Youth Sermon Ideas: Points for Youth to Ponder #1

• If you feel far away from God, guess who moved?
• Fear knocked. Faith answered. No one was there.
• What you are is God's gift to you. What you become is your gift to God.
• I am God's melody of life and He sings His song through me.
• We can never really go where God is not, and where He is, all is well.
• In the end everything will be OK. If it's not ok, then it's not the end yet.
• No matter what is happening in your life, know that God is waiting for you with open arms.
• God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
• Do your best and then sleep in peace. God is awake.
• God has a purpose and plan for me that no one else can fulfill.
• The will of God will never take you to where the grace of God will not protect you.
• We are responsible for the effort, not the outcome.
• We set the sail; God makes the wind.
• Begin to weave and God will give you the thread.
• Sometimes when God says "no", it's because He has something better in store for you.
• The task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us.
• Prayer: don't bother to give God instructions; just report for duty.
• It's my business to do God's business and it's His business to take care of my business.
• Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm.
• How come you're always running around looking for God? He's not lost.
• God put me on earth to accomplish a certain number of things; right now I'm so far behind I will live forever.

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Youth Sermon Topics: Who's the Father?

Description
As we celebrate Father's Day we are reminded that God created us through fathers and that fathers are all around us in creation. Father's are special, and we often have special names for fathers such as dad, daddy, etc. In the animal kingdom some father's also have special names. Do you know the special name for each father in the animal kingdom?

alligator .......... bull
ant .................. gyne
antelope .......... buck
bear ................ boar
bee ................. drone
bird (general) .. cock
bison .............. bull
buffalo ............ bull
camel ............. stallion
cat ................. tom
cat ................. gib
cattle .............. bull
chicken ........... rooster
crocodile ......... bull
deer ................ buck
deer ................ hart
deer ................ stag
dolphin ........... bull
donkey ............ jack
duck ............... drake
elephant ......... bull
elk .................. bull
falcon ............. tercel
ferret ............... Jill
fox .................. reynard
fox .................. vix
giraffe ............. bull
gnu ................. bull
goat ................ billy
goose .............. gander
steg ................ steg
grouse ............ gorcock
guinea pig ...... boar
hare ............... buck
hare ............... jack
hawk ............. tiercel
hedgehog ....... boar
hippopotamus.. bull
horse .............. sire
horse .............. stallion
horse .............. stud
impala ............ buck
kangaroo ......... boomer
Lemur ............. dictator
moose .............. bull
mouse .............. buck
mule ................. jack
ox .................... steer
panda .............. boar
pig ................... barrow
pig ................... boar
possum ............. jack
porcupine .......... boar
rabbit ................ buck
rat .................... buck
reindeer ............. bull
rhinoceros ......... bull
seal ................... bull
shark ................ bull
sheep ................ ram
sheep ................ tup
sheep ................ wether
squirrel ............. buck
swan ................ cob
turkey ............... gobbler
turkey ............... tom
turkey ............... jack
walrus .............. bull
wasp ................ drone
whale ............... bull
wolf ................. he-wolf
yak .................. bull
zebra ............... stallion

Icebreaker Game Idea: Who am I and where is my Father
Write the name of each Male (father) and the matching animal on separate index cards or name labels. Shuffle them, and as youth arrive one on the back of each youth so that each person cannot see his own card. The youth must mingle around the room asking each other "yes" or "no" questions about the animal on his or her back in order try to not only identify what is on his or her back, but to also find his or her match. Reduce the number of cards for smaller groups. Duplicate some of the animals for larger groups.

Game Idea: Concentration Card Matching Game
You can place the cards face down so that they cannot be seen in several rows on a table. Do not stack the cards. Youth then turn over any two cards. If a father is matched with the correct animal they can take both cards and then choose two more. If the two cards do not go together they must leave the cards in place and turn them back over. Youth takes turns trying to match cards. This can be done in teams or as individuals. At the end of the game when all the cards have been matched and taken, the youth or team with the most cards wins.

Game Idea: Matching Fathers Concentration Card Game
As a variation you can get photos of fathers and the youth. Paste or print each one on a card. Play it in the same way as the game above except the youth must also match father and child together.

Game Idea: "Battle" also known as "slap"
Shuffle and deal the cards into two equal piles. Divide the youth into two teams. Each team chooses a person to turn over cards. Each team turns over a card at the same time as the other team. When the two cards go together the first person to slap the top of the discards in the center gets all those cards. If they slap the stack and the cards do not match, the other team gets all the cards. The team can shout directions for its player and help them to determine when to slap the deck. Once the deck has been slapped, the next person from each team turns over the cards. The game is over when one team obtains all the cards in this manner.

Father - Child Game Idea
Have each child bring a stuffed animal. Put all the stuffed animals in a pile. Then one by one each father is blindfolded and must find his child's stuffed animal without looking!

Game Idea: "Name That Animal"
In this variation, youth get to see animal listed on the card, but must make the sound of the animal to find their match. Have dictionaries available as some youth will not know what their animal is. Make sure that there are not duplicate names of fathers as some of the names of the males are the same for different animals.

Game Idea: Which one is my daddy?
Blindfold youth the youth and line up the fathers in a row of chairs. Each youth must find his or her father using only touch. You could guide them to touch the father's face, or the fathers could hold out their arms, or you could use a hand, a foot, or a leg for identification. You could also do it the other way around so that fathers are blindfolder and must identify their children by touch. The story of jacob and Esau in the Genesis 25 of the Bible would be a great follow up as Isaac wasn't able to identify which son was which.

