MEETING AIM: Although designed for young people who have some form of Christian commitment, this outline could be adapted for use with a non-Christian group, or even a secondary school class, to demonstrate why God’s anger is not an outmoded, childish, prehistoric notion.

There are lots of tricky philosophical ideas in this session; take it slowly, if necessary spin it out over two weeks, and add extra game-stryle activities if your group would find it too heavy. But don’t shrink from doing it; this is an important area for young people to think through.

In the right circumstances, the ending of the session could provide a serious, meaningful opportunity for uncommitted kids to accept the Lord Jesus. Bear this in mind as you plan.

I DON’T CARE (10 mins)

Choose three volunteers for a contest. Each (in turn) must sit impassively for one minute while two leaders shout calamities at them non-stop (‘Your house has just collapsed’, ‘Your mobile has just exploded’, ‘Your knickers are on fire’). They must answer expressionlessly, ‘I don’t care.’ If they show any expression, or laugh, they’re out. Award a prize to the most poker-faced.

Without explaining this game, divide into small groups and give each a copy of these four sayings:

(a) ‘Everything that exists is good - death as well as life, sin as well as holiness, wisdom as well as folly.’

(b) ‘One truth is clear: whatever is, is right.’

(c) ‘Our God is a consuming fire.’

(d) ‘Man is here today because of his own action. He is neither punished nor rewarded by anyone but himself.’

Ask them to identify which aren’t from the Bible. Why? Answer: (a) is from the Hindu scriptures, where God is the origin of both good and evil; (b) is from a 200-year old poem expressing the philosophy of Deism (the idea that God created the world then left it on its own); (d) is from a popular book on Buddhism, which is an agnostic philosophy. By contrast, the Bible presents a God who cares deeply, loves and intervenes in his creation. He isn’t expressionless.

Remind them of the game you started with. Why is it difficult to last for a minute? Because it isn’t natural to say ‘I don’t care’ in the face of misfortune. Human beings can’t stay uninvolved. And nor can God... he gets angry and upset when the world is in a mess.

IT MAKES ME ANGRY (7 mins)

Give each group back copies of last week’s newspapers. Ask them to list some of the things in the world that should make us angry. Ask: what causes these things? If you were God, how would you feel? Could you be a perfect God, and just not care?

WHEN YOU LOSE IT (7 mins)

Now ask each group to share together times when they’ve been really, violently, angry... and to analyse why it happened. What are the reasons that make us blow our top? Compare results.

Top of most people’s lists will be: wounded pride; frustration; guilty conscience; or bad temper.

Ask: ‘Are any of these things true of God? He knows our thoughts constantly, so his pride is never suddenly injured; he’s all powerful, so he can’t be frustrated; he’s perfect, so his conscience is never uneasy; and he’s unchanging, so he’s never in a bad mood. For him, ‘wrath’ doesn’t mean ‘seeing red’. It simply means ‘the response of his justice to sin’.’

SORT IT OUT (7 mins)

Now give each group one statement to argue about. Is it true or false? After they’ve decided, they can look at the verse suggested, and see if it changes their opinion:

(a) God’s anger and God’s love are equally balanced in his make-up (Psalm 30:5).

(b) God hates sin and sinners (Romans 5:8).

(c) God the Judge gets angry with us, but Jesus the Lamb of God doesn’t (Rev 6:16).

(d) We don’t deserve God’s anger unless we sin really spectacularly badly (Ephesians 2:1-3).

Compare results and emphasise the key points: God’s love is the overriding reality about him - his wrath is necessary because of his justice, but it isn’t nearly as strong as his love; he hates sin, but loves sinners; Jesus and his Father are one in attitude; we’re all by nature the children of wrath, whoever we are.

Ask: but does this make sense? Can we talk about God’s ‘love’ and ‘anger’ at the same time? If he loved us, would he get mad at us?

GRRR... I LOVE YOU (10 mins)

Ask each group to think of a situation where somebody might feel love and anger at the same time, then act it out as a short sketch. (If they’re stuck for ideas, feed in some suggestions... a wife with an alcoholic husband... a teacher who has to exclude his own son... a boy whose brother has pinched his girlfriend...)

After a few minutes’ preparation, watch the results. Ask: did both the love and the anger come through in each sketch? All these people were torn apart by conflicting impulses. In the same way, God is torn apart by his love and our ingratitude. Read Hosea 12:7-9 and say: this is the way our sinfulness makes God feel.

ANGLES ON ANGER (8 mins)

So where does that leave us? Give each group this four-point Bible study to complete:

1. What sort of human behaviour makes God angry? (Colossians 3:6)

2. If we live unrepentant lives, what are we actually doing? (Romans 2:5)

3. Jesus is alive. How does that help us in facing God’s anger? (Romans 5:9-10)

4. Can we ever be sure we’ve escaped God’s anger? (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11)

WRAP UP (7 mins)

Check the answers, then re-emphasise the main things you’ve learned through this session. Point out: this isn’t theological theory, but serious reality for all of us. We don’t come to Christ just for an improved souped-up life, a nice feeling inside, or even the security of God’s guidance through life. We come to him because he’s the only way of escape from God’s wrath against sin. Ask them to think about three questions, one after another, in a minute of silence:

If this is true, where do I stand personally?

How should this change the way I’m living and the decisions I take daily?

How should it make me feel about my friends who don’t know Jesus?

Then pray together, thanking God for the colossal gift of his love in Jesus, and the tremendous escape-route he provides from life’s greatest problem. Pray that he’ll use you to show others how to find it.

John Allan is based in the UK and is a regular contributor to Youthwork International