Even Moses Was Once A Basket Case It's Your Move Road Work and Trek Groups Get rid of the round tables. Make one big circle with long tables. Everyone sits side by side. Gather in the gym. Welcome, & introductions Explain Monopoly and Potato Bar   Which Way Are We Moving Work Zone & High Way Begin with a large group&ldots;  Are you concerned with how you look or how many friends you have? Well consider the case of Mr. Washington. Mr. Washington was a twenty-dollar bill who was a little concerned about his name. He constantly moved from one place to the other, some times he was with friends and some times he was all alone. One day he found him self in the wallet of a very important man. He made many friends in the wallet while he was there. Every time the wallet opened he saw something nice, a restaurant with fancy lights on the ceiling, perfumed department stores, & lots of smiling faces. Mr. W. eagerly waited his turn to come out of the wallet. One day the wallet opened and Mr. W. was selected. The man held him up and asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. The man said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this. He proceeded to crumple Mr. W. up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?"  Still the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" He dropped it on the ground and started to grind Mr. W. into the floor with his shoe. He picked up the bill, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air. My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are helpless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or whom we know, but by WHO WE ARE.   Break into Journey Groups   Moving In Work Zone  The Chaos Begins Break into small groups. Say: Growing up can be hard! Everyone grows at a different rate and some kids don't think they're normal. In this lesson you will have a chance to talk about the ins and outs of growing up and how to deal with its stresses and pressures. If you treat each other like a twenty-dollar bill, you'll find it quite easy. Ask:    What do you think is the best age to be?  2    5    10    13    16    18    21   30   45   65    Why did you choose this age?    What is scary about this age? You may want to talk about the different opportunities that come with each age and what's exciting or scary about those.   Moving In High Way If I were a twenty-dollar bill everyone would want me&ldots; Say: Society and the media pressure teenagers to date at a young age-and to experiment with physical intimacy. These pressures, if you claim them or not, are making an impact on youth today-when you date, who you date, and how you handle social and sexual issues. This lesson tries to discuss dating, close relationships and how to handle them from God's perspective. Pass out the hand out: Choose only three of the following characteristics that would describe your ideal guy or girl. __My ideal person can be open and honest with me. __My ideal person treats me with respect, as if I'm special. __My ideal person will listen when I need to talk. __My ideal person is popular. __My ideal person won't date anyone else but me. __My ideal person is very good-looking. __My ideal person likes to try new and different things. __My ideal person is very intelligent and gets good grades. __My ideal person is involved in church activities. __My ideal person wants to get physical right away. __My ideal person has a lot of money. __My ideal person is a strong Christian. __My ideal person has a sense of humor. Say: Lets have a discussion and vote for the top three traits. I'll keep track of them, then we'll vote again for the most important.   Moving on Work Zone  Am I Normal Ask: Which one would you choose? I'm growing up- a. Faster than most kids my age. b. About the same as others my age. c. Not as fast as others my age. Say: Remember everyone grows at a different pace. During your teen-age years, it is normal for some to mature as much as six years earlier than others! Girls mature physically much faster than boys do. You are all unique-no one grows and develops in the same way. Ask:    If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?    How do you feel when you look in the mirror? Pick two of the following things.    worried   proud   happy   angry   flawed   shy   embarrassed            lonely   pretty   special   handsome   depressed Go around the group and ask if anyone will share why they feel the way they do. Ask: How do you think God feels about you, his creation?   Moving on High Way The Big Discussion Use this activity to let the group argue and debate the issue. Ask & Discuss: What do you think? D (definitely), M (maybe), or N (never) __ A person should date as many people as he or she can. __ Christians should pray together on a date. __ The best age to begin dating is 16. __ Heavy petting is okay as long as the couple doesn't go all the way. __ Christians should date only other Christians. __ It's okay for a girl to ask a guy for a date. __ The purpose of dating is to prepare for marriage. __ You should date only people your parents or guardians approve of. __ Couples should share expenses on a date. __ It is wrong for homosexuals to date.   