Here is the lesson that I am giving tonight. I hope it speaks to you like it did to me. Prayer
Activity
Divide into groups for poem
- About how one member of your team is so great
- At least 10 lines, must rhyme
- Bonus points if your team acts it out!
Lesson
We are going to talk a little bit more about poetry tonight- not like you do in English class, though
- It is going to help us see how God looks at us, and how we should respond in light of that
Any fans of poetry in here?
- Any particular poets or poems that are your favorites?
- Anyone write your own as a way to vent or just be creative?
- How do you tell good poems from bad poems?
Some people think they are being really great, colorful writers- but in reality they aren’t that good- here are some examples of actual lines from really bad poems and stories
- Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze.
- Every minute without you feels like 60 seconds.
- Her parting words lingered heavily inside me like last night's Taco Bell.
- He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.
So, you see that there is some really bad writing out there- and hopefully you are getting curious as to what all this has to do with the way God sees us.
Speaking of poetry- did you know that you are all poems yourselves?
- It’s true- you are a living, breathing work of art that God made- that every day appears before the world as either a beautiful poem, or a trainwreck like some of those writers we heard from earlier
To prove to you I’m telling the truth, let’s turn to Ephesians 2:10
- For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago
- Different translations say this a few different ways
- “what he has made us” “creation” “masterpiece”
- The reason there are so many different translations for this is because there isn’t an English word that really has the same meaning as the Greek word used
- The Greek word in question is this: poema- look familiar?
Every Christian is God’s living poem- and every day we had a new line to that poem
Group Discussion Questions
So how do we make our lives end up as masterpieces- beautiful works of art instead of becoming trainwrecks?
- Easy answer- in the second half of the verse-
- He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago
Think about it this way- long before you were a sparkle in your parents’ eyes- you were a complete story- a complete poem in God’s imagination
- Before the world began- God the poet had already pulled out the paper and pen and was thinking about his next creation
- And just like a poet who had a great line pop into his head, God smiled when he thought about what you (his poem) would look like if you decided to “do the good things he planned for us long ago”
God began this poem in his mind long, long ago
- And when you finally showed up on this earth, he actually handed over the paper and pen to you- so you could finish the poem however you chose to
You could have chosen to not fulfill the vision God had for you- you could have chosen to write a really crappy poem
- Or hopefully you chose to continue writing your poem as beautifully as God planned for you
Either way, it’s your choice
I don’t know about you, but that’s what I want for my life- I want to be a beautiful poem that God would be proud to show off to everyone around Him
- And the way I try to do that is by living every day the way I think God would want me to
- I try to handle every situation like Christ himself would- I try to share the love of God with those around me.
And you know what- every time you show God’s love to someone around you….every time you handle a situation exactly like a Christian should…. You are adding a beautiful new line to the living poem that is your life.
I want all of us to bow our heads and we are going to close in prayer
- But first- I want you to think to yourself what your poem has looked like until this point
- Has it been all good stuff, or are there some lines in there that don’t belong?
- Think if there have been any lines added that you really wish you could go back and erase
- I want you to take just a few seconds now and I want you to do two things
- Tell God you are sorry for the bad lines in the poem, for the times you’ve messed up
- And end your prayer by telling God that you are committed to living your life the way He envisioned for you- End by telling him that you want beautiful poetry to your life with the way you handle every situation in every day.
I close with quick prayer.
