T h a n k Y o u !

T h a n k y o u f o r d o w n l o a d i n g a n d u s i n g a d i g i t a l v e r s i o n o f t h i s r e s o u r c e . O u r mi n i s t r y h o p e s t h a t t h e d i g i t a l v e r s i o n w i l l ma k e i t e a s i e r f o r y o u t o g e t t h e c o n t e n t y o u n e e d q u i c k l y a n d i n a f o r ma t t h a t ' s e a s y t o u s e . I f y o u n e e d j u s t o n e c o p y o f t h i s r e s o u r c e t h e n f e e l f r e e t o p r i n t t h e s e p a g e s o r a c c e s s t h e mf r o my o u r mo b i l e d e v i c e . I f y o u n e e d mu l t i p l e c o p i e s f o r o t h e r s i n y o u r g r o u p t h e n p l e a s e p u r c h a s e a d d i t i o n a l d o w n l o a d s e i t h e r mu l t i p l e s i n g l e l i c e n s e d o w n l o a d s o r t h e 1 0 p a c k l i c e n s e . T h i s w i l l e n s u r e t h a t y o u h a v e a l i c e n s e f o r e a c h o f t h e p e o p l e i n y o u r g r o u p u s i n g t h e l e a d e r ' s g u i d e o r w o r k b o o k . I f y o u h a v e a n y q u e s t i o n s y o u c a n c h e c k o u ts u p p o r t . b l u es h t v . c o m

t v

CONTENTS
02 03 04 06 08 09 19 29 39
FREE ONLINE EXTRAS ABOUT JOSHUA HARRIS THE MISSION Of THE CHURcH BY JOSHUA HARRIS HOW TO USE THIS LEADERS GUIDE ARE YOU A TRADER?
Session One WhAT WILL YOu BuILD YOur LIFE ON? SessionTwo ThE ImPOrTANCE OF KNOWING GOD SessionThree HOW GOD MAKES US RIGhT Session Four HOW WE ChANGE

Bluefish TV Presents DUG DOWN DEEP LEADERS GUIDE Copyright 2011 Bluefish T V by Bluefish T V Brian Mosley : President Jackie Mosley : Publisher Paul Lanum: Associate Publisher Randy Petersen: Writer Phil Warner: Senior Producer Steve Gee: Director of Marketing Daniel Lu: Graphic Designer ISBN- 978-1-57275-313-6 ISBN- 1-57275-313-7 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No par t of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except where noted on handouts and in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical ar ticles and review.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Doctrinal Statement can be found at bluefishtv.com For information, write: Permissions Bluefish T V 3304 Essex Dr. Richardson, T X 75082 Bluefish T V is a non-profit ministr y. Published by Bluefish T V Printed in the United States of America

2
DuG DOWN DEEP

FREE ONLINE EXTRAS

Promotional Materials
Go online to: www.bluefishtv.com/promo to download logos, posters or flyers to help promote this series to your class.

Handouts

There are handouts to use with each lesson. Youll need to make enough copies for your entire class beforehand. There are three places to find these handouts:

1.) O  nline: Go to www.bluefishtv.com/handouts. Scroll down to the Dug

Down DeepYouth Series. Download the supplemental handouts by clicking on the Buy Today FREE button. Insert the quantity and click Add. Click Checkout, fill out the appropriate contact info, and place your order. Then click on Dug Down Deep - Handouts (DOWNLOAD NOW) PDF. Save the file to your computer.

2.) D  VD: Insert any Disc into your computer. Close any DVD software that

might open automatically. Open My Computer by Double-clicking the icon on the Start Menu. Right-click on the DVD (title) in the D Drive. Open the Folder titled Handouts. Right-click on the appropriate lesson title. Select Open. Select File then print copies of the lesson handout for entire class.

3.) I  n this Leaders Guide: As a last resort, each handout is located at the
end of each lesson that you can copy, if you prefer.

Free Downloads

Youve been given access to a FREE VIDEO DOWNLOAD along with each lesson. Each download fits well with the topic addressed and can be used as an icebreaker to enhance your teaching times. At BluefishTV.com you can also download over 800 funny or dramatic clips. Visit BluefishTV.com and receive the following free downloads:

Lesson

1. What Will You Build Your Life On? 2. The Importance of Knowing God 3. The Way to Be Good Again 4. How We Change

Download

Is Your Faith in Kindergarten? Order Your Faith A Man Fell in a Hole Teen Stunt Man: Bible

Code

DDD1 DDD2 DDD3 DDD4

DuG DOWN DEEP

ABoUT JoShUA HARRIS

Joshua Harris has been serving as the senior pastor of Covenant Life in Gaithersburg since 2004. He is a gifted speaker with a passion for making theological truth easy to understand. Joshua is perhaps best known for his run-away bestseller, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, which he wrote at the age of twenty-one. His later books include Boy Meets Girl, Sex Is Not the Problem (Lust Is), and Stop Dating the Church. His newest book is Dug Down Deep and is his own story of learning to build his life on the truth about God. The founder of the NEXT conferences for young adults, Joshua is committed to seeing the gospel transferred to a new generation of Christians. Joshua and his wife, Shannon, live in Maryland with their three children.

3
DuG DOWN DEEP

You May Also Like:

Made to Make a Difference with Max Lucado (DVD) Can You Really Change the World? Why Jesus? with David Nasser (DVD) What do you question about Jesus? Filmed in Israel

Identity (DVD) 4 Powerful Video Illustrations about the Search for Self

Preview these and many other resources at

DuG DOWN DEEP

4
DuG DOWN DEEP

ThE MISSIoN of ThE ChURch

By Joshua Harris

Ill be honest. The mission Jesus has given us scares me. Im much more comfortable being called out of the world than I am being sent into it. As a pastor I can devote myself to the concerns of the church, spend most of my time with other Christians, and shut myself off in the safety of church life like a hamster in a plastic rolling ball. But that impulse to wall myself off from the world isnt always motivated by a love for holiness. Too often I separate myself from the world because Im afraid or just plain lazy. Unbelieving people think Im weird. Theyre different from me, and different can be uncomfortable. In those moments I have to remind myself: its not enough for me to be holy. When Jesus left, he didnt say, Stay on this hill and be holy. He told his followers to be holy and to go share the gospel with the world. For the church to be faithful, we need both a concern for holiness and a heart to reach the world. Each of us has to continually evaluate our motives, our lifestyle choices, and our efforts to befriend people who dont know Jesus. I once heard John Piper share the story of being invited as a young boy to attend a movie with his classmates. His very godly but very conservative parents frowned on movie watching. But while his mother would have preferred he not go, she didnt forbid him. Instead she explained her own convictions and let him make the choices. Do what you think is right, she told him. We have standards, Son, but they have to come from the inside. Reflecting on the story, Piper said, Theres a world of difference between separation and consecration. The issue is not separating rules but consecrated hearts. Theres a lot of wisdom for the church in those words as we wrestle with questions about engaging and influencing a godless culture. To consecrate something means to set it apart for Gods use. True consecration is an inward reality, not a matter of physical proximity or outward regulation. Theres no contradiction between consecration and evangelistic mission. If our hearts are consecrated, we can live in the darkest culture and powerfully shine forth the truth of the gospel. If our hearts are not consecrated, no amount of separation or man-made rules will keep us from the influence of worldliness (1 John 2:1517). It will be in us no matter how high we build the walls around ourselves. Jesus said that Christians are to be like salt and light in the world (Matthew 5:1316). John Stott writes, So Jesus calls his disciples to exert a double influence on the secular community, a negative influence by arresting its decay and a positive influence by bringing light into its darkness. For it is one thing to stop the spread of evil; it is another to promote the spread of
DuG DOWN DEEP

