“Lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and run with endurance the race that is set before us.” --Hebrews 12:1
Activity: Ball Drop
Choose four teens from the audience. Have the first two teens stand behind the starting line. Give each of them a tennis or racquetball and spoon.
Tell them they need to race to the finish line carrying the ball in the spoon in front of them.
If they drop the ball, they’re disqualified. Give them a count down to get started and reward the winner.
Next, ask the next two teens to step up and hand them each a ball and spoon.
Tell them they will be racing as well, but with a twist.
Then assign random handicaps to them (for example: hopping on one foot, with eyes closed, need to hold the spoon above their head, walking backward, etc.).
Then tell the first group that they need to make as many distractions as possible without touching the competitors or going on the race area (for example: yelling, waving their hands, jumping up and down, etc.).
When they’re ready, give them another count down and again reward the winner.
After the activity, ask these discussion questions:
What made it harder for the second group to carry their eggs?
How did that group feel because of all the distractions?
What could have made it easier for them?
Do you ever feel like you’re in that position-trying to do one thing that should be easy when there are a lot of distractions in the way?
The point of the activity is to talk about distractions and point out it’s harder to do things when you’re distracted.
Lay Down Your Load, and Head-On Down The Road!
There are many degrees of commitment in The world.
When you join the army, you can commit to a couple weekends a month, a whole year, three years, five years, or ten years. You can buy a cell phone plan for a year or two, or renew it every month.
You can rent a car, buy it with cash, get a loan, or lease it for several months or several years.
A relationship with the Lord is completely different.
There are no degrees of commitment or subscription plans--You either go all the way or you don’t go at all.
Before you were a Christian, you were “weighted down” with past things in your life
That’s why if you aren’t 100% committed to your relationship with the Lord you’re letting distractions into your life, just like the second group of racers were distracted earlier.
If you’re trying to "be a Christian" but haven’t committed your entire life to it, you’re living with those distractions or weights around your ankles.
The type of friends you hang with, cursing, anger, attitude…
You still may do some of those things---but now it doesn’t feel quite right afterwards--or at least it shouldn’t.
But when it doesn’t feel right, what’s going on?
You’re trying to do two things that were both meant to take over your entire life
To either live for God and live for yourself and the things that the world has to offer, and it isn’t possible to do both.
You’re attention is split. The media and retail industry love your age because they know you’re sponge.
There’s a choice you have to make when it comes to your relationship with the Lord. You either go all the way and commit your whole life to following Him, or you don’t go at all.
It’s like getting married. When you are saying your vows to your spouse, you never say, "Until we’re ready to move on or don’t like each other anymore.”
What is lacking in today’s marriage vows is commitment--today it’s “Until you tick me off”.
Committing your life to God doesn’t mean you’re going to be perfect instantly.
It means that you’re going to pursue God with all of your heart and run away from
distractions.
It’s a decision to submit your life to the Lord and let Him change you.
The “new life” changing process may take a long time, and it will be painful, but beautiful -- like a cocoon opening to release a butterfly or like the changing bubbles in a lava lamp.
Your decision to follow Jesus reminds you to KEEP GOING no matter what it takes or how much things change in your life.
When you decide to follow Jesus, turning back will only make you stumble.
You can jump in with both feet, never look back and sacrifice everything you have ...or you can convince yourself to go which is really no commitment at all.
God is asking for our whole life-He doesn’t want just half of it.
The second shortest verse in the bible is found in Luke 17:32---Jesus said,
“Remember Lot’s Wife”.
The only true commitment you can make is to go all the way
Are you willing to be committed to Christ no matter what others may think of you?
ILLUSTRATION-- Can You Be Trusted—
Can You Be Trusted?
• Before the breakup of the Soviet Union, Christians were routinely persecuted for their faith by the Communist regime.
• We have many inspiring stories of courageous Christians behind the Iron Curtain who were willing to die for their faith during this difficult period in world history.
• One such story involves a house church in a city in the former Soviet Union.
• The small group of believers who gathered there were afraid to carry Bibles, so they memorized large sections of the New Testament and recited Scripture to each other.
• Each week they would arrive at the house at different times, to avoid arousing the suspicions of KGB informers.
• On one particular Sunday the church members were all safely inside the building, with the windows closed and doors locked.
• They began the service by softly singing a hymn and praying.
