Leaders Notes

“All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, all hell is terribly afraid of it, while men are the only beings who more or less ignore its meaning.”

Oswald Chambers.

In our society we are surrounded with imagery linked to Jesus’ death on the cross. From jewellery to tattoos, heavy metal T-shirts to national flags, church steeples to Christian bumper stickers – there will be very few people who are not regularly confronted with the symbol that is central to the Christian faith.

It would be very interesting to know, though, how many people who wear, walk past or wave this symbol have actually considered its meaning.

The cross is central to the Christian faith. To enter into a relationship with God we must understand and accept the work of Jesus on the cross. As the song by Matt Redman and Martin Smith puts it:

The Cross has said it all…
I can’t deny what you have shown,
The Cross Speaks of a God of love;
There displayed for all to see,
Jesus Christ, our only hope,
a message of the Fathers Heart
“Come, my children, come on home”.

Of course, to fully appreciate the cross we must understand that we are people who sin – not always the most popular of doctrines! However, it is vital that we are able to communicate that to the young people we work with. Some of them may be ‘good’ kids. They may never had any major bust ups at home, get good grades at school, considered likeable by everyone – but even they need to understand that the disease of sin affects us all, without exception.

We also need to ensure that our group understands that the cross is a once-for-all, no-strings-attached, free gift. There is nothing we have ever done, are doing now or will ever do that could nullify Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Not one of us deserves God’s salvation through the cross and yet it is available to us all.

But in the same way that when we are given a fantastic present we respond with thanks, the cross also demands a response - of thanks and of sacrifice. Jesus himself said that we must be prepared to pick up our own cross and follow him. Let’s not kid our young people into thinking that once we have been affected by the power of the cross, life will tick along as normal – the cross radically changes lives.

Do be aware, that when looking at the cross, particularly the New Testament passages used in this session, that some of the language will be unfamiliar to your group. Take time to think about terms such as ‘redemption’ (which originally referred to the price paid to gain freedom for a slave. See Leviticus 25:47-54) and ‘salvation’ (what do we need to be saved from?).

And, be prepared for questions! This is not an easy thing to get your head round and this might be the first time that many of your young people have been presented with the true meaning of the cross. Make sure that your group have people that they can chat to if they want to find out more. You could also invest in some books or leaflets (‘Why Jesus’ is a classic, straightforward example), give them room to consider but also opportunity to respond.

Above all, make sure your young people don’t fall into that category of people who look at the image of the cross and  “more or less ignore its meaning”, but provide the chance for them to join heaven in celebrating the wonderful Cross.

Game: Turning Over A New Leaf
Duration: 10 mins Equipment Required: A groundsheet – preferable that is different colours on each side, stopwatch. Description: Split your group into two teams. Lay the groundsheet on the floor and have on of the teams stand on it. Explain to them that their challenge is to turn over the groundsheet whilst all of them remain standing on it. You’ll time them to see how quickly they can complete the task. If one of their feet touches the floor they have to begin again… but the timer keeps running! After the first group have completed the challenge (it is possible!), let the second group try. See who completed the task the quickest and declare a winning team. The Point: Just for fun.

Game: Football Frenzy
Duration: 10 mins Equipment Required: Cones, goal, football, stopwatch. Description: Lay out the equipment  - have the goal at one end of your room with the cones spaced out in a straight line leading to the other end. Split your group into teams of about 6 and line them up behind the first cone. Explain to your group that they have to dribble the ball up to each cone and then run a complete circle around the cone before going on to the next one. After doing this at each cone, they have to try and score a goal. Time them to see how long it takes each team to complete the circuit – deducting seconds for missed goals! Let each group have a go – and prepare yourself for some dizzy young people! See which group is fastest and declare them the winners! The Point: Just for fun!

Game: Get Knotted!
Duration: 10 mins Equipment Required: 2 lengths of rope. Description: Split your group into two even teams – if you have a large group you can have more teams but each will need a length of rope. Hand each team a piece of rope and tell them all to grab hold of it with both hands. Explain that they need to see how many knots they can tie in the rope – without any of their team letting go (they will need to twist themselves over and under each other to do this…)! Count down and let them begin. After a minute or two, stop the teams and count how many knots are on each piece of rope. The team who managed to make the most knots – wins! The Point: Just for fun!

