OPENER:
NAME THAT TV SHOW
Use several scenes to have teens guess what the name of the show is that you have chosen.
Powerpoint slides available upon request-----
(slides depict show titles from popular TV shows)
Following Opening activity:
Use two of those lights that you push down with your hand to get them to light up (Home Depot or Lowes) that you use for an emergency when the electricity goes out or for closet lighting for game show buzzer/light indicators.
Bible Trivia “Get To Know Me”
Use questions from Bible Trivia to see how much teens know about their Savior.
Use to of those hand push round lights that you use for an emergency when the electricity goes out or for closet lighting for game show buzzer/light indicators.
1. What did Jesus say about rich men and the kingdom of God?
(answer) ”It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God”
2. How many times did Jesus say to forgive our brother?
(answer) Seventy times seven
3. Finish this statement by Jesus: “My yoke is easy, and …”
(answer) ”…my burden is light,”
3. What is the name of the evil spirit that Jesus drove from a wild man into a herd of pigs? (answer) Legion
4. Jesus told the disciples that they could move mountains if they only had what? (answer)Faith as small as a mustard seed
5. What happened in the first miracle of Jesus? (answer) He turned water into wine
6. What were the words Jesus used to call Lazarus from the tomb?
(answer) ”Lazarus, come forth”
7. hom did Jesus first appear to after his resurrection?
(answer) Mary Magdelene
8. What kind of tree did Jesus make wither and die? (answer) A fig tree
9. Who appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus? (answer)Moses and Elijah
Opening:
How many of you recognized more of the TV show title slides than that of the Bible Trivia?
Some people insist that music, movies, magazines, and television have no influence on them.
Some students just roll their eyes when they hear adults talk about the negative influence of certain musical artists, movies, and video games.
They think, "Not me, this stuff doesn’t influence me. I make my own decisions and choices."
That response feels right, for sure. But what they fail to understand is that media exist to influence them.
Multiplied billions of dollars spent each year on advertising through media proves this fact.
Songs can make you feel sad, happy, or strong and fierce.
Sometimes they make you think deeply.
Movies make you laugh, cry, or respond in a number of ways.
Illustration: “ONLY IN THE MOVIES”
Here’s a list of things you can learn from watching too many movies or TV shows:
Most dogs are immortal.
All grocery shopping bags contain at least one stick of French Bread.
It’s easy for anyone to land a plane, providing there’s someone in the control tower to talk you down.
The ventilation system of any building is the perfect hiding place.
No one will ever think of looking for you in there, and you can travel to any other part of the building you want without difficulty.
If you need to reload your gun, you will always have more ammunition-even- if you haven’t been carrying any before now.
You’re very likely to survive any battle in any war, unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.
If your town is threatened by an imminent natural disaster or killer beast, the mayor’s first concern will be the tourist trade or his forthcoming art exhibition.
A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating, but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds.
If a large pane of glass is visible, someone will be thrown through it before long.
When paying for a taxi, don’t look at your wallet as you take out a bill-just grab one at random and hand it over. It will always be the exact fare.
If staying in a haunted house, women should investigate any strange noises in their most revealing garments.
Cars that crash will almost always burst into flames.
A single match will be sufficient to light up a room the size of a football stadium.
Medieval peasants had perfect teeth and spoke perfect English.
It is not necessary to say hello or goodbye when beginning or ending phone conversations.
All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they’re going to go off.
It’s always possible to park directly outside the building you’re visiting.
A detective can only solve a case once he has been suspended from duty.
If you decide to start dancing in the street, everyone you bump into will know all the same dance steps as you do.
Most laptop computers are powerful enough to override the communication systems of any invading alien civilization.
It does not matter if you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts-your enemies will wait patiently to attack you one by one by dancing around in a threatening manner until you have knocked out the ones before them.
When a person is knocked unconscious by a blow to the head, they will never suffer a concussion or brain damage.
Police departments give their officers personality tests to make sure they are deliberately assigned a partner who is their total opposite.
Any lock can be picked in seconds by a credit card or a paper clip unless it’s the door to a burning building with a child trapped inside.
People rarely use the bathroom, and if they do, they’re usually dead within minutes.
You can always rely on your car keys already being in the ignition when you get in the car, but if it’s an emergency you can’t find the keys anywhere.
No one locks doors, and if they do, chances are there’s a hatchet about to come through it.
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When you watch TV or go to the movies, keep in mind that what you just saw probably could never (and should never) happen in real life.
Don’t let yourself be influenced by a lie. TV and the movies rarely depict real life accurately. The electronic media’s primary purpose is to entertain rather than to teach.
For that one reason alone, never take TV shows or movies seriously-especially in their portrayal of Christian values and beliefs.
Even though millions of people in America profess faith in Christ, Christians are nonexistent in the movies.
And even though the vast majority of people in our country believe that sex should be reserved for marriage, few married people in the movies ever have sex--only unmarried people do.
QUESTION: Why do you think some people get trapped into conforming to "the pattern of this world"? (have kids raise hands—count to see which is most popular)
1. you feel threatened by others
2. you want to be accepted
3. you are trying to get ahead
4. you feel insecure and want friends
5. you don’t know any better
6. you feel like "everybody’s doing it"
7. you lack a real purpose in life
8. you don’t realize the consequences
9. you don’t know that there is any other way
Activity: What Do You Do at a Green Light?
