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Inspiration, Teaching Illustrations

Born to Fly

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Once, there was a blizzard high in the mountains. A nest, near the summit, broke apart in the fierce winds. A single eagle’s egg fell out and slid down the side of the mountain on the snow. Miraculously, it was not broken as it careened down rocky slopes all the way into the valley below.

It came to rest, unscathed, in the tall grass near a nest of prairie chickens. The prairie chicken mother noticed the egg. Thinking it was one of her own that had fallen out, she picked it up and put it in her nest.

In time it hatched with the prairie chicks and grew up among them. The young eaglet grew very large and very powerful. Though he certainly didn’t look like a Prairie Chicken he acted like one.

He scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. He clucked and cackled. And he flew in a brief thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers no more than a few feet off the ground. After all, that’s how prairie chickens were supposed to fly.

One day, the little eagle and his prairie chicken siblings were out chasing bugs in the grass. A huge shadow fell over the land. They all looked up and saw the majestic sight of an eagle soaring high in the cloudless sky. Hanging with graceful majesty on powerful winds, it soared with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.

One of his “brothers” said, “I see that look in your eyes. You could never fly like that. The eagle is the greatest of all the birds. YOU ARE A PRAIRIE CHICKEN.”

For a moment, the little eagle thought he would bolt up out of the prairie chicken world and do great aerial exploits with the eagles. Then the thought passed. “You’re right,” he said. “I’m just a prairie chicken.”

He returned to looking for seeds and grubs, pecking out a mere existence. The eagle spent his whole life looking up at eagles, longing to join them among the clouds. It never once occurred to him to lift his wings and fly. The eagle died thinking it was a prairie chicken.

You can fly like an eagle or dig around in the dirt like a prairie chicken. Don’t listen to those around you. You were created to fly. Your full potential is waiting. Life with all its excitement is ready to be seized. It is time to give up your small ambitions. It’s time to take a leap like an eagle, to stretch your wings, to rise above the mountains and soar through the clouds.

Choose to fly!

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Make it Practical

  • What are some of the things we hear from others around us?
  • What are some of the labels people place on us?
  • What are some of the positive and negative messages we hear today?

Make it Spiritual

You were born to fly. But some of you think and act like prairie chickens because the world keeps telling you that’s what you are. God created you “a little lower than the angels.” Do you ever feel like there’s something more to life than what you are experiencing? Look up! Lift your wings and fly! God wants you to be all that you were created to be. The apostle Peter writes in I Peter 1:14, “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.” In other words, “Stop living like eagles who think they are prairie chickens.” You are no longer ignorant. You know who and what you are. You are born again through the living and enduring Word of God. Now live that way. Spread your wings and fly.

  • What are some of the things the Bible says about us?
  • What are some things God says about us?
  • How should these things influence the life that we live?

Make it Personal

  • What messages do you hear that have the greatest impact on you?
  • How can we respond to the messages of the world around us?
  • How do we respond the messages from God?
  • Name one piece of advice you think God would give you today.

Scripture Verses

 

  • 1 Corinthians 2:9 – “However, as it is written: ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’— the things God has prepared for those who love him.” (NIV)
  • Isaiah 40:31 – “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (NIV)
  • Ephesians 3:20 – “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (NIV)
  • Mark 10:29-30 – “‘Truly I tell you,’ said Jesus, ‘no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for My sake and for the gospel will fail to receive a hundredfold in the present age — houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, along with persecutions — and to receive eternal life in the age to come.'” (NIV)
  • Psalm 84:11 – “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” (NIV)
  • Matthew 7:24-27 – “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (NIV)
  • Psalm 8:3-8 – “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild,
    the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.” (NIV)
  • Hebrews 2:7 – “You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor.” (NIV)
  • 1 Peter 1:14 – “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.” (NIV)
Inspiration

The Butterfly

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The Gardener held a delicate cocoon in the palm of his hand.

“What’s that?” The young boy asked.

“Why it’s a cocoon,” replied the gardener. “Inside is a caterpillar. He’s in the dark. But when he’s ready, he’ll break out and turn into a wondrous and beautiful butterfly.”

“Can I have it?” asked the young boy.”

“Of course,” answered the gardener. “But first, you must promise that you won’t open the cocoon for the butterfly when he begins to break out.”

The young boy agreed and took the cocoon home with him.

The very next day, the cocoon began to tremble and the butterfly fought hard to escape. The entire cocoon shook and trembled with the butterfly’s efforts to emerge. The struggle went on for what seemed like an eternity to the concerned young boy. He became so distressed over the butterfly’s struggle that he decided to help and broke open the cocoon.

He continued to watch, eager to see the butterfly soar with its beautiful wings. Unfortunately, the butterfly just crawled around with withered wings and a huge body. It died, never able to fly.

The boy returned to the gardener crying and cradling the dead butterfly in his hand.

