James
Lesson 4: The Time of Your Life
Lesson Workbook (PDF) Click here
LESSON OBJECTIVES
Goals
1. To expose students to the truth that life is short
2. To motivate students to view their time on earth as a time to commit to God
3. To give students an opportunity to serve other people with their lives
Topics
Commitment, Community, Eternal Life, Outreach, Serving, Zealousness
Scripture Memorization
James 4:14
OPENING PRAYER (5 to 10 minutes)
GROUP BUILDING (10 minutes)
I have some trivia I want you to talk about in your groups. See how good you are at figuring some of this stuff out:
• In 1900, the average human life span was 50 years. What is it today? (Almost 80)
• The average lifespan of a male in the 400s in England was how much? (30 years)
• The average eyelash lives how long? (150 days)
• In a 72 year lifetime, how many times does the human heart beat? (2.5 billionish)
• Between the ages of 30 and 70, your nose and ears can grow by as much as half an inch. True or False?
(T—cartilage doesn’t stop growing)
Okay, so other than growing bigger ears and losing eyelashes, what are we supposed to do with the 75 years that we live? What are we supposed to do with the 2.5 billion beats of our heart? Today we’re going to study some verses that talk about time and our lives. Let’s get after it.
GETTING STARTED (5 minutes)
Discussion Questions:
1. What are some of the goals of your life?
2. What do you want to be when you grow up?
DIGGING IN (10 minutes)
Turn in your Bibles to James 4:13-17. As we read this, I want you to note each mention of time or reference to life.
Read James 4:13-17
Discussion Questions:
1. What does James tell us about tomorrow? (We don’t know what will happen.)
2. What does James teach us about life? (It is a mist, it evaporates quickly.)
3. How would you sum up what James says in these verses? (Life goes by quickly, the wise focus on living lives that please God.)
Okay, let’s focus in on verse 17. James tells us that life is about more than growing eyelashes.
4. What does verse 17 say our lives should be about? (Doing good.)
James 4:17 says, "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins." That’s a strong statement, but James isn’t the lone voice in the Scriptures on this point. We’re going to look at some other passages that talk about the same thing.)
MAKING IT REAL (20 minutes)
Read Luke 12:22-31
Discussion Questions:
1. What does this passage tell us about our lives?
2. What should we do or avoid?
Read Matthew 25:41-46
Discussion Questions:
1. What does this passage tell us about our lives?
2. What should we do or avoid?
Read Luke 12:42-48
Disussion Questions:
1. What does this passage tell us about our lives? (We will have to give an account for the way we lived.)
2. What should we do or avoid? (We really are here to do good! Keep in mind what James says: our lives are short. To do good in a short time is a high calling.)
3. How much good for others do you do?
4. What do you spend your time doing?
We’re going to finish up a little differently today. Instead of praying or thinking or anything like that, we’re going to do something. I want you to think about something that you can do for someone else before you leave the church doors today and then actually do it. Maybe it is:
• Cleaning up the trash in the sanctuary between services
• Sitting by someone who looks lonely
• Finding and encouraging 3 people who have helped you through the years
• Give someone a good shoulder rub
• Pool some money together and put it in the offering plate and mark it “missions”
• Think of something else. I’ll give you a couple of minutes
CLOSING PRAYER (3 minutes)
Guys, let’s close this way. You know how to feel your heart beat or pulse, do so now. Put your hand on your heart or feel your pulse. Get real quiet so we can all pick it up. Feel it?
Our lives are short. 2.5 million beats seems like a lot, but even right now we’re feeling beat after beat go by. And the Bible is true, each beat could be our last. I’m not saying that to scare you, I’m saying it to motivate you, to use every second of your life for good. Not to do so is a sin. To do so can be a great blessing to others. Amen? Amen.