Inertia It's Your Move Work Zone and High Way Set Up: Before the meal set up the LCD projector. After eating show the DV8 clips & slides to start the lesson (11 min). Announcements: Regular Youth next week, Trunk or Treat & late night in two weeks, Chicken Noodle Lock-in in three weeks. After the DV8 portion&ldots;   Cake (5 min) Needed: a 6 pack of cupcakes Hold the plate of unwrapped cupcakes in front of the youth. Say: Who would like one of these! Choose someone and unwrap the cupcake, tear off a small portion of the bottom of the cupcake and hand that to him or her. Ask for another volunteer and this time throw the cupcake hard at him or her. (Find someone who won't get really upset...) Then offer again. This time walk the plate to them and let them pick one up. Set the rest aside for now. Say: The difference between the cupcakes is the way they are presented. Like the cup cakes, the way we present ourselves to others is important. We may be fine cupcakes but if someone sees just one that's not really worth it or hard to handle then the rest seem a little more risky. It matters what we do, how we do it, how we dress, what we say and how honest we are because we are serving up ourselves at all times, even when we don't think about it.   Break into Journey Groups   Moving In  Work Zone & High Way  Work Zone breaks into smaller groups  Tough Questions (10 min) ASK: - What do you think inertia has to do with service? - If your inertia is propelling you in one direction, what does it take to get you to DV8? - What are some things that you can think of that might harm your image? - What are somethings you could do, but don't because it's too hard? - What will you need to do to help your image? - How long will you need to "deliver yourself" in a Christian manner? - How is understanding perception one step closer to God?   Moving On Work Zone & High Way  The Commandments and Your Talents (25 min) Say: If you haven't guessed, tonight is all about just getting the ball rolling and using your talents. As Christians, we are called to use our talents to serve. As teenagers, it is very hard to learn to exercise your talents. It is very easy to worry about "me" and how much effort "I" can avoid or how "I" appear to everyone else. Discuss the following and try to find out just where service fits in all of this.   I. YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.  When it come to knowing your talents and staying clear of bad decisions you should trust yourself first and everyone else second. Listen to yourself. God already is in your heart, feelings and instincts. When something feels right, it probably is right. When something feels wrong, it probably is wrong. ASK: - What talent could you say you have mastered if you are good at putting nothing else before God? (Discernment) - What things are you tempted to put before God? Friends, Parties, Addictions, Wants&ldots;   II. YOU SHALL NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD YOUR GOD IN VAIN. Choose your words carefully. You can hurt with cruel words, even when they are meant to be funny or teasing. You can heal with words like "You have the best smile!" and "I like being with you" and "You do that so well!" ASK:  - What talent could you have if you are good at using your words to uplift? (Compassion) - Is bad or hurtful language a part of your life? Is it really a BIG deal?   III. REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY, TO KEEP IT HOLY.  Stop now and then to notice you have a nice life. That's what a Sabbath is meant to do. Enjoy yourself and be happy. It honors God and yourself too. You might as well have a little Sabbath every day. ASK: - What talent could you have if you are good at managing your life? (Organization) - Does this mean that anyone who does something other than rest on Sunday is un-holy? - What if you have to work, play sports, or shop on Sunday? - How do we honor the Sabbath in today's world?   IV. HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER.  Answer your mother when she calls you. Every now and then, do a chore right when your dad asks. Imagine his surprise. Ask for a ride to play practice, a costume for the Thanksgiving parade and help with homework (especially math) as far in advance as you can. ASK: - What talent could you have if you are good at valuing the time and talents of elders? (Respect?) - What's up with this one? Does this really mean mom and Dad? What about God as our father & Mother? Is this about "elders", "Teachers" or what?   V. YOU SHALL NOT KILL.  Feelings, dreams and hopes are as fragile as life itself. Protect your own and respect those of your friends. When you're angry with someone, tell him or her. When you're feeling mean, don't act. Anger has a place. Meanness does not. And stop picking on your sister or brother. ASK: - What talent could you have if you are good at controlling your emotions? (Self-control) - Does this refer only to the actual act of killing? What about killing someone's spirit; killing his or her ideas; excluding them from your group?   VI. YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.  Some things like joining band, trying out for football, getting all "A's" are so hard that sometimes you want to quit. Lots of people give up. Be someone who doesn't. ASK:  - What talent could you have if you are good at never giving up? (Perseverance) - Adultery isn't just about faithfulness in a relationship, it's also about quitters. If you were looking for the Holy Spirit and could not find what you were looking for would you quit? Would that be adultery?   