Session Aims: To explore why Jesus came to earth

To realise that Jesus is for everyone

Equipment: laptop, projector, speakers, large paper, pens, ‘Lifehouse – Everything’ Video Skit (Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyheJ480LYA ), ‘The Word on the Street’ Bible (Previously ‘The Street Bible’), post-it notes

Opening Game: Armadillo

For this game you need a few different objects (for example 3/4 pens). The leader will pass one object to the person next to them and say ‘This is an armadillo’. The person must then reply with ‘What is it?’ and the leader then says ‘It is an armadillo’. This then continues around the circle with the next person passing the object on to the person next to them with the same responses.

You can introduce extra objects so several are going around…for example ‘This is an aardvark’.

Explain: This afternoon we’re thinking about Jesus but more specifically the reason that he came to earth however for us to understand why Jesus came to earth we need to understand what’s wrong with the world.

Brain Storm: Using a large piece of paper in the centre of the draw a circle to represent the world and ask the young people to write down all the things they think are wrong with the world.

Using a different colour invite the young people to add solutions to these problems.

Ask: Can we ever understand why the things that are wrong with the world happen? Do you think our solutions would solve all the problems?

Explain: Our starting point with the problems we have written down with the world needs to be that there is something not right with the world. All you have to do is watch the news to see that something is wrong.

The bible tells us that it wasn’t always like this. In Genesis 1 we read:

Bible: Genesis 1 – 2:3 (Use ‘The Word on the Street pages 27/8).

Ask: What does that tell us about the world when God created it?

Explain: God makes the world perfect and then later in Genesis ‘sin’ enters the world. Sin is basically when we do something that isn’t God’s ideal and as a consequence of that sin God throws Adam and Eve out the garden of Eden and they eventually die.

The biggest consequence however was that this put up a wall between them and God. The relationship they had with God where he would hang out with them was ruined and since then people throughout the bible and today have a habit of doing things that make a relationship with God difficult.

Groups: Invite the young people to go into small groups and ask them to answer the question ‘What can we do to mend the broken relationship with God?’ and invite them to read Mark 2: 13-17.

Feedback: Get the groups to feedback. In particular think about Jesus hanging out with sinners and saying that ‘It’s the sick who need a doctor’. How does this apply to the ‘sin’ in the world?

Explain: God doesn’t want us to mess up and actually wants to mend that broken relationship with humans and this resulted in Him sending Jesus to take the punishment for the stuff we do wrong when he died for us.

Video: Lifehouse – Everything Skit – Explain to the young people prior to showing this video that it can help us think about some of the things that get between us and God and how Jesus wants to be in a relationship with us but that sin can get in the way.

Note: The video is quite powerful so you may wish to give young people a chance to talk about it after if they want.

Response: Handout post-it notes and invite the young people to think about things that put up a wall between them and God. Ask them to sit somewhere and reflect on these things either writing them down specifically or simply writing their name. Invite them to stick the post-it’s to the cross (either have a wooden cross or a print-out of a cross).

Prayer to close