series guide -...

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Chief Executive Officer Reggie Joiner

Creative DirectorElle Campbell

XP3 MS Team Sarah Bragg Kenny CampbellJosh LammTom Shefchunas

Contributing WriterRodney Anderson

Orange Specialist Ben Nunes

Graphics & VideoBen GrantBeth HelmerDonny JoinerRon Rabideau

Technical & Web Support Hadley Brandt

Chief Operating Officer Reggie Goodin

U S E R A G R E E M E N T

T H E P E O P L E T H A T M A K E X P 3 M I D D L E S C H O O L

W W W . X P 3 M S . C O M

S E S S I O N T W O

This Session Guide is designed to give you a quick overview of everything you’ll need to make this session happen,

from start to finish.

©2015 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

SERIESGUIDE

POWER PLAY

S E S S I O N T W O | K E E P T H E P E A C E

Have you ever felt powerless? Maybe you had a coach that made a bad call and there was nothing you could do. Or maybe you remember a time when your mom or step-dad grounded you for no reason. Maybe you’ve had a teacher who was completely unreasonable. No matter what the situation was, chances are you didn’t enjoy it. No one likes to feel like they have no power. But what can you do? How do you react when someone is using their power over you unfairly?

This was the exact problem facing the earliest Christians. They were often beaten, killed, or tortured for the entertainment of the Roman people in the Coliseum. They couldn’t have felt more powerless, but in his letter to them, the Apostle Paul reminds them—us— that we are never truly powerless. That in every situation, no matter how unfair, we have a role to play. And, even as the underdogs, we can make a power play for peace.

B O T T O M L I N E In relationships, peace is your most powerful play.

P R E L U D ESetting the tone for the experience.

BACKGROUND PLAYLISTOur suggested background playlists for each series are also available on Spotify.

• Fight Song by Rachel Platten (from Fight Song)• Where the Sky Hangs by Passion Pit (from Kindred)• Uh Huh by ROMANS (from Uh Huh)• Feeling Okay by Best Coast (from California Nights)• Should’ve Been Us by Tori Kelly (from Should’ve Been

Us)• Runaways by All Time Low (from Future Hearts)• Shine by Years & Years (from Shine)• Hold Your Hand by Family Force 5 (from Hold Your Hand)• Another You by Armin van Buuren (from Another You)• Addicted to a Memory by Zedd (from True Colors)

S O C I A LProviding time for fun interaction.

For this session, we recommend the game The Artful Gargler from the XP3 Middle School Games Library. As far as we can tell, it doesn’t have anything to do with what you’re talking about this week... but that’s okay. Just go have some fun!

S E S S I O N S U M M A R Y


https://play.spotify.com/user/xp3students

http://games.xp3ms.com

https://vimeo.com/128985371

http://games.xp3ms.com

SESSION GUIDE 2


T R A N S I T I O N SMoving smoothly from one thing to another.

SCREEN GRAPHICSDisplay the Main Slide image or Loop video from this series (found in your Graphic Support folder) on your screen throughout your program.

BUMPER VIDEO Use the Bumper video for this series to transition into your teaching time.

W O R S H I PInviting people to respond to God.

Choose 2-3 songs from our recommended Set List:• Alive (Studio Version) by Hillsong Young & Free (from

We Are Young & Free )• Break Free (Live) by Hillsong United (from The I Heart

Revolution - Live).• Whom Shall I Fear (feat. Kari Jobe) by Lincoln Brewster

(from Real Life)• Let It Be Jesus by Christy Nockels (from Let It Be Jesus)

TEACHING SCRIPTYou’ll find the Teaching Outline and Teaching Script for this session in your Session 2 folder.

INTERACTIVEIn this session, you’ll use Activity (a giant game of Rock, Paper, Scissors) to get your students thinking about winning, losing, and (ultimately) peacemaking.

TEACHING VIDEOThe Teaching Video for Session 2 can take the place of a live communicator, but it will not cover the Interactive, so you’ll still want to plan for that.

TEACHING AUDIOThe Teaching Audio of this session can be found in the Session 2 folder.

STUDENT NOTE PAGEThe Student Note Page for Session 2 includes a space to invent your own version of Rock, Paper, Scissors.

S T O R YCommunicating God’s truth in engaging ways.

Use the SGL Email for Session 2 to tell your small group leaders what they need to know, and what they need to do, to prepare this week. Don’t forget to attach the Small Group Guide, and print enough copies for all of your small group leaders.

Make sure you connect with your leaders about the XP before small groups this week so they can help their middle schoolers plan!

G R O U P SCreating a safe place to connect.

Use the Social Media Plan for this Series to stay in touch with parents and students during the week.

If you haven’t already, send parents their Parent Cue!

