A&M Youth
Sunday Night Small Groups
October 20, 2024
Parable of the Unmerciful Servant - Matthew 18:23-35
Open Up:
1. Would you rather…
…go a week without brushing your teeth or a week without taking a shower? Why?
or
…live a life of luxury or be known for your generosity? Why?
2. Think back about a time when you did something you should have gotten in trouble for, but didn't...
Or think of a time someone should have been mad at you, but wasn't. If you can think of a time like this, share it with everyone.
(If you're having trouble, think about a time when your actions affected someone negatively, or a time when you owed something to someone, or a time when you didn’t get in trouble when you should have. By the way, this isn’t talking about a time when you should have gotten an award but didn’t.)
Dig In:
Read Matthew 18:23-25 (you can have someone read in NIV and someone read from The Message, if you want.)
1) Why did the servant get referred to as the “wicked servant” in this parable?
2) Do you think what the servant did was really wrong?
3) What do we learn about God in this parable?
4) Let's say someone owes you $50. They can't pay you. What conditions would you attach before you would forgive the debt?
5) How do we balance forgiveness and just ignoring all bad things done to you? For example, let's say you have a cell phone. Your friend borrows it. Then in a moment of carelessness, they drop it in the lake (maybe yall were canoeing or something. or maybe yall were in one of those little airplanes without a roof (called an open-cockpit plane) and they dropped the phone, and it happened to land in a lake). And after searching for a long time, you realize it will never be found. Do you just forgive them and say it's okay and go on with life? Do you stop talking to them forever? What do you do here - and what would God want you to do here?
6) Think about the king, the servant (bags of gold), and then the servant's servant (silver coins.) Because the 1st servant won't forgive the 2nd servant, what does it say about the 1st servant's feelings toward the king? (What does this say about how we are to view or forgiveness from God?)
7) Why do u think Jesus wants us to forgive others for the wrongs they have done to us?
8) What effects does not practicing forgiveness have on our lives?
9) Verse 23 says “the kingdom of heaven is like…” What do you learn about what the kingdom of heaven is like from this parable?
10) Does forgiving mean the wound is completely healed? (definitely not. there are some wounds which may never heal. but forgiveness is the way you treat them and the grudge you no longer carry against them.)
11) Is there someone you have been holding a grudge against and you need to forgive? Friend at school, teacher, sibling, parent, etc. (You do not have to share this with your group, but if you are willing to share with your group, please do.)
The main point here is to think about are you a forgiving person or not. (God wants us to be.) This is all about recognizing our incredible forgiveness from God, and then being like God in showing forgiveness to others.
Finish up by praying together as a group. You can have everyone come up with something they could use prayers for...or you could have everyone pray for the person on their right...or you could just pray or have someone else pray...or everyone could do a one-sentence prayer where every person praying just a sentence (or maybe two.)
Group Leaders: Here is a little explanation you might be able to use with your small group. Use it if you want. Don't if you don't.
If he is referring to talents of gold, ten thousand talents of gold would be about three billion dollars ($3,000,000,000) - This of course was absurd. Who would lend someone $3,000,000,000? And how could he have possibly have spent so much money? But Jesus used this illustration to reveal God's attitude towards our sins and how absurd it is to think that we can pay it back ourselves.
But also for another reason. One hundred denari was about $1000, and the contrast between these two numbers reveals the attitude that Jesus demands we take on considering our indebtedness to God compared to others indebtedness to us. It can be humiliating to consider.
We can only obtain the forgiveness of sins which God offers us if we receive it with the right attitude. Jesus advocates the prayer, "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." Mt 6:12 The wicked servant in the parable represents the nominal Christian who though he begs forgiveness from God doesn't have an application oriented faith. Though he may have seemed sincere, yet by his behavior it appears that he considered his debt and the master's forgiveness to be trivial. There are those who may be baptized, but who lack serious conviction of sin and don't consider the implications of being forgiven, not receiving it with true humility and conviction.
Though salvation is a free gift, it is not unconditional. It is conditioned upon faith in Christ. Putting our faith in the atoning work of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins requires that we view ourselves as truly in debt to God. We cannot receive Christ without true conviction of sin. We cannot receive him with the attitude: "I'm not really all that bad a person, but whatever trivial things you have against me, forgive me for these."
A person's behavior reveals whether he has received Christ with a proper attitude. But those who don't forgive others who sin against them and ask for forgiveness, reveal that they haven't really accepted the fact of the depth of their own sinfulness against God and the extent to which God had supposedly forgiven them.
