Big Questions Part 2 - Christian Ethics

‘Pick n Mix’ sessions and resources for use on Zoom calls or in socially distanced group meetings

a) Sin - what, why, who, how? b) If God is good why does He let bad stuff happen?

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

Introduction The series for this term is called “Big Questions” which looks at the difficult questions young people might wrestle with as they explore who God is. Different young people will find different things helpful. Be aware that we will not be able to deal with this topic in full in these sessions, but hopefully they are a great start for young people to ask more questions. This may be a lifelong journey for people to explore how God and ethics work together.  Some young people will ask question after question, which is brilliant, but you might want to consider challenging them that at some point that following Jesus will be a leap of faith rather than knowing all the answers. This pack contains two sessions. We have included materials which can be used either on Zoom calls or where groups are able to meet (in a socially distanced way as the easing of lockdown regulations in different nations of the UK allows). Please note there is absolutely no compulsion to rush back to face-to-face meetings. You will know best what is most appropriate for your group. NB. Please see https://www.urbansaints.org/leaders-area for nation-specific guidelines as they apply to Urban Saints’ Groups. We have focussed this material on young people of secondary school age. Those of you running groups with under 11’s may like to use the ‘Kids Club by Post’ weekly materials as the basis for your sessions. These can be downloaded from https://www.energize.uk.net/pages/kids_club_by_post. With the material here, you don’t have to do all the elements suggested, these are simply ideas to pick from. Activities tend to last a little bit longer on Zoom than in real time, so we think it would be hard to get through all of these. Please do let us know what has worked well and what didn’t - we’d really find your feedback helpful - email: ahughes@saintygymuned.org

Game ideas We have been compiling a list of game ideas, so if you need more, you may want to look here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uaI-6sZw0JikO1t5fRnBUAzFX__nouTe40_MrqQOUYI/edit?usp=sharing

Contents

Page 3 Sin - what, why, who, how? Page 9 If God is good, why does He let bad stuff happen?

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Next pack:

Christian Ethics (to be published 20/05/21) - Where does morality come from? - What’s the point in life/who am I?

Sin - what, why, who, how?

Main point of this session: To understand that sin is both turning away from God and

choosing anything else above Him.

Key to suggested suitability markers: O This material is designed/suitable for older/more mature young people Z Can be used on Zoom SD Can be used in a socially distanced group meeting

Opener: Funny fail video (Z, SD) This is going to be a deep session, so just to get your group laughing, watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6hrw6KGdtM&t=76s

Recap: What is ‘sin’? (Z, SD) Ask the group to define sin.  Remind them that ‘sin’, like the word, is when we put ‘I’ (ourselves) at the centre of our thoughts and actions. Sin is living in a way which goes against God’s best plan for ourselves and others. This can be in something we do, or neglect to do which we know we should. The word ‘sin’ comes from Hamartia (a Greek word, spelled in Greek this way: ἁμαρτία). It’s an archery term for when someone didn’t hit the target or put more simply, missing the mark. When we translate this word in scripture we translate it as sin.

Game: Jumping for the chair (Z, SD) Get all your young people to stand in a row and place a chair on the opposite side of the room (or at least far enough away that they can’t reach the chair through jumping). Now challenge your young people to see if anyone can jump so far that they can touch the chair. Who got the furthest?

If you are on Zoom, challenge them to jump 100 elbow lengths. Get everyone to measure how far they’ve jumped (in elbow lengths or some other creative way that won’t require everyone to have a measuring tape). See who has jumped the furthest.

Tell them that even though some people got closer to the chair/or the 100 elbow lengths than others, none of them actually made it far enough. All lost. Similarly with sin, no matter if we do a couple of things wrong or a lot, it means we are all separated from God and need help.

Romans 3:23 reads ‘For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard’. But the chapter doesn’t end there, verse 24 says: ‘Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.’  

Game: Target practice (Z, SD) Everyone in the group needs 3 pieces of A4 paper - it doesn’t matter if it’s used. They also need a bin or bucket which they place 2m behind them. The game is to take it in turns to scrunch up their papers and throw them over their shoulder at the bin without tur- Continued overleaf…

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ning round. If you’re meeting socially distanced, you can use one bin. If you’re meeting on Zoom, players will have the added benefit/distraction of being able to see what’s going on behind them on the screen in front of them. Keep score and, if you have a tie, they can have a final play-off.

