We All Need to Power Up! ~Romans 8:11
Objective:
Students will learn that everyone who has trusted Jesus as Savior has the power of the Holy Spirit inside and they will be challenged to yield to the Spirit’s control.
Key Thought:
Power up to change your life!
Lesson Summary:
This lesson was the first in a four-part series called “Empowered by the Spirit.” During this series, your teen will be introduced to the Holy Spirit, Who He is, what He does, and how He provides the power for a Christian to live a godly life.
In this lesson, we discussed the power of the Holy Spirit. We used a video game analogy throughout the lesson. For those who have never trusted Christ, we gave them the chance to “Power On” (i.e., trust Christ as Savior, inviting the Holy Spirit into their life).
For those who already have the Holy Spirit inside, we reminded them of how the power of the Spirit can radically change their life. The Bible reminds us that the Holy Spirit abides with us forever and helps us understand the truth, share the truth, and defeat sin. Take the time to play a video game with your teen this week. After you are done, ask your teen about the power-ups in the game and how he/she has been impacted by the power of the Spirit.
Impossible Fruit? ~Galatians 5:22-23
Objective:
Students will understand that the fruit of the Spirit is only produced by the Holy Spirit and will be challenged to allow the Spirit to produce His fruit by actively yielding to Him.
Key Thought:
The Holy Spirit makes the impossible possible.
Lesson Summary:
This lesson was the second lesson in a four-part series called “Empowered by the Spirit.” During this series, your teen will be introduced to the Holy Spirit, Who He is, what He does, and how He provides the power for a Christian to live a godly life.
In this lesson, we discussed an impossible fruit, i.e., the fruit of the Spirit. It is not impossible for the Holy Spirit to produce in us, it is just impossible for us to produce it on our own. If you are unfamiliar with the fruit of the Spirit, you can read about it in the Book of Galatians.
In our lesson, we studied the passage found in Galatians 5:16-25. We contrasted the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. We also discussed how it is impossible for anyone to produce the fruit of the Spirit in their own strength.
We challenged the students to actively yield to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to produce His fruit in their lives. Knowing that the Holy Spirit will always agree with the Word of God, we challenged your teen to choose a verse of Scripture that deals with one of the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit and to memorize and meditate on it this week. We encouraged them to allow the Holy Spirit to use the Word of God to change their hearts.
Find out what verse your teen is planning to memorize and see if you can memorize it together. Maybe you can have a discussion with each other about areas in your lives where you tend to not exhibit one of the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit. Together, you could memorize the appropriate verses.
The Gift ~ 1Peter 4:10
Objective:
Students will understand that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to believers to accomplish His will and they will be challenged to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit by serving others.
Key Thought:
We are Spirit-gifted to graciously serve.
Lesson Summary:
This lesson was the third lesson in a four-part series called “Empowered by the Spirit.” During this series, your teen will be introduced to the Holy Spirit, Who He is, what He does, and how He provides the power for a Christian to live a godly life.
In this lesson, we discussed spiritual gifts. We defined them as “God-given abilities, received at salvation, for the purpose of service in the church.” We recognized the differences between a spiritual gift and natural talents. We reminded the students that every believer has a spiritual gift and that they are given so God can be glorified, the saints can be equipped, and the church can be edified. We highlighted the fact that the Holy Spirit in us is a better gift than all of the spiritual gifts He has given to us. The best spiritual gift is the one being used by a person who is yielding to the Spirit to accomplish the will of God.
We challenged the students to make themselves available to help at the church for a specific amount of time. Ask your teen how they would like to use the gift they have been given for the glory of God. Maybe the two of you can serve together.
The Holy Spirit Changes Everything ~ Acts 4:13
Objective:
Students will discover that attempting to serve God in self-confidence is ineffective and will be challenged to witness for God in the boldness given by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Key Thought:
Confidence in the Spirit is better than confidence in self.
Lesson Summary:
This lesson was the fourth lesson of a four-week series called “Empowered by the Spirit.” Throughout this series, your teen has been learning about the Holy Spirit. Tonight, he/she learned that the Holy Spirit provides power for us to boldly share our faith with others. Your teen was challenged not to rely on self-confidence, but to be confident in the Holy Spirit.
We used the Apostle Peter as our example throughout the lesson. When he relied on his own strength and confidence to follow God, it resulted in disaster. He made arrogant comments, failed to pray, fought the wrong battles, and denied even knowing Jesus!
Self-confidence will cripple us in spiritual battles, but the Holy Spirit empowers us. God can radically transform us from the inside out! In Peter’s story, when the Holy Spirit was in control he was completely changed, a Spirit-filled man who led thousands to Christ (Acts 1- 2).
Your student has unique gifts, talents, and abilities, but if they are overly self-confident, they will fail in their spiritual battles. Today your student was challenged to yield to the Holy Spirit instead of relying on their confidence in self. They were encouraged to let the Holy Spirit empower them to do whatever God wants them to do, especially sharing Christ with others.
Your teen was encouraged to trust Christ as Savior if they do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Those who are saved were challenged to share their salvation story with a friend. For those who are unsure how to begin that conversation, we suggested that they download the “Life in 6 Words” app to help stay focused on the message of the Gospel. But, more importantly, your teen was encouraged to specifically ask the Holy Spirit to help them share the truth of God’s Word in His power and not in their own strength because confidence in the Spirit is better than confidence in self.
