Leader Guide

Theme
God’s Leading

Objective
Students will learn that God is a faithful leader who is worth following.

Warm Up
Choose a few pairs of students. Tell them that one person of each pair will be blindfolded, and the other will be the guide. Have three checkpoints around the room where the pairs will be given a piece of a flag. Each team will go separately and the best time will win. Change the checkpoints between each run.

The Song
Desperation Band’s “Banner” talks about God as our banner, our rally point, and our leader. As we listen to the song, think about how God has led you to this point in your life and about where you run when you feel lost.

Bible Study
Use this outline to teach from Exodus 17:15 – Moses built an altar and called it, “The Lord is my banner.”

Jesus: Our Banner of Salvation – Consider the amount of signs that are all around us – traffic signs, store signs, and road signs. All these signs are telling us what to do, where to go, what to buy. There are so many of them we have learned to tune them out. The one sign that is hard to ignore is the sign that says, “You need a Savior.” This sign is written on our hearts. We carry it around inside and it flashes on and off until we recognize it. Jesus said, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:32) Jesus was lifted up, like a banner, that we might see where to run and find salvation.

Jesus: Our Ever-Present Leader – When Jesus was born, a prophecy indicated that He would be called Immanuel, “God with us.” God took the lead when the fullness of time had come; He came for us to show us the way. Although Jesus is not physically with us today, He still leads us through the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would guide us (John 16:13), as we saw earlier in the game. The Holy Spirit is our guide to following Jesus and to living the full life Christ has called us to. The Holy Spirit also gives us the strength to raise our banners so others may know where to go to find life, salvation, and purpose.

Jesus: Our Mighty God – After Jesus’ resurrection, He asked two men on the road to Emmaus about what had happened in Jerusalem. They described, “…Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people.” (Luke 24:19) Jesus is a leader who impacted not only His own disciples, but also all kinds of people from all walks of life. What do people say about our walk with God? Would they say that we are mighty through Christ, or that we were “banners” declaring the God we serve to our school, homes, and communities?

Wrap Up
If you have a large group and you want to give your kids a way to commit to being a “banner” in their own world, put strips of cloth under their chairs. Play the video again and at a certain point ask kids to reach under their chairs and pull our their banners to wave during the song as a sign of their commitment. If you have a smaller group, give kids a blank square of white cloth and marker and ask kids to write out who they need Jesus to be to them right now in their life and then close in prayer.