Down to Earth Youth Study Book: The Hopes & Fears of All the Years Are Met in Thee Tonight

by Mike Slaughter, Kevin Alton

Overview

Nothing in all the vast, created universe could prepare us for God coming down as a helpless infant, or for Jesus the son of God intentionally positioning himself as a mere servant, identifying with the lowest of lows. It's enough to confound the mind, to make the heart contrite. This Advent, God’s great surprise changes everything.

Everything needed to conduct a 4-week study of Down to Earth, including leader helps and current examples that have meaning to young people grades 6-12. Includes leader helps with discussion questions and can be used with the adult-level DVD.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501823534
Publisher:	Abingdon Press
Publication date:	09/06/2016
Series:	Down to Earth Advent series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	503 KB

About the Author

Mike Slaughter is the Pastor Emeritus at Ginghamsburg Church. Under his leadership, Ginghamsburg Church has become known as an early innovator of small group ministry, the Church "media reformation," and cyber-ministry. Mike is the author of multiple books for church leaders, including Down to Earth, The Passionate Church, Change the World, Dare to Dream, Renegade Gospel, A Different Kind of Christmas, Spiritual Entrepreneurs, Real Followers, Momentum for Life, UnLearning Church, and Upside Living in a Downside Economy.
Kevin Alton is a youth worker, writer, musician, husband, father, and friend. He lives and works near Chattanooga TN and is a regular contributor to youth resources, including YouthWorker Movement and his own Wesleyan resource for curriculum and community, Youthworker Circuit (www.youthworkercircuit.com).

Read an Excerpt

Down to Earth Youth Study Book

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By Kevin Alton

Abingdon Press

Copyright © 2016 Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5018-2353-4

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CHAPTER 1

DOWN TO EARTH LOVE

Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort in love, any sharing in the Spirit, any sympathy, complete my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, being united, and agreeing with each other. Don't do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others. (Philippians 2:1-4)

Reading and Reflecting

Love Beyond Reason

It started when my wife and I decided to hang out in Chattanooga one Saturday afternoon.

We live near Chattanooga and have always loved the downtown area, even when it had been a little rundown during our college years. These days it has experienced a thriving rebirth. It's packed with great places to eat and a beautiful, family-friendly waterfront area on both banks of the Tennessee River. That day we'd brought a picnic lunch, and when it was time to eat we sought shelter from the sun in an outdoor amphitheater beneath the Walnut Street walking bridge. We'd made too many sandwiches, as it turned out, and while we were eating we'd noticed a man sleeping near the back of the amphitheater, surrounded by a small collection of personal belongings. We were unsure about waking him but finally decided to risk disturbing him to offer him some food.

In the resulting conversation, we found that this man was living in Chattanooga temporarily, without permanent lodging. He was sleeping under bridges, occasionally moving as he was noticed by police or for his own sense of security. I was wary of his story as he started to relate it, having heard many dubious accounts of life circumstances when I was working in downtown Atlanta.

What made his story stand out from others I'd heard was his self-reliance. He didn't ask for more than we were offering. He didn't want money. He had a plan. He was from Florida, where he lived and worked as a carpenter. Times were tough; the housing market had collapsed and work was slow. He'd driven to Chattanooga for a job prospect that didn't work out. As he was leaving to head back to Florida, his truck had broken down on the Interstate. He left the highway to get some lunch and sort out his options. When he returned, his truck had already been towed. Boom — homeless, in the space of one afternoon.

The man didn't have friends or relations anywhere close by; his only family was an estranged sister out in California. And even if he could have figured out where the truck had been towed, it wouldn't have been worth recovering because it wasn't in working order.

In the time between that day and our meeting him, he had managed to find a temporary job that promised to last a few months. He was picked up at a certain intersection each day. He had figured out that if he could make it through the next ten days or so under the bridge, he would have saved enough to move to a local extended-stay motel. There he could more comfortably work out the remaining weeks of the job, and by the time it was over he'd have enough money to get back to Florida a little ahead on his rent to look for work down there.

Listening to him, I was haunted by the fragility of what I thought of as normal life. I mean, I knew in theory that much of what we consider to be our day-to-day reality could be upended. But to have it all go away so quickly ...

I decided I wanted to experience something like what the man had gone through. So I decided to do it for Lent.

An Advent Study?

Yes, you're reading the right book; it's for Advent, not Lent. We'll get to that shortly. Advent is all about expectation and waiting, isn't it? So stay with me.

My Lenten practice was this: I would live in just one set of clothing for the duration of the season. I couldn't use the ordinary means of cleaning my clothing or my body; all I allowed myself was fifteen minutes every other day to get as much of me or my clothing cleaned as possible in a bathroom sink with hand soap, figuring that was about how long a person could be in a gas station bathroom before being run off. I wouldn't be able to shave. It was going to get icky.

The experience genuinely changed me as a person, but that experience is a story for another day. The real story here is how I discovered the depth of down-to-earth love that existed in my life.

