Now is WAY Better than Later
Moving Parts
It's Your Move
Road Work and Trek Groups
Have Common Meal in the Family Life Center.
Welcome, & introductions Make announcements
Crop Walk, Wrapping Paper Sales, Soda Shop, Spooky Party
Which Way Are We Moving
Work Zone & High Way
Begin with a large group&ldots;
WHAT'S UP
Say: Young people are faced with making a multitude of decisions, but have one-sided decision-making experience. Teens are most interested in one thing and that is; do I like it, want it, believe it right now. You need practice in making good decisions. Tonight we're gona take a look at "one-sided" decisions and just how they look from a Christian point of view.
I need one boy and one girl with really big mouths to volunteer.
(Play the game)
"Seltzer Game"
Supplies: Alka-Seltzer tablets, a big ol' trash can, a can of pop.
The object of this challenge is to see how long the youth can keep their mouths shut with a fizzing tablet in their mouths, which are full of pop. Use the trashcans for your volunteers to empty their mouths into. For added fun, we'll have them stand across from each other so if one explodes, they could drench the person across from them!
Follow these steps: Take the package, hold the glass of pop, open the seltzer, hold a tablet near the mouth, place it on the tongue, pour in the pop and close the mouth.
The point is that sometimes once you push something right to the limit you just can't stop&ldots; What's the solution? Don't start or tempt the inevitable.
Break into Journey Groups
Moving In
Work Zone & High Way
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
Set Up: prepare three containers each for Mid & High. Place a small amount of cooked and cold pasta in a fancy gift bag. Place torn bits of paper in a plain cardboard box. Then place pieces of candy in a mashed up, wrinkled McDonalds paper bag. Be sure to have enough candy for each class member. Display the three containers, but keep their contents hidden.
Say: I need three volunteers that are good at listening to the majority and taking action as directed.
- Have volunteers take turns reaching into their containers (without looking) and pull out the contents for everyone to see. Then distribute the candy.
Ask the volunteers:
What was your reaction when you discovered what was in your container?
Ask everyone:
Did anyone guess the exact contents of any of the containers? Why or why not?
Which package best represents the way "temptations" like alcohol, drugs, and risky behavior, are presented in advertising? Explain. (The fancy bag-ads make alcohol look good; the paper bag-some ads depict alcohol as something to be ashamed of, movies like Jack*** make risky behavior hilarious)
How can experimenting with "temptations" be like getting a gift bag with wet spaghetti in it?
How is avoiding "temptations" like the wrinkled bag with the candy in it? (Sometimes an unpopular choice reaps the best rewards; doing the right thing doesn't always look great to others.)
Say: Sometimes things that look good at first aren't so great once you get into them. Experiences with "temptations" are like that for many people.
It seems strange how with all the negative results of risky behaviors, they are still so popular? (Because everyone drinks; because it's cool; because it makes people seem more mature.) Though popular, risky behavior can have negative side effects. And besides the negative side effects, a lot of these "temptations" are illegal for kids your age.
Ask:
Do you think the Bible clearly states that we shouldn't push temptations to the limit? Does it matter?
Moving on
Work Zone
Building Together
Preparation: You'll need a match, three or four hymnals and materials with which kids can build.
Form five "design teams" (a team can be one person, if necessary).
Say: Imagine you're all employees at the prestigious architectural firm Buildings 'R' Us. You've just won an important contract to design a four-story office building. The people who've hired you tell you they expect your creation to stand up to rigorous structural tests. Four teams will each be responsible for designing one floor of the office building. The fifth team will be responsible for laying the foundation for the building. Both the foundation and the floors should fit on an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper.
- Tell teams what floor they'll be responsible for and assign one team to lay the foundation. Tell that team they must build their foundation on top of the paper.
Then say: You each have 10 minutes to build your floor or complete the foundation. Then we'll put all the parts together. You can only use the materials provided. Remember you have only 10 minutes to build your floor. Ready? Go!
- Have design teams put together the office building and work together until it can stand on its own.
Say: OK, now let's test this building to see if it's a strong design.
- Light your match. And keep it burning while you ask the questions.
Ask:
Is this building strong enough to make it through fire?
Did you think your building was ready for a test of weight?
If you knew I was going to test your building by fire, what could you have done to make it survive?
Now that you know your building is not very safe, do you agree that it would be safe to keep fire from getting near?
How are risky behaviors like fire to your body?
Moving on
High Way
Right at the Edge
Ask:
What three big life-changing decisions do you think you will be making in the future? When will you need to make these decisions?
- Have 5 different volunteers rank one at a time the following decisions 1-3 for each group, 1 being the easiest.
- As you go through each group invite the other youth to share their hardest decisions as well as their easiest ones. Ask why some were more difficult than others and encourage them to share their opinion.
__ Doing homework or going to the mall
__ What video or movie to watch
__ How to spend your free time
__ What kind of music to listen to
__ How to treat your parents when you're in trouble
__ What statement you make with your clothes
__ Deciding when is the appropriate time for everything
__ What to do on Friday and Saturday nights
__ Who to go out with
__ What to spend money on
__ What Internet sites you visit
__ Where to draw the line with physical intimacy
__ What do to after high school and in the future
__ Who to hang out with
__ How to treat others
Ask:
What do you do-or who do you go to-when you need help making a big decision?
- When they list names discuss the practical how-tos of making decisions using that particular source; will the source allow them to: (1) gather all the facts, (2) consider all the alternatives, (3) get some good advice, (4) choose the best alternative.
Moving up
Work Zone
Break into small groups
Easy Decisions
Say: I'm going to give you three choices, pick the most difficult and the easiest decisions.
- Place an X next to the most difficult decisions and a check next to the easiest in each group.
Doing homework or going to youth group
What video or movie to watch
What to do after school
What kind of music to listen to
What to eat for dinner
What clothes to wear to school
When to pray
What to do on Friday and Saturday nights
Who to go out with
What to spend money on
How much time to spend on the Internet
Knowing the right time to be a cut-up
Ask:
Why were some decisions harder to make than others?
Moving up
High Way
How would you answer these? Y (yes), N (no), or S (sometimes)?
__ Do you have difficulty making up your mind?
__ Do you consider the consequences of your decisions before making them?
__ Do you often change your mind after you have made a decision?
Ask:
What are some examples of risky behavior?
What are the consequences as well as the benefits of that?
Are the potential consequences worth it?
Say: Impulsive decisions that could be harmful can often be checked by remembering to ask yourself, "And then what?" (Try it)
Moving out
Work Zone & High Way
Work Zone stay in small groups
A Time for Everything
On paper or whiteboard, make a list of a few key decisions that the youth are making and will need to make. Then go through each one and brainstorm different ways to make this decision. What consequences or results could come with each decision? Use this activity to point out how important good decision-making is.
Come back together in the FLC
Closing
Work Zone & High Way
The Leader Closes: Gather in a circle.
Sum up the lesson
Big decisions are really a combination of little decisions. The choices you make today will set the foundation for your future. So, this week start making wise decisions about little things- you'll be more confident when it is time to make important ones. Remember the Alka-Seltzer at the start of tonight. What if that one little decision was to stop and simply not open the package? One small decision would have avoided an explosion!
It's wise to seek good advice and think about the consequences of decisions. A one-sided decision only involves you. Take a moment and consider: how will this decision affect others around me? How will it affect my life? Sometimes there's no right or wrong decision. God may not have an answer for you on the spot-He'll force you to make the choice. As you make your decisions take a little time to run it by God anyway, He's probably just waiting for you to ask.
Sing Sanctuary
UMYF Benediction