Moving up Work Zone  Chain Race Come back together as a large "Work Zone" group. Form teams of six or fewer. Say: When I say, "go," create the longest chain you can, using only items you brought with you into the room. You can use shoes - but don't undo the laces, jackets, watches, anything within reason-as long as the chain can be lifted from end to end without falling apart. Ready? Go!   Give teams about three minutes to complete their chains. Once you've tested the chains for sturdiness, compare their lengths, and declare the winner. Stay in teams for small groups and get some space between each other. Ask:    What makes a chain strong?    How is a chain similar to a group of friends?    How was creating our chain like building friendships within a group like this one?    Did it matter what you looked like to be able to help build the chain?    What's one thing you can do this week to "strengthen the chain" of friendships within this group?   Moving up High Way Top Question Say: I'm going to read through groups of three. Pick the one for each group that is the most important. Then we'll go back through again after finding the top question in all the groups and try to decide on THE top question for teenagers. ___Will someone want to date me? ___Do others think I'm cool? ___Do I have enough friends?   ___Am I attractive to the opposite sex? ___Will my parents start trusting me? ___All my friends are having sex-what about me?   ___How can I get better grades? ___Does God think I'm okay? ___How am I going to get more money?   ___Will I get accepted to college? ___Can I survive high school? ___Should I drink a little or try drugs?   Moving out Work Zone  Helping Each Other Through the Chaos Needed: Masking tape The idea is to make a square on the floor using masking tape and see how many youth can get inside it without any part of their body outside the area. Anything is legal. Make two small squares on the floor with the tape. Creatively divide into two teams. Start by pointing out a larger area to get each team into. Have the teams line up at different places in the room then race relay style to the areas. Only after each player reaches his or her area may the next team player start. Here's the catch all players must crawl to the area then stand and cram everyone in. Get everyone to stand still where he or she is and be quiet for a few seconds. Say: Everyone looked kind of funny getting to the square. Now maybe you know what it is like to be a twenty-dollar bill in someone's wallet.   Moving out High Way Letter to Myself Needed: paper, pencils, and envelopes Give each person a sheet of paper, a pencil, and an envelope. Say: Think about the kind of person you'd like to be in a year, the things you will have accomplished, who you might be dating, if you'll have a job. Basically write yourself a letter describing that person, and then seal the letter in your envelope. On the envelopes, write your name and "to be opened on (date one year from now)."  Think about the kind of person you'd like to be in a year, the things you will have accomplished, who you might be dating, if you'll have a job. Basically write yourself a letter describing that person,   Dear Me,     Sincerely       Come back together in the FLC   Closing Work Zone & High Way The Leader Closes: Sit in a circle, use candle light and ask for any prayer concerns. Remain Seated I was young once and a little concerned about what others thought about me. I remember the yearbook staff, the drama classes, choir, soccer, football and rass-ling. I remember talking on the phone for my full 20 minutes (no I.M.ing) I remember the breakups, the pop quizzes, the cool place to hang in the hall and the weaker, shy kids that I still managed to befriend. Sometimes I was sorry I had a relationship with so many people. I would worry about how I was going to live up to their expectations as well as my teachers and parents. Other times I just didn't worry about it because being nice came naturally. Yea, growing up was hard but I knew at least one kid that had it a lot harder than me.  -Jesus was once a teenager! He went through the same challenges and trials that you do. I like to think that Jesus got some good experience from his teenage years, caring for others and trying to understand what the grownups were thinking. God does know what it's like to grow up. God understands all your fears and emotions because he created you and knows you better than you know yourself. Just remember to treat everyone like a twenty. It doesn't mater what they look like, where they've been or who they end up next to in the wallet. You are still priceless to those who LOVE you. The worth of our lives doesn't come from what we do or whom we know, but by WHO WE ARE.     UMYF Benediction and turn out in to the world! Don't for get the Potato Bar Sign-up Sheets!!!!