This past Sunday, Student Ministry was spread out all over Wilmington!  Back at Brandywine Valley Baptist Church the middle school students were with Sue while the senior high students were taught by Jen.  Meanwhile, several dozen of us that were participating in the MAD Man Unplugged service trip were worshiping at Central Baptist Church in downtown  Wilmington!

The middle school kids began a series from Mark Oestreicher’s ‘Wild Truth Bible Lessons‘ book – one of my favorites.  Sue taught the lesson on King Josiah, the key verses for the lesson can be found in 2 Kings 23:1-3.  The goal was for students to understand their ability to influence people in good ways or bad ways, as well as choose a specific way they will influence someone toward right living in the next week.  Some follow up activities could be to read the passage in 2 Kings together and use the following discussion questions:

• What are different ways a person can be influenced?  (physical force, suggestion, example, etc)
• If you could influence anyone in the world, who would it be and what would you influence him or her to do?
• What are some ways that junior highers can influence people toward good or bad choices?
• What is a specific way you will influence someone toward right living this week?

Pastor Sam’s wife, Jen, taught the second of six lessons in our series working through Galatians.  We’re using The Complete New Testament Resource, Volume 1 from Youth Specialties as a launching pad for the series, which has been really helpful.  This week the focus was on Galatians 2:11-21 with the topic of ‘Walking the talk.’  The goal was for students to learn saying one thing and doing another is wrong, no matter who does it.  A second goal was to highlight the reality that Christ had to come because no one could be saved through the Old Testament law (works).  In this particular passage, the Apostle Peter had been visiting and having a great time with the Gentile believers; but when some Jewish believers showed up he started following the old laws again.  The Apostle Paul calls him out on this hypocrisy and stressed that Christ’s sacrifice had done away with the need to rely on old laws and traditions.  A follow up activity for families would be to read the Galatians 2:11-21 passage and use the following discussion questions:

• Why was Paul so upset by Peter’s behavior?
• What does Paul mean when he writes, “By observing the law no one will be justified”?
• What does this mean: “If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker”?
• What was destroyed? How does rebuilding it prove Paul to be a lawbreaker?
• How does this story cause you to look at your own life? What might you need to change?