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Music Resources

Artist: For KING & COUNTRY
Song: Pioneers
Album: Burn The Ships
Featured In: YLO 112

Resources for YLO Members

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For KING & COUNTRY

Leader Guide

Artist: For KING & COUNTRY
Album: Burn The Ships
Label: Word
Song: Pioneers
From: YLO 112 (Summer 2018 : Humor and Fun)
Writer: Doug Ranck | Free Methodist Church | Santa Barbara, California

Theme(s): Marriage Love: Committed

Objective

Romantic relationships always seem to look so great in the movies and television shows we see. The people are beautiful, the lighting is just right, and life, for the most part, seems to roll along smoothly. That’s not always the way it is. In this lesson, your group will discover the definition of committed love, identify challenges to a growing relationship, and create a workable strategy for sustaining a healthy connection with others.

Warm Up

Have your participants go to the Long Ago Love section of the Student Guide. Have them find a partner, follow the directions, and complete the section.

Transition

Survey your group for their responses in the Student Guide. Follow with these questions:

In general, what are a few reasons we quit loving something?
Is it possible to know what you are going to love for a long time versus something you might love just for a short time?
How would knowing this help?
Have you ever quit loving something because somebody influenced you to no longer love it?

Say something like, “Unlike things, loving relationships are meant to last, especially those where sacred commitments have been made, i.e., marriage. The romantic relationships we see in the movies or TV often seem great. The people are beautiful, the lighting is just right, and life seems to roll along smoothly. Today we will wrestle with the real life of relationships. We will discover God’s definition for a committed relationship, identify some challenges to grow, and form a workable strategy for creating sustainable connection not only in marriage but all of our close relationships.”

The Song

Ask your group to turn in their Student Guide to the Into the Great Unknown section. Use the band’s website (listed above) to give a little background on For King & Country. Let your group know the husbands are singing with their wives on this song. Play the song as your group works through the exercise.

Transition

When the song has ended, let different people share their answers to the questions in the Student Guide. Work through the below reflection questions together. Follow by discussing these questions:

What is essential about confessing the weaknesses of one’s relationship?
How is being a “pioneer” helpful?
How would the characteristics of a pioneer be reflected in a healthy and growing relationship?
What is beneficial and scary about the “unknown”?

Say something like, “God’s calls us to love without condition – a love that starts from inside and shows itself, naturally, on the outside. Today we will look at one of the most popular chapters in the Bible. Parts of this chapter are read in many different venues but especially at weddings. Let’s see what it says about the best possible definition of love.”

Bible Study

Read 1 Corinthians 13 together as a group. Have each person read a verse and complete the entire chapter. Give everyone about ten minutes to complete the Love Is and Love Does exercise on their own. When everybody is finished working, give them the opportunity to share what they discovered. Follow with these questions:

What words need defining?
Why would “what love is” be a little more important than “what love does?”
Why is it essential to have both?

Wrap Up

Give everyone five minutes of solo time. Direct them to the Love in Action section and have them complete the exercise.

Say something like, “You have formed a small game plan, and can only accomplish this as you let God lead you into the unknown learning to love as He does.”

Pray for each member of your group and be sure to ask if you or other youth leaders can follow up with them to see how the plan is going in the days and weeks to come.