God is Searching
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.
Activity
Road Work & Trek
Break in to journey groups, introduce the session:
The purpose of this study is to teach that God desires a relationship with us so much that He will go to great lengths to show His love and get our attention, but He will never force His love on anyone.
THREE BY THREE
Place nine hymnals or same-sized rectangular objects on the floor in a three-by-three pattern. Have your "assistant" leave the room knowing the trick. Have the youth pick one of hymnals or objects to be "it." Then, have your assistant come back inside. Using a pointing stick, deliberately point to the wrong hymnal, but place the pointer on the hymnal in the same position as the real hymnal. For instance, if "it" is in the upper right-hand corner of the pattern of hymnals, point to the upper right-hand corner of one of the other hymnals and ask "Is this it?"
The point? A clear relationship between two makes even the impossible seem easy.
WE ARE ALL LOSERS
Ask several people in your group to respond to these questions. Have you ever lost anything that was really important to you, and then you found it later? It could be a thing, a pet, or even a person. How did you feel when you lost it? How did you feel when you found it? How long did you have to search for it?
BRING THEM CLOSER
FIND THE FIVE
You will need one five-dollar bill. Before the youth arrive, hide a five-dollar bill somewhere in the area. Make it hard to find, but not impossible.
Youth will almost always understand a biblical principle better if they experience the emotions involved in that principle. For instance, in this activity, they will experience frustration, anticipation, hope and finally victory or dejection -- all feelings God must have when He searches for the lost.
Explain that somewhere in this room is a five-dollar bill. It has been lost. Whoever finds it may keep it. You have five minutes to find it. Watch the youth as they search for the prize. If time allows, discuss how it felt during the search. Ask how the finder felt and how the losers felt.
Transition: Those of you who participated in the search for the prize just became more godly. How? Because God is a God who is looking for something that is lost. Tonight we'll find out what He is searching for and what lengths He's willing to go to find it.
The Scripture
Road Work & Trek
You will need an empty envelop with a blank sheet of paper folded in side.
POPLE ARE LIKE LOST SHEEP
Read: Luke15:3 - 7
Illustration: Ask: What's the dumbest thing you have ever seen an animal do? Allow for responses. Share your own story if you have one. Explain: If you think that was stupid, you ought to see what sheep do.
Explain: Sheep, by most standards, are just plain stupid. If they see what they think to be better grass for grazing, they will sometimes stray from the herd for it. Then, the herd moves on and the sheep returns to find that it is lost. A sheep by itself, without a shepherd or a herd, is an easy target for wolves and other predators.
Some sheep do not wander very far from the herd, but they still become lost. They step just off the path of the shepherd and the rest of the herd looking for something interesting, intending to get right back. But, before the sheep knows what has happened, it's thick wool has become entangled in the bushes and it cannot move. The rest of the herd moves on, and now the sheep is lost.
Finally, some sheep do not realize the danger of a moving stream of water. A thirsty sheep may head for a stream that the shepherd has deliberately avoided. When the sheep wades out into the water to get a drink, the water weighs down the wool and then it is carried downstream. If it is not found soon, it will drown. The sheep needed the water, but he tried to find it on his own instead of going where the Shepherd led Him. The Shepherd would have led His sheep to still waters, where there was no danger of drowning.
Application: Some people are like these sheep. Ask for an example for each of the three examples above.
PEOPLE ARE LIKE A LOST COIN
Read: Luke15:8 - 10
Illustration: Ask someone to give you one coin. Take the coin and hold it up. Explain: I am going to drop this coin from over my head. Then ask: Who can tell me which way it will roll after it hits the ground? Allow your group to try and guess. Drop the coin and watch where it rolls. Explain: You can't really ever predict where the coin will roll -- it's chance. Sometimes chance or dumb luck causes something to be lost.
Explain: The woman had ten coins, each worth about a day's wages. From our point of view, this coin was probably worth $100 or more (calculated from an annual salary of $24,000). Somehow, she dropped one of the coins in the house and it rolled out of sight. The coin was now lost.
Application: Some people are lost, but they don't really know how they got there. They just had bad luck, took a fall, and rolled out of sight. Like a coin under a couch, it is dark. They see people walk by and they try to get their attention, but no one seems to care. They are stuck there, and they feel like life is just passing them by.
Transition: Some people feel like life has dealt them a raw deal, like the coin that fell, and now they are lost.
PEOPLE CAN BE LIKE A LOST SON
Read: Luke15:11 - 31
Illustration: Give away the five-dollar envelope like this. Beforehand, seal only a blank sheet of paper in the envelope and keep the "five" hidden.
Ask: Can I have a volunteer from the audience? Call someone forward.
Explain: I have this valuable envelope that I would like to give to you. You can either take it now, or you can take it sometime in the future whenever I choose to give it to you. Let the person respond by taking the envelope. If they suspect a trick and refuse to take it now, ask if anyone else wants to take it now. When the person who took the envelope sits down, ask him/her to open the letter. (Of course, it will be empty.) If you had waited until later and had a more complete understanding of what was in it, I would have given you everything. But because you chose to take it now, you only get the symbol, the big show.