You see, as unpleasant as I might have been during Lent for the people at church and elsewhere in my life, they would only have to put up with me for a few hours a week. Sure, they would shake their heads, and some of them might wonder if the youth minister had lost his marbles. (Interestingly, unless my condition was pointed out to them, the youth group completely forgot I was doing it.) But the church members and the youth group weren't the issue; the issue was Britta, my wife.

Britta had to see me every day. Britta had to live with a husband who, after the first week, could really only hope to achieve "not as gross and smelly." But she stood by me through it all. A leadership team I was working with at the time dubbed her "St. Britta." The adults at church would joke, "How is Britta's Lenten thing going?" to point out that I'd inadvertently designed a collateral Lenten sacrifice for her.

Loving Through the Grit

It may have amounted to an unintended Lenten sacrifice for Britta, but you wouldn't have known it. She bore with me through it all. Not once did she object to how I looked. Or smelled. There were experiences that season that had us cracking up and others that had us in tears. She encouraged me to find grace within the experience.

It was an unexpected reminder of the depth of Britta's love for me, beyond all that you'd ever ask of anyone.

I knew, of course, that I wouldn't really be replicating the experience of the guy from the amphitheater. I got to pick the clothes I was abandoned in. I got to sleep in my own real bed in my own real house. I got to sit in an air-conditioned office every day. But the transforming part was realizing that my clearest advantage was the ability to be loved through the experience.

The love Britta showed me was, and is, reminiscent of the love Jesus would bring to the world as he came. It was the love we're told to emulate in today's Scripture: "Don't do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others" (Philippians 2:3-4).

It should be the simplest thing, but every year at Advent we end up reminding ourselves of the same thing: Christ came down to earth. Christ showed us a revolutionary way to love and live and showed us that it was possible to live and love like that.

All we have to do is follow.

Going Deeper

Teacher's Pet

Peter was an exuberant disciple. He wanted so badly to get it right. His was probably the first hand raised every time Jesus asked a question: "Oh, me, me, me. Pick me!" For an example, read Matthew 18:21-33, the parable of the unforgiving servant.

Peter had started in the right direction but hadn't figured out how to get there. Forgiveness wasn't how Jewish society was ordered. Their practice of faith — which would have been the practice of these fishermen-turned-disciples — was steeped in laws and rules for all areas of life. Violation of the laws and rules had clear consequences. Forgiveness would indicate a departure from those rules into a whole new kind of thinking.

In making that step Peter was on the right track; he realized that forgiveness is a desirable thing in a new kind of kingdom. But Peter wanted rules attached to it! "I'll forgive them," he might have said, "because Jesus told me to. But how many times?"

The kind of forgiveness that Jesus taught wasn't rules-oriented or metered by any sense of fairness. A down-to-earth love sets all that structure aside. It's just you and me, and I forgive you. Period.

For reflection:

• When have you had to overcome the desire to stop forgiving someone? Do you want your forgiveness to be rooted in fairness or in love?

• What do you think Peter learned from the parable of the unforgiving servant?

• How does our ability to forgive others demonstrate our understanding of how we have been forgiven?

Recipe for Love

Love can stand alone, but it can also be a by-product of other attitudes and behaviors. Stand-alone love can be very conditional. I love people who love me. I love friends who don't hurt my feelings. I love people with whom I have things in common. But if we are to experience the kind of down-to-earth love that Jesus came to demonstrate, we have to move beyond conditional love into unconditional love. And there are behaviors associated with it.

Check out Paul's comments about it in Ephesians 4:1-3. He doesn't jump right in to telling us to love each other. He begins by saying to "conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience" (v. 3). Those are some of the ingredients that make up love. If you leave the house every morning determined to be humble, gentle, and patient, it doesn't matter what anybody confronts you with. Your attitude is humility, gentleness, and patience. And guess what? For those you encounter, it will add up to love.

For reflection:

• When do you struggle most to be a loving person? Is it when you're tired? when people are snarky toward you? What puts you over the edge?

• What are some opportunities you've passed up recently to show humility, gentleness, and patience?

• What are some of the ways you've been loved that have helped you learn better habits for loving others?

The Love Chapter

Read 1 Corinthians 13. Yup, the whole chapter.

This is one of the most famous passages from the Bible, if fame can be ascribed to words. It gets trotted out at a lot of weddings, as I suppose it should. I especially like the way it starts. (Pardon the loose translation, written by me.)

Even if I fluently speak the most elegant, poetic languages on earth or the mysterious and otherworldly tongues of angels —

if I don't have love, I'm really like crash, bash, ting-tang smash. Without love, I'm a completely disordered disaster. If I do all manner of crazy cool things but don't have love, I'm nothing. Nothing! (1 Corinthians 13:1-2, my translation))

That should give us a little perspective on the priority we should give to loving. We want to love but don't ever seem to get there. We tightly grasp our love in both hands, barely letting it slip out to a select few — and even then, usually with conditions. How can we get over ourselves?

For reflection:

• I know it's not easy. We're geared to be defensive; love, at its heart, lets down its guard and is completely defenseless. What keeps you from letting down your guard with those who are closest to you? Who do you trust with your deepest hurts?