H O M EPrompting action beyond the experience.

INTROComplete the

Interactive.

TENSIONWhat do you do

when you feel like you have no control? Tell a personal story. We usually react by getting mad or sad. There’s a better way to respond than by getting revenge.

TRUTHIn Romans 8:17-18,

the apostle Paul tells Christians who were being imprisoned

and killed for their faith to be peacemakers.

APPLICATION We all have the power to live at

peace with others - even those who have hurt us. Get over it. Pray for

peace.

LANDINGYou have the power

to turn the tables by choosing peace.

Peace is what powerful people choose. We’re all

more powerful than we think.

TEACHING OUTLINE

P O W E R P L A Y | S E S S I O N T W O | K E E P T H E P E A C E

S C R I P T U R E

S E S S I O N S U M M A R Y

Q U E S T I O N

A N G L E O F S C R I P T U R E

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

ROMANS 8:17-18 (NIV)

This passage, written by the apostle Paul, is pretty clear and self-explanatory. But while it’s easy to understand, it’s much more difficult to apply...

especially when you’re in middle school and every hurtful comment, offense, or fight with a friend feels like the end of the world. In this session, you’ll help middle schoolers understand that they should be

peacemakers. Then you’ll give them some practical advice for how to make that happen.

WHAT CAN I DO TO BE A PEACEMAKER IN MY RELATIONSHIPS THIS WEEK?


B O T T O M L I N E

IN RELATIONSHIPS, PEACE IS YOUR MOST POWERFUL PLAY.

TEACHING SCRIPT

K E E P T H E P E A C E

I N T R O D U C T I O N


Now, what is interesting about this game is that most of us believe that it is a game of complete chance and that everyone, regardless of their age, their height, or their athletic ability, has an equal chance of winning. But what if I told you that wasn’t true? What if I told you there was a powerful strategy to winning at Rock, Paper, Scissors? I know. Your brain just exploded. This strategy is so powerful that it increases your chances to win every time you play. Seriously. Scientists tell us it’s true.

Now, if I reveal this top secret strategy, you all have to promise to reveal it to no one. Otherwise, we’ll all lose our advantage. Got it? Okay, here is the super secret strategy:

• If you lose the first round, always switch to the thing that beats the thing your opponent just played.

• If you win, don’t keep playing the same thing, but instead switch to the thing that would beat the thing that you just played. In other words, play the hand your losing opponent just played. Example: If you win a round with rock against someone else’s scissors. They are about to switch to paper. You should switch to scissors. Got it? Good.

Think of all the shotgun seats and Mountain Dews you’ll win now that you know this powerful strategy!

INTERACTIVE: Rock, Paper, ScissorsBut first, have you ever played the game “Rock, Paper, Scissors”? It is a great game to play when you have to decide who gets to ride shotgun, or who gets the

bigger bedroom at home, or even when you have to decide something really serious, like who gets to drink the last Mountain Dew.

Actually... why don’t we play?

See the Interactive for detailed instructions.

B O T T O M L I N E


Last week, we began a series called Power Play where we talked about how we all have a secret super power residing inside of us. I know that sometimes, especially in middle school, it can feel like you don’t have any power at all. But last week, we learned that you actually have a lot of power.

And that power is unleashed when you give something away for the sake of loving and serving someone else. Today we’re going to talk about a second way we can become more powerful.

TEACHING SCRIPT 2

T R U T H

Let’s take a look at one of the places where the Bible talks about this. The apostle Paul, one of the earliest leaders in Christianity, wrote a letter to a group of Christians living in Rome during the time when Rome was the most powerful nation in the world. But while Rome had a ton of power, the Christians who lived there did not. In fact, the Roman government hated Christians. Talk about having no power! These Christians were powerless to do anything. They were being marginalized and persecuted and even killed. So just think of a time when you felt most powerless in a relationship, and multiply that by a million. That’s how the Christians in Rome felt. During this incredibly difficult time, Paul wrote to

them about power. Here’s what he says in his letter to the Romans.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone (Romans 8:17 NIV).

Whoa. Remember, these Christians were being thrown in jail and even killed, just for being Christians. But Paul tells them not to repay evil with evil. In other words, he didn’t want them to use their power as an excuse to do something bad—regardless of how they felt. Now listen to what he says next.


5 M I N U T E S

We clearly all like winning games, but what if you could have a fool-proof strategy like this one for winning in your relationships? Especially the relationships where you feel like you might be losing. Have you ever felt powerless in a certain relationship? Maybe someone did something to you, or said something about you, and you don’t know what to do about it. Maybe there’s a group of friends at school you’d love to be a part of, but you can’t seem to find your way in. Or maybe you’re in a position where you feel like someone is lording their authority over you or treating you unfairly, but there is nothing you can do to stop it. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? Whether it’s with a coach, a teacher, a parent, or a friend, we all know what it’s like to feel powerless in a relationship.