• Suddenly, the door burst open and two soldiers armed with automatic weapons walked in. One shouted, “All right, everybody up against the wall. If you wish to renounce your faith in Jesus Christ, you can leave now and no harm will come to you.”
• Two or three church members left, then another.
• “This is your last chance!” the other soldier warned. "Either turn your back on this Jesus of yours or stay and suffer the consequences!
• Another member left.
• Two more covered their faces in shame and slipped out into the night.
• No one else moved.
• Parents with small children trembling beside them looked down reassuringly.
• They fully expected to be gunned down on the spot or, at the very least, imprisoned.
• After a few moments of silence, the soldiers closed the door and looked back at the church members left standing against the wall.
• One of them said, “Keep your hands up but this time in praise to our Lord Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters.
• We, too, are Christians. We were sent to another house church several weeks ago to arrest a group of believers.
• But instead, we were converted.”
• The other soldier added, “We are sorry to have frightened those who left, but we have learned that unless people are willing to die for their faith, they cannot fully be trusted.”
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Living for Jesus is not just about saying the right words...
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Or doing the right things, showing up for the right meetings and learning the right answers. It’s about reckless abandonment, total surrender, and absolute sacrifice.
Jesus said in Luke 14:26, "If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters-yes, more than your own life.---Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple" (NLT)
Being committed to Jesus is just about coming to church or our youth group---even thought that’s good...
But it’s what you do outside of church
Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin
which so easily ensnares us. Hebrews 12:1
The army of Alexander theGreat was advancing on Persia. At one critical point, it appeared that his troops might be defeated.
The soldiers had taken so much plunder from their previous campaigns that they had become weighted down and were losing their effectiveness in combat.
Alexander commanded that all the spoils be thrown into a heap and burned.
The men complained bitterly but soon saw the wisdom of the order. Someone wrote, "It was as if wings had been given to them they walked lightly again."
Victory was assured.
Have you ever worn legweights?
Let go of anything that slows your walk with Jesus Christ.
Learn to put on the armor to fight the enemy like a true soldier of the the Light.
To fight the battle effectively, we must be clad only with the armor of God as listed in Ephesians 6:11-17.
The Bible also likens Christians to runners. To win the race, we must "lay aside every weight" that would drag us down and rob us of our strength and endurance (Hebrews 12:1)
Sometimes the things we think is good, often prevent us from what God wants to bring out in us. God may even put a special person in your life to help you realize this or bring it out in you.
This is best illustrated in this film segment which I’m sure you’ll recognize...
SHOWDVD - Forrest Gump - 5 min, 33sec
Start: “It’s funny how you remember some things, but some things you can’t”
End with the old man saying: “That boy sure is a runnin fool.”
After DVD segment...
Forrest had a leg brace to wear to correct his legs--but it was time to shed them-lay it aside. A special friend was sent his way to let him know when it was time to drop his load and hit the road with the famous phrase: “Run, Forrest, Run”
What’s dragging you down in your walk with God?
Is it time to get rid of the braces that prop you up in life that make you feel secure?
This weight may be an excessive desire for you just always want new stuff, like your friends have. And your desire for wanting new STUFF is more than that of serving others.
Maybe that weight is the captivating love of money: sometimes working so much, your job prevents you from enjoying your teenage years--missing out on what God wants you to enjoy.
You will never again be young--but you will always work until the day you die
LAY IT ASIDE
Maybe that weight is the endless pursuit of pleasure: where you can’t seem to really enjoy life unless you’re partying hard and stayin high -- when you get high, you’ve got to come down sometime -- how hard will you land?
LAY IT ASIDE
When you’re having fun and risking sex: the wheel of fortune will one day land on that dreaded slot that says: PREGNANT.
LAY IT ASIDE
Is that constant worry dragging you down?
Maybe that weight is slavery to sinful passions: maybe you’re hiding something in
your closet that you don’t want anyone to see or know about---and once you try to enjoy life, you get so far, but find yourself chained to that closet door.
If your Christian life is a drag, worldly weights may be holding you back.
The Road Is Before You...
”Lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
Are you willing to make that commitment? Place it in His hands--Lay it aside, and run with the endurance in the journey of life before you.
Are you getting tired of carrying it?
Is something keeping you back?
Place it in His hands – lay it aside, and run with the endurance in the journey of life before you.
There’s only one way to "keep it real.”
Lay Down Your Load and Head-On Down The Road.
Go all the way. It’s time to dive in. Live real and let people see it.
Powerpoint slides available upon request.