VII. YOU SHALL NOT STEAL.  If it's not yours, don't take it with you. Ask your brother if you can borrow his first baseman's glove before you take it, spill a cherry slush on it and hide it under your mattress. After he finds it, see Commandment V. Cheating hurts you. Cheating on tests will get you in trouble at school. Cheating at sports will get you disgusted teammates. Cheating at board games will get you friends who won't play with you again. ASK: - What talent could you have if you are good at following rules? (Honesty) - Okay, you probably get the stealing part but, what's this about cheating? Is cheating to get ahead really disobeying one of the commandments? "Everyone does it" why shouldn't you?   VIII. YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST YOUR NEIGHBOR. Tell the truth. When you lie, your opinion of yourself changes. You can't help but like yourself less. When you've really messed up, you can fix it. It will feel scary, but tell the truth to the person you hurt. Then offer to do what you can to make it better. Your friend will trust you even more. ASK:  - What talent could you have if you are good about not lying?  (Truthfulness) - Is breaking this commandment just as bad as, say; Stealing? Killing? Honoring mom & dad? - Is this the easiest commandment to break? Which so far is? Why?   IX. YOU SHALL NOT COVET YOUR NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE.  Don't try to be anyone else. It's not bad to like other people's stuff or think another kid has a more exciting life; or notice someone has a better car than you. But if you spend your energy trying to be someone else, or better than another you won't have time to be you. Pick other people you like and be like them in little ways. But in all the big ways, stay you. ASK:  - What talent could you have if you are good at being you? (Contentment) - What does this commandment say to you? Do you find yourself wanting more things, nicer stuff, or another's family? - Have you ever come home and said "Guess what so & so did? Bla bla Bla de bla. Why can't we do/have that?"   X. YOU SHALL NOT COVET YOUR NEIGHBOR'S WIFE &ldots; Celebrate friends' and family's good luck. Amanda got a blue ribbon at the science fair. You want one so bad you could blow up her fancy-schmancy volcano project that her dad built for her so she didn't really deserve to win. Other people might seem happier, richer, luckier and more popular. But joy with others and yourself is inside. You can't really be sure how much of it anyone else has. Find your own joy and try to keep it around...and bring a little to other people when you can. ASK:  What talent could you have if you are good at not wanting the relationships others have? (Happiness) Doesn't this commandment sound a lot like the last? Why do you suppose this happened? (One is about things, the other is about relationships/emotions)   Moving Up Work Zone & High Way  Faith and Works (5 min) Say: When it's hard to keep track of every one of the Ten Commandments, remember that God's son helped us all with another way to look at it. When he was asked, which of these is the "greatest commandment"? Jesus answered: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ASK:  - What does the Great Commandment tell us to do with our talents? - Can only "Loving" satisfy all on the commandments? (It's a verb, a call to action&ldots;)   Moving Out Work Zone  & High Way  Use Your Talents Needed: Paper and Tape All groups come back together in the Family Life Center, Work Zone on one half, High Way on the other. Work as two separate groups to create some fun.  Begin by having the groups vote on their favorite sport. Say: Using only your talents the paper and tape, create all the necessary equipment to play your favorite sport. Everyone must be involved even if they are a goalpost and not just sitting by, doing the easy thing - watching or having a side conversation. Remember, we are using all of our talents tonight. When you're done making the items, we'll actually play the sport using them - so make everything as sturdy as necessary for us to enjoy the game!                                    Present them with the paper and tape. Give no further instruction, but encourage the youth to work together, using their talents to accomplish the task. When the youth are ready; play the sport using the appropriate equipment.   Closing Work Zone & High Way Gather in the closing circle. Hand out business cards with the benediction on one side and the following on the other.   "Use your talents to love God & love others" Matthew 5:13-16   Say: Before you go, I would like each of you to take a consecration sheet and card. Remember the cupcakes we used at the beginning of the night? The difference between the cupcakes was the way they were presented. It matters what we do, how we do it, how we dress, what we say and how honest we are because we are serving up ourselves at all times. The Great Commandment requires each of us to love God and love others. Tonight we have tried to show you how to use your talents to do just that. Once you serve yourself up and get going in the right direction of always offering something to others the theory of Inertia can take over. The theory indicates it requires a greater and greater applied force to stop your talents from affecting others for God.   Prayer "Pass the Peace" by saying "Help me to use my talents" Say the UMYF Benediction and turn out in to the world.    Gather for this lesson: DV8 stuff, a 6 pack of cupcakes, a ream of paper, 2 roles of masking tape, UMYF Benediction business cards