The students in your ministry experience change on some level all the time, whether it’s big or small.

  • Middle school is a big change from elementary school. 
  • High school is different than middle school.
  • Friendships are constantly evolving and changing.
  • Seniors are preparing for college.
  • Teenagers often get their license around 16 years old.

You get the idea. Change is a big part of the life of a teenager.

That’s why we created this free lesson on change, based on Matthew 6:31-33, which includes a fun opening game.

Hope your students enjoy it!

Nick Diliberto, Ministry to Youth

Looking for youth ministry curriculum? Check out the…

THE EASTER STORY – A 4-week Easter series for youth ministry. Students will discover the prophecies of Jesus’ suffering, death, resurrection, and what it means to them today.

YOUTH GROUP LESSON ON CHANGE

Bible: “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? ’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” – Matthew 6:31-33 (NLT)

Bottom Line: Life is full of change. This is never more true than during the teen years. This season of constant new beginnings can lead to a lot of stress and worry. God knows what we need. If He cares so much about something small like a flower or a bird, what do you think that says about how much He wants to take care of you?

OPENING GAME

Supplies

  • Enough plastic spoons for everyone
  • M&M’s

Space Requirements

Large enough space for teams to stand in a line

Game Description

Split your entire group into equal teams and have each team stand in a line. Each person should have a plastic spoon. The must put the tip of the spoon in their mouths (so that the actual spoon portion is out) and their hands behind their backs.

The first person in each line will start with a peanut on their spoon. Once you tell them to go, they must, without using their hands or anything else, pass the M&M to the person behind them. If the it falls, you must start all over again. The first team to get the peanut to the end of the line, wins!

Game Tie-in

Having to start over can be stressful. Though in this game, starting over came after a mistake, it often is just a part of life.

Starting over comes with the many changes in life that come our way.

TEACH – CHANGE

Life is filled with change. No one understands that more than a teenager. Think about it. Look over the last 10 years or so of your life.

How many times have you had to start a “new beginning”? Grades change every year which means new teachers, new classmates.

Many of you change school at least three times (elementary to middle to high school). When you get to middle school and high school, you change your entire learning routine by having multiple teachers that teach different subjects.

There are the changes with friends. The friends that were your closest in say 2nd grade are most likely not the same by the time you are a sophomore in high school. Finally, your teen years end with your biggest change yet. You leave the part of your life you’ve grown to understand in high school to the vastly different worlds of college or the career field.

This period of constant change can be equal parts scary and exciting.

There are so many unknowns involved in new beginnings.

Will I be able to handle the change? How will people like me at my new school? What will be expected of me? For those who find change to be difficult (which is probably all of us at some point or another), the scariest part is that we can’t stop the changes from coming.

We are left with having to adapt or get left behind. How can we learn to navigate this constantly changing world? What are some ways that we can start our “new beginnings” on a good fit.

Let’s look at a few keys from the Bible.

Don’t Worry

Ever heard the saying, “Don’t worry, be happy”? I’m not a fan. It sounds like painfully simple advice that just isn’t realistic. When something is looming on the horizon—maybe it’s a change you know is coming that you are dreading—isn’t it hard to do anything but worry? As hard as it is to fathom, one of the keys to starting a new beginning on the right foot is to surrender your worry to God. In Matthew 6, Jesus paints an amazing picture of the freedom from worrying we can find in Him.

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? – Matthew 6:25 (NLT)

We are going to look at a few verses from this passage, but it’s good to start here.

There are two interesting things to point out.

First, Jesus clearly understands the pangs of worry. He starts with the essentials of life: food and drink.

Then, he hits on clothing—something that protects us from the “elements” as well as show our status to the world.

Whenever we start a new beginning, we want to know that we are going to be okay, that whatever changes may come, we will survive it. Jesus knows that feeling.

Though this verse may not specifically mention high school or college, it does identify some of the most basic ingredients to a good life that people have been worrying about for centuries.

Second, Jesus goes on to ask a critical question: “Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?”