When that happens, when you feel like you have no control, the emotions creep in, don’t they? You feel frustrated. You feel a sense of injustice. It’s frustrating to feel like someone else has power over your day and over your emotions. It can make you feel small. And no one likes to feel small.

TELL A PERSONAL STORY: Tell a personal story that illustrates the following ideas...• Share about a time when you felt powerless in a

relationship or situation, preferably in middle school.• Spend time talking about how you felt. Were you

frustrated? Angry? Sad?

Like me, when we feel powerless, most of us react in one of two ways: we either get mad, or we get sad.

Who are my mad people? When someone is in control over you, you feel like throwing something, punching something, or yelling at something, right? Yeah, that doesn’t really help the situation, does it? Now, who are my sad people? Yes, when you feel powerless, you are the ones who lock yourself in your room to sulk, to mope, to cry, and to listen to sad emo songs on repeat.

But do you know the problem with these two reactions? When we feel mad or sad, that’s usually when we give ourselves an excuse for doing something bad. For some reason, when we feel hurt by someone, we feel like we have a free pass to do something stupid, to say something mean, to do something hurtful, to turn our back on the relationship, or to make them pay. But that never makes things better, does it? It’s a terrible strategy.

But what if I told you that there was a way to turn the tables? What if I told you that there was a way to shift the power back into your hands, without responding in a way that leads to something bad? What’s interesting is that the Bible actually talks a lot about this scenario. It says we actually have more power than we think we do, and it teaches us a strategy to harness and leverage that power in a pretty incredible way. Who wouldn’t want that?

T E N S I O N

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone (Romans 8:18 NIV).

This is more powerful than you can imagine. He says, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you…” I love this because in the middle of someone feeling powerless, he tells us that there is something that we can control. No matter the circumstance, we always have the power to decide how we will respond. And what’s interesting is that he doesn’t talk at all about what the other person did or said. He just tells us to

focus on ourselves—on what we can control. Paul tells us to live at…what? Peace! When we feel powerless, when we’ve been wronged, he says to quit focusing on what they did, and focus instead on how we can live at peace with them.

There is nothing more surprising to someone who has hurt you than when you turn the tables and respond in peace. It is shocking! Peace is a powerful way to respond to someone. In fact, when you’ve been hurt, peace is your most powerful play.

TEACHING SCRIPT 3


A P P L I C A T I O N

All of us have the power to live at peace—even with people who have hurt us. Let me give you two quick and practical things you can use as a strategy to take a step toward peace when you’ve felt wronged in a relationship. The first one is to simply…

GET OVER IT. The easiest thing to do is just move on. You don’t have to take it to heart. You don’t have to take it personally or be offended. Realize people will make mistakes, and just get over it. People aren’t perfect. Your parents aren’t perfect. Your teachers aren’t perfect. Your friends aren’t perfect. We all make mistakes. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to simply forgive and move on.

The second thing is this…

PRAY FOR PEACE. Sometimes, peace is difficult to find. So ask God to help you. Often, peace isn’t a natural reaction. When you’ve been wronged, you may want to respond with anger or sadness. But pray for peace instead. You may want to hurt them the way they’ve hurt you. But take a step back. Remember, God loves these people and made them in His image. Your kindness may not be what they expect to receive, but maybe that’s what makes it so powerful. You have the power to respond with peace.

Now, will this fix everything? No, probably not. But even though it’s difficult, you have the power to turn the tables around in a relationship by doing something no one would expect: choosing peace. It’s easy to do something bad when we’ve been hurt. But peace is what powerful people choose. And we’re all more powerful than we think.

As you go to small group, I want you to think about this question: What can you do to be a peacemaker in your relationships this week? Because, remember: when it comes to relationships, peace is your most powerful play.

L A N D I N G

1 0 M I N U T E S

1 5 M I N U T E S

T R A N S I T I O N I N T O S M A L L G R O U P S

S T O P

INTERACTIVE

R O C K , P A P E R , S C I S S O R S | A C T I V I T Y

For this Interactive, your goal is to create a memorable experience that will help the ideas you are talking about in this session stick. You know how Rock, Paper, Scissors works, right? Good! Now you’re going to play it with all of your students at once.

ROUND 1Have your middle schoolers stand and split into pairs wherever they are standing. Give them a few seconds to play three times. The first player to two is the winer. The loser sits and the winner stays standing.

ROUND 2Have the winners break into pairs and play another three times. The losers sit and the winners stay standing. Repeat until there are only two students remaining.