• How does your trust of others match up with others' trust in you? How have you respected others when they've been vulnerable to you?

• Have you ever been hurt when you allowed yourself to be vulnerable?

• What do you think about the complete vulnerability that's called by the love described in 1 Corinthians 13?

Making It Personal

The kind of down-to-earth love we're talking about is significant because it's the very love that infuses our lives at Advent. Keep in mind that it's different from Christmas card love or romantic love — this love is grittier than that. This is the kind of love that fights through all the junk that life flings at us. This is the kind of love that cares for us when we're sick. It surrounds us when we've failed. This kind of love can even survive a cheap shot when we're hurt or angry.

• It's critical for us as Christians to embrace this kind of down-to-earth love, because so many people won't get to experience that love if we don't bring it to them. A happy home life is not only no longer a guarantee; it's nearly out of the norm. Life, even in America, isn't lived in equity. People are defensive. On guard. Afraid. So in need of love.

But we can't reach out with a false attempt at down-to-earth love. People will see right through us if we're faking it or offering a shallow, conditional version of Jesus' love.

Take a good hard look at how you've experienced love in this world. Has your life equipped you to love others or conditioned you to insulate yourself? What fears or reservations do you have about offering God's love to those around you? Are there people you need to forgive before you can move to a place of love?

If you've been hurt by people who should have been caring for you, consider reaching out for help. Your school has staff dedicated to your personal well-being, and trusted adults at church can guide you to care that can begin to restore you.

Sharing Thoughts and Feelings

Spend some time with a group discussing these questions:

• When you hear the phrase down to earth, what does it mean to you?

• What about the phrase down-to-earth love? How is it different from other definitions of love that you've heard or experienced?

• If you were going to "love like Jesus," what would have to change? Are you more inclined to think of others first, or yourself? Why is that? When have you been surprised to receive God's love from another person?

• When or how have you seen people not loved by other Christians? What were the circumstances? How did that experience affect those people's image of the church or of God?

• When have you had to be transparent about your own struggle to emulate the love of God? How might it help others to hear of your struggles, even as you're helping them?

Doing Things Together

Love, Love Me Don't

Supplies: Posterboard and markers

Sometimes the best way to enact change in our lives is to be completely honest about where we are. Take a sheet of posterboard and write out the "Love is" statements from 1 Corinthians 13, beginning with "Love is patient" in verse 4 and continuing through "Love never fails" in verse 8. Write each statement on a single line. When you have them all written out, cut the phrases apart and jumble them together, face down, on the floor.

• Before you begin, tell the group this is an exercise of trust; if anyone is unwilling to participate or respect what the others in the group may share, this is a good time to step out for a few minutes.

• Choose someone to start. That person will pick up one of the strips of posterboard, read aloud the "Love is" statement on it, and then share a time when they did the opposite. If people are embarrassed or hesitant to do this, remind them that we're all capable of mangling our intentions to love others as Christ loves us; this activity is meant to help generate some conversation about how we can avoid those missteps.

• After the first person shares, have the person choose who goes next. Continue reading and sharing until all of the strips have been read or until everyone has shared, whichever comes last. Afterward, debrief using the following questions:

* How difficult was it to be honest about times when we have gotten love wrong? What makes that difficult?

* Does anyone here think they've already achieved the ability to love just like Jesus? If not, why is it so hard to admit that we struggle with this?

Put the strips back on the floor, face down, and reshuffle them. Go through the exercise again, and this time when you pick up a strip, share a time where you got that one right. Same rules; keep going until everyone has gone and all of the strips have been used. Now ask:

• Did this version of the activity feel better? Why or why not?

• What are some ways we can help others celebrate when we see them getting it right?

Spin the Bottle

Supplies: A full twenty-ounce beverage bottle

Here's a variation on Spin the Bottle that should be fun, constructive, and kiss-free.

Sit in a circle with the bottle in the middle, and spin the bottle. Whoever it points to should tell the group one thing that makes them feel down-to-earth loved every time it happens. Use this phrase: "I love it when _________." It could be coming home to find out your bed has been made or that someone has hung clean clothes in your closet. It could be when you make eye contact with a buddy you sit with on the school bus. It's totally up to you what you say, but make sure it's sincere and also that we're respecting others as they share.

Spin again and again, until everyone has had a chance to go. Then close with these questions:

• What feels good about remembering things that make you feel loved?

• What keeps us from making other people feel like that all the time?

• What's one way you're looking forward to feeling loved during Advent this year?

• Who is going to tell their parents we played Spin the Bottle without explaining how we did it differently?

Listening for God

God, thank you for sending Jesus to show us your down-to-earth love. Help us to follow his example in the ways that we treat others and ourselves. Amen!

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Down to Earth Youth Study Book by Kevin Alton. Copyright © 2016 Abingdon Press. Excerpted by permission of Abingdon Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction,
1. Down to Earth Love,
2. Down to Earth Humility,
3. Down to Earth Lifestyle,
4. Down to Earth Obedience,