summer girls study - intro session
TRANSCRIPT
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7/28/2019 Summer Girls Study - Intro Session
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Welcome! We are so excited to be going
on this journey together. Everything is
easier to do with good friends!
IntroductionsLets go around the room introduce
ourselves, noting one thing that makes you
unique (maybe something different about
you, or some special thing that God has
made you good at). Dont be shy!
Who has a good memory? Who wants totake a stab at going around the room and
reciting all of the names and something
special about each girl?
God is crazy about us and has given us
unique characteristics and gifts that He
cant wait to watch us use.
Our Bible memory verse for the study isPsalm 139:14
Fearfully & Wonderfully Made
What do you think it means to be
fearfully and wonderfully made?
The Bible talks a lot about fear of God --
there are over 120 passages about it. In
fact it says that the fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). God
is so big and powerful. He created
everything and He has the power todestroy everything. That can cause fear.
But fear also means awe, reverence,
respect for the powerful nature and
goodness of God.
Look at the world around us and you
quickly see how creative God is. That
same creativity that made mountains,
rainbows, tons of species of animals,
colors, our complex brains and our unique
fingerprints made us all special and
complex and fully equipped to live out aspecial mission for Him.
So being fearfully made
means we are created
with that same awe and
power. It is hard to wrapour minds around that.
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Distractions
We wanted to do this study because it is
hard to be a girl this age. I think even
harder than being a boy this age. I still
remember how tough it is. Girls arent
always nice to each other this age and we
seem to worry about a lot of things andfocus on things that bring us down.
The Bible talks a lot about this. In the
Bible these things that consume
us.things we worry about, things we try
to achieve because we think they will
make us happy, concern over how we look
and what people think about us. In the
Bible they are called idols or other
gods.
The first of the ten commandments tells us
to not have any other gods beside the one
true God.
A lot of times we think of idols & other
gods in the Bible as golden calves or poles
or things that the Israelites worshiped
instead of God. But the idea of idols in the
Bible is broader than that. It is anything
we put our trust in, our faith in, our hope
in other than God. It is what consumesour thinking. It is what we would be
devastated by if we didnt get it or it went
away. It is such a huge part of the Bible
and what God and Jesus warn us about.
All people grownups and kids struggle
hard with this one.
We are going to get into groups and
brainstorm some idols you think kids yourage struggle with. To get you started, here
are some of the things grownups have as
idols. their jobs, money, impressing other
people, houses, cars, what other people
think, pleasing other people, how they
look, clothes, weight, their kids. Can
someone get us started with a few
examples for kids your age?
Activity break in groups of 2 or 3 andon the next page write down all of the
idols kids your age struggle with. Take
notes on the next page.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=pJ4BcZbzlKamuM&tbnid=7QKnWwXUIDBuvM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.woogsworld.com/2010/11/i-carried-watermelon-and-other-tales.html&ei=dRGZUafFC4uE9gSl-oGIDw&psig=AFQjCNEj9xmNL-cxVyILaSmMGuPeQ02nWA&ust=1369072364689468http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=16lCFoPxwLDX_M&tbnid=PlPceyYBJOThzM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.sandwichink.com/bible-memory-verses-fun-teaching-the-ten-commandments-to-our-children-grandchildren-1&ei=duGYUdS3J4e48wSNvYC4CA&psig=AFQjCNGbklNu9CiEzTPl2vNi1BCb-BitjA&ust=1369060068158082 -
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Idols / Other gods Discussion - The groups will take turnspresenting their list to the other girls. Talk
about how exhausting it is to deal with
these things. What impact does it have on
your happiness, health, relationships?
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In Matthew 6:24, Jesus tells a man who is
asking about getting into heaven
Jesus was saying this to someone whostruggled with money as a idol, but it
applies to all of us and our specific idols
and distractions from who God wants us to
be.
Replace money with some ofyour
distractions. Do you think this is true? Do
you think you cant serve two masters?
Z
A
Activity In the space below, in anyway/order/spacing/creative way you
want, add 25 dots that start at A and
ends at Z.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=K5IOkVth90mIKM&tbnid=kJM55xYaIb2f0M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://todaysbibleverse.com/page/32&ei=T92YUbOdJITk9ASbh4GQDA&psig=AFQjCNF81RQNIv9WX741pgc5puJP7rnxCQ&ust=1369058816812659 -
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Good Plans
The good news is that God loves us and
knows how unique and special we are. He
is sitting in heaven waiting for us to realize
all that he has planned for us. Big things
that will serve him and make us happy.
The good news is also that God can use
those times when we are off track or when
things arent going smoothly for good
things. When we ask for Gods help and
tell him we want to live the life he created
us for, he can help us use even things that
seemed bad. They can make us stronger,
they can help us warn other people to
avoid them, they can remind us of whatwe can overcome and that we can get
through things.
God made us the way we are and for a
specific purpose. When we understand
that, then we can have peace that
whatever ailments or perceived problems
we have in life are there because God
knows how he will use them for our good.
Discussion Share your dots with thegroup.
What does your picture look like? Is it a
straight line or all over the place?
This is like our time on earth. We havefree will to live it how we choose. God
doesnt force us into a certain pattern.
He loves us and wants us to live out the
life he created us for, but he doesnt
make us do it his way.
God sees and know everything, from the
day we were born (dot A) until the day
we die (dot B). He know what he
created us for. He knows our unique
gifts and skills and the amazing things we
can accomplish with them.