truth, beauty and goodness. The church is called to engage the world around us with countercultural lives and countercultural truth from Gods Wordto arrest the decay brought about by human rebellion and spreading the lifegiving light of Gods truth. Notice that both analogies Jesus uses assume contact. Salt is a natural preservative. It halts decay. But it wont work if its diluted. And it has no effect if its isolated. Salt has to come into contact. So it is with the church. We have to be in the world, engaging and influencing every aspect of culture with the truth of the gospel. In the same way Jesus doesnt call his people to be just a city. Were to be a city on a hill that shines forth light to a dark world. Flight into the invisible is a denial of the call, writes Dietrich Bonhoeffer. A community of Jesus which seeks to hide itself has ceased to follow him. If we would obey Jesus, we must go into the world. Ive been challenged by the example of other churches to study my local community with the evangelistic intentionality of a missionary. To ask questions like If I were a missionary to another nation, how would I view my life? What decisions would I make about where I live or how much I need to live on? Where would I spend my time so I could form friendships with unbelieving people? What would I seek to learn about the culture so I could befriend and clearly communicate the gospel? What are the idols and false gods people are worshiping? Ask these questions, and then apply them to your current location. The mission field is right in front of you. Imagine how this kind of evangelistic urgency could be used by God to touch your campus, workplace, neighborhood, and community.
Excerpted from Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris Copyright 2010 by Joshua Harris. Excerpted by permission of Multnomah Books, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

5
DuG DOWN DEEP

Excerpted from

DUG DoWN DEEp

by Joshua Harris

DuG DOWN DEEP

6
DuG DOWN DEEP

HoW To USE ThIS LEAdERS GUIdE

This Leaders Guide is a tool to help you combine the video and Bible Study into a dynamic growth experience. As the leader, take some time in advance to consider the Bible Study questions and come up with personal examples to encourage discussion. There are handouts to use with each lesson. Youll need to make enough copies for your entire class beforehand (Check out page 2 for detailed instructions). By using the handouts and breaking into small groups for discussions, your group will work on situations and personal issues brought up earlier in the video, Bible Study section and discussion. With that in mind, lets preview the guide. The main body of the Guide is written as a conversation you would have with the class. When theres a specific question to ask, it appears in bold type. When we want to whisper directions in your ear, well use this italic type. (If youre looking for a quick answer, the suggested answer sometimes appears in parentheses after the question.) But many of the questions are open for discussion, so they have no (suggested) answers in parentheses. Instead, the paragraphs that follow after might include thoughts you could add to the discussion. Each lesson has particular sections...

OpEN
This is the icebreaker. Adjust it to the character of your group, but dont skip it, for several reasons. (1) Every group needs some transition time. (2) The people get to know each other. (3) The introductory questions draw out practical connections between the subject matter and their lives. Each lesson includes an option for an activity or discussion-only questions to get things going its your choice.

VIEW
Now its time to watch the video. Make sure to set the audio at a comfortable level before beginning the session and everyone can see the screen. You dont want your students to miss anything.
DuG DOWN DEEP

RE-VIEW
People can forget what they see unless they review it right away. The discussion questions in this section help your students remember what they just viewed from the teaching and real-life stories. But other questions try to connect the video to their emotions or experience. How did you feel when they said that? Is that true in your life? Do you have the same issue? You as the leader will set the tone. If you offer a comment thats a bit challenging, a bit radical, a bit cutting-edge, then the group will feel that they have permission to do the sameand you will have a riproaring discussion.

7
DuG DOWN DEEP

BIBLE joURNEy
This is an in-depth Bible study based on the Biblical teaching mentioned from the video. Within your youth group, you will find different levels of faith. This is a time to open up the Bible and help them grow, or find their faith.

PERSONAL EXCAVATION
In this section your students will reflect on the true foundation of their faith. They will be asked to consider how they live out their personal faith with their friends, in the midst of temptation, in their actions, and in their attitudes.

LAST WoRd
This is an opportunity for your students to be challenged to do something with what theyve learned. This section will direct the students to reflect on how they live out their personal faith with their friends, in the midst of temptation, in their actions, and in their attitudes. There may be students that are not sure where they stand in their relationship with God. Every session, this would be a good time to make it known that you are available at any time to answer their questions in private.

DuG DOWN DEEP

WOULD YOU TRADE THESE THINGS TO IMPACT SOMEONE ELSE FOR CHRIST? A TRADER IS A NEw KIND OF MISSIONARY, NOT DEFINED BY GEOGRAPHY, BUT wILLING TO FAITHFULLY MINISTER wHEREVER GOD HAS THEM. DISCOVER HOw TO BE A TRADER AT RIGHTNOw.ORG

Session One

WhAT WILL YoU BUILd YoUR LIfE ON?

10
SESSION ONE

Leader: Be sure to have enough Blocks handouts printed out for the entire class. For detailed info on printing handouts, see page 2.

OpEN
Leader: How do you want to start this session, with high energy or low? Each of the four sessions in this series will offer both optionsan activity that will get your students moving, playing, laughing; and also a discussion question to get into the main theme. Depending on the makeup of your group and the time of your meeting, you might find it best to use one or the other, or both.

FREE VIDEO DOWNLOAD: Visit BluefishTV.com to receive one of our favorite videos that fits well with this lesson. Enter the code DDD1 to receive: Is Your Faith in Kindergarten? For detailed download instructions, see page 2.

Activity

Preparation: Provide an assortment of papernewspaper, copy paper, construction paper, maybe even some manila folders. Divide the group into two teams. (If you have more than twenty students, you could add a third or fourth team. Ideally, each team will have 610.) Your job is to use this material, and only this material, to build as tall a structure as possible. You can fold it, bend it, tear it, crumple it, but your object is to construct something tall. At the end of three minutes, the team with the tallest structure wins. Leader: After the results have been measured and the winners applauded, talk about it. Winners, what was the secret of your success? What problems did you all encounter? How important was it to create a firm base? Did it help you build higher if you paid attention to the bottom layer?

Discussion
Leader: If you prefer not to do the activity, use these questions instead. If youve done the activity, you can skip this.

DuG DOWN DEEP

Whats under this room? Whats under this building? What is it built on? Why do you think builders pay so much attention to building a strong foundation? [Introduce the video here after Activity or Discussion] As you might guess, well be talking today about having a strong foundation for your life, but this might be a little different from what youve heard before.

11
SESSION ONE

VIEW
Watch Session 1: What Will You Build Your Life On? (20 minutes)

RE-VIEW
People build the foundation of their life on different things. What false foundations did we see in the stories in the video? (Kaitlyn relied on growing up in a Christian home. Her faith was shattered when her mother passed away, making her bitter and rebellious. Ryans foundation was his popularity and relationships in sports. After an injury took him out of sports, he felt isolated and turned to drugs.)

How did that work out for them? Did the foundations hold? Why or why not?

