Tonight was JIF. We haven't met for our discussion time for quite a few weeks due to the holiday and getting shoeboxes done. I was out of my planning routine and getting sucked in to planning for events coming up. So, all of a sudden, I remembered I had to plan! It's a pretty straightforward Bible study as long as I go by the book, which I usually don't. So, I read through the lesson and then had to head to the Teen Center.
Basically, I was counting on God and the skitguys to get me through. As we started, I was excited to have 3 new people there! My plan to start off by reviewing what we had been talking about didn't go so well since half the group was new or not regulars there. So, we quickly moved on. It was our first time talking about Adam and Eve and sin- always a fun topic for teens. We started by discussing sin, what some of them are and how sinning effects others. They were talking and contributing but not wholly into the discussion. I could tell I was losing some of them. So, it was obviously time for skitguys. Two guys do skits based on Christian topics and my teens love them! Some are pretty serious and others are hilarious. I pulled up the website and they cheered. I typed in Adam and Eve and up came a skit. It was hilarious! It also gave a pretty good synopsis of the story, although some of it was obviously their interpretation. Yep, thanks to the skitguys, I had their complete attention again. We then talked about some of the false things people say about the story, and then went on to talking about our own sins. It was then time for them to take some quiet time to reflect on their own lives and some changes they might want to make. It was actually quiet! That's an accomplishment. While they were reflecting, the thought occurred to me to pull up Lifehouse Everything. It's a video about Jesus and how no matter what mistakes we make, Jesus is always there and He is reaching out to us. I wanted to end the evening reminding the youth that even though there is sin, there is hope because Jesus died for us. It wasn't part of the lesson, but I felt it needed to be. So, as I started the video, they all came back to the room and watched quietly. Then, we closed with a few thoughts on the video and I asked for a volunteer to pray. One of the new girls volunteered and said a beautiful prayer. Afterwards, she came to me and asked me for a Bible. I gave her one and could tell she was very happy to have one.
So, where was God today? He gave me the words to say, the videos to play, and the teens who needed to hear them.
Blessings,
Jennifer
Basically, I was counting on God and the skitguys to get me through. As we started, I was excited to have 3 new people there! My plan to start off by reviewing what we had been talking about didn't go so well since half the group was new or not regulars there. So, we quickly moved on. It was our first time talking about Adam and Eve and sin- always a fun topic for teens. We started by discussing sin, what some of them are and how sinning effects others. They were talking and contributing but not wholly into the discussion. I could tell I was losing some of them. So, it was obviously time for skitguys. Two guys do skits based on Christian topics and my teens love them! Some are pretty serious and others are hilarious. I pulled up the website and they cheered. I typed in Adam and Eve and up came a skit. It was hilarious! It also gave a pretty good synopsis of the story, although some of it was obviously their interpretation. Yep, thanks to the skitguys, I had their complete attention again. We then talked about some of the false things people say about the story, and then went on to talking about our own sins. It was then time for them to take some quiet time to reflect on their own lives and some changes they might want to make. It was actually quiet! That's an accomplishment. While they were reflecting, the thought occurred to me to pull up Lifehouse Everything. It's a video about Jesus and how no matter what mistakes we make, Jesus is always there and He is reaching out to us. I wanted to end the evening reminding the youth that even though there is sin, there is hope because Jesus died for us. It wasn't part of the lesson, but I felt it needed to be. So, as I started the video, they all came back to the room and watched quietly. Then, we closed with a few thoughts on the video and I asked for a volunteer to pray. One of the new girls volunteered and said a beautiful prayer. Afterwards, she came to me and asked me for a Bible. I gave her one and could tell she was very happy to have one.
So, where was God today? He gave me the words to say, the videos to play, and the teens who needed to hear them.
Blessings,
Jennifer
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