session guide - s3. · pdf filesession three this session guide is designed to give you a...

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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 H R E E

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.

SESSIONGUIDE

Chief Executive Officer Reggie Joiner

Creative DirectorElle Campbell

XP3 MS Team Sarah Bragg Kenny CampbellJosh LammTom Shefchunas

Contributing WritersGina Abbas

Illustrator Brandon Earnhart

Graphics & VideoBen GrantBeth HelmerDonny JoinerAnthony Young

Orange Specialist Ben Nunes

Technical & Web Support Hadley Brandt

Chief Operating Officer Reggie Goodin

CLOSE

S E S S I O N T H R E E | A P P R O V E

Messy. That word alone can describe most of our lives—especially our rooms. But it can describe other things, too. The things in our lives that we don’t like to talk about. The kind of messiness that we hope no one ever finds out about. Just like we may not let our friend into our room if we haven’t cleaned it, sometimes we’re afraid to let people get close to us when we haven’t dealt with the junk in our lives. We don’t want anyone to notice our mess. And sometimes we do the same thing with God. We keep God at a distance because, if we get too close, we’re worried He would reject us because of the messiness of our lives and hearts. But what if we’ve got it wrong? What if there’s no need for us to keep God at a distance? What if He already sees all of the messiness of our lives but still hasn’t rejected us? Maybe, just maybe, we can have the courage to get close to God because He’s been approving us, not rejecting us, all along.

B O T T O M L I N E To get close to God, know you’re approved.

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.

• “Made for You” by Alexander Cardinale (from Made for You)

• “Brother – feat. Gavin DeGraw” by NEEDTOBREATHE (from Brother)

• “The Moment” by Tame Impala (from Currents)• “A Perfect End” by Atlas Genius (from A Perfect End)• “Drag Me Down” by One Direction (from Drag Me

Down)• “My Love” by Circa Waves (from My Love)• “Expensive” by Tori Kelly (from Unbreakable Smile)• “Your Type” by Carly Rae Jespen (from Your Type)• “Unbelievable” by Owl City (from Mobile Orchestra)• “Sun Goes Down” by David Guetta (from Listen)

S O C I A LProviding time for fun interaction.

Since we’re talking about approval in this session, we recommend the game Craving Approval from the XP3 Middle School Games Library.

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/xp3ms/close

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:• This Is Amazing Grace by Phil Wickham (from The

Ascension) • One Thing Remains (featuring Kristian Stanfill) by

Passion (from White Flag) • Close by Steve Fee (from North Point Inside Out: Hear

(Live)) • Sons and Daughters by Brett Stanfill (from North Point

Inside Out: Hear (Live))

TEACHING SCRIPTYou’ll find the Teaching Outline and Teaching Script for this session in your Session 3 folder.

INTERACTIVEIn this session, you’ll use another Prop (a bunch of junk and maybe a bed) to help your students remember that, no matter how much junk they have hidden away, God still wants to be close to them.

TEACHING VIDEOThe Teaching Video for Session 3 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 3 folder.

STUDENT NOTE PAGEThe Student Note Page for Session 3 will ask your students to talk about their most embarrassing moment.

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

Use the SGL Email for Session 3 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.

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, be sure to send parents their Parent Cue!

H O M EPrompting action beyond the experience.

INTROComplete the

Interactive. Have you ever wanted to hang

out with a friend, but you couldn’t let them in your house because you were

embarrassed of something?

TENSIONTell a personal story. We keep God at a distance because we’re ashamed of what we’ve done.

We’re worried about God’s disapproval,

so we keep Him at a distance.

TRUTHGenesis tells us the story of Abraham,

who failed God a lot but God still wanted a relationship with him. The same is

true for us. Hebrews 4:16 says to come to God with boldness.

APPLICATION You can have a

real friendship with God. He’s loved you, approved of

you, and wanted a relationship with you

since before you were born.

LANDINGGod approves of you. He loves you

so much He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on

the cross for you.

