Insight

Live to give - a youth group discussion starter

A youth group discussion starter on money, wealth and Christian giving.

From the wisdom of the proverbs, the parables and teaching of Jesus, to Paul’s letters to the first Christians and churches, the Bible has a lot to say about money, our attitudes to wealth and possessions and the challenges and joys of faithful stewardship and Christian giving.

DOODLES

Have sheets of flipchart paper, pencils, pens, markers and modern translations of the Bible available for this activity. Divide the young people into pairs. Explain that the group will be creating a series of cartoons on money, lifestyle and giving. Each pair can either create a strip cartoon or a single image. Encourage them to make their cartoon as large as possible. The cartoon can either be a simple black and white drawing or in full Technicolor!

Write up the Bible references on a flipchart as the basis for each cartoon. Ask each pair to select a verse or passage, and let the doodling begin!

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.

40 Icebreakers for small groups - FREE eBook

40 Icebreakers for Small Groups is a FREE ebook compiled from several previous articles posted on Insight.

These posts continue to be popular, so I thought it might be helpful to put them together in an eBook for you to download. In addition, I've added several new 'bonus' icebreakers which don't appear in the articles!

Divided into two sections, 'Getting To Know You' and 'Group Builders', these icebreakers encourage sharing, openness, listening, co-operation and discussion, providing a creative foundation for your small group study or teaching time. Just click on the link in this post or in the sidebar to view and download the eBook.

Also check out my other popular FREE ebook Creative Bible Study Methods for Youth Leaders.

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Shipwrecked - a youth group discussion starter

A discussion starter exploring the values we place on people. Two incidents from the life of Jesus help to illustrate the value Jesus places on people, including ourselves.

SHIPWRECKED

Divide your young people into groups of 8. Ask them to imagine that they have been shipwrecked, but everyone has climbed into the safety of a lifeboat floating nearby. Unfortunately there is very little food in the rations. You estimate that it is many days journey to the nearest land and there is not enough food to keep everyone alive. For the majority to survive, two people must be cast adrift on a nearby timber beam. They have no food, the waters are shark infested and it will mean certain death! However, each passenger has the chance to plead his or her case to stay in the boat and survive.

Each of the young people plays the role of one of the passengers. After drawing an occupation from a hat to role play, every person has one minute to say why they should stay in the lifeboat.

Character - more food for thought

'The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.' Martin Luther King, Jr.

'Leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be without the strategy.' Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf

'Leadership is doing what is right when no one is watching’ George Van Valkenburg

'Try not to become a man of success, but rather a man of value.' Albert Einstein

'Character is what you have left when you've lost everything you can lose.' Evan Esar

'A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble.' Charles Spurgeon  

Pentecost - a youth group discussion starter

A discussion starter exploring the impact of the Holy Spirit on the lives of the first Christians at Pentecost. Helping young people to discover more about the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives today.

I WAS THERE

Divide the young people into small groups. Explain that each group is going to script and perform a short interview, featuring one of the characters involved in the events on the first Pentecost. Give each group one of these characters;

• One of the believers in the upper room (Acts 2: 1)
• A God-fearing Jew (Acts 2: 5)
• One of those who mocked the Christians (Acts 2: 13)
• Peter (Acts 2: 14)
• One of the new believers (Acts 2:37, 41)
• A member of the early church (Acts 2: 42-47)

Ask each group to read Acts 2: 1-47 together, using a modern translation of the Bible. Then decide who will be the interviewer and who will be the interviewee. The rest of the group helps with the preparation and scripting of the interview.