Purpose

Eric Tomeo

CPMT • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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Notes

Transcript

Handout

Game Time

Something fun (eg. Game, video, etc.). It is not necessary for this to have a tie in to the lesson, but it can.

Game 1. The Pizza Stack Challenge (15 Min)

Game 2. Pizza Dodgeball (15 Min)

Game 3. Pizza Box Curling (15 Min)

Introductions

This is culture

Basic Opening Statement: Thanks for coming tonight. Here in just a few minutes we will head downstairs and enjoy some time together eating some good food and having a conversation. But before we do that, I just want to take a minute to pause and consider somethings from the BIble. At bcsm and we talk a lot about community, purpose, mission and truth. We want you to know that this is a safe space to process your faith and ideas, to ask questions we are better off with you than without you. We want to prepare you to experience and tell your friends that a relationship with God is possible.

You have community. You have purpose. You have a mission. You have truth.

And over the next few weeks we are going to be exploring those things a little more in depth. Today we are talking about Purpose.

Now before we get started, let me pray.”

*Pray for God to use what you have to say to move someone further along in their journey towards Jesus.*

Story Time

Tell a quick story that introduces the message

I was a crafty kid. By crafty I don’t mean like clever or sneaky. I mean I enjoyed making things with my hands. For awhile there I was really into sewing. I made my own halloween costume one year. I made myself a shirt that I wore, a lot. I learned to cross stich and make friendship bracelets and a lot of other things. But one thing I could never learn was how to crochet or knit.

Why?

One, it was hard. And two, I did not want a sweater or a washcloth enough to invest the time to put it all together. It’s a very intricate process, one that takes a lot of time and focus. It’s not possible to accidentally knit something. Instead, you have to have a plan of what you’re going to knit, and then you have to focus on what exactly you’re knitting. The Bible tells us that God knit you together. Not on accident, not on a whim, but with a purpose.

Scripture

Read or summarize main Scripture with a little surrounding context. Ask a couple of questions to about the text.

Check out this run on sentence from Pauls second letter to his buddy Timothy.

2 Timothy 1:8–12 (ESV)

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do.

Tension/ Main Point

What is the rub? Create some questions and feeling in the minds of your students around the main point of the lesson.

I’m going to let you in on a secret. God’s purpose for you is not about you; it’s about Him. This verse says that we’ve been saved and called to a holy life because of Jesus, not because of us. Because of God’s purpose, not because of ours. And then it says something really cool. It says that the grace of Jesus was given to us before the beginning of time. Not before the beginning of your life, but the beginning of time. That’s so crazy that’s it’s hard to wrap your mind around!

So let me ask you this-if God was going to save you and call you because of His purpose and grace, and He gave you that grace before the beginning of time, don’t you think it’s safe to say He’s always had a plan and a purpose? If He’s going to go through all the trouble of giving you grace way before you’re even around, and then calling and saving you—I don’t think there’s any way you’re an accident. And I don’t think there’s any way that you don’t have a purpose. You do have a purpose, and it’s His purpose.

It can be scary to think about committing to following God’s purpose. We’re crazy sometimes and get this idea in our head that God’s purpose might not be what we want. We get sad about maybe having to give up our own purpose. But here’s the deal: What in your life, in your plans, is so amazing that you could possibly think it’s better than God’s purpose for you?

Seriously—think about it. God, the creator of the universe, the creator of you, has a purpose for you even if you don’t see it.

It reminds me of Carmela Vitale and her wonderful invention. Let’s say I had a pizza in this box here and I leaned on it, like this? (Smash box) What would happen?

Show mangled pizza picture.

Unless it had one of these inside, right?

Carmela Vitale filed the patent for this little piece of plastic in 1985. On its own you might be able to use it as a table for your doll house which is ok… but when it is in the right place, fulfilling it’s purpose, it saves your pizza, right?

Response

We respond every week with an invitation to baptism and communion.

God knows everything. He knows time from beginning to end. He knows exactly what’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen, and how it’s going to happen. He knows what you want and what you need. He knows your talents, your heart, and what your purpose truly is. Most of you in here don’t even know what you’re going to be eating for lunch tomorrow. So we want to help you fulfill the purpose God has for you.

Starting on the morning of Sunday August 8th, bcsm is going to be launching something new. It is something we have been building towards for a very long time and I am really excited about the things that are going to come out of that launch. We are changing something foundational about bcsm, but we are not changing the things bcsm is all about. Community, Purpose, Mission, Truth.

We believe that the church should be full of these things. This group of young people should be all about these things. These are not going away. We need to continue pursuing these things.

So the question is, how do we know what God wants us to do? What are we set up to do in the Kingdom of God? What problem did God create us uniquely able to tackle?

Song

Pick a song that centers around the main theme of the lesson.

SONG

Discussion

Ice breakers

Pineapple on Pizza. Discuss.

Would you rather only eat pizza for the rest of your life or be able to eat anything but pizza for the rest of your life?

What is one thing we probably don’t know about you?

Pray together

Take a few minutes of your time together to listen to what God is doing in one another’s lives and pray for any specific needs people in your group may have.

Do you spend a lot of time questioning what your purpose is?

Have you ever thought to ask God those hard questions we talked about—like why you’re here and what you’re supposed to do with your time here?

When you think about how God knows everything, how does that make you feel about His purpose for you?

Is it hard for you to commit to following God’s purpose for your life? Why or why not?

Did you know that God gave you grace before the beginning of time? Do you think it’s possible for Him to have done that and not have a purpose for you?

Closing Thought

For you will certainly carry out God's purpose, however you act, but it makes a difference to you whether you serve like Judas or like John.

CS Lewis

What do you think about that quote? What does it mean? Do you agree?

How can you begin to follow God’s purpose for your life? What if you don’t know what exactly it is?