Don’t Just Talk

SHE DREAMED OF PLAYING the piano all her life. She bought the books and signed up for the lessons. For the first six months she did great. She practiced faithfully every day. But little by little, she stopped practicing. Eventually, she quit.

Think about a time when you wanted something, but eventually gave up on it. What did you learn?

Read James 1:22-25. Read verse 22 aloud.

What does James 1:22 say we do if we merely listen to the Word? Why is that important?

What analogy did James make in verses 23-24? What does that have to do with hearing God’s Word but not doing what it says?

What is the promise in verse 25?

Why is it not enough to simply know what Scripture says? Why is action so important?

The problem James was addressing was negligence. You can be negligent when you have responsibility but aren’t willing to put in the work to accomplish it.

It is equally not enough to simply say you believe in God’s laws. If you don’t actually obey them, your life says you don’t believe they’re valid. You can tell the whole world you love God, but if your life doesn’t demonstrate that love, then your words are worthless. Do you care for the widow, orphan, or neighbor down the street? This is the heart of God’s Word. Don’t just talk the talk; live your faith!

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Hate Is a Strong Word

GETTING YOUR WISDOM TEETH pulled. Getting ditched by your friends at school or in your cabin. Having your heart ripped out and stomped on by your recent crush. These are definitely situations that you don’t look forward to experiencing. It doesn’t matter if the pain is physical or emotional. We want to avoid it, minimize it, or get rid of it. What is the most painful experience you have had?

Read John 15:18-22. Reflect on verse 18.

What did Jesus say would happen if you follow Him?

Why will the world hate you?

What scares you the most about being persecuted for your faith?

What are some ways you try to avoid persecution?

How can you have hope in the midst of persecution?

Jesus never beat around the bush. He told the disciples straight up what would happen if they followed Him: they would face persecution. When you live a life dedicated to and on fire for Jesus, you can be sure that you will suffer for your faith. The world hates you! (Heartwarming, huh?) It hates you because of whose you are. You see, the world hates Jesus with a passion, and you belong to Him. But He knows what you are going through because He has already experienced it. You can trust Him to give you the strength to endure. Are you looking forward to the pain that following Jesus will bring? Probably not, but you can look forward to the day that Jesus wraps His arms around you and says, “Well done.” Remember: your suffering is only temporary; glory is forever.

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Live By Example

WHAT DO MILEY CYRUS and Kobe Bryant have in common? They are role models for thousands of teens. Girls try and dress like Miley, and boys try and shoot like Kobe. Who wouldn’t want to trade places with them for a day? Just the thought of thousands of fans screaming your name is a rush. With which famous person would you be pumped to trade places?

Read Matthew 20:20-28 and memorize verse 28.
 Who came to Jesus? Why?
 What was Jesus’ response?
 
What was Jesus’ requirement for greatness?
 How did Jesus model servanthood?
 
Whom do you have a hard time serving? Why?
 
How would Jesus want you to serve that person this week?

Mothers want the best for their kids. James and John’s mother was no different. After all, they were some of Jesus’ best friends. Believing Jesus to be the Messiah who would set up an earthly kingdom, she wanted recognition and honor for her boys—yet Jesus told her sons to live as servants.

Jesus’ response was not expected. The most amazing thing about the whole conversation was that Jesus used Himself as a role model. He wasn’t asking His disciples to do anything that He wasn’t doing or going to do, including laying down His own life so that all could be saved. When you are looking for someone to model your life after, don’t look at celebrities. Look at the cross.

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Jesus Is A Tough Guy

FRIENDSHIPS ARE TOUGH, ESPECIALLY AS A TEEN. You’re discovering what it means to move past childlike friendships into more mature relationships with others. As believers, we have a different standard than the world. We are to show justice, love, and faith in the way we treat others. In the world, we see a different standard. The perversion of love is manipulation, and the opposite of faith is inconsistency. For example, inconsistency would mean one day I will follow Christ, the next I will live my own way and do my own thing. Manipulation and inconsistency tend to make up the kinds of relationships we see displayed in the media or society. As Christians, these qualities have no place in our behavior toward others.

Read Matthew 23:23-26. Would Jesus have any reason to speak to you like He did the Pharisees in verse 23?
 What is a hypocrite?
 
Why was Jesus calling the Pharisees hypocrites?
 
