Teen Trends
YPulse, a marketing and research firm that specializes in teens and millennials, claims that people between the ages of 13-37 agree that racism/discrimination is the biggest problem that faces their generation. This survey was conducted in May of 2020, so it is probably even truer now because of the tension to this day. Also, 46% of them also felt that racism is getting worse. Clearly, this is an issue that needs to be discussed, and it's going to require people to reach beyond themselves to show Christ's love.
Song of the Week
"It Was Finished Upon That Cross" is a new song released by a smaller worship group known as CityAlight. The group is from the church St. Paul's Castle Hill, which is in Castle Hill, Sydney, Australia. Their mission is to "write songs with biblically rich lyrics and simple melodies for the Christian church to sing." They hope that the songs can be something that smaller churches use without all of the elaborate sets and instruments. Some of their other songs include "Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me" and "Christ Is Mine Forevermore."
Game of the Week
Last week, we featured blanket volleyball. This week, this section will focus on big-ball volleyball. Similar to blanket volleyball, you'll need a net of some sort, an open area/gym, and last and most importantly, a big ball. This can be a yoga ball, a large beachball, or literally use a large volleyball. Divide the group into 2 teams, and the teams can be as large as you need them to be because the ball is going to be flying all over the place, and it can sometimes require multiple people to hit it at once. There's no limit to the number of hits or out of bounds as long (as the ball doesn't hit the ground) because the ball is just so massive. You can play to 25 points, 3 sets of 11, or whatever you decide.
Sermon Illustration
Since illustrations/examples to bring up racism and discrimination can be found on the news and social media, so here's a link to a picture with two down elevator buttons! You can use this object lesson for a sermon illustration. Some times you're wanting to go up or take the higher road conversations and/or life feel like the either choice they give you feels like the wrong choice.. SO what do we in these situations?
Encouraging Thought
Going back to the topic of racism and discrimination... though it's a tough topic, we're praying and believing in you! A book called Crucial Conversations points out that critical issues won't naturally take care of themselves (which as Christians we believe includes the problem of sin). It's been said that, whenever you get two genuine people in a room you will have conflict, but Sticky Faith also reminds us that, "Doubt is not toxic to faith, silence is." While the political scene may seem like a problem to big too fix, the first small step across the metaphorical racial line is being willing to talk people in love, especially on the other side of that line with the goal of truly listening and understanding their story without becoming defensive. It will almost certainly be awkward and uncomfortable for both people, but these are the kinds of small steps that we can take to heal the racial wounds in our surrounding communities and to show people the love of Christ. You've got this. Lean into humility, truth, love, and knowing you're covered in prayer by the Body of Christ!
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The vision of the Student Leader Weekly is to empower high schoolers (alongside adult leadership) with practical ministry ideas.