This Bible study will help your students see the power of grace and how that impacts our lives.

 

Finger Racing – Have each student pair up with another person and face each other. Each person will have a “finger person” that is made from their pointer finger and their middle finger – to create the legs of your finger person. The “finger person” will always be the right hand and the starting position will always be on the palm of the left hand. The leader will call out different places for the “finger person” to race to. For instance the leader will call out “Nose!” Both students will then race to their nose via their finger person. The finger person must run from their palm, up the arm, over the shoulder, up the neck, across the face to the nose. The first “finger person” to the nose is the winner. The “finger person” cannot jump from one body part to another—they must keep contact with the body at all times as if the body were the ground that they were running on. Locations to race to: Nose • Right knee • Left big toe • Bellybutton • Tongue • Right heel. Be creative! (But, not too creative...)

 

To experience God’s grace we must be disciplined in the area of obedience. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” We must learn to have a racecar type of obedience: ever alert and cautious, willing to move fast when God calls us to obey. Obedience requires fast action. Discuss:

• What is grace?

• How has God shown us grace?

• Why is grace Important?

 

Play Remedy Drive’s “All Along” for your students.

 

“All Along” is a song that highlights a problem that plagues us all. We all are searching for something to give our lives meaning. We try to fill that void with relationships, careers, sports, and in severe circumstances, sex, alcohol, and drugs. When we finally come to the end of our rope, we realize that Jesus was what we were looking for “All Along.”

 

We are taught many disciplines that shape us into the person God wants us to be: prayer, Scripture reading, hospitality, and service. One discipline that goes overlooked is the discipline of thanksgiving. It’s really of a state of mind or a state of grace. Our very lives are an example of God’s grace to us. We often neglect the small things in life and forget to be thankful for all we have been blessed with. 

 

One example of thanksgiving is a passage about Paul and Silas. In Acts 16:16-40 we see an example of two men who had every right to be angry and bitter over their capture, but instead were singing praises of thanksgiving to God.

 

We have been called by Christ to be “transforming salt” and “attractive light” that point people to the saving grace of God. The Discipline of Thanksgiving is a way for us to be reminded of God’s amazing grace. This grace is available with no strings attached. If we live in a state of grace, we will begin to see things through the eyes of Christ. We will love what He loves. We will be heartbroken by the very things that break His heart. 

• What are you thankful for?

• How has God blessed you?

• How can we show thankfulness to God?

 

Matthew 6:23 – At times we try to have our needs met by other people. Most of these needs are those that only God can meet. We tend to get our self-worth and approval from the people closest to us. We care about what they think and want them to approve of what we do. Our self-worth can only come from God. The more we begin to realize this, the more freedom we begin to feel. God loves us, and that is all we need. 

• How does God meet our needs?

• What is our deepest need?

• What is the difference between a want and a need?

• How have you tried to meet the needs in your life through means other than God?

 

As your students prepare to leave, discuss these questions:

• What are you searching for?

• Do you believe that Christ can meet your needs?

• Will you trust Christ to meet all your needs?

 

When we finally realize that God can meet our needs, it reminds us that God wants to set us free. We can search and search for ways to meet our needs, fill our lives, or to give us purpose. The fact is Jesus can do all those things, and He is what we have been searching for “All Along.”