Rhythms Script [updated: 031107]

8/15/2019 Rhythms Script [updated: 031107]

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Friday Night Opening

Trainer Note: Before the Seminar Starts:

A:ADVANCE SLIDE : Begin the presentation with the Rhythms Title Slide showing on the screen.

B: Make sure your first video [Extreme Sports] is cued and ready to show.

Opening:

Good Evening. Tonight were going to kick the evening off with a simple little game called reverse

charades. What I will do is select three people from the audience to come up here on stage. Then Ill

divide the audience into three teams. Each of the people on stage will have their backs to the screen and

be facing one of the audience teams. Various words and names will be flashed on the screen for the you:

the audience, to act out while the students on stage try to guess what it is. Let the games begin. ADVANCE SLIDE

On-screen words:

ADVANCE SLIDE(2)Wiggle,ADVANCE SLIDE(2) Vomit,ADVANCE SLIDE(2) Drowning,ADVANCE SLIDE(2) Roller coaster,ADVANCE SLIDE(2) Octopus,ADVANCE SLIDE(2)Adam & Eve,ADVANCE SLIDE(2) Noah & The Ark,ADVANCE SLIDE(2) David & Goliath,ADVANCE SLIDE(2) Feeding of the 5000,ADVANCE SLIDE(2) Lazarus,ADVANCE SLIDE(2)Pentecost ADVANCE SLIDE(NOTE: After the final word is on the screen, the lights should go out and the following

video is played with no introduction)

Video Intro EXTREME SPORTS

What we have just seen is pretty extreme. In order to perform at that level, these people have

taken their sport to the edge. And when you live on the edge, youre going to need guts,

determination, courage, and a lot of practice. Remember what it was like to learn to ride a bike. And

now, you have guys who have turned riding a bike into an art form. Most people have trouble just

balancing themselves on a skateboard or rollerblades. Yet there are those who spend so much time

on wheels that it becomes as natural as walking. It is fun to watch. And they make it look so simple.

Thats the beauty of it. To come to a place where the most extreme effort is performed with such

grace and ease that it appears to be easy. Thats the direction were headed this weekend. Thats the

kind of mindset youre going to need for the next two days as we dive into the issues that are going to

revolutionize our churches.

What we want to do this weekend is to take this relationship we have with God, this somewhat routine,

everyday faith, this Christianity, and get extreme with it. We want to take this relationship that appears to

be so simple - even to point that we often overlook it - and recapture it.ADVANCE SLIDECheck out this quote by a guy named H. Richard Niebuhr

The greatest Christian revolutions come not by the discovery of something

that was not known before. They happen when somebody takes radically

something that was always there.- H. Richard Niebuhr

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I believe that there is a revolution happening in Christianity. It is rising up among a generation of young

people who have begun to see that God is guiding them to the edge of their faith. To the uncharted

territories. And theyre beginning to discover that the tools they use are the same as the former

generations. But the way they use those tools are radically different. Just like the bicycle has been

around for a long time, but it is only in the last 10 years that weve begun to see people do some amazing

things with it. The challenge for you this weekend is to begin to take the timeless tools of the faith, the

things that youve always known about and walk out to the edge with them to see what happens. Now

some of you may not be ready to take your faith to the next level. Some of you may not be quite sure why

youre here. So lets back up a bit and help you out.

Lets talk about why youre here.ADVANCE SLIDE

TOP TEN REASONS WHY YOU MIGHT BE HERE.

**Start with funny ones on the first six and end with the real reasons on the last 4. Several suggestions

have been given for the first 6. Feel free to change any or all of the first 6.

10) Two WordsFree Food!

9) Lost a bet.

8) Its either this or watch my mom shave my dads back.

7) Im finishing off that community service thing.

6) Hey, a weekend out of the house. Who wouldnt come?

5) Youth Pastor said that if I didnt come hed tell my pastor about the whole peeing in the baptistry thing.

* * * * * *

And these final four Id like you to write in your workbook

4) Somebody believes in you.

3) You play a more important role than you realize in your church.

2) You have more influence in your church than you think. ADVANCE SLIDE1) We agree with the late Pope John Paul when he spoke at the St. Louis Catholic Youth Rally in 1999:

And there are many other reasons why you might be here today. But in the end, we affirm what Paul said

to young Timothy. For what he said to him is a principle by which we call you to as well.ADVANCESLIDE

12And don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by

demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity.1 Tim. 4:12 (TM)

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"Even though you are young, the time for action is now! Jesus does not have "contempt for your

youth". He does not set you aside for a later time when you will be older and your training will be

complete. Your training will never be finished. Christians are always in training. You are ready for

what Christ wants of you now. He wants you all of you to be light to the world, as only young

people can be light. It is time to let your light shine!


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summary statement: If you hear nothing else this weekend, you need to know that you matter! And you

stand at the threshold of opportunity to influence change and make a difference more than

anyone else.

ADVANCE SLIDEIn order for us to understand the difference we can make in the world we live in, we need to take a

moment and talk about that world. Whenever I speak with parents, I am quick to tell them that they were

never your age. What I mean by that is while they may have been teenagers, they were neverteenagers in the world that you live in.

ADVANCE SLIDEThe generation born between 1988-1999 is named the igeneration (Part of Generation Y) because of

your socialization on the internet. (wikipedia.com)ADVANCE SLIDE

You live in a world where:

ADVANCE SLIDEThe Soviet Union has never existed and therefore is about as scary as the studentunion.

ADVANCE SLIDEThe U.S. has always been studying global warming to confirm its existenceADVANCE SLIDEYou never saw the shuttle Challengerfly.ADVANCE SLIDEAn automatic is a weapon, not a transmissionADVANCE SLIDEYou have never had to distinguish between the St. Louis Cardinals baseball and

football teams.

ADVANCE SLIDEBert and Ernie are old enough to be your parents.ADVANCE SLIDEBanana Republic has always been a store, not a puppet government in Latin

America.

ADVANCE SLIDEMichael Jackson has always been bad, and greed has always been good.Alternative: MJ hasnt always looked like this (this is an extra slide included in your powerpoint)

ADVANCE SLIDEPeeps are not a candy, they are your friends.ADVANCE SLIDEWith little need to practice, most of you do not know how to tie a tie.ADVANCE SLIDEYou don't remember when "cut and paste" involved scissors and computers have

always suffered from viruses.

As you can see, this world is unique to any other period in history. So its important for us to look at a few

truths about todays world.ADVANCE SLIDE

1. We live in a world that tells us what we have makes us who we are. (economic

manipulation)

a. In the marketplace today, products are advertised more for their image value than for their prac-

tical value. For example, students walking through a mall in Philadelphia have encountered this

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sign in front of one of the stores - Come see all the beautiful and exciting merchandise we have

for you. Touch it, feel it, smell it, pick it up, try it on, need it, want it, pay for it with cash or without

cash, now or later. It will make you happy, intelligent, accepted, loved, pretty, younger, older.

[Thom S. Rainer, The Bridger Generation, p. 90]

NOTE to trainer: This game is designed to illustrate the power of money in our

lives.GAME: Stand Up / Sit Down - various ways that money has affected our lives.

Stand up ifyou get more than $20 a week in allowance.

Stand up ifyou are carrying a personal credit card.

Stand up ifyou are carrying your own cell phone.

Stand up ifyou or your parents have spent more than $50 on a pair of shoes.

Stand up ifyouve eaten fast food in the last week.

NOTE to Trainer: If everyone is not standing at this point, invite the remainder to stand.

Sit down ifyouve ever purchased anything by Abercrombie & Fitch (HOLLISTER)

Sit down ifyouve ever purchased anything over the internet.this month.

Sit down ifif youve ever seen a Gap commercial

Stand back upif you understand a Gap commercial

NOTE to Trainer: Have everyone sit down at this point.

ADVANCE SLIDEA. Students have quite a large discretionary income at their disposal.

According to The Harris Interactive Youthpulse, Generation YSpends $172 Billion

Annually: -Pre-teens (ages 8-12) spend at a rate of $19.1 billion annually, or $946 per

capita;- Teens (ages 13-19) spend at a rate of $94.7 billion annually, or $3,309 per capita;

-Young adults (ages 20-21) spend at a rate of $61.3 billion annually, or $7,389 per

capita.

