(5 minutes, easy set-up)

Say: Today we will acknowledge in prayer that before we can give to God we must receive from God. The righteousness we receive is the basis for anything else we may do for God.

Explain that when we read the Old Testament, we often think of it as a list of things we have to do for God. Help learners see that we do not obey God to make Him like us. In fact, we can only obey commands in the Old Testament because God enables us to.

Ask learners to bow their heads and extend their hands with their palms up. Explain that this signifies they have nothing to offer God. Their hands are empty. Next, direct them to confess their need for Christ’s righteousness in their lives. Encourage them to spend time confessing their sins and committing themselves to Christ. After a few minutes, pray this simple prayer: By faith, I accept that He who had no sin became sin for me, so that in Him I might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21).