Take it to the Next Level
Each animal in this list has a special name for its father. Your parents gave each of you a special name as well. And God knows each one of you by name. Just as the parents take care of their babies, your father takes care of you. Take some time to thank your father for taking care of you.

• What are some of the unique characteristics of your father?
• What are some of the things that would help you identify your father if you could not see?
• What are some of the phrases and words your father often uses?
• What are some ways that your father takes care of you?
• What are some things that you treasure about your father?
• In what ways has your father blessed you?

You can then ask the same questions, but in regard to our heavenly father.

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Youth Sermons: Money for Preaching

After the church service, a young boy told the Youth Pastor: "When I graduate and get a job, I'm going to give you some money." "Well, thank you," the youth pastor replied, "but why?" "Because my dad says you're one of the poorest preachers we've ever had."

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Youth Sermon Topics: St Patrick's Day

Description 

 You may want to use this lesson guide in a Children's sermon or for a youth activity for St. Patrick's day. The significance of St Patrick's day is not in the traditions associated with it today, but in its remembrance of a forgiving teenager who was sold into slavery and escaped only to return to the country where he had been a slave, in order to bring the people there to the love of Christ. 

Resources  

Bring in a large three leafed clover (Shamrock) or clover stickers for each of the youth or children. You might also wear something green, or even let the youth have a taste of some traditional Irish food like corned beef and cabbage.  

NOTE: Cabbage was traditionally served with Irish bacon, instead of corned beef. Corned beef is apparently an Irish American tradition started at the turn of the century because families could not afford Irish Bacon. 

 Introduction 

St Patrick's Day is March 17, on the day of his death, and has been traditionally associated with all things Irish and a lucky clover. At some point Leprechaun's and rainbows with a pot of gold at the end somehow were included in the mythology. Like many holidays, St. Patrick's day began as a religious holiday to commemorate his death, but the original purpose and traditions have been replaced with something almost entirely unconnected to the original celebration. Many of the details of his life are disputed, but we can be certain that he did preach to the unsaved in Ireland and placed a major role in the evangelization of a very large number of people. 

Background

St Patrick was the bishop to Ireland and he lived in a time just before Christianity became the mainstream religion in the Roman Empire, sometime around AD386 - AD460. His faith journey wasn't an easy one. Like Daniel and Joseph of the Bible, he was captured by pirates and sold into slavery when he was only teenager (16 years old). Life was difficult for slaves. Not only was life difficult, but he was dragged from his home and sent into slavery in another country without his family. Tradition says that as a slave in Ireland he was forced to be a shepherd, herding sheep and pigs. His father had been a church deacon, and his grandfather a clergyman, but by his account, he only turned to religion and prayed out to God when he was in captivity. Conditions were harsh and his only comfort was what he received through praying constantly. After six years as a slave he escaped by boat to Britain. He traveled the 200 miles to the ocean and according to some stories either stowed away or booked passage. The boat landed not far from where his parents lived, and one would expect a joyful reunion and for him to remain with his parents. Instead of staying though, he traveled to France to study and become a priest. Because of his captivity, he never received any formal education and lacked the eloquence the other students had. While studying for ministry, he received a vision from God to return to Ireland as a missionary. He only took the name Patrick when he later became a Bishop. It was a great act of forgiveness that he returned to the people who enslaved him in order to share with them the love of Christ. Unlike most Bible teachers and preachers of the time, Patrick didn't speak very well nor deliver fine sermons. It wasn't his rhetoric that won the people over. He had the rare ability to use common, everyday life experiences to explain difficult theological concepts - much like Jesus did and the apostle Paul after Him. That's pretty much why St. Patrick's Day is represented by a shamrock. According to legend, Patrick would take up a three-leaf clover and ask, "Does it have one leaf or three?" Those listening would respond, "both." Patrick then explained, "And so it is with the Trinity - Father, Son, and Spirit are one God. Three persons in one." However, that alone wasn't enough to bring his people to faith in God either. Ironically, what he lacked in school, he more than made up for by what he learned through his upbringing of trials and adversity. And that was a desperate dependance on God through prayer. This was more than any theological school could teach him and it was instrumental in his success as a minister of God. It was that and the demonstration of his faith through his actions and prayer life that convinced so many to believe in God. St. Patrick wasn't just a minister for God inside the 4 walls of the church. He was outspoken about the practice of slavery in his country as well. His repeated pleas to the Christian leadership in Britain were ignored but he persisted and like the widow in Jesus' parable, was rewarded - with the decision to end the slave trade in Ireland.

Take It to the Next Level

There's much we can learn from the life of St. Patrick. If you were captured and put into slavery as a teenager, do you think you might feel called to return to those who enslaved you and work for the salvation of their souls? I'm sure we've had at some point harbored unforgiveness in our hearts for less! Is forgiveness easy or difficult? Why is forgiveness an important concept to Christians? Is there someone you need to forgive today? Sometimes we're so caught up with discussing God in church that it never results in DOING what Jesus really called us to do. Jesus never called us to go to church on Sundays, He never called us to play music in the worship team, He never called us to serve Him as ushers. First and foremost, Jesus called us to go and make disciples, to love God with all our hearts, and to love His people. When all is said and done, do we live out our faith in the world "out there"? Are we sharing about Christ to our friends and families who have yet to know Him? Are we speaking out against the social injustices that we see? Is there a school bully you need to confront - not with your fists - but with the love of God? Is there someone who feels lost, hurt, depressed and rejected that needs to hear about the love a Savior has for them? Let's commit to being real St. Patricks today. As we remember and honor the man that was truly a follower of Christ, let us celebrate by putting our feet to motion and our hands to action for a world that has yet to hear or know about the Living God.

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