Sunday Night Small Groups
October 13, 2024
Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids or Parable of the Ten Virgins - Matthew 25:1-13
Important note for our youths: virgins here is talking about an unmarried woman. Some Bibles say bridesmaids and some say virgins. It was understood that a person would not be involved sexually with someone until they were married.
If people don't know the role of a bridesmaid in a wedding, help them know that.
Open Up:
Either:
a) what is your favorite way to say hello?
b) what is something good that happened to you this week?
c) what is something a lot of people do not know about you? (we've done this question before, so you've got to think of something you haven't shared yet. )
Dig In:
Read Matthew 25:1-13
1) Look over this parable again. What is something you notice or something that stands out? (may be kind of hard for some students - but you can have them think about the lamps and how there was no electricity - to be in the dark really meant dark; maybe think about people waiting for the bridegroom - this is different than weddings today - we don't fully know what was happening here, but we know enough to know the point of the parable.)
2) Okay, so this is a parable. It's an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. The main point is not about a wedding. What is this parable meant to teach us?
3) Who does the bridegroom represent? What makes you think that? (Jesus - and the bride is the believers/the church)
4) Look at verses 7-9. Is there something specific Jesus is trying to teach us here? What is it? (The five virgins without the oil represent false believers who enjoy the benefits of the Christian community without true love for Christ. Their hope is that their ‘association’ with true believers (“give us some of your oil” of verse 8) will bring them into the kingdom at the end.
5) With what warning did Jesus conclude this parable? Why? And how does it apply to us today? (25:13) (keep watch for you do not know the day or the hour when Jesus will return. This means we are to live our lives knowing Jesus could return at any time. We never really live for ourselves - we live for Him. If we are not ready when Christ returns we will be shut out from His presence and kingdom. We will be told by Jesus that He doesn't know us. (yikes!))
6) How would you tell someone to "keep watch" like Jesus talks about in verse 13? (receive the saving grace of Jesus, walk with Him daily, let the main goals of your life be things about your faith in Him and not just about money or education or a job.)
7) Think about how the door was shut in verses 11-12, and how the bridegroom said, "I do not know you." What do you learn from this? (There will be a day once Jesus returns when those who have not come into a saving relationship with Christ will no longer be able to do so. They will finally decide they should, but they can't. We live in a time when we can. One day you will not be able to. Do not waste this opportunity.)
8) Is there anything that distracts you/prevents you from keeping watch like Jesus talks about? In other words, what is something - either because of your choices or because of life circumstances - that takes you away from God? (busyness, lack of belief, different beliefs, apathy, cares of this world, etc.)
9) Last thing: Jesus calls the 5 bridesmaids who were not ready for the coming of the bridegroom as "foolish." Why do you think He uses that word? (Think about the difference between the faith of a person who is ready for Jesus' second coming and that of a person who is not.)
Pray together as a group. Maybe pray for the person beside you or pray in some other way.
Bonus info:
The meaning of "oil" in this parable has been interpreted in different ways through times. Most scholars assume it means: A) the Holy Spirit. or B) faith in Jesus.
The bridegroom refers to Jesus and the wedding represents heaven, which is preceded by his second coming.
Sunday Night Small Groups
September 29, 2024
Parables of the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin and Lost Son
No doubt people are the worst things we could lose. But even losing someone to physical death hardly compares to losing someone eternally. And when you consider how much God loves each person, imagine the sense of loss He feels over the millions who have rejected him forever. Tonight we’re going to look at one story, told three ways, that should pierce our hearts and stir up our compassion for lost people.
Tell your small group something that has happened in your life since last Sunday.
1) What emotions do we feel when we lose something important?
2) Do you lose things often? (Bonus points if you can think of something you have lost that was valuable to you – and tell everyone about it.)
Read Luke 15 (no need to read 2 different versions this time – because it’s long. But maybe let multiple people read different parts of it. (v. 1-7 is lost sheep; v. 8-10 is lost coin; vs. 11-20 is about the son; v. 20b-24 is about the Father; v. 25-32 is about the brother)
3) What situation prompted Jesus to tell these stories? What did they say and why did they think this was bad?
4) What common ingredient do we find in all these stories? There may be more than one (hint verses 7, 9 and 20).
5) What do these stories tell you about God’s heart for the lost?
6) Why do you think the father waited while the shepherd and woman actively searched? What lesson or principle do you think is in this?
7) If you could summarize the lessons from these stories in one sentence, what would it be?
