COMMUNITY TIME
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Visitors welcome. Please take a card and fill out and return for a coupon for a free café item and a water bottle.
2. High School Overnighter recap
3. Middle School Retreat, Nov 1-2. Register On-line now.
4. Scavenger Hunt tonight! (Trophies set out) Take photos, solve riddles, and more to earn points and a chance to take home the trophy! Bring a friend. Bring the person sitting next to you!
5. Ski Trip and Warmth in Winter – We know you are excited and want more information on registering! Info will be coming this week!
FAMOUS PHRASE GUYS VS. GIRLS
Invite one guy and one girl up for each round (or select 2-3 volunteers of each gender ahead of time to play the game.)
Quote a famous bit of advice or catch phrase. The first person to fill in the blank with the correct word gets points for their team.
1. A bird in the hand is worth two in the ______. Bush
It is better to have what is certain than having one that is worth more but is not so certain.
2. A penny for your ______. Thoughts
A way of asking what someone is thinking
3. Actions speak louder than ______. words
People's intentions can be judged better by what they do than what they say.
4. Add insult to ______. Injury
To further a loss with mockery or indignity; to worsen an unfavorable situation.
5. Barking up the wrong ______. tree
Looking in the wrong place. Accusing the wrong person
6. Don't put all your eggs in one ______. Basket
Do not put all your resources in one possibility.
7. Elvis has left ______. the building
The show has come to an end. It's all over.
8. It takes two to ______. tango
Actions or communications need more than one person
9. Let the cat out of the ______. bag
To share information that was previously concealed
10. Kill two birds with one ______stone.
This means ‘to do two things at the same time'.
11. the straw that broke the camel's ______back.
Minor action which causes a large and sudden reaction, because of the cumulative effect.
12. A Fool And His Money Are Easily ______. Parted
It's easy for a foolish person to lose his/her money.
13. All Bark And No ______. Bite
When someone is threatening and/or aggressive but not willing to engage in a fight.
14. Close only counts in horseshoes and ______hand granades
15. Saved By The ______. Bell
Saved at the last possible moment.
TRANSITION
Today we continue our study on the Parables that Jesus told. Remember - Parable comes from the Greek word “parabole” which means “to place alongside.” A parable compares one thing to another. In the Gospels and the way Jesus used them was to compare some aspect of common, everyday life with some truth about the kingdom of God.
Kind of like the phrases in our game today convey a truth – a parable is a story that teaches or explains a truth that we may not otherwise understand.
PRAY
WELCOME AND GREETING
Invite youth to share a high or low from their last week or something they are looking forward to or anxious about in the future.
If the class is large (more than 20) invite youth to turn to 2-3 people next to them and each share a high-low. After small groups have shared invite 3-4 volunteers to share a high-low or both with the entire class.
OPENING ACTIVITY: SHIPWRECKED
Divide into groups of 6-8.
This will be most effective if groups are not made up of youth who always sit together. Encourage youth to mix up or simply number them off (if you will have 4 groups, number each person 1-4 and have all the 1’s get together.)
SAY: Imagine that your group has been shipwrecked, but everyone has climbed into the safety of a lifeboat floating nearby. Unfortunately there are too many people in your group to fit in the life raft safely and the life raft also does not have enough food or water in the rations to support your entire group. You estimate that it is many days journey to the nearest land and there is not enough food or water to keep everyone alive and that the number of people in the boat makes it dangerously unstable.
Your group has decided that in order for the majority to survive, two people must be cast adrift on a nearby timber beam with no food or water. Each of you will draw a character to play. Each passenger has the chance to plead his or her case to stay in the boat and survive. You must do your best to convince the others that your character is worthy of making it into the life raft, or you will face floating around in the ocean on a log with no food or water.
Have each person draw a character. Tell youth to role play as their character. Every person has one minute to say why they should be allowed a place in the lifeboat.
Not every character has to be represented in every group. (If a group has 8 people, then only 8 characters are needed.) Encourage the adult shepherds to draw a character and participate.
Characters include:
- Single mom who has a 3 year old child and is pregnant.
- Doctor working in Africa to help AIDS victims.
- Senior Minister of a large suburban church who is married with four adult children.
- Policeman who specializes in curbing gang violence in a large city. He has no family.
- A scientist who is working to find a cure for cancer.
- A teenager who is studying abroad with hopes of becoming an international businessperson.
- A lawyer.
- A retired Army Colonel who served for 30 years.
- A baby. Both parents died in the shipwreck.
- A professional baseball player who has been suspended many times for breaking drug policies and DUI.
- An ex-convict who works as a janitor at a small college. He has a wife and two small children.
- Captain of a deep sea fishing boat.
- Feel free to make your own!
After listening to each passenger, the members of the lifeboat(s) can discuss their situation and then each person must cast two votes to decide who is set adrift. Add up the votes for the result.
DEBRIEF DISCUSSION
For each question invite a volunteer or two from each group to share before moving on to the next question.
1. For those who were voted off the boat:
What character were you?
How did you feel about being voted off/on the lifeboat?
Why do you think you were voted on/off?
2. For anyone:
What 2 people did you vote to be kicked off? Why?
