Teen Class Lesson

I mentioned in my first post that I would post my lessons from my teen girls' class. My lessons come from a book called "Going Through the Motions" by Linda Schott and Marty Dobson. They can get pretty long, but if you read them, I pray you will find something that will encourage you as I am trying to do with the girls.

Roles, Responsibilities and Relationships
Winter Quarter ’06 -‘07
Teen Girls Class – Wednesday nights

Prayer

Ground rules

1. Respect others and their points of view.
2. There are no “dumb” questions. (must be relevant)
3. Only one person speaks at a time.
4. No "Put Downs".
5. Open up and have fun!
6. Always bring your Bible.

Are you tired of feeling like a “nobody” in God’s kingdom? So who is the person that can change the way you feel about your place in the His kingdom? You.

Let’s talk a little bit first about becoming a Christian. We’ve all heard the five steps to becoming a Christian or being saved. Hear. Believe. Repent. Confess. Baptism. Growing up, I was always taught a sixth. Live faithfully. We forget that one a lot of times. We get it in our heads that once we are baptized that we’re safe. No more action is needed.

Someone tell me how/what they felt the day they were baptized. I remember feeling proud but I also remember feeling a sense of relief. I knew at that moment that I had done what God wanted me to do and that all my sins were washed away. When you are buried in baptism, God wipes your slate clean of everything you’ve done wrong. That’s what salvation is.

I was baptized when I was 13. I don’t remember everything about that day. I remember vividly my walk down that aisle. That was awful for me because I was a shy kid. You probably knew that already though. I was about to wet my pants. It was a hard thing for me to stand in front of all those people and speak, let alone confess my faith in Jesus Christ. But I did it. I don’t remember much about my life changing but I was raised in the church and was always taught to be good and do right. So I guess there wasn’t much to change other than my state of mind. Or was there? What things should have changed? What changes occurred for you when you were baptized? Did your behavior change? Maybe your language changed?

What does God expect from a new Christian? Peter talks about this in 1 Peter 2. Verses 1-3 says “Therefore rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” He compares a new Christian to a baby.

How is a new Christian like a baby?

A new Christian feeds on spiritual milk. A baby feeds on it’s mother’s milk.
A new Christian is innocent in God’s eyes now that all of his sins are washed clean. A baby is innocent since he doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong.
A new Christian desires to grow spiritually. A baby desires to grow physically.
A new Christian only understands the elementary teachings of the Word. A baby only understands the elementary teachings of the world.

Hebrews 5:11-14; 6:1-2:
“In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.”

So here’s a question. Do you feel any different about your Christian walk today as you did when you were baptized? Or do you feel any different about your relationship with God as you did a year ago? When I was a teenager, my honest answer would have been no. Now, I’ll be the first to admit, I didn’t grow much in those years. I had times where I tried but then Satan would find a weakness and pull me back. Feedback.

What do you think you need in order to grow spiritually?

A willing heart/desire to want to grow
Encouragement from others
Accountability to someone
Faith/belief that you can grow

Let’s read 2 Peter 3:18: “But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever! Amen.”

How do we grow?

More time in prayer
Get involved with church activities/youth activities
Fellowship with other Christians
Regular attendance of church services
Encourage a friend who is having a rough day or going through rough times
Help someone in need – 1 John 3:17
More time in the Word
Seek opportunities to serve/learn/teach
Seek personal applications in the sermons/lessons
Volunteer for something at church that you normally wouldn’t do

Ephesians 4:11-16:
“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
Paul states that we are all aiming to grow up into Him who is the Head. He also mentions that we are joined and held together as each part does it work. So we all have a responsibility to grow as well as help those around us to grow.

Prayer Reminder:

Color: Green
Subject: This week we have discussed growth. When I think about growth I think of nature…how everything turns green when there is new growth. So this week we are going to pray for new growth in each of us. We are also going to pray that we in some way can help/encourage someone to grow.



That leads me to the Warm Fuzzy assignment:

This week I want you to write to someone you know well in this class. I want you to tell them that you have noticed them grow recently and in what way specifically you’ve seen them grow. Or just encourage them to grow in the Lord. If you have problems with that, just tell them what makes them special to you.