Review: 2 Corinthians 5: 1-5
Key Scriptures: Romans 5:6-11, Luke 6:32-36, 1 Samuel 16:7
Activity: Life Boat Experiment (male lawyer, female doctor, a crippled Child, a stay at home mom, and a garbage man.) Break up into 5 groups and come up with an argument for why your life should be preserved and someone else’s shouldn’t. (Round 1: Each group makes their claim for why they should get to stay on the lifeboat. Round 2: Each group makes a claim for the group they think should be thrown out! Round 3: The groups receiving votes to leave plead for their lives one last time. Round 4: We vote on who leaves)
-How did it feel to argue for your own life?
-How did you feel when/if someone else thought you should be the one to die?
-How did you respond?
-What kind of cases are these people going to make for their lives to be spared?
-Gong to feel passionately about being good people because if they aren’t perceived that way they will die.
-There is something at stake if they are not valued.
2.-What are some ways we determine who has value? Our Culture? What do we value?
(Write one thing that you value most on sheet of paper: now find two other people that have something similar to you: discuss why you value that thing most: Each group report back to the large group.)
-Athleticism, Good looks, Intelligence, wealth, Rightness,
Athletes: Dunking a ball...only worth is because they are judged that way by peers. There is a hidden commodity that coaches and players…even fans are vying for…you only get a ring if you win…can always buy that…searching for value…being better at something than others.
Rightness: How many times have you gotten into an argument and eventually you were just trying to win the argument rather than coming up with a good answer. Often, you end up not speaking to the person until someone breaks down and realizes how dumb the whole thing is.
-Often Run to those who support our rightness…anyone who disagrees is an enemy.
-Who’s side are you on anyway?
-Could be the stupidest thing ever: Enchiladas are gross!
-We surround ourselves with people who reinforce our rightness.
-Cliques, Goth, Democrat, Republican,
-Real group discussing Youtube videos. People just want to feel right. Not about actually being right…as long as people support our rightness.
-Descrimination: Think about one of the biggest issues in our world today: Racism, Sexism, Religious wars: If you’re in a lifeboat why would it benefit you to be a racist? A sexist? A religious persecutor? If you establish your race, sex, or religion is better than you’re immediately better than 30%, 50% better than others in the lifeboat. They may be better at sports, richer, better looking…but none of that matters anymore because they are black, they’re women, they’re muslim. See how the major problems of our world make sense if we’re living life in a lifeboat fighting for our lives.
(lets look at this from yet another angle)
-What makes you the most angry? Why? (Write one thing down on a sheet of paper: Now find two people that wrote similar things: Now as a group report back to the main group why that makes you the most angry)
-Road Rage Something that makes me really angry is when someone cuts me off in the road. I feel like they are disrespecting me; telling me that their time is more important than mine. But I’m really not losing much time if any at all. The real issue is that they are telling me they are more valuable than me. Their time is more important. I feel less valued and I don’t like it.
-A lot of things like that. What are some more examples of things that upset you because you feel disrespected or undervalued in some way?
-Don’t get called back.
-Don’t get paid back.
-Roommate doesn’t do the dishes or is noisy (you wouldn’t do that to them).
-Big one! Someone doesn’t say thank you when you hold the door, pay for their dinner…do anything for them.
-We say…its not a big deal…it’s the principle of it.
-We want to be valued and respected…any sign that we are not…we get upset.
3.
-What do you think didn’t happen in the lifeboat? (Write it down on your paper)
-Honesty, sin sharing…
-In our minds these things reduce our value. Isn’t it weird how we all have them?
-Just because you don’t share doesn’t mean you don’t have them..either means, you think you’re better than everyone else and don’t sin and have flaws or you think they’re so bad no one can love you if they knew. (you would lose value…you would die, be thrown from the lifeboat)
-So we go through life fighting for our lives, jockeying for position on the lifeboat, searching for value anywhere we can find it and at any cost to our own health or to the lives of others.
-Maybe our attempts at position in the lifeboat keep us from receiving something our hearts really desire.
-In hiding our pains, our weaknesses, our sins, people don’t really know us.
-Do you think that you can really be loved without being fully known?
-Is it really love if someone only sees the good things about you?
-When we allow someone to see who we really are…we give them the chance to love us.
Romans 5:6-11: This is love, that God knew our sin and still sent his son to die. Who does that? Who dies for an enemy? It doesn’t happen. It sure doesn’t happen in the lifeboat. Those who do wrong…we’d rather use their sin against them and for us…if they sin that means that we’re looking better in the lifeboat. Not the way of God.
Luke 6:32-36: Talking about loving our enemies. Loving people who cannot or will not repay us. This is what makes us different. This is the gospel. The world wants us to live in a lifeboat of competition and self promotion…but that’s so tired!!!! God’s way is a way of peace and rest.
-It’s scary to be fully known…to have someone really see us. At the same time its hard to really see the dark places in others.
1 Samuel 16:7. God doesn’t look at the things man looks at…God sees the heart rather than outward appearance…the main point of this is seeing what we are created for as children of God…the gifts and characteristics that make everyone uniquely beautiful. Sometimes in seeing the heart we see things in that are not good or beautiful.
-This is true of me…I have impurities that I don’t want people to see…this is why his love means so much to me…this is how we are called to love because this is how I am treated by God… I love the Bible because it’s my story…I can see how God treats people who have impure hearts
-What are some Biblical examples of how God treats people with impure hearts?
-Rich Young Ruler, Zacceus, David, woman in adultery, Pretty much everyone Jesus meets, woman at the well.
Small Group Discussion: In the Shoes of the Unlovable (Girls: Read John 8:3-11)(Guys: Read Luke 19:1-10) Girls: you are the woman caught in adultery; guys, you are Zacchaeus. Be prepared to share your testimony (as either Zacchaeus or the woman caught in adultery) to the group.
-What is your position in the lifeboat?
-How do you feel about this position?
-Why are you not loved by others?
-The word love brings nothing but pain…you feel absent of it. What are some feelings you experience since you know others would just assume you died?
-How does Jesus show you your value?
-How do you feel knowing that you have sinned, others are willing to have you dead…and Jesus gives you meaning, value, and new life?
Back in Large Group: Each group share their testimony as either Zacchaeus or the woman caught in adultery.
Conclusion
-The thing about the lifeboat is that its tiring…its hard always trying to convince people that you are worthy of their affection and attention.
-Jesus says “come to me ye who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you peace.
-I used to be so scared of what people thought of me that I ran for class president and student council president and top notch teens, and PALS, and OHC leadership…It wore me out. I put myself in the public eye because that’s what was valuable…then I had to work really hard to maintain my good image. I was terrified that people might think I wasn’t as good as I looked.
-I wish that I could have seen how Jesus wanted to speak his love into my life then and give me peace. I wish I could have received my value from him.
-He really knows me…He sees it all…and somehow he still loves me more than I could ever possibly fathom. That’s real love, its love you can’t earn. Until you let God love you unconditionally, you won’t know who you are…
Prayer and Song to close: Time for reflection. (Chris Tomlin: Unfailing Love)
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