Discussion: The Punishment Fits The Crime
Duration: 15 mins Equipment Required: Bibles. Description: Begin by asking your group if they’ve ever been punished for doing something wrong i.e. by a parent or a teacher. Listen to some of their stories. Tell them that you’re going to read out some ‘misdemeanours’ and that you want them to discuss what might be a suitable punishment. Read the following out one by one and allow your group to debate how the culprit might be disciplined: A person who lies to their friend A person leaves their room in a mess A child who steals a penny sweet. A person who cheats on their GCSEs A person who is caught speeding A person who is caught drink driving A person who kills a man A person who disobeys God Explain to your group that the Bible tells us that anything we do wrong – from lying to murder - is called ‘sin’.  God created us and He knows what is best for us.  He tells us what we should and shouldn’t do because He loves us and doesn’t want us to hurt ourselves, others or Him. But too often we choose to live our lives our own way, ignoring God.  This is the essence of sin and none of us are immune to it (Read Romans 3:10 and Romans 3:23 to see what the Bible says about this). Some sins often seem bigger than others because we see the consequences and their affects more obviously – but all sin cuts us off from God, who is completely without sin, and ultimately leads to death (Romans 6:23). Ask your group what they think we can do about the problem of sin - how can we stop sinning? Explain that this is what you’re going to look at for the rest of the session. The Point: To explain to young people that we have all sinned and are, therefore, separated from God.

Craft Ideas: What's Wrong With The World?
Duration: 20 mins Equipment Required: Big pieces of paper, scissors, glue, a selection of newspaper and magazines, pens, pencils. Description: Organise your young people into groups of about 3-4. Give each group a big piece of paper and share around the other art materials. Explain that you want them to make a collage entitled ‘What’s Wrong With The World’. They can write draw or use cuttings on their work. Encourage them to think not only of the problems, but also about the root causes behind those issues. After about 10 minutes, stop the groups and have a look at what they have produced. Ask them what they have included and why. End by explaining to your group that the Bible has an answer to the question of what is wrong with the world – sin! This is where humans choose to go their own way rather than God’s way. Sin holds our world in turmoil and separates us from God. And not one of us is an exception to this – who can honestly say they’ve never sinned?! God hates sin and, because He is Just, He knows that sin has to be paid for. However, He also loves us and can’t bear for us to be separated from him. So, what did he do to deal with this problem? Explain that this is what you’re going to look at for the rest of the session. The Point: To encourage young people to think about the problem of sin and how it affects our world.

Discussion: Cross Eyed
Duration: 15 mins Equipment Required: A copy of the Power point presentation ‘Images Of The Cross’ and the means to show it, quiet music and something to play it on. Description: Begin by showing your group the power point presentation ‘Images Of The Cross’. Play some quiet music behind it and encourage the young people to reflect on the pictures – you may like to show them more than once. Discuss the following questions: Where do you see images of the cross around you? What does the Cross mean to you? What do you think it may mean to other people? Do you think the Cross is an important symbol today? The Point: To encourage young people to consider what the Cross means to them.

Discussion: 'Images Of The Cross' Powerpoint

Illustrations: Not Just A Fariy Tale
Duration: 20 mins Equipment Required: ‘Not Just A Fairytale’ worksheets, Bibles. Description: Begin by handing out the ‘Not Just A Fairytale’ worksheets to your group. Read the story together and ensure that everyone understands it. Note: If you can use Youth Bibles, you’ll find that the language is ‘friendlier’ for this age group. Discuss the following questions: What are the similarities between the story and the Bible passages? What did Jesus say that he was giving his life for? Look at the passages from Romans – why did we need Jesus to die for us? What is our ‘crime’? What consequence does that have? What punishment did we deserve? What does the passage in Ephesians say that we can have as a result of Jesus dying on the cross? Why is Jesus’ resurrection important in terms of God being able to free us from our sin? How do you think we should respond to Jesus if we accept that he ‘paid the ransom’ for us? Be prepared to explain the meaning of some of the terms found in these passages and to help your group grapple with these difficult but fundamental questions. Explain that, whilst the story of the King and his son is made up, a fairytale, the Bible isn’t. The verses here contain life-changing truths that can set us totally free to enjoy a relationship with God. End by sharing a testimony (or have someone on your team do it!) of a personal experience of ‘redemption’. Challenge the group to think how these truths could change their lives. The Point: To investigate and apply Biblical teaching about ‘redemption’.

Illustrations: 'Not Just A Fairy Tale' sheet

Discussion: Virus
Duration: 20 mins Equipment Required: Bibles. Description: What words would the group use if they were talking about a virus? Things like deadly, spreading, the fact that we need to find a cure… Or perhaps a computer virus and all the problems and difficulties they can cause… Explain that when we think about the problem of sin, it can be helpful to think about a virus. Just like a virus, sin is deadly - it spreads without any boundaries. Sin is constantly reinvented and we need to be alert and prepared to resist it. And, ultimately, sin destroys –it separates us from God and leads to our death! But, unlike Avian flu or many computer viruses, there is a cure for sin! Hand out Bibles and look up the verses: John 3:16, Romans 3:23-26, 2 Corinthians 5:21. Read them carefully together and explain any terms that your young people don’t understand. Explain that God’s cure for sin was to send his son, Jesus. Jesus managed to live his entire life free from the infection of sin. When he died, he took all our ‘infections’ upon himself - but because he had lived his life immune to the power of this deadliest of viruses, Jesus was able to beat it once and for all. When he came back to life, the power of the sin-virus was broken forever. Tell your group that we can share that victory by believing and accepting the amazing work of Jesus. He can help us beat this virus in our own lives and restore our relationship with God back to its full health – for eternity! The Point: To consider how God dealt with the problem of sin through the death of Jesus.