3. What criteria did you use in making your selections for awarding space or kicking people out of the boat?
4. Was there agreement of difference of opinion in your group on who to keep / kick out?
5. What do the group’s selections say about our values?
SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES
Today we will dig into the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. This parable addresses the situation of people judging others and comparing ourselves to others. In our opening exercise you all had to decide what people had the most / and the least value. In the parable, the Pharisee – who was a religious leader of the Jewish people – justifies and lifts himself up by comparing himself to a tax collector – a traitor who was hated by the Jewish people.
Either read the scripture or have a youth read the scripture.
VIDEO OPTION: If you prefer, show the video clip below. This scene from the tv show The Bible shows Jesus telling this parable.
PARABLE OF THE TAX COLLECTOR AND THE PHARISEE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39fHwaR2P40
Luke 18:9-14 Common English Bible (CEB)
9Jesus told this parable to certain people who had convinced themselves that they were righteous and who looked on everyone else with disgust: 10“Two people went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself with these words, ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like everyone else—crooks, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week. I give a tenth of everything I receive.’ 13 But the tax collector stood at a distance. He wouldn’t even lift his eyes to look toward heaven. Rather, he struck his chest and said, ‘God, show mercy to me, a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this person went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. All who lift themselves up will be brought low, and those who make themselves low will be lifted up.”
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
Invite small groups (or pairs) to discuss the following questions. Then discuss as a class.
There are some leader notes with some additional scriptures below each question. These are provided as an additional resource for you to help guide conversation as needed.
Handouts with the questions are provided for you in your classroom.
1. The Place
Why did Jesus tell this parable in that place at that time to that group of hearers?
Jesus told this parable to certain people who had convinced themselves that they were righteous and who looked on everyone else with disgust. That declaration helps prepare our minds to see the spiritual truth which Jesus wanted His audience to see and accept. His listeners on this occasion included self-righteous people who looked down their noses at others they felt were less religious or less devoted to God.
2. The People
Why did Jesus choose a Pharisee and a Tax Collector as the characters in the parable? What does each represent?
There are only two: a Pharisee and a tax collector. In this case, both of them believed in God, both went to the temple, both prayed, and both evidently believed in God’s power and willingness to hear prayers. In general terms, our Lord described the Pharisees as “blind leaders of the blind” (Matthew 15:14). Jesus warned His disciples and others to beware of the Pharisees’ hypocrisy (Luke 12:1; Matthew 23:2,3). What about first-century tax collectors? In general, the Jews strongly disliked those who worked as tax collectors for the Roman government, considering them as corrupt, dishonest, and traitors to the Jewish cause.
Jesus was setting up two extremes. Pharisees who others looked at as their religious leaders and who had a reputation for being devoted to God. The other end was the Tax Collector. Hated and seen as a traitor to God and the Jewish people.
3. The Prayers
What is different about the prayer of the Pharisee and the prayer of the Tax Collector?
Notice how the Pharisee’s prayer began: “God, I thank You that I am not like other men” (18:11). In reality, he did not have a heart of appreciation for what God had done for him. Instead, he talks about how great he is! When the Pharisee thought he had done something good, his words were “I,” “I,” “I,” “I.” His prayer manifests the attitude of self-righteousness (18:9). The Pharisee makes the mistake of boasting about what he feels he has done right, but fails to mention his sins. Could it be that he does not see himself as a sinner, while at the same time he easily sees the sins of others? The Pharisee also makes the mistake of comparing himself to others in order that he might look good and make others look bad (2 Corinthians 10:12).
What a contrast we see in the prayer of the tax collector. The man’s prayer consisted of a mere seven words, but the Christ praised him. He was an example of a person that is “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). Instead of boasting about his good qualities, he labeled himself as “a sinner” (18:13; Romans 3:23). He confessed his need for God, pleading for God’s mercy (18:13). After He finished telling the story, Jesus said that this tax collector was justified, whereas the Pharisee was not (18:14).
4. The Point
What is the point of the parable? What is Jesus teaching you?
Jesus declared that the tax collector was justified “for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (18:14). The main lesson of the parable is the need to be humble. Humble people recognize their weaknesses and strive to do better. They count others better than themselves (Philippians 3:13,14; 2:3,4). The humble do not seek after man’s glory and praise, but God’s. Indeed, the truly humble will humble themselves before the Lord and obey Him, being His servant rather than the servant of self: “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10). The church needs humble servants, not self-righteous boasters. Let us look to Jesus as the supreme model of humility (Philippians 2:5-8). The kingdom of heaven is for everyone.
CLOSING
Give each person a balloon. (or invite 3-5 volunteers to come to the front of the room and give them each a balloon.)
Ask each person to blow their balloon up and tie it off then hold on to it.
Invite 3-5 youth up front. Give them each another balloon and ask them to blow their balloon up as much as they can. (Challenge them to blow it up until it pops.)
What are some common phrases for people who are not humble, but arrogant of conceited?
· Puffed up
· Has a big head
· Too big for your britches
· Inflated ego
· Full of themselves.
When you are proud, arrogant, or conceited you are like these gigantic balloons. But eventually if you get too full of yourself, something bad might happen – you might pop.
Being humble is not about letting others push you around or always get their way or bowing down to those who are puffed up. Instead it is removing yourself from being the center of all things and replacing that space with God – or maybe the interests of others. It is seeing the others in the life boat as being just as worthy as yourself. It is about using your influence, your gifts, your talents, and your power to serve. Just as Christ did.