Lord You Get Me It's Your Move Work Zone and High Way Groups For the first 30 minutes (during gathering and common meal) do video interviews. Ask: How is God involved in your life? Try to get as many responses as possible. Have youth think about their answer and come back to them if necessary. Make sure the media projector is hooked up and ready to show the video and clips. Right at the usual start time for UMYF dim the lights and play the video "You Get Me" by ZOEgirl. Have a microphone ready to get everyone's attention. Call the youth over to watch. Let it play twice and encourage the youth to listen to the words. At the conclusion of the second time through leave the lights down and read the following verse in unison (Use Power Point to project the words on the screen.) Psalms 139:2-5. Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar. Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou dost beset me behind and before, and layest thy hand upon me.   Anonymous Prayer Pass out prayer cards to the youth and invite them to answer at least one of the two questions on the card. Show the Power Point captured frames from the ZOEgirl video while playing the audio portion quietly as background music.   Youth Video Review Wait for most of the cards to be passed in and save them for later. Then play the video interviews from earlier.   Break into Journey Groups     Which Way Are We Moving Work Zone & High Way Say: If we really understood how God gets us, it would change the way we live and relate to him, wouldn't it? Open your mind to God this evening. Let's push out the walls of our imagination and get a fresh look at how God gets us. Every problem a person has is related to his concept of God. If you have a big God, you have small problems. If you have a small God, you have big problems. It is as simple as that. When you realize God gets you in a big way, then every seeming problem becomes an opportunity. When your God is small, every problem becomes an obstacle. Ask: What do you think about the statement: "If you have a big God, you have small problems. If you have a small God, you have big problems"?   Moving Up  Work Zone & High Way Needed: Scripture handout Scriptures Gen 3:8   And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Exd 3:14   God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" Mat 1:23   "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us). Gen 1:27   So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Jer 9:23   Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; Jer 9:24   but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practice steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the LORD." Psa 139:16   Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance; in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. Mat 10:30   But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.   Say: Because God is so awesome; it is even more humbling and profound that we can actually know him in a personal way. What's more amazing is that he wants to know us. God has revealed himself to us throughout time: He walked with Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden. (Have a youth read Genesis 3:8) He told Moses his name, Yahweh, which means I AM. (Youth read Exodus 3:14) He touched us directly through Jesus, whose name Immanuel means God with us. (Youth read Matthew 1:23) He created us in his image. (Youth read Genesis 1:27) He wants us to know him. (Jeremiah 9:23-24) He knows all the days of our lives. (Psalm 139:16) He even knows how many hairs are on our head. (Matthew 10:30) Say: Sometimes we struggle with relating to a God we cannot see, hear, or touch, but that doesn't mean he's not there for us. We can't see the air, but we know for a fact that we will die without it. We can't see electricity, but we know it would be foolish to try and touch it by sticking your finger in a light socket.   Moving In Work Zone  Herding Cats Needed: Lots O Pool-noodles, Balloons, two fans, Fog machine Ahead of time: set up two nearly identical racecourse using chairs and such. Make obstacles by using a fan, something to go under something to go over, and the fog machine (The Fog Machine needs at least 10 min. to warm up. So think ahead). Set up the courses so that they meet only at the fog machine, then separate and end at different spots. Use a table as the final coral on each course that all the cats must be herded under. This is a relay. Make two even teams. Assign each team a balloon color and place at least three balloons at the start of each course. Pass out the noodles to the "wranglers".  Say: The balloons are all cats. Each team needs to keep the herd together and head them for the stockyards. Cats can't be touched by hand or kicked- they can only be guided by the pool noodles. When I say "GO" each team will have one team member begin guiding the herd-O-cats. When you hear "switch" leave the herd where they are and run back to you team, tag the next teammate by smacking noodles. Your teammate then runs to where you left the herd to continue the drive.   Moving In High Way The Domino Effect Have several sets of Dominos for the youth.  Divide into two teams. Say: Now we're going to see how high one team can build a domino tower and if a domino track (Ya know, stack one next to the other then push one to knock the rest.) can knock the tower down. All this must be done without toppling or touching the other teams dominos. Use the tile floor for a steady surface. Please follow these rules:    Each person will take a turn by adding one domino to the tower or track.    If the tower falls over, or the track is triggered the next person must begin building again. Allow students to continue trying to build a tower and make a track. Then stop the building and collect the dominoes. Ask:    How did you feel during this exercise?    Do you think it was a success or a failure?    How is this like what we sometimes do in our own lives?  Say: You may have had some success in building the tower, and you may have been able to build a track. However, ultimately your efforts were a failure. There was only one thing in this activity that would help you build your relationship with God. Ask: Does anyone know what we just did or could have done that could have symbolized a growing relationship with God? Say: We often attempt to live our lives our way and ignore God. This attitude may work for a while, but sooner or later is will end in failure. The only way to get closer to God in this activity was to love one another, by showing respect for each other. If you found that there was problems because of what others were doing and if the only thing you were concerned about was completing your task of building the highest tower possible or making sure the tower fell when the track was triggered you missed the point. Now I'd like each of your to take a domino and hold it in your hand. Then close your eyes, and silently ask God to show you an area of your life in which your attitudes or actions ignore God and what he wants for you. Let the domino you're holding represent that attitude or action. Give students a few moments to think and pray silently, and then Read: Deuteronomy 6:5 aloud: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." Say: Now, to show that you're willing to try and turn that area of your life over to God and live the life he wants you to live, I'd like you to place your domino on the table and show that you know God "Gets You" by saying, "I choose to love the Lord my God with all my heart and all my soul and with all my strength."   Moving Out Work Zone & High Way  Places Needed: "Places" sheet Say: Please respond to each of the following statements with cheers, boos, hisses or other exclamations that express your feelings about it. Read your list of places, after each statement pause for kids' responses. Ask:    What determines your feelings about going to a certain place?    Is it related to fun, boredom?     Is it related to who will be there? Read: Psalm 42:4 and Psalm 122:1 aloud. Psa 42:4  These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. Psa 122:1  A Song of Ascents. Of David. I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD!"   Then ask:    How did the Psalmist feel about going to worship God?    What are your feelings about church?    How do your feelings affect your friends, your family?    How do you think God would like us to feel when we come to his house? Come back together in Fellowship Hall     Closing  Work Zone & High Way Needed: Prayer cards from earlier, candle, matches Gather in a circle. Dim the lights, find two volunteers to sit in the center and read the prayer cards from earlier by candlelight. After all have been read&ldots;   Say: Remember that God the Father has taken the first step to know you as His child and that He promises that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. It is not enough to know about God, we must go deeper and experience Him personally. How do we get to know Him? By talking to Him, reading His words, being with His people, and doing the things He tells us to do. Then we will not just know about Him, but know Him personally, the way we know our family, our closest friends, and ourselves. The more you know God, the more you will realize He "Gets You" and is big enough to handle your concerns, questions, and future.   Join hands, right over left, and say the UMYF benediction.