As you look around at your family and friends, what other foundations do people build their lives on?

In the video, both Kaitlyn and Ryan had reality checks when things went wrong. What went wrong, and how did it affect them?

DuG DOWN DEEP

12
SESSION ONE

Do you think this is the way it usually happens: that people think their foundation is fine until the storms come? Have you seen this happen in people around you?

Yeah, but to be honest, doesnt the same sort of thing happen to Christians sometimes? Doesnt our faith-foundation get shaken when bad things happen in our lives? Whats the difference?

BIBLE JoURNEy
Joshua Harris referred to an important Bible passage that we should take a look at. Turn to Luke 6:46. Somebody read verses 4649. Leader: If you have access to a chalkboard or whiteboard, and you can storyboard the following analysis, it might be fun, and it might also make the story very clear. So, if we were to make a film of this parable, how many scenes would it have, and what would they be?

There are three distinct scenes in the story (though you could certainly add others for dramatic effect, and you might split them up differently). 1.  The building of the houses. (And youd have to cut back and forth between the two building projects.) 2. The storm/flood (torrent). 3. The result. One house is standing; the other, rubble.

So the main plot of the story is that one house is destroyed and the other is still standing, but a film needs character development too. So who are the two builders? What are we told about them?

DuG DOWN DEEP

The one whose house stands (the rock-builder) is the one who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, Jesus says. The other is the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice. How could we show this in our film? What scenes could we make up to illustrate the way these two live?

13
SESSION ONE

But heres one crucial detail that Joshua called to our attention. Somebody read verse 46 again. Who is being described here? Who is Jesus telling this parable to? Who is he telling it about?

Some people were calling Jesus Lord but not doing what he said. These were the people he described in the story building without a foundation. Joshua makes the point that this is not a salvation message. Jesus is not saying, Become a Christian and your house will stand. Hes talking to people who already call him Lord, but they arent grounding their lives on his teachings. What does Lord mean? When someone comes to Jesus saying, Lord, Lord, what are they saying? (A lord is a boss, a master. This is the statement of a servant. Lord, Ill do what you say.) So, how did their words line up with their actions? (They didnt.) Somebody read Luke 6:4345. This is the lead-in to the foundation story. What is Jesus saying about trees and fruit? (Trees bear fruit according to their nature.) What is Jesus saying about our hearts and our actions? (Our actions reflect whats truly in our hearts.)
DuG DOWN DEEP

14
SESSION ONE

How does this paragraph connect with the story of the foundations and the storm? You can call Jesus Lord, but if you dont really act like his servant, youre like a thornbush producing figs. Its a contradiction. It doesnt happen. Your words might sound nice, just like a house might look nicebut if it has no foundation, its not much of a house at all. Both of these paragraphs are about substance and appearance. The true power of our faith comes not from the words we say, but the things we do. Does this mean we have to do good things to earn our salvation?

No. We cannot earn salvation. God saves us by his grace. It is a free gift. And he offers forgiveness when we mess up, and we will mess up. But heres what Jesus tells usfollowing him is not just a matter of saying religious words. It means committing yourself to living your life his way. It means letting him change your heart. It means building your life on him. This is authentic Christianity. Theres a difference between being imperfect and being a pretender. Jesus knows that we will not always do the right thing, and he offers forgiveness. But if we can extend his parable, thats a bit like nailing up a crooked board when we build the house. You can tear that off and try again. But the question remains: What are you building the house on? Are you basing your identity, your success, your actions on Jesus? Or are you just saying so?

PERSoNAL EXcAVATIoN
Turn to 1 Timothy 6:17. We talked earlier about what people built their life-foundations on, and there are several answers. This little passage gives us one example of a foundation that a lot of people have. Somebody read verses 1719. These verses are talking about people who build their lives on . . . what?

DuG DOWN DEEP

Do you know people who would fit that description? What can they do to change their foundation? What should they do differently?

15
SESSION ONE

It really starts with that challenge to put their hope in God. If you put your hope in wealthwhat does it say about wealth?its so uncertain. Its like building on a sandy foundation. If you want a rocksolid foundation, put your hope in God. What does that mean: to put your hope in God?

Hope is a lot like other religious wordstrust, faith, etc. But hope has a forward feeling to it. We hope for something in the future. It also has some joy in it, right? We expect a happy futurenot because of our bank account, but because of our relationship with God. All that stuff about good deeds and being generousthats what comes out of a heart that hopes in God. As we saw before, a fig tree produces figs. And a hopeful heart produces generous actions. You dont need to bribe God to save you. Youre sharing your money because you dont need to cling to it anymore. You have a new foundation, in God. Leader: Distribute the Blocks handout. This is the first session in a series that will challenge us to examine our current foundations and then build our lives on whats most importantan awareness of who God is, and a vibrant relationship with him. That all starts by being honest with yourself about what your life is like now. What kind of foundation have you built your life on? Are you serious about following Jesus, or have you just been saying, Lord, Lord, because church is where the cool people hang out? The idea of this self-evaluation sheet is that your true foundation becomes apparent in your thoughts, your relationships, your ambition, and how you spend your time.

DuG DOWN DEEP

16
SESSION ONE

Take the next few minutes to go through this sheet by yourself. Maybe its something you want to take home and pray about, but start here. No ones looking over your shoulder, so you dont have to give the right answers, if there are any. Just be honest.

LAST WoRd
Take another look at the foundation youve described. These arent all bad things. In fact, some of them are very good building blocks for the life you want to havebut theyre not a good foundation. The first step in this whole process is to decide to make Jesus your foundation. Talk to him this week about how to do that.

DuG DOWN DEEP

Handout

BLocKS
How would you describe the current foundation of your life? Whats most important to you? One way to evaluate this is to look at four different areas: What do you think most about? What relationships do you invest the most time, energy, and emotion in? What ambitions do you have for the future? How do you spend your time? The diagram below gives you five blocks in each of those four areas. Write into each block one of your top five. (Or, if one answer takes up 40% of your time, ambition, etc., give it two blocks; three blocks for 60%, and so on.) Some suggested answers are given below, but you can make up anything you want. Just be honest about it. This is a way for you to evaluate your own life.

THINKING
School Family Jesus Love & Sex Sports Celebrities Clothes Acne Bling Other . . .

RELATIONSHIPS
(You could put the #s in the blocks)

AMBITION
Fame Success Money Marriage Beauty Education Popularity Ministry License Other . . .

TIME (waking hours)

Shopping Texting Gaming Skating Studying Practicing Worshiping Kissing Chatting Other . . .

1. Family 2. BFF 3. Girlfriend/boyfriend 4. Twitter following 5. Christian friends 6. Friends who respect my faith 7. Friends who tear down my faith 8. People Im using to get what I want 9. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

ThINKING RELATIONShIPS

AmbITION TImE

SESSION TWO

ThE ImpoRTANcE of KNoWING God

20
SESSION TWO

Leader: Be sure to have enough Because God Is handouts printed out for the entire class. For detailed info on printing handouts, see page 2.

OpEN
Leader: As always, if you prefer to skip the activity and move ahead to the discussion, do so.

FREE VIDEO DOWNLOAD: Visit BluefishTV.com to receive one of our favorite videos that fits well with this lesson. Enter the code DDD2 to receive: Order Your Faith. For detailed download instructions, see page 2.

