Student Leader Weekly (10th Edition)

Brent Dongell and Christian Boulton | Mar 05, 2021

Teen Trends

Admittedly, this is one of the stranger trends to emerge from Tik Tok, but the #CancelPorn trend has been catching fire. In fact, as of last week, it's approaching 170 million views. This new hashtag has given people a platform to talk about how the industry takes advantage of women and can ruin their lives. It's great that issues are generating publicity to help people become more aware of the dangers of porn, especially with the younger generations on Tik Tok. For all of the negative or crazy stuff that comes from Tik Tok, these sorts of trends show that the platform can be used for the glory of Christ. 

 

Song of the Week

This group definitely caters towards the younger generations, but Elevation Rhythm is a fairly new group. The music comes out of the youth ministry from Elevation Church based out of Charlotte, NC. Their most recent song, "IYKYK", which released a couple of weeks ago, was written to "meant to inspire listeners to find their identity in their relationship with Christ". Some of their other songs include their most popular song "Never Walk Away", "Everything" and "Reality". 

 

Game of the Week

One simple and short game to play with a group of students is rock, paper, scissors, and the winner amasses a "following". To start out, everyone finds a partner and plays a round of rock, paper, scissors (1 game, best out of 3 - it's up to you). The loser then follows the winner as the winner goes to find a new opponent who will also have a follower. Ideally, those that have lost will be active cheerleaders for the winners and create an energetic, competitive atmosphere. This pattern continues until there is only one person left, and the rest of the group are his/her followers. If everyone is excited and engaged, the final round can be an incredible sight considering the simplicity of the game. 

 

Sermon Illustration

You're probably familiar with the story in Matthew when a woman approached Jesus and poured very expensive perfume on his feet. It's just worth noting Jesus' response in verses 10-11. He, essentially, reminds his disciples that He is the ultimate priority.  What they should ultimately cherish and be constantly pursuing. While taking care of the poor and needy is an incredible way to display the love of Christ, it doesn't matter how much you do these sorts of things if you're not doing it out of Christ's love (1 Cor. 13:1-3).  You could use an illustration that helps remind students to "Keep the main thing, the main thing."  Maybe there's a modern day sports or game illustration like the turtoise and the hair where people get so distracted by a circumstance that they lose site of the finish line or end goal.

 

Encouraging Thought

Going back to the story in Matthew, what do you have to offer to Jesus? There are many things it could be - finances, time, a hobby, encouragement, etc. Especially in the midst of this Lent season, you could consider giving or giving something up as an offering to God. Be encouraged that God is working in you, He is ultimately in control, and that it's totally reasonable to take time out or within your scheduled day to put Him first over whatever else is filling up your entire day.

 

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The vision of the Student Leader Weekly is to empower high schoolers (alongside adult leadership) with practical ministry ideas.

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