BETTER TOGETHER Week 2: Youre One of Many Pieces This includes: 1. Leader Preparation 2. Lesson Guide 1.

LEADER PREPARATION LESSON OVERVIEW Early adolescence is a challenging time with a unique struggle: Teenagers are battling to define themselves as individuals, yet they desperately want to fit in and belong. This tension is an opportunity to examine how the Bible defines the local church. In this lesson, your students will see how the church is like a body and a family. Were members of a body and a family that experience life together through thick and thin. Were all important, vital, and needed. LESSON OBJECTIVES 1. WHAT: God created the church to be a place where each person would contribute in a unique, valued way. 2. WHY: We are all necessary pieces; the big picture isnt complete if one of us is missing, hurting, or disconnected. 3. HOW: Students will examine New Testament passages that talk about the church as a body and a family, and theyll consider ways to grow in health and love, just like bodies and families do. PRIMARY SCRIPTURE Romans 12:3-5 SECONDARY SCRIPTURES 1 Corinthians 12:14-21; Galatians 6:10; Ephesians 1:5, 2:19; and 1 John 3:9 TEACHING PREP The short overview below is designed to help you prepare for your lesson. While you may not want to convey this information word-for-word with your teenagers, youll definitely want to refer to it as you lead your lesson. Read Romans 12:3-5. This is one of several New Testament passages written by the Apostle Paul comparing the church to a body. Elsewhere, he talks about the church as a family, and well examine of some of these verses in our lesson, too. In this passage from Romans 12, Paul encourages us to think honestly about who we are, how weve been created, and how we can uniquely contribute to the church and Gods plan for our world. Most of us battle one of two tendencies: We either see ourselves as better than we really are, or we see ourselves as less significant than we really are. Its likely that you have students in your group who represent both extremes! Its vital that students grasp Pauls message in verse 3: Have an honest evaluation of who you are. Some translations use the word sober to describe this evaluation. Dont think too highly or lowly; recognize that youre a valuable, essential, important piece to the puzzleand so is every other follower of

Christ. We arent just cogs in a machine. Were more than parts that work well together. Were members of a body and a family that experience life together through thick and thin. Our job is to find our unique roles in the body, the family, the puzzle, or the team, and then help others find their roles, too. We need to discover, develop, and use our spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, and experiences to honor God and serve others. Remind your junior highers that they may not have a clear sense yet of how theyve been uniquely created, but they can begin exploring that question now. They dont have to wait until high school or adulthood. If you use the Getting Things Started activity, youll need to bring, borrow, or buy a simple puzzleideally, one with fewer than 100 pieces thats designed for young kids. The goal is to see how fast your group can finish the puzzle. Remove two or three pieces from the puzzle before students arrive. THE BEFORE & AFTER [optional] Text Message Questions Weve provided a couple of different text message questions to send out to your students prior to your meeting. Feel free to use one or both of the questions below. As with the rest of the curriculum, edit these questions to fit the needs of your ministry. Whats it like to belong to a winning team? Hope you can join us at small group tonight, because without you, our team just isnt complete! Did you know that you matter to Godand to me? Come out tonight for small group and learn more!

Parent Email Weve provided you with an email below that you can send to your parents following the lesson. Our hope is to encourage parents to continue the conversation at home. Feel free to edit and customize the email to fit your ministry needs. Dear parents, Our small groups have completed the second week in their series titled Better Together. Were continuing to see how we as followers of Christ need the local church as a place to grow together and fulfill Gods plans and purposes for our lives. This week, we examined several New Testament passages that describe how the church is a body and a family. Most of us battle one of two tendencies: We either see ourselves as better than we really are, or we see ourselves as less significant than we really are. Its vital that we grasp Pauls message in Romans 12:3: Have an honest evaluation of who you are. Some translations use the word sober to describe this evaluation. Dont think too highly or lowly; recognize that youre valuable, essential, importantand so is every other follower of Christ. Our job is to find our unique roles in the body, the family, the puzzle, or the team, and then help others find their roles, too. We need to discover, develop, and use our spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, and experiences to honor God and serve others. Our junior highers may not have a clear sense yet of how theyve been uniquely created, but they can begin exploring that question now. They dont have to wait until high school or adulthood. Id encourage you to find an opportunity this week to talk with your teenager about our

lesson. Here are some questions that might generate some good conversation: How does it make you feel to know that through Jesus, we experience adoption into Gods family? What do you think your special function might be in the youth group or church? How do you see God possibly using you to make a difference in other peoples lives and honoring him through your service and involvement? What can you do to appreciate and encourage people who serve behind the scenes in our church in roles that other people might consider less important?

Thanks for your continued prayers and support for our ministry. Have an awesome week!