Activity

Well be holding a press conference. Well need several volunteers to answer questions, but everyone else in the room can ask questions. Heres the rule: Every answer must be a lie. Total fabrication. Make stuff up. (And of course that would make this completely different from any real press conference you would see on the news.) If we catch you in a truth, youre done, and the next person steps up to answer questions. Leader: Youll have to stay on your toes to manage this. And you might have to start with questions like What is your name? or What is your claim to fame? (Of course theyll be making up fake names and fake fame.) But get the group to chime in as soon as you can. Encourage followup questions based on their original fabrications. In order to catch them in a truth, you might ask a casual question like, Isnt it hot today? or Are you having trouble hearing the questions? (Their denial would prove that they can hear the questions.) See if anyone can field ten questions without lapsing into truth. If so, congratulate them and move on to the next question-answerer. Depending on your time frame, you could use 35 question-answerers before the game gets old. [After the Activity . . .] Was it hard to keep telling lies? Was it fun? Were any of our answerers convincing? Were they good liars? Would you have believed them if it wasnt part of this game?

DuG DOWN DEEP

Discussion
Leader: If youre not doing the activity, you could start here. Is lying difficult? Why or why not?

21
SESSION TWO

Do you think its hard to keep lying, to keep a made-up story straight? [Introduce the video here after Activity or Discussion] Were going to be talking today about double-lives, about people who are living a lie. Unfortunately, we see a lot of this in the churchor rather, we dont see it, because people are hiding the truth about who they are.

VIEW
Watch Session 2: The Importance of Knowing God (17 minutes)

RE-VIEW
We met a couple of students who talked about their double lives, doing the Christian thing on Sunday, but being very different in other situations. Do you think this is pretty common? Why do you think people do this?

Do you think these people are really trying to live a lie, or just trying to figure out who they really are?

In the two cases we saw, Jaron got involved with drugs because his friends were going that direction, and Merrilee got drawn away from Christ by a boyfriend. What effect do our friendships have on the way we live?

DuG DOWN DEEP

22
SESSION TWO

Is it better just not to have any non-Christian friends? In the video, Joshua Harris talks about theology. So . . . what is theology? (Heres what Joshua said: Simply put, theology is the study of the nature of Godwho he is and how he thinks and acts.) According to Joshua, why does theology matter?

Heres what Joshua said; What you believe about Gods naturewhat he is like, what he wants from you, and whether or not you will answer to himaffects every part of your life. Theology matters, because if we get it wrong, then our whole life will be wrong. So if you think of God as distant and uninvolved in your life, then youll live selfishly. Youll use other people to get what you want and think that God wont notice. If you think God exists just to serve your needs and desires, youll pray when youre in trouble but ignore him the rest of the time. Youll be angry when he doesnt give you exactly what you want. Messed up theology leads to messed up living. So we have kids talking about double lives or hypocrisy or living a lie. And then we have Joshua Harris talking about theology. Whats the connection? It seems like we have two different subjects here. How do they fit together?

Remember what Joshua said. Messed up theology leads to messed up living. What you think about God affects what you think about yourself, and what you think about yourself affects the choices you make. So heres a tough question. Lets consider the stories in the video starting with Jaron who was playing guitar at church but doing drugs with his friends. What does that behavior tell us about how he was thinking about God?

We dont want to be too harsh, because many of us are dealing with similar issues, but it would help to think it through. Did he think that God only cared about what he did on Sunday? Did he think God didnt
DuG DOWN DEEP

care about his body, but only his spirit? Did he think that God only wanted worship but not obedience? How did his thinking change? How did he start thinking differently about God, and about himself?

23
SESSION TWO

What about Merrilee, who was dating an atheist guy? How do you think her ideas about God affected her choices?

She said one very interesting thing at the end of the interview: I guess it felt nice to be that desired, and he [the boyfriend] just became everything that God should have been in my life. Could it be that she saw God as one who just demanded obedience and didnt really love her? Maybe she forgot how much God wanted her, that he had a plan for her, and that he longed for her to follow him.

BIBLE JoURNEy
Turn to Jeremiah 7. We dont dig into Jeremiah very much, but it gives us a great example of people who were leading double lives because they didnt have a good idea of who God is. Somebody read verses 38. What was the problem? What were they saying about the temple of the Lord? These people lived in Jerusalem, where Solomon had built the magnificent Temple. They assumed that their relationship with God was great, just because they had the Temple in town. As far as they were concerned, they didnt need to live Gods way, as long as they kept that Temple nice and shiny. This is a bit like a person nowadays who says, As long as I show up to church on Sunday, everything is fine between God and me. I dont have to obey him 24/7. I go to churchthat proves Im a Christian. Jeremiah calls this kind of attitude deceptive words.
DuG DOWN DEEP

24
SESSION TWO

What specifically does God want these people to do? How should they be living when theyre not in the Temple? (The text mentions justice, caring for the needyimmigrants, widows, and orphansnot shedding innocent blood, and not following other gods.) How many of those things apply to us in modern times? How can we do these things?

Somebody read verses 911. What was Baal? Baal was a god worshiped by the people who lived around the Israelites. They asked Baal to send rain to make the crops grow, and they would thank him for a good harvest. Many passages of the Old Testament talked about Baal as a false god and warned the Israelites against this religionand yet people kept falling for it. Maybe one of its selling points was that it was sort of a sex-religion. It celebrated sexuality without the restrictions of the Israelite law. Get the picture here. These peopleand Jeremiah is talking largely to leadersare abusing people, lying, bribing judges, misappropriating funds, and even playing around with the worship of other gods, and they come back to the Temple and say, Isnt it nice to be Gods chosen people? So how does God feel about what the people are doing?

Do you know the story of Jesus and the moneychangers? He went to the Temple and turned over the tables of those who were making a ridiculous profit from selling sacrificial animals. He scolded them for making Gods house a den of robbers. He was quoting from verse 11. Flip ahead to chapter 8. Somebody read verses 19, and as this is read, consider these two questions:

DuG DOWN DEEP

1. What are they doing wrong?

25
SESSION TWO

2. What does God want them to do now?

Leader: This might be a section you want to read yourself, for proper emphasis. Read it slowly, and then ask those two questions again. Why do you think Jeremiah talked about birds in verse 7? What is he trying to say?

Theres a very interesting image here. Birds migrate, and then they return. They fly south for the winter, and then they fly north again. This whole passage, beginning in verse 4, is about returning. God seems to be saying, I know you will wander away from me at times, but I want you to return. Even birds return home after a while. Why arent you returning to me? This is a very important idea as we apply it to our lives today. There will be times when we sin. Thats not good, but its reality. When that happens, God wants us to return to him. He offers forgiveness and restoration. The problems come when we fail to admit our sin, when we try to have it both ways. Hey, I can worship God on Sunday and sacrifice my body to the sex god or the drug god or the alcohol god all week long. Im not really wandering away from God; Im just experimenting. Those are the kind of deceitful words that keep us from returning to the Lord. Turn to the next chapter. Somebody read Jeremiah 9:2324. Do you ever hear people boasting about their wisdom, strength, or riches?

According to these verses, whats more important than wisdom, strength, or riches?