-Fifteen percent (15%) of youth spending is done online

Teens were responsible in one way or another, for the spending of 172 billion (with a b) dollars,

not including the billions of dollars they influenced the spending of!

And its not that students actually have that kind of money(stand up if you have that kind of money)

All this data is a couple years old! But what we know that people are spending more than theyre bringing

in!

B. What about fear?ADVANCE SLIDE We live in a post September 11 (9/11) world that is easilydriven by fear of the smallest things even our shampoo bottles on airplanes!

Do you worry about what college or university youll be able to get into? If you do get accepted into the

college you would like to go to, do you worry how you will pay for it? What about paying for your car, or

your prom, or your next pair of jeans, or purchasing the latest iPod or game system? Do you wonder

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where the money will come from to cover those costs? Do you wonder if there will ever be enough?

Fear can be a strong motivator when it comes to financial matters. Not only fear of economic failure, but

also fear of not being accepted, or fitting in, or the illusion of not being able to enjoy the latest and

greatest.

ADVANCE SLIDE2. We live in a world where the term family is constantly changing. (broken

homes, blended families, single parent families)

Id like for everyone in the room to stand up (everyone stands). Now Id like for this half of the

room to sit down. Look around the room. Statistics tell us that in a room this size, everyone standing will

be touched in some way by divorce, either personally or vicariously through a friend you came with.

According to Barna Research Ltd.,(www.barna.org) as of the end of the year 2004, 35% of all adults in the

United States have experienced at least one divorce during their lifetime. Among Christians, 35% are

currently or have previously been divorced. Statistically, that means at least half of those of you standing

will either be divorced, see your parents divorce. Gone are the times when divorce was something that

affected people you distantly know. It affects all of us now.

Furthermore, today the word family has many meanings. I want to hear from you, what do you think

that the word family means or what do you think society means when it uses the word. (Get responses

from the audience)

ADVANCE SLIDE (Show slide of cover of Rolling Stone magazine with same sex marriage) Notonly is the word changing, but many are promoting the differences that we hear. Many of the magazines

and television shows that we read and watch are considering same sex marriages to be as normal as het-

erosexual marriages. Television dramas now find it politically correct to have at least one actor or actress

to portray a homosexual. This is a big change from what we saw 20 - 30 years ago.

NOTE to trainer - make sure that as you talk about the changing picture of the family the point is

made perfectly clear that the homosexual is not the enemy but that infidelity and ultimately, Satan,

is the enemy.

The term family is evolving. Family is not necessarily who lives at your house, but it could be those

who simply care the most about you. Many teenagers have begun to look outside the walls of their own

homes in search of some who they would call family because of the breakdown of their biological one.

Some students have even gone as far as literally divorcing themselves from their parents through the leg-al system.ADVANCE SLIDE

One example of the anguish that people are facing in the demise of the foundation of the family is

found in the song by recording artist P!nk in her song Family Portrait

VIDEO CLIP: Pink Music Video: Family Portrait

While economics and family matters are notable conditions of this generation, there is one more area

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that clearly shows the distinction that this generation has from those that have gone before it.AD -VANCE SLIDE

3. We live in a world where truth is based on your perspective rather than abso-

lutes. (moral relativism)

We need to go no farther than the one of the largest sporting events in the world to illustratehow

this is being played out in society today:ADVANCE SLIDEJune 2006, Bryan Lange was in the audience of a Chicago cable show where they were

(www.pyschobabble.com) interviewing Bears safety Chris Harris. Harris promised Lange Super

Bowl tickets, if the Bears went to the Big Dance.

Fast forward to January 2007, The Bears claimed the NFC championship. Lange contacted

Harris for the tickets and Da Bears safety blew Lange off saying that he had been joking. Bryan

didnt think so and protested outside bears HQ with sign: Chris Harris you promised. After all,

he has proofthe interview was taped!

The reality of this story is the ease with which our culture discards truth.

The happy ending is that Langes dream came true due to Chicago ticket brokers Sit Close

Tickets empathy for Bryans dilemma. Fans everywhere enjoyed justice vicariously threw Bryans

victory!

Perhaps some of greatest tragedies of the past decade have been the various school shootings that have

taken place. In what we hoped were safe places, our schools have become war zones. In Columbine, we

witnessed two boys who took justice (their version of it) into their own hands and executed a select

number of students before turning their guns upon themselves. Their perspective became their truth, andmany have suffered because of it.

ADVANCE SLIDE What about baseball, Americas favorite past time? Modern day sports illustratehow this is being played out in society today. How about the controversy surrounding Barry Bonds and

many other major leaguers use of steroids to enhance their game? Here you have a man that is close to

breaking the home run record, adored as a hero by millions, and testing positive for play enhancing drug

use. Creating the appearance of truth but supporting it with a lie.And what about the rash of people in the news for living double lives:ADVANCE SLIDE MarthaStewart with her stocks,ADVANCE SLIDE Ken Delays of Enron creating their own version offinancial truth,ADVANCE SLIDE Ted Haggard with his Ministry.Whats even sadder is that we all have bought into this in one form or another. Lying & cheating are at an

all time high in our societies. In our individualism, we tell ourselves that what we do doesnt affect anyone

else. And when we do cross the line, we rationalize it by saying that its just a little, it wont hurt. Even the

good kids are not exempt from this. Josh McDowell asked 1,000 teens if they would cheat on a test if they

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felt they had to, 91% of the teens answered yes. He then asked 1,000 teens, who considered

themselves to be a Christian the same question. The answer was the same---91% said they would cheat

if they felt they had to. [Josh McDowell, Right from Wrong.]

64% of born again Christian teens believe that copying CDs for friends and unauthorized music is not a

moral issue, compared with 66% of non-Christians. (2004)

So, where does this leave us?ADVANCE SLIDE

1. It leaves us wrestling with real questions and no real answers. (moral relativism)

In this vacuum of whats really true, we find ourselves with a lack of possibilities. The truth seems to

be elusive and many times, the leaders that we look up to for answers, can only provide guidance

that seems hollow and trite. And find that we are staring blankly at questions likeWhat matters

most? Whats wrong with that?

We live in a world where so many share the belief that Whats true in one situation may not be true in

another situation. And in a real sense, we throw up our hands and respond with Whatever!

ILLUSTRATION: Use a case study - tension-getter ADVANCE SLIDE2. It leaves us wrestling with a real spiritual hunger and no place to satisfy it. (spiritual hunger)

We are as a culture are SO spiritually hungry people are having spiritual awakening while eating a

cinnamon roll! The Bongo Java coffee shop in Nashville, Tennessee, has the "Nun Bun that became

international news in 1996, following the find in the folds of its pastry, resembling Mother Teresa!

(Picture of Mother Teresa bun is in the workbook) Or Jesus on your toast!

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4562170.stm]

Its like people are suddenly trying to get in touch with their spiritual side. This is proven by a quick

trip to any Barnes and Noble bookstore. The spirituality section is growing at a high rate.

Many students who profess God are on a type of spiritual quest, seeking from a variety of belief

systems to find a faith that seems to fit. You can find people who may claim Jesus Christ in one

situation, and the tenets of Buddhism in another. Its like theyre walking down a cafeteria line of

spirituality and filling their tray with whatever seems to make sense or fit at the time. And when they

sit down to eat, they find that theyre still hungry when theyre done.ADVANCE SLIDE3. It leaves us wrestling with a real loneliness and not knowing where to fit in. (sense of

belonging)

ADVANCE SLIDEVIDEO CLIP - Scene from Never Been Kissed

So many of us have gone to great lengths to be accepted and to fit in. Some things arent so

bad, we join sports teams, clubs on our campus, even volunteer. But when we dont feel like we have

found a place where people can accept us for who we are, when we cant be honest, open, and

develop meaningful relationships, than the ugly face of loneliness causes us to isolate ourselves or

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compromise any of the values we may have held onto.

The scary thing is that this even happens within the churches we go to. Watch this clip, notice

how important a true community of faith can be in our life.

