Exchange

What We Want Students to Learn: The death-to-life transformation that Jesus made possible through the ultimate Exchange.

Scripture: Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 15:20-22, John 11:25-26, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 10:10

Session Snapshot: In every Exchange, something must be given up in order for something to be gained. At the heart of the Gospel, there is a single, powerful Exchange that occurred when a flawless Savior took our flaws to the Cross, exchanging His life for ours. But this one Exchange actually empowers countless exchanges in the lives of those who will believe, have faith, and follow. It’s these additional, more personal exchanges that will be the focus of our times together. The first of these is the Exchange from death to life, which lies at the very core of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In this session, your students will have a chance to see exactly why this Exchange is necessary, what must happen to see this Exchange made in their lives, and how they should approach making this Exchange. Every student will leave this session being challenged to examine their lives and reflect on how effectively they’re embracing the abundantly full life Jesus made possible for them.

What We Want Students to Learn: Following Jesus means making the Exchange of your ownership over your life and identity for His ownership over your life and identity

Scripture: Matthew 16:24-25, Galatians 2:20, Romans 14:7-8, Philippians 1:21, Philippians 3:7

Session Snapshot: Surrendering our sense of control, ownership, and the source of our identity to God and to His leading may very well be some of the most challenging aspects of truly following Him. This surrender is especially difficult for teenagers because adolescence is such a radical time of self-discovery and identity formation as they seek to establish a sense of who they are, what they believe in, and where they fit in the world. So much of this phase of their lives is consumed with expressing their independence and identity, whether through their clothes, music, beliefs, or ideas. However, when we enter into a saving relationship with Jesus, He requires that we Exchange our identities for His as we deny ourselves, take up our Cross, and follow Him. In fact, when Jesus defined what it looked like to follow Him, the Exchange of "self" for "Jesus” was the primary one He mentioned! This session will help your students realize why this Exchange is necessary and how abundantly full their lives can be once they learn to replace themselves with Jesus as the source of their identity and director of their life’s path.

What We Want Students to Learn: Apart from Jesus, we are ungodly, unrighteous, slaves to our sin who are fully deserving of God’s wrath. When we make the Exchange of our sin-fueled hatred towards others for God’s love for all people, we are commanded by Jesus to love one another in ways that mirror His love toward us. We are called to be known as His followers by the way we demonstrate love towards all people, even our enemies.

Scripture: Romans 1:18-32, 1 John 4:7-12, John 13:34-35, Luke 6:27-36

Session Snapshot: When we are transformed through a saving faith in Jesus, one of the exchanges that take place is the way in which we see others. This Exchange transforms how we view those we know and love, but it also revolutionizes the way we view those we don’t know, don’t like, and (maybe most importantly) who are incredibly difficult for us to love. The Bible is incredibly clear: living the “exchanged life” requires us to view all people through the lens of God’s love. Jesus went as far as commanding it of His followers and saying that this love is how the world would recognize us as disciples. In this session, your students will see why we’re all in need of such an Exchange, how Scripture describes this Exchange, and what Jesus said about how this will impact our lives.

What We Want Students Learn: We are called to be people who go, share the Gospel of Jesus with the world, and make disciples. This is the call for all of us who claim Jesus as Lord, not just a select few. As Jesus followers, we Exchange our fear of embarrassment, avoidance of self-sacrifices, and seeking our own comfort to answer His call.

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 1:8, 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Romans 1:14-17, Romans 10:13-15

Session Snapshot: Have you ever noticed how we will go to great lengths to minimize our own discomfort? This inconvenient truth applies to the physical, social, and even the spiritual aspects of our lives. We shy away from certain people because they make us uncomfortable. We shy away from fully embracing Jesus’ call to go and make disciples for the same reason: it makes us uncomfortable. But in our failure to boldly answer Jesus’ call to carry the Gospel to the world, we not only rob the lost, but we also rob ourselves. Ultimately, we’re rebelling from one of the essential aspects of being a Jesus follower. What would it look like for us to embrace the Exchange of our comfort to pick up Jesus’ call to share the Gospel with the world?