DuG DOWN DEEP

26
SESSION TWO

Of course there are many things to understand and know about God, but how does he describe himself in verse 24? Kindness, justice, righteousness, delightare those the words you would use to describe God? This brings us back to what Joshua Harris was saying in the video that the better we know the Lord, the better our lives will be. Good theology means a proper understanding of who God is, and that leads to a proper understanding of who we are and how we should act.

PERSoNAL EXcAVATIoN
What is God like? If we had to come up with a list of fifteen things that describe God, what would they be? Leader: A whiteboard or its equivalent would be helpful here. Write down the ideas they give you, adding your own to the mix. Among others, you could say that God is Love, Holy, Spirit, One, Trinity, Impartial, Delighting, a Communicator, Merciful, etc. After you have ten or fifteen written down, distribute the Because God Is handout and break into groups. This will work best in very small groups3 or 4. Most of this sheet is taken from what Joshua was saying in the video. Notice the three columnsBecause God is this, I am this, and heres a way I could think or act based on that fact. The first one is there as an example. You have four other qualities of God listed there, but then Im asking you to pull three more from the list we just came up with (or from your thinking). Fill out the three columns as best you can, and then well talk about it. Leader: Give them about 10 minutes, or until their interest flags. Remind them that this isnt about getting answers right, but about doing good thinking. There might be several ways to look at some of these. For instance, we are created beings, but we are also partners with God in creation, since he gave humans stewardship over the earth, and we are made in his imageso we should act with responsibility and creativity. When you bring them back together, go through their responses. Its best to go subject by subject, according to the descriptions of God, asking people to report on what they came up with for this one or that one. Affirm creative thinking, even if its different from what youd expect.
DuG DOWN DEEP

LAST WoRd
Maybe youve been living a double life, at least in some ways. So heres the challenge. Keep thinking like this through the weekconsidering who God is and how you relate to him. As you get involved in questionable activities, bring those questions to God. God, show me who you are, and then show me how to act with my friends, in school, with my family, and so on. You might find that everything begins to fit together.

27
SESSION TWO

DuG DOWN DEEP

Handout

BEcAUSE God IS...

God Is . . .
The Creator

So I am . . .
Created

And so Ill think or do this . . .

He knows how Ill function best

Eternal

All-powerful

Omnipresent

All-knowing

HoW God mAKES US RIGhT

SESSION THREE

30
SESSION ThrEE

Leader: Be sure to have enough Roamin handouts printed out for the entire class. For detailed info on printing handouts, see page 2. This lesson presents the gospel messagein the video, the discussion, and the Bible study. Prayerfully consider how youll approach this. You might feel that most of your students are already Christians, but we would urge you not to assume that. Even if some have previously raised a hand or prayed a prayer, it might be just now that they fully understand what its all about. This lesson might provide an explanation for something theyve already committed to, it might call them back into a faith theyve secretly rejected, or it might teach them how to present their faith to others. It will take spiritual insight on your part, listening skills, and creativity (all prompted by the Holy Spirit), to provide what your students need in the way they need it. So bathe this lesson in prayer.

FREE VIDEO DOWNLOAD: Visit BluefishTV.com to receive one of our favorite videos that fits well with this lesson. Enter the code DDD3 to receive: A Man Fell in a Hole. For detailed download instructions, see page 2.

OpEN
Activity/Discussion
Leader: Were combining the activity and discussion for this session, since the discussion starts in the world of entertainment anyway. If you feel you need a more energetic activity, you could have people act out or draw (a la Pictionary) scenes from favorite movies, TV shows, or books, and see if others can guess what they are. (Then you would move into this discussion.) Can you think of a character in a movie, TV show, or book, who did something they regretted later? Leader: Be ready with an example or two from your own viewing or reading. What did they do?

Why did they do it?

Why did they regret it later?

DuG DOWN DEEP

How did this feeling of regret or guilt affect their emotions? How did it affect their lives?

31
SESSION ThrEE

Do you think thats pretty realistic? Does guilt and regret really affect people like that? In stories, and in real life, there are some things we mildly regret. I should have studied harder for that test. I shouldnt have thrown applesauce at that guy. We can learn from our mistake and laugh about it later. But there are other things we regret that leave us with a deep sense of guiltrelationships that have been broken beyond repair, damage done to ourselves or others, messes we get into and dont know how to get out of. What can we do about our guiltnot just our feelings of guilt, but also the fact that we are, in fact, guilty of wrongdoing? Thats the focus of todays video.

VIEW
Watch Session 3: How God Makes Us Right (18 minutes)

RE-VIEW
We met two people in these interviews, Shelby and Josiah. What do you remember about their stories? (Josiah followed in his older brothers footsteps of drugs and alcohol after his father died, found faith in Christ at church camp, turned back to alcohol after a break up with his girlfriend, a friend pointed him back to God, and he gave up old friends. Shelbys father was a policeman killed on duty which made her bitter and rebellious, forced to go to church, heard a message about forgiveness which touched her heart to be forgiven and to forgive.) How are their stories similar? How are they different? Both of them struggled with the loss of their father. How did this loss affect their behavior?
DuG DOWN DEEP

32
SESSION ThrEE

Of course not everyone loses a parent, but do you think that other personal and family tragedies often cause people to behave badly?

Leader: You might get some interesting discussion on this point. Its true that tragedies often instigate destructive behavior, and there are several different psychological explanations for this. But someone might object that these tragedies dont cause the bad behavior. Shelby didnt have to cut herself and Josiah didnt have to get drunk. These were personal choices they made, and theyre responsible for themeven though their decision-making abilities might have been hindered by their grief. How did things turn around for these two? How did they find their way to Jesus? (Shelbys youth leader said something that stuck in her mind. Josiah had a friend who sent him a text message that got him thinking.) Do you think God usually uses other people to bring people to him, or does he usually just speak to their hearts spiritually? Of course God uses many different ways to reach people. In these two cases, it seemed to be a combination. Still, its interesting that they both remember the outside input from people, which seemed to stir up something in their heart (which was certainly the whispering of the Spirit). And whats especially remarkable is the subtlety of these messages. Shelby doesnt seem to be talking about a revival-meeting altar callit was just something that the youth leader put out there. Josiah got a text message! Hey, dude, its all right, you know. Just run to God, hes waiting for you. Thats it. And yet God used that simple message to save this guys soul. What kind of influence do you think you might have on others who need to connect with Jesus?

DuG DOWN DEEP

Joshua Harris talked about a woman who had a superior autobiographical memory. She can recall in vivid detail every day of her life going back to her childhood. Would you want an ability like that? Why or why not?

33
SESSION ThrEE

There might be some very cool things about that, but Joshua looks at the other side. We might hold vivid memories of every wrong thing weve ever done, and the guilt might be enormous. Even if our memories arent that vivid, we all have an awareness of things weve done wrong. Joshua mentioned that we cannot get rid of this guilt ourselves. Why cant we? Isnt it just a matter of committing ourselves to live better lives in the future?