(I'll put this next part on the handouts if I have room)
God’s Legendary Love for the Lost
1.Great Grace -- God continues to bless both good and evil, even though many act as if they wish he were dead.
2. Perfect Patience -- God never gives up on us, no matter how low we sink. As long as this age lasts, he waits for returns.
3. Colossal Compassion -- His eyes search for the lost; his heart woos them home. At the first sign of return he sprints to meet us and throws his arms around us.
4. Awesome Affection -- He hugs and kisses us before we’re all cleaned up. He gives us sonship rights, authority, and nobility in his name.
His heart is to:
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Long for us
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Look for us
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Laugh with us...when we return!
8) What made the younger son come to his senses - his hunger or the error of his ways? (verse 17) What do you think makes people want to do the right thing?
9) What do we learn about God’s heart for lost people from these parables.
10) What measures can you take to avoid the elder brother's attitude in your spiritual journey? (in other words, how do you keep from being self-righteous and not rejoicing (being joyful, being happy, celebrating) when people turn to God?)
11) What steps can we take to ensure our churches or our youth ministry is a place of welcome and celebration, like the father's house (except for the brother) in the parable of the prodigal son?
Sunday Night Small Groups
September 22, 2024
Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Open Up
(For everyone in your group): Tell your group something about you that most people do not know.
Dig In
Read Luke 18:9-13 together. Read from the NIV and then from the Message.
1) What is something that stands out to you about this parable?
2) According to verse 9, to whom did Jesus direct this story? What is significant about this?
(follow up question: have you ever struggled with this? …looking down on others?)
3) What do you know about Pharisees and tax collectors? What were these two groups about?
(Pharisees: religious leaders, didn’t value relationship with God, but tried to earn salvation by keeping rules; didn’t accept God’s grace
Tax collectors – hated by the Jews because they worked for the Roman government; usually cheated other Jews and made them pay more than they should have – they were hated because they stole people’s money in a “legal” way.)
NOTE: Commonly in Jesus’ day, people made assumptions about these two groups of people. The righteous Pharisees and the sinful tax collectors. Jesus uses these assumptions to explain how God views people.
4) What did the Pharisee say about himself? What did the Tax collector say about himself? What are the differences you see between the Pharisee and the tax collector in this story?
Read Luke 18:14
5) How does this verse change what we would normally think about these two people?
(Should this verse change our perspective about God? (He accepts people who are sinners, He accepts humility over pride, etc.) )
6) What qualities made all the difference in the way God saw these two men?
7) What is Jesus trying to teach in this parable? What should we learn?
If you have time...pray together as a group. One possible way to do this: each person can pray for the person on their left - you can decide if you want everyone to give one thing/prayer request for their person to pray about before you pray. MAKE SURE EVERYONE KNOWS THE NAME OF THE PERSON NEXT TO THEM - WITHOUT THEM HAVING TO ASK THEM OR BE EMBARRASSED.
God is willing to accept the worst people in the world and wants those people to come to Him. Some think they have to get everything right before coming to God. But God sees the person who admits they are not perfect and He wants them to come to know Him.
Sunday Night Small Groups
September 15, 2024
Parable of the Soils
Opening Activity
M&M Icebreaker
Give everyone a container of M&M’s. For every specific color they get, they have to say one thing about themselves. (When they have more than 1 of the same color, they have to think of mulitiple things)
Red – something you like about school (yes, you have to think of something)
Orange – something you like to eat
Blue – something you like to do in your free-time
Brown – something about yesterday
Green – something about your family
Yellow – something you would like to do in the next 6 months
OPEN UP
Which of the following do you think is solid evidence of real faith?
a. carrying around a large family heirloom Bible?
b. having consistent daily devotions
c. wearing clothes with Christian slogans
d sharing your faith regularly
e. going to church weekly
f. doing a lot of service projects for people
g. singing really loudly in worship
h. being known as a loving person
What other evidences are there of true faith? Does any solid proof exist?
DIG IN
Get someone to read Luke 8:4-15. (Read it once from NIV and once from the Message)
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What elements are symbolic in this story?
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What do they mean?
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What do you think about each kind of soil?
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Which ones might be representative of real Christians?
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According to this story, Satan is involved in non-responses to the Gospel. What do we learn about him from this parable?
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How does Jesus describe the responsive, fruitful soil?
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What qualities are necessary for bearing fruit?
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There is a word which appears in verses 12, 13, 14, and 15. The word is “hear.”What do you think listening has to do with bearing fruit? Especially look at verse 15 and notice what is says about hearing.
