SUMMER SURVIVAL GUIDE

LESSON 2

Writer: Tim Levert

Project Supervisor: Nick Diliberto
Editors: Gabrielle Lewis and Angela Ivey

Created by Ministry to Youth

ministrytoyouth.com

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SUMMER SURVIVAL GUIDE – TEACHING SERIES

Series: How to grow in your relationship with God this summer no matter what you face.

Lesson 2: T – Time with God Daily

Bible: Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message)

Bottom Line: The best way to make space for Jesus is to give Him some uninterrupted
time every day.

SUPPLIES
· One copy of the “Group Therapy - Symptoms” list for the leader.

OPENING GAME
IN-PERSON VERSION: GROUP THERAPY

GAME PREP
· Print one copy of the “Group Therapy – Symptoms” list for the leader.

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

Say:
· We are going to play a game called “Group Therapy.”
· We’ll play several rounds; each round is one player–the “Therapist”–versus ev-
eryone else–the “Patients.”
· I’ll choose the Therapist, and (IN-PERSON: she/he will leave the room | ONLINE:
I’ll mute them) so they cannot hear the Patients.
· Then I’ll give all the Patients a “symptom” to display; that’s what the Therapist
has to diagnose.
o For example, the Patients might be instructed to all pretend like there is
something stinky in the room or act afraid when someone laughs.
o All Patients will display the same symptom for the entire round.
· When the Therapist comes back into the room, she/he can freely question the
Patients, asking any questions they believe will be helpful for coming up with a
diagnosis.
· Patients must answer all questions truthfully.
· The round ends when the Therapist comes up with the correct diagnosis or gives
up.
· If it seems like the Therapist isn’t getting anywhere, I’ll ask them to make one fi-
nal guess, then reveal the correct diagnosis.
· After the round ends, I’ll choose another Therapist, and we’ll play another round.

OPENING GAME – ONLINE VERSION: GROUP THERAPY

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GAME PREP

Same as above, AND make sure you can mute individual students so that you can talk
to everyone online EXCEPT the “therapist” for that round.

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

Same as above, AND:

· Use the online-specific instructions where needed.
· Direct all students to unmute their mics for the game so that the Therapist can
hear their symptoms.

TEACH

What’s up y’all?!

Glad to see you back here/online as we continue our series called “Summer Survival
Guide.”

Last week I challenged you to memorize John 10:10, and I would give you __________;
did anyone take me up on the challenge?

[Encourage students to try; be positive and upbeat if they take a shot.]

Keep working on memorizing the verse; it’s a great one to know.

Jesus wants to give us a “rich and satisfying life,” but sometimes we feel like we’ve got
to guess what it is or how to figure it out.

It’s like we’re a Therapist trying to diagnose what the right answer or formula is.

Last week we shared that if we want to experience the life Jesus wants to give us—the
best life we can live—we’ve got to reorient our hearts to Jesus and allow God to re-
shape our minds.

Reorienting our hearts to Jesus is a one-time decision that changes everything.

Maybe some of you made the decision last week to put your trust in Jesus for the first
time.

That’s the best decision you’ll ever make!

We also talked about allowing God to reshape your mind.

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While reorienting your heart to Jesus is a one-time decision, God wants to reshape and
renew your mind every day.

We introduced an acronym to you last week about six THINGS you can do to make
more space in your life for Jesus.

Who remembers what each letter represents?

[Give students a chance to share them. Help them out as needed. Don’t feel bad if they
don’t remember…it’s not you, it’s them. ☺]

· T Time with God daily

· H Honest friendships
· I Intentionally connect with the church
· N Notice and serve others
· G Give to God
· S Share God stories

Great job!

If we want to experience a “rich and satisfying life,” we should start today!

The decisions you make today shape who you will become tomorrow.

Tonight, we’re going to dive deeper into the T of the THINGS acronym–time with God
daily.

The best way to make space for Jesus is to give Him some uninterrupted time ev-
ery day.

The first THING is all about making space in your life for God on an everyday basis.

I think a lot of great things happen when we spend time with God daily.

Let’s have some “mandatory fun time.”

Turn to someone around you and answer the question, “What are some of the great
things that can happen when we spend time with God daily?”

[FOR ONLINE GROUPS: Let’s have some “mandatory fun time.” In the chat window,
type your answer to the question, “What are some of the great things that can happen
when we spend time with God daily?”]