“You helped the butterfly escape from the cocoon, didn’t you?” the gardener asked.

“With tears in his eyes; the boy admitted that he had opened the cocoon.”

“What you didn’t understand,” the gardener said, “was that the butterfly had to go through the struggle. Only then could he transform from a lowly caterpillar to a magnificent butterfly. Only then would he expand his wings and be able to fly. By trying to make it easier for him, you actually made it harder for him; in this case, impossible to fly. You killed him with good intentions.”

Sometimes, a little extra effort is precisely what prepares us for the next obstacle in life. If we never experience the struggle, we will never be able to fly!

Icebreakers

Pass Your Name Icebreaker

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It is said a person has three names: the one given at birth, the one other people give, and the one (s)he gives him/herself. Names have meaning. Sometimes names are changed to reflect a new direction in a person’s life. In his icebreaker game, youth not only learn each other’s names, but they also explore what it means to be called a Christian, a disciple, a saint, a believer.

What you need
No resources are needed for this icebreaker

What to do

Round ONE

  1. Form the youth into several circles, with everyone faced toward the center of the circle with their arms to their side.
  2. Choose someone to start”Everyone put your right hand in the air. Hand in the air!””On the count of three, everyone point to the happiest person in the circle.”

    The person that the most people are pointing to will go first in this game.

  3. He or she must choose someone in the group and use his entire arm to point at them and while pointing to this person call out his or her OWN name. They do not call out the name of the person they are pointing to, but call out their own name. He or she than crosses his or her arms.
  4. The person who was just pointed to, repeats the action, pointing to someone in the circle whose arms are not crossed and calling out his or her own name.
  5. Continue until everyone has been pointed to in the circle. It’s not as easy as it seems.

Round TWO

  1. Repeat the activity, but this round, time make it a competition between groups to see which circle will complete the activity in the quickest time.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Debrief

  • When you played this activity, what happened?
  • Why was this game difficult?
  • Is a person’s name significant?
  • It is said a person has three names: the one (s)he is given at birth, the one other people give him/her, and the one (s)he gives him/herself. What does this mean?
  • What does your name say about you?
  • Do you feel that your birth name adequately expresses who you are? Why or why not?

Teaching Point: Names are often given in reference to: aspects of a person’s birth, hopes the parent has for his or her child, something a parent likes, a connection the parent wants to draw attention to, family ties

  • What name would your mentor or the person you most look up to in life give to you?
  • If you had to choose a name to express your essence, what would it be?
  • If you were to choose a new name for yourself today, what would you choose and why?

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

  • What significance do people’s names in the Bible have?

Share a few of the familiar ones if not mentioned by the youth.
– Abram -> Abraham “Father of a multitude”
– Simon -> Peter “Peter” or “Rock”
– Saul -> Paul
– Jacob “supplanter” -> Israel “Prince of God” “He who struggles with God”
– Sarai -> Sarah “Princess” “mother of nations”

In the Bible’s most famous name change situations, God is making a statement about the person.
– spiritual accomplishments
– spiritual potential
– a promise or blessing
– change or new direction in life
– new identity
– Indication of God’s plan for them

The name “Christians was first used at Antioch (Acts 11:19-26)
As Christians
– We are called Christians – new identity / nature
– We are given a new name (Revelation 2:17, 21:12, 21:7; Philippians 4:4)
– Our life takes a change of direction
– The disciples called each other, “brethren”, “disciples”, “apostles”, “servants”, “believers”, “followers”, “the faithful”, “the elect”, “the called”, and “saints.” We can also identify ourselves as “bondservants” of Christ.

MAKE IT PERSONAL

  • What name do you think God would give to you? Why
  • How can you live according to the name “Christian” “Disciple” “servant” “Believer” or “Saint” this week?

Additional Scriptures

Here are some interesting scriptures related to becoming “Christ”-like

1 Corinthians 1:3-15 – “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, …”

1 Corinthians 11:1 – “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”

1 John 2:29 – “If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.”

1 John 2:6 – “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

1 John 3:2-3 – “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

1 John 4:17 – “By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.”

1 Peter 2:21 – “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”

1 Thessalonians 1:6 – “You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit,”

2 Corinthians 2:14 – “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.”

2 Corinthians 3:18 – “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Ephesians 4:11-13 – “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”

Ephesians 4:22-24 – “To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Ephesians 5:1-2 – “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

Galatians 3:27 – “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

Galatians 4:19 – “My little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!”

John 13:14-15 – “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”

John 13:34 – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

John 15:10 – “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

John 15:12 – “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

Luke 6:40 – “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.”

Luke 6:46 – “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”

Matthew 10:25 – “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”

Matthew 5:48 – “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Philippians 2:4-5 – “do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,”

Romans 12:2 – “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Romans 6:11 – “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 6:4 – “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Romans 8:2-8 – “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. …”

Romans 8:28-29 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

Titus 3:1-8 – “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, …

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