The holy God wont just shrug off our sin. We deserve death, and that debt must be paid. But Jesus has paid that debt for us. Though he was perfect, he gave his life to atone for us. Now we get rid of our guilt by receiving his forgiveness. Yes, we commit ourselves to live better lives, but thats because we love God and want to please him. Were not earning our salvation. That is a free gift that we just need to receive. Joshua talks about man-made religion that leaves us trying to pay for our own sins. And thats what so many millions of people do every day. Without Jesus, theyre trying to be good enough to make up for their wrongs. Or theyre punishing themselves with self-hatred and cutting. Or theyre trying to drown out their guilt with alcohol and drugs. But the incredibly good news of the Bible is that a savior has come. Jesus has done for us what we can never do ourselves. Leader: Do not gloss over this point. Its amazing how durable this assumption is: that Christianity is all about improving ourselves morally so we can be good enough to earn salvation. While the Bible makes it clear that good works are the fruit of redeemed lives, redemption itself is a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:810).

DuG DOWN DEEP

34
SESSION ThrEE

BIBLE JoURNEy
Leader: Distribute the Roamin handout. Break into groups of about four, let them work through it, writing down answers, and then go through it again with the whole group. This handout is a bit more studious than normal; so make sure each group has at least one member whos no stranger to Christianity. Before setting them loose, read the opening paragraph aloud. How can we be righteous in Gods eyes? Thats the question behind the book of Romans. Chapter 1 describes the well-known idolatry and immorality of non-religious peoplesurely they arent righteous. But Chapter 2 turns the tablesreligious folks are just as guilty, and maybe more so, because they know the rules and dont keep them. Now lets zoom in on chapter 3. [After 1015 minutes in the groups] According to Romans 3:10 and 3:23, who is righteous? (No one. All have sinned.) According to 3:20, what can the law do? What cant it do? (It can tell us what were doing wrong, but it cant make us righteous.) But now God offers us his righteousness. According to 3:2224, how do we get it? (By faith, believing in Jesus. He justifies and redeems us.) The word atonement is used in 3:25. What does that mean? (The word originates from two warring parties becoming at one. It is reconciliation, but it usually involves some sort of payment or penalty being paid. Thats why its paired here with sacrifice.) Well fly over chapter 4, which discusses Abraham, the ancestor of the Jews. He was found righteous because of his faith, not by keeping the rules. (God hadnt even given the law yet.)

DuG DOWN DEEP

Romans 5:1 describes us as justified? What does that word mean? (To be declared just, or righteous. Some have said God makes it just as if Id never sinned, but that misses the point. The term Paul uses for justified is a legal term, where when you put your faith in Jesus, God credits His righteousness to your account, just like making a deposit into your life bank account. We arent made sinless, since its obvious we still sin, but our position before God changes since God chooses to see us as righteous because of what His Son accomplished on the cross.) From the same verse, what is the result of being justified? (We have peace with God.) Leader: You could riff a while on what peace with God meanswhat it could mean in the lives of your students. The kids in the video, Shelby and Josiah, in their separate ways, were lacking peace with God and suffering because of that. And despite their sin, God made them righteous through Jesus, and they found that peace. Not perfection, of course, but they are now on speaking terms with God. Look at 5:68. Maybe someone would give up his life to save a really good person, but how was Jesus death different? (While we were sinners, Christ died for us.) Leader: Interject the following question. Imagine someone said to you, Id like to ask Jesus to save me, but Ive done too many bad things. Im not good enough to be saved. Based on Romans 5:68, how would you respond? Thats the whole point. Jesus saves sinners. If you hadnt sinned, you wouldnt need saving. You are exactly the kind of person Christ died for. Chapter 6 starts with an interesting question: If God just forgives us for sinning, why dont we keep sinning so he can forgive us more? How does that question get answered? Theres an important word-picture here. We died to sin. Its as if our sin was nailed to the cross and buried with him. Every so often youll see a movie or TV show where some criminal fakes his death to avoid the punishment for some crime. This is sort of like that, except that Jesus
DuG DOWN DEEP

35
SESSION ThrEE

36
SESSION ThrEE

really died in our place. In any case, we are now free to live for God. Why would we want to go back to the deeds of death? You can choose to be a servant of sin or a servant of God. According to 6:2023, which is better and why? (Of course serving God is better, because of where these two paths lead. Sin leads to death and destruction. Serving God leads to life, eternally.) NOTE: We often proof-text Romans 6:23 as part of the gospel messagewe deserve eternal spiritual death for our sin, but Jesus saves us. This is true enough, but the verse is really talking about how we choose to live after were redeemed. When we continue to serve sin, we are still wallowing in the domain of death, and we will find our health damaged, our relationships destroyed, our spirits deadened. But when we choose to serve God with our redeemed lives, we enjoy a life overflowing with life. Chapter 7 is agonizing, but strangely comforting. (Its comforting because weve all experienced this, and it helps to know were not unusual.) It describes the ongoing struggle of a person who wants to do the right thing, but keeps doing wrong. Chapter 8 offers an indepth answer: the powerful work of Gods Spirit within our lives. According to Romans 8:1, if we have trusted Christ, what is our status? (We are not condemned. There is no condemnation.) We started this lesson talking about regrets and guilt, and weve all experienced those feelings. Its great to know thatwhen we are in Christ Jesus, putting our faith in him and trusting in his sacrifice to save usGod will not condemn us. He has every right to, but he doesnt, because when he looks at us, he sees Jesus. He knows our debt has been paid. You dont need to carry that weight anymore.

PERSoNAL EXcAVATIoN
I want you to think a little more about your status with regard to this message. Let me suggest some possible responses.

DuG DOWN DEEP

Maybe this is all pretty new to you. And maybe this sounds like something you want. Peace with God. A way out from the burden of guilt youve been carrying. If thats the case, please talk with me about it. Even if youre not ready to commit just yet, but you want to learn more, lets talk. Maybe youve been doing the church thing for a while, and maybe youve heard all of this before, but now you realize that youve never really made it your own. Maybe youve just been going along with what your parents believe or what your friends believe, but now its time to trust Christ for yourself. Id love to talk with you about this, but more importantly, talk to Jesus about it. Get that personal conversation started with him. Maybe you already trust Christ. Great. Obviously, then, youve heard all of this before. But I challenge you to think about someone else in your life who might need to hear this messagethat God loves them, that Jesus died for them, that God wants peace with them. Is the Lord nudging you to share this with someone?

37
SESSION ThrEE

LAST WoRd
Leader: Let the Last Word this time be a closing prayer, allowing time for people to silently connect with God.

DuG DOWN DEEP

Handout

RoAmIN
How can we be righteous in Gods eyes? Thats the question behind the book of Romans. Chapter 1 describes the well-known idolatry and immorality of non-religious people. Chapter 2 turns the tablesreligious folks are just as guilty, and maybe more so, because they know the rules and dont keep them. According to Romans 3:10 and 3:23, who is righteous? According to 3:20, what can the law do? What cant it do? But now God offers us his righteousness. According to 3:2224, how do we get it? The word atonement is used in 3:25. What does that mean? Chapter 4 discusses Abraham, the ancestor of the Jews. He was found righteous because of his faith, not by keeping the rules. God hadnt even given the law yet. Romans 5:1 describes us as justified? What does that word mean? From the same verse, what is the result of being justified? Look at 5:68. Maybe someone would give up his life to save a really good person, but how was Jesus death different? Chapter 6 starts with an interesting question: If God just forgives us for sinning, why dont we keep sinning so he can forgive us more? How does that question get answered? You can choose to be a servant of sin or a servant of God. According to 6:2023, which is better and why? Chapter 7 describes the ongoing struggle of a person who wants to do the right thing, but keeps doing wrong. Chapter 8 offers an in-depth answer: the powerful work of Gods Spirit within our lives. According to Romans 8:1, if we have trusted Christ, what is our status?

