Unidentified

What We Want Students to Learn: Students will learn why we all lack a  true, purposeful identity, where we are meant to find one, and how they  can go about doing so. 

Scripture: Genesis 1:26-27, 3:1-19; John 1:1-3, 14 

Session Snapshot: Students are not strangers to the fact that they lack  an identity. They long for something to give them worth, value, impor tance, and significance, but often, they feel the opposite…unidentified.  God created all of us in His image, gave us His name, and declared us  worthy, priceless, and significant, so why don’t we feel that way? We all struggle with this problem of being and feeling unidentified, but  because Jesus took on flesh and dwelt among us, we can find our rightful  identity in Him. In this session, your students will discover this truth  and learn how it changes everything they do. 

What We Want Students to Learn: Students will discover that the sinful  nature we all inherit not only takes away our identity in God but also  stamps us with an identity of its own. Students will learn that, while  they are dead in sin, they can be raised with Christ and unidentified  from their sin by grace through faith. 

Narrative Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10, Acts 9:1-15 

Session Snapshot: We all know what it’s like to have something follow us  around and haunt us – a bad driving record, an embarrassing memory, or  even a bad nickname. We can often be known and identified by things we’d  rather forget. In a similar way, the sinful nature we all inherit not  only takes away our God-given identity but also gives us an identity of  its own. In this session, your students will wrestle with what it means  to be dead in sin while also grasping the truth that they can be raised  with Christ and unidentified from their sin because of His great love  and mercy.

What We Want Students to Learn: Students will learn that being reidenti fied in Christ, while a free gift, brings responsibilities along with  it. They will discover that their identity in Christ requires them to die to themselves, take up their cross daily, and identify with Jesus’  death so that they may have eternal life. 

Narrative Scripture: Romans 6:5-11; Luke 9:23-25 

Session Snapshot: When we’re freed from sin and reidentified in Christ,  we can sometimes be tempted to live however we want to. We can become  obsessed with elevating, caring for, and looking out for only ourselves.  However, that’s not how God would have us live in the identity He’s giv en us. When we’re identified in Christ, we’re identified with all of  Him, including even His death. This is why Jesus says it’s necessary for  us to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily to follow Him. Our sin ful selves have to be put to death every day because when we die to our selves and identify with Jesus’ death, we get to identify with His res urrection too.

What We Want Students to Learn: Students will learn that God gives them a  new identity for the purpose of fulfilling His mission on Earth. Even  though they may believe they are unqualified to participate in God’s  work, they will discover that Jesus has been given all authority, and  His power will work through them to fulfill the purpose He gives us.

Primary Scripture: John 3:16-17; Matt. 28:16-20 

Session Snapshot: We all have big dreams. We have passions and goals,  and we can spend a lot of time planning out exactly how we’re going to  accomplish them. The world tells students that they need to find their  purpose in life and do whatever it takes to fulfill it, but if their  identity is in Christ, they won’t need to look for long. God’s mission  in the world has always been to save it through His Son, Jesus, and when  we’re identified in Him, we get to participate in His work. We may feel  ill-equipped or unqualified, but because our identity is in the One who  has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, we are empowered to  be His witnesses even to the end of the earth.