LESSON 1—ASK “WHY?”
Have you ever watched someone wire an outlet and asked why they connected the wires they did or how they knew what to do? As a leader learning to ask why is important, but just as important as teaching others to ask why. To make sure I understood what I was doing when I was growing up, my father asked me why I was crossing those wires. When it came to life decisions like what university or church to attend, he wanted to know why. The response, “because my friends are doing it” was not the right answer! Have you taken the time to figure out WHY you believe WHAT you believe? This three-letter word should be very important to you and those you lead.
LESSON 2—ASK QUESTIONS
Teach those you lead to ask questions. When you first meet someone, asking questions helps you get to know each other. During these times, I am often reminded of the first Bible Study I attended. Since there were two new people, the leader shared some of her life story with us. She taught us that being with other Christians and reading the Bible daily was important if we really wanted to know who Jesus was. Then she asked who needed a Bible. I received many Bibles in my life, but never read them. I grew up Catholic, so we had a family Bible. But after this Bible study, I started to ask questions and wondered what was so special about Jesus.
LESSON 3—THE BIBLE
The Bible is not a collection of stories, fables, myths, or merely human ideas about God. As a leader set the example and be sure those in your youth group understand the Bible is reliable. Through the Holy Spirit, God revealed his person and plan to certain believers, who wrote down his message for his people. This process is known as inspiration. The writers wrote from their own personal, historical, and cultural contexts. Although they used their own mind, talents, language, and style, they wrote what God wanted them to write. Scripture is completely trustworthy because God was in control of its writing. Its words are entirely authoritative for our faith and lives. The Bible is “God-Breathed.” How do I know I can trust the Bible? 2 Peter 1:20-21, “Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.”
FINAL THOUGHTS
In a race, the finish line is what matters. It is important that everyone understand and see you as a leader are not perfect. As leaders we need to remind those we lead to get back up and keep moving! If you stumble during the race, you get up and keep going. If you try to read the Bible and get discouraged, do not give up. Hebrews 12:1 says, “…let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” Being a person of real and growing faith is like a runner who is training, entering, competing, and winning a race. In our case, the race is not a competition or a performance. Rather, it is our faith and life in action. In order to run faithfully, we need to draw close to Jesus. This happens by spending time with him every day. When we truly want to know Jesus and have the endurance to stay with him no matter what, we will see him do great things in our life. Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