HoW WE ChANGE

Session Four

40
SESSION FOur

Leader: Be sure to have enough Whats the Good Word? handouts printed out for the entire class. For detailed info on printing handouts, see page 2.

OpEN
Activity
I have stored a very special prize for one of you in a vault, which is password-protected. The password consists of a series of ten words, prime numbers and actions. I can give you those ten parts of the password, but you have to put them in the right order.

FREE VIDEO DOWNLOAD: Visit BluefishTV.com to receive one of our favorite videos that fits well with this lesson. Enter the code DDD4 to receive: Teen Stunt Man: Bible For detailed download instructions, see page 2.

Here they are (out of order): 11 13 Say John Calvin Scream 17 19 23

Say Copacetic with your palms down Be the Statue of Liberty

Hop three times

Leader: It would be helpful if you list those on a board. You are the guardian of the vault. If they get the first or second part of the password wrong, feel free to stop them there. (That will be a valuable clue for them in determining the early sequence.) If their hopping, screaming, or posing isnt good enough, you may say so. Give them hints freely, especially as time moves on. When someone gets it right, award the prize. (By the way, they might be more willing to indulge in such silliness if you have a prize of some valuea book, Bible, or concert ticket, or perhaps an autographed picture of yourself.) Here is the proper sequence. Guard this from snooping eyes: 17John Calvin23...Statue of LibertyHop1119Scream13 Copacetic

Discussion
Leader: If you dont want to do the Activity, use this Discussion opener instead.
DuG DOWN DEEP

Are there certain things in life that need to be done in the right order? Like what? Getting dressed? (Underwear before outerwear.) Phones? (Make the call before you start talking.) Math? (Addition before Calculus.) Football? (Line up before going out for a pass.) These are silly examples, but have you ever tried to do something out of order, with negative results? [Introduce the video here after Activity or Discussion] Heres why were talking about getting things in the right order. A lot of people have the idea that we have to be good in order to get God to love us. This is wrong because its out of order. Oh, its good to be good, but thats not the start of the sequence; its the end. God loves us even though were sinners. He forgives our sins. We dont have to earn that forgiveness; in fact, we cant earn it. Its a gift. We just receive it. Then, and only then, can we tap into Gods power to be good. And then its not to get God to love us, but because we love him, and we want to please him. Forgiveness comes first, and then the goodness. Of course its never easy . . . and thats what well learn more about in todays video. Leader: Distribute the Whats the Good Word? handout. With the Scripture quotations on the handout, it will be helpful for them to have it in hand as they watch the video.

41
SESSION FOur

VIEW
Watch Session 4: How We Change (17 minutes)

RE-VIEW
Before we start talking about the interviews and teaching, what did you think of that clip at the beginning? The SLAP thing.

DuG DOWN DEEP

42
SESSION FOur

Is that what the Christian life is really about, slapping people down when they try to sin? Is that what some people seem to think Christianity is about? Sometimes Christians get a reputation for being judgmental. Maybe we dont physically slap people, but we have our ways of getting involved in their business. This commercial was clever in the way it hinted at the benefits of being accountable to each other and yet the dangers of being a bit too slap-happy. We might be trying to protect people from sin, but we shouldnt end up being obnoxious. But why do you think God doesnt work like that? If he really wanted to keep us from sinning, why couldnt he send the Holy Spirit to slap us? What does he do instead? There are times when the Holy Spirit does kind of shake us, when we suddenly see clearly what were doing, when we find a supernatural power to stop the madness and do the right thing. Its not exactly slapping, but it might as well be. Still, in general God doesnt seem to be interested in policing us. Instead, he wants to help us grow. He wants to teach us to make good choices for good reasons. In the first interview, Morgan talked about going back and forth between Jesus and sin, or as she put it, teeter-tottering. She would get into bad stuff with her friends and then repent and come to church. But after a few months, shed go back to her sinning. Do you think this is pretty common? Do people go back and forth between God and sin? Why would they do this?

Morgan talked about the Jesus high that would wear off after a few months. Is this a real thing? Have you felt it? How can we dig for something deeper than a temporary euphoria?

Do you think there should be some cut-offafter going back and forth three times, theres no more forgiveness?
DuG DOWN DEEP

We might want to do it that way with others, but God is infinitely patient with us. Jesus talked about forgiving people seventy-seven times. Thats not a cut-off number but a symbolic number for infinity. God will keep welcoming us back. The big problem occurs in our own minds and souls. Each time we drift away, its a little more difficult to come back. In both of these stories, we saw people who got in with the wrong crowd. For Morgan, it was the party girls. For Brandon, it was the guys who would steal stuff when they got bored. How important is it to have a good group of friends around you? Why is it so easy for a bad group to lead you into sin? Did you hear what they said? When she was drinking with her party girls, Morgan saw herself as beautiful. Brandon said his friends were down for me . . . they were like the people who were never going to leave me. Do you think that good friendships are formed when people do bad things together? Sometimes it seems to work this way. Maybe its a you and me against the world thing. You conspire together. You keep secrets together. You lie for each other. And all of that binds you together in sin. Morgan talked about the adrenaline rush of rebellion. When people share that feeling, they bond. As Christians, we can take this as a challenge. Can our Christian friendships have the same kind of intensity? Can we support each other? Can we push each other into new adventuresnot in destructive ways, but finding new ways to experience Christ and his power? Brandon tried to bring his friends to church, but they bailed. Do you think thats a good idea? Can you maintain friendships with the people who normally drag you down, in an attempt to raise them up?

43
SESSION FOur

DuG DOWN DEEP

44
SESSION FOur

Its a nice idea, but as Brandon found, it can be dangerous. The Bible has arguments on both sides of this issuewarning against being influenced by sin-loving friends and yet challenging us to influence them. Proceed with caution. In the video, Joshua Harris talked a lot about sanctification. What is it? You have the quote there at the bottom of your handout, but Joshua also said this: Sanctification is the process of becoming more like Jesus. Think of it this way: when we first believe in Jesus, were born againthats regeneration. But then just like a newborn baby, we dont stay a baby. We have to grow up. And thats what sanctification is: its growing up as a Christian in our new life in Jesus. Joshua quoted a lot of Bible verses, and you see them on the sheet. Take another look at them all. Is there one that you dont quite get? Leader: Be ready to offer some explanation. They might have problems with Hebrews 12:14 (its just saying that, as holiness develops in our lives, people see the Lord in us). They might wonder what it means to take up your cross daily (and thats a great thought to mull overit probably means to adopt a humble, servant-based, Christ-like attitude that accepts any trials that come). They might wonder about Romans passages that speak of the flesh (its not that our bodies are bad, but when we live only to fulfill our physical desiresfood, sex, refreshment, comfort, high without letting the Spirit lead us, we end up destroying ourselves). Is there one of these verses that especially speaks to you? Why?