Bible Study: Stop - In The Name Of Love
Duration: 20 mins Equipment Required: Fruit Pastilles, jam doughnuts, Bibles. Description: This activity is designed for groups whose members are already familiar with the Gospel. Begin by asking for 3 volunteers. Sit them in front of the rest of the group and give each one a doughnut. Explain that you want them to eat the doughnut without licking their lips! Have the rest of your group act as judges. See which of the volunteers can go the longest without licking! Next, hand each member of the group a fruit pastille. Tell them to try and finish the sweet without chewing it. See if anyone manages. Ask how your group felt as they were trying to eat without licking or chewing. Explain that just as they were tempted to do what they had been asked not to, in life there are many things surrounding us that tempt us to do what displeases God. Spend a few moments with your group discussing the following question: How should Jesus death on the cross affect the way we approach temptation? Make sure everyone has a Bible and then read these passages together: Romans 5:21-6:2 and 7:15-8:11. Make sure the young people understand the verses – Paul’s ‘what I want to do, I do not do….’ can get a bit confusing!! Discuss the following points: God’s salvation comes through grace (it is a free gift not dependent on anything we do). What different reactions could people have to that? How does Paul say we should respond? Do you relate to Paul’s struggle with sin? In what ways? What have we been set free from? What excuses does that prevent us from making? Who should be controlling our mind? Explain to your group that in Romans Paul picks out two types of people – those who are still controlled by their sinful nature and those who have submitted to Jesus and are now controlled by the Spirit. Being controlled by the Spirit is not simply a passive thing; we have to actively give Him Control over our lives – by reading the Bible, spending time with God, allowing other Christians to speak into our lives etc. But when we live in submission to the Holy Spirit, it is possible for us to live free from sin – all thanks to Jesus! End by encouraging the group to share their experiences of temptation and how they approach it in their own lives. You may like to split into male and female group for this. The Point: To consider how we should respond to Jesus’ death on a cross for us.

Visual And Audio Clips: So Alive
Duration: 15 mins Equipment Required: A copy of ‘The Miracle Maker’ and something to play it on, A copy of ‘So Alive’ by POD and something to play it on. Description: Begin by telling your group that you want to give them an opportunity to reflect on Jesus’ work on the cross. Play the section of ‘The Miracle Maker’ that shows Jesus on the road to the cross and being crucified. The clip stops when the screen goes black after the temple curtain has been torn in two. Turn the volume on the movie down and play the POD track ‘So Alive’ as a soundtrack. Clip Start: 01:60:00 Clip End: 01:65:00 Clip Duration: 5 minutes. At the end of the clip, pray for your group to discover more about the work of Jesus on the cross. If you feel it is appropriate, you may want to give them the opportunity to respond to Jesus or help them find out more.  You could read 1 John 1:8 -9 to the young people encouraging them to be honest about their sin and to confess it before God so that they can be forgiven. The Point: To encourage young people to reflect on the work of Jesus on the cross and give them the opportunity to respond to him.

Prayer: Anti Virus
Duration: 10 mins Equipment Required: Newspapers. Description: Remind the young people that sin is like a virus – it spreads without boundaries, it contaminates our world and, ultimately it is deadly – separating us from God and bringing death. Explain that Jesus death and resurrection is the only thing that acts as an anti-virus! It destroyed the power of sin. Hand out the newspaper and ask the young people to find and tear out a story that they feel is representative of the power of sin in our world. Have them tear the story into the shape of a cross as a symbol of Jesus’ power to bring change and freedom from sin. Ask a member of your group to pray, thanking God for the cross and praying that its effects would spread around the world. The Point: To help young people pray that the power of the cross would influence our troubled world.

Memory Verse: Carry My Cross
Duration: 10 mins Equipment Required: Lolly-sticks (enough for two each), string, Bibles, pens. Description: “But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 Show your group the memory verse. Make sure everyone understands what the verse is saying. Hand each young person two lolly-sticks, a length of string and a pen. Ask them to copy the verse onto the lolly-sticks. Help them bind the two sticks together in the centre to form the shape of a cross.  Encourage them to take their cross home and keep it somewhere that they will see it. The Point: To encourage young people to learn the Bible.

Drama: King’s Cross

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