ADVANCE SLIDEVIDEO CLIP - Belonging - Student involved in the nation of Islam

Transition - In the midst of these issues, there is some really good news. What Id like you to do right

now is

PLAY COMMON BOND - Get with 3 other people that you didnt come with and list as many things

as you can that you have in common, dont mention anything spiritual at this point.

Now join with another group and write down as many things as you can that you have in common in

your spiritual lives.

With the whole group, ask, Now what do we, as a whole group, have in common?

We have many things that we have in common, and even more in common within the faith that we

hold. We share things like communion, baptism, special customs, words, phrasesand also a

shared history (hold up the Bible). This is our history. This story is our story. This Book, this Bible is

the reason we belong together. This is where it starts to get extreme (like we told you it would at the

beginning).

Have you ever seen the Bible this way? Have you ever felt a connection to it like this? Has it

become more to you than simply a book that you were told to read to become a better Christian?

This book, this story, this story of a people of God. This is what connects us--you and I--in our

hearts--to the heart of God. Without this (the Bible) we have no story. Without this book we have no

customs; we have no words or phrases, no shared connection, and we have little in common as a

Church, as a people. Our beliefs connect us.

And we continue to tell this story, to write with our lives. We are the Acts 29 of the story. The book ofActs tells about the birth of the church. We are that church. While Acts only has 28 chapters, we are

continuing the story of what it means to be the people of God, in relationship with God, proclaiming

the good news of God. One person has said that the Bible is a completed work that isnt finished yet.

Our lives are part of that finishing. Therefore, we must stand up, like those who have gone before us

and proclaim with one heart and one voice (The Apostles Creed is written in the workbook)ADVANCE SLIDE

Apostles Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty

Maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, dead, and buried.

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He descended into hades; on the third day

He rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven;

And sitteth at the right hand of God the Almighty;

from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Church universal,

the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Say something like: Weve looked at the world in which we live. We know about the issues that we

wrestle with. Now how are we going to

connect the two? Our choice is to be

worship-centered. ADVANCE SLIDE

What does the word worship mean to you?

What do you think of when you hear that

word?

NOTE to Trainer: solicit interaction and

discussion from participants here.

Its all that but its so much more. Paul

describes worship in a way different than how

we seem to be using it today.ADVANCESLIDE

Romans 12:1

12:1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of

God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living

sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is

your spiritual act of worship.

According to what Paul said in Romans, I

offer everything (my school work, my family,

my social life, my personal life, my job, my

entire existence) to God in worship.

Dont miss this crucial point- the story

of Gods love for His people found in our

Bibles is the basis of our worship. So in

order to truly worship, we as believers have

to know and remember this story, our story!

This definition of worship should change

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NOTE to Trainer: This is background informationfor your edification.

By definition, worship is that action or those actions bywhich a person ascribes worth to something or someone. The truedefinition allows for a series of actions, a process; it is not limited to

any one or any particular kind of action like singing.Look how Paul begins this famous verse, Therefore,

brothers, in view of Gods mercy. The word therefore is a cluefor us; apparently Paul is making this huge statement based onwhat he has just said. So what has he just said? And what does ithave to do with the mercy of God? In other words, whenever wesee the word "therefore" it's important to find out why the writer putit there for.

If you stop and take the time to look you will read theincredible story Paul tells in chapters 9, 10 and 11. It is the story ofthe people of Israel- Gods chosen people. It is the story of a Godwho wanted a people to call His very own, and He seemed to wantit so badly that He couldnt take no for an answer! It is the story ofa people who resisted and rebelled against God, and still Hepersisted and pursued His children like the perfect parent would.

Finally, the heart of God won out, and He (through Christ) drew thefamily circle larger and larger, so that it would no longer be onenation or ethnic group that would be the people of God, but now itwould all of those who would call on the name of the Lord. Whatan unbelievable message! Here is the God of the universe soloving and patient, and yet so desperate to have His people closeto Him that He continued to reach farther and farther, outdoingHimself at every point until He had drawn the circle large enough toadopt in anyone willing to belong.

And now, says Paul, in view of Gods mercy, there isonly one way to respond, one way to say thank you for all that Hehas done for us! In response to the goodness and love of God,how can we respond with anything less than our entire lives?Notice how Paul describes these sacrifices; they are now to beliving sacrifices as opposed to the dead sacrifices of the OldTestament. Believers and their lives are the only sacrifices worthyof God, and beyond that it is not in the dying, but in the living thatwe are acceptable sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.

Its important now that we understand that the act ofgiving ourselves over completely as living sacrifices is equated withthe Greek word latreia, translated as worship.

In the original Greek, latreia carried the definition ofservice or religious reverence. So, with the original definition inmind, Paul is saying that believers truly worship when their livesare lived entirely in response to Gods nature, His purpose, and Hisgood gifts to His people.

True worship arises because God has called andcontinues to call us, His people, the Church. As an echo or ananswer, the Churchs worship directed to God is a response to His

gifts.


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how we live. It completely puts in focus the areas of todays culture that we talked about. You

remember what they are, dont you? Moral relativism, spiritual hunger, and the desire to belong. Listen

to how Eugene Peterson says it in The Message.

12:1So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary lifeyour sleeping,

eating, going-to-work, and walking-around lifeand place it before God as an offering. Embracing what

God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Romans 12:1

So in order to be worship-centered, we need to understand that ADVANCE SLIDE1. Its all about the story

a) An article in Fast Company magazine tells the story of Nike Corporation:

In the wooded hills of Beaverton, Oregon, theres a class in session at Nike Headquarters

for all of its new employees. It seems theres more to this company than learning how to make

running shoes.

Nike University, as some refer to it, is a place where those new to the company hear

the story - the Nike story - from its humble beginnings to the present. Why is that? One of the

training managers sees it this way: When people understand why we exist, what our foundation

is, and who we are today, than theyll understand what were trying to accomplish.(Tim Milburn

has bibliography info. on this magazine)

Nike is successful, in part, because they take the time to share the story of where Nike's been

with employees. As a result, employees have a better idea of where their companys going. Nike

dedicates itself to telling its story to every employee so that they feel connected to the original passion

with which the company was started.ADVANCE SLIDE

b) Play a game where they put the stories of the Bible in chronological order.

Lets just go through the highlights of what makes up our story. Look at this big piece of

butcher paper weve hung on the wall.

NOTE to Trainer: Go over to the butcher paper and draw a horizontal line from one

end of it to the other.

Lets say this is a timeline that represents the entire biblical story. What goes at the

beginning? (Creation) What goes at the end? (Revelation)

What else? Whats next? Etc

Creation

Flood

Abraham / Covenant

Moses

10 Commandments / Exodus

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Exile

Restoration--Return from Exile

Life of Christ

Pentecost

Paul--Missionary journeys

Us

Revelation

I would tell you that were living in here (between Paul and the Second Coming). Were

continuing to write this story as to what it means to be the people of God.

c) Point out the timeline on the wall that students will write their names on during the praise and

worship time.

VIDEO CLIP Amistad

Introduction of Clip - The movie "Amistad," based on a true story, chronicles the incredible journey of agroup of enslaved Africans who overtake their captor's ship and attempt to return to their beloved

homeland. When the ship, La Amistad, is seized, these captives are brought to the United States where

they are charged with murder and await their fate in prison. This scene happens right before the prisoners

will be sentenced.ADVANCE SLIDE

2. Its more than a religion; its a relationship:

a. Show how worship-centered answers the snapshot dilemmas mentioned above:

Provides us with a means of belonging.

Provides us with a sense of identity and significance.

Provides us with a place to discover truth and define values.

b. Point out our place in the story (the gap between Acts & the Apocalypse)

**This is where our faith becomes radical, its where this simple faith, this simple concept of being

a people of God becomes extreme, extreme in the sense that this relationship is the most import-

ant relationship of everything we do. Remember the quote we shared with you at the beginning?

ADVANCE SLIDEThe greatest Christian revolutions come not by the discovery of something that was not known

before. They happen when somebody takes radically something that was always there.- H.

Richard Niebuhr

Thats what we are talking about when we say Extreme!ADVANCE SLIDE(2)

3. Its a lifestyle:

a. RE-Read Romans 12:1

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and

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pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1 (NIV)

b. Share the definition of worship-centered: Living life in worship, day in and day out with

consistency, we experience the absolute truth of a loving God; our spiritual hunger is filled not

by a religion but by relationships with God and each other in Christ; and since we're all

looking for a place to call home--God's left the light on for us--we belong.

