Student Leader Weekly 2.15

Brent Dongell, Christian Boulton, and Taylor Bumgarner | Dec 07, 2021

Teen Trends

YPulse has released a list of Gen Z and Millenials' favorite TV shows. While we don't exactly recommend all of the shows on this list for moral reasons, this list does reveal a lot about the younger generations. All of the shows have one or more of the following: Violence, crude humor, and violence. It likely means that teens are being desensitized to all of these things and find it more difficult to explain why these things are morally wrong. Just keep in mind the expression, "Garbage in, garbage out."

 

Song of the Week

Skillet has released a new single called "Refuge." The famous rock band has produced some more Christian music, and this song is rather different than most of their other songs. While the lyrics acknowledge the depth of pain that people experience in life, God is a reliable person that we can run toward. This doesn't exactly solve the issues or struggles. It does, however, provide some hope that we are never truly alone and that we always have a Father that's waiting for us with open arms.

 

Game of the Week

Paper Telephone is an easy, creative game that is less about competition and more about having fun. All you need is enough pencils and paper for each of your students. For set up, have students sit in a way they can easily pass their papers around the room. Paper telephone is played in rounds. Round one is played by each student writing a different sentence at the top of their paper after which they will pass their paper to the next person beside them. For round two, students will have to draw a picture of the new sentence they were just handed before folding the top of the paper where the sentence is no longer visible before passing it again. In round three, students have to make a sentence based on the picture. From there, you can have them fold and pass the paper as many times as you want. To make it easier, it might be best to set a timer so students don't take too much time on their drawings or sentences. In the end, have all the students turn in their papers and show off the best/coolest/funniest drawings and sentences.

 

Sermon Illustration

This past week, I had the opportunity to walk on a frozen pond for the first time. I was pretty nervous since I'd never done it before but trusted that my friends from Wisconsin knew it was safe. They knew where the ice was safe from the way it looked, how fast the water moved underneath, and from the temperature over the past few days. None of this was apparent to me, but they had so much practice and experience that they knew exactly what they were doing. I put my trust in them to keep me safe on the ice and ended up having a great experience. Often, God calls us to situations we are not sure about. We don't know how we will do or if we will end up getting hurt. If we aren't careful, we end up taking our eyes off of Jesus like Peter did when he was called out onto the waves. But just like I had faith in my friends, the Lord knows exactly the situation He is putting us into. We may not know how thick the ice is, but we can trust that the Lord won't let it crack beneath us.

Matthew 14:28-31 - "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

 

Encouraging Thought

Keep in mind throughout the next week that God has so much in store for us. His master plan for every single individual is so magnificent - more beautiful than we could ever imagine. All we can really do is sit in awe of God's sovereignty and pure genius. It should elicit nothing but pure love for our Creator.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 - However, as it is written: "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived" - the things God has prepared for those who love him. These are the things that God has revealed to us by his Spirit. 

 

 

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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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