Who Am I? – Part 2

July 13, 2012

Main Point: Truly knowing who we are as a person in Christ can help us to become better disciples.

Discussion Starter: How Well Do You Know You?
This is a simple list of questions you’ll ask a student (or 2) up in front of everyone else. Of course, there are going to be some answers that you’ll have to verify; for those, you may want to contact their parents ahead of time, etc. Please note: this discussion starter can be a lot of fun, but it could also backfire and hurt someone’s feelings. Use your discretion while doing this. Feel free to substitute your own questions.

When the appropriate time comes, bring up a student and ask him/her the following questions about themselves. If time permits, bring up another student and repeat the process.

What is your birthdate?

What day of the week was that?

What was your first word?

Who is your best friend?

What is your Social Security Number?

What is your favorite food of all time?

What was the best day of your life?

When did you stop believing in Santa Claus?

What is your locker number?

What was the most embarrassing moment of your life thus far?

What is your GPA? No lying!!!

What is your Driver’s License number?

If you could choose which way to die, what would it be?

What’s more important to you: honesty or loyalty?

How much do you weigh right now?

What is your blood type?

How tall are you?

What makes you the maddest?

What place on Earth do you want to visit before you croak?

If you had one supernatural power, what would it be?

Transitional Statement:
By now, most of us can easily see that “knowing ourselves” isn’t always easy. But, hopefully, each of us can also see how important it is to know who we are. If we don’t know who we are, what we believe, what course of action we’ll take in certain situations, life can be pretty bad. But if we do know who we are, we can know what needs to change about us so we can be better for God. Let’s spend a few minutes talking about that now?

Divide into Small Groups:
Let’s go ahead and split up into our discussion groups, and then afterward we’ll come back together for a final word.

CLICK HERE for a quick training article on how to maximize your small groups using our small group format—a great resource to equip your small group leaders.

Discussion Questions:

AROUND THE CIRCLE: As we get started, let’s all take a second to share our names and one strange fact about ourselves.

ASK A FEW: Were you surprised by what those guys knew and didn’t know about themselves? How?

ASK A FEW: How would you have done in that exercise?

ASK A FEW: How well do you think most people truly know themselves?

ASK A FEW: What are the advantages of truly knowing who you are?

ASK A FEW: What are some dangers of not knowing who we are?

ASK A FEW: How does truly knowing who we are affect our faith?

Read the following passage:

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

ASK SOMEONE: What is the warning Paul gives us in verse 8?

ASK A FEW: Do you think those that don’t know themselves are in greater danger of this happening than those who do know themselves? Why or why not?

ASK A FEW: What are some examples of hollow and deceptive philosophies today? (Leaders – There are a number of lies we believe. They include evolutionism, pluralism, atheism, etc. But we also believe other wrong things like, God helps those who help themselves, just be yourself, etc.)

ASK A FEW: Is anyone willing to briefly share about a time when they fell for something that wasn’t true?

ASK A FEW: Paul essentially tells us to be “rooted in Jesus” in this passage. How will that help us avoid falling for hollow and deceptive philosophies?

ASK A FEW: What are some ways you could better know the truth about yourself? How would that change your life?

ASK A FEW: What can you do this week to get a better understanding on who you are in Christ?

Wrap Up:
OK, so we’ve had some fun looking at how well, or how poorly, some of us know ourselves. The main point we wanted to make with you is this: we have to know who we are in Christ to see how we can improve who we are.

If we don’t know who we are, there are dangers that we fall into. For instance, if we don’t know what truth is, we’ll fall for a lie. If we don’t know what makes a good friend, we’ll surround ourselves with bad influences. If we don’t know what pleases God, then we won’t ever do it. The list goes on and on.

But if we know who we are, we’re that much closer to living our lives “rooted in Christ.” We’ll know how to distinguish between truth and lies. We’ll know what temptations to steer clear of. We’ll know how we should focus our lives.

Here’s what I want to do for the next few minutes. (Hand out pieces of paper that say “What I See In Me” at the top. Also, make sure there are several mirrors located around the room.) I want us to break into small groups and huddle up in front of the mirrors that are spread out around the room. Spend a few minutes looking at your reflection…and then reflect on who you are way down deep inside. I want you to write about what is inside of you, what isn’t in you but should be, and how that will affect your relationship with God. (Give students about 8-10 minutes to do this. Finally, call everyone back together.)

I hope this was an eye-opening experience for each of you. Perhaps some of you saw some pretty blaring shortcomings within you. If so, I want to invite you to talk with me or one of our adult leaders before you leave tonight. Nothing in life is more important than our relationship with God. So if you need to focus on that, let us help you.

Close in Prayer