Living in a material world - a youth group discussion starter

A youth group discussion starter on money and wealth.

Young people are bombarded with TV images, advertising and celebrity lifestyles, all presenting similar messages about the acquisition and ‘power’ of money, the trappings of wealth and the next ‘must have’ thing.

Against this culture, does the Bible have anything to say about money, the pursuit of wealth and our attitude to possessions?

SUCCESS IS..?

Begin by writing the words SUCCESS IS… on a flip chart or whiteboard. Ask your group to suggest words that would show that someone had succeeded in life. Write them up. Is there a common theme?

MONEY MURAL

Provide a number of copies of popular ‘teen’ magazines, lifestyle magazines and ‘celebrity’ news magazines. Ask the young people to get into small groups and choose 3 or 4 articles or adverts that they think make the biggest impact on them. Each group then briefly shares their choices with everyone.

Using a sheet of flipchart paper or wallpaper, ask the group to paste or tape pictures from the articles and adverts to create a montage of images. Leave a black space at the bottom of the paper for the final summary.