Have you ever had to wear hand-me down clothes? Why don’t you like them? God doesn’t want us to have a hand-me down or secondhand faith. We are called to know God firsthand, and not borrow someone else’s faith.
How have your parents raised you to view faith? Do they encourage you to participate in church things?
On a scale from one to ten, how real and vital would you say your faith is right now? (One means “I’m not sure I even have a personal faith in Christ,” while ten means “My faith is really changing me and bringing fulfillment to my life.”) Why did you choose that number?
Read 2 Chronicles 24:14: Joash only followed God because a family member told him to. He never owned his faith, he borrowed it from a family member. How can you do a better job of owning your faith this year?
Read 2 Chronicles 24:18-19: As soon as Joash faith was challenged, he started to change his beliefs. When was the last time your faith was challenged?
Read Romans 12:2: Christians are called to look differently than the rest of the world. We should talk differently, act differently, and behave differently. God wants us to stand out, not just blend in. Are you tempted to change how you act based on the people you are with? How could you do a better job at standing out as a Christian?
Read John 20:24-31: Thomas embraced his doubt, by going to Jesus directly. Vocalizing his doubt helped him develop a stronger faith. Have you ever experienced doubt? Why do you think doubt regarding one's faith is difficult to talk about? How can doubting be a good thing?
The goal of this series is to discuss how students can take their faith to the next level and be all that God has called them to be. It can be easy for teenagers to go through the motions of their faith and not take Jesus seriously. Our hope is to teach students how to stand out as leaders, not blend into culture.
