The Body # 2 - Because you are not...[fuse]

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

Todays: point: If there is a place for me then there is a place for y ou.

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Last week.

Who remembers what we talked about last week?

Thats ok if you don’t

ME: - Orientation

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

Last week I told you about a problem I had

That I had a hard time feeling like I had a place becasue I would compare myself to others and I thought compared to them I just wasn’t good enough.

But then something cool happened I began to see that I did have a place and a purpose. Some of that happened before I was a teenager but mostly I began to discover those things in youth group.

That is why I love youth ministry— Because I know that even though a lot of other people may disregard teens or preteens — God doesn’t.

And one day we might look at all the young people in the Bible and through out history that God has used in amazing ways.

And My prayer for you all is that you would all begin to discover - LIKE I DID — ways that you fit in [becasue you are not the same as everyone] ways you can serve God

Now some of you girls and guys too God will call you to be a pastor or a missionary.

But not all of you Why becasue we are all different — maybe some of you God will bless you with an ability to make a bunch of money so you can help financially support things

Maybe God will call you to be a plumber.

The possibilities are endless becasue God is infinitely creative.

So God really helped me with this problem of thinking there was not a place for me.

But this led to another problem —

Instead of looking at others and thinking I am different from them so I do not belong

What I started doing was looking at others and thinking THEY ARE DIFFERENT THAN ME — so they must not belong.

See I would love Youth group — we would sing songs — newer more exciting songs than on Sunday morning

We would spend time in prayer — every weeks teens would go up front for prayer

New kids were coming it was just a really cool time

Then I went to church on Sunday — and the songs were old and boring— things seemed a lot different

So I looked around at all the “old people” and saw how much different they were from youth group and thought — well maybe they don’t really belong like I do.

Then in youth group I saw that I knew more about the Bible than most of them there— I knew more verses and more Bible stories.

I brought my Bible every week

I carried my Bible to school

I met with a small group of other kids before school to pray everyday in the middle of campus

Why were the other Christian kids different than me — THEY MUST NOT Have a place like I do.

You see this new problem I was having— still based on the same thing — comparing myself to others but this time instead of them being the standard of acceptableness I made myself the standard.

Same problem different twist.

WE:Identification

Connect it to audience, build common ground, build tension, shows topic is relevant. Maybe you can relate?

The reason I feel ok sharing this with you all is over the years God has really helped me with this.

AND — I am also confident becasue I know how us people are

I am confident that everyone of you have — or will encounter this same sort of problem in one way or another.

You will or have compared yourself to others and thought I am not as good as them or thought they are not as good as me.

I don’t have a place or they don’t have a place

So what do we do about it — What does God say about it?

GOD: - Illumination

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

The truth is

-- this is a topic that Comes up A LOT in the Bible — A lot of the different authors of the Bible talk about this

Paul the guy whose letter we read last week talked about this all the time

SO much so we could probably spend every week for 2 years looking at a different part of the Bible that relates to this — It is soo important and it is why I chose to make these my first lessons.

Scripture 1 Cor 12:19-21, 25-27

19 If they were all one part, where would the body be?  20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”

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25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

YOU: - Application

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

Here is the Thing I want you all to remember from this

We are all different.

There is a place for you.

There is a Purpose for you

And

If there is a place for you that means there is a place for everyone.

I know that is an easy thing to know

It is an easy thing to say

But it can be a hard thing to live by becasue our hearts — what is in here is a little broken and a little selfish and we need a lot of help

And do you know where that help comes from?

God

But how does God most often Help us? — Each other —

Remember we read in the passage we suffer and rejoice together.

WE: - Inspiration

Inspire action, what would the world be like if…

Can you imagine how the world would be different if we all lived like that?

Can you imagine how your world would be different if you did?

No longer compared yourself to others but accepted others as they are and accepted yourself as you are and were willing to let God change you to who God wants you to be.

Prayer

Discussion Questions

Leader: Re-read if there is time- 1 Corinthians 19-27 Ask the students their thoughts about the passage. Then discuss the following questions.

Note: Go wherever the conversation takes you. Do not feel pressure to get through all the Questions. 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 what clicked.

What did the Eye and the Head say? Was it true?

[I don’t need you]

Can you think of an example of a time when people had to work together to accomplish something?

Could you relate to anything that Pastor TJ shared today.

Read 1 Cor 12:25-26 again - What is Paul describing here— If we could sum up this idea in one word what would it be?

[The answer I am going for here is LOVE]

What does it mean to Love someone (mom, dad, brother, sister, friend)?

Prayer requests

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 willing to read a prayer to end the discussion time. Below is a prayer that can be read.

Prayer: God thank you for the fun we have had tonight and the friends we have at church. Help us to see that we need each other. Help us to not compare ourselves to others and to trust you everyday. AMEN