Youth Sermon: Clinging to Jesus

Introduction

Today, we're going to talk about a story from the Bible where Jesus heals a blind man. This story teaches us some important lessons about our faith and how we should live our lives. So, let's dive in!

In John 9, Jesus heals a man who was born blind. This guy didn't even ask to be healed, but Jesus did it anyway because He's awesome like that. After he was healed, the man started to learn more about Jesus and grew in his faith. But the religious leaders, the Pharisees, didn't like this. They were so focused on their rules and beliefs that they couldn't see the amazing thing Jesus had done.

Sometimes we can get so caught up in what we think we know about God that we miss out on actually knowing Him.

Lessons from the Story

This story teaches us two important things: Hold tightly to Jesus and loosely to our beliefs: Sometimes we can get so caught up in what we think we know about God that we miss out on actually knowing Him. We need to be open to learning and growing in our faith, just like the blind man in the story. So, let's be like him and hold tightly to Jesus, not just our ideas about Him.

God's love is restorative: Jesus said He came into the world for judgment, but not the kind of judgment we might think. He came to help the blind see and to show those who think they see that they're actually blind. God's love is all about restoring us and making us whole, not punishing us.

Object Lesson

Now, let's talk about that object lesson I mentioned earlier. I brought these sunglasses and this blindfold to help us understand the main idea of our message today. The sunglasses represent how we sometimes only see things partially, like the Pharisees in the story. They knew a lot about God, but they didn't really know Him. The blindfold represents complete blindness, like the man who was born blind.

We want to remove both the sunglasses and the blindfold so we can see clearly by clinging to Jesus. When we do that, we'll be able to grow in our faith and experience God's restorative love.

Practical Life Application

So, here's a practical life application idea for you: This week, try to spend some time reading the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). These are Jesus' core teachings, and they can help us learn how to hold tightly to Him and live our lives in a way that pleases God.

Closing Prayer

Let's finish with a prayer: "Father, help us to cling to Jesus and be open to learning and growing in our faith. Show us how to live our lives in a way that reflects Your love and restoration. Amen."

Small Group Breakout Questions

1. How can we ensure that we prioritize our relationship with Jesus over our knowledge of doctrine?

2. What are some ways we can actively follow Jesus' teachings in our daily lives?

3. How has your understanding of God's love grown as you've followed Jesus?

4. How can we support each other in our journey of holding tightly to Jesus and growing in our faith?

Get the Full Youth Group Plan

• Icebreaker: Blind Trust
• Group Activity: Scripture Scavenger Hunt
• Youth Challenge: Sermon on the Mount Challenge