Still More Middle School Talksheets

50 Creative Discussions for Your Youth Group

David W. Rogers

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN:
  9780310284932
• eBook ISBN:
  9780310867524
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

"Walk into any middle school youth group and you'll hear the same thing—herds of students talking! But when you're tired of hearing them talk about things that make your head hurt (you know, the latest video game or their favorite song!), give them something worth talking about!The best-selling TalkSheets series just keeps going… In Still More TalkSheets for Middle School Students, you'll find 50 creative ways to get your youth group talking about things that matter. The one-page, reproducible handouts are compelling and thought provoking. Not only that, they're easy for you to use: You'll find helpful hints and optional activities that can help facilitate great conversations. Inside the pages of this book, you'll find topics that cover issues of life and faith. Your middle school students will be engaged with and thinking about topics like: • Communicating with and hearing back from God • Choosing to follow God rather than the crowd no matter what kind of peer pressure you might face• Exploring what the New Testament has to say about when Jesus is coming back• Being committed to intentional prayer• And 46 more!"

Table of contents

• COVER PAGE
• TITLE PAGE
• COPYRIGHT PAGE
• DEDICATION
• CONTENTS
• THE HOWS AND WHATS OF TALKSHEETS
• 1. CALL ME—COMMUNICATING WITH GOD (JEREMIAH 33:3)
• 2. WET PAINT-DON’T TOUCH!—THE BENEFITS OF DOING LIFE GOD’S WAY (GENESIS 2–3)
• 3. RISKY BUSINESS—IT’S NEVER SAFE OR CONVENIENT TO FOLLOW JESUS (MATTHEW 8:18-22)
• 4. PEEL OFF AND CHUNK IT—BEING A CANDIDATE FOR GOD’S BLESSING (PROVERBS 25:4, HEBREWS 12:1)
• 5. CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON—CHOOSING TO TRUST AND WORSHIP GOD IN LIFE’S MOST CHALLENGING SITUATIONS (2 CHRONICLES 20:1-30)
• 6. HABITS—MAKING CORPORATE WORSHIP A REGULAR PART OF YOUR LIFE (LUKE 4:16; ACTS 2:42, 17:2; HEBREWS 10:25)
• 7. WISHING WELL—BEING HONEST WITH JESUS IN THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART (JOHN 4:4-42)
• 8. SUPERHERO-SUPERPOWER—LIVING IN THE POWER OF CHRIST (EPHESIANS 3:14-21, COLOSSIANS 1:29, HEBREWS 1:1-3, JAMES 5:16)
• 9. MEMORY—THE VALUE OF KNOWING WHAT GOD HAS TO SAY ABOUT LIFE (GENESIS–REVELATION; DEUTERONOMY 32:45-47; PSALM 119:11, 105)
• 10. WHO GOD IS GONNA USE—GOD WANTS TO USE ORDINARY PEOPLE TO INFLUENCE THE LIVES OF OTHERS (GENESIS 4:21; EXODUS 2:1-10, 15:19-21; NUMBERS 22:21-34; JUDGES 16:18-30; ESTHER 3–8; JOHN 18:32–19:16)
• 11. BOUNCE YOUR EYES—HOW TO REACT WHEN SIN ENTERS YOUR SIGHTLINE (2 SAMUEL 11:1-5, Job 31:1)
• 12. TASTY!—HOW TASTING GOD’S GOODNESS AFFECTS THE FLAVOR OF OUR LIVES (PSALM 34:8)
• 13. FOLLOW THE LEADER—BEING AN EXAMPLE FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO FOLLOW (MATTHEW 4:18-20, 1 CORINTHIANS 11:1)
• 14. THE DOMINO EFFECT—ALLOWING GOD TO USE YOU IN UNIMAGINABLE WAYS (JOHN 6:1-13)
• 15. I KNOW YOU—BEING KNOWN BY THE GOD WHO KNOWS US COMPLETELY (JEREMIAH 1:4-5)
• 16. SPITTING CONTEST—DETERMINING HOW YOUR LIFE TASTES IN THE MOUTH OF GOD (REVELATION 3:15-16)
• 17. FRIENDS: BACKSTABBER OR FRONT-STABBER?—BEING A TRUE FRIEND AND SHARING THE HARD TRUTH (PROVERBS 27:6)
• 18. REAL OR COUNTERFEIT?—HOW TO TELL IF A PERSON IS A REAL DISCIPLE OR A COUNTERFEIT (JOHN 8:31-32)
• 19. SELECTIVE HEARING—LISTENING FOR AND RESPONDING TO GOD’S VOICE (1 SAMUEL 3:1-10)