TEACHING OUTLINE

C L O S E | S E S S I O N T H R E E | A P P R O V 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

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find

grace to help us in our time of need.” HEBREWS 4:16 (NIV)

This week, the verse we focus on is Hebrews 4:16, but we’ll also touch on the story of Abraham. Although

Abraham’s full story won’t be unpacked in this session (because it would take a pretty long time to tell that whole story), you’ll give a brief summary of His life and history with following and trusting God to see

that God approved Abraham, even though he made mistakes.

DO I REALLY BELIEVE THAT GOD HAS APPROVED ME?


B O T T O M L I N E

TO GET CLOSE TO GOD, KNOW YOU’RE APPROVED.

TELL A PERSONAL STORY: Tell a personal story that illustrates the following ideas...• Talk about a time when you had something awkward or

embarrassing you thought you needed to hide from your friends.

• First, emphasize why you thought you needed to keep that thing a secret. Were you afraid they would make

fun of you? Think you were weird? Not want to be your friend anymore?

• Then, share how keeping that secret negatively affected you and your friendships.

• Build the tension, but don’t resolve it. You’ll have a chance to share the end of your story (if there is one) or share what you learned a little bit later.

TEACHING SCRIPT

A P P R O V E

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

T E N S I O N


TDoes anyone have a room that looks a little bit like this? Messy, crazy, dirty, a little chaotic? When I was in middle school, my room was always a mess. And I usually didn’t care, but sometimes it posed a problem.

Was there ever a time when you wanted to hang out with a friend, but you couldn’t let your friend come over to your house because you were embarrassed of something? Or you had something to hide? Like, maybe your room was

so messy, like the level of messy where even throwing things under the bed didn’t help, [shove some of the junk under the bed, then give up] that your friend couldn’t possibly come over because there would literally be no where to sit in your room. Has that ever happened to you?

Or maybe it wasn’t messiness. Maybe for you, you couldn’t let your friend come over to your house because there was something more serious that you wanted to keep hidden. Maybe you didn’t let them come over because your parents had been fighting a lot, and you didn’t want them to notice. Maybe there was something you worried they’d find out about you or your family if they came inside. Don’t answer out loud, but have you ever been there? Have you ever really wanted to invite a friend into your house, but something like that, something awkward or embarrassing, held you back? So instead, you shut the door behind you, and you told your friends, “We need to stay outside today.”

B O T T O M L I N E


INTERACTIVE: Sweep It Under the BedSee the Interactive for detailed instructions.

TEACHING SCRIPT 2

T R U T H

If you’ve ever wanted to be close to God, but you’ve worried you’ve already failed God too many times or in too many ways, the book of Genesis is a great place to begin again with God. Actually, that’s what “Genesis” means, “the beginning”. In Genesis, you’ll find the story of a guy named Abraham. He wasn’t really anyone special, but one day God showed up and said to him, “Follow me.” By the way, you know what’s interesting? It was God who began the relationship with Abraham. He took the first step. He reached out. He made the first move. And the same thing is true for you and me. In I John 4:19, it says that God loved us first! That’s pretty cool. Just like He was with Abraham, God is in pursuit of a relationship with us. He wants to be close. He pursues us. He moves towards us, even when we get things wrong and totally miss the point.

And Abraham definitely got things wrong and missed the point pretty often. If you look closely back at Genesis, you can read thirteen chapters filled with a lot of stories about Abraham, and you will discover that Abraham was far from perfect. He was impatient. He played favorites. He didn’t always trust God’s timing or make the best decisions.

But you know what’s incredible? In the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, which was written a long time after Abraham

lived, Abraham is described as being faithful to God in a long list of other great people from the Bible. This list is sometimes called the hall of fame or hall of faith. Kind of like the baseball hall of fame, but for Bible heroes. This guy who made so many mistakes is named as a hero of faith! Why? Well, God didn’t choose Abraham to be a father of nations or a Bible MVP because he was an amazing, blameless person. God didn’t wait for Abraham to get his life figured out and for him to be perfect so that He could use him. What Abraham had was faith in a real God.