Game: Panic points (Z, SD) Have each member give you the answer to the following questions (on Zoom use the chat function).

Questions: 1. What is your favourite film? 2. Who do you think is the funniest person in the group? 3. Where were you born? 4. What is your favourite food? 5. What is your favourite music?

Next, divide the group into two equal-sized teams.  Read out the questions as true or false statements, e.g. “Andy’s favourite film is Captain America” (change some of the answers to make them untrue so there is a mix).

If Player 1 gives the right answer to the question they win their team one point. From then on each person who answers a question correctly doubles the amount of points in their group’s ‘pot’; however if anyone gets their answer wrong then the team loses all their points and starts again! 

At the end of the game the team with the most points wins. Point out that like the game, when we sin the consequences often impact others as well as ourselves.

Activity: Impossible quiz (Z, SD) Split the group into two teams and encourage them to come up with some interesting team names. Explain that you have 5 questions to ask and the team with the most correct answers wins a prize. No devices are allowed to be used to answer questions.

1. Who invented the dishwasher?  2. What is the cube root of 4913? 3. What is the animal Sus otherwise known as?  4. Who wrote the song “Hold On” released March 2021? 5. What is the national sport of Afghanistan?

Answers: 1. Josephine Cochrane, 2.  17,  3. Pig, 4.  Jason Pennock, Jack Kugell & Justin Lanning (performed by Justin Bieber), 5. Buzkashi (one to look up for those who aren’t squeamish!).

Most teams will end the quiz with zero. Ask the group how that made them feel. Explain that this session is about sin and how the Bible tells us we all ‘fall short’ of God’s perfection, just like the teams that didn’t get full marks for the quiz.

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Activity: Is that really how you use it?(Z, SD) Look through the list and pick a couple of objects that have been used wrongly: https://www.buzzfeed.com/gabbynoone/18-everyday-products-youve-been-using-wrong 

Are there any items that aren’t listed here that your group can think of?

Next, get each person to pick an item and give them 2 minutes to come up with an alternative purpose for the object.

Sin often gets in the way of what we were designed for and God’s best plan for us. As we grow in our relationship with Him we get to learn how and why He made us, that He has a purpose for our lives and unique giftings.   Discussion starter (Z, SD) Toni and Gemma are best friends and part of a close group of friends at school. Gemma’s boyfriend Carl has just messaged Toni saying that he really likes her and asking her to meet him.  Gemma sees Carl’s phone and notices that he has messaged Toni. She asks Toni about it later but Toni lies and says that she didn’t get a message from him. Gemma knows that Carl sent a message even though she hasn’t seen what the message says.

1. Who has done the wrong thing in this scenario? 2. What effect will Toni’s lie have on her friendship with Gemma? 3. Who else might be affected?

NB. feel free to adapt the scenario to something related to your group.

After some discussion, point out that when someone does something wrong, it often spreads. In this scenario, it started with Carl which led to Toni telling Gemma a lie about it. Their friendship was affected and their wider friendship group could have been drawn in having to take sides.  Sin (even small things) spoils, breaks relationships and spreads.

Activity: Action scale (Z, SD) SD: Draw an imaginary line across the area you meet, and explain that this is a scale, 1 being one side of the space and 10 being the other side.

Z: Ask the group to display where they would put each situation on a scale of 1-10 by how many fingers they hold up to the screen.

On the action scale (1 is acceptable behaviour and 10 is really bad), where would they put the following:

sneaking out when your parents have grounded you telling your gran her food is delicious when it isn’t stealing some sweets from the local shop being jealous of your friend’s new phone when yours is a year old seeing an old man struggle to cross the road and not helping him

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lying to your friends about your beliefs in case they laugh at you getting caught cheating on an exam and blaming someone else telling your little sister that you want to kill her when she stained your favourite top staying up late on Sunday night watching your favourite Youtuber and not getting enough sleep as a joke, telling everyone that Instagram is your God and then spending most of your day on it

These may seem a little strange but they are based on 10 rules God gave us to live by.  Ask the group if they can work out what these 10 rules are known as. The 10 Commandments may seem a little outdated, but the general gist is to love God and love others. Ask the group why they think God gave us rules when some believe rules are there to be broken, or that we should try to get away with as much as possible without getting caught.

Ask the group what they think life would be like if there were no rules.

