Subject To Change: Part 3

BOTTOM LINE: God can change the way you see change.

SCRIPTURE: Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing (James 1:2-4 NLT).

GOAL OF SMALL GROUP: To help students understand that change can be good and God can use it to grow us.

THINK ABOUT THIS: Leaders—until high school, students typically wait on adults to assign challenges or positive changes for them. This is the first time they’ve really had the freedom and ability to challenge themselves to do something new. So they may need your encouragement and guidance as they decide who they are, what they want for themselves, and how they can accomplish it.

Create meaningful conversation. Adjust the questions as needed, and don’t feel like you need to answer all of them.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1.What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever challenged yourself to do?

2.What makes personal change so difficult?

3.What’s something you’ve been meaning to change, but haven’t gotten around to?

4.Why do you think most people resist change even when it’s good?

5.Which of the following typically keep you from making a change?

• a.You’re afraid to fail.
• b.You’re afraid to stand out.
• c.You don’t want to seem judgmental.
• d.It seems overwhelming.

6.What’s one benefit of challenging yourself to change, even if you fail?

7.What’s one area of your life where you feel like God might be challenging you in order to grow you?

TRY THIS

Leaders—using the provided note cards and pens, ask your students to identify an area of their lives where they want to choose to make a change and write that on one side of their note card. On the flip side of the card, have students write down one step they can take toward making that change happen in their lives this week.