And that is all God asks. If we have faith in Him, He tells us we’re approved. We have nothing to fear. We have nothing to hide under the bed or shove into the closet where He can’t see it. (He knows all of our secrets anyway.) When we trust Jesus, God gives us His stamp of approval. Even when we’ve messed up, even when we don’t even like ourselves very much, God tells us we are loved and that He approves of us. No matter what we’ve done, He invites us to come closer.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16 NIV)


And sometimes I do the same thing in my relationship with God. Sometimes I keep God at a distance because, if He really knew my secrets, I’d be afraid of what He would think or say or do. Maybe for some of you, being close to God is appealing. You want to be close to Him. You feel like you have nothing to hide. But for some of us, the idea of getting close to God can be intimidating.

For the last couple of weeks, we’ve been talking about getting close to God. We’ve talked about how, if we want to get close to God, then we need to be the ones who move closer to Him. But we’ve also talked about how there are usually some barriers between us and God, things we’ve done that keep us distant from Him. Today, I want to talk about one last thing that can keep us far from God. Sometimes, we keep our distance from God because there are things in our lives that we’re too embarrassed to let Him see. Maybe

we’re afraid we’re too messed up, or we’ve stayed away from Him for too long. Maybe we’re afraid He can’t forgive us, or couldn’t possibly love us, for those things we’ve done and want to keep hidden.

Can you relate? Are there certain areas of your life where you don’t want God getting involved? Maybe you’ve invited God into your house, but not quite every room. Maybe you’re still shutting the doors to the rooms you’re not ready to let Him see yet. Maybe you find yourself paying attention to God at church but ignoring Him the rest of the week. You keep Him at a distance because if He gets too close, you worry He’ll notice all of the things wrong with you. You worry He’ll be angry. You worry about His disapproval. So it’s easier to sometimes keep God at a distance—to keep the door closed.

5 M I N U T E S

TEACHING SCRIPT 3


A P P L I C A T I O N

We can come close to God “with confidence!” No matter how things are between you and God right now, He already thinks you are pretty amazing. In God’s eyes, you are approved. Not because of anything you’ve done, but because of what Jesus did for you. Because of Jesus, you can have a real friendship with God. A real friendship with someone means they know you, and you know them. They know your house is messy, that

you are mean to your sister, that you frequently forget to brush your teeth or that your parents sometimes fight. And they love you anyways. You can usually tell when a friendship is the real deal when you are not afraid for them to see the real you—or your messy house. And you don’t mind so much if they meet your crazy family because they’ll love you no matter what. That’s how God loves you. In fact, He’s loved you, approved of you, and wanted a relationship with you since before you were even born.

Here is what I want you to know—the one thing I hope you will remember. God approves of you. He doesn’t wait around for you to be perfect. He doesn’t have a long list of things you need to do, or believe, or stop doing, before He can approve of you. He loves you just as you are. He wants a relationship with you. God loves you so much He sent His son, Jesus, to suffer and die on the cross for you. Through faith in Jesus, who conquered sin and death, God is able to give you His seal of approval. You can’t earn it. It’s already yours. He wants to know you and be close to you—imperfections

and all. Through Jesus, that’s made possible. If you haven’t already, I want to invite you to think about welcoming God into your life and accepting that Jesus already did everything to make us right with God. If you don’t already know Jesus that way, and you want to, ask your small group leader how you can get to know Him. And as you head to small groups today, think about this question: Do I really believe that God has approved me?

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

S W E E P I T U N D E R T H E B E D | P R O P

First, collect your supplies. We like using a bed because it will be big and memorable but, remember, if a bed is too much for you to set up, you could maybe use a large rug instead. Whatever helps you create the visual described in the Introduction and Tension of the Teaching.

Next, set up your bed. Mess up the covers. Throw some pillows around. You know, make it look like the kind of place where a middle schooler would sleep—a very messy middle schooler.

Then toss a bunch of junk all over the bed and the floor surrounding it. You’re trying to create the look of a bedroom that’s so messy no one would ever invite someone inside for a visit.

Throughout your teaching time, pay attention to the prompts in your Teaching Script. There will be times you’ll want to reference the mess or throw things under the bed in attempt to get things straightened up. Interact with it as much as possible to help the visual stick.

