Wants and Needs

Series Overview

Maybe it’s because we live in a culture that has so much. Perhaps it’s just a part of being a student. Then again, maybe people have been struggling with being too materialistic. What is not debatable is that today’s students spend a great deal of time thinking themselves, their wants, and their stuff. So, for the month of November, we are going to talk about how to keep our material desires in check – and how we have the great opportunity to partner with God in meeting other people’s needs. We are going to participate with Operation Christmas Child to give every student in our ministry the opportunity to serve. Hopefully, over the next 3 weeks, every student will begin to realize “It’s Not All About Me!”

Week 1 (November 4, 2012)

In order to dismantle the problem of materialism within students, we must start with the common pull we all feel to place ourselves at the center of our own universe. While it’s tempting to make ourselves the center of it all, we simply can’t handle it. It is not good for you to be the center of the universe. If we were, we’d fall apart. It is too much pressure. It would not work! Jesus points out some of the reasons in Matthew 6. If we were the center of it all, our lives would be over run with worry and anxiety. It is actually best for us to place God where He belongs: at the center of our lives.

Ask your student how life would be different if we sought God first and didn’t worry about what we are going to get.

Week 2 (November 11, 2012)

I once heard an advertising director say the key to selling a product is getting the customer to picture their lives with the product and imagine how much better their lives would be with the product. Now, I don’t know if every product is sold that way, but I do recognize that I fall into the trap of trying to “get my life together” by purchasing stuff. I feel better about a date if I have a new outfit. I feel cooler if I have the latest gadget. I feel important if I have the nicest car. Our students are feeling these same pressures. The truth that we must be reminded of in Matthew 6 is that all this stuff will not last. As Jesus puts it, “moth and rust destroy.” Instead, we need to acknowledge the truth that our heart follows our treasure. That is, what we value most drives the rest of our lives. Today, we want to ask our students what do they value most?

Talk to your student about what you value most in your life. Ask your student what they treasure in their own life.

Week 3 (November 18, 2012)

Middle school and high school can seem like a waiting room for students. There is a long list of freedoms and responsibilities they are not quite ready for and this can leave them feeling marginalized. In the final week of our series, we want students to take advantage of an opportunity to be used by God to meet other’s needs. In Matthew 7, Jesus tells his followers to pray for what they need and then, in the very next verse, he instructs them to follow the golden rule. Is it a coincidence that these two verse are next to each other or is God trying to tell us something?  Jesus is trying to point out that we can be exactly what someone else is praying for. This is the unique opportunity to be the instrument God uses for life change.  The question is: Do you want to be a part of it?

Talk to your student about how you have met the needs of others in your life. Ask your student why God chooses to use people to meet the needs of others.