OPTION 1: TIME FOR SUMMER

School is out for some, and soon to be out for others. This means it’s summertime (at least in the Northern hemisphere). But what are you going to do this summer? Some plan in advance, others have families who plan for them, and others have no idea what they will be doing this summer. Team up with another person and fill out the “Summer Plans” handout for yourself and then, without asking, fill out how you think your partner answered the same questions. Once both of you have completed both columns, share your responses with each other and see how well you guessed what your partner plans to do this summer.

OPTION 2: I HADN’T THOUGHT OF IT THAT WAY

Stretch your creativity by thinking outside of the box. You can actually train your brain to think in new ways. Try a few brain puzzles such as one of the following:

What is one word that comes to mind when you think of the following sequence of letters: H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O?

If someone doesn’t get it right away, give a few hints, such as:

1. Think of sharks.
2. This has been around forever.
3. You’ve got to have this in order to have life.
4. This is what most of you are.

If nobody has figured it out yet, the answer is WATER. That’s because the sequence is the letters in the alphabet from H to O, or H₂O, which is the chemical name for water.

TRANSITION

As we consider “God Thinks Twice” today, we might need to think in new and unpredictable ways to understand God as well as to understand how God’s people can act in blatant contrast to God’s instructions.

This is a short video clip and an idea to help you create your own video on this week’s topic, plus a few follow-up questions to spark discussion afterwards.

OPTION 1

Create a video clip that illustrates forgiveness—a major topic since sin entered our world. Jesus spoke about, illustrated, and practiced it. God has communicated forgiveness throughout earth’s history. Joseph forgave his brothers when they came for food. Can you come up with current examples? Ask someone in advance to create follow up questions based on these video clips.

OPTION 2

Do you ever miss something obvious? Did the Israelites do that by worshipping a golden calf and calling it the god who brought them out of Egypt? Watch this short (1:41) video to see how observant you are.

QUESTIONS

1. Did you see the gorilla enter and leave the video?
2. Did you notice the other changes?
3. What types of things do you think followers of God miss?
4. What have you missed?
5. How does God get your attention?

OPTION 3

Go to Vimeo to watch a video (4:54) called “God Thinks Twice.” This was created by Tyler Cantrell’s video class at Wisconsin Academy. The end of this video includes five questions to start your discussion.

QUESTIONS

• If Moses hadn’t pleaded, would God have destroyed the Israelites?
• What does this story tell us of intercessory prayer?
• What case does Moses make in defense for the Israelites?
• Would God have been just if He destroyed them?
• What does this tell us about God’s love and mercy for us?

If you would like to create a video for Youth Sabbath School Ideas in the future, just email Steve Case (Steve@involveyouth.org) and he will send you a future topic and Scripture passage to launch your creativity. 

OPTION 4

Go to YouTube to watch an iBelieveBible video (3:33) called “Cash Cow.” It includes a quick description of a common way many teens in American worship today. It’s not a golden calf; it’s called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.

QUESTIONS

• Whom do you worship?
• Is God no bigger than your imagination?
• How would you describe Moralistic Therapeutic Deism? To what extent does this accurately describe how people today understand or picture God? To what extent does it describe how you relate to God?
• Did your God die on the cross? Does that lead you to worship this God or does it make you sort of embarrassed that your God got killed?