T H E H O W - T O

O V E R V I E W

Middle schoolers learn best when they can connect abstract ideas to concrete visuals. And the idea of getting close to a God we can’t exactly see is a pretty abstract concept. So for this Interactive, as we talk about the junk in our lives that can make us keep our distance from God, you’ll use a pretty big prop—essentially, a recreation of a middle schooler’s messy bedroom.

T H E S E T - U P

WHAT YOU’LL NEED• A twin bed frame (but skip the mattress—you don’t need

it and those things are heavy)• Middle-schooler-ish bedding• A ton of middle-schooler-ish junk (clothes, socks, pillows,

backpacks, books, etc.)• OPTIONAL: if a bed isn’t doable, use a big rug instead


IF USING THE TEACHING VIDEO...

The video for this session will not cover the Interactive for you. We recommend setting up this Interactive

before like you would if you were teaching live. Then say something like, “If you’re wondering what a messy bedroom has to do with getting closer to God, that’s what we’re about to find out.

APPROVE

C L O S E : S E S S I O N T H R E E

S C R I P T U R E : “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” HEBREWS 4:16 (NIV)

G O A L O F S M A L L G R O U P : To help students understand that even though they may have a lot of junk hidden in their lives, God still approves and wants to be close to them. 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.

If there’s one thing middle schoolers understand, it’s embarrassment and seeking approval. You remember those days, don’t you? Middle school can be rough. And there’s good reason for that. In this phase, everything in their lives is changing rapidly - including their own bodies and brains. It can be a scary and uncertain time. When you combine this with the fact that middle schoolers are becoming increasingly aware of how they compare and measure up to their peers...well, let’s just say it can be stressful. So let today be an opportunity for you to remind your few that, no matter what life is like at school or at home or with their friends, God will never, ever, reject them.

J U S T F O R F U N

• How messy is your bedroom usually?• What’s the weirdest thing you keep

in your room?

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

“Today we talked about messy bedrooms and hiding junk under our beds. Now let’s talk about what all of that has to do with God.”

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

• Talk about a time when you didn’t do something because you were embarrassed or afraid of what people would think.

• Why do you think the approval of other people feels so important to us?• Has there ever been something you kept secret because, if word got out,

you were sure people wouldn’t like or approve of you anymore?• What are some reasons someone might fear that God doesn’t like or

approve of them?• How does it make you feel about God to know that He still wants to be

close to us, no matter what we’ve done?• Have you been holding back from God in any way, out of fear that He

would reject you or disapprove of you?• What do you think it means to approach God “with confidence?”• Now that we’ve talked for the last three weeks about getting closer to

God, what can you do this week to put it all into practice?

Remember that candle activity from Session 1 of this series? You might try bringing it back for one more round to close out this series. It could be a great way to find out if any of your few have made strides in their relationships with God over the last few weeks.

S AY T H I S

T R Y T H I S


B O T T O M L I N E


Hey fabulous leaders – This is the last week of our series, Close. Pretty simple this week…we’re talking about the truth that God approves us. This week has the potential to really impact the lives of your students. Have a great week and some great discussion!

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

SESSION 3 SUMMARY: APPROVE [Insert Date]Messy. That word alone can describe most of our lives—especially our rooms. But it can describe other things, too. The things in our lives that we don’t like to talk about. The kind of messiness that we hope no one ever finds out about. Just like we may not let our friend into our room if we haven’t cleaned it, sometimes we’re afraid to let people get close to us when we haven’t dealt with the junk in our lives. We don’t want anyone to notice our mess. And sometimes we do the same thing with God. We keep God at a distance because, if we get too close, we’re worried He would reject us because of the messiness of our lives and hearts. But what if we’ve got it wrong? What if there’s no need for us to keep God at a distance? What if He already sees all of the messiness of

our lives but still hasn’t rejected us? Maybe, just maybe, we can have the courage to get close to God because He’s been approving us, not rejecting us, all along.

BOTTOM LINETo get close to God, know you’re approved.

THE GOAL OF SMALL GROUPTo help students understand that even though they may have a lot of junk hidden in their lives, God still approves and wants to be close to them.

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

C L O S E : S E S S I O N T H R E E

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...

session guide - s3. · pdf filesession three this session guide is designed to give you a...

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