That young people would encounter God’s passionate love for them, and be inspired to live lives of passionate love in return. 

BACKGROUND:

"It is rare to meet anyone who is passionate about anything" someone once said. Passion is indeed a rare commodity in our culture, often considered a luxury for the young. But a life of passion and purpose is the cry of every human heart." From Uprising by Erwin McManus 

(For the Big Idea) An alternative for older groups might be to distribute the verses to willing readers, give each person some paper and spread out around the room to hear the verses read at intervals, leaving space for people to reflect & write down their thoughts to discuss afterwards. This could be the basis for making a short film to encourage people to reflect on the nature of Jesus mission, and what he calls us to be and do. 

Ask the group: Why do you think God sent Jesus? Ask questions to get them thinking, and when they get to LOVE ask them to get into small groups to translate John 3:16 into their own words. It can be a rap, a song, a text message, a poem or whatever. Ask the group to read / perform their translations, and at the end encourage them to reflect on how they feel about the fact that God loves them so much.  

Give each member of your group a sheet and ask them to write the words

‘Your mission if you choose to accept it is…’

Then send them off in small groups around your building / room to hunt for the following Bible passages which you will need to have hidden before the meeting. Give them 10 minutes to do this, and keep reminding them that their time is limited. If your group would appreciate it, get some dramatic James Bond style theme tune for the background and occasionally shoot them with water pistols. 

Luke 14:18-19; Luke 19:10; John 5:19; Matt 5:17; John 6:38-40; John 10:10; John 12:44-46; John 12:49-50; John 6:35; Matt 10:34, 37-39; Matt 17:22-23.

When their time is up, get them back into their small groups and ask them what they think Jesus' mission on earth involved. Did they consider Jesus to be such a revolutionary? Could love ever be this challenging? How did they finish the sentence 'Your mission if you choose to accept it is...'? Did they include the cross?

Key point: Jesus didn't just come to die for our sins. Jesus came to show us what God is like. He is passionate about people, up for friendship with each of us and wants to include us in his plan to change the world, and then spend eternity with him in heaven.

What stuff do you care about? In pairs discuss ‘What 3 things would you grab in a fire when fleeing your house?’ Make a quick list of all the stuff you own / good things in your life. As a group make a list of what God gives us when we connect to him – e.g. heaven, relationship, purpose, value, joy, hope, peace, forgiveness, advice for life.  

Say that, stuff in itself is no bad thing, in its place. The apostle Paul wrote that he considers everything rubbish compared to knowing God (Philippians 3:8). Why does Paul think that knowing God is worth giving up everything else for? Perhaps because he knows how much God loves him, and has experienced the blessing of walking with God, & the satisfaction of doing his work. Read and discuss this quote from CS Lewis: 

‘The Christians who did the most for this world, were those who thought most of the next. The apostles, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English evangelicals who abolished slave trade, all left their mark on earth – precisely because their minds were occupied with heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of any other world, that they have become so ineffective in this one. Aim at heaven and you will get earth “thrown in”, aim at earth and you will get neither.’

Give out blank postcards and encourage the group to set themselves 3 tasks for this week where they pick 3 people (not group members) and aim to show God’s love to them in ways that they think they would appreciate from the above list.

Encourage them with the knowledge that by showing people God’s love they are continuing Jesus’ mission on earth, which is what he calls us to do.

Claire Farley is a full time youth worker in Uxbridge.