The Kingdom Present and Future
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it's all about THE KINGDOM PRESENT AND FUTURE 2014 JUNIOR YOUTH WEEK OF PRAYER JUNIOR YOUTH WEEK OF PRAYER all about THE KINGDOM PRESENT AND FUTURE accent the resource for Adventist youth leaders Information The Youth Ministry ACCENT is a quarterly publication of the Youth Ministries Department, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists®. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2013, by The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist Youth Ministries Department. It is available for free download at our website, www.gcyouthministries.org. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Editorial Matters Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome, as well as letters to the editor, youth ministry tips, youth volunteer service reports, programming and story ideas. Send manuscripts to YMA Editor at the address below. Contact Information Phone: 301-680-6170 . Fax: 301-680-6155 Email: [email protected] Website: www.gcyouthministries.org Mailing Address GC Youth Ministries Department, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600, USA. Publisher General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist® Youth Ministries Department. 4 | 2014 Junior Youth Week of Prayer http://gcyouthministries.org Table of Contents About the Author, 6 Editorial, 7 Read This First, 8 Introduction, 9 Day 1: In Search of Happiness, 12 Day 2: That’s Why I Came, 19 Day 3: Power Surge, 27 Day 4: It’s Like This, 34 Day 5: The Best News Ever, 40 Day 6: Your Turn, 47 Day 7: Caught In Between, 54 Day 8: Final Warning, 61 Sample Small Group Covenant, 67 http://gcyouthministries.org 2014 Junior Youth Week of Prayer | 5 Editorial and Design About the Staff Author Executive Editor Gilbert Cangy [email protected] General Editor Jonatán Tejel [email protected] Copy Editor Erica Jones [email protected] Editorial Assistant/Production Dwain N. Esmond is first and foremost a servant of Manager God. A graduate of Oakwood and Pittsburg State Maria A. Dunchie Universities, he has dedicated his life to service of [email protected] God through the preparation and promulgation of Christ-centered literature. For ten years he edited Advisors Insight Magazine, the church’s journal for teens in Hiskia Missah North America. Dwain is also an author of several Armando Miranda books, including his latest work, As I Follow Christ: Silvia Sicalo 20 Essentials Every Leader Should Know, published in 2013. He currently serves as the Vice President of Editorial Services for Review and Herald Publishing Association. Dwain is married to the former Kemba Bell, a financial services professional and a graduate of Oakwood and Pittsburg State Universities. They are the proud parents of five-year-old Dwain Jr. 6 | 2014 Junior Youth Week of Prayer http://gcyouthministries.org Editorial by Dr. Hiskia Missah, Associate Director, GC Youth Ministries hen you visit the great country of 3:3 we read, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Thailand, advertisements warmly greet Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be Wyou: ‘Welcome to the Royal Kingdom born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” of Thailand.’ Yes, this country, which is known as In verse 5 He repeated, “Verily, verily, I say unto the ‘land of smiles,’ and also as the Constitutional thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Monarchy of Kingdom, truly welcomes you to its Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” beautiful land. It is a real world kingdom with a king and queen overseeing the territory and its This is the kingdom of grace. To enter the inhabitants. kingdom of God, you must ‘be born again,’ so that when Jesus comes, you and I are eligible to What about the kingdom of God? Is there a real enter His kingdom of glory. He will welcome us kingdom that belongs to God? Recorded in Luke with the warmest greetings, “Welcome home, My 4:43, Jesus says, “I must preach the kingdom of children.” God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” Jesus confirmed that God has His own During this Week of Prayer you are going to kingdom with the universe as its territory; He study deeply about the kingdom of God. Do reigns as King, and all His created beings are the read the sermons, follow the directions and subjects of His kingdom. In another setting Jesus instructions, but more importantly, put it into says, “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! practice, and soon we will enter into God’s for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” kingdom of glory. (Luke 17:21). So, the kingdom of God is a real, nonfictional kingdom. Till then, Ellen G. White wrote: “The government of the kingdom of Christ is like no earthly government. It is a representation of the characters of those who compose the kingdom” (RH March 19, 1908). How to enter into the kingdom of God? Jesus gives us a “visa” to enter His Kingdom. In John http://gcyouthministries.org 2014 Junior Youth Week of Prayer | 7 For the Leader: Please Read This First 1. Start Your Planning Now. We know that 5. Form a Week of Prayer Development/ leadership sometimes changes at the end Review Team. Depending on the size of of the year, but please, if you will no longer your church, this group can be four to be the AY leader next year, do not let that eight persons who will go through all eight stop you from planning for this special readings with you. Include on your team week. Start your planning, develop your only interested and committed young adults target, get your team together, and make and youth ministry leaders (Pathfinder, sure your pastor is a part of that team. Sabbath School, etc., your pastor/s); this is important because it gives ownership to 2. Global Youth Day Information. Get the entire group, rather than just you and information on the Global Youth Day your assistant. Ask the group to commit to project. This day will be the launch of the meeting for at least three weeks—at least Youth Week of Prayer. Please visit our one week for four lessons, and an extra website, www.gcyouthministries.org, or week to wrap things up. Be sure to identify contact your local youth director to find the goal and direction you want to go, out how you can participate. preferably at the first meeting, and choose a young person to speak for each day. 3. Commit Your Prayer Warriors. Get a team of adults together who will commit 6. Integrate Global Youth Day (GYD) to praying for you and your ministry on into Your Week of Prayer Plans. Ideally, a regular basis. Make sure this is a group GYD should be a time to teach youth with whom you can confidentially share how to sacrificially give of themselves by both your personal and ministry prayer providing opportunities in the church and needs. the community. If you are a small youth group and do not have the resources to 4. Choose a Theme Song. Involve your arrange a community-based GYD event, youth choir. If your church does not have you can use this opportunity to break down a youth choir, this is the perfect time to get denominational barriers in the area by one started. Pick out songs that you all like partnering with and pooling resources and and which fit the topic of each evening, or ideas with other youth groups from other choose a song for the entire week. churches in your area. 8 | 2014 Junior Youth Week of Prayer http://gcyouthministries.org How to Use This Book AVAILABLE @ with a small or large group www.adventsource.org Journal Space. This book is designed tio be filled with your thoughts. Use the space provided to record your reactions to the something you may hear in the sermon and the questions at the end of each day. It can also be used to write a prayer request or praise to God. Encourage participants to use it anyway they want. It’s their journal! Tell them there are no rules, just guidelines. The important thing is to listen to the Lord and open their heart in re- sponse to His leading. Leaders, if you take the time to read the daily readings prayerfully and with the anticipation that God will reveal new things to you, you will be surprised at what will flow through your pen or pensel onto the pages of these journals. Start a Prayer Journal. Nothing is greater for your personal spiritual growth than time spent in prayer. Your youth group will ROUNDABOUT grow as you grow. Prayer journaling will help you encounter God in new and exciting ways. You will be able to “track” your walk with God as you go back and review answered prayers and see FAITH is a journey through 28 fundamental beliefs how He has lead you step by step each day. New, fresh ideas will for young adults. Each chapter is framed in come to mind as you spend time in His presence journaling your a format that celebrates the young adult prayers. You can find many ideas online on starting and keeping a search for meaning while challenging them prayer journal. Just go to www. google.com and type in the words to connect what they believe to how they “starting a prayer journal.” live. In the same way that a roundabout flows in one direction around a center Daily Questions.