(meats and paragraphs presenting theories)

On Tuesday, I was encouraged by the fact that Wade was calling me, which I thought was no doubt a moment for us to set up our hang out time. It was, but more so to ask me to prepare a lesson based on 1 Peter 1. So what I came up was more to help the those in attendance to see how they come to the basic pillars of their faith. What holds up their belief in the Almighty. Along the way, I took a page from a few of those management seminars and put together a fairly large list of questions for them to answer off the hip.

The rules are simple:

1. Write your answers on a separate piece of paper
2. Be brutally honest
3. Write the first thing that comes to mind
4. Don't take more than 10 seconds to answer each question
5. Take it seriously
6. Do not analyze any of the questions while you are answering them

Here is that list:

1. I have faith in God because...
2. What three things would you do, if you knew you could not fail?
3. I will be tested by…
4. Name one of your traits you would like to pass on to your children.
5. Finish the sentence: Satan has it out for me because…
6. Some time in my life I will…
7. If you had a million dollars, and you had to give it to a charity, which charity would it be, and how would you wish the funds to be used?
8. If you started your own country, on your dollar bill it says, “In ____ we trust.”
9. Finish the sentence: God has it out for me because…
10. Finish the sentence: Jesus lives…
11. Next year I will…
12. When I get to heaven, there will be…
13. Fill in the blank, “Give me___ or give me death”
14. What two qualities do you look for in a spouse?
15. Tomorrow I will…
16. Describe yourself in one word.
17. Finish this statement, make it your own: …life, liberty and the pursuit of ___
18. There are challenges in my life because…
19. In school I will…
20. If there were two rules that everyone should follow what would they be?
21. Think of the person who knows you best. If you asked this person to name your three greatest strengths, what would they say they are?
22. I come to church because…
23. Before I die I will…
24. List two of the most important people in your life
25. Now list one word to describe each them…
26. Think of one person you most admire. In one word why?
27. My faith is comes from…
28. Finish the sentence: I understand prayer as…
29. Finish the sentence, go ahead and write down: Hell is a place where…
30. Finish the sentence, go ahead and write down: I believe the path to heaven…
31. I will…
32. I am sitting next to…
33. This quiz ...

Now that you have all the answers, throw away the questions and look at the words you have written down. Take time to meditate on some of the things you want to accomplish, how you view your relationship with God, how you view yourself, what you fear in life, etc. There a few questions that were specific to the teen group, but it may help you think about the context as well.

One of the scary points the teens faced was I am sitting next to..., because they had to pick one thing they were sitting next to. A teen leader sitting next to his wife chose to pillar on his other side. Another teen combined the names of the two people on either side. I let them know that their answer is based on how they view the people around them.

In all, I know it was a good lesson for me to check my heart and see the areas I need to look deeply into.