“People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up interest wrinkles the soul. Worry, self-doubt, self-distrust, fear and despair; these are the long, long years that bow the head and turn the growing spirit back to dust.”
Douglas MacArthur
Don’t make every youth meeting “the same old thing!” Variety is he spice of life, especially with youth.
Here are some ideas for ways you can change things up a little bit!
Have you got some more ideas?… add a comment and let us know some ways you have added a little variety to your youth meetings!
Get Help on Your Youth Sermons
Creative Sermon Ideas
This 100 Page e-Book Includes All The Help You Need To Prepare Powerful, Life-Changing Youth Sermons That Will Turn Your Preaching Around And Make Your Youth Sit Up And Listen! Includes 7 Complete Sermons.
–> I want More Youth Sermon Ideas…
A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the pups and set about Nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.
Mister,” he said, “I want to buy one of your puppies.”
“Well,” said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, “these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money.”
The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. “I’ve got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?”
“Sure,” said the farmer.
And with that he let out a whistle,”Here,Dolly!” he called.
Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight.
As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared; this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up….
“I want that one,” the little boy said, pointing to the runt.
The farmer knelt down at the boy’s side and said, “Son, you don’t want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would.”
With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe.
Looking back up at the farmer, he said, “You see sir, I don’t run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.”
The world is full of people who need someone who understands. Will you be that someone?
MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag’s side door! He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting, “What was that all about and who are you?
Just what the heck are you doing?
That’s a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money.
Why did you do it?”
The young boy was apologetic.
“Please mister … please, I’m sorry… I didn’t know what else to do,” he pleaded.
“I threw the brick because no one else would stop…”
With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car.
“It’s my brother,” he said.
“He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.”
Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.
“Thank you and may God bless you,” the grateful child told the stranger.
Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message:
Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!
God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don’t have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us.
It’s our choice: Listen to the whisper … or wait for the brick!
MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.
The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, “Did you not hear us?” The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.
The Lessons:
Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path. The power of words… it is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in difficult times. Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another.
MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
In a few days time, Chinese people in Singapore and over the world will be celebrating the start of the Chinese New Year.
For several days before the eve of Chinese New Year, Chinese housewives clean and redecorate their homes and shop for waxed duck, Chinese Sausages, mandarin oranges and traditional cakes. They will not sweep during the first few days of the new year because they believe that they might sweep out the good luck. Everything from the decorations, flowers, and even food eaten has special significance for inviting luck and blessings for the new year.
It is believed that the first few days of the New Year will effect the rest of the year. So everything is done to ensure a prosperous future. What you do and how you act during the period is crucial in determining how the rest of your year will go. So, eating the right foods, such as black moss seaweed, which is a homonym for exceeding in wealth, and dried bean curd, which is another homonym for fulfillment of wealth and happiness, is a must.
Decorations like pineapples representing wealth, bamboo signifying strength and longevity, red paper with calligraphy scripts and verses speaking of blessing and prosperity are placed all over the house, over doorposts, and on the front doors.
Officially the holiday lasts for three days, but is traditionally celebrated for 15 days. Singaporeans often take the entire week off from work to celebrate, visiting relatives and friends. Everything has to be just right to set the stage for an auspicious New Year.
A Chinese New Year’s Eve feast doubles as a family reunion, bringing people from all corners of the world back home. Meals are decadent with a spread of symbolically lucky foods. Hong Bao, or red and gold paper packets stuffed with money, are passed out to the younger folk as an auspicious start for a prosperous new year.
Take It to the Next Level
In the Bible, Peter also spoke of things that will insure a Christian will be spiritually prosperous. Like the Chinese New Year, a little house cleaning and what we nourish ourselves with become important.
1 Peter 2:1-17
Peter call us all to a life of holiness (cleaning up our spiritual house) and love in 1 Peter 1:13-25. Verse 23 mentions being born again or born anew. “New borns” must grow into maturity. Much of a parent’s responsibility lies in nurturing and creating an environment for this growth to occur.
Peter begins by assuming that his readers are like newborn babies. Most newborns are passive about everything but getting their nourishment. They enthusiastically go after milk. Peter relates this enthusiasm for nourishment to a new Christian’s desire for spiritual nourishment that will lead to growth in Christ.
That nourishment is pure, spiritual milk. The word milk is part of the figure of speech that goes with newborns. The word pure is genuine – not thinned down milk and refers to the Word of God.
Since you have already tasted and discovered that the Lord is good, the command to long for more spiritual nourishment should be an easy command to obey. The fact that Peter talked about desiring the word in verse 2 and tasting the Lord in verse 3 reminds us that this growth is in our relationship with Christ.
Application
I wonder how many of us are as enthusiastic about the pursuit of God as the Chinese are about the pursuit of good luck. Our reward is not prosperity for a year, but life eternal. Are we willing to do a little personal house cleaning to insure a life of holiness? Is there evidence of spiritual fruitfulness in our lives? Do we have that hunger for the word like new born babies craving milk?