God gave us these as a guide for living so we could stay close to him and lead a full life with others. They also provide for us the best way to live - following them will make life a lot easier for all (eg. not telling lies means I don’t get caught out). He wanted everyone to have the same access to opportunities and to play a special part in His creation.

Activity: Things you can’t unsee (Z, SD) Ask the group for one thing they’ve seen or noticed, which now they can’t unsee. It could be the smiley face in the Amazon logo, the dancing bear on the Toblerone logo or the fact that most of the characters in the Simpsons only have three fingers and a thumb. Now imagine going to a wedding and the bride has a beautiful white dress - only for a child to squirt tomato ketchup on it during the meal! Do you think you could unsee that?

The trouble is, just like the tomato ketchup on the wedding dress, once there is a stain on it, even if it is small, it is not perfect anymore. When we think of sin, it can be tempting to rank one sin as better or worse than another, but in God’s eyes sin is sin - it is still something which has stained us. Some sins have bigger or wider-reaching consequences than others, but all sin can impact our closeness to God.  The good news is that Romans 3:23-24 reminds us that although we have all fallen short of the perfection that God wants us to live in, He has made a way for us to be made perfect again. Hebrews 10:14-18 talks about how Jesus dying on the cross gave us the opportunity to be ‘made perfect forever’. 

Bible study: Intro (Z, SD) The Bible has a lot to say about the way we live.  When asked about this, Jesus says that the most important life lessons are to love God and love others (Matthew 22:36-40).

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One of the best-known parts of the Bible is when God gives humans 10 ways to live our best life. Read Exodus 20:1-17 where God gives the 10 Commandments. Ask the group if they notice anything about the first half of the Commandments and the second half in relation to what Jesus said (the first half are about our relationship with God, and the second half are about our relationship with others). Sin is when we stop loving God and others. 

Bible study: Luke 10:38-42 (Z, SD) Have your group to read Luke 10:38-42.

Questions Why did Jesus challenge Martha? Who did the right thing? Why? Can you think of any situation where someone looked like they were doing the right thing, but wasn’t?

It seemed like Martha was doing the right thing by serving Jesus but it wasn’t what Jesus most cared about. Jesus just wanted Martha to be with him (like Mary).  Often we think of sin (the wrong thing) as doing something bad. Even if we do something that outwardly looks good, God is always interested in the attitude of our heart. He’s not a dictator, He simply wants us to authentically love Him and others. Sin separates us from Him. In the chair game earlier, none of us could jump far enough to reach the chair. Similarly, none of us can meet God’s perfect standard (hit the mark). Although we were designed to be in a relationship with God, that relationship is broken because of what we do. 

“Houston, we have a problem” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_vawfDfnnQ 

While we were designed to be in a relationship with God, sin created this distance between us and God and it is serious, but it isn’t the end. In the midst of everything going on around us, we can find hope, we can find God. As Romans 6:23 expresses, the justified punishment for our sin is death, but God’s gift through Jesus is eternal life. It’s a gift (as Mary experienced) not something we can earn (as Martha tried to do).  The gift is a relationship with the one who made us and loves us.

Going deeper (O, Z, SD) The Bible tells us in multiple places that God hates sin (Proverbs 15:9, Proverbs 6:16-19, Psalm 5:4 etc) but also that He believes in justice (Psalm 7:11); ask the group how you think God can be just but also hate sin. Do they think God looks at the circumstances of sin, or just the act itself? Most people would agree that stealing is wrong, but what if someone stole food to feed someone who is starving? What about hurting someone in self defence?

To guide the conversation, look at the following passages to see which words they use to describe God: 1 Chronicles 16:34, 1 John 4:8, Psalms 116:5.

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End by reading Romans 5:8: “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Closing activity: What a mess! (Z, SD) Ask your group who has a pet or would like one? What about a little sibling?

Watch this video together:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cz2EN95nVM&ab_channel=PokeMyHeart

What about now, do the same people want a pet/sibling?

Our sin gets us in a right mess and yet when we get it wrong God doesn’t fall off His throne. We expect children to make a mess every now and then or our pets to be slightly cheeky, but that doesn’t change the parents' love for a child or an owner’s love for a pet. While saying sorry matters, it is for our own sake. God isn’t delighted when we’re caught up in sin, but equally He has paid the price for it because of His love for each and every one of us. 

