YEA Lesson Library
Eternal Connections
About This Lesson
This lesson stresses how important it is to put God first in your life.
Scriptures
Matthew 6:19-34
Matthew 10:29-33
Luke 12:16-34
Luke 12:31
John 12:23-28
Philippians 4:4-7
Colossians 3:1-4
I John 3:21-24
I John 5:12-14
Words to Know
ULTIMATE - unequaled or unsurpassed
SIGNIFICANT - important
ATTIRED - dressed or adorned
HEATHEN - people who do not acknowledge the God of the Bible; pagans, infidels
The Lesson
According to current statistics, do you know how many teenagers say they want to be close to God, and how many say they want to be active participants in a church? “Developing a close, personal relationship with God is of deep interest to most of them because they really want to be connected to something more significant than themselves. Until they find that ‘ultimate significant other,’ they will rely largely upon their own abilities and instincts to get them through the daily challenges. But they’re on the lookout for legitimate spirituality” (Get Real: Making Core Christian Beliefs Relevant to Teenagers).
Have you felt all alone in your desire to learn about God and do what Jesus would have you do? Doesn’t it encourage you to know there are many teenagers who value their relationship with God? They have experienced the difference this relationship makes in their lives. God can be there to help when you’re in trouble as well as when life offers you a lot of warm fuzzy feelings. How do you connect to the Supreme Eternal Being whom you can’t see?
That connection cannot be made without knowing God. Getting to know God is a very personal thing. It is a process which requires certain disciplines. You don’t just wake up one morning and consider a stranger you have never met to be your best friend. The same is true with God becoming your best friend. What disciplines are required to have the kind of relationship with God where He will be your best friend?
You spend a lot of time feeding, grooming, and taking good care of your body. You know what a good-looking body looks like, and having one is probably important to you. Showing perfect white teeth when you smile is really neat. Having a golden tan and the latest hairstyle makes a statement to be envied.
But think about it. You can’t go anywhere with- out your body. You can’t just hang it up in the closet and go to the mall without it. It provides the feet to take you to school and to the mall. Your body has hands which put food in your mouth. But your body is very physical and a relationship with God is spiritual. Knowing what the Bible says about having a relationship with God helps you understand the disciplines required. You’ll see how important agonizing and fretting over your beautiful body is to God.
Jesus told us not to worry about having enough food and clothing. The heathen frets over physical things. He thinks he can’t live unless he’s clad in Tommy Hilfiger shirts or clothes from the Gap. But you might say, “Wait a minute! Hamburgers, pizzas and hanging out in the mall are very important parts of my life.” God knows you need food to keep your body and soul together, and He doesn’t want you running around in your birthday suit. He promises to give these things to you if you will put Him first in your life. That means that you are willing to live your life like He tells you in the Bible.
Jesus said to go out and look at your garden or flower beds. Flowers don’t worry about how they look. God has dressed them with beautiful petals and has attired them even more beautifully than King Solomon in all of his glory. And King Solomon may have been the wealthiest person who ever lived.
The life cycle of a flower is very short. Yet God cares so much about it that He made it very beautiful. Don’t you think He cares more about you than a flower in your garden? “Look at the birds! They don’t worry about what to eat – they don’t need to sow or reap or store up food – for your Heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. Will all your worries add a single moment to your life?” (Matthew 6:26-27 TLB).
God makes flowers beautiful and feeds the birds, yet you are far more valuable and important to Him. Now God wants to know if He is more valuable and important to you than Tommy Hilfiger clothes, dressing like Britney Spears, having a hamburger, fries, or pizza. How will He know? By the way you spend your time. Do you spend more time fretting over how you look or at the mall than you spend with your Heavenly Father each day?
Jesus says “You cannot serve two masters: God and money. For you will hate one and love the other, or else the other way around.” A servant’s primary interest is in doing the things his master wants. If we truly want an eternal connection with God, our primary desire will be to do the things He wants us to do.
What things does God want us to do? We know that He gave us the Ten Commandments to show us how to live our lives in such a way as to honor Him, how to treat other people, and how to make our own lives work. So we start by keeping all ten of the commandments.
