Welcome to our first weekly online lesson for April of 2021. Amazing that we are already a quarter of the way into the year. Catch up on previous online lessons here.
We’ll start off with a song that we’ve used quite a bit over the past couple years, but ties in well with the bulk of the lesson below:
Please be praying for Pastor Paul and the rest of the Sheets family as they move forward after Sally’s memorial service on Monday night. He returns to the pulpit this coming Sunday.
Julianna Jordan had successful ACL surgery on Friday and now faces an extended recovery time. Hunter Sauers met with doctors Friday on his broken hand, and they kept the pins in and put on a cast for at least the next three weeks.
Jim Mulaney, Cameron’s grandfather, is dealing with a resurgence in his cancer situation. Please be praying for the entire family as next steps are discussed and decisions made.
Please also continue to pray for our youth group and the impact we can have in the local community for God, starting with our yard sale in a few weeks, but also with other opportunities in the coming months.
Also please be praying for youth and family camp preparations for this summer, that God continues to work in those details to provide an experience that changes lives.
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To kick off our lesson, take a moment to listen and watch closely this music video from Leanna Crawford featuring one of her newest songs, “Mean Girls”
This video, combined with recent prayer requests from teens within our youth group about the mean things being said in school-based circles, highlights such an important lesson with numerous applications.
We have talked quite a bit in youth groups past about the power of words, how they can destroy someone and the connections to depression, suicide and how we should react. Like the young lady at the center of the story within this music video, it is critical for us to take time to not only notice those who are struggling, but also to reach out, to pray for them, to let them know they are loved, they have value and their worth goes well beyond the hurtful things others say. Leanna Crawford recently shared the story behind the song in a video segment:
For those who can relate to Leanna Crawford’s story of how hurtful words ate away at her feeling of worth, please know that God sees your worth as so much more. Perhaps one of the most popular places to find reassurance in this is from Psalm 139:14 (NKJV):
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
Us, as Christians, taking a moment to let someone know we care can make a huge difference, as we saw in Leanna’s Mean Girls song, and as is illustrated in this video:
As is shared in Galatians 6:10 (NKJV): “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
And Ephesians 4:29 (NIV): “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
Which brings us to tonight’s main point. If we are to do good to all, and use only words that lift up others, how are we supposed to handle the people who wrong us — the bullies who are saying the nasty things that make us feel insecure and alone and worthless? Obviously, bullying is a serious issue, and instances of it need to be reported to a parent, teacher or other person of influence. Beyond that, however, how should we react?
Consider the message found in Romans 12:17-21 (NIV):
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Live at peace with bullies? Do not take revenge? Help our enemies and allow God Himself to handle everything else? That sounds crazy, right? How could anyone continue to hold it together when in the midst of such evil? To have someone tease and taunt, and to avoid retribution, but instead show mercy?
As the Easter season wraps up, it is a good time to take one more look at Jesus’ crucifixion. The scenes from the movie “The Passion of the Christ” are gruesome and not intended for younger viewers, but there is a certain amount of impact from scenes of that show, as gruesome as they are, involving Jesus:
People taunting Jesus, whipping Him, leaving him to die one of the most horrific types of death imaginable. Later in the crucifixion story, however, what was one of Jesus’ few comments from the cross? Read Luke 23:24 (NKJV):
“Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
That line is almost identical in most of the main translations of the Bible. There is no mistaking Jesus’ request … He is pleading for God to have mercy on his tormenters. What a powerful example of grace in the midst of a horrific situation.
Again, this doesn’t mean that you continue to take abuse from others without talking with parents, teachers or others in authority. It does, however, illustrate how we should mindfully direct our hearts in how to handle those with which we don’t agree. That doesn’t mean we agree with their mindsets or give them a free pass for their behaviors, but it does mean we can turn their situations over to God who knows their hearts much better than we ever will.
Ultimately, how do we process this information, and more importantly, how do we use it to develop an outreach to those who are struggling — both the bullied and the bullies? We are challenging our teens to pray about this, come up with some God-inspired ideas and share them with the group at next week’s session.
