(10 minutes, easy set-up)
Students will brainstorm and discuss way to serve the Lord.
Learning Goal: Learners will identify ways that the Holy Spirit empowers them to live holy lives.
Point out that being holy (taking on the character of God) is not easy. Say: Most people struggle in some areas of their lives more than other areas in being holy. Lead students to list areas in their lives in which they struggle to be holy. (Possibilities could include when people pick on them; when people are mean to them; when they feel left out; when they get blamed for things they didn’t do.) List responses on the board, and then ask: Why does it matter if we’re holy or not when we’re going through stuff like this? (Because it reflects on God when we’re not holy; because we’re called as believers to show others how God has changed our lives.) How could allowing the Holy Spirit to help you with being holy make a difference? (The Holy Spirit can help us stay in control and not respond to what someone else does; the Holy Spirit can teach us patience and self-control; the Holy Spirit can give us the power to act and react in ways that don’t come easily or naturally to us.)
Divide students into pairs and instruct them to share with each other one way they struggle between relying on themselves rather than relying on the Holy Spirit as they try to live obediently before Christ. After a minute or so, lead students in prayer that they will allow the Holy Spirit to have control over that area of their lives, and that He will teach them how to turn over the rest of their lives to Him as well.