FINAL ROUNDBring the final pairing to the front and introduce them. Have them play another three times, with you providing commentary.

Celebrate the winner and send everyone back to their seats.

T H E H O W - T O

O V E R V I E W

This Interactive is a gigantic Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament. It’s designed to be a fun way to get your middle schoolers thinking about the topic of winning, losing, and (eventually) peacemaking.

T H E S E T - U P

WHAT YOU’LL NEED• Just you and your middle schoolers


IF USING THE TEACHING VIDEO...

The video for this session will not cover the Interactive

for you. We recommend doing this Interactive at the very beginning of your large group teaching time, before you play the video.

KEEP THE PEACE

P O W E R P L AY: S E S S I O N T W O

S C R I P T U R E : “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” ROMANS 8:17-18 (NIV)

G O A L O F S M A L L G R O U P : To encourage students to take responsibility for how they respond in relationships - especially when they’ve been hurt. To do this, create meaningful conversation. This guide is a suggestion, not a formula. Adjust the questions and activities as needed, and don’t feel like you need to do, or ask, everything you see here.

At some point in the past week, the chances are pretty good that your few have had their feelings hurt by someone. In middle school especially, when the opinions of their peers are so important to them, those situations feel like a really big deal. So as you encourage your students to pursue peace during conflict, don’t forget to consider just how difficult that can be at times!

J U S T F O R F U N

Play a game of Who Would Win? Have everyone in your group choose a celebrity and assign that celebrity a crazy super power. Then create a few match-ups and debate who would win in a fight (ex: Taylor Swift, who can sing until your ear drums burst vs. Kanye West, who can continually interrupt you until you are driven insane).

T H I N K A B O U T T H I S

“Today we talked about how God hopes we respond when we’ve been hurt and feel powerless. What are you going to remember from what you heard?”

D I S C U S S I O N Q U E S T I O N S

• What are some examples of ways other people can make us feel powerless?

• When you feel powerless, do you usually react by getting mad or by getting sad?

• How does your reaction affect your relationships? • Why is trying to get revenge when we’ve been hurt usually a bad idea?• What might “living at peace” look like when you’re fighting with a friend?

When your feelings have been hurt by a family member? When you’re frustrated with someone in authority over you?

• Name one way you can promote more peace in your relationships.• Identify one relationship where you could take steps toward more peace.

There will be one day this week when your students focus on using their social influence to serve others. Remind your group that, no matter their age or social standing, they all have social power. They could sit with someone in the cafeteria who may otherwise be alone, pay attention to someone who looks up to them, give a compliment,

or stick up for someone that is typically picked on. Spend time planning with your group what they will do on Power Play Wednesday and how you can help support them.

S AY T H I S

T R Y T H I S


B O T T O M L I N E


Hey Group Leaders – We’re finishing our series this week called Power Play where we’re specifically talking about how each of us and our students have power in the way we respond to the people in our lives. Even if we feel powerless…we have a choice. We hope you have some great discussion this week!

SERIES PREVIEWhttps://vimeo.com/XP3MS/PowerPlay

SESSION 2 SUMMARY: KEEP THE PEACE [Insert Date]Have you ever felt powerless? Maybe you had a coach that made a bad call and there was nothing you could do. Or maybe you remember a time when your mom or step-dad grounded you for no reason. Maybe you’ve had a teacher who was completely unreasonable. No matter what the situation was, chances are you didn’t enjoy it. No one likes to feel like they have no power. But what can you do? How do you react when someone is using their power over you unfairly? This was the exact problem facing the earliest Christians. They were often beaten, killed, or tortured for the entertainment of the Roman people in the Coliseum. They couldn’t have felt more powerless, but in his letter to them, the Apostle

Paul reminds them—us— that we are never truly powerless. That in every situation, no matter how unfair, we have a role to play. And, even as the underdogs, we can make a power play for peace.

BOTTOM LINEIn relationships, peace is your most powerful play.

THE GOAL OF SMALL GROUPTo encourage students to take responsibility for how they respond in relationships - especially when they’ve been hurt.

STORIESAnytime you have a win with your small group, not only would we love to hear it, but you can also share it with an online community of small group leaders – leaders who do what you do every week – at leadsmall.org. Just click here: http://leadsmall.org/submit/?age_group=56

Be sure to include important ministry dates, announcements, and events. And don’t forget to attach your Small Group Guide for this session.


SGL EMAIL

P O W E R P L AY: S E S S I O N T W O

Remember to email your leaders every week with the small group questions attached. This will allow your leaders to review the material before they sit down to lead discussion. Be mindful to encourage your leaders, celebrate their successes, and thank them for being committed.

Copy and paste the following into an email to your small group leaders...

series guide -...

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