afford.

So I looked at all these other kids and though well Becasue I am not smart, because I cant run as fast, becasue I cant afford those clothes

I guess there is not a place for me.

WE:Identification

Connect it to audience, build common ground, build tension, shows topic is relavant.

Maybe you can relate?

Maybe sometimes you compare yourself with others.

Wishing you were more like them.

thinking if you were more like them then maybe you would fit in more, maybe you would have more firends maybe you would have a place.

thinking becasue you are not like them then there is not a place for me.

Maybe you wonder the same thing — Is there a place for me?

That question can sometimes lead to a even bigger question.

Is there a reason/ purpose for me?

GOD: - Illumination

What does God say about this, light of Spirit and scripture on the question, relieve tension

That is a big question. That is an important question— In fact it is so big and so important that God helps us out with the answer and he inspired a man named Paul to write this about it.

This is what Paul wrote.

Scripture 1 Corinthians 12:12, 15-20

12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ

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15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.

16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.

17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

19 If they were all one part, where would the body be?

20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

This passage makes me smile for so many reasons.

I like to imagine little feet and hands talking and arguing with each other— I mean isnt that funny?

Paul must have had a great imagination.

But you notice what the Foot says? You notice what the ear says?

they say Because I am not like the hand — becasue I am not like the eye — that means there is not a place for me

You know what that tells me — this foot and that ear —

MAN — they felt the same way as I used to when I was comparing myself to others

THey feel the same way maybe you do when you compare yourself to others

It also tells me that God knows and understands how we feel and he cares about how we think and feel. and that people have been feeling that way for a very long time becasue Paul wrote that 2000 years ago!

The foot and the Ear believed a great big lie - -same lie I believed and maybe something you think sometimes

The foot believed that becasue it wasnt like the others then there was no place for them — That was a lie

The truth was and what we learn from Paul is that

Because I am not like others that means there is a place for me.

Sometimes that is not how we feel or how we think but it is true

THink about it —

If I had feet for hands — you would look at me and think — those feet do not belong there.

or if I had an ear for a nose you would think that is not in the right place.

THe reason we know there is a place for a nose is not because it is the same as an ear but becasue it is different right!?

Think about the Puzzle

Why couldn’t they finish putting the puzzle together? becasue there were pieces that didnt belong— they didnt belong becasue they were the same as other pieces.

The truth is Becasue I am not like others means there is a place for me and if there is a place then there is a purpose

Everyone say this

“There is a place for me becasue I am not like others

There is a purpose for me becasue I am not like others

YOU: - Application

Apllication, here is what YOU do. challenge to act, apply answer

So you know what we need to do?

whenever we feel like we dont belong — or that there is no place for us we need to remind ourselves

Becasue I am not like others means there is a place for me.

Start to ask God what your place is. You could pray something like this

“ God I know you have a place for me will you help me find what it is?”

Once you know or even sorta have a little idea then take your place

singer, writer, computer etc — take the first step try it out see what happens —

That takes courage— but you can do it!

WE: - Inspiration

Inspire action, what would the world be like if…

becasue it is so important that we dont belive that lie that says becasue we are different it means we do not belong.

It is so important that we be just who God made us to be and we serve him with who we are.

What would the world look like if we were all okay with who God made us to be and if we lived everyday in the place God made for us ?

lets all bow our heads and spend just a little bit of time talking to God....

Prayer time

Discussion Questions

Leader: Rereadif there is time- 1 Corinthians 12:12-20 Ask the students if there was anything they liked about the passage. then discuss the follwoing questions.

Note: Go whereve the conversation takes you. Do not feel pressure to get through them all. If you get stuck talking about the first one and never the rest that is okay. The Primary win here is group interaction-- building comfort and trust with one another. Secondly the purpose is to see if anything sunk in.

What did the Foot and the Ear say?

2. Have you ever felt like you didn’t fit in or you didnt belong? What makes you feel that way?

3. What is something you can do when you feel that way? (How did what Pastor TJ said help you today?

4. What are some thing you are good at or that you like to do? How could you use those things for God?

5. What if everyone used thier talents/ abilities for God— how would that change the world?

6. Does any one have any Prayer requests or something they want to share with teh group?

END— end the small group time in prayer. Ask if any of the kids would like to begin the prayer and the group leader will finish with prayer. Many kids are shy or scared to pray out loud but they may be willing to read a prayer if you sense that might be the case ask someone if they would be willign to read a prayer to end the discussion time. Below is a prayer that can be read.

Prayer: God thank you for all you have done for us. Thank you that you have made each of us different. Help us when we feel sad and like we do not belong. God we know you are a good God and always want the best for us so we trust you in all things - In Jesus name amen.