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Re:Tuned Mainstream Music

Artist: The Chainsmokers
Song: Something Just Like This
Album: Memories… Do Not Open
Featured In: YLO 107

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Discussion Guide PDF

The Chainsmokers

Discussion Guide

Artist: The Chainsmokers
Album: Memories… Do Not Open
Label: Columbia
Song: Something Just Like This
From: YLO 107 (Spring-Summer 2017|Camp: A Year’s Worth Of Work In One Week)
Writer: Brandon Best | Oakwood Church | New Braunfels, Texas

Theme(s): God's: Power

Teaching Point

God can use someone just like us.

Opening Questions

Have you ever thought about what your life would be like with super powers?
With all the movies on the big screen and all the legends in the storybooks, what movie or story do you see yourself in?
What would change if you woke up the next day and had some sort of superhuman traits that you never had before?
What would your super motto be? Who would you want to team up with? Where would you live? What would you wear?

SWITCH UP… What if you only had those powers for ONE DAY?
How do you think you would react the NEXT DAY?
Would you be happy to be someone JUST LIKE YOU, or wish you could be back on the Superhero list?

Discussion

There is no doubt that Chris Martin’s smooth voice and the Chainsmokers’ approach to EDM strike a thoughtful question about humanity and the supernatural. The lyrics begin with a grand view of a universe filled with myths, legends and modern day imaginations of beings that display supernatural powers. While all these stories speak of super strength, strong fists, and great power, the song leads us to a reality check. When we step away from the stories, we realize we do not make the cut. We would love to have powers beyond our humanity, but the normal human being is not on any Superhuman list.

This is not the first time a writer has considered a vast universe with great awe and power, and has concluded that humanity plays a small role. Consider Psalm 8:3-5. The psalmist looks at the heavens, the work of the Creator, and realizes a powerful thought: God is mindful of SOMEONE JUST LIKE US. We are the small, the normal, the frail, the fearful, the powerless in many ways. However, God is mindful of US. He places us on a list with powerful, “heavenly beings,” and cares about our normal, everyday lives.

We may not be on any Superhuman list, but we are on HIS list, and He thinks about US.

Conclusion

The songwriters point to a simple thought that ignores the wishes of superpowers and calls for a normal, attainable relationship. We can conclude that God has a plan in our everyday relationships as well.

God can use someone just like US. Read 1 John 4:12. His superpower is the POWERFUL LOVE we share with one another in our small, normal, frail, fearful, and UNpowerful HUMAN lives. He wants to display His power in our humanity and use “Someone Just Like Us.”