ISAIAH: EXPERIENCING GOD IN REAL WAYS Week 4: The Ultimate Purpose (God’s Word at Work)
This includes: 1. Leader Preparation 2. Lesson Guide
1. LEADER PREPARATION
LESSON OVERVIEW While God certainly works through other means—including the Holy Spirit speaking to our consciences, life’s circumstances, and other followers of Christ—the Bible is the primary way people are drawn to God. We learn about Christ through God’s Word. We understand more about the lives we are called to lead through God’s Word. We discover the pattern of God’s work throughout time because of God’s Word. This lesson will challenge your students to consider several significant contributions the Bible can make to their lives.
LESSON OBJECTIVES 1. WHAT: God’s Word is the power source for our life. 2. WHY: The more we read, study, and obey the Bible, the more its truths become God’s tool for transforming our lives. 3. HOW: Your students will be challenged to commit to a deeper understanding and application of God’s Word in their lives.
PRIMARY SCRIPTURE Isaiah 55:10-13
SECONDARY SCRIPTURE Psalm 19:7-11
TEACHING PREP The short overview below is designed to help you prepare for your lesson. While you may not want to convey this information word-for-word with your teenagers, you’ll definitely want to refer to it as you lead.
Read Isaiah 55:10-13.
Some people in our world today think about the Bible and contend that it’s old, outdated, and not applicable for the things we face in the 21st century. Those statements couldn’t be further from the truth. The fact is that Scripture is God’s revelation of himself. And just as God never becomes old, outdated, or inapplicable, Scripture never does either.
This lesson examines a passage from Isaiah where God talks about his Word, its purpose, and its power. Throughout history God has worked to move, convict, and change people through his Word. In these verses, God says that his Word will accomplish his purposes, and one of the primary ways God has done this is to reveal himself to humanity through Scripture. As we come in contact with God, through the Bible, we are shown our desperate need for God as well as how much God loves us. THE BEFORE AND AFTER [optional]
Text Message Questions We’ve provided a couple of different text message questions to send out to your students prior to your meeting. Feel free to use one or both of the questions below. As with the rest of the curriculum, edit these questions to fit the needs of your ministry.
What is steady, unchanging, powerful, and at our fingertips? Find out at small group.
Does the Bible even matter to us here in the 21st century? Let’s dig deep for some answers tonight at small group.
Parent Email We’ve provided you with an email below that you can send to your parents following the lesson. Our hope is to encourage parents to continue the conversation at home. Feel free to edit and customize the email to fit your ministry needs.
Dear parents,
Our small groups have finished their four-week study of Isaiah. This final week focused on the Bible and how in the midst of an ever-changing culture, the Word of God stands the test of time. Scripture is the revelation of who God is, how much God loves us, and what God desires from us. We challenged our students to recognize the benefits of studying God’s Word and the value of applying its truths to their lives.
In order to keep this fresh on your teenager’s mind, throughout the week you might want to ask some of these questions: Why do you think God chose the written word to be one of the primary ways to convey his message to humanity? If we believe the truths of God’s Word are truly more precious than gold or silver, how will that affect the way we read and obey the Bible? How can we make God’s Word more central in the life of our family?
Have an awesome week! ISAIAH: EXPERIENCING GOD IN REAL WAYS Week 4: The Ultimate Purpose (God’s Word at Work)
2. LESSON GUIDE
GETTING THINGS STARTED [optional] Before your group meets, preview this short clip from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, at youtube.com/watch?v=vVxaYz0SRMY&feature=related. You’ll need a computer with an Internet connection to display the clip during your small group gathering.
Welcome your students and invite them into your meeting area. Open in prayer, and then play the video clip from the “I Have a Dream” speech.
ASK: Why do you think the words Martin Luther King Jr. spoke had such a dramatic impact? How are the words of Scripture similar to and different from a powerful speech such as this? Why does God’s Word have a longer-lasting impact than any human speech ever could?
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Throughout history, men and women have delivered powerfully inspirational speeches that made a significant impact on their audiences. Their words have served to push people to change, to act, and to make a difference in the world. But as great as our words can be, they still fall short of the lasting impact of God’s Word. Only God’s Word has stood throughout history and carries the only message that can produce true, meaningful, and lasting life-change.
