Figuring It All Out Setting the Stage Road Work and Trek Journey Groups Gather at the stage area (use the portable P.A.), welcome, introduction of guests, make announcements. Introduce the session: Have you got it all figured out? Ignite a small opening discussion with the following question. What things do you have figured out? Dig deeper, rile them up a bit.   The Setup Road Work & Trek "Photo Contest"  Divide the group into teams of Road Work and Trek. Show a power point presentation of photos from the year. Expand the photos, at first, to an unrecognizable state, then, gradually bring them into focus. The first team to guess whom it is wins that round. Now the twist, play this like the game show, "Name That Tune." Each team tells one thing they have "figured out." The sponsors then give a rating for the statement. Sponsors will have cards, 1-10. The highest score wins the chance to guess how many clicks it will take to figure out whom is in the photo. The opposing team then has one chance to steal and guess it in less clicks. The winners get 100 points for the first three rounds. The fourth round is worth 300 points. The fifth round is the final and is worth a cool 500 points. In the event of a missed guess, play trades sides per click until correct, for all rounds.   Expanding the Theme Road Work & Trek  Continue the competition with more power point slides, this time it is individual effort. Hand everyone a note card. They are to identify the phrases on the screen by writing what it really means on their card. Instruct the youth to only write down the ones they know, write "PASS" if you do not get it before the next slide. Each slide will be up for only thirty seconds. The winner(s) will be the ones with the most correct answers by the end of the round. Answers: 1. Double Standard 2. Tip Top Shape 3. Crossed Eyes 4. Double Take 5. Banana Split 6. Rough around the edges 7. Several Options 8. Rejoice in the Lord 9. He spoke to them in Parables 10. Narrow way     Connecting to the Theme Road Work & Trek  Break into Journey Groups Read: Everyone sees things in different ways. Things that we know are not what they seem. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to point out the real meaning. Which was easier to win? When you were playing as a team or playing as an individual. Connecting to the Theme Road Work & Trek  Read: What if you were connected to a "Life Line" that controlled where you went, what you did and was your only guidance. Consider the Maze we traveled through last week. If there was a string that went all the way through the maze, I'm sure every one would have had no trouble getting from one end to the other. The way we did the maze was with a guide that went behind everyone else. Journeyers traveled through and were allowed to make mistakes and experience the unknown. When they were lost the guide would call out to them and help them find the way. Sometimes this was hard. There was shouting to contend with and someone who simple didn't want to listen. We didn't send anyone in alone and we didn't try to show them the way. What is the importance of the way we tried to experience the Maze? With a string or a guide, all made it through the maze. Which way would make you feel more secure? Why? By hanging on to the string we are sure we know the way even before we begin the journey. Who is in charge of laying out the string for us? By finding our own way, we stopped and checked our options and listened for guidance. No one said, "Here's the easy way, just grab the string." What's the difference in the two journeys? When we were children the natural thing to do was to display our emotions to satisfy our needs. As we grew we learned to control our emotions. Which is easier, reacting to our emotions or controlling them with faith and practice?    Living the Theme  Road Work & Trek  Imagine yourself watching a paid TV program. The people in the show are so convincing and seem so sincere. They deliver a message showing you why you must have the product they ultimately will tell you about. They answer all the questions before you can ponder them. They tell you there is a money back guarantee and you will be taking no risk. Experience tells you "If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is." Yet, every time they broadcast their message hundreds of thousands take the bait. Even though they may know better. They are hoping for an easier way to get what they want. The best way to purchase an important item is to look at it in person, try it out, ask questions, research the options, and then after applying your complete thought process you can make a decision. If you are an advertiser, you know that an emotional sale is appealing to everyone and will move product simply because of the instincts we all have. "Fear" and "Want" are the targets for sales, while "Faith" and "Need" are a higher measure thought. What are the differences between Fear and Faith? Want and Need?  Summing it all up Road Work & Trek Read: Luk 6:37 "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; Luk 6:38 give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back." Prayer  Road Work & Trek  In the small groups Invite the youth to join hands in a circle and offer a few words of prayer if they want. The leader starts the prayer, then squeezes the hand of the person to the left to indicate their turn, if they do not wish to speak just pass the squeeze and so on, until the squeeze gets back to the first person. Dismissal Come back together in a circle in the Youth Center. Sanctuary UMYF Benediction