BETTER TOGETHER Week 2: Youre One of Many Pieces 2. LESSON GUIDE GETTING THINGS STARTED [optional] Welcome your students and invite them into your meeting area. Open in prayer, and then jump into the activity below: Have your students quickly assemble an easy puzzleideally, one with fewer than 100 pieces thats designed for young kids. The goal is to see how fast your group can finish the puzzle. But before your teenagers arrive, remember to remove two or three pieces from the puzzle so it cannot be truly complete. After the group has finished the puzzle, ASK: Why do people enjoy assembling puzzles? What makes them fun? What challenges do you face anytime you want to assemble a puzzle? This puzzle is missing some pieces, but you can still see most of the image. Does it matter that we dont have all the pieces? Why or why not? How might this be similar to what its like when were missing people from our small group or our youth ministry or our church? After your discussion, give students the missing puzzle pieces. Then SAY SOMETHING LIKE: God created the church as a place where each person had a meaningful part to play. In a way, were all pieces to the puzzle. If one or two or eight of us are missing, it affects everyone else. Or if were here but not truly connected and serving, it has the same effect the picture isnt complete. But we arent just cogs in a machine. Were more than parts that work well together. Were members of a body and a family that experience life together through thick and thin. If you came up with an opening activity, movie clip, or game that worked well with your group, and youd like to share it with other youth workers, please email us at [email protected]. TEACHING POINTS The goal of the Teaching Points is to help students capture the essence of each lesson with more discussion and less lecture-style teaching. The main points we have chosen here are (1) The church is a body, (2) The church is a family, and (3) Every puzzle piece is important. Remember: All throughout these lessons, its up to you to choose (1) how many questions you use, and (2) the wording of the main pointskeep ours, or change the wording to make it clearer for your audience. Read Romans 12:3-5 together as a group. Consider allowing one or more of the teenagers to read the text. SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Lets spend a few minutes looking at some ideas and images from the Bible that help us understand how were all pieces in Gods big plan for the church.

1. The church is a body ASK: The Apostle Paul wrote these verses. Why do you think he said, Dont think you are better than you really are? Why is it natural to compare ourselves against others? Why do we do this? Whats the danger of doing thisespecially if were comparing ourselves to other followers of Jesus? What happens to your physical body if one part is injured or isnt functioning properly? How might this be similar to what happens in the local church when one person is hurting or isnt fully connected or serving?

SAY SOMETHING LIKE: The New Testament talks about the church as the body of Christ, which sounds a bit unusual until we read what Paul writes. Our physical bodies consist of many different parts, and the local church consists of people doing many different things. We all have different parts to play. And just like our human body suffers when one part is injured, the body of Christ hurts when one follower of Jesus is hurting. 2. The church is a family SAY SOMETHING LIKE: The Bible also describes the church as a family. This may be a difficult image for some of you, if you have a difficult or stressful family situation. But God is a perfect, loving father who sees us as sons and daughters. Ask for student volunteers to read some brief New Testament verses that talk about the church as a family: Galatians 6:10, Ephesians 1:5, Ephesians 2:19, and 1 John 3:9. ASK:

What are some healthy aspects of families that we might see in churches? How do these things help people as followers of Jesus? Do you know anyone who has been adopted? What happens in adoption? How does it make you feel to know that through Jesus, we experience adoption into Gods family? If we are all adopted into Gods family through Jesus, this means were brothers and sisters with other followers of Jesus. How might this affect and define our interactions with each other?

3. Every puzzle piece is important ASK: Back in our primary passage from Romans 12, Paul says that we all have a special function and we all belong to each other. How does that make you feel, as a follower of Jesus? What do you think your special function might be? How do you see God possibly using you to make a difference in other peoples lives and honoring him through your service and involvement?

SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Just like our puzzle illustration at the beginning of our lesson, every follower of Jesus is important. Even if just one person is missing, hurting, or disconnected

from the rest, the puzzle isnt complete. You matter to God, and you matter to me and to the other people in our church. ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION [optional] ASK: Read 1 Corinthians 12:14-21. What would a human body be like if it was made up of just one part?

What does this idea teach you about the body of Christ and Gods design for the church? As weve seen in our discussion, the Bible talks about the church as a body and a family, and weve used the idea of a puzzle in our conversation today. What are some other analogies that might convey this idea more effectively to your friends? [NOTE: Two strong analogies would be a sports team and a band of musicians, but your students may come up with even better ideas.]

APPLICATION ASK: How can you work together with others in our small group, youth ministry, and church to accomplish something greater than what one person could do alone?

What can we do to appreciate and encourage people who serve behind the scenes in our church in roles that other people might consider less important?

Ask your students to find a partner for these questions. ASK:

On a scale of 1 to 10, how well do you do treat other followers of Jesus like brothers and sisters? How can you continue growing in this area? What is one way this week you can help make our small group, youth ministry, or church feel more like a family?

At the end of your time together, consider giving each student a piece from the puzzle you created. (Obviously, dont do this if youve borrowed the puzzle and the owner wants it returned in the original condition.) Encourage your teenagers to see the puzzle piece as a reminder that they are valuable, vital, and needed. SUMMARY End your small group lesson here. Provide your teenagers with a quick summary or takehome challenge based on (1) the content of this lesson, (2) the dialogue that took place during the lesson, (3) your understanding of the issues and struggles your teenagers are facing, and (4) the big picture of your youth ministry and what your leadership team wants accomplished with the teaching and discussion time.

FOR KEEPS [MEMORY VERSE] Encourage and/or challenge your teenagers to memorize the verse below. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other (Romans 12:5).