MESSY – Week 1

Life can be MESSY.  We are confronted daily with the hurt and the pain that is all around us.  We are faced with decisions between right and wrong constantly throughout each day.  We deal with questions all the time – What is right? What is wrong? Who should I listen to? What do I do? Who can I trust?  In this messy world that we live in, how does God want us to live and function?  I believe that as we gain a better understanding of what the Bible says about the world that we live in, we will be able to function better within it.  Not just to “survive” within this world, but to make an incredible impact on it.  So … fasten your seatbelt and hold on tight as we dive into the Bible and hear what God has to say about this Messy world that you and I live in.

Parents, here are some questions that you may want to use to generate some discussion with your youth …

1)   Take some time to describe the “messy” world that we live in.  Try to identify things that are “messy”

2)   Why do you think that there is so much hurt and pain in the world?

3)   Were you aware of the things that we talked about before tonight?

4)   Why does this matter and how should it affect the way you live?

5)   Does an understanding of the “behind the scenes” help you at all?

Leaders, here are some content questions that you may want to use to get into the content of the message …

1)   How are angels like us?

2)   How are angels different from us?

3)   What is the primary role of angels in the world today?

4)   What are some of the things that the Bible tells us about Satan?

5)   How do these things put you on guard against Satan?

6)   How do these things remove some fears that you may have about Satan?

Some helpful answers to the content questions

• There are Angels
  • How are angels like us?
    • Worship God (Heb 12:22)
    • They obey God’s word (psalm 103:20)
    • They are a part of God’s creation
    • They are a part of God’s army
• How are angels different?
  • They are spirits – they do not have physical bodies (Heb1:14) (Luke 24:39)
• What is their role?
  • They guard us (psalm 91:11)
  • Worship God with us
  • There is Satan and demons
    • What are demons
      • They are evil angels
      • They were created good
      • They chose evil and followed Satan by being cast into hell (2 Peter (2:4)
• What about satan?
  • Satan is the head of the demons
  • Referred to as
    • The devil
    • The serpent
    • Beelzebub
    • Evil one
    • Father of lies
• How do you guard yourself against satan?
  • Resist him (1 Peter 5:9)
  • Give him no opportunity (Eph 4:27)
    • Not even a foothold
• Should you be afraid of satan?
  • No no no no no no
  • God is HUGE and satan is tiny
    • “Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.”  (1 John 4:4)
  • God will be victorious over satan
  • It is like reading the end of the book and knowing that God wins and we will be victorious with Him