Welcome to this week’s Port Ann Wesleyan youth group lesson … our last one before this weekend’s fall benefit yard sale.
We will start this week with the For King and Country song “Burn the Ships” that has been out a while.
Prayer needs continue for Sally Sheets, who will receive her sixth treatment for pancreatic cancer in a week and important scans thereafter to see if the treatments are working and what the next steps will be.
We continue to pray for schools, workplaces and everyone else impacted by the pandemic that seems to lag on and on … we pray not only for protection from COVID-19 and the financial/emotional ripple effect of the illness and efforts to avoid it … but also that God uses the situation to teach us valuable lessons that improve our walks with Him.
We ask for prayer for our yard sale … not just for it to be profitable for our youth group and fund opportunities for us to grow closer to God as a youth group family … but also as an outreach into the community. That we spread God’s word and light and message. Our spring sale ultimately opened the door for two of our youth who have been coming regularly since. Let’s pray that God continues to use a simple yard sale to further His reach and kingdom.
Lastly, we urge continued prayer for Trina Eia and her family. The most recent update, shared yesterday on Facebook:
Her example during this extended storm has been remarkable … and we pray not only for her and her family, but the extended ripple effect of her testimony on countless people who have been impacted by her unshakeable faith during the battle with cancer.
For today’s lesson, take a few minutes to watch this motivational video referencing a historical story from the 1500s:
An interesting true story that resonates in the For King and Country song “Burn the Ships” because the concept touched the group directly via Crystal Smallbone, wife of singer Luke Smallbone, involving anxiety and an addiction to pills:
It takes a lot of courage to completely cut ties with the worldly things we can become addicted to as crutches, such as drugs, alcohol, junk food, material possessions, etc. People in abusive relationships too often ignore the issues because they prefer the a bad situation they know vs. the fear of the unknown.
However, the Bible is full of references on the importance of creating distance from those things that can weigh us down, distract us from God and fill us with excuses. Consider what is shared in Proverbs 6:27-28 (NIV):
Can a man scoop fire into his lap
without his clothes being burned?
Can a man walk on hot coals
without his feet being scorched?
We’re reminded in 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV) why we need to be extra vigilant when it comes to things that can derail us:
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
How do we break free from the grip of things we know are holding us back in our walk with God? Consider the message of James 4:7 (NIV):
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Part of that resistance may mean taking drastic changes to our regular lives — cutting out the wordly things we have become dependent on so that we can instead depend on God. What are your “boats” that need to be burned? Why do you think you’ve avoided lighting the match to eradicate those distractions/crutches? How can we, as a youth group, help you address those “boats” in your life?
Referencing two other For King and Country songs, we encourage everyone to take that bold next step of burning the ships that keep you from moving forward by first turning to God, as For King and Country suggests in “God Only Knows:”
God only knows what you’ve been through
God only knows what they say about you
God only knows how it’s killing you
But there’s a kind of Love that God only knows.
And beyond tackling your “boats” with God’s assistance, it is OK to share your struggles with others. There is great healing power in working together with fellow believers you trust to tackle what may seem impossible on your own, much like Crystal Smallbone reached out to her husband while he was on tour because she finally realized there was a problem, and she couldn’t deal with it alone.
We have strived and prayed that our youth group will continue to develop into being a place where you can share your struggles, where we can face the unknowns — and burn the boats — “Together:”
If you need to talk about any struggle, we encourage you to sit down with your parents, a trusted Godly friend, the pastor or John or Michelle. We are available via email or at 570-847-2718.
To catch up on previous online lessons, click here.
