This bible study is all about peer pressure and how by the grace of god we can efficiently eliminate its influence over our lives. Now I know some of yall think your to cool for peer pressure or that you are to devout to be swayed by it your probably wearing something right now that is the cause of peer pressure. None the less a lot of our heroes in the bible were almost overtaken by peer pressure but beacuse of faith fought through to give us an example to live by. For example look at our homie Job this guy suffered everything I can imagine would take ones faith away he lost wealth, house, possesions, family, health, and friends yet he still pushed on. see theres something that my pastor always says "whose report are you going to believe? Gods or the devils?" Thats exactly what it all boils down to in the end, no matter what the world says just know that god says you are healed, filled, and will prosper. See thats exactly what Job did even though his boys froom his area told him to curse god and that god has left him, he remembered GOD's report and strived until the end until his trial he was going through was over he will surely be blessed.
So as some of youth complain about the neverending battle to resist the peer pressure to do drugs(which will kill you), violence(which will kill you), premarital sex, dating(for some of us), and all the obvious things a believer should not be doing think of our homie Job.
anyway click on link to check out the bible study full with bible verses and so on
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New Wineskin Publications
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Designed for the Twenty-First Century (thank god)
Peers Can Only Pressure You if You Let Them
Scripture Passage: Mark 6:17-29
Key Verse: Mark 6:26b. “Because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.”
Goals and Objectives:
• To determine what makes peer pressure influence us so strongly.
• To develop a strategy to decrease the influence of our peers over our decisions.
Main Idea: Through forethought and the power of the Holy Spirit, a believer can develop strategies to de-fuse the power of peer pressure.
Materials Needed:
• Some case studies of students the age of your class involved in situations in which peer pressure is involved. Include at least one case study in which the students would be pressured by their peers to do something good. One case study for each group of four to six students.
• A copy of the questions from section III for each group.
Background:
Herod Antipas was the son of the Idumean Herod the Great and a Samaritan woman. He ruled as tetrach of Galilee from 4 BC until 39AD. Herod, as revealed in scripture and secular writings of the time, was immoral, superstitious, and tricky as a fox. He rejected his first wife in order to seduce and win the wife of his half-brother Philip. John the Baptist confronted him with his sin and was arrested as a result. Later, when Pilate was looking for a way out of the dilemma of the Jews asking for Jesus to be crucified, he sent Him to Herod. When Jesus refused to entertain him, Herod allowed the soldiers under his command to violently mistreat and ridicule him. Then, lacking the courage to make a decision, he sent the Lord back to Pilate. (Luke 23:8-12)
Warm up:
Tell the story below, or a similar situation you have observed or experienced, to illustrate peer pressure.
“Imagine, if you will, that you are an adult at a wedding reception. It is crowded, but you find a table with a few friends from your church. There are some Sunday School teachers, and some deacons among the group. In your church, not very many people drink alcoholic beverages in public because of the scripture that says, “Determine this, ---not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.” (Romans 14:13)
A waiter comes by to pour servings of champagne for the traditional toasts to the bride and groom. The first person declines to accept any, saying that she doesn’t like it. The second person accepts a full serving. The third person says, “I’ll take just a tiny bit.” The fourth, fifth and sixth persons accept small amounts as well.
Get the students thinking by discussing briefly the following questions or ones like them.
• What are they dynamics of this situation?
• Why did the final four take only a very small portion?
• Who do you think was the first person to be influenced by peer pressure? Explain your answer.
Make the transition to the lesson by saying, “We are all influenced by peer pressure. Sometimes we are influenced to do things that are good, and sometimes the choices are both all right. Other times, though, we may be pressured into doing something that we really don’t want to do, or that we consider to be wrong. Let’s look at an incident of peer pressure in the scripture and see if we can determine what motivated the character and how he might have chosen differently if he had been prepared to stand against the influence of the group he was with.
I. Observe what led to Herod’s foolish and costly decision. Read Mark 6:17-29 with feeling and drama. You might even assign parts and read the passage as a dramatic dialogue with a narrator filling in the details not contained in conversations. After reading and explaining the background of the story as needed for understanding what happened, ask the following questions.
A. What elements of the story make this an example of peer pressure.
1. Verses 21 and 26. (Herod had influential and important people as his guests. This implies that he was concerned to impress them.)
2. Verses 22 and 23. (Herod made a statement without thinking of the consequences of what he promised. He put himself into a trap because of his pride.)
B. What was the action Herod took as a result of trying to impress his guests? (He killed John the Baptist.)
II. Define the tempting elements present in this story. Re-read verse 20, and note Herod’s opinion of John the Baptist. Then, brainstorm answers to this question. “What made Herod consent to having John killed?” Answers will include variations of the following:
A. Pride. He cared what his guests thought of him.
B. Making a decision and rash statement without thinking. With some forethought, he could have rewarded Herodias’s daughter appropriately without losing face before his guest. In fact, he could have avoided a gross and violent spectacle.
III. Determine if the same elements are present in today’s experiences with peer pressure. Divide the students into groups of four to six. Provide each group with a case study of an incident of peer pressure that the members of the group would relate to. Another option would be to have each group develop a “script” role play a peer pressure situation. Assign the groups to analyze their situation to determine how peer pressure was involved by discussing the following questions:
A. What kind of people were present in the situation? Were they people you would want to impress in some way?
B. In the situation you were involved in, was there any pressure to make a decision quickly? What made you feel pressured?
C. How did you feel under that pressure?
D. What would have made the pressure less?
E. Do you think you made a good, neutral, or bad decision? Why?
Action Point:
After a few minutes for discussion in the small groups, call the class back to order. Have the groups share their case study and the answers to their questions. As each group shares, ask the class to determine what an individual in that situation could have done that would have made the influence of the group support, rather than undermine, his value system. Some ideas that should arise from the Bible study and group discussion are as follows:
• Determine to please God and godly people rather than peers. Seeking to please parents and teachers will help young people make wiser choices.
• Set standards of behavior, attitudes, and actions that are in line with God’s Word. Young people need to know what they stand for or they will fall to whatever situation arises.
• Think about how to handle situations that may arise before they do. If you have a ready answer to negative peer pressure, you won’t be as likely to cave in because of the pressure of the moment.
• Practice “Help me, God” prayers. The Holy Spirit resides within every believer. One of His functions is to help us determine right from wrong and give us the power to choose correctly (John 14:12; Galatians 5:16, 25).
cool
ReplyDeletegaaaaaaaaaaaaaa no dating your absolutely correct
ReplyDeletewowww. I lead a summer bible study and this was so helpful:)
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