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    Wild Truth Bible Lessons-Dares from Jesus
    Wild Truth Bible Lessons-Dares from Jesus
    Wild Truth Bible Lessons-Dares from Jesus
    Ebook222 pages2 hours

    Wild Truth Bible Lessons-Dares from Jesus

    By Jeannie Oestreicher

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    About this ebook

    Weekly studies to reinforce what junior highers are learning from their Wild Truth JournalThese Bible lessons send students straight to the words of Jesus to discover the truth, then dare them to live that truth today. Includes games, activities, sketches, handouts, and reproducible worksheets.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherZondervan
    Release dateMay 11, 2010
    ISBN9780310864745
    Wild Truth Bible Lessons-Dares from Jesus
    Author

    Jeannie Oestreicher

    Jeannie Oestreicher has been volunteering in youth ministry for the past eighteen years. She and her husband, Mark, have two great kids, Liesl and Max. They live in California.

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      Book preview

      Wild Truth Bible Lessons-Dares from Jesus - Jeannie Oestreicher

      Check out these great Wild Truth books for

      your junior highers and middle schoolers!

      Wild Truth Journal for Junior Highers

      with companion curriculum

      Wild Truth Bible Lessons

      Wild Truth Bible Lessons 2

      Wild Truth Journal—Pictures of God

      with companion curriculum

      Wild Truth Bible Lessons—Pictures of God

      Wild Truth Bible Lessons—Pictures of God 2

      Wild Truth Bible Lessons—Dares from Jesus: 12 wild lessons with truth and dares for junior highers

      Copyright © 2002 by Youth Specialties

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

      ePub Edition June 2009 ISBN: 0-310-86474-7

      Youth Specialties products, 300 S. Pierce St., El Cajon, CA 92020, are published by Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49530.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-In-Publication Data

      Oestreicher, Mark.

      Wild truth Bible lessons—dares from Jesus: 12 wild lessons with truth and dares for junior highers / Mark Oestreicher.

      p. cm.

      ISBN-10: 0-310-24187-1

      ISBN-13: 978-0-310-24187-4

      1. Christian Eduacation of teenagers 2. Jesus Christ—person and offices—Biblical teaching. I. Title:Dares from Jesus. II. Title.

      BV4447 .O473 2002

      268’.433—dc21

      2002005473

      Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan.

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

      Edited by Rick Marschall and Linda Bannan

      Illustrations by Krieg Barrie

      Design by Tom Gulotta

      Production assistance by Sarah Sheerin

      To the middle school ministry of Journey Community Church in La Mesa, California. You’ve given me a place to belong as a former junior high pastor who still has a strong passion for and calling to young teens.

      Contents

      Title Page

      Copyright Page

      1. Get Past It! The truth about reconciliation—Jesus dares us to mend broken relationships (Matthew 5:21–26)

      2. Take Them in Pairs The truth about retribution—Jesus dares us to not seek revenge (Matthew 5:38–42)

      3. Go Long The truth about investing—Jesus dares us to store away good stuff (Matthew 6:19–21)

      4. Don’t Waste Your Time The truth about worry—Jesus dares us not to be anxious (Matthew 6:25–34)

      5. Don’t Be Foolish! The truth about wisdom—Jesus dares us to obey him (Matthew 7:24–27)

      6. Get Along! The truth about human relationships—Jesus dares us to get along with others (Matthew 18:15–35)

      7. Give Big The truth about generosity—Jesus dares us to really give (Luke 6:38)

      8. Don’t Be Greedy The truth about ownership—Jesus dares us not to be greedy (Luke 12:15)

      9. Prove It The truth about responsibility—Jesus dares us to prove ourselves worthy of trust (Luke 16:10-12)

      10. Live in the Light The truth about honesty—Jesus dares us to be agents of truth (John 3:20-21)

      11. Know You’re His The truth about security—Jesus dares us to be secure in him (John 10:27-28)

      12. Die The real truth about reality—Jesus dares us to experience real life (John 12:24-26)

      About the Publisher

      Share Your Thoughts

      Acknowledgments

      Thanks to the El Cajon Coffee Company, whose back porch provided moments of concentration while writing this book. Thanks to Todd Temple—the Wild Truth flamefanner—for the Dares From Jesus concept. Thanks to Rick Marschall and the other YS product team staffers for your patience on this horrendously late manuscript. And, as always, thanks to my love, Jeannie, and my two little loves, Liesl and Max, for your non stop, surprising charity and acceptance.

          introduction    

      Come on—admit it.

