Lord’s Prayer StationsFebruary 26, 2012

Leaders’ Guide Note: Each group may go to the stations in any order, except that Station 0 is first, and Station 6 is last (those two will be done in the big group; the others are done in small groups). Stations 1-5 take the following format:

NOW: The youth will be invited to reflect on their current ideas or experiences.NEW: The leader will introduce a new way of looking at this part of the Lord’s Prayer,

either through presentations, questions, or activities.NOW WHAT? The youth will work together to rewrite a portion of the Lord’s Prayer in

their own words (try not to help them, except to clarify the instructions or explain the meaning of a word or concept from the original text). They will write their prayer onto a puzzle piece and keep it with them throughout the experience. After your group has been to all six stations, gather in the center of the room and tell your group to put the puzzle together in order.

0. Teach us to pray.Materials: cross, candles (at least one per group), set of puzzle pieces and Sharpies for each group (distributed to stations 1-6...we downloaded the puzzle piece template from this site and cut the shapes out of fun foam); music playing in background Now: Leader will first share experiences of being “bad at praying.” New: Read Luke 11:1-4. Compare the disciples to us today (they were constantly comparing their own pathetic prayer lives to Jesus’ awesome prayer life). What do we notice about Jesus’ prayer? Now what? Explain the stations and the puzzle pieces. You may go in any order. If you finish at a station, and the group ahead of you is not quite ready, you may always come back to the center area as home base. Only speak to your group members...don’t speak to anyone outside your LIFE group, except the station facilitators.

1. Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy nameMaterials: index cards, Bibles, markers, rug (marking off the area) Now: Pass out index cards. What are the first three words come into your head when you think about your dad? Write them down, but know that you won’t have to share them with anyone else. New: The Lord’s Prayer starts with the words, “Our Father, Who art in heaven”

because God considers us to be his children, and He wants to have a relationship with us. It’s a very personal way of addressing God ... and because of that, our own memories or feelings

Copyright 2012 by Callie Deanwww.creativetheology.wordpress.com

towards our earthly dads often have an influence on the way we view God. If you are really close to your father, then you might imagine God as someone who wants to go out in the backyard and play catch with you. But if your dad has not been a big part of your life, or you have a bad relationship with him, then it might be easy to think of God as distant and uncaring. But the truth, God is a good father...better than any possible earthly father we could imagine. He loves us very much and wants the best for us...and he wants to be in a relationship with us! So even if you have a hard time identifying with the image of God as your Father right now, I still want you to hear these verses that tell us a little bit more about who God is. Pass out Bible verses, and have the youth read them: Psalm 68:5; Luke 11:11-13; Psalm 103:13 Now what? How would you rewrite the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer (“Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name”) *The inevitable question: what does hallowed mean??? holy! greatly to be praised! honored! consecrated! etc. A good way to remember it might be a “halo”

2. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven Materials: round table with chairs around it, butcher paper as tablecloth, Crayons and colored pencils Now: When God looks down at the world that he created, what do you think He wishes would change? Draw a picture of what that might look like. New: Let the youth share their pictures. Do you think we’ve

done a good job of drawing “God’s will being done on earth?” Why or why not? The Lord’s prayer says, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” What does ‘the kingdom’ refer to? There are a lot of ways to explain the kingdom. Depending on what the youth already know, you may want to mention that being a part of God’s kingdom would mean that God is the king (the ultimate authority over our lives). Also, that Jesus came to announce/inaugurate God’s kingdom on earth. Jesus’ parables and Beatitudes are prime examples of this. The kingdom is

Copyright 2012 by Callie Deanwww.creativetheology.wordpress.com

often associated with good news for “the least of these.” Now what? How would you re-translate this part of the Lord’s prayer? 3. Give us this day our daily breadMaterials: loaf of bread, knife, round table with chairs around it, nice tableclothNow: Have you ever had the experience of having one of your prayers answered? Do you think it’s easy or hard to ask God for the things you need? What about the things you want? Do you think it’s okay to pray for material things? Why or why not? Does this kind of prayer “work”? Is it worth your time? Do you think it’s okay to pray for health? Happiness? To win the lottery? New: Cut the loaf of bread, and give each youth a slice. The Lord’s Prayer says, “Give us this day our daily bread.” What do you think that means? What is our daily bread? (start literal...we need food every day to make it through the day...we’re not asking for cake, but bread....then move metaphorical...what is our ‘daily bread’ in a spiritual sense? Could it be that we need patience or strength to get through the day just as much as we need food?) Do you believe God gives you what you need? (2 Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for godly living”) Now what? How would you rewrite the phrase, “Give us this day our daily bread”?

4. Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against usMaterials: chairs stacked up to form a barricade (with a few holes where youth can get inside); “No Trespassing” tape wrapped around the display (you can buy this for about $10 at hunting stores), welcome mat Now: As the youth approach and gather around the display, ask: “What does it mean to trespass onto someone’s property?” “How do you know whether or not you’re trespassing?” [they’ll probably mention

signs, lines, boundaries, etc.]“The Lord’s prayer contains the phrase, “Forgive us our trespasses.” What do you think that means? [Other translations mention debts or sins. Trespass is a good word because it implies that we’ve crossed a line or boundary...we’ve gone too far...etc. Sometimes we cross the limits God has given us; other times, we cross the line with another person. Either way, a sin is a sin!]

Copyright 2012 by Callie Deanwww.creativetheology.wordpress.com

New: Have everyone cross over/under/around the barricade, into the middle area. Have them sit in a circle around the welcome mat. The truth is, we all cross the line sometimes...even when we’re not trying to. And other people cross OUR lines, too: they trespass against us. Close your eyes for a second, and think about some of the ways that you have NOT done what God wants you to do, and confess those sins to God in silence. [Pause...give time for a prayer of confession] Hear the good news: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! Now what? How would you rewrite this part of the prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

5. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evilMaterials: blank slips of paper, pencils, lighter, pie panNow: Temptation...and evil...come in all forms, big and small. Temptation could happen for you in deciding which party to go to. Or, maybe someone has said something mean and hurtful to you, and you’re angry, and you really want to get back at them...even though the right thing to do would be to forgive them and let it go. Or, maybe when your alarm goes off on

Sunday morning, you start to wonder if it really matters whether you skip church this time; after all, you need your sleep!! Temptation is about facing choices, when the thing you really want to do is not what God wants you to do. Take a slip of paper and write down some of the temptations that you’ve faced in the last week, as well as some of the temptations that you think you might face in the week ahead. When you are finished, fold your paper in half and bring it back. New: We are in the middle of the season of Lent, which helps us to remember that Jesus faced temptation, too! He spent 40 days in the desert without eating, and the very first things that Satan asked him to do was to turn a rock into a loaf of bread that he could eat. It must have been so difficult for him to say no to that!! During Lent, we burn ashes as a sign of repentance, and turning away from the things that get in the way of our relationship with God. So right now, we’re going to burn our temptation sheets and turn them into ash. (Burn each person’s paper)

Copyright 2012 by Callie Deanwww.creativetheology.wordpress.com

Let’s pray: God, we need your help to make the right decisions when we are faced with temptation. But today we commit ourselves to your plan and purpose as we try to live into our faith. Amen. Now what? How would you rewrite “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”? 6. (All Together) For Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory forever. Amen.Materials: worship musicNow: Let’s stand and sing together. (Cannons by Phil Wickham) New: When we say the Lord’s Prayer in church, we usually add a section at the end called the doxology, that’s not found in the original Scripture. The word doxology means “hymn of praise,” and early Christians added the words “For Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory forever. Amen” to the end of the prayer that Jesus gave them, so that they could take a minute and remember who God is and honor him, adore him, and admire him. At the end of the song we just sang, there was a similar doxology that said, “All glory, honor, power, is Yours. Amen.” Now what? So on your last remaining puzzle piece, write your own doxology of praise. Once you are finished, put your puzzle together so that it is in the correct order of the Lord’s Prayer. Let us pray the words that you’ve just written. We’re all going to read our prayers at the same time, even though it might sound all jumbled together from the outside. It’s not a contest to see who can speak the loudest, it’s just our chance to all pray the same thing at the same time, although the words are different. If you finish before someone else, just keep your head bowed until everyone else is done. Pray. End with the song ‘Manifesto.’

Copyright 2012 by Callie Deanwww.creativetheology.wordpress.com