Challenge of the week (Z, SD) ‘For evil to prosper all people need to do is nothing.’ This is probably a quote from Edmund Burke about political apathy but it has been requoted by many others. The point is about sins of omission (when we don’t do what would have been the right thing when we had the opportunity). One example might be not intervening when we see someone being mistreated, bullied or discriminated against. Another might be walking out of a kitchen full of dirty dishes to go and watch TV.  This week’s challenge is to look out for the good things you could/should do in different situations and to do them.

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If God is good, why does He let bad stuff happen?

Main point of this session: To understand that it is precisely because God is good He allows evil to persist for a time in order that humans (who do/are evil)

have a chance to turn to Him.

Here are some thoughts that might be helpful: We don’t see the big picture - His purposes are higher. If God were to stop people doing bad, He would be taking away free will. He is patient not ‘slow’ in wiping out evil but wants all to have free choice to turn from it.

Key to suggested suitability markers: O This material is designed/suitable for older/more mature young people Z Can be used on Zoom SD Can be used in a socially distanced group meeting

Opener (Z, SD) Ask the group for words which they would use to describe God. Try to steer the conversation towards his power and that He is all-knowing. Now ask the question, ‘if these characteristics are true, what would God do if He was bad?’

Game: Huh? (Z, SD) Ask the group to think of things we don’t understand but still put our trust in. Examples may include: how planes fly, how car engines work, what makes vegetables grow, how smartwatches can track you on GPS, what it is which makes microwave heat food, or how wifi and Bluetooth work.

Now give each person 30 seconds to share what their understanding of one of these things is without saying ‘um’, ‘err’ or pausing.

Game: Plastic cup curling (SD) Most people will have seen the sport curling on TV during the Winter Olympics. If not, here’s some footage you could show your group: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgiG5gHiAq4

In advance prepare plastic cups full to the brim with water - enough for 2 per person in your group. It’s a good idea to use a little food colouring or squash so that you have different coloured ‘stones.’ Put these in the freezer until they are frozen solid and only remove them just before your group session (if possible, just before you play).

Mark out a curling rink with concentric circles on a smooth floor. Teams of 2 players can now take turns to slide their ‘stones’ (now removed from the cups) at the ‘house’ (target). The winning team is the one with their ‘stone’ nearest the centre of the house. Note: If you are feeling particularly silly, you could appoint a couple of ‘sweepers’ with brooms too!  Continued overleaf…

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Make sure that players maintain social distancing and only touch their own stones. Brooms can be sanitised between players using spray sanitiser.

Game: What am I? (Z, SD) Divide the group into two teams. A member describes an object to their team, without using the word itself. E.g. “a round thing we kick around on a pitch” = football. You can’t use words which include the object like ‘football boots’, ‘ball’ or ‘foot’. The teams take it in turns to play, and the describer changes each round. The teams have 15 seconds each round to describe their word to earn a point, and they cannot guess the other team’s object. Alternatively, give the teams a list of words and see how many they can guess correctly in a certain time.

Words could include: Table, chair, plant, leaf, light switch, mug, oven, bottle, grass, curtains, carpet, glasses, pen, jug, memory stick, paper, laptop, book, mobile phone, tshirt, swimming pool, tree, the sea, candle, photograph, paper clip, hairband, jeans, window, moss, towel, car, street, petal, bus, lightbulb, spaghetti.

Game: No more laughing, no more fun (Z, SD) One person is "it" and says "Urban Saints has begun, no more laughing, no more fun. If you dare to crack a smile, you may have to walk a mile." Then that person tries to make the rest laugh within a minute. The first person to laugh is “it”. 

Discussion starter: If I was God... (Z, SD) Ask your group to think about and answer this question: 

If you were God, what would you do? 

It is likely that at least one person will give an answer like: “I’d get rid of all bad stuff in the world.” You can add this yourself if not. It sounds simple doesn’t it? Get rid of all bad - violence, abuse, poverty, disasters, disease, illness, hatred...

Now consider this question:  If God got rid of all bad today, would it come back tomorrow or the next day?

And the next question:  Is there ever any bad in me?

