adapted from Rick Warren's small group series (the purpose driven life)
The purpose of life has been a question that has been asked for years. Everyone has an opinion on what the purpose of life is.
We ask ourselves questions like –
What do I want to be?
What are my goals, ambitions, and dreams for my future?
The focus is all on us. Some things that we aspire to do are very admirable. (Give me some examples) Some other things that we aspire to do are maybe not so much.
The secret to living a life of purpose is very simple. You have to start at the beginning.
It all starts with God –
God created you. He created you for a purpose.
Colossians 1:16 “Everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him.”
You can only discover your true identity and true purpose through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Have any of you been told that you were not planned.
Maybe you were a honeymoon baby.
Maybe you were a ‘one-night stand’ baby
Maybe you were a ‘prom night’ baby
Maybe you were an accident (Impossible)
Maybe you were a mistake (Impossible)
No matter when you were born or under what circumstances you were born into, you are not an accident.
Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. You were created on purpose.
Psalm 139:16 {The author is talking to God} “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and all the days of my life were written in Your book, before there was even one of them.”
God tells us in Isaiah 44:2 “I am Your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born.”
Why do you do what you do? What controls you? What guides you through life? Are you aiming for something? What drives you?
1) Guilt – Do you do things because you feel like you have to make up for something that you did in the past to someone?
2) Anger and Resentment – Are you out to get somebody, because of something that happened to you?
3) Fear – Do you not pursue opportunities, because you are afraid of something? What will they think? What if I don’t know what to say? What if she thinks I’m an idiot? What if he rejects me?
a. Legally Blonde – UPS guy and the Nail lady. She’s crazy about the guy, but she never talks to him. She’s afraid and intimidated.
4) Materialism – Do you always want more stuff? Are you never satisfied?
5) The Need for Approval – Do you allow other people’s expectations dictate what you do? Are you a people pleaser? Is your goal in life to please everybody?
There is more to life than just here and now.
How long is your life going to be? (Teens answer)
Ecclesiastes 3:11 “God has planted eternity in the hearts of all men.”
How long is eternity? It’s really long. It doesn’t ever end. Our lives here on Earth are not even a fraction of the lives that we will live on the other side of our death.
This life is preparation for the next life.
If you live your life with Eternity in view, then your values will change. Why? Because there are eternal consequences for the choices that you make now before you die.
How do you see your life?
Is it a circus, a minefield, a roller coaster, a puzzle, a journey, a dance, or maybe something else.
What are the standards of this world? You’ve got to get yours. You have to be popular. Greed, lust, jealousy, hate, selfishness, and so on…
The Bible says, “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God.”
Life is a test – What standards are you living by? What decisions are you making? Who are you serving, yourself or God?
Life is a trust – What are you doing with the life God gave you? Are you destroying it with drugs? Are you dropping down some sex or getting as close as you can without going ‘all the way’ when you want it? Or are you respecting the person that you supposedly ‘love’?
Life is temporary – The Bible says that life is a vapor. It’s here and then it’s gone. In that vapor, you decide what will happen when the vapor is gone.
How many of you have ever had a boyfriend or girlfriend?
As the girlfriend, is there anything that you boyfriend could do that would result in your getting angry with him? What?
As the boyfriend would you do that or would you try and please her (make her happy)?
When you do things to please her, you are showing that she is worth enough to you to not look at other people. She is worth spending a little less time with your other friends. She is worth it.
The ultimate purpose in my life and your life is to show how great God is, and how much he is worth. He’s worth:
- Doing right
- Taking time out of your day to spend with Him (prayer, bible reading, Sunday morning)
- Not messing up your life with drugs
- Putting off your sexual urges until you are married
- Loving and obeying your parents
- Surrounding yourself with positive friends
- And the list goes on.
The ultimate purpose of man is to show how much God is worth. Quite frankly, we do a horrible job of it.
One day you will stand before God and give an account for yourself –
Romans 14:10,12 “Each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God, and give a personal account to Him.”
The first question you will have to answer is, “What did you do with my son, Jesus Christ?” How you have answered that question will determine where you spend eternity.
The second question you will have to answer is, “What did you do with what I gave you?” How you have answered that question will determine what you do in eternity. At the end of this discussion series on Purpose, you will be able to answer both those questions.
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Breakout Session Guide D.L. stands for discussion leader –
What are your thoughts on the statement “You can only discover your true identity and true purpose through a relationship with Jesus Christ.” Do you agree or disagree and why?
D.L. notes – God created us for a purpose. Finding that purpose begins with Him. He
knows what that purpose is. You cannot know your purpose in life, if you do not the one
who created you (Colossians 1:16 – Everything got started in Him and finds its purpose
in Him.)
What would your family say is the driving force in your life? What would your friends say in the driving force in your life? What do you want it to be?
D.L. notes – Guilt, Anger, Resentment, Fear, Materialism, Need to be Approved are the
ones that we discussed. Some of the kids may have other ideas of things driving their
lives. Try and drill down to the core reason behind what they say, if it makes sense to.
This doesn’t need to be a point of debate. You can just accept what they say for what it
is.
If you were to live your life with eternity in view; what is one thing that you would stop doing? What is something that you would start doing?
D.L. notes – This question is focusing on values. Would your values change? Would
you treat you parents different? Etc… Be careful here, because this question is not
focusing on where you will spend eternity. If there is a God, and there are eternal
consequences for my actions (good or bad), then how will I live my life?
Rhetorical Question: What is God worth to you?
D.L. closing notes – God showed you how much you are worth to Him by sending His
only son to die for you. The only reason He did that was because He loves you.
John 3:16 (paraphrase– Because God loved you so much, He gave His only Son so that
you could have eternal life with Him. You need to make a decision. Will you accept
Jesus as your savior and live your life in a way to show that God is worth something?
It’s a faith thing. You recognize that you can’t get to Heaven, because of the wrong
things that you have done. Believe that Jesus paid that price for you (The wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.). Accept the gift as your
own. It’s that simple. Close by passing out the Communication cards. Ask them fill
them out. Then collect them.
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