Give time for students to share.

Those are all great responses.

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Here are a few other things I want to highlight that will happen when we spend time with
God daily.

First, when you spend time with God daily, He changes you.

No one is perfect, and while God invites us to trust him fully and be wholly surrendered
to Him, He knows we’ll make mistakes.

The great news is that we don’t have to be stuck making the same mistakes we’ve al-
ways made.

As we spend time with God on a daily basis, He begins to change us from who we were
to a better version of who we really are.

The Bible has some letters in it written by a guy named Paul.

Paul had a crazy experience that led to him following Jesus.

His faith led him to go all over the known world, telling people about Jesus.

He would stay in an area for a while, explain to the people what it meant to follow Jesus,
then help them organize themselves as a church.

Paul hoped the followers of Jesus in an area would continue meeting together after he
left town.

Oftentimes, he would hear stories about these places and send them letters of encour-
agement or correction.

One of those letters was to the church in Philippi, and we have that letter in the Bible in
the book called “Philippians.”

Would someone read Philippians 4:6-7 out loud for the group? [I LOVE having students
read from the Bible. If it doesn’t work for your group, feel free to read it yourself or have
another adult read it.]
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Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your
worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of
God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.
It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message)

When we allow God to work in our lives, He changes us.

Second, when you spend time with God daily, He guides you.

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Have you ever been lost?

It’s a miserable feeling because out of all the paths you can choose to follow, you don’t
know which one is best.

Life can be like that as well, but it doesn’t have to be.

As we spend time with God on a regular basis, He will guide us into decisions that are
best for our lives and for everyone around us.

The Bible also has a book of poetry in it called “Psalms.”

Poetry is a powerful way to share profound truths in ways that touch our emotions.

Would someone please read Psalm 119:104-105 out loud for the group? [Again, if it
doesn’t work for your group, feel free to read it yourself or have another adult read it.]
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With your instruction, I understand life; that’s why I hate false propaganda.
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By your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark
path. Psalm 119:104-105 (The Message)

When you spend time with God, you grow in wisdom because He guides you.

And third, when you spend time with God daily, He helps you.

In our house, the “f-word” is “Fair.”

Not really, but we’ve been very honest with our family that life is not fair.

In fact, sometimes it’s just plain devastating.

Maybe you’ve been through the pain of losing someone you love.

Or maybe you’ve experienced abuse at the hands of someone who was supposed to
care for you.

Or maybe you feel like you don’t fit in anywhere, and you’re alone.

When you spend time with God, He may not take away the pain, but He helps you and
walks with you through the yuckiness of life.

Two of Paul’s letters were written to the church in Corinth.

Would someone please read 2 Corinthians 1:4 out loud for the group? [Last time, if it
doesn’t work for your group, feel free to read it yourself or have another adult read it.]

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He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he
brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be
there for that person just as God was there for us. 2 Corinthians 1:4 (The Message)

Let’s have some “mandatory fun time.”

Turn to someone around you and answer the question, “Have you ever experienced
God turning something painful from your past into an opportunity to help someone else?
If so, share a few sentences of your story.”

[FOR ONLINE GROUPS, say: Let’s have some “mandatory fun time.” In the chat win-
dow, type in your answer to the question, “Have you ever experienced God turning
something painful from your past into an opportunity to help someone else? If so, share
a few sentences of your story.”]

When we invite God into the messiness of life, He steps in and is with us, healing our
pain and turning it into an opportunity to help others.

The best way to make space for Jesus is to give Him some uninterrupted time every
day.

Hopefully, you’re thinking, “That’s awesome! I’m ready to spend time with God daily so
He can change me, guide me, and help me!”

But how do you make it happen?

Eventually, we believe this practice will become second nature as you learn to pray
without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16).

But as you’re just starting out developing this habit, we would encourage you to take
these specific steps to help you get the ball rolling.

The first thing you need to do to get started spending time with God daily is to
make time with God a priority.

Teenagers in the US are busier now and under more pressure and stress than at any
time in history.

There’s no way I’d go back to being in middle or high school.

You all have it rough!

But despite of your crazy-busy schedules, y’all still get stuff done:
· Family
· Friends

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 · School
· Sports
· Band
· Theater
· Work
· Social media

You find a way to make time for things that are a priority in your life.

If your relationship with God is a priority, make time for it in your schedule.