As a closing, you may wish to hand out red packets (you may be able to get stacks of these in your local Chinatown) with scripture verses inside that will encourage your youth in their pursuit of spiritual maturity, and remind them to make this year one where they grow in wisdom and favor with God.
Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the husband’s employer’s home. My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the water-way, and cars costing more than her house. The first day and evening went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live.
The husband’s employer was quite generous as a host, and took them to the finest restaurants. Arlene knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so was enjoying herself immensely.
As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband. He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment. Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped, and a few cigarette butts.
Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny. He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up?
Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She causally mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some valuable. A smile crept across the man’s face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see.
She had seen many pennys before! What was the point of this? “Look at it.” He said. “Read what it says.” She read the words “United States of America.” “No, not that; read further.” “One cent?” “No, keep reading.” “In God we Trust?” “Yes!” “And?” “And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him? Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him.. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God’s way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!
When I was out shopping today, I found a penny on the sidewalk. I stopped and picked it up, and realized that I had been worrying and fretting in my mind about things I can not change. I read the words, “In God We Trust,” and had to laugh. Yes, God, I get the message. It seems that I have been finding an inordinate number of pennies in the last few months, but then, pennies are plentiful! And God is patient…
Author Unknown
MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
A Spiritual Leader compassionately guides others
Source: J.Oswald Sanders “Spiritual Leadership
MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
Last night, I watched another episode of “Heroes”.
For those of you who haven’t heard of the series, it tells the interrelated stories of a an ever growing group of individuals who possess a special genetic marker that manifests itself as unique, special superhuman abilities. “Ordinary people discovering extraordinary abilities.”
Their abilities include things like the ability to fly, to read other people’s thoughts, superhuman strength, the ability to somehow communicate with machines, to warp time, to paint the future, to be invisible, to be indestructible, and to cause people to forget certain memories. At first it may seem similar to X-Men, but the attraction of the show lies in the fact that these people are ordinary people like you and me who are startled at discovering these special abilities and trying to figure out how to use them, some for good, some for evil. They are also discovering that they are not alone and beginning to join together on a mission to save the world from disaster.
The recent season of “Heroes” has began to look into a cryptic symbol which has been recurring throughout the series. It’s been seen as a tatoo, a necklace, a symbol on an ancient Japanese sword and many other places. Recent episodes revealed the symbol as being a combination of two Japanese characters, 才 (sai) meaning ‘great talent’ and 与 (yo) meaning ‘Godsent’.
Makes me think about our own lives as Christians.
We are also ordinary people, discovering the extraordinary. We each have a purpose and have been gifted with special talents and skills – “God sent” – to fulfill that purpose. It’s a purpose that is bigger than any individual. Like the famous quote from the series” “Save the Cheerleader, Save the world.” We are also called to save the world, one life at a time. As Christians we have a special marker, the blood of Christ, that allows us to grow and manifest special talents and skills to fulfill an ultimate destiny, a supernatural purpose. We don’t know all the details, and there are a lot of things going on that are unseen, and as yet unrevealed, but through the Scriptures, God has painted visions of the future for us, and with the Sword (of the Spirit) we can make a difference in that future in so many lives. We have not yet fully realized all we can become in Christ, but are on a process of daily discovery. Everyday the supernatural interjects itself into our natural lives. Yet so many around us just don’t see it, are unaware, are going about their lives with absolutely no clue that anything is happening or that a impeding disaster is just around the corner.
As we are given glimpses of the awesome things we are capable of in Christ, are we complacent to sit back and enjoy life or do we have a sense of urgency to use them to make a difference? Do we take our special position and abilities for granted or do we use them for the benefit of others? Worse, do we use them for our own self-interest?
If we could hear others thoughts, would it change the way we live? What if others could hear our thoughts? God hears our thoughts!
If we could choose to forget certain events and experiences, would we? Would we be the same people if we did forget?
If no one could see us, would we be tempted to do things we normally would not do? Would we have the integrity to be the same person when no one can see us? Yet scripture tells us God sees us all the time!
Are we on a mission to save the world, even in the midst of a journey to discover ourselves and what God can do through us?
MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.
Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.
When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.
Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, “Richness, can you take me with you?”
Richness answered, “No, I can’t. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you.”
Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. “Vanity, please help me!”
“I can’t help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat,” Vanity answered.
Sadness was close by so Love asked, “Sadness, let me go with you.”
“Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!”
Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.
Suddenly, there was a voice, “Come, Love, I will take you.” It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way.
Realizing how much was owed the elder, Love asked Knowledge, another elder, “Who Helped me?”
“It was Time,” Knowledge answered.
“Time?” asked Love. “But why did Time help me?”
Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, “Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is.”
MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