• 20. FREEZE FRAME—GIVING ACCURATE PICTURES OF JESUS BY THE WAY WE LIVE OUR LIVES (2 CORINTHIANS 5:20)
• 21. OPEN OR SHUT?—OPENING THE DOOR TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD (MATTHEW 23:13-14)
• 22. BUT EVERYBODY ELSE IS DOING IT!—CHOOSING TO FOLLOW GOD NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF PEER PRESSURE YOU FACE (MICAH 4:5)
• 23. KNOW-IT-ALL—RESPONDING AS A HUMBLE SERVANT-LEADER (JOHN 13:3-17)
• 24. NICKNAMES—JESUS GAVE HIS CLOSE FRIENDS NICKNAMES BASED ON THE STORIES OF THEIR LIVES (MARK 3:13-19, JOHN 13:23, REVELATION 2:17)
• 25. WHAT’S THE VALUE?—BY BECOMING LIKE JESUS, WE ADD VALUE TO THE LIVES OF OTHERS (MATTHEW 4:23-25; 8:1-3; 9:1-8; 9:9-13; 9:18-26; 14:13-21; 28:18-20)
• 26. DON’T CLEAN YOUR PLATE—LEARNING THE VALUE OF SAVING (PROVERBS 21:20)
• 27. THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE—Letting your life shine the way Jesus intended: for all the world to see (Matthew 5:14-16)
• 28. DANGER!—HEEDING GOD’S WARNINGS (1 CORINTHIANS 10:7-13)
• 29. WHO’S YOUR DADDY?—THE ONE RELATIONSHIP THAT TRULY MATTERS IS BEING IN RIGHT STANDING WITH GOD (GENESIS 12, 15, 17; LUKE 3:7-9)
• 30. REBEL WITH A CAUSE—EXAMINING JESUS’ COMMITMENT TO SERVE OTHERS (MARK 10:45)
• 31. FREE SAMPLES—VIEWING JESUS’ LIFE AND MINISTRY AS FREE SAMPLES OF HEAVEN AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD (LUKE 4:14-21, 31-37, 38-44)
• 32. A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS—DRAWING A PICTURE OF FAITH (MARK 2:1-5, 4:35-41, 5:21-34, 6:1-6, 10:46-52, 11:22-25, 16:14)
• 33. THE RULES OF THE GAME—EXPLORING WHAT GOD EXPECTS WHEN IT COMES TO KNOWING AND FOLLOWING THE RULES OF LIFE (EXODUS 20:1-17)
• 34. IF YOU COULD TAKE ONE THING WITH YOU—DOES WHAT WE VALUE THE MOST MATCH WHAT JESUS VALUES MOST? (LUKE 23:32-43)
• 35. IS LIFE WORKING FOR YOU?—DOING THE SAME THINGS AND EXPECTING DIFFERENT RESULTS IS ONE DEFINITION OF INSANITY (PROVERBS 26:11)
• 36. SEE YOU REAL SOON—EXPLORING WHEN JESUS WILL COME BACK (MATTHEW 24:42-44, 25:13; MARK 13:32-37; LUKE 12:40; JOHN 14:1-3; ACTS 1:10-11; 1 THESSALONIANS 4:16, 5:1-11; TITUS 2:12-13; HEBREWS 9:28; JAMES 5:8; 2 PETER 3:10; 1 JOHN 3:2; REVELATION 1:7, 22:12, 20)
• 37. THE FORK THAT CHANGED THE WORLD—EVERY DECISION WE MAKE COULD CHANGE THE WORLD FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE (GALATIANS 6:7-8)
• 38. BEYOND THE WEIRDNESS—LOOKING FOR THE MEANING BEHIND THE WEIRDNESS (ISAIAH 20, 55:8-9; JEREMIAH 27; EZEKIEL 4)
• 39. I ASSUME THAT…—JESUS’ ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT HIS FOLLOWERS (MATTHEW 6:1-18)
• 40. SET APART—LIVING THE WAY GOD DESIRES YOU TO LIVE (PSALM 4:3)
• 41. NO SAVING SEATS—BEING MINDFUL OF OTHERS’ FEELINGS (LUKE 14:7-11)
• 42. EVERY TIME A BELL RINGS—BEING COMMITTED TO INTENTIONAL PRAYER (JAMES 5:16)
• 43. WEIGHT PROBLEM—WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO HONOR YOUR PARENTS (EXODUS 20:12)
• 44. HIGHS AND LOWS—LOOKING AT THE ELEVATION IN OUR LIFE WITH GOD (REVELATION 2:5)
• 45. DEMONSTRATED FAITH—WHAT DOES FAITH LOOK LIKE IN YOUR LIFE? (MATTHEW 8:5-10)
• 46. MEDAL OF HONOR—GOD LOVES US FOR FREE (ISAIAH 64:6)
• 47. PROCRASTINATION?—TRUSTING GOD’S PERFECT TIMING (PHILIPPIANS 1:6, 2 PETER 3:8-9)
• 48. EAST AND WEST—ALLOWING GOD TO REMOVE YOUR SIN FOR GOOD (PSALM 103:11-13, 1 JOHN 1:8-9)
• 49. THE CLOAK—BECOMING A PERSON OF CONTENTMENT (PHILIPPIANS 4:10-13, 1 TIMOTHY 6:6-8, HEBREWS 13:5)
• 50. HOLDING IT TOGETHER—EXPLORING HOW JESUS HOLDS OUR LIVES TOGETHER (COLOSSIANS 1:15-17)
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