BIBLE JoURNEy
Turn to Romans 8. In our last lesson we started down the Romans Road, following the logical explanation of how Jesus saves us. You might remember that we talked about it chapter by chapter. Everyone
DuG DOWN DEEP

is a sinner, whether theyre religious or not. We arent saved by keeping the rules, because no one can keep them perfectly. Gods law just shows us how sinful we are. Fortunately, God loves sinners, and he sent Jesus to die for our sin. Even though we still struggle with sin, we can claim Gods forgiveness, based on the promise of Romans 8:1. Somebody read that verse out loud. Thats where we left off last week. Were forgiven. Were saved. Theres no condemnation. But then what? Fortunately, theres a lot more in this chapter about living the Christian life. The next few verses talk about our sinful nature. (Some translations call this the flesh.) Yes, we still want to do wrong thingsdestructive things. But they kill our bodies, our souls, our relationships. They are deeds of death. On the other hand, the Spirit of God wants to give us life. He wants to fill us with joy and love and blessing. It comes down to a question of control. Will you turn over the steering wheel of your life to the Holy Spirit or the sinful nature? Will you throw your energy into satisfying your physical desires or into pleasing God? Somebody read Romans 8:913. According to these verses, what does the Spirit do for us? Do you see in verse 11 where it talks about Jesus rising from the dead? What does the resurrection have to do with anything? Its a question of power, and its a matter of life. Many people today are under the impression that you live life to the fullest when you get drunk or get high, when you sleep around, or when you put others down to exalt yourself. As weve been saying, this is not life; its death. Just ask Morgan how dead she felt after her sexual adventures. Just ask Brandon how his friendships died when the robbery went sour. True life is found in Jesus. And he ought to know, because he came back to life, he conquered death. Dont miss this amazing statement: The same Spirit that busted Jesus out of the grave lives in believers. And so if youre struggling with the deeds of death, and you feel you dont have the power to change, just ask the Spirit for help. The Spirit has all the life-giving power you need.

45
SESSION FOur

DuG DOWN DEEP

46
SESSION FOur

That sounds easy, but its not. We have a hard time turning over our lives to Gods Spirit. If we read on in Romans 8, we find that its still a struggle, but the Spirit keeps helping us. There are two things the Spirit does for us, and youll find them in verse 16 and verse 26. What are they? Verse 16the Spirit reminds us that we are Gods children. In the midst of the struggle, your guilt will make you think God wants nothing to do with you. Youll be tempted to say, I cant come back to God; Ive hurt him too much. But deep within your spirit, the Holy Spirit whispers to you the truth. God is out there like the father of the Prodigal Son, scanning the horizon every day to see if youre coming back. He loves you as his child, and he wants you to return. Verse 26the Spirit helps us pray even when we dont know what to say. Have you ever felt like that? All your religious background just seems empty. You have no words. Youre just kind of grunting spiritually in Gods direction. Help me. I need you. The Spirit takes those grunts and translates them into prayers, so the relationship with God can be restored. This is a powerful chapter, and were skipping over some great verses. I urge you to read it for yourself. Memorize it. But for now well move to the end of the chapter. Somebody read verses 3839. So how many chances do we get before God stops forgiving us? He cant keep loving us forever, after weve disappointed him so many times? How many tries do we get? Two? Three? Seven? Okay, so maybe he can forgive little stuff, but there must be certain sins that are just too much, right? So what sins are so great they can separate us from Gods love? Any ideas? (Nothing, in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.)

PERSoNAL EXcAVATIoN
Let me ask you some questions to bring this home. If you want to flip the handout over, maybe youll want to doodle some responses.
DuG DOWN DEEP

Are you growing spiritually? Thats what this sanctification is all about, growing closer to Jesus, keeping in step with the Spirit. How do you know youre growing? Are you better able to resist temptation? Are you beginning to face different kinds of temptations? Are you less selfish, more joyful, more patient? Are you actually getting along with your parents? Is there some signature sin that captivates you? If there is, you know instantly, because its the one thing you struggle with more than anything. Lying, lustful thoughts, temper tantrums, drinking, sex whatever it is, do you believe the Spirit has the power to conquer that sin? But if that particular sin were no longer a problem, what else would the Spirit want you to change? Sometimes we get so focused on our one captivating sin that we neglect everything else. So dont forget the basics. Are you showing love to those around you? Are you rejoicing in the Lord? Are you forgiving those who hurt you? If there is one person in your life who could help you with your sinstruggles, who might it be? James tells us to confess our sins to one another, and many Christians have found that it helps to be accountable to someone else. Youre looking for someone with maturity, someone who will be honest with you and tough when necessary, someone who wont blab your personal business all around town. Look beyond your close friends and see if theres a youth leader, teacher, pastor, or relative who might support you in this way.

47
SESSION FOur

LAST WoRd
Let me leave you with a few more verses from Romans. And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrificethe kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Dont copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know Gods will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:12 (New Living Translation)

DuG DOWN DEEP

Handout

WhATS ThE Good WoRd?

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. Hebrews 12:14 Strive for . . . holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 This is the will of God, your sanctification. Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Luke 9:23 If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

Sanctification isnt just a matter of not doing wrong. Its a matter of actively doing righteousness. Its pursuing obedience. The Christian life is about putting on new behavior, clothing ourselves with Jesus himself. Joshua Harris

All Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version

49
DuG DOWN DEEP

DuG DOWN DEEP

50
DuG DOWN DEEP

MoRE VIdEo RESoURcES fRom BLUEfIShTV.com

For over 25 years, Bluefish TV has been creating video resources to engage audiences with spiritual truths. As a non-profit ministry, our goal is to create videos to help you teach. Over 110,000 churches have turned to Bluefish TV for their video teaching needs. Its our privilege to serve God and serve the church by creating these video resources. Here are some additional resources from Bluefish TV. Check out www.bluefishtv.com for video previews and to order these for your ministry.

YoUTh MINISTRy RESoURcES

Made to Make a Difference with Max Lucado Can You Really Change the World? Courage with Francis Chan Do You Have What it Takes? The Truth About Sex with Doug Fields Dont Believe the Lies Why Jesus? with David Nasser What do you question about Jesus? Filmed in Israel Conflict with Doug Fields Overcoming Stress In Your Relationships Surrender with Francis Chan Others Before Self and Christ Above All King David with David Nasser Trials, Temptations and Triumphs Filmed in Israel Friends with Sean McDowell Biblical Insight into Common Issues

DuG DOWN DEEP

SmALL GRoUpS RESoURcES

Why Jesus? with David Nasser Answering Tough Questions About Our Savior Filmed in Israel Prodigal Perspectives with Chris Seay A Parable About Selfishness, Jealousy & Forgiveness What if ...our small group made a difference in our lives? with Alan Danielson 4 Questions Every Small Group Should Ask Themselves The Sacred Echo with Margaret Feinberg Why is Prayer so Mysterious? Free Market Jesus with Donald Miller How Our View of Culture Shapes Our View of the Gospel Marriage Built to Last with Chip Ingram and featuring Kurt Warner and Dave Ramsey Living Intentionally & Loving Biblically Parenting: The Early Years with Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott 10 Biblical Traits Your Kids Will Remember You For Facing the Unknown with Mark Batterson A Modern Look at the Life of Abraham No Plan B with Todd Phillips Your Part in Gods Remarkable Plan to Rescue the World Filmed in Africa Keep Climbing with Todd Phillips Why God Doesnt Give You Everything You Want Filmed on Mount Elbrus

51
DuG DOWN DEEP

PREVIEW ThE VIdEoS ANd LESSoNS AT

DuG DOWN DEEP