Leader Guide

Theme
Confidence

Objective
Your group will be encouraged to be bold about their relationship with God.

Warm Up
– This is like musical chairs, but in reverse! Have everyone in your group crab walk in random directions while you play the video of “Intro” by NF. At random intervals, pause the music. When the music stops, students must get to their feet as quickly as possible; the last person standing is OUT, and has to stay seated where he or she is (becoming an obstacle for the rest). The faster the pace, the more fun the game is!

Transition
After you’ve played a couple of rounds of Last One Standing, hand out the Student Guides and ask for a couple of volunteers to share a time when they felt singled out from a crowd.

The Video
NF’s “Intro” is his way of standing up to be noticed. Taken on the surface, it’s a rowdy speed-rap song; but there’s a deeper meaning in the song that is also found in Scripture. Show the video.

Transition
Taking a stand for what you believe isn’t always easy, and we need all the encouragement we can get when we feel singled out. Let’s take a look at what happened to some other young people when they stood out (literally!)

Bible Study
– (Note to leaders – this is a great narrative, and is easily acted out. You might want to have some of the students act out the entire story: build the “statue” out of chairs, pick kids to be the king, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, the crowd that bows down, and even be the furnace!)

There are four main parts to this story in Daniel 3:
• The Setup (v.1-7)
• The Scene (v.8-12)
• The Sentence (v.13-23)
• The Solution (vs.24-30)

Have your students read each part, and ask them to paraphrase what’s happening in each one.

Wrap Up
In this case, standing up for God was a literal act.
• What was the initial reaction when those three young guys stood up for God?
• Why do you think they didn’t back down when the heat was on?
• Who do you think the “fourth man” was in the fire?
• This kind of narrative in Scripture is sometimes called a “morality play.” What do you think is the moral of the story?
• How can we be reminded of that today in our own lives?

Jesus said, “I have come that they [meaning, all of us] may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) Remind each other this week that abundant life is life lived LOUD for God. Stand up! Close in prayer.