Praise & Worship time ADVANCE SLIDE Worship Centered LIVING gives us reason to celebrate. . .(Joshua 24)

No story demonstrates this quite as well as Joshua 24. Remember, this is the end of Joshua's life.

He is standing before his people, God's people, and asking them to once again unite together. He

reminds them of what God has done for them, of the cost of being the people of God, and he cautions

them against making too hasty of a decision. He warns them that they must choose carefully and

wisely WHOM they will serve.

LISTENJoshua 24

The children of Israel chose WORSHIP-CENTERED LIVING. They chose God. We can also choose

Him. We can choose to unite our souls with that of Christ's, to take up our cross and follow Him, to

find.

OUR PLACE IN THE STORY

OUR REASON FOR LIVING

AND A FAMILY TO WHICH WE BELONG.

Time of Communion (with confession & repentance) TRAINER: NEED 2-3 people to help / SONG?

We are going to enter into a time of commitment and celebration. Joshua 3:5 says, "Consecrate

yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things." He was speaking to the Israelites just before

they crossed into the Promised Land. He was reminding them that GREAT things await them, but their

hearts and hands must be pure and they must be devoted to the task at hand and to the TASK

MASTERGod.

I would ask you this evening, as we begin this commitment and celebration time together, how is your

heart? How is your commitment? Are you ready to take your faith to the extreme? Are you ready to join

hands with your friends in Christ to live as Kingdom builders?

Our time of commitment will begin on a very serious note, intentionally. You see, I'd like to make sure you

have time to contemplate worship-centered living as defined by Romans 12:1. Maybe you'd like to turn in

your Bibles and read that Scripture over and over again allowing God to reveal to you what it means for

your life. As you read, we will sing. You may join. You may kneel. You may stand. You may have some

sin you need to confess, a relationship you need to mend. You may do whatever it takes to be alone with

God. ENTER INTO HIS PRESENCE. COMMUNE WITH THE FATHER.

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We will come out of our time with communion and with a chance to identify with the Lord. As you sense

you are ready to embrace worship-centered living, to make your faith extreme, come forward to receive

the elements. We will hold the elements and bless you as you take them. You may also then go a write

your name on the timeline as a symbol that you are embracing the story of Christ. Your name is not only

a symbol that you have made His story your story, but a marker in history for you. From this point on, you

will embrace the story of Christ as your story. You will find your place of significance in the way you live

our His story, and you will use this story as your moral compass.

Trainer Note: You may want to organize your praise and worship time around the following key points:

1. Worship is how we respond to Gods call. (reclaim)

Possible song ideas: You Alone, The Heart of Worship, Lord You Have My Heart

2. Worship is who we are not what we say. (respond)

Possible song ideas: We Want To See Jesus Lifted High, In The Secret Place,

3. Worship binds us together. (retell)

Possible song ideas: Give Us Clean Hands,

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SATURDAY MORNING

RHYTHMS - THE 6 WORSHIP-CENTERED PRACTICES OF A HEALTHY YOUTH

MINISTRY

Lets say youre talking to one of your friends about a song thats really popular but not necessarily has

the most appropriate lyrics. In those situations you often will hear the other person say something like

I dont really listen to the words, I just like the _________.

We all kinda like the beat. The beat gets your heart pumping. The beat is what moves you? But what

exactly is a rhythm?

How would you describe a rhythm?

NOTE to trainer: solicit answers and discussion for this question.Possible answers

1. regular

2. on-going

To get an a better idea of what rhythm is, watch this video clip:

VIDEO CLIP: Mr. Hollands Opus clip

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NOTES to Trainer:Saturday morning will focus again about what it means to be part of the people of God.

Having explained our place in the story, the question at hand will be What does the Bible say thefamily of God is supposed to do or look like? What are the practices of the healthy family?

The point is that the individual exists more for the church than the church does for the individual.The church isnt something you add to the basic, nuclear, family. The church is made of the build-ing blocks of healthy families.

We need to make sure that we keep this on a corporate level; this is not a seminar aboutindividuals- it is about us- the people of God, the people in the Story, the Church. Our individualstories make sense only when they are woven into the overarching story of God.

Start of day:

Breakfast is done.

Musicians begin with something upbeat.

Start with the Turbo Tic-Tac-Toe game.The game is in the back of the workbook. After the winner of the game is announced, bring the

focus of the group back with some music.

Be in our resentation on the Rh thms Title Slide.


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Rhythm organizes music. Rhythm keeps everything moving smoothly. Noise is unorganized sounds, all

happening at the same time. But music has a flow, different parts of a band play specific notes at specific

intervals, all based upon the rhythm of the music. When we work together its music, but if we dont work

together, its just noise.

Last night we described ourselves as a family. Families have daily, regular, on going activities that we

could call rhythms. And healthy families have chores or responsibilities that they are responsible for.

(schedule, celebration, and responsibilities as rhythms)

Stand up if you:

take out the trash

clean the bathroom

do the dishes

mow the lawn

feed the pet

wash the car

empty the dirty diaper hamper

vacuum

dust

make your bed

clean your room

setting the table

Stand up if have a maid and you dont have to do any of this? Shame on you. Are you guys lazy bums

or what?

Stand up if you havent stood up yetyou people need to do the following chorespull out a list.

We feel that you are deprived of the blessing of serving.

NOTE to trainer: Make this group actually responsible for cleaning something later on during

break such as the lunch trash.

Question: What are the results of not participating in the rhythms of your family? (frustration,

punishment, restriction, guilty feelings)

How does it make you feel? (Distanced from the relationship)

NOTE to Trainer: Talk about your own experience on a team- a personal story. A successful or

effective teamwork experience and how it felt.

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Just like families and teams have rhythms, we believe that church families and youth ministries have

practices that are rhythms too.

And we see these rhythms throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. In order for your church to

take its place in the story of God, you will have to commit yourselves to these rhythms that have been

around since the beginning. When you do that your youth ministry will stop making noise and start

making music.

And, when we work together on these rhythms we get these kind of results

VIDEO CLIP: Mr. Hollands Opus clip #2

So, let me introduce you to 6 rhythms that will help you establish a healthy youth ministry. These are

simple practices that have been around for centuries. If we take them seriously, then we can move these

practices to the forefront and become radical about what we believe.

NOTE to Trainer: After each of the habits of a healthy youth ministry are presented, we want our

seminar participants to say or at least think, Does our youth group do that?

ADVANCE SLIDE

#1 Developing Community- Rhythm of relationships

ADVANCE SLIDEVideo Clip - One Man Band

I know youve heard this one before- maybe you were the one that said it, I dont have to go to church to

be a Christian. But when we look at the Bible like weve been looking at it this weekend that just isnt

true. In fact it doesnt even make sense.

You cant have a one man marching band- you need everybody- the flutes, the tubas, the drummers, the

trumpet players, the people spinning those flags or rifles or whatever else they find laying around the

house. It takes everyone to make a marching BAND!

In the same way, faith was never meant to be lived out alone. God built us to need one another, and your

churchs success or failure, your youth ministrys success or failure depends on the unity and close

connections between people.

One man marching bands dont work. You cant have a band with only one person. Truth is, you cant

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have a real church without a community either.

Define: What does the word community mean? Its your family of faith. Your church.

Are people safe in your youth group or church? Yes, I mean physically safe, but I also mean safe in

many other ways too. Are people safe from gossip? Will a person be judged in your group? Will a

person be shunned or ignored in your group because he or she doesnt act right, dress right or drive the

right car?

If a person isnt safe in your group, then that person wont be able to consider the people in your youth

group to be family.

Were all in this thing together, you know. Thats how God has planned it from the beginning. In your

workbook is a passage of Scripture found in the second chapter of Acts (the book about the first churches

ever created).

42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and

to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the

apostles. 44 ALL THE BELIEVERS WERE TOGETHER AND HAD EVERYTHING IN COMMON. 45

Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued

to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and

sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their

number daily those who were being saved.

