Week 1: Samson
Taught by: Taylor Dawson

Samson was destined to be a Hero before he was even born. His mother was instructed by an angel to raise him as a Nazarite, committing to a vow to never cut his hair. In addition to having lots of hair Samson possessed unbelievable physical strength. This strength was given by God to Samson to accomplish Samson’s purpose in life — to begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines.

As Samson was growing up and through adulthood he made some bad decisions especially when it came to relationships. One of those relationships was with a Philistine woman named Delilah. The Philistine leaders found out about their relationship and paid Delilah to find out how Samson got his strength. Delilah reported back that it was because of his long hair. While asleep, Samson’s hair was cut off.

Losing his strength, he was captured by the Philistines, who gouged out his eyes, and made him grind grain in prison. Later, the Philistines stood Samson in the center of a temple during a celebration. Samson was placed between the two main pillars of the temple. Samson humbly called out to God and asked to be strengthened one more time so that he could fulfill his destiny. Then Samson pushed against the pillars with all his might and the temple crashed.

Our relationships matter. Making wise decisions in whom we hang out with and date is an important part of our walk as Christians.

Share with your student a time when you made a bad relationship decision. Did those decisions affect your relationship with God? How did you come back from that?

No matter where you go or what you do with your life, your family will always be a part of it. Whether it’s through past memories or current gatherings, your family and how you relate to each other will affect you. While you will be independent and able to make your own decisions someday, your family will always play some sort of role in your life.

The seeds you sow now for harmony, understanding and wholeness can go a long way towards the future growth of healthy family relationships.

What type of seeds did you sow in your relationship with your parents that may affect how you relate to them now? What do you wish you would have done differently? What were you glad you did? 

A verbal shot is fired and our gut tells us to fire back. That word, that attitude from someone else hurt us or made us mad, so we want to give some of that back.

Been there?

How often do we quickly react to something a sibling or parent does or says in a way that raises the level of tension and anger instead of diffusing it? But there is another option! We can choose to stop the madness and think through our words and actions. We can begin to see more clearly that when something provokes us, we have a choice to make before we respond. We can be part of the resolution instead of part of the problem.

Take a recent argument or “loud discussion” you had. Write down what prompted the conversation, then write down each of your responses. Now backtrack and each of you identify the decisions you made that prompted your responses. Maybe you reacted to how something was said, or one word set you off. Maybe you responded out of fear of what could happen. 

Does it ever feel like there are families who are more “perfect” than yours? They dress better, have a nicer house, never seem to fight.

But when we see these famlies, we’re not seeing the full picture; we’re simply seeing a snapshot. If we actually lived in that family and dealt with each person on a daily basis, we would probably realize that the perfect family is, well, a myth.

The truth is that no family is perfect. We are all just human, and when we realize that we can live in the messiness of our families and learn to find the good, we begin to understand the purpose God has in placing us in our particular family.

Have you ever thought a family was “perfect,” only to find out how “normal” they were as you got to know them? Did you ever wish you were part of a different family growing up? Why?

You’ve seen their shiny, happy faces staring at you from picture frames, magazine ads and commercials. They are the perfect family. Every tooth sparkles. Every face beams with joy. And they seem to have everything you don’t.

But the reality is, well they aren’t real. In fact it’s an illusion.

There’s no such thing as a picture perfect family. Families are made up of imperfect people — people like you and me. So how do we live and interact with the family God has placed us in? How do we find a way to be a part of it, instead of just surviving and living for the day when we move on? Because no family is perfect, and no person is either.

Join us October 2, 9 and 16 for this amazing new teaching series!

Week 5: Transforming My Experience
We can’t grow apart from challenges to what’s familiar and comfortable to us. The Spirit leads us into adventure. The Spirit leads us into a dangerous world. To ask for the Spirit is to ask for risk. (The Me I Want To Be, Teen Edition, chapter 19)

Go Deeper
What are some of the challenges you faced this past week? What was your response to them (irritated, energized, impatient, curious)?
How have you involved God in these challenges?

Week 4: Deepening Our Relationships
A wise man once said that just as the three laws of real estate are “location, location, location,” the three laws of relationship are “observation, observation, observation.” People who give life to us are people who actually notice us. They know what we love and fear. When we work to really notice someone else, love for that person grows. When we work to really notice someone else, our soul really lives. (The Me I Want To Be, Teen Edition, chapter 15)

Go Deeper
Be honest, are your friends the kind that build you up? Support you for who you are? Do they want what’s best for you? Or do you feel like you are constantly having to prove yourself? Are you surrounding yourself with people who build you up or tear you down?

Week 3: Redeeming My Time
We become vulnerable to temptation when we are dissatisfied with our lives. The deeper our dissatisfaction, the deeper our vulnerability…because we were made for soul satisfaction. We can’t live without it. If we don’t find soul satisfaction in God, we’ll look for it somewhere else. (The Me I Want To Be, Teen Edition, chapter 11)

Go Deeper
How would you answer if someone asked, “How is your prayer life going?”
Is there something keeping you from saying, “GREAT”?
What is the importance of keeping your soul connected to God through prayer?

Week 2: Renewing The Mind
Becoming the best version of yourself, then, rests on one simple instruction: Think great thoughts! People who live great lives are people who habitually think great thoughts. Their thoughts move them toward confidence, love and joy. Trying to change your emotions by willpower alone and without allowing the stream of your thoughts to be changed by the flow of the Spirit is like disinfecting the house of the skunk smell while the skunks are still living in your basement. But God can change the way we think. (The Me I Want To Be, Teen Edition, chapter 7)

Go Deeper
Have you put much thought into the things you would like to achieve? Are these things material? Relational? Accomplishments? Physical?
How can your desires be positive? How can they be negative?

Week 1: Discovering The Spirit
Really living is never just about you; it’s a “so that” kind of thing. In other words, God designed you to really live “so that” you could be part of his mission on earth; or God wants you to really live “so that” people can be encouraged, gardens can be planted, music can be written, sick people can be helped, and schools can thrive. So when you fail to become the person God designed, all the rest of us miss out on the gift you were made to give! (The Me I Want To Be, Teen Edition, chapter 2)

Go Deeper
What are some characteristics of you? What things are you passionate about? What are you good at? How can these things be used to glorify God?