After a while, point out that there is bad stuff in all of us. If God got rid of all bad right now, today - He’d have to get rid of us.  Explain that God didn’t make us to think or say bad stuff. However, He didn’t make us puppets either - He gave us the ability to choose (free will).  He chooses not to just get rid of all bad because He is being patient and giving us a chance to turn to Him and change from the inside out. He even sent His son Jesus to take the rap for the bad stuff we’ve done. This shows us one important aspect of His character - love - He loves each of us. Continued overleaf…

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There will come a time when God will say, “enough is enough” and will put a stop to all evil, once and for all. On that day, there will be judgement and punishment. Only those whose punishment has already been taken by Jesus will be let off.

This shows us another important aspect of God’s character - justice - He is just/fair.

Love and justice are two apparently contradictory aspects of God’s character held in tension as we would understand it. To Him, it’s just how He is. He can’t stand evil but He loves us.

If I was God part 2 (Z, SD) In the film ‘Bruce Almighty’, Bruce is given God’s powers as he thinks he can do a better job. This clip shows his assumption that God isn’t listening and that He doesn’t care. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edc9wyBCGCQ&ab_channel=chronic6160

What Bruce discovers is that having God’s power doesn’t mean that his life becomes easy. He still needs to put others first and not take shortcuts in his career or relationships. It’s tempting to think that we know better, but God has a bigger picture view, and sometimes allows us to go through tough times so we can learn a greater lesson. Having God in our lives certainly means that we are not alone, but like any loving parent, He doesn’t always remove the reality of the pain in life for us.

Discussion starter: Would you?(Z, SD) Married at First Sight is a social experiment where experts match couples, who first meet on their wedding day (be aware that this is how marriages are arranged in some cultures). Watch the clip below with your group. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RurfE5RQW-4&ab_channel=Lifetime

Can you imagine doing this?  What if you had to marry someone who someone else chose for you?  Would you be OK with this?

Now imagine that divorce wasn’t an option. You had to stay married to this person for the rest of your life, and they were forced to love you and remain with you. 

How would you feel about this? Why?

The idea of being told who to love seems strange to us. We want to give love freely and be able to choose. Loving relationships will always require work if they are to remain meaningful, but it is sometimes an active choice to remain committed to being loyal.

Christians believe that God gave us free will - the option to love Him back or not to. This is different from being forced to do what He wants. Many people struggle with the idea of a good God allowing bad things to happen, but if He forced us to only act a certain way, then that would remove the power of choice. Loving God is a daily decision for us, not just a feeling.

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Bible study: Matthew 13:24-30 (Z, SD) Read Matthew 13:24-30 together. 

Ask your group:  What do you think this story means? What can we learn from it for our lives?

You would have thought that the best way is to pick out the weed first or to kill it in order to get the best harvest, when in fact it’s best to let them all grow up together and then separate them out at the end. Imagine every time we did something wrong or something that displeased God there would be a visible sign, a daunting noise or even just a pinging noise and after three strikes you’re out. And while sin is serious and deserves death which Jesus paid for on the cross, we get to learn something about God’s character in this - He is patient. He is giving us time to turn to Him and even if we get things wrong He doesn’t give up on us, but is longing for us to choose Him and love Him back. 

Going a little further (Z, SD) Sometimes it is easy to think that faith is airy-fairy and some try to give the impression that becoming a Christian means everything will always be great. The Bible is confident enough to show the tough times as well as the good. Psalm 42:9-10, Job 10:3 and Habakkuk 1:2 are examples of how real the Bible is - they are people of God struggling and feeling like they have been abandoned. Similarly to the Bruce Almighty clip in ‘If I was God part 2’ (earlier in the session), we can buy into the lie that faith removes us from suffering or making the wrong choices.

Ask the group if they have ever known a Christian who did something wrong (no specifics!). Does that mean all Christians are bad? What does it say about God?

God gives all people the choice to choose to follow His ways or not - as Christians and as people with no or different faiths. Some suffering can be the consequences of not living God’s best life for us and others due to unfortunate circumstance. God however does not change, is always loving, and can always use our situations to bring about good.

Going deeper - The long silence (O, Z, SD) There is a video version of this or you can read the PDF on page 13 to your group as a meditation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIUBHszdqOU

Closing activity: Footprints (Z, SD) Where is God in the midst of evil? What makes sense in the midst of suffering? Look at the poem of the Footprints in the Sand available here: https://www.onlythebible.com/Poems/Footprints-in-the-Sand-Poem.html

Challenge of the week (Z, SD) Following on from the Footprints in the Sand, encourage the group to think through the hard times in their lives, and ask themselves - where was God?

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