We Can Save The World – Session 2 – Going Global, Changing Lives
Equipment Needed: Guitar or CDs (plus song-words) for worship, bibles, T-Mobile ‘Welcome Home’ video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB3NPNM4xgo, bible studies (click to download), a pair of scissors
Worship: Start this session with 2 or 3 songs of worship to focus the group…perhaps recap on the previous evening’s session to start.
Explain: Last night we thought about the idea that we have a world that needs saving. There are things in our world which are wrong and we thought about how we have a world that needs Jesus to come and mend our relationship with God.
Game: Scissors – All you need for this game is a pair of scissors. The leader starts by passing the scissors to the person next to them and saying ‘I pass you these scissors closed /open’ this then continues around the circle. Each time the scissors are passed the leader says ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to determine if the person is right or not. Young people will start passing the scissors by holding them in different ways etc when actually it has nothing to do with the scissors but is to do with something body-language related. You could have legs crossed (crossed) or uncrossed (open) or something else. In which case if a person passed the scissors with their legs crossed and stated that they were passing the scissors crossed the leader would say ‘yes’. Play this game until most people have caught on.
Explain: This morning we’re going to think about how we can make a change in the world and how it’s important that we tell others about God.
We’re going to start by looking at the last words Jesus left with his disciples before he ascended into heaven.
Bible: Matthew 28: 16 – 20
Explain: Jesus says to his disciples ‘go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you and surely I am with you always’
Ask: What do you think this means?
Ask: Jesus sets us this challenge to go out into the world and tell everyone about him. Jesus wants to save the world but the task of sharing the good news is down to us.
Ask: How do you think the 11 disciples felt when Jesus gave them this task?
Explain: The task Jesus left them and in turn is with is massive…it’s not ‘tell your friends or school or village about me’ but ‘tell the world’ but there is a key part of this task which is right at the end when Jesus says ‘and surely I am with you always’.
Jesus doesn’t leave us to do this on our own but He is with us. Jesus is with us helping us.
Bible Study: In small groups get the young people to look at the studies from Acts from when the disciples started to change the world!
Feedback: Come back as a group and feedback
Explain: Jesus left the disciples with a task that seemed near-impossible but Jesus was with them, He sent the Holy Spirit to help them and they began to change the world…in fact today there are about 2.18 billion Christians in the world…and that’s still growing!
From 11 men and a command from Jesus to 2.18 billion!
Ask: Why do you think these people were attracted to Christianity?
Video: T-Mobile ‘Welcome Back’ flash mob – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB3NPNM4xgo
Explain: In that video there were some people who knew what was going on, they were in on it and knew what was going to happen. There were others who weren’t and their reactions different. Some were shocked or confused, some laughed, some ignored it, some started videoing or taking photos and others began to join in.
It’s a bit like that when we tell people about God…some people will ignore us (Like in the Acts 17 passage that group 3 read), some will laugh, some won’t understand it until later on and others will join in but if we don’t take that chance to start with and have faith that Jesus is with us (like the others in the video having faith that the rest of the singers would actually be there!) then that will never happen.
Jesus said
“Go into the world and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Pray to close: Ask that God would continue to
(Statistics Source: http://www.pewforum.org/christian/global-christianity-exec.aspx)