Testing Your Heart-Soil
The Callused Heart -- Represented by the hard path, this heart stonewalls the Gospel. It remains unstirred and unresponsive. Quick test: Does the Bible bore you?
The Cowardly Heart -- This person is like shallow, rocky soil. There is an initial response to the Word, but pressures and difficulties cause the person’s faith to wilt. Quick test: Do you relax your standards around unbelievers?
The Crowded Heart -- This heart is crowded by both the Word and worldliness. The cares of life, the allure of money, and the pursuit of pleasure choke out God’s influence. Quick test: What do your priorities say about your heart’s first love?
The Converted Heart -- The legit Christ-follower. Quick test: How are you different today than you were six months ago?
9. What is the bottom line?How would you summarize the point of this parable?
10. What is something you can take away from this passage? (if you need help thinking about something, what areas of your life still resemble hard, shallow, or thorny soil?What do you need to do about them?)
Hey Everyone -
Thank you for being willing to lead a small group on Sunday nights. The goal is to start this Sunday and go through most of October. The Fall Festival will happen on a Sunday night in late October - not sure when yet. Hopefully we can get 6-7 weeks of small groups in before then.
One of the important parts of our small groups is relationships. We want our students to get to know each other better...and we want them to get to know you. We'll give you an activity or something each week to try to help your students get to know each other better - and have some fun while doing it.
We have four HS groups and one MS group. The HS groups will meet throughout the youth area. The MS group will meet in the Commons. MS group leaders are Samantha and Seth Williams. HS group leaders are Adrie, Tori, Joseph, and Miles.
We will send out names of students in each group soon.
We encourage you to be prayed up each week. Pray for your students, pray for your group, and pray for everyone to see the incredible grace of our Lord in a way that will continually change their lives.
September 8, 2024
Opening Activity: Portraits – Everyone writes their name on a piece of paper and puts it in the middle.
Then everyone draws a name. Don’t tell anyone your name. Then draw the face of the person you drew without anyone knowing who you are drawing. When everyone finishes, the leader collects the drawings and shows them one by one. The group should try to guess who is the subject and who drew it.
Sunday Night Small Groups
Discussion Guides: (students will have copies of these. They will not have the words in light gray. Those are just for you.
1) Which of the following do you consider excessive?
a. A multi-millionaire throwing a million-dollar birthday bash for himself.
b. Buying a $180,000 European sports car just for fun.
c. Spending $10,000 on flowers to make your wedding an event to remember.
d. Spending $1000 to upgrade your iPhone 15 to an iPhone 16.
(this is only meant to promote discussion. There are not any wrong answers. If they have
trouble talking, ask: which is the most excessive?)
* What separates excessiveness from legitimate spending?
2) How would you define materialism? How big of a problem do you think it is for us?
Read and discuss Luke 12:13-21.
Have someone read it from the NIV. Someone read it from the Message (using their phone). And have someone summarize it, if they are willing.
3) What situation and request created the occasion for this parable (verse 13)?
The situation: a family inheritance had not been divided. The common way to divide a family inheritance then was to give a double share of the inheritance to the oldest son. All other sons received single shares. For example, for two sons the family inheritance would be divided into three parts. The oldest son would receive two thirds and the youngest son would receive one third.
The request: "Jesus, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me."
4) Why did Jesus have a problem with his request? (vv. 14-15)
Jesus was aware of a bigger problem than a dispute over an inheritance. He saw that this
man was consumed with greed.
5) What warning did Jesus give his audience (verse 15a)?
The warning: be on guard against every form of greed.
6) What different kinds of greed are there?
(money, power, possessions, friends, power, fame, success, etc.)
7) In the situation, who was greedy?
In this situation, both brothers suffered from different forms of greed. Each brother's actions were motivated by greed.
8) How many times does the man use “I” (including I’ll) “my”, or “myself”? What does this tell you?
It's a lot. Tells us he was thinking only of himself.
9) What would you say is the ultimate lesson to be learned from verse 20?
One possible lesson: We can’t take it with us.
10) What is the difference between the actions of a godly, responsible Jewish farmer and the action of a self-reliant, materialistic Jewish farmer.
The materialistic man... (1) he thought only of himself; (2) God's concerns had no role in his thinking, considerations, or plans; (3) he measured security only in terms of physical abundance; (4) his understanding of life's purpose was his own ease and pleasure.
