Summer Girls Study - Intro Session

7/28/2019 Summer Girls Study - Intro Session

1/8

Welcome! We are so excited to be going

on this journey together. Everything is

easier to do with good friends!

IntroductionsLets go around the room introduce

ourselves, noting one thing that makes you

unique (maybe something different about

you, or some special thing that God has

made you good at). Dont be shy!

Who has a good memory? Who wants totake a stab at going around the room and

reciting all of the names and something

special about each girl?

God is crazy about us and has given us

unique characteristics and gifts that He

cant wait to watch us use.

Our Bible memory verse for the study isPsalm 139:14

Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

What do you think it means to be

fearfully and wonderfully made?

The Bible talks a lot about fear of God --

there are over 120 passages about it. In

fact it says that the fear of the Lord is the

beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). God

is so big and powerful. He created

everything and He has the power todestroy everything. That can cause fear.

But fear also means awe, reverence,

respect for the powerful nature and

goodness of God.

Look at the world around us and you

quickly see how creative God is. That

same creativity that made mountains,

rainbows, tons of species of animals,

colors, our complex brains and our unique

fingerprints made us all special and

complex and fully equipped to live out aspecial mission for Him.

So being fearfully made

means we are created

with that same awe and

power. It is hard to wrapour minds around that.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=5z10rNUNf8A4XM&tbnid=rk35IVegciJz7M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://shop.scriptureart.com/products-page/vinyl-lettering/psalm-13914/&ei=ctiYUdKyBYTi8gTk04DoAg&psig=AFQjCNFDus3P_6v7x6o1FAZh2Ij3UruTyA&ust=1369057766512114


2/8

Distractions

We wanted to do this study because it is

hard to be a girl this age. I think even

harder than being a boy this age. I still

remember how tough it is. Girls arent

always nice to each other this age and we

seem to worry about a lot of things andfocus on things that bring us down.

The Bible talks a lot about this. In the

Bible these things that consume

us.things we worry about, things we try

to achieve because we think they will

make us happy, concern over how we look

and what people think about us. In the

Bible they are called idols or other

gods.

The first of the ten commandments tells us

to not have any other gods beside the one

true God.

A lot of times we think of idols & other

gods in the Bible as golden calves or poles

or things that the Israelites worshiped

instead of God. But the idea of idols in the

Bible is broader than that. It is anything

we put our trust in, our faith in, our hope

in other than God. It is what consumesour thinking. It is what we would be

devastated by if we didnt get it or it went

away. It is such a huge part of the Bible

and what God and Jesus warn us about.

All people grownups and kids struggle

hard with this one.

We are going to get into groups and

brainstorm some idols you think kids yourage struggle with. To get you started, here

are some of the things grownups have as

idols. their jobs, money, impressing other

people, houses, cars, what other people

think, pleasing other people, how they

look, clothes, weight, their kids. Can

someone get us started with a few

examples for kids your age?

Activity break in groups of 2 or 3 andon the next page write down all of the

idols kids your age struggle with. Take

notes on the next page.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=pJ4BcZbzlKamuM&tbnid=7QKnWwXUIDBuvM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.woogsworld.com/2010/11/i-carried-watermelon-and-other-tales.html&ei=dRGZUafFC4uE9gSl-oGIDw&psig=AFQjCNEj9xmNL-cxVyILaSmMGuPeQ02nWA&ust=1369072364689468http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=16lCFoPxwLDX_M&tbnid=PlPceyYBJOThzM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.sandwichink.com/bible-memory-verses-fun-teaching-the-ten-commandments-to-our-children-grandchildren-1&ei=duGYUdS3J4e48wSNvYC4CA&psig=AFQjCNGbklNu9CiEzTPl2vNi1BCb-BitjA&ust=1369060068158082


3/8

Idols / Other gods Discussion - The groups will take turnspresenting their list to the other girls. Talk

about how exhausting it is to deal with

these things. What impact does it have on

your happiness, health, relationships?
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=kD8pd3itbOysCM&tbnid=pPpHo_cN1bfA4M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitaltrends.com%2Fmobile%2Fapple-sold-5-million-iphone-5-units-in-first-weekend%2F&ei=oabFUdDbA4ze8wT2jYHoBw&psig=AFQjCNEzZ_9zBS4txyxXdgmMPUF5g0k_bg&ust=1371994104242070http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=u7Wzkl63mWXO9M&tbnid=HDKZxsa_5jqkcM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fasbians.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F11%2F5th-p-popularity.html&ei=z6XFUdPeKIO89gTyrIGoAg&psig=AFQjCNE1q-2N2mbOPna06FsrrcD0k5M06g&ust=1371993899122841


4/8

In Matthew 6:24, Jesus tells a man who is

asking about getting into heaven

Jesus was saying this to someone whostruggled with money as a idol, but it

applies to all of us and our specific idols

and distractions from who God wants us to

be.

Replace money with some ofyour

distractions. Do you think this is true? Do

you think you cant serve two masters?

Z

A

Activity In the space below, in anyway/order/spacing/creative way you

want, add 25 dots that start at A and

ends at Z.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=K5IOkVth90mIKM&tbnid=kJM55xYaIb2f0M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://todaysbibleverse.com/page/32&ei=T92YUbOdJITk9ASbh4GQDA&psig=AFQjCNF81RQNIv9WX741pgc5puJP7rnxCQ&ust=1369058816812659


5/8

Good Plans

The good news is that God loves us and

knows how unique and special we are. He

is sitting in heaven waiting for us to realize

all that he has planned for us. Big things

that will serve him and make us happy.