      When you were a teenager, you played Truth or Dare. At some point. You probably played spin-the-bottle too—but that’s a subject for a different book.

      The best games of Truth or Dare, when we were teens, were those played with creative people who came up with great truths and killer dares. You never knew which one to choose, because it was clear they would be equally challenging.

      Well, Jesus has plussed that game. He says to us—and to the junior highers we work with—Look, I want to play Truth and Dare, not Truth or Dare! Jesus is going for the double zinger! Truth and Dare! All over the gospels we see Jesus teaching or challenging this way. First he lays out a truth. Then there’s an implicit or explicit dare issue: C’mon—don’t be a wimp!

      In Wild Truth Journal: Dares From Jesus, I developed 50 Truth and Dare challenges from Jesus for young teens to use on their own or in the context of a small group. This book, Wild Truth Bible Lessons: Dares From Jesus, takes 12 of those challenges and expands them into full youth group sessions—active teaching times designed especially with young teens in mind.

      There’s another book of these babies: Wild Truth Bible Lessons: Dare From Jesus 2, if you want to continue this study with your teens. And if you’re not familiar with the Wild Truth line, there are two preceding sets:

      Wild Truth Journal; Wild Truth Bible Lessons; and Wild Truth Bible Lessons 2. Each of these focus on life lessons learned from Bible characters.

      Wild Truth Journal—Pictures of God; Wild Truth Bible Lessons—Pictures of God; and Wild Truth Bible Lessons—Pictures of God 2. Each of these focus on different characteristics (self-portraits from Scripture) of God, and they turn the corner to how we can develop these characteristics in ourselves.

      One word of caution about teaching the Dares From Jesus: it’s dangerously easy to slip into legalism while issuing these challenges. Jesus didn’t do this when he issued these dares. Some in the modern church have perfected jumping on any behavioral challenge as an opportunity to fight over legalism. So be careful.

      Each lesson has four sections. Here’s what I’ve tried to do with them:

      Wanna Play? is the hook (if I may rip off the Christian Education guru Larry Richards). It’s designed to bring the group together and get students interested in the subject.

      It’s the Truth is the book, in Richards’ terminology. It presents the biblical truth—in this case, the truth Jesus is referring to.

      Truth in Action is the Richardsian look—what does the Bible mean in the life of a young teen? This is a crucial step for young teens, to help them cross the bridge of somewhat abstract biblical concepts to the concrete world of their everyday lives. This section is usually full of case studies, what if? scenarios, and speculation exercises.

      Take the Dare is the piece Larry would call took. It’s the application—how am I doing to apply this truth to my life? I try hard to get kids to make a commitment to a tangible act of application each week—a gusty act, of sorts. It’s always best if you’re able to follow up on these commitments throughout the week, or the following week when you gather again.

      Here’s the deal: I absolutely adore junior highers. I’d rather work with young teens than older teens any day of the week! They’re open. They’re moldable. They don’t wear as many masks. I’ve often felt high school ministry these days is corrective ministry, while junior high ministry is still preventive ministry. This is often a far cry from when you and I were young teens.

      And I believe with all my heart that those who work with young teens (that would be you!) are some of the most valuable yet under-appreciated wackos in the church. Your ministry to young teens is absolutely critical to the kingdom of God. My hope and prayer is that these lessons won’t just be valuable for your students (I certainly want that). But I hope you feel affirmed in your calling as a young teen youth worker as you read through and teach these lessons. I hope you hear the quiet voice of God whispering to you his love and calling and affirmation.

      God’s richest blessing on you and your kids!

      Mark Oestreicher

      LESSON 1

      Get Past It!

      "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

      "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

      Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

      Matthew 5:21–26

      Students Will—

      Understand the biblical concept of reconciliation

      Discuss why God cares about reconciliation, and what it looks like in the lives of young teens

      Choose a personal plan of reconciliation

      DESTROY AND REPAIR

      Divide your students into teams. I’ll probably explain this over and over in this book: you decide the size of the teams, based on the overall size of your group. I won’t treat you like an idiot in this book but as a peer who will tweak and modify what I write here, even if I don’t tell you to do so! So if you have a tiny group (4–7 kids), don’t even break up into two teams for this exercise—it will work fine. Otherwise, your teams can be anywhere from 3–4 kids each to 10 kids each. The larger the team, the more

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