In other words, there’s more to life than just these things we need for survival and protection/status. Before we dive any further, I want to join with Jesus and say that, no matter what you may feel at the moment, there is more to life than school, social groups, and your teen years.

They can seem so big, so overwhelming some times, but there is certainly more to our lives and our Savior than the circumstances you are facing right now.

In the next verse, Jesus gives the example of birds. They don’t have warehouses full of food that they have been storing; yet, somehow they survive. God provides for them. What Jesus is saying is that if God will take care of birds, how much more will He take care of you? You are His masterpiece. You are worthy dying for. I think that says it all.

“Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” – Matthew 6:27

Great point, Jesus! Though I definitely struggle with this, the point Jesus is making is that when you get right down to it, what good does worry do?

Maybe you’re stressed out about changing grades or schools. What will worrying about it solve? Will it make the transition go smoothly?

Will it make it come faster?

The obvious answer is no. New beginnings are a part of life. Worry doesn’t have to be.

Jesus goes on to make another analogy using flowers. If God cares so much about them to clothe them in such beauty, how much more will He take care of you?

Again, you are incredibly important as an individual to the Creator of the universe. He knows you by name. If He cares about flowers, what does that say about His true masterpiece?

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? ’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.” – Matthew 6:31-32 (NLT)

Why worry? When you get right down to it, God knows all of your needs.

He knows the new beginnings looming on the horizon. He knows exactly what you need to not only survive but to thrive in this situation.

Does that mean that everything will go perfectly smoothly all the time?

No, God doesn’t promise a problem-free life, but what He does promise is that He knows what you are going through and will be right there with you at all times. Again, I cannot overstate this, you have the all-powerful God, Creator of the universe saying, “I’ve got your back.”

The Solution

So far, we have looked at some compelling words from Jesus. He tells us that worrying is pointless. God has you covered. But how do you truly defeat worry? Jesus has a rather simple (yet, incredibly complicated) answer.

Read Matthew 6:33

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” 

The answer to happiness in life is right there in that verse.

Or maybe, it is better to say that the answer to joy in life is right there. You see, happiness is an emotional state that is sometimes hard to control, but joy—something far greater and more lasting—is something we can live in every day.

The key, is found in seeking the Kingdom of God above all else. What does this mean?

The first step is seeking God’s way over everything else.

God’s way isn’t always the easiest, but it is always the best.

Pursuing the kind of life that Jesus talks about throughout Scripture is the key to joyful living.

So, I live the way that God wants, and I get what I want? Um, almost.

The second part of this verse is key. If you seek to live like Christ, God “will give you everything you need.

What we need is not always the same as what we want.

I want a billion dollars. I don’t need that much money, though.

When you worry about a new beginning, many of the things that are stressing you out are wants.

What do you need?

Pursue God and He will make that happen.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. What are some of the “new beginnings” that you have faced or will face soon in your life?
  2. What makes new beginnings scary?
  3. What does it mean to seek the Kingdom of God above all else?
  4. What are your true “needs” in life? What are some of your “wants”?

End Lesson.

Looking for youth ministry curriculum? Check out the…

THE EASTER STORY – A 4-week Easter series for youth ministry. Students will discover the prophecies of Jesus’ suffering, death, resurrection, and what it means to them today.

Want another free lesson? Then check out this…

Youth Group Lesson on Accountability

5 Replies to “YOUTH GROUP LESSON ON CHANGE”

  1. Nick Diliberto
    • November 12, 2015

    Awesome! Glad you found our stuff helpful 🙂

    Reply
  2. Nick Diliberto
    • January 20, 2016

    Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Becky Forkel
    • January 21, 2017

    Thank you!

    Reply
  4. Nitta Princess
    • April 18, 2021

    Very grateful for all these lessons. They are very innovative and helps me to communicate with the class effectively.

    Reply
  5. Wendy Johnson
    • October 8, 2021

    Great lessons for youth ministry, very relatable

    Reply

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