The good news is also that God can use

those times when we are off track or when

things arent going smoothly for good

things. When we ask for Gods help and

tell him we want to live the life he created

us for, he can help us use even things that

seemed bad. They can make us stronger,

they can help us warn other people to

avoid them, they can remind us of whatwe can overcome and that we can get

through things.

God made us the way we are and for a

specific purpose. When we understand

that, then we can have peace that

whatever ailments or perceived problems

we have in life are there because God

knows how he will use them for our good.

Discussion Share your dots with thegroup.

What does your picture look like? Is it a

straight line or all over the place?

This is like our time on earth. We havefree will to live it how we choose. God

doesnt force us into a certain pattern.

He loves us and wants us to live out the

life he created us for, but he doesnt

make us do it his way.

God sees and know everything, from the

day we were born (dot A) until the day

we die (dot B). He know what he

created us for. He knows our unique

gifts and skills and the amazing things we

can accomplish with them.

Anything outside of that direct path are

distractions. Sometimes we linger for a

long time outside of the path with our

distractions. Sometimes we are right on

track.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=qf3l9-QuOq2TiM&tbnid=Ep6uqJLf7cvCIM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.etsy.com/listing/60146906/wall-decal-for-i-know-the-plans-i-have&ei=q92YUcvTDIL-9QT5_YGQCA&psig=AFQjCNGHpJbS-cGhbTYX045H5XMQQmq-7Q&ust=1369059078574132


6/8

He wants us to explore these things the

unique gifts and skills we have -- not the

current idols that bog us down and distract

us. They keep us from discovering the

amazing parts of us that God cant wait to

use. It really is exciting and I dont want to

miss out on it. I dont want to get to

heaven and see all that I missed because I

was focusing on the wrong things things

that ultimately didnt make me happy and

didnt make a difference.

It is important to understand that God isnt

saying things are necessarily bad.God

made all things and they can be

wonderful. But he is saying that when we

love them more than anything elseincluding God they are bad.

God created us to worship, so he knows

we worship and cling to things. But he

wants us to worship and cling to him, not

these other things. They will never, ever,

ever make us happy. They will never

provide what we think they will.

Throughout history, people have tried.

God is the only constant, consistent,

reliable thing. It is just so hard because it

goes against everything in our culture.

In a way, we are actually at a disadvantage

here where we have so much. It creates

room for lots of distractions to get

between us and the life God wants us tolive.

Did you know

Almost half the world over threebillion people live on less than

$2.50 a day.

At least 80% of humanity lives on lessthan $10 a day

22,000 children die each day ofpoverty

Where many around the world worry

about if they will have enough food to eat,

while wearing their one piece of clothing,

we worry about getting the newest pair of

jeans and a cell phone, or being the most

popular or looking like our favorite actress.

We get a false sense that we can rely on

ourselves in our culture where we have so

much compared to the rest of the world.

With our basic needs taken care of, we

have room for lots of distractions, but

whatever we get will never satisfy us.

We all worship something. We must choosewhom, or what, we will worship. Will it be the

opinions of others, our fears, our own

comfort? Or will it be the One who created

our souls to worship.

At the end of the day, honoring God leads to

good things. Anything else leads to confusion,

emotional exhaustion and a lack of goodthings.


7/8

Activity break into groups of 2-4 andshare some special skills/gifts or things

you are good at. Think about how, as a

group, you can combine these

gifts/characteristics to really do something

specialfor God to use you to make a

difference.

Think about the list of idols we discussed.

Do you think focusing on them leads to

good things or confusion, emotional

exhaustion and the opposite of good

things?

Doing things for other people takes the

focus off of us and puts it on the things

God cares about.

Over the course of this study, we are going

to use our gifts to do something that

would please God.

Research a charity and spend the next

few weeks raising money for that

charity

Do random acts of kindness

encourage someone, invite a friend

over and help talk them through

something rough they are going

through, invite a friend to church that

doesnt go, sit by someone in a groupthat looks lonely
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8/8

Read the first two

chapters of our

study book. We

will talk through the

discussion

questions when we

get together next

week.

What to do this week before we meet

again

Think some more about what type of

activity you want to do over the course

of our study. Talk about it with your

friends and your parents. Make sure

your parents are okay with it.

Pay attention this week to what you are

focusing on, worrying about, distracted

by. Say a little silent prayer every time

you feel like you are getting pulled

away from how God wants you to live.

I promise if you keep this up, it will

become a habit and you will love the

new way you are living.

Work on memorizing Psalm 139:14Ipraise you because I am fearfully and

wonderfully made; your works are

wonderful, I know that full well.

Feel free to bring a pillow to sit on

when you come each week. We are so

looking forward to this summer Bible

study with you all!

www.SummerGirlsStudy.blogspot.com

Discussion - The groups will take turnspresenting their list to the other girls. Talk

about what kind of impact a group like this

could have in our community, our schools,

among our friends, in the world. God is

big and he has big plans for you. How do

you think doing things like this could

change your perspective and your focus?
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Documents

Summer Girls Study - Intro Session