Leader Guide

Theme
God's Promises

Objective
Students will learn that even though people fail them and leave them, God, our Father, will never run away from them and He promises to always be with them.

Warm Up
Bible Drill – Divide your students up into three teams. You will call out the Scripture verse or passage and the first team to find it and raise their hand gets the point. The team that gets it first must read it and then answer the following question: How has God kept this promise to you or your family? Here is a list of a few common promises, but feel free to add & use any of your own: Jeremiah 29:11, Matthew 11:28-29, Isaiah 40:29-31, Romans 10:9, Romans 6:23. The teams must start each round with their Bibles closed. Be sure the discussion leads to the conclusion that God never fails to keep His promises—this can be difficult for some teens to see.

Transition
Explain that this Rend Collective song deals with the fact that our Father will never leave us. For some, the thought of family is not a pleasant one. The one thing students should take away from the warm up is that God does not fail in fulfilling His promises—and one of His greatest promises is that He will never leave us.

The Video
Print off a copy of the lyrics to the song and hand them out to your students. Instruct them to highlight, circle, or underline lyrics in the song that show examples that God's love is different and more powerful than anything they've ever known. Play the video.

Transition
Ask the students to share which lyrics they circled and explain why they chose those lyrics.

Bible Study
Give each of your teams one of the passages below to read and answer the questions in the section titled You Promised. Then, bring the group back and discuss each passage and their answers.

Deuteronomy 31:1-6 – In this passage, Moses is passing the torch to Joshua. Moses had led Israel from their first steps out of Egypt. This was a very uncertain time for the nation and they were most likely nervous and very scared – particularly Joshua. But God, through Moses, gives His promise that He will not leave their side.
•    Have you ever felt alone in a brand new situation (moved to new town, new coach, new school)? What happened?
•    How did God help you through that time of difficulty and show you that He was there for you?
•    Has God ever used you to comfort someone else in that situation? How did He use you?

Matthew 28:18-20 – As many as 94% of Christians will never lead anyone to Christ. This is a big problem considering that making disciples was the ONE task that Christ left us with. The Great Commission is an urgent necessity, not an option.
•    What is our job as Christians, according to the Great Commission?
•    What prevents us from sharing the Gospel and making disciples?
•    How does knowing that God promises He will be with you change the way you approach the Great Commission?

Romans 8:38-39 – This passage is our promise from God that nothing can ever separate us from His love and His grace.
•    How does this promise change the way you approach hardships?
•    How can you apply this promise and use it to show others that God keeps all of His promises?
•    How do this promise and the song show that God is bigger than any obstacle in our lives?

Wrap Up
Say, "In these passages, God showed us a lot of promises – and in every case, He has faithfully kept every single promise He has made." Have the students write a promise to God in the section titled I promise that answers this question: How will you use the promises God has made to make a positive impact on your community and show others that God will never leave them?