Did you catch verse 44? Thats the key phrase in the whole paragraph, the rest of the verse just define

what that really looks like.

Wouldnt it be great if our churches and youth groups were together and had everything in common?

Heres a question for you: If a Russian Christian and an American Atheist were running the 100 yard

dash for a gold medal at the Olympic Games, who would you root for? Which one is more on your team?

I guess your answer would show us how you define yourself. Are you an American first who just happens

to be a Christian? Or are you a Christian who just happens to be an American?

Tough stuff, right? Jesus makes it clear that he wants us to be His before we are anything else.

We have to be Christians first, and athletes second.

Christians first and musicians second.

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Christians first and students second.

Christians first and Americans second.

And heres why. God intended us to be family. This is why this community rhythm is first. All of the rest

of the rhythms happen in groups- family groups, not just as individuals! We have to start learning to

speak in terms of we instead of me. As we take another look at our ministries, we need to work on

developing the group before we jump into the rest of the practices.

Ultimately we are saying that community is the family of believers.

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to Love God and love your neighborsits all about relationship.

NOTE to Trainer Try to find your own story here, but if you can't, use the below story

ILLUSTRATION:

I want to tell you a story about Christie. I met Christie in the fall of 1997 while volunteering at the

alternative high school in our neighborhood. The first time I saw Christie, she was the picture of rage- the

dark, baggy clothes, the long, stringy hair, the massive leather jacket, the (illegal) chains hanging out of

her pockets. I know you cant judge a book by its cover, but this was more than an outfit Christie

admitted; this look was a statement.

She was not just from a broken home, she was from an exploded home; she had never lived at one

address for more than a year and a half in her entire life, and she spent at least a portion of that life being

passed back and forth between feuding parents. This was probably the single angriest kid I had ever

seen in my entire life, and why not?

Over a period of time, we convinced Christie that she was worth liking and loving. It did not happen

quickly. We first discovered Christie in the middle of the Fall semester, and it probably was the middle of

the spring before we could convince her to show up at the church, and even then, her coming was not so

much out of her own spiritual curiosity as much as it was to be with those of us willing to be known as her

friends.

Please dont misunderstand, at this point in her journey, Christie was not what most of us would call a

Christian. She was not a believer; her life reflected no heart commitment, but the attractiveness of our

family of faith was beginning to make her aware of what she wasnt- she started to notice some of these

things that she didnt have.

It was during the fall semester of her junior year, while she was living with her father in Midwest City (a

suburb of Oklahoma City, about 30 minutes east of the church), that Christie made the decision to subject

and submit her life story to the continuing story of God and His people. We had been talking about all

that God would want to do for her, in her and with her, if ever given the opportunity. My wife and I had

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been so careful not to leverage or intimidate Christie to a place of decision. Christie was much too

stubborn to ever be pressured into anything. Christie wasnt leveraged into faith; she was romanced into

faith by God the Father through His people at Oklahoma City First. Christie had come to faith by

watching the family of God behave like a family. And the Lord added to their number daily those who

were being saved. (Acts 2:47) Christie had now willingly entered into the process of being initiated,

even adopted into The family.

Now, I would like to tell you that things changed radically and quickly for Christie, but in all reality, the only

major difference now was this: we had one more thing in common, there was another level at which she

belonged to this community.

To be honest, Christie was still struggling with a drug problem. She desperately wanted to quit, but her

immediate family opted not to help- they had their own problems. Her dad sat her down on the bed and

said, Christie, we are rooting for you! We want you to be able to break free from drugs, but you need to

know something. I have chosen a lifestyle that includes drugs. I can handle it, and I am going to keep

doing it.

Because she knew she wouldnt be able to quit, she moved out of her dads house with his complete

blessing. She moved in with her mother who, like her father, had chosen a lifestyle that she didnt want to

give up. And again, Christie had to this point been shaped enough by the story of God and His people,

and by Gods people themselves that she said, I cant overcome all that I have to overcome and live

here.

Now, over a period of time, she had come to the awareness that it was not okay for a member of the

family of God to do pot, that it was not okay for a member of the family of God to drink to the point ofalcoholism. And dont for a minute believe that her decisions to move out and away from mom and dad

were somehow demonstrative of a lack of care and concern for her own family. Nothing could be farther

from the truth. In fact, Christies decisions to separate herself were made for the benefit of her family. It

was and continues to be Christies dream that one day she could be involved in the reclamation of her

own family.

In the meantime, Christie continued to be formed into the family of God. A godly family in our church

recognized Christies need for a place to live. Ron and Ellen opened their doors, and Christie moved in

and stayed for the remainder of her high school days.

One Sunday, Christie noticed the announcement for all interested baptism candidates. She brought the

announcement to me and asked for an explanation. What is baptism?, she asked, and what does it

mean? It is a public proclamation, a public testimony, I answered. It is both your public statement of

faith and a ritual whereby you are initiated- in an official way- into this family of faith.

She said, I think Im ready for all of that now. Christie correctly had the impression that this was a pretty

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monumental decision that she was about to make- the kind you want your family to see, so she called her

dad, she called her mom, and she said Im going to get baptized on Sunday night, and I would like for

you to be there. They both agreed, but then on the day of the ceremony, both called and said they

werent coming.

She was be crushed. As the one who does much of the baptizing at our church, Im not used to seeing

baptism candidates with such long faces. She attended the pre-service baptism candidates meeting and

never cracked a grin. After the meeting, I took her aside and I said to her, This is supposed to be a pretty

good day for you. Do you want to wait to be baptized?

No, she replied, Im ready.

I baptized Christie that night. After the ceremony, she got dried off and went home without a word. I

remember feeling these strange contradictory emotions that night. On the one hand, I rejoiced in

Christies public testimony. But on the other hand, I agonized over Christies loneliness. I have to admit

that I myself felt more defeated than I did anything else.

But I will never forget what happened the next day. After school, Christie rolled into the parking lot and

walked into the church with a recognizable spring in her step. She walked into our offices, and you have

to listen to what she said. I know you all could tell that I was pretty disappointed last night when my

family couldnt be there. But then it hit me- my family was there.

Get it? We are not in the business of breaking up family; we are still trying to redeem both her mom and

her dad. But we absolutely are in the business of being family for those who belong to our groups.

And lets not forget something very important- when we say community, we dont just mean the youthgroup. Community involves the entire family of faith, NOT JUST THE YOUTH MINISTRY.

What keeps people of faith from being a family of faith or a Community? Walls, barriers, obstacles. You

know them: judging, gossip, lying or deceit, lack of participation, mistrust, un-forgiveness.

In order for us to build true community, these kinds of walls have to come down. What are you doing at

your church to bring down these walls?

In your notebooks, at the bottom of the page, you will see a box with directions to an activity called "The

Hot Seat." If you've ever done this activity before, you know it can be an incredibly affirming activity for

young people. Also, it is very effective in bringing down the walls between the people in your group. I

challenge you and your youth group to set aside regular times for "The Hot Seat" or similar activities.

I have another video I want you to see. This is what can happen if we never stop trying to wear our

masks.

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ADVANCE SLIDEVIDEO CLIP Meet Brad Norton A real Christian

No one is that much of a Christian. We're lying to ourselves if we think we can be that perfect, that upbeat

all the time. If we wear a false mask, we risk alienating others from us, as Brad Norton did.

NOTE to Trainer: Work through all the following discussion questions and recommended

resources.

What words or phrases capture the concept? put some of these words into some type of a

water mark in the notebook

Relationship

Unity

Not activities

Intimacy

sharing

bonding

vulnerability

accountability

holy friendship

soul mates

interdependence

broken-ness

Conceptually, how will this trait or habit be fostered?

The ongoing practice of confession, repentance, and forgiveness

What are the practical ways and methods by which this concept will become reality?

accountability partners

big sis/little sis

sports teams

small groups

communionfootwashing

service project (see also servanthood)

RESOURCES to recommend

Up Close & Personal by Wayne Rice

Crowdbreakers & Community Builders by Group

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ADVANCE SLIDE

#2 Celebrating God- Rhythm of Praise

Last night we explored how a worship-centered model of ministry responds to three major snapshots of

our current culture: moral relativism, the need to belong, and spiritual hunger. We said that:

Living life in worship, day in and day out with consistency, we

experience the absolute truth of a loving God; our spiritual hunger is

filled not by a religion but by relationships with God and each other in

Christ; and since were all looking for a place to call home--Gods left the

light on for us--we belong.