Your friends are no strangers to you. You talk with them at school, on the phone, and at many other times. Jesus did so much more for you than any friend you have. He died for your sins. He gave His own life for you. Isn’t it such a small thing to ask that you get to know Him and know Him well?
If you really want an eternal connection with God, obey Him and humble yourself before Him in prayer and Bible study. He will become your best friend.
This relationship offers you so much more than a mere human can give you. He will take care of you as He does the birds and flowers. He will always be there to help you resist peer pressure. He will be there to make you a better friend to others. He will help you be a better person. God offers you the ultimate connection. But the connection is not a one-way street. You must make the commitment to Him.
Student Prayer
Dear Father in heaven,
Thank you for caring even more about me than you do for the birds and flowers. I want to commit my life to you and gain an eternal connection with you. For this to be, I must not put clothing or even food ahead of you. I know that I can always count on your promise to reward me.
In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday: Luke 12:16-34
Monday: Colossians 3:1-4
Tuesday: John 12:23-28
Wednesday: Matthew 10:29-33
Thursday: Philippians 4:4-7
Friday: I John 5:12-14
Saturday: I John 3:21-24
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Explain that many teenagers are trying to follow God, and that means they are not alone in this journey.
2. Explain that to make Eternal Connections, they must put God first in their lives.
3. Discuss three things they can do to make ultimate Eternal Connections.
4. Demonstrate what the rewards will be for making Eternal Connections.
Topics & Themes
God’s Provision
God’s Will
Jesus, Our Friend
Obedience
Priorities
Putting God First
Relationship with God
Ten Commandments
How to Teach This Lesson
Divide the class into groups of threes. Give each group one of the papers. Explain to the students that they are to go to different parts of the room, discuss the questions and come back with the answers their group has given. Allow a few minutes to determine their answers and call them back together.
Debrief by asking - How many of you knew that six out of ten teenagers want a close relationship with God? Did it surprise you that there are probably a lot of other kids in your school who want a close relationship with God? Why is it important for you to know this? What difference will knowing this make in your relationship with other students at school? What difference will knowing this make in your relationship with God?
Mall and grooming - Write “Mall” at the top of the newsprint pad or chalkboard. Then ask: How much time do you spend at the mall each week – just approximately? Poll every student, allowing each to estimate time spent at the mall each week. List these times on the board. Ask: How many hours each week do you spend making your body look good? Again, poll every student and write their answers on the board.
Beautiful rose - Bring out one beautiful rose for the students to see. Ask: How many of you would agree that this rose is beautiful? Who made it beautiful? What kind of effort did the rose make to be this beautiful? Why does God not want you to spend so much time fretting over designer clothes and how you look? (I. The heathens do this. 2. You can’t serve two masters.) What has God told us in the Bible that should give us confidence that He will feed and clothe us?
Godly relationship - Ask: Why does He want you to trust Him to provide for you? (He wants a relationship with you – to be your friend.) What is the first thing you have to do to establish a relationship with another person? (Spend time with them and get to know them.) What three things can you do to develop a close, personal relationship with God? Write these answers on the chalkboard as they give them. (1. Honor Him by keeping the Ten Commandments. 2. Spend time talking to Him in prayer. 3. Let Him talk to you through His Word.) What’s in it for you if you do these things? (You connect to something far greater than anything this world offers you. You connect to eternity!)
Eternal Connections - Have a student read Isaiah 53:2 from The Living Bible. Ask: Do you think that Jesus wore the latest fashions? Did He comb His hair in such a way to look really cool? Since “In our eyes there was not attractiveness at all, nothing to make us want him,” are those reasons for you not to want to make Eternal Connections with Him? Why or why not? What do you think Jesus will look like when He returns to this earth? Ask a student to read Revelation 1:12-16. Would you like to look like that? If you make Eternal Connections with Him, in the resurrection you will look like Him. What things have you learned today that show you how to make Eternal Connections?
Teacher-Directed Activity
Give each student a piece of paper and a pencil. Tell them to imagine that a doctor has told them that they only have two years to live. Ask them to look at the Action Plan in their YEA books and prioritize their lists. Ask: What is the first thing you would do if you knew you only had two years left to live? After they finish, discuss how they determined the first thing they would do. Ask: What things in your life would become less important? Would there be things that you would completely omit from your life? Have one of the students read aloud Philippians 3:7-8 from The Living Bible.
