To engage students to understand what it means to be a witness. To encourage students to share what God has shown them and to never give up talking about God.

 

Make Much – Get a standard package of M & M candies large enough so everyone in your group can at least have a few candies. (The Fun Size packs are easy to pass out.) Start the group by passing out the candies and announcing that today “M & M” stands for “make much”. After everyone has a few candies tell students to randomly select two and eat the rest if they like. Tell the group that they are going to use those two colors to “make much” of something, according to the color or your candies. That means you are going to say something positive about the following things according to the colors of your two candies:

 

Brown = Your Family; Yellow = Your Church; Red = Jesus; Green = God’s Creation; Orange = The Person to Your Left; Blue = The Person to Your Right

 

Randomly go around the room and have each person say something positive according what their colored M & M represents. If your group is really large, you may have to break up into smaller groups. The goal is to get everyone to say a positive word about something or someone. 

 

Pass out the remaining candies and have everyone chow down as you ask: What was the most difficult category and why? What was the easiest and why? In your typical day, do you spend more time saying positive things or negative things? How do you think your day would change if you spent more time looking for and speaking about positive things than negative things? How do you think your life would change if you spent more time looking for and saying positive things about God?

 

Pass out the Student guides and tell your students that Jordan Feliz’s “Witness” song is all about acknowledging that God is sovereign in every season of life. Jordan wrote the song to celebrate the greatness of God. As they listen, have them write down one phrase in the song that “makes much” of God.

 

When the song is done, discuss what phrases students wrote down. If it’s not part of your church’s tradition, you might need to explain how Christians use the phrase “Can I get a witness?” Most commonly, someone speaking in church will give praise for something God has done and ask the group, “Can I get a witness?” People will then clap or say “Amen” in agreement. The “witness” is the person who also has seen God at work in a similar way.

 

Explain that the word “witness” in the Bible was a legal term. What makes someone a good witness in a court of law? (They have to have seen or experienced something first hand.) Explain that the people in the first chapter of Acts are the disciples, who were with Jesus every day. Have someone read Acts 1:8 and go through the questions on the Student Guide: What is Jesus asking His disciples to become? What would they be expected to tell? Where would that take them?

 

Explain how in Chapters 2 and 3 of Acts Peter speaks to crowds about Jesus. Peter is simply being a witness to what he experienced with Jesus. His speaking makes the religious officials mad. They are some of the same people who ordered Jesus to be crucified. In Chapter 4 they arrest Peter and John and are discussing what they are going to do to Jesus’ disciples. The officials order them to no longer speak about Jesus. Read Acts 4:18-20 and discuss the questions: What is Peter saying to the officials? Why can’t they stop? What do you think is going to happen to Peter?

 

Explain that Peter and the disciples did not stop being Jesus’ witnesses. In the next chapter the church is growing and the officials again have the apostles arrested, but an angel miraculously releases them. The next morning they are back at it again, speaking as witnesses about Jesus publicly. They are brought before the officials once again. Read Peter’s words in Acts 5:29-32 and discuss the questions: How is this statement different from the previous one? What kind of danger could the apostles face? Why don’t they stop?

 

Encourage your students to keep reading the Book of Acts on their own. Tell them it is one of the Bible’s great adventure accounts. There are more witnesses who don’t let anything stop them from making much of Jesus!

 

Ask students if Peter’s story is an encouragement to them? How so? What have they witnessed God doing? Who do they need to share that with?  End by challenging students to think of one person who they need to share God’s story with.  Have them begin by praying for that person every day. Ask God to open a door for your students to be a witness. Tell them that if God has done anything in their lives, they are qualified witnesses.

 

If time permits, have students write down the person that they will be praying for on a small strip of paper. Tell them that you will be praying for this person by name and, if necessary, just write down a first name. Collect the papers and close by praying for each name. Make sure that you and your leaders take the names and join your students in praying for the names.