Whose Life is it Anyway? It's Your Move Read Early believers witnessed the power of the Holly Spirit. They experienced the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesies (Acts 2:16-21), and they saw miracles of healing (Acts 3:1-8; 9:32-34;14:8-11), boldness in testifying (acts 3:12-26;4:8-12) and deliverance from the hand of their adversaries (Acts 4:16-21;12:5-11). They knew the heights of the glory of God. Yet though they had been lifted by these glimpses of the heavenly, they did not lose touch with their earthly brothers and sisters. In their ecstasy, they did not forget the depths on human need. They were sensitive and responsive to those in need, the poor and outcast, all those Jesus called "the least" (Matthew 25:42-45). They saw wonders of God firsthand, and that experience culminated not in attitudes of selfishness or superiority but in love and concern for one another. Christians are called to show compassion for others because God has already shown compassion for us. When Christians serve others it should not be out of guilt or an attempt to gain recognition. If so, they will miss the true rewards that come not only from helping others but from opening the heart and learning to care about others. Try to reflect on what is being said about right and wrong here. There are always consequences for our actions, but the proximity of deed and reward are not always so close or so clear. It is not easy to have an ethical discussion. There are always times of contradiction. Tonight, be prepared to discuss issues of fairness around such questions as, "Why do some people get away with doing wrong and others are punished?" "Why should I try to do right when everyone does wrong and no one seems to care?" Which Way Are We Moving  Road Work, and Trek  Needed: copy of Mat. 5:38-48 & Deu. 21:8-10 Give four youth a copy of the Scriptures listed above. Explain that you will be doing a "crescendo reading." This is a method for group reading of Scripture in which readers are added gradually so that the volume of the reading gets louder and louder. Organize the group before you begin the reading. Assign one person the first three verses then add the second for the next three and so on until everyone is reading loudly by the last three verses. Read the story  Moving In Road Work  Needed: three chairs representing "yes," "no," and "maybe" Use three chairs to create a straight line - one chair at either end of the room and one in the middle. designate the chairs as "yes," "maybe," and "no." Read the following statements and ask the learners to move silently to the appropriate part of the room to reflect their answers. After everyone has made a decision, ask a few learners to briefly share why they are standing where they are. Then present the next statement · All liars are bad people. · Death is always to extreme of a punishment. · Greed is just as bad a lying. · Trying to show off or one-up others is wrong. · By lying, showing off and being greedy, it hurts our faith. · If I saw bad things happening to bad people, I would be afraid.  Trek Divide into smaller groups, as many as there are sponsors. Imagine you are the flight team of an advanced, ultra-modern U.S. bomber, and you are flying maneuvers over the Iraq. You suddenly receive a highly classified message: Emergency Alert: Code Red...the U.S. has received a nuclear attack. The devices were hidden in oil tankers docked on the West Coast. We are currently tracking 9 unidentified objects headed towards the U.S. in a scatter pattern. Casualties and destruction are not known at this time. U.S. unable to retaliate... Missal launch codes have been hacked and are inoperable. Massive destruction is probable. Your current situation; you have 4 armed nuclear warheads. You could be the only hope to stop further attacks. Your location is pinpointed halfway between the U.S. and the Middle East. Your fuel is at 50 percent. You are ordered to maintain radio silence and proceed with operation Cave Dweller. Deliver warheads. The decision to fulfill the mission must be unanimous. If you decide not to fulfill the mission, your options are as follows: 1. You will change course and attempt to land in Greenland and hope the contamination will not reach you. 2. You will attempt to crash the plane in the target area rather than stay alive. 3. You will surrender to the enemy. 4. You will commit suicide and not drop the bombs. 5. You will simply keep flying and hope that you can get a clear picture of the situation and make up your mind at the last minute. 6. You will fly back to the U.S. to assess damage and hope that you can refuel somewhere. Moving Up Road Work: Play the Game, "What are the Chances" Needed: two coins, a  spoon Have two equal teams line up single file, one beside the other. At one end of the teams there is a single spoon on the floor and at the other end there is a person from each team with a coin. The two people with the coins begin flipping them and showing the coin to the first person in their line. If the coin is heads nothing happens. If the coin is tails, they "turn tail" and run to the spoon and score one point for their team by handing it to the sponsor. The sponsor then replaces the spoon. If it is a race, the winner goes to the back of his/her line and sits down, like all other non-racing spoon-grabbers. The looser returns to the back  of his/her line and waits to try again. The game continues until every one has had a chance to get the spoon, including the flipper, who is last and flips for himself/herself. After the game say, "the spoon symbolizes helping one another and the coin symbolizes the chances we get to rush to the aid of others." Ask the following questions: · If competition is good, then how can everyone win? · If God is on your side, then how come we loose sometimes? · How do we know who is the right team to play for? Trek: This activity directs kids in evaluating the place fear should have in a person's life. Tell the group you are going to read some statements. By a show of hands decide to agree or disagree with the statement. Wait till all the statements have been read and voted on. Then pick any topic of which the vote was closest to "split." Discuss further as many statements as needed. 1. You're riding on Space Mountain at Disney World. You find yourself screaming at the top of your lungs-in real fear. This fear is stupid. You should try your best to ignore it or repress it. 2. You've watched horror movies about people being possessed by the devil. Demonic possession scares you. It sounds horrible and frightening. Actually, you shouldn't be afraid. You've just been caught skipping class. You face a chance of being suspended. You're scared. You ought to be. 4. You just read about an ax murderer. Later you're walking down a dark street, and you remember what you just read. You begin to feel terribly afraid. This fear is childish. You should try to ignore or repress your fear. 5. "The Lord is my Light and my salvation: whom shall I fear?" Psalm 27:1. According to this, Christians should fear nothing. 6. You know several students that are more than curious about drugs. You're scared that one of them will ask you to give the stuff a try.  7.  Fear is good.     Moving On  Road Work: Play the game, "A Balance of Right and Wrong" Needed: two books, four small balls, two quarters This relay is fun to watch. Each team is given one quarter, two  balls and one book. The Idea is to balance the book on your head, hold the quarter on the tip of a finger, and keep the balls under your arms while walking away and back to the line. No hands allowed. If an object is dropped the racer must stop where they are and get everything set again before proceeding. After the game, ask how this game relates to the lesson? The books could be knowledge. The quarter is riches. The balls are your every day duties. If you don't do everything just right it is hard to move forward.  Or, It would be real easy to just carry the items to the finish line, but to play the game correctly makes life hard. Trek: Assign numbers 1, 2, & 3 to the group. Explain that you are going to ask questions about the lesson and you will ask youth who are assigned a particular number to answer them. Say this question is for two's only, then ask the question. If necessary rephrases the question. · What is the most important part of these Scriptures? · Ask how does fear play a part in our decisions about right and wrong? · What are some examples of fear making decisions for you? · What has surprised you most about this lesson? · Why does it seem that these Scriptures contradict each other? Moving Out Road Work, &Trek How do we know "What" is right and "What" is wrong? Wait for a few answers then continue with the following; Simply ask yourself - "What time is it." Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. Right and wrong are not always easy to separate. To always do the right thing is difficult. No one said being a Christian would be easy. So when you make a decision, ask yourself, whose life is it anyway? Then remember that you can give your life to God at any time.