Explain: The son in this story demanded his inheritance from his father. He made a conscious and deliberate choice. He wasn't stupid like the sheep, and it wasn't chance like the coin. He didn't want to live on his Father's farm any longer. He didn't want to do the work his father wanted him to do everyday. He made up his mind and he decided to take his father's inheritance and go live the good life. He went to another country, spent his money on (probably) prostitutes, wild parties, drinking, gambling, a nice camel, etc. But, before long, he found himself completely out of money and forced to feed pigs for a living. He was so hungry that he wanted to eat the pig food. He went to find himself, but he ended up lost, lonely, and hungry.
Application: Some people know what God wants them to do. But they have decided that there is more to life out there. They don't want to live their life trying to figure out if God wants them to rush right in or build their relationship. They may want to live the good life now. They want to run forward on every occasion. For a while they will have fun, but it won't take long to realize that everything they thought was so great is actually boring. Now they are lost, blaming themselves for leaving in the first place, and wondering if God would even consider taking them back. They find themselves staring at an empty package, like the person with the envelope, wondering what to do next.
Connecting to the Scripture
Road Work & Trek
HOW DO WE GET UNLOST? REALIZE WE ARE LOST!
Explain: The sheep may be stupid, but it knows when it is lost. It knew it didn't belong by itself, or caught in a bush, or drowning in the stream. The coin, if it had thoughts, would know it was lost because it wasn't being spent or hanging around with the other coins. It knew it didn't belong under the couch. The son realized he had done wrong, and he knew he was lost in another country. He knew he wasn't supposed to be feeding pigs.
Application: God will never force you to be found. If you want to be found, you have to know you are lost. You've got to know that God is searching for you.
Explain: When a sheep is lost, the shepherd leaves the other sheep and goes searching for the lost sheep. He will call the sheep's name, crawl through bushes, wade through streams, and give all He has to finding the sheep. When he finds it, He will lift it up gently on His shoulders and carry it back to the herd and throw a party.
When a valuable coin is lost, or a five-dollar bill, the person searching for it will go to great lengths. The woman turned over the furniture, and crawl through the dirt to find it. Then, she will pick it up, put it with the others, and throw a party.
When a son leaves home, the father will not force him to stay. But he will wait patiently by the door. He will lay awake nights, wondering when the boy will return. He will look down the road every day, hoping that figure in the distance is his son. And on the day that his son realizes he is lost and begins to return home, the father will recognize him from a long way off and run out to meet him. He will take him home and throw a party.
Application: God is always calling your name. He left His home in heaven to come down to earth and crawl with humans, hoping they would listen to Him. He went all the way to the cross, hoping that some would choose to accept His free gift of love. He won't take you home if you're not ready.
When you are ready, when you really know God, when you make a logical clear decision, He will find you, He will pick you up, take you where you need to be, and throw a party.
At this point, call the person who took the envelope back up to the front. Pull out the hidden "five". Ask: Would you rather have this "five" or go with that envelope? Let the person respond and take the "five".
Do Something About It
Explain: Some people are lost and will never let God find them. They have never realized they were lost and that God was searching for them. Everyone can choose to have a fuller life. Just like an empty envelope is better with a five-dollar bill, their life is better if they understand God and then let Him inside. You could be an empty package if you just rush right in.
RETURN TO FELLOWSHIP HALL
Application: God will never force you to be found. If you want to be found, you have to know you are lost. You've got to know that God is searching for you.
Explain: When a sheep is lost, the shepherd leaves the other sheep and goes searching for the lost sheep. He will call the sheep's name, crawl through bushes, wade through streams, and give all He has to finding the sheep. When he finds it, He will lift it up gently on His shoulders and carry it back to the herd and throw a party.
When a valuable coin is lost, or a five-dollar bill, the person searching for it will go to great lengths. The woman turned over the furniture, and crawl through the dirt to find it. Then, she will pick it up, put it with the others, and throw a party.
When a son leaves home, the father will not force him to stay. But he will wait patiently by the door. And on the day that his son realizes he is lost and begins to return home, the father will recognize him from a long way off and run out to meet him. He will take him home and throw a party.
Application: God is always calling your name. He left His home in heaven to come down to earth and crawl with humans, hoping they would listen to Him. He won't take you home if you're not ready. When you are ready, when you really know God, when you make a logical clear decision, He will find you, He will pick you up, take you where you need to be, and throw a party.
At this point, call the person who took the envelope back up to the front. Pull out the hidden "five". Ask: Would you rather have this "five" or go with that envelope? Let the person respond and take the "five".
RETURN TO FELLOWSHIP HALL
Prayer
Road Work & Trek
Invite one of the youth to offer a few words of prayer for the group.
Dismissal
Sanctuary
UMYF Benidiction
