MSM: September 4/5, 2016 HS: September 8, 2016
When we put our faith in God we can do anything.
James/ Week 5
Put your faith in something that will last (God).
Breakout Group (25 Min) Ice Breaker (3 min) ● If you could spend 24hours in the future, what would you do and why? (each person has 90 seconds or less to share, not everyone has to share.) Leader story (2 Min) ● Tell a story about a time you put your faith in something other than Jesus. What happened in your life that resulted in putting your faith in Jesus? Questions (20 Min) 1. In your own words, what is faith? 2. Why is what we put our faith in so important? 3. Name some everyday things that we have to put our faith in? What makes those things good or bad? a. Example: vehicles, electricity, refrigerators, etc. 4. Someone read James 5:16: a. What do you think James is talking about here? 5. Why is faith in God rather than other stuff so important to our lives? 6. How can we put our faith in action outside of Crossroads?
We will be going through a chapter of James each week and picking out major themes he writes about and apply them to our lives.
James Week 5 Know : When we put our faith in God we can do anything. Do : Put your faith in something that will last (God). ●
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This is week 5 of “Working Faith” - the last week. ○ We’ve learned that... ■ James is Jesus’ brother and he learned a lot from him. ■ We’ve talked about: ● Humility. ● Putting our faith into action. ● Using our words words wisely. ■ Last week we talked about keeping distractions out of our lives. This week we are learning about what can happen when we put our faith into things that will last (a.k.a God) vs. things that won't. What is faith? ○ Slide: Faith is trust or confidence in someone or something. ■ It’s sitting in a chair or jumping. We have faith the chair will hold us, and gravity will bring us down. ● Presenter tell a funny story about when you had faith in something and it didn’t work out the way you planned. Something broke/ran out of gas etc… In James 5, James talks about different stuff we put our faith in. ○ Slide: There are things we put our faith in that won't last forever. ■ Slide:James 5:1: “Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you.” ● Money isn’t bad, but it doesn’t solve all our problems. ○ If we put our faith only in money when we begin to think that money buys happiness. ■ Money runs out. ○ Slide:James 5:2 “Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags.” ■ It’s not bad to have nice things and money, but material things have expiration dates. ● The clothes we wear fade. ● The cars we buy rust. ● Our electronics age and 2 days later are out of date. ■ Material things are important, but they will fade away and rot. James says our faith should be in something greater than material things. Slide: Faith in God can get us through anything. ○ Slide: James 5:11 “We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.”
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Briefly mention Job, here are some points if you’re not familiar: ● The book of Job in the Old Testament is his story. ● Lost everything, family, house, livestock, clothes on his back, everything. ● After a discussion with friends he prays to God, and has a very intense conversation with God. ○ Job told him how he felt. ○ He asked for answers. ○ God responded. ● The conclusion he learns to trust in God and endures that tragic time of his life and gains everything back and more. God wants to have the relationship with you that he had with Job. Slide: When we put our faith in God we can trust him to take care of us. ○ Slide:James 5:16 “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” ■ James had seen amazing things as a follower of Christ. ● The dead being brought back to life. (Little girl and Lazarus). ● Sick healed (Bleeding woman) . ● Healed the blind, the list goes on. ○ Because of those experiences James knows that with faith nothing is impossible. Where are you putting your faith? ○ In material things? ○ In relationships? ○ In popularity? ○ In accomplishments? Etc. ■ Real faith only works when we put our trust in Jesus and what he has done for us. ○ Presenter take a second and allow students to receive Jesus into their lives. This doesn’t have to be a long, drawn out moment, but rather a light and refreshing time. “If you are in here and you’ve never put your faith in Jesus today could be your day. Jesus loves you, died for you, and wants to be the center of your life.” ○ Presenter pray us out
PREP NEEDS none
A/V NEEDS A/V needs 1. Slide: Title 2. Slide: Countdown 3. Slide: Title 4. Slide: Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something. 5. Slide: Blank 6. Slide: There are things we put our faith in that won't last forever. 7. Slide:James 5:1: “Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you.” 8. Slide: Blank 9. Slide:James 5:2 “Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags.” 10. Slide: Blank 11. Slide: Faith in God can get us through anything. 12. Slide: James 5:11 “We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy. 13. Slide: Blank 14. Slide: When we have faith in God we can do anything we put our mind to. 15. Slide:James 5:16 “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” 16. Slide: Title