Anything outside of that direct path are
distractions. Sometimes we linger for a
long time outside of the path with our
distractions. Sometimes we are right on
track.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=qf3l9-QuOq2TiM&tbnid=Ep6uqJLf7cvCIM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.etsy.com/listing/60146906/wall-decal-for-i-know-the-plans-i-have&ei=q92YUcvTDIL-9QT5_YGQCA&psig=AFQjCNGHpJbS-cGhbTYX045H5XMQQmq-7Q&ust=1369059078574132 -
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He wants us to explore these things the
unique gifts and skills we have -- not the
current idols that bog us down and distract
us. They keep us from discovering the
amazing parts of us that God cant wait to
use. It really is exciting and I dont want to
miss out on it. I dont want to get to
heaven and see all that I missed because I
was focusing on the wrong things things
that ultimately didnt make me happy and
didnt make a difference.
It is important to understand that God isnt
saying things are necessarily bad.God
made all things and they can be
wonderful. But he is saying that when we
love them more than anything elseincluding God they are bad.
God created us to worship, so he knows
we worship and cling to things. But he
wants us to worship and cling to him, not
these other things. They will never, ever,
ever make us happy. They will never
provide what we think they will.
Throughout history, people have tried.
God is the only constant, consistent,
reliable thing. It is just so hard because it
goes against everything in our culture.
In a way, we are actually at a disadvantage
here where we have so much. It creates
room for lots of distractions to get
between us and the life God wants us tolive.
Did you know
Almost half the world over threebillion people live on less than
$2.50 a day.
At least 80% of humanity lives on lessthan $10 a day
22,000 children die each day ofpoverty
Where many around the world worry
about if they will have enough food to eat,
while wearing their one piece of clothing,
we worry about getting the newest pair of
jeans and a cell phone, or being the most
popular or looking like our favorite actress.
We get a false sense that we can rely on
ourselves in our culture where we have so
much compared to the rest of the world.
With our basic needs taken care of, we
have room for lots of distractions, but
whatever we get will never satisfy us.
We all worship something. We must choosewhom, or what, we will worship. Will it be the
opinions of others, our fears, our own
comfort? Or will it be the One who created
our souls to worship.
At the end of the day, honoring God leads to
good things. Anything else leads to confusion,
emotional exhaustion and a lack of goodthings.
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Activity break into groups of 2-4 andshare some special skills/gifts or things
you are good at. Think about how, as a
group, you can combine these
gifts/characteristics to really do something
specialfor God to use you to make a
difference.
Think about the list of idols we discussed.
Do you think focusing on them leads to
good things or confusion, emotional
exhaustion and the opposite of good
things?
Doing things for other people takes the
focus off of us and puts it on the things
God cares about.
Over the course of this study, we are going
to use our gifts to do something that
would please God.
Research a charity and spend the next
few weeks raising money for that
charity
Do random acts of kindness
encourage someone, invite a friend
over and help talk them through
something rough they are going
through, invite a friend to church that
doesnt go, sit by someone in a groupthat looks lonely
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Read the first two
chapters of our
study book. We
will talk through the
discussion
questions when we
get together next
week.
What to do this week before we meet
again
Think some more about what type of
activity you want to do over the course
of our study. Talk about it with your
friends and your parents. Make sure
your parents are okay with it.
Pay attention this week to what you are
focusing on, worrying about, distracted
by. Say a little silent prayer every time
you feel like you are getting pulled
away from how God wants you to live.
I promise if you keep this up, it will
become a habit and you will love the
new way you are living.
Work on memorizing Psalm 139:14Ipraise you because I am fearfully and
wonderfully made; your works are
wonderful, I know that full well.
Feel free to bring a pillow to sit on
when you come each week. We are so
looking forward to this summer Bible
study with you all!
www.SummerGirlsStudy.blogspot.com
Discussion - The groups will take turnspresenting their list to the other girls. Talk
about what kind of impact a group like this
could have in our community, our schools,
among our friends, in the world. God is
big and he has big plans for you. How do
you think doing things like this could
change your perspective and your focus?
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=hvHy8p68h3dsyM&tbnid=uhzUthMoN79LPM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fassessmentforlivingyr7.blogspot.com%2Fp%2Fwildcard-questions.html&ei=IbTFUY_iGoj29gTLl4CwCw&psig=AFQjCNHFXm5kJLpX8lyK9naSYZEUgn0BKw&ust=1371997476488860http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=Xi0iBztRe3U9DM&tbnid=86E25wveeW-29M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.carefulcents.com%2Fbe-successful-by-giving-back%2F&ei=5rPFUcHHDYHm9ASBuYHwBQ&psig=AFQjCNHFXm5kJLpX8lyK9naSYZEUgn0BKw&ust=1371997476488860http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=ebhbz-D1e2O44M&tbnid=_2P9F4zbSJPHPM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tumblr.com%2Ftagged%2Fi%2520want%2520to%2520change%2520the%2520world&ei=zLPFUZLCOYPG9gTMzYCoCA&psig=AFQjCNHFXm5kJLpX8lyK9naSYZEUgn0BKw&ust=1371997476488860http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=SeGrSOpiAMEJCM&tbnid=xDAxbc3zxUn85M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Forastories.com%2Fquick-guide-to-changing-the-world%2F&ei=srPFUbbQMozU9gSv6oCwCQ&psig=AFQjCNHFXm5kJLpX8lyK9naSYZEUgn0BKw&ust=1371997476488860