Eugene Peterson says it this way,

So heres what I want you to do, God helping you:Take your everyday,ordinary lifeyour sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around

lifeand place it before God as an offering.Romans 12:1 The Message

So true worship is about honoring God in everything we do; sleeping, eating, walking around, work,

school, relationships, homework, recreation, all aspects of life is praise. There is, however, another aspect

of praise that is vitally important for disciples of Christ. We call it the rhythm of celebration or praise.

Webster says that praise is The offering of grateful homage in words or song as an act of worship.That

is in your work book on page 9.

One of the more popular praise songs out today is called Let Everything That Has Breath Praise the Lord

and it comes right out of Psalm 150.

1 Praise the LORD.

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens.

2 Praise him for his acts of power;

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

praise him with the harp and lyre,

4 praise him with tambourine and dancing,

praise him with the strings and flute,

5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,

praise him with resounding cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD.

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Notice what is used in this psalm of praise: instruments (trumpet, harp, lyre, tambourine, string, flute, and

cymbals), dancing (or worship art), and voices (breath). Scripture is full of passages that explode with

praise to God for who He is and what He has done. The Story of God is filled with scenes or words of

praise, celebration, and rejoicing. In fact, the word praise is mentioned 293 times, celebrate is mentioned

50 times and rejoice is mentioned 124 times.

In recent years we have witnessed corporate worship experiences become intense moments of

celebration and praise. Weve seen students and adults move to a level of freedom where they are no

longer concerned about what others think if they raise or clap their hands, shout words of joy to the Lord,

or even bow on their knees in humble adoration of God.

Here is an example of that

VIDEO: David CROWDER VIDEO

There are two points that we need to know to help us in our understanding of praise or celebration. The

first point is recognition. ADVANCE SLIDE

1. RECOGNITION

Most of us here have someone in our lives who is very special to us. That person may be your mom or

dad, a brother or sister, aunt or uncle, granny or grampy or some other relative. That person may even be

your best friend or a boy friend or girl friend. Whoever that person is theyre special to you. You have

recognized some qualities, characteristics, and personality traits about that person that are attractive toyou. And you really enjoy and appreciate those qualities.

How many of us here today love God? Why? What is it about God that you love? What are some of Gods

characteristics, attributes or qualities that you appreciate and enjoy?ADVANCE SLIDE

Possible answers:

Awesome, Compassionate, Creative, Deliverer, Faithful, Forgiving, Good, Gracious, Healer. Holy,

Jealous, Just, Loving, Kind, Mighty, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Patient, Powerful,

Redemptive, Sovereign, Strong, Tender, and on and on and on.

Scripture is loaded with passage after passage that praise God for who He is and what He has done. In

your notebook on page 8 youll find a few examples that you really ought to read sometime.

NOTE to Trainer: the below scripture is in the workbook. However, you may wish to also create a

bookmark to hand out using the bookmark photocopy sheet. Obviously, this will need to be done

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ahead of time.

Pass out BOOK MARK if you made them

Exodus 15:1-21 (Moses and Miraims Song)

Isaiah 12: 1-6 (Song of Praise)

Praise with shouts and singing: 33, 47, 66, 81, 95, 96, 98, 149, 150

Praise for Gods personal blessings: 18, 30, 34, 40, 92, 103, 107, 113, 116, 118, 146Praise for Gods blessings to Israel: 68, 77, 100, 108, 124, 126, 129,

Praise for Gods awesome majesty: 8, 24, 29, 46, 50, 90, 93, 114, 145

Praise for Gods law 19, 119

Luke 1:46-55 (Marys Song or Marys Magnficant)

Luke 1:67-79 (Zechariahs Song)

Revelation 19:1-8 (Hallelujah! Also the song from which Sonic Flood get their name)

Praise moves beyond just simply saying Praise the Lord just for the sake of saying Praise the Lord.

The rhythm of praise means taking the time to identify and articulate what it is about God that we arepraising. Which lead us to our second point.

ADVANCE SLIDE

2. EXPRESSION

When we recognize special qualities and attributes of people we have the desire to express our

appreciation or to celebrate the person and their qualities. Remember that special someone and the

things you appreciate about them? Share with us things that youve done to celebrate and honor that

individual.

Possible answers:

Giving them cards or gifts, sharing a song that communicates how you feel about that person, writing a

poem, send them flowers, do something special for them (maybe doing the laundry, cleaning up the

kitchen, washing the car), take them to their choice of restaurant, give them candy, etc.

In the context of our relationship to God, weve already mentioned that throughout scripture we find

several acts or gestures of praise: Singing, clapping or raising hands, shouting and making joyful noises,

and yes, even the D word, dancing. However, praise isnt limited to the exuberant use our hands or our

voices. Its been suggested that the kind of worship and praise experience that will attract and hold

millennials is Liturgy and services that make use of the Christian symbols with a contemporary flair.

Praise may take a more reflective approach using such methods as responsive readings or reciting

creeds. Praise may also take shape in the reading and writing of prayers. Take for example this prayer

that has been adapted from a prayer found in the Book of Common Prayer. Listen carefully to these

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Psalm 24 .

READER 1:

1 The earth is the LORDs, and everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it;

2 for he founded it upon the seas

and established it upon the waters.

READER 2:

3 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD?

Who may stand in his holy place?

4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

who does not lift up his soul to an idol

or swear by what is false.

READER 3:

5 He will receive blessing from the LORD

and vindication from God his Savior.6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,

who seek your face, O God of Jacob.

READER 4:

7 Lift up your heads, O you gates;

be lifted up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

8 Who is this King of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

the LORD mighty in battle.READER 5:

9 Lift up your heads, O you gates;

lift them up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

10 Who is he, this King of glory?

ALL READERS IN UNISON

The LORD Almighty

he is the King of glory.


resources.

WHAT IS PRAISE? a recognition of and appreciation of the characteristics and the attributes of who

God is, an offering, adoration.

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What words or phrases capture the concept?

glorification

magnification

holy moments

praise

adoration

gratitude

honor

awe


an overwhelming sense of Gods greatness


creeds

prayerSunday morning worship

Wednesday night

Communion sacraments

Music- singing and instruments

Public reading of scripture

Lighting the advent or salvation candle

CLOSE IN SONG

ADVANCE SLIDE

#3 Witness- Rhythm of Reaching Out

JOHN STOTT quote:

The Church is the only organization that exists for the benefit of its non-members.

Worship Driven-Outreach3 words really seem to help us explain worship driven outreach: Attitude,

Atmosphere, and Action.

ADVANCE SLIDE Attitude How students care for each other reflects how they will care for those beyond the

walls. Its missional. Also it reflects a good understanding of Christian community. Its asking

the question: Whos not here, and why? And what can WE do about it? Its also practicing

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how to reach out on each other. Its seniors in High school reaching out to the freshman, and

heaven forbid the junior highers that already come. Its looking at the empty chairs in our

room and visualizing new people filling those chairs. If we cant do it in here, how in the world

will we be able to do it out there?

One of our other trainers had this experience before

One Sunday night, after I had just moved to a new church, a bunch of the teens decided to go out

to an A&W for food. They invited me to go along. First I declined, making up some lame excuse,

but then one of the seniors came over to me and asked if my response was based on a lack of

funds. I answered, yes. Then he said and did something I will never forget. He said, dont

worry about it, I got you covered. He paid for my meal, and in doing so, practiced the

ATTITUDEof outreach on me.

ADVANCE SLIDE Atmosphere This concept relates to climate in our programs: hospitality that is inclusive

rather than exclusive. In computer terms, its being user-friendly, or non-believer friendly.

This is something that we can and must practice inside the walls of the church, so that when

they do come, they will stay. Someone once said, Teenagers will not leave a place where

they are loved. It is our job to make sure the atmosphere is not too foreign to them. If we

dont feel welcome, safe, and comfortable in here, then what makes us think our friends will?

Ill. I Never Went Back.

