Bible studies

Group, Sep/Oct 2003 by Trujillo, Kelli

the basics: morality

TOPICS: Waiting for Sex, Drugs Can't Fill You Up, Rock 'n' Roll Morality, Honest to God

waiting for sex

(You'll need Bibles, an array of several yummy snacks and one gross snack such as prunes, one refrigerated bottle of soft drink, one bottle of soft drink that was opened several days before the study then refrigerated without the lid, a large bucket, and cups.)

Before the study, set out a snack table that includes one gross snack, such as prunes. Tell teenagers they're welcome to get some snacks. Then have them sit in same-sex trios and discuss: The church is always telling people they should save sex for marriage-why? What are some negative consequences of having sex before marriage?

Ask groups to report their answers, then invite volunteers to read aloud Mark 7:20-23; Romans 13:13-14; and 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7.

Ask: What do these passages communicate about sexual immorality? As you listen to these verses, what additional reasons to stay abstinent, or consequences of having sex before marriage, do you pick up?

Say something like: When you remind yourself of these reasons and consequences, it can help you avoid sexual sin.

Ask: What are some other strategies that will help you stay abstinent before marriage (such as "Don't hang out in a bedroom")? No one chose the gross snack I put out on the table-what strategies did you use to avoid eating it?

Explain: It probably wasn't very hard for most of you to avoid eating the gross snack because it didn't appeal to you. It's easy to say no to "bad" things like a lame movie or a gross pizza topping. But saying no to sexual temptation isn't like that. Often it feels like saying no to a good thing, and that is much, much harder.

Have teenagers return to their original groups and read Song of Songs 1:2-4, 15-2:7 then discuss: What feelings did the couple in these verses have about each other? about sex? What does this tell you about God's attitude or intentions about sex?

Have groups read Hebrews 13:4, then discuss: How could premarital sex affect a person's marriage? Are other "not-quite-sex" activities (such as oral sex) included in the message of this verse?

Pass around cups and the bottle of previously opened soft drink. Have students fill their cups and drink some. Say something like: I opened this bottle some time ago-it's still got the same ingredients, but the carbonation is gone. It's gone flat.

Ask: How is what happened to this soft drink similar to the way premarital sexual activity can affect what God intended for the "marriage bed"?

Explain that God wants sex in marriage to be new and full of delight-but premarital sexual activities can flatten that newness and delight.

Have teenagers drink from their de-carbonated soft drink as they pray, silently confessing things they've done or thought that are outside of God's plan for sex. Then invite them to dump their "flat" soft drink into a bucket as a symbol of repentance. Pass around the fresh bottle and have them refill their cups. Say something like: This is what a soft drink is meant to be. Bubbly, fizzy, fresh. Sex in marriage should be the same way: exciting, new, and just what God intended.

Close by having teenagers pray while they drink their fresh soft drink, committing to save sexual activities until marriage or to start over if they've already made some mistakes.

drugs can't fill you up

(You'll need Bibles; an empty beer bottle; small slips of paper; pens; a CD player and the Barenaked Ladies' Stunt CD; or a TV, VCR/DVD player, and the Forrest Gump video/DVD.)

Give kids each slips of paper and pens. Have them form pairs and read Proverbs 20:1; 23:20-21, 29-35. Ask them to write on slips of paper all the negative consequences of drug or alcohol abuse they can think of. (Explain that the only kind of drug addressed in the Bible is alcohol; the Bible's teachings about drunkenness can be applied to drug abuse of all types.)

Invite everyone to sit in a circle and have pairs report their ideas. As a student reads a slip, he or she should crumble it up, then shove it into the top of an empty beer bottle in the center of the circle. Keep going until the beer bottle is filled or until students have run out of consequences to share.

Say something like: There are lots of reasons people shouldn't do drugs or get drunk, but people do it anyway. Let's look at what motivates them.

Play the song "Alcohol" from the Stunt CD or show a clip from Forrest Gump starting at 1:29:10 (when the VCR/DVD timer has been set at 00:00:00 when the studio logo appears at the beginning of the film) and stopping at 1:31:10. (Other films depicting drunkenness or drug use are The Legend of Bagger Vance, When a Man Loves a Woman, or Traffic.)

Ask: Does this song/clip realistically depict what people are like when they get drunk or do drugs? Based on this song/clip, what motivates people to get drunk or do drugs?

Ask a volunteer to read aloud Proverbs 31:4-7, then say something like: This gets at the heart of one reason people get drunk or do drugs-the desire is to escape from real life, to forget about their problems, to temporarily fill their feeling of emptiness.