Tell students to immediately repeat each word you say or immediately answer any question you ask. As a warm-up have everyone respond immediately to what you say:
Too (wait for response), moo (response), boog-a-loo (response). What does a ghost say? (Response.) Make sure students answer immediately.
Now do the actual activity. After you say each word or ask each question, wait for an immediate response: Top, bop, lop. What do you use to clean a floor? (Mop.)
Crop, sop, hop. Who enforces the law? (Cop.)
Pop, yop, bop, top. What do you do at a green light?
(Most, if not all, will say "stop.")
Then lead a short discussion.
How many of you were surprised I could "control your mind" so easily? Explain.
SHOW “MINDBENDER” SLIDES -- Available upon request
(slides show a series of optical illusions)
QUESTION: Which of the most important ways do you think you could begin to transform your mind to the Master to become a “MasterMind”?
1. look for another head
2. forget about everything you’ve heard
3. begin to learn new things
4. realize that you DO have a new mind in Christ
5. begin to read the Word of God more
6. listen to more radio and TV
7. find someone to trade minds with
8. let God erase the bad memories
9. program your mind with new and different material
10. pray for others in need
Here’s a serum from God that will definitely improve your mind to conform to that of the mind of Christ. Here’s 5CC’s of Mind Control – Conforming Your Mind To Christ found in the book of Colossians.
Colossians 3:1-16
Conversation – Where it all begins (Colossians 3:8)
Character – inward evidence of who you really are (Colossians 3:9)
Conduct – outward evidence of your character (Colossians 3:10)
Commitment – How much are you willing to give up to know
(Colossians 3:12-13)
Concern – Do you really want to see people as Christ sees them
(Colossians 3:16)
Here is what can happen when a believer does not conform their mind to that of Christ…
Illustration: The Farmer’s Three Wishes
An ancient Jewish parable-
One night a poor farmer was awakened by an angel of the Lord who said: "You’ve found favor in the eyes of your Maker. He wants to do for you what he did for your ancestor Abraham. He wants to bless you.
Therefore, make any three requests of God, and he will be pleased to give them to you. There’s only one condition: your neighbor will get a double portion of everything that is given to you.”
The farmer was so startled by all this that he woke up his wife and told her all about it. She insisted they put it to the test.
So they prayed, "Oh, blessed God, if we could just have a herd of a thousand cattle, that would enable us to break out of the poverty in which we’ve lived for generations. That would be wonderful.”
No sooner had they said these words than they heard the sound of animal noises outside. Lo and behold, all around the house were a thousand magnificent cattle!
During the next two days, the farmer’s feet hardly touched the ground. He divided his time between praising God for his great generosity and making practical provisions for his newly found affluence.
On the third afternoon he was up on a hill behind his house, trying to decide where to build a new barn when, for the first time, he looked across at his neighbor’s field, and there on the green hillside stood two thousand magnificent cattle.
For the first time since the angel of the Lord had appeared, his joy evaporated and a scowl of envy took its place.
He went home that evening in a foul mood, refused to eat supper, and went to bed in an absolute rage. He couldn’t fall asleep, because every time he closed his eyes, all he could see were his neighbor’s two thousand head of cattle.
Deep in the night, however, he remembered that the angel had said he could make three wishes. With that he shifted his focus away from his neighbor and back to his own situation, and the old joy quickly returned.
Digging into his own heart to find out what else he really wanted, he began to realize that in addition to some kind of material security, he had always wanted descendants to carry on his name into history.
So he prayed a second time saying, "Gracious God, if it please thee, give me a child that I may have descendants." It wasn’t long before his wife came to him with the news that she was bearing in her body a life not her own.
The next months were passed in unbroken joy. The farmer was busy with his newly acquired affluence and looking forward to the great grace of becoming a parent. On the night his first child was born, he was absolutely overjoyed.
The next day was the Sabbath. He went to the synagogue and at the time of the prayers of the people, he stood up and shared with the gathered community his great good fortune: now at last a child had been born into their home!
He had hardly sat down, however, when his neighbor got up. "God has indeed been gracious to our little community. I had twin sons born last night. Thanks be to God."
On hearing that, the farmer went home in an utterly different mood from the one in which he came. Instead of being joyful, he was filled with the canker of jealousy.
This time, the dark emotions didn’t go away. Late that evening, he made his third request of God, which was, "Lord, please gouge out my right eye."
No sooner had he said these words than the angel who started the whole process came again. "Why, son of Abraham, have your turned to such dark desirings?"
With pent-up rage, the farmer replied, "I can’t stand to see my neighbor prosper! I’ll gladly sacrifice half my vision for the satisfaction of knowing that he’ll never be able to look on what he has because he’ll have both eyes gouged out."
Those words were followed by a long silence, and as the farmer looked, he saw tears forming in the eyes of the angel.
"Why, O son of Abraham, have you turned the occasion to bless into a time of hurting?
Your third request won’t be granted, not because the Lord lacks integrity, but because he is full of mercy.
However, know this, O foolish one..you’ve brought sadness..not only to yourself, but to the very heart of God.”