Noted youth speaker and author Duffy Robbins, recounts the story of his first visit to a youth group. I

walked in and they told us to take out our Bibles and turn to some book. I didnt even know what a

Bible was. Then they sang some songs they all knew by heart, and I didnt have a clue. I really felt

like I didnt belong. Needless to say, I never went back. (Paraphrased story told by Duffy Robbins at

a NYWC seminar)

This illustration points out the need to avoid speaking christianeze. Or using terms, language, and

customs assuming that everyone understands what were saying. This means we never say, you all

know this one... Or remember the story in the Bible where. Because maybe they all DONT

know it, and maybe they have NEVER heard that story in the Bible. When we start thinking in this

way, we are beginning to understand theATMOSPHEREof outreach. . But, the atmosphere

must also be carried outside the walls of our youth group and church.

ADVANCE SLIDE Action This concept is the intentional-doing of outreach. It is asking the following

questions: How will our calendars and our budgets show our commitment to outreach?

How will where we sit at youth group and at school change because we are committed to

outreach?

How will who we talk to at youth group and at school change because outreach drives us?

How will an outreach mindset change the way you see people who dont know Jesus?

When will your heart break for those whose eternities are still up for grabs?

Ill. Why Didnt You Say Something?

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Mark Shipp went to church on Sundays. He didnt make a big thing of it, but he played guitar

for the worship team and he was considered a leader in the youth group. Mark was trying to do what

was right without being...pushy. Just about every Friday, a friend at school, Josh, would ask: So,

whatcha got planned this weekend, Mark?

Mark would shrug, Oh, you know.

Tell me about it! Clean this, straighten that, mow the grass, wash the car! I work harder on

Saturdays than I do on school days. Mark would smile knowingly and shrug, Thats the truth.

Thats why I take Sunday off. Me, Tim, Joel, and some other guys get together in the morning to play

soccer. Do ya wanna come? Mark would evade the question, Oh, Id like to, Josh, I really would,

but I cant. I go to church. Sure. Well, if you ever change your mind, the invitation stands, Josh

would say and then off he would go with a smile.

Then one Friday late in the year, the ritual took a different turn. Mark had just evaded the question,

explaining that he really wanted to play soccer but couldnt, and Josh just nodded as usual. But this

time, he didnt walk away. He just stood there, looking at Mark. Finally, he spoke. Mark, for the past

year Ive invited you to play soccer, and you always say no. But not once have you invited me tochurch, Jack continued, scratching his head. Why? (Adapted from the New Century Bible, page

1155) Sometimes we assume that people are not interested in church, or youth group, or God.

But little do when know that God may be using us to draw people to Him. That is theACTION

of outreach.

Corporate outreach is coming together and declaring our target; whom are we trying to reach? It is a

team meeting to practice and prepare to go out and reach the lost for Christ. Outreach probably wont be

one on many; it can be one on one; but its bestwhen its many on one.

Say, sometimes the only way for a person to know Jesus or the Gospel is if we introduce them.

Activity: AMOEBA TAG

Play this game of tag, where you start with only one person who is it. Once they tag someone, they are

to link arms with that person and then together, try to tag others. As they tag others, they continue to link

up until the chain grows and/or the tagged outnumber the free. Use this game as an illustration of how

we are to go after the lost, working together, many on one, etc.

After everyone has taken their seats

A burden for the lost is a result of a personal encounter with Christ. When we truly understand that lost

things are important to God, then we will find the rhythm of outreach. Only then will lost things become

important to us. Its like this clip from the movie, Schindlers List.

Schindlers List is about a German man named Oscar Schindler. He worked to rescue Jews that were

facing genocide during World War II. He hired them to work for him in his ammunition factory by selling

what he to pay them for their work with his own money.

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At the end of the movie there is a scene where Schindler himself comes to the realization that if he had

come up with more money or sold some of his personal belongings, he might have been able to save

many more Jews from genocide at the hands of the Germans. Schindler, in this moment is beginning to

see people the way God sees people...watch.

VIDEO CLIP: Schindlers List clip- I could have sold my pin to buy back one more.

NOTE to Trainer: Do not say anything between the Schindlers list clip and the Deliriou5? song.

Simply have the music start playing as soon as the clip ends, light the candle and set it in the

front of the room for everyone to see. ADVANCE SLIDE

[Presentation Note: The song will begin playing when the first set of lyrics comes on the screen

and continue to play until you click out of the last screen of lyrics at the end of the song. Make

sure you check this prior to showing your presentation]

Deliriou5? - Live and in the Can

ADVANCE SLIDE There is a light that shines in the darkness.There is a light that shines in the darkness.

ADVANCE SLIDE His name is Jesus, His name is Jesus, His name is JesusThe Light of the world!

(repeat)

ADVANCE SLIDE YOU!Are the light of the world

ADVANCE SLIDE A city on a hill cannot be hiddenNeither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl

ADVANCE SLIDE Instead they put it on its standAnd it gives light to everyone in the house.

ADVANCE SLIDE In the same way, let your light shine before men,That they may see your good deeds

ADVANCE SLIDE And praise your Father who is in heaven

ADVANCE SLIDE Father in heaven, hallowed be your nameADVANCE SLIDEYour kingdom come and your will be doneOn earth as it is in heaven

ADVANCE SLIDE And Father give us today, our daily breadADVANCE SLIDE And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against usADVANCE SLIDE Father lead us not into temptation

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And deliver us from the evil one.

ADVANCE SLIDE Because we say, Yours and Yours aloneADVANCE SLIDE Is the kingdom, is the power, is the gloryADVANCE SLIDE For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, Forever,ADVANCE SLIDE Forever and ever, Forever, Amen!

ADVANCE SLIDE NOTE to Trainer: Pray and dismiss for a break at this point.

After the break:

As we gather back together, lets take few moments to review the last rhythm before we move on to the

next.


rescue

burden for the lost

desperation


Attitudes are outreaching

Atmosphere is welcoming and we dont project a were a closed club image

Action - we will spend our resources going out and getting the lost


See you at the Pole: A good place to start, and to identify those at your school who you

might team up with.

Relational outreach: This is learning how to love first. I dont care how much you know until

I know how much you care.

Telling your story: My life before Christ, how I met Christ, my life since.

Then practicing this in front of your youth group.

Testifying in the world to the world: In the hallways, and the lunchroom and class. It is

practicing how to steer your conversations to where they are Spiritual in nature

i.e. Do you think about life after death, do you ever wonder if this life is all there is?

VBS

ADVANCE SLIDE

#4 Sabbath- Rhythm of Rest

Have you ever been on a trip, stopped to refuel and get munchies, and as you just start to get settled

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back into the ride you get the dark feeling you left something behind? Its sort of like this

VIDEO CLIP Little Miss Sunshine

The next rhythm well look at today is that of rest. How many of you are ready for a nap now? Well dont

get too excited cause thats not necessarily what we mean by rest. In our fast track society its easy for

our lives to fill up with noise and busyness -so much so that our sensitivity to the presence of God isdulled. Those of us involved in ministry and leadership are especially vulnerable because we get so

wrapped up in our ministries, consumed with doing, moving from one project to another until we reach a

point where we gain more fulfillment and satisfaction in our service than in the One we are serving.

Or we simply burnout. Our focus is blurred; our FM receiver is not quite on the station, and the signals we

need to receive from God dont seem to come in too clearly. Remember the old Mickey Ds slogan, You

deserve a break today? The psalmist had a pretty idea when he said in Psalm 46:10, Be still and know

that I am God. He instructs us to chill out, slow down, break the routine and get quiet and be reminded of

the forgotten or neglected things: who God is, who we are, and what God wants to be to us. Its not so

much that we deserve a break but rather we must take a break, change our routine in order to regain

focus and maintain balance physically, emotionally, relationally and spiritually.

Take Elijah for example. His incredible story of victory over some of the roughest and toughest pagan

priests is found in 1 Kings 18. The line had been drawn in the sand and it was time to find out who was

truly God. He stood face to face with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah on Mount Carmel

and put them to the test. Elijah instructed them to build an altar and lay on it a slaughtered bull and call

out to their god to see if he, she, or it would answer. He would do the same and the God who answered

with fire would be declared God. The prophets agreed that this was a good plan and an altar was built.

