12/27 Senior & Junior High BFC "A Voice in the Desert"

Lesson

• Review
• Read Matthew 3:1-3. Remember our first lesson? Things have come full circle.
• Read Matthew 3:4-10. So John wasn’t politically correct. What is his beef with the Pharisees and Sadducees?
• Read Matthew 3:11-12. I’m good, but someone will be greater.
• Read Matthew 3:13-17. Why did Jesus get baptized?
• Remember, John the Baptist, considered by Jesus the greatest among men, in his darkest hour wanted to know if what he was doing what the right thing to do. Do you ever get to that point?
• Read Matthew 14:1-2. So we see what happened to John. They think that Jesus was John reincarnate. Wouldn’t it be great if people looked at us and said it is like Jesus was back from the dead?
• Read Matthew 14:3-5. Once again, not being politically correct. Remember, John wasn’t making political stands, he was making moral ones.
• Read Matthew 14:6-12. What a way to go out. What does this tell you about the people who live in opposition to what we are preaching and teaching?

Application

• What aspects John’s life should we mimic?
• What have you learned from this study?
• The central message of Christmas is that Jesus has come to earth. Is this still not the message? Though it is not in a manger, Jesus is here living in us, and will be here one day as the victor and ruler of the world

12/20 Senior & Junior High BFC "A Voice In the Desert"

Lesson

• Review. Where are we? What has just happened
• Read Luke 1:57-61. Sometimes doing God’s will defies logic. People kept their names within the family. They didn’t make up names, they kept it all in the family. It didn’t make sense for them to name him this, especially since John was not a Hebrew name.
• Read Luke 1:62-66. Let’s say expectations are a little high. People have seen that God is definitely in this situation. Question: Is your family pointing towards God? Do people realize that God is working in your family?
• Read Luke 1:67-79. When my first child is born, this is the prayer that I am going to pray over them. No, they aren’t going to be as good as John the Baptist but their job in life, our job in life, is the same thing. Find one thing that was mutually exclusive to John?
• Read Luke 1:80. Why did he go to the desert? Some believe that he belonged to a group called the Essens, look it up and research them. But the big deal is this, he’s learning, he’s preparing.

Application

• In this Christmas season, are we filled with such joy? Look at the utter joy of the family, and the community for the birth of John. They all know that this kid is special, and Zechariah makes it obvious that this guy is going to show people the Messiah.
• Are we that excited about Jesus? Are we excited about the opportunity to be the person God uses to bring His good news to the world?

12/14 Senior & Junior High BFC "A Voice in the Desert: Actions Speak"

Introduction

• Did you ever find out a Christmas present before you got it?

Lesson

• Review last week
• Read Luke 1:1-4. Don’t you wish that we had all these accounts? Why is this important?
•  Read Luke 1:5-17. Don’t you wish that you had assurance when your future child comes that he is going to be great? Why is it important that he never has a drink?
• Read Luke 1:18-20. Zechariah doubts. Gabriel answers.
•  Read Luke 1:21-22. Zechariah plays charades
• Read Luke 1:23-25
• Read Luke 1:39-45. Before he is even born, John is pointing towards Jesus. He’s a quick learner.

Application

• John gets an early start on pointing towards Jesus. As you gear up for Christmas (which should be an all year celebration that Jesus came down to us) are your actions reflecting Christ?

12/6 Senior High & Junior High BFC "A Voice in the Desert"

Introduction

• What are some of the things your family does to get ready for Christmas?
• Jesus wasn’t the only one foretold about in the Old Testament.  This Christmas season, we are going to talk about one of the main characters in the story of Jesus, John the Baptist and how he prepared hearts and lives for the coming of the Messiah.

Lesson

• Read Isaiah 40:3-5. We will find that John the Baptist used these words when speaking about Jesus. He knew the importance of getting rid of everything in the way of the Messiah coming.
• Read Malachi 4:5-6. What did Elijah do?
• 1 Kings 18. How are Elijah and John the Baptist similar? In the midst of unbelief and fake gods, Elijah stood for God and what he believed in. John the Baptist stood in the midst of all the false messianic movements. He lived in a world full of Gentile influence.
• 1 Kings 19:9b-18. In their darkest, times, both of them needed reassurance that they were doing the right thing, and pointing the right way.
• 2 Kings 2:11. Okay, so this is maybe where the similarities end.
• Why is this significant that this verse is the last verse in the Old Testament? Yes a bunch of men decided where these books were going, but I trust that God was working through men to leave a cliff hanger here. There were 400 years between this period and the first capital letter of the Gospels.  The deal is this, Elijah, John the Baptist, they are coming to present this fact: come to God, or things are going to get bad.

Weekly Update: Things to Remember this December

Believe it or not, December is here. Here is a detailed glance at what is going on with the youth during December. This should answer all your questions:

Sunday, December 6

We will kick off new BFC series entitled "A Voice in the Desert". We are going to take a look at the life of John the Baptist, someone created to point towards Jesus. I also encourage you to come out either at 4:00 or 6:00 that afternoon to watch our children's musical. The kids have worked very hard and the deserve our support!

Sunday, December 13

We are going to have our annual Christmas parties the afternoon of the 13th. We will be splitting up junior and senior high BUT IF YOU HAVE A CHILD IN BOTH GROUPS, we want to make it easy on you. Simply bring them both to the senior high party. The schedule looks like this:

• Junior High Party 2:00-4:00pm
• Senior High & Siblings Party 5:00pm-7:00pm

We will be sending out directions as the time draws nearer. We ask that you please bring a "Dirty Santa" gift for the game that we will play. We hope to see all of you out there!

Sunday, December 20

We are going to go Christmas caroling again this year. We will be traveling to some of our shut-ins and will be sharing the holiday cheer. We will be leaving the church parking lot at 5:00pm for our various destinations. The night will conclude at the Rose household at 8:00pm. Once again, we will be sending directions out to everyone as the day comes closer.

Thursday, December 31-Friday, January 1

We will be hosting New Year's Lock-In at the church for all youth. Festivities will begin at 8:00pm and will end at 8:00am. We will be playing games, hanging out, and doing just about everything but sleeping. We will also be launching our new theme for the year. We hope you will join us!