How do you display justice, love, and faithfulness in your relationships?

What do you need to clean out your life so that you shine with the light of Christ? Explain.

In today’s passage, Jesus was pretty harsh to the Pharisees for their arrogant behavior toward others. We like to think of Jesus as gentle and soft-spoken, but Jesus was fearless. He went before the religious leaders and called them out publicly. He said they put on a good act, but on the inside they were dirty and full of sin. They were greedy and self-indulgent. They were more concerned with their needs rather than the needs of those to whom they were supposed to be ministering. How important it is that we examine our own hearts before we judge the heart of another! It is our responsibility to confess our own sins to God and allow Him to cleanse us. From there we can minister to and love on those around us with an attitude of mercy and grace.

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It’s Not About Rules

GOD CREATED us for relationships. We were created with a need to interact with other people.  Why do you come back to camp year after year?  One reason is probably because of the relationships you built in your cabin. We were also created with a need to interact with God Himself. God desires to spend time with us and develop a relationship with us. In order for us to know Him, we must spend time with Him. When we feel the desire to pray or read the Bible, we need to realize it is God pursuing us. It is our choice to respond.

Read Mark 2:23-28. What does verse 27 mean to you?
 
Why were the Pharisees (religious leaders) so upset with Jesus?
 
What was Jesus’ response to their criticism?
 
According to Jesus, who was the Sabbath made for (v. 27)?
 
What does this tell you about the purpose of Sundays?
 
Ask yourself, “Why do I go to church?”

The Pharisees were so caught up in the rules and regulations of religion that they had lost sight of God. They had become more concerned about the rules than they were about people. Jesus allowed the disciples to pick heads of grain because they were hungry. Jesus had compassion for those around Him and didn’t allow himself to get caught up in the do’s and don’ts of religion.

It is all about relationships. When you read about Jesus, you see that He spent time living out what love meant. He didn’t throw around a list of rules. Rather He showed them the mercy and grace of a loving Father by being a living example. Do you?

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Everyone Needs A Savior

WE ARE ALL SINNERS SAVED BY GRACE. Each one of us was created for a relationship with the Savior. At the very core of our sinfulness God gives us grace. He sees our need for cleansing and offers us the opportunity for forgiveness through the acceptance of His Son, Jesus Christ. Before judging the person in our cabin, our tribe/village, or even next to us, we need to reflect on our lives before Christ. We were all searching for the missing piece that would make us whole. Through God’s mercy and grace, we found the missing piece—Jesus. We need to look at others through the eyes of Christ, realizing they are searching, too.

Read 1 Timothy 1:12-17 and look closely at verse 15.

 Who is the writer of this passage?

 For what is he thankful?
 
According to the writer, why did Jesus come? (v. 15)
 
For what purpose does he believe Jesus saved him? 

 To whom does he give the glory?

Paul considered himself the worst of sinners, a man who sought out and persecuted Christians. Paul even describes himself as a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an “arrogant man.” He then thanked Jesus for loving him enough to save him from his life of sin. He acknowledged that it was because of the mercy and grace of Christ that his life was totally changed.

Paul knew the power Christ can have in a person’s life; he had experienced it. The reason Jesus came was to save sinners such as Paul (and me and you). Through the love of Jesus, Paul became a lover of lost souls. He saw people through the eyes of Christ and his heart of hatred was replaced with a heart of compassion. With God’s help, Paul made a huge impact on the world for Christ.

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See the World Through HIS Eyes

HE SITS NEXT TO YOU IN CLASS, the weird kid with tattoos and a nose piercing. She is in your cabin, the introvert with no friends and thrift store clothes. Each day you are surrounded by people who are different from you and maybe even a little strange. Do you interact with them? Do you try to develop relationships with them? Or do you shut them out and focus only on those with whom you feel comfortable? God has placed you on a mission field—your school campus, your community, your tribe/village at camp. There is a reason you are surrounded by these people. Are you asking God why?

Read Mark 2:15-17. Zone in on verse 17.
 
According to verse 17, who is it that Jesus came to save?

 Whom did He classify as the sick?

 How does that affect you?
 
What do these verses tell you about Christ’s character?

 How does Jesus express love to these people?

 How can you follow His example toward those who are different?