What followed was kind of a precursor to a Korn or Rob Zombie concert. They began ranting and raving,

screaming and hollering, and the cutting and bleeding and yet their god never answered. Elijah began to

taunt them and one Bible version suggests that maybe their god was on the toilet. As the afternoon wore

on these sweaty, exhausted, and caked with blood prophets finally gave up.

Now it was Elijahs turn. He had the altar repaired and covered with his slaughtered bull. But then he

added 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel. Then he dug a trench around the altar. And then he

had 12 jars of water (a precious commodity after three years of drought) poured onto the altar. It was

enough water to drench the altar and fill the trench. Then he looked towards heaven and prayed a simple

prayer and BOOM lightning struck and the altar with all of its contents was burned into oblivion. Suddenly

the pagan prophets had other appointments and began to scatter. But they didnt get too far and were

slaughtered and Elijahs God was declared the winner.

Pretty cool, huh? But just nine verses later we find the same Elijah in the desert hiding under a tree like a

whipped (whooped in the South) pup. He was exhausted, afraid and so depressed that he actually prayed

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to God that he would die. He had had enough and felt like he couldnt go on any longer. The angel of the

Lord shows up and takes care of Elijahs basic needs: food, water and rest. This went on for a couple of

days until Elijah was strong enough to travel againand he did for forty days until he reached Horeb,

the mountain of God. He found a cave, went in and rested for the night.

Then the Lord appears to Elijah and asks him what he was doing there. Basically his response was Ive

busted my tail for You dealing with people who have rejected You, torn down Your altars, killed Your

prophets and now Im the only one left and theyre trying to kill me too. Knowing exactly what Elijah

needed, God told him to stand on the mountain, in the presence of Lord, for the Lord was about to pass

by him. And what happened next is so incredible. A huge wind blew in that just leveled the mountains.

Then there was an earthquake followed by an unbelievable fire. Following the fire was, are you ready, a

gentle whisper. What are considered incredible displays of the awesome strength and power of God, God

says Im not in the wind. Im not in the earthquake. Im not in the fire. But you will find me in the gentle

whisper.

Elijah had been a pretty busy prophet travelling across the desert during a drought, ministering to peoplealong the way, facing the false prophets, running from Jezebel God recognized Elijah needed a break in

his routine.

What about you? Have you been too busy lately to hear the gentle whisper of God? How about your

youth group? Are you constantly in motion? Is your calendar filled up with activities just for the sake of

having activities? Perhaps youre caught in the rut of doing the same-o-same-o. Are you taking time to

Be still and know that He is God? What are some ways you can build into your personal lives as well as

the life of your youth group times where you can rest or break the routine? Here are some simple

suggestions Take your day off! No seriously!

Silent Retreats

Slim down the activity of the calendar

Schedule monthly / quarterly yout group nights of reflection

Journaling

Occasional Fasting (radio, TV, computer, Internet, video games, food, etc.)

Lent (giving up these things for a season)

The Folsom Zoo, a North American animal sanctuary, (outside Sacremento, CA) has found an

interesting pattern:

http://www.folsom.ca.us/depts/parks_n_recreation/zoo/

Animals on display need a day of rest. Heres number 19 of their fundamental principles:

Except for major holidays, the Folsom City Zoo shall be closed to the public on Mondays to

provide a day of rest for the animals.

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Why is that? Heres an email from the Folsom folks explaining:

The day of rest is primarily the day we schedule any medical procedures, and general

medical checkups for the animals. It is also a day whereby keepers can do some serious

exhibit maintenance adding new substrates and structures that are sometimes difficult to

complete when the zoo is open to the public. It is also a quiet day for the animals, and

indeed a day of rest from public view! -kaye banyard

If the animal kingdom can figure out Gods deep dream for rest in our lives, maybe he can

redeem the zoo of our lives!

What if we weekly allowed God to check-up (search) our lives?

What if we allowed the Keeper to do weekly soul maintenance on us?

What if we let God reorder the substructures (relationships, schedules, plans) of our lives

that is hard to do in the rush of life?What if we re-discovered the creative nourishment of quiet in Christ?

This Rhythm of Sabbath-rest is about trust. Trust that God can do the things he has called

us to without us for one day. Trust that if God rested in creatingwe do to. Trust that

ceasing, being still, and waiting on God will create space; not take it away. Trust that the

terrifying things we are running from wont hurt so bad if we face them with Jesus.

So when we talk about resting were talking about more than just taking nap, though that is not a bad idea

sometimes. Rather were talking about intentionally planning times in your personal calendar as well as in

the calendar of your local youth ministry when you move deviate from the regular routine for a time re-fo-

cusing and renewal.

ADVANCE SLIDEPLAY SONG: Peace Be Still

ADVANCE SLIDE


resources.


reflection

devotion

interruption

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speed bumps

rest

change of pace

escape

contemplation

a spiritual pause


a need for spiritual renewal and a re-focusing

[This section will also go along with these concepts/stories:

true north, Elijah (1 Kings 18), Garden of Gethsemene(Matt 26), Rom.12:2]


camp

retreat

prayerjournaling

intentionally spiritual vacation

mission trips

lent- dont watch TV for a week

silence

fasting (not necessarily food)

NOTE to Trainer: Make the connection thatits important participants understand that these changes

arent just to the youth calendar. A Youth Ministry cant change unless the youth minister or youth

ministers change at some time.

CLOSE WITH A FEW MOMENTS OF SILENCE AND DIRECTED PRAYER

ADVANCE SLIDE

#5 Spiritual Formation and Discipleship- Rhythm of Becoming

OK! Enough with the resting, LETS PLAY A GAME!!!

GAME: Balloon Castles - (The balloon castles game communicates that spiritual growth is intentional, it

is a group effort, and it takes time- it isnt a microwave sort of thing; its a crock-pot sort of thing)

Active Scripture Game--Balloon Castles

[Get them up and moving around with a teaching game.]

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Divide the group into groups of 5-10. Give each group a package of balloons and a roll of 2 wide

masking tape. Tell each group that they are to construct a castle of the balloons, using the

masking tape to connect the balloons. All the balloons must be used, and each person must

participate. Thats all the info they need. Tell them to be creative. Give them 10 minutes to

construct their castles. And sit back and watch how they do it. After the time is up or the castles

are completed, ask them how they decided to build their castle. Who took the lead? How were

the decisions made? Was everyone happy? Etc

The Rhythm of Becoming is process-oriented, it is an ongoing and everyday commitment to process of

becoming like Christ.

Discipleship is not an exact science. It is not an equation that guarantees success. Like Reaching Out,

Discipleship or the Rhythm of Becoming is about attitude, atmosphere, and action.

ADVANCE SLIDE Attitude Do you all realize that as a member of the family of God, you are not only

responsible for your own growth in Christ, but you are also responsible to make sure that your

brothers and sisters in faith grow in Christ! IS THAT YOUR ATTITUDE? IS THAT THE

ATTITUDE OF YOUR GROUP?

ADVANCE SLIDE Atmosphere This concept relates to climate in our programs: activities, events and lessons

that all pull the same direction- toward God. What is the atmosphere in your ministry to

teens? Do the teens in your church want to grow in Christ? Do the activities and events

really encourage growth in Christ?

ADVANCE SLIDE Action This concept is the intentional-doing of discipleship. It is asking the following

questions: How will our calendars and our budgets show our commitment to growing in

Christ? If there are students in our group that want to go above and beyond, will our ministry

have anything to offer them? Does our youth ministry offer students devotional material that

will deepen a relationship with Christ? DOES OUR MINISTRY CHALLENGE TEENS TO

GROW SPIRITUALLY?

NOTE to Trainer: Work through all the following discussion questions and

recommended resources.


discernment-decision making

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discipleship

spiritual formation

helping people to live godly lives in a secular world

apprenticeship

active faith


the relational transmission of truth and a hunger for growth


Mentoring

Pray together, pray for one another

Accountability partners

Bible study

Sunday School

use experiences to teach (teachable moments)

NOTE to Trainer:

Rhythms Script [updated: 031107]

Documents

Transcript of Rhythms Script [updated: 031107]