REACH Activity
Memory Verse Spotlight
The memory verse in The Living Bible translation sounds like a cause and effect relationship, doesn’t it?
Because you make the Kingdom of God your primary concern, the result or effect is that God will give you your needs from day to day. You may not know what promises God has given you or even be familiar with the Kingdom of God. By utilizing a Bible tool such as a concordance, you will be able to locate Scriptures to explain and teach God’s promises and His Kingdom. In your Bible notebook set up two dividers. Label one divider “Promises” and the other “Kingdom of God.” Use a Bible and concordance to locate Scriptures related to these two very important biblical topics. As you continue your Bible studies, remember to record Scriptures that will connect you to the promises of God and His Kingdom. Share your Scriptures with family or class. Prepare a set of “promise” Scriptures. Create note cards, greeting cards, or bookmarks to send or to give to someone as a gift.
Where in the World?
You may be able to relate to the lives of Daniel and his friends. They were taken captive to a place called Babylon. Daniel had some very difficult obstacles to overcome living in Babylon because its culture was the opposite of where he had grown up. Daniel was taught to obey and love God, but the people in Babylon worshiped pagan gods and idols. The king wanted to change him but Daniel was steadfast in his obedience to his God. Daniel’s captivity affected him physically and spiritually. The world today is luring you into a type of “Babylon” as well. While no one is physically restraining you and carrying you off to a foreign land, today’s culture does take you captive with its emphasis on looks, money, and status. It wants to impress upon you that you are more important than anything and everything. The pressure to give in can be overwhelming; you don’t want to be different than everyone else. Sometimes it is just as hard for adults to resist the temptation to give in to the world’s ways. In your Bible notebook record an example of how today’s culture wants to take you captive. To better appreciate Daniel’s story of resisting the pressure to give in and to look instead to an “eternal connection” with his Savior, read Daniel 1-6. He stood up against a king and his decrees time and again and came out victorious. However it is how he did it that makes Daniel’s story an inspiration for anyone who seeks a closer relationship with Jesus Christ and the Father. As you read through each chapter, write in your Bible notebook each problem Daniel overcame and how a positive outcome was accomplished. Use Bible maps to locate Babylon. Is there a modern day Babylon? Record your thoughts about Babylon, past and present, in your Bible notebook.
They Did What Back Then?
In times of repentance, “kings and their subjects alike would humble themselves before the Lord in a posture of humility with fasting, sackcloth and ashes to. . . seek the visitation of his favor” (NIV Archaeological Study Bible, p.820). If you are not familiar with the meaning of “humility,” use a Bible and other Bible tools, such as a dictionary and concordance to find its definition. Another form of the word humility is humble. In your Bible notebook, write down a Scripture that teaches about humility.
Making It Mine
Imagine there’s an apple on the table. To an ant, that apple would look like meals for the next month. To a child, it would look like an entire meal. To a horse, it would look like an appetizer and where’s the rest of my lunch? It’s all about perspective. List what is most important to you in your Bible notebook. Now look at each item you listed from different perspectives: 1) the present—how important it is right now; 2) the future—how important it will be to you in five years, 10 years, 30 years; 3) how your parents view that item; 4) your friends’ perspective; and 5) Jesus’ perspective. Think about the words to “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” Write about it in your Bible notebook. Pray about the important things in your life and ask God to help you re-prioritize, if you need to.
Worldview Collision
A biblical worldview says God is the most important; other worldviews substitute something else for what is really most important. Think about what is most important to you. (See Making It Mine above.) How do you acknowledge importance? How do you show that something is the most important thing/person/ idea to you? What do you spend most of your time thinking about? Where does your money go? What do you do with your time? Don’t buy into a false worldview. Seek ye first God’s kingdom.
Song
“Seek Ye First” is on page 67 of The Group Songbook.
Closing Prayer
Have the students form a circle and join hands as a volunteer leads in prayer asking God to help them value their Eternal Connections.
Printable Pages
