Use these discussion questions to guide the youth from discussing adding and removing things in their lives to become “new.”
- If you could, what is one thing about this world you would like to get rid of?
- What about the way your school is? What would you remove about it to improve it?
- What would you add that would make school more attractive to you?
- How about our church? What would you remove about it to improve it?
- What would you add that would make church more attractive to you?
- What’s one thing that would be difficult for you to give up about yourself to improve yourself if you gave it away right now?
- What would be something you’d be eager to give up?
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
- What does it mean to be “in Christ?”
- What “old thing” would you like to get rid of that impairs your relationship with God?
- Does anyone have any experience what this verse is saying and can help by sharing their experience?
- Why is it so difficult to give up things that are not good for us?
In the struggle to become “new,” it is important to know that we can actually make choices that will help us become “new” creations in Christ. Christ can make us new, but as long as we keep holding on to things in our lives that drag us down, He cannot take them away from us.
A person can shape circumstances, but circumstances should never be allowed to shape a person. We should master circumstances, not the other way around.