If you came up with an opening activity, movie clip, or game that worked well with your group, and you’d like to share it with other youth workers, please email us at [email protected].
TEACHING POINTS The goal of the Teaching Points is to help students capture the essence of each lesson with more discussion and less lecture-style teaching. The main points we have chosen are (1) The Bible offers spiritual refreshment, (2) God uses the Bible for amazing purposes, and (3) God uses the Bible to change our lives.
Remember: All throughout these lessons, it’s up to you to choose (1) how many questions you use, and (2) the wording of the main points—keep ours, or change the wording to make it clearer for your audience.
Read Isaiah 55:10-13 together as a group. Consider dividing verses among your students so everyone has a chance to read.
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Let’s spend a few minutes seeing what this passage reveals about God’s Word. God reveals himself to us through Scripture, and just as God is unchanging, timeless, and incapable of becoming outdated, so is the Bible. 1. The Bible offers spiritual refreshment
ASK: When you’re physically exhausted, how do you find refreshment and regain your energy? What’s the significance of the comparison between God’s Word and the beneficial effects of rain and snow in this passage? Verse 11 says God’s Word produces fruit; what kind of fruit do you think it means? What kinds of fruit have you seen in your life because of reading, studying, and obeying the Bible? Do you find yourself drawn to spend more time in certain books of the Bible and less time in others? If so, why? If not, why do you think other people might? What are some ways the Bible can be a source of refreshment for you?
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Throughout the Bible, we encounter God’s nature and character, our desperate need for God, and God’s great love for us. We read about how we can trust God and experience God’s peace, and we meet men and women who have trust God and experienced God’s peace in the past. We learn how God is our shepherd, our provider, our healer. All of these truths and traits help us find refreshment through the Bible.
2. God uses the Bible for amazing purposes
ASK: Why do you think God chose the written word to be one of the primary ways to convey his message to humanity? In verse 11, God declares that his word accomplishes all he wants it to. What are some of the purposes God might have for the Bible? What do these passages tell us about the importance of all Scripture, even the books we tend to focus on the least?
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: If we believe that God is unchanging and that the Bible is God’s revelation of himself to us, then we cannot believe Scripture is ever outdated. Throughout its pages, we discover why God created us and how we are called to serve others. This is why it’s so important for us to study the Bible and understand God’s purposes in it from Genesis to Revelation. The more we understand and obey Scripture, the more we understand God’s nature and character and purposes.
3. God uses the Bible to change our lives
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: We are drawn closer to God through Scripture, and our lives are changed as we read its pages and as we apply its truths in our daily walk with Christ. God accepts us just the way we are and freely offers the gift of forgiveness through Jesus’ death and resurrection, but God also wants to transform us to more closely resemble Jesus.
ASK: How do reading, studying, and obeying the Bible allow us to know God better? How does a closer relationship with God affect and shape us on a practical level? Verses 12 and 13 talk about some of the changes produced by God’s Word being sent out and prospering. What emotions do these words evoke inside you, and why? How have you seen your life or other people’s lives change because of the Bible? Can reading the Bible change our lives if we don’t obey what it calls us to do? Why or why not?
ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION ASK: Read Psalm 19:7-11. What does this passage tell you about the content and purpose of God’s Word?
Some people say Scripture is like a straitjacket because of its “rules and regulations.” How does this passage show that God’s Word actually brings freedom?
If we believe the truths of God’s Word are truly more precious than gold or silver, like verse 10 says, how will that affect the way we read and obey the Bible?
What do you think verse 11 is talking about when it says there is a great reward in obeying God’s Word?
APPLICATION Ask students to form groups of two or three for these questions.
ASK: How has God’s Word impacted your life? How would you like to see your life changed by God’s Word in the coming weeks, months, and years?
What are some practical steps you can take to either spend more time reading God’s Word or become more consistent in obeying its truths?
SUMMARY End your lesson here. Provide your teenagers with a quick summary or take-home challenge based on (1) the content of this lesson, (2) the dialogue that took place during the lesson, (3) your understanding of the issues and struggles your teenagers are facing, and (4) the big picture of your youth ministry and what your leadership team wants accomplished with the teaching and discussion time.
FOR KEEPS [MEMORY VERSE] Encourage and/or challenge your teenagers to memorize the verse below. “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it” (Isaiah 55:11).