YOUTH GROUP LESSON ON ANGER
Here is a free youth group lesson on Anger, based on Philippians 2:3-8
The big idea: When we’re full of God, our anger doesn’t have room to turn into sin.
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YOUTH GROUP LESSON ON ANGER
Bible: Philippians 2:3-8
Bottom Line: When we’re full of God, our anger doesn’t have room to turn into sin.
TEACH
Today’s topic is Anger.
Now, let’s look at some pictures that help us get a good understanding of what anger looks like.
[Show the 5 angry baby pics. Make witty comments about each picture.]
Now that we all have a clear idea of what anger looks like, let’s jump into a story about Jesus.
Would someone read Luke 22:39-46 for the group?
[I LOVE having students read from the Bible. If it doesn’t work for your group, feel free to read it yourself or have another adult read it.]
As you listen to this passage, try to identify phrases that reveal that Jesus was experiencing anger at this moment.
39 Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. 40 There he told them, ”Pray that you will not give in to temptation.” 41 He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,42 ”Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him.
44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. 45 At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief. 46 ”Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. ”Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.” Luke 22:39-46 (NLT)
What in this passage points to Jesus experiencing anger?
[Give appropriate time for students to respond, encouraging them for sharing their thoughts.]
This is an incredibly tense time for Jesus, so He grabbed some of his closest friends and went to pray.
Did you notice in verse 45 what the disciples were doing while Jesus was praying?
SLEEPING!?!!
Okay. Confession time…raise your hand if you’ve fallen asleep while you were praying?
Raise your hand if you’ve ever fallen asleep while someone else was praying?
Raise your hand if you’re sleeping right now?
Ha ha!
I’ve fallen asleep lots of times while praying. Usually, it’s when I’m in bed, right before I go to sleep.
My bed is warm and cozy, as I’m praying, I’m feeling peaceful, and I drift off to sleep. I dream of my favorite college team winning another national title [fill in your own dream here!].
But put me in the same situation that the disciples were in, and it’s a different story.
I think if Jesus had asked me to pray with Him, and I knew that He was in the next room, I would stay awake.
I would drink some coffee or a soda … something! … You just don’t fall asleep while you’re PRAYING WITH JESUS!?!!
This passage doesn’t specifically say that Jesus was angry, but it would make sense if He were.
But there’s another story that shows up in all four gospels that makes it pretty clear that Jesus was angry.
Would someone read John 2:13-16 for the group?
[Again, I love having students read, but if it doesn’t work for your group, have you or another adult read.]
13 It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money.
15 Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. 16 Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, ”Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” John 2:13-16 (NLT)
This verse doesn’t explicitly say, “Jesus was angry,” but come on … He made a whip!
Think about that … how long does it take to make a whip? … 5 minutes? 10 minutes?
How worked up do you have to be to take the time to make a whip … and STILL be angry enough when you’re done to use it to chase people out of the room?
Then Jesus flipped over their tables, sending their money everywhere.
Jesus tells them, “Get these things out of here.”
Jesus was angry.
How many of you are surprised to hear that?
Why are we surprised to hear that?
[Interact with students’ answers.]
I think the main reason that we’re surprised is that deep down, we believe that anger is sin, and it’s not.
Anger can turn into sin, but anger itself is not sin.
Paul was a follower of Jesus who traveled around starting churches.
Once things got going, Paul would go to another town and start all over.
Often, he would send letters back to places to encourage them.
In one of those letters, Ephesians, Paul quotes a verse from the Psalms that says, “Don’t sin by letting anger control you.”
Paul isn’t saying the sin is anger; he’s saying the sin is letting anger control you.
People get angry; good people get angry. Even Jesus got angry. We all get angry.
The question we should be asking is how do we not let our anger control us?
Most of us probably aren’t going to break into a powerful dance to manage our anger, so what do we do?
We’ve got to think the same way Jesus does.
Let’s look at one more passage, from another letter Paul wrote, this time to the church in Philippi.
Would someone read Jesus’ words from Philippians 2:3-5 out loud?
[Again, I love having students read, but if it doesn’t work for your group, have you or another adult read.]
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Philippians 2:3-8 (NLT)
What does it mean to have the same attitude of Christ Jesus?
What kind of attitude did Jesus have?
Let’s have a little more mandatory fun time and figure that out together.
Get with a few other students to make a group, then make a list of attitudes you see in Jesus. Bonus points if you can point to a specific Bible verse that shows it.
It’s okay to use your phone to help you search.
I’ll give you 3 minutes … ready? Go!
[For online groups, have students work on this individually.]
Let’s hear some of your answers.
[Give appropriate time for students to share, interacting with their answers, encouraging them for their efforts.]
There are three attitudes I see in Philippians 2 that I think we need to have to manage our emotions in healthy, Biblical ways.
The first attitude is humility.
I heard someone say that humility is not thinking less of yourself – it’s thinking of yourself less.
Jesus didn’t expect to be treated like the other religious leaders of the day. He wanted a different relationship with people.
Jesus was a beautiful example of humility.
The second attitude is unselfishness.
Unselfishness and humility go hand-in-hand, but the heart of unselfishness is deciding to do what’s best for others, even if it’s not what’s best for you.
Jesus was willing to be inconvenienced (and that’s putting it lightly) if it was good for others.
The third attitude is Kingdom of God-focused.
Jesus always trusted the Father and did what He said.
In John 5:19 Jesus said,
I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does (NLT).
We see it in this passage in John, and we see it in the story we’ve been reading all series.
Jesus basically said, “God, if there’s any other way that we can accomplish the work of forgiveness for all humanity besides me dying, let’s do it … but still, I trust you, and I want what you want more than what I want.”
When we adopt these attitudes: humility, unselfishness, and Kingdom of God-focused, we’ll probably find ourselves getting angry more often because we see things that break God’s heart, and we want to fix them.
But we’ll approach our anger differently because we’re more focused on loving God and loving our neighbors than on getting our own way.
The only way we can manage our anger well is to invite God to fill our lives with His presence, His grace, His love.
And maybe some angry dancing.
Go have a great small group, and I’ll see you next week.
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What do Donald Duck, Yosemite Sam, Squidward Tentacles, and the Incredible Hulk all have in common? [They all get really mad!]
- Who is your favorite angry fictional character? Why are they your favorite?
- What are the one or two topics that if you brought them up at a family dinner, you know you would get everyone stirred up and eventually get angry?
- Why do so many people (us included) struggle with anger?
- What are some things that really make you angry?
- What are some unhealthy ways people deal with their anger?
- What are some healthy ways we should deal with our anger?
- How do you know when your anger is okay and when it turns into sin?
- How can Jesus help us manage our anger in healthy ways so it doesn’t turn into sin?
- What does it look like to put this lesson into practice in your life this week?
End Lesson
Looking for youth ministry curriculum? Check out the featured item in our store…
1 YEAR YOUTH BUNDLE – Save 79% on an all-new, in-depth, and thoughtfully crafted year-long teaching curriculum for youth ministry, helping students follow Jesus and grow closer to Him.