A while back, someone left this behind after GEMS. Instead recycling it, I filed it, and it came to mind again today.
The original exercise was to cut up each of the messages below, crumple them up, and randomly distribute them to people in the group. Then the group participants decide whether the message is true or false – true messages get placed on a Bible, false messages on a stack of teen magazines. Group participants are also invited to write down three of their own true or false statements to add to the mix.
|
Messages that get placed |
Messages that get placed |
| You need smooth-as-silk skin to be beautiful. | You need a pure and loving heart to be beautiful. |
| You deserve anything you want. | Jesus is all you need. He is your all in all! |
| You need to learn what the popular kids care about first. | You need to learn what Jesus cares about first. |
| To be in, you have to be thin. | You are beautifully and wonderfully made. |
| Cool kids wear expensive, trendy clothes. | God’s kids clothe themselves in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. |
| Being popular and rich are the most important things in life. | Loving Jesus and others are the most important things in life. |
| Read your horoscope to learn how to live. | Read your Bible to learn how to live. |
| You’ll never fit in or belong. | You have a place to belong forever when you say ‘yes’ to Jesus. |
The exercise ended with choosing between these two questions:
A. Do you care more about what people think about you – what’s popular in teen magazines and with your friends?
B. Do you care more about what Jesus thinks about you – the truth that is found in the Bible?
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4th Point 