Jesus loved sinners. He hung out with them on a regular basis. And He didn’t wait for them to come to Him; rather, He went to them. In today’s passage, we find Him hanging out with the tax collectors and sinners. The religious leaders of the time, the Pharisees, were upset by the fact that Jesus was eating with these outcasts. They saw it as a repulsive act, but Jesus looked beyond the sin and society’s norms and saw the heart of the sinners. He saw their need and reached out to them. Jesus had compassion for their lostness.

We need to have compassion for those around us. Instead of only seeing the surface, we need to see them with the eyes of Christ, who gave His life to save us. All of us.

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He is The Savior

HAVE YOU EVER felt trapped by something? A situation, a lie, an invitation, a mess, a sin?
At one time or another, most of us have felt trapped by something in our lives. We know that as hard as we try, there’s no way we can get out of it ourselves. We know that as bad as it hurts, there’s nothing we can do. We know that we’re powerless, broken, and tired. That’s when we need to turn to the One who has the power and authority to handle the problem.

Read through Luke 5:17-26 and think about how you’d have reacted if you’d been present in verse 25.
 
What do verses 20 and 24 say about the authority of Christ?
 
What did the paralyzed man do after being healed?
 
Why is it important that Luke recorded Jesus forgiving the man’s sins and healing him?
 
What was Jesus’ response to the scribes and Pharisees’ reaction to His miracle?

When Jesus saw the paralyzed man and simply said “Your sins are forgiven,” He undoubtedly shocked the scribes and Pharisees. They would have quickly realized that Jesus was claiming He could do things only God had the authority to do. How could He forgive the sins of someone if He was merely a man?

Jesus wanted everyone to understand that He was no mere man. He was the Son of God with the power to rescue people from the bondage of sin and heal them. He still has the power to do that today. We just have to let Him have authority in our lives and trust Him for salvation. And that’s something to celebrate!

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Who Is He?

HAVE YOU EVER written or received a note that reads: I like you. Will you go out with me? Check yes, no, or maybe.
If you have, then you’re not alone. It seems like at some point in everyone’s life, they come across one of these notes. Some of us spend more time writing them than receiving them. If the person you send it to checks “no,” then you write one to someone else. If he or she checks “maybe,” then you at least have a chance. If he or she says “yes,” then you finally have a significant other because that person has acknowledged that they at least like you too. Don’t you think it’s good when you finally know how someone feels about you?

Read Mark 1:9-13 and reread verses 10 and 11.
 
How is the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) represented in this passage?
 
Who came down to Jesus? Who spoke to Jesus?
 
What did God say to Jesus? Why is this event in Jesus’ life important?
 
How did this experience in the life and ministry of Christ help Him in verses 12-13?

Jesus was recognized as the Son of God by God Himself. God acknowledged to everyone that He has a father-son relationship with Jesus Christ. And with that relationship comes all authority. They may not have realized who He was beforehand, but no one left that river without knowing who Jesus really was.

Have you recognized Christ as the Son of God? Without that understanding, Jesus is just another guy who dipped in the Jordan River.

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He’s Not a Superhero, But He is Powerful

WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE SUPERHERO: Batman, Aquaman, Superman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, or Ron Springs? Sometimes, we think it would be nice to have superpowers. There may have even come a point in your life when you thought you actually had superpowers, but then you realized that you didn’t have any power at all. You’re not alone in that: John the Baptist realized something similar during his ministry preparing the way for Christ.

Read Mark 1:4-8 and really focus on verse 7.
 
What do you think John meant when he said that he was unworthy to untie Jesus’ sandals?
What made him come to that realization?
 
Do you think it may have been a humbling experience for John to realize that Someone was coming who was greater than he? Explain.
 
How would you respond if you knew someone was coming after you who had greater power than you did?

The most beautiful phrase in this passage of Scripture are the words, “I am not worthy.” John had come to a point of understanding and acknowledgement that he was no longer going to be “the man.” John knew that when Jesus came, he would move aside and let the One with the real power take over.

Do we have the same understanding of Jesus that John had? Do you know this Jesus who is the Son of God and who has all the authority of heaven? It’s easy to discount Jesus as just prophet, a good man, or a teacher with devoted followers. Many religions do. But Jesus declared Himself to be nothing less than God. John recognized early on that Jesus was no ordinary man. He is the one and only Son of God, powerful beyond measure, and able to handle whatever you throw at Him. Let Him display His power in your life.

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