Masks

Materials
Variety of masks

Icebreaker Activity
On adhesive name tags or white printer labels write the names of famous masked characters. Write a name on each nametag. As people enter the room, put the nametag in the middle of their back (without showing them what is on it). Their goal is to figure out who they are by asking a series of yes/no questions. Each question must be asked of a different person.

Discussion
1. If you could be any superhero who would you be?
2. What is it about this character that attracts you?
3. Why do most of the superheroes wear masks?
The reason all the superheroes wear masks is to hide who they are...

Introduction
Its not just Halloween that people wear masks. If we are honest with ourselves, most of us put on masks from time to time.

We put on a mask any time we are not honest with others, or worse yet, we are not honest with God. Anytime we try to make ourselves come across as something we are not, we are putting on a mask. What masks do you put on? In what situations do you hide behind a mask, afraid to reveal who you really are and what you really feel?

The name for someone like that is a hypocrite. An actor is the same word "hypocrite" in the Greek language. It means ‘the person who wears a mask’ (or cover on his face). In the orginal Greek plays, actors pretended to be someone else by putting on a mask.

Jesus used the same word to describe the Pharisees and in a parable teaches us an important lesson about masks...

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Luke 18.9-14

Discussion: The Pharisees - Wearers of Masks
1. Why was the Pharisee called a hypocrite - one wearing a mask?
2. For what reasons do you think the Pharisee "acted" this way?
3. Have you met people like the Pharisee? How did they make you feel?
4. In what ways have you been like a Pharisee? What are some of the masks you wear?

Activity: What Masks do I wear?
1. Give each youth a piece of paper cut into a mask shape.
2. On one side, ask them to write or draw characteristics of how they want people to see them.
3. Then, on the other side, ask them to write down some characteristics of who they really are and some of the things about their life that they don't want other people to see.
4. Is there a difference?
5. What are the risks of revealing what is hidden behind the mask?

Discussion: Why We Wear Masks
1. What are some of the reasons people wear masks as Christians?
- Don't know how to live the Christian Life so we fake it - Most of us really do want to reflect Christ but the problem is, many of us just don't know how. We know what we are supposed to do, but we don't know how to do it.
- Ashamed -Everyone else seems ok and seems to have life together. So we become convinced that we no one else has the problems as us. We seem to be the only ones so we hide our true thoughts and feelings.
- Fear -We hide behind our masks, because we are afraid of how people will react if they see our faults. They might not like the true us.
- Avoidance - It is often easier to put up a mask than to face who we really are. Insecurities and past hurts make us want to avoid dealing with the problem so we hide from ourselves.

Discussion: The Tax Collector - Removing the Masks
1. What if the tax collector had done the same exercize you just did and wrote on a mask how he wanted others to see him vs what he wanted to prevent others from seeing?
2. Why is the Tax-collector unwilling to even look up to heaven?
3. Have you ever been so ashamed that you wanted to hide your face from heaven?
4. How is this similar to wearing a mask?
5. How is it different from the mask of the Pharisee?
6. When we are honest without a "mask" on do we lose face or save face?
7. What is Jesus' main point in this story?

The Opposite of Hypocricy is Intimacy - Into me see.
1. what masks are you currently hiding behind?
2. In what areas of your life do you need to be honest with God?
3. In what ways are you living the life of a hypocrite?
4. How would being honest with yourself and God make a difference in your life?

Application
Let youth crumple up their mask and toss it away while having a time of personal reflection and confession to God. They should be honest with God and ask him to make them a new person.

"Don't be trapped behind a mask, acting out a life you don't really want. Be honest with God and let him remove your mask and replace it with a new you that doesn't need to hide from the world!"

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