Chapter One
GOD'S GUIDE TO GODLINESS
1. Check out Joshua 24:14-15 and Matthew 12:30.
What life-changing choices are presented in
these passages?
2. Read Psalm 1 and rewrite it in your own
words. How would you explain this psalm to
someone who didn't understand it?
3. Which of the following positive steps can be found in Psalm 1:1-2? Check the ones that
seem to fit what the passage is saying.
Always seek and follow godly advice.
Surround yourself with godly, Christian friends.
Instead of ignoring God, fill your mind with him and thank him for what he does in
your life.
The Bible has exciting, life-changing truths! Get to know it and obey it.
People who ridicule God don't really know what he's like. Get to know him!
To be really blessed, choose God's way.
4. Take a look at the following situations, where important choices must be made.
Describe which of the steps in question 3 apply to each situation. What you would say to
the person in need of help?
Alexia never seems to have an opinion of her own. She always goes along what
other people say. If she's with wise people, she thinks clearly-if she's in bad company, she stumbles.
Chad likes to party and drink with his friends. He knows that it could eventually
cause him problems, but he doesn't know how to change.
Keanu was in a car crash where one friend was killed and another was seriously
injured. He believes in God but is angry at him-and even feels like rejecting God.
Tricia dresses way too provocatively-so much so that even some of the guys think
she's weird.
Casey is angry because her parents don't trust her. Now she's wondering if it pays to
obey their rules.
5. How well are you doing in choosing to go God's way in life? Rate yourself by placing
an X on the graph below.
I'm going only my way. I'm going all God's way.
This week
Psalm 1 deals with life's most important issue-choosing
to live as God wants his children to.
Godly living is often overlooked in today's society,
even though it's an essential Christian teaching.
This TalkSheet gives your students a look at what
godliness is and how they can strive for it in their
own lives.
Opener
Start by asking your students to make a master list
of some hard decisions that they and their peers are
facing. These may include what college to attend,
whether or not to use drugs, or how they'll handle a
dating situation. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being "This
is a very easy decision to make"), ask your group to
rank the difficulty of each decision. How many of
your kids are facing these decisions right now? Have
any of them made (or know of anyone who has)
made a smart decision-or a poor decision? Point
out that life is full of choices-some of which can be
extremely difficult to make. Move into the lesson by
pointing out that God has placed the ultimate choice
in everyone's path-to live for him or to ignore him.
And this discussion will reveal the steps to take to
successfully follow God's plan for their lives.
The discussion, by numbers
1. These two passages center on choosing to follow
God's way rather than some false or useless way.
Ask a few of your students to explain what the
passages are about-then ask if choosing to live
for God is an easy or hard thing to do. How realistic
is it to live for God day in and day out? What
is the hardest part about doing that?
2. Be sure your kids understand that the psalm
warns against lending an open ear to tempting
words or sinful advice, following others into sin, and mocking (ridiculing or ignoring) God. Point
out that there's wisdom in relying on God's wisdom, which is found in the Bible.
3. Explain that by positive steps, you mean steps
that people can take to follow God and be
blessed (leading happy, meaningful lives). To help
explain the third and fifth steps, point out that
thanking God can help them think of him often, while prayer and trust will help them get to know
him. Is there one step in particular that is less
important than the others? What do your students
think?
4. These situations give your students a chance to
think ahead about ways to deal with similar situations
they may face in their lives. What other
situations are they facing like these? Talk
about practical advice that your students could
realistically use in there and other scenarios.
5. Challenge each of your kids to think about what
they can improve on. What areas in their lives do
they need to give over to God? How can they
begin to live for God today? What struggles will
they face if they decide to make these changes?
The close
Close by summarizing the steps mentioned in question
3-to seek and follow godly advice, keep godly
friends, think of God (thanking him helps us do this),
read and obey the Bible, get to know God (through
prayer and trust), and choose to go God's way.
Reinforce this point-godliness results when people
practice these steps. Living for God requires
strength and encouragement from God-and from
others like Christian friends, youth pastors, and others.
It's easy to give up and give in to the lies and
temptations in the world. How can your students
begin to find God's way for their lives?
More
The Christian life is a journey-with ups and
downs. How have your students' journeys with
God been so far? What ups and downs have they
encountered? You may want to have each of your
kids describe their own walk with God, by mapping
out their journeys-showing when the journey
started and what ups and downs they've faced
since then. How have they handled the struggles
and temptations? How have their experiences
brought them to where they are today?
Give your kids some time to examine how well
they are doing in the six steps listed in question 3.
Challenge them to think of one area they're determined
to improve this week and from now on. You
may want to sharing one area in your life that you
will work on-and ask if any of them want to share
theirs too. Be sure to follow up with them later
and encourage them to rely on God for strength,patience, and forgiveness.
(Continues.)