A godly, responsible farmer would realize it’s all God’s, and God had blessed him with it, and whatever choices he makes would be to God’s glory. He likely would have used a record harvest to help the widow, the orphan, and the poor. His priority would be defined by God's priority--people.
Something to think about:
Every year the farmer prepared in similar ways. He sowed his fields. He used the best seed available. However, he benefitted from variables he could not control. He had nothing to do with temperature, sunshine, rainfall occurrence/frequency/amount, or the arrival of planting and harvesting seasons. His attitude: "Look what I did!" He deserved the benefit. To him, the harvest meant 100% independence. He could create his security. God was not a factor in his security. He was the source of his blessings.
Had it been the farmer's decision, every year would produce a record harvest. Nothing he did prevented that. The variables beyond his control made the record harvest possible.
One of the enormous dangers of our technology age is deceit of "human sufficiency." We live in an environment humans produced. We live in societies and situations we are convinced we control. Our lifestyle is based on the products and situations we produce. We surround ourselves so completely with a humanly produced environment that God is a "non-factor" in our thinking.
When a powerful storm produces a massive disruption in our power supply, we see how quickly and how totally our humanly produced environment disappears. We see how quickly we go from "being in control" to "being virtually helpless."
11) Did the man "own" his record harvest? Explain your answer.
He did not "own" his harvest. He exercised control over it only so long as he physically lived. When he died, he left everything physical behind.
12) Look at verse 21. Read it again. Yep, stop. Do it. Right now. Okay, have you read it? Okay, Jesus said we should be rich toward God. What does that mean?
Do not measure your life by the abundance of your material possessions.
Small Group Questions for December 7
Every student will have a copy of the questions this week.
(you have some answers in parentheses...others will not have these)
HS Small Groups - December 7, 2022
2 Timothy 4 - The Finish Line
Read 2 Timothy 4:1-4
1) What was Paul’s major charge to Timothy?
2) (This question is from verses 1 & 2.) Without being in a pulpit, how could you “preach” at school, at home, or at church?
3) What are we supposed to “be prepared for (v.2)?
4) How can we get prepared?
(Note – for those who want to think a little deeper at home or during your own study time, refer back tov2 Timothy 3:16-17 and answer this question again)
Question to think about on your own:
Do you think you are prepared? Do you want to be prepared?
We must start right where we are, and grow and mature as we go along. We may never get to the point where we feel completely ready, but we must try to understand and live out the holy scriptures.
5) Which of the following “sound doctrines” (v.3) would most teens “not put up with”:
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The idea that God created the universe
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The idea that sexual relations are only for married couples.
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The idea that Christ is the only way to heaven
6) Which of the following “myths” (v.4) sounds most acceptable to you:
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That God doesn’t’ mind if you spend all your money on yourself
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That sex outside of married is OK if you feel “ready” and it’s “safe.”
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That you can wait to get serious about Christ until you’re old and have nothing better to do.
Read verses 6-8.
7) Paul was killed shortly after he wrote this letter, and he apparently knew his death was near (v.6). He was confident that he’d done all he should to receive his reward (vss. 7-8). What do you think he meant when he said he had “fought the good fight…finished the race…kept the faith?”
(Question for those who want to go deeper: what would it take for you to be able (right now at your age) to say , right now, that you’ve “fought the good fight…finished the race…kept the faith?” )
Read verses 9-22
8) Paul had relationship problems just as we do. Vss. 9-22 list all kinds of things Paul could have used as excuses for not doing God’s work (but didn’t). Name at least 4 of them.
9) Which of these disappointments would have been most discouraging to you?
10) Read 2 Timothy 4:18 again. (read it now…then come back and read the next part) Paul continued to give God the glory for all that happened. He didn’t let the bad things that happened to him keep him from telling others about God. Why do some allow the bad things in life keep them from telling others of God’s love?
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Spread out and answer this question on your own. Spend a moment praying and then come back to the seats.
Where would you describe where you are in your walk with Christ?
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Just out of the blocks (recently saved and/or not very far along)
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Hitting a good pace (beginning to desire Spiritual growth)
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Picking up speed (excited about Spiritual growth, can’t get enough of it)
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Out of the running (walking away from God – simply not running the race at all at this point in life, you are not running for God at all)
Paul is challenging us to stay the course and make progress even while we are young.
Paul finishes this last chapter of his last known letter with ringing confidence in God. Days will come when many people forsake the Gospel, yet Paul could look back over his life, knowing he had “fought the good fight” and “finished the race.” He encourages Timothy (and us) to do the same, in spite of the opposition we are sure to encounter.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7