If you plan time to eat, study, workout, rehearse, etc., add “time with God” to your daily
schedule too!

The second thing you need to do to get started spending time with God daily is to
be consistent.

Habits can’t be developed overnight; they take time.

It takes consistent, repeated actions to turn your good intentions into actions.

Here are a few things to help you:

ONE, pick a consistent time.

Some people prefer mornings; some prefer evenings.

The time you choose isn’t important—just choose a consistent time that you can make
happen.

My life can get busy, and sometimes I miss a day or two and get discouraged.

It would be easy to get frustrated with myself and quit.

Resist the urge!

If you miss a time and need to adjust, do it.

If you miss a time consistently, think about picking a different time.

If you don’t have any time in your schedule, maybe you’re trying to do too many good
things, and that’s keeping you from doing the best things.

Don’t beat yourself up or quit just because you get overly busy and miss your scheduled
time with God.

Take a breath, regroup, and jump back in.

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TWO, pick a consistent place.

In a distracted culture, routine helps us stay focused.

Find a comfortable place—public or private—and be consistent as you make space to

spend time with God daily.

I need a place with minimal distractions so I can stay focused.

If there’s too much going on, my eyes and ears and mind will wander; I need a place
that’s simple and peaceful.

It doesn’t matter where your space is; just find a consistent place!

THIRD, pick a consistent plan.

One of the biggest holdups for many people is not knowing what to DO in your daily
time with God.

God can speak to us through anything: the Bible, prayer, other people, personal experi-
ences, other circumstances, etc.

But if you want to hear from God on a consistent basis, pick a plan that puts God in your
life.

The best daily plans include things like:

· A Bible passage
· Insights on the passage to help you understand it
· Ideas on how you can apply the principles in the passage to your everyday life
· Guidance on turning your thoughts on the passage into a prayer
· Suggestions on how to go deeper with the ideas/principles in the passage

There are a lot of ways to approach it, but I would encourage you to find a plan and
stick with it.

The third thing you need to do to get started spending time with God daily is to
enjoy your time with God.

For some of you, this one might sound odd.

Spending time with God is important; it’s helpful, and it’s needed.
But maybe you’ve never considered that it’s possible to ENJOY spending time with
God.

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If you’ve tried spending time with God in the past, and you didn’t enjoy it, you were do-
ing it wrong!

When you spend time with people who care about you, you should enjoy it!

And no one loves you and wants what’s best for you more than God.

There is one last thing before we go to small groups.

A great place to get started spending daily time with God is by reading a daily devotion
and talking about it with a few friends.

There are lots of good devotionals out there.

[Here is a good place to share your favorite devotionals with your students. If you’re
looking for ideas, I love The Simple Truth Bible.]

Technology makes it super easy to find a plan.

The You Version Bible App has a button on the bottom of the screen called “Plans.”

If you click that, you’ll get a long list of Bible reading plans and daily devotions.

The app will even let you invite friends to do the devotion with you, so you can have
good conversations about it.

[This is a great place to promote the “Honest Friendships” topic next week.]

And if you’re still struggling to find a good daily devotion, find someone who has a faith
you respect and ask them what their favorite is and what their daily time with God looks
like.

God loves you, He is for you, and He wants to give you a rich and satisfying life.

The best way to make space for Jesus is to give Him some uninterrupted time every
day.

Choose to spend time with Him daily; it’s one of the six THINGS you can do to make
more space in your life for Jesus and survive your summer.

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SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What is your quirkiest habit…the one you don’t really want anyone to know
about? (Remember, what we say in small group is kept private unless it’s dan-
gerous to you or someone else.)

2. What is one habit you wish you had?

3. What does it mean to you that “God is always working in the world around us
and in you”?

4. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being hardly any, and 10 as 100%--how much do

you WANT to live the way God wants us to live?

5. Read these three verses: Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 119:104-105, 2 Corinthians

1:4. Which one connects with you most and why?

6. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being hardly any, and 10 as 100%--how much do

you TRUST God?

7. What are you willing to do to grow in your trust in God?

8. We talked about three things that happen when you spend time with God: He
changes you, He guides you, and He helps you. Which do you need more of:
change, guidance, or help--and why?

9. We talked about three things that you can do to be consistent in spending time
with God daily--consistent time, a consistent place, a consistent plan. Which one
do you need to work on starting this week?

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