Leader Guide

Objective
Students will be encouraged to push through hard times.

Warm Up
Introduce and play this clip from the 1993 movie Airborne. In the movie, SoCal surfer Mitchell Goosen is forced to move to Cincinnati to live with his cousin. His quirky cousin works to introduce Mitchell to some of his more popular classmates. However, Mitchell's laid-back attitude and unique sense of style are not well received by the students in his class.

Transition
•    Have you ever been bullied?
•    What are some ways you deal with bullying?
•    How does your faith affect the way you respond to bullying?

The Video   
In the song "Glow in the Dark" from his album Where the Light Gets In, Jason Gray sings about persevering through hard times and allowing God's light to shine through you. Show the video.

Transition
•    Have you ever felt like that - like the world's just one big mess, as though you've taken a fist to the chest?
•    How did you respond?
•    Does being a Christian affect the way you respond to life and peer pressure? How?

Bible Study
Matthew 5:13-15
•    What do you think Jesus meant in these first couple verses?
•    What happens if you cover the flame of a candle?
•    What happens when you put a candle in the center of a room?
•    What kind of faith life are you living? Are you a candle being snuffed out?

Philippians 2:12-15
•    What do you think Paul meant by the phrase, "work out your own salvation"?
•    Who/What gives us power to move through life?
•    As Christians, how are we to respond to life's pressures? (v. 14)
•    How do you typically respond?
•    What does verse 15 mean to you?
•    Can it really be that simple? Explain.

Wrap Up
Perhaps one of the best cinematic motivation speeches ever given comes from the 2006 film "Rocky Balboa." Stallone's character is about to come out of retirement to fight one more round, but his son doesn't think it's the best idea.  Rocky takes a look at his kid and he sees someone just trying to keep his head down, trying to keep the jeering comments and laughs at bay. But, Rocky knows there's so much more to the kid in front of him.

The same can be said for our relationships with Christ. Life is always going to hit us, in one way or another. It's going it hurt. People will disappoint us and hurt us. Life isn't always going to be sunshine and rainbows. But, life isn't really about that, is it? Life is about how we, as Christians, can take the hits life throws our way and continue pushing forward -allowing Christ's light to shine through the chaos and pain. Like Jason Gray says in his song, it's only when we're truly broken that Christ's likeness can really shine through.