Finding My Place in the World

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Age Group

Youth

Brief Description

Intersection includes complete resources for teaching both younger and older youth, including learner’s materials, teaching guides, and handouts. The teaching guide is options-based, so teachers can customize sessions to match their favorite approach.

“Finding My Place in the World”

Finding one’s place in the world involves asking three basic questions: “Who am I?” “Who is God?” and “Why am I here?” In this unit, we see that the key to discovering one’s place in this world is a close, personal relationship with God. This relationship can lead youth to see that they have been created in God’ s image, gifted with a unique set of talents and abilities, and set apart to become and do what only they can be and do.

Session One enables young people to reflect on their essence and worth, thereby gaining more awareness of who they are and from where they have come. Like many teens, Jeremiah suffered doubts and fears. Jeremiah 1:4-8 indicates that youth are not on earth by chance, that they are persons of infinite worth, and that their identity is rooted deeply in the reality that they are, and always have been, known by the Creator.

Session Two: Discovering one’s place in the world has everything to do with the nature and character of God. A study of John 10:1-18 provides an image of Jesus as a good shepherd. Like a shepherd, God cares for teenagers, has their best interests at heart, and wants to lovingly guide them through life. So, we ask, “What kind of God is calling me to follow?” and, in doing so, bring young people face-to-face with Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

Session Three: Discovering one’s place in this world is as much about being as it is doing. Hence, in addition to career focus and higher education, giving attention to the future also includes attention to the kinds of persons your youth want to be, their basic ideas about right and wrong, and the things most important for them. In Exodus 33:12-17, Moses seeks guidance about the future and receives promises from God. Moses replies that if God might not be present in a particular part of the future, Moses does not want to go in that direction.

Perhaps it is fortunate that there are no easy answers to difficult life questions or any simple ways of knowing the future. Maybe working on a relationship with God and seeking each day to know more about God actually helps young people discover what they are to be and do. Youth groups are often wonderful places of refuge where young people can feel safe probing their doubts and fears as they gain a sense of understanding about who they are. As caring adults, we can lead our teenagers to see the many supportive resources (God, Family, friends, caring adults, the Bible, a faith community, etc.) that can aid them in finding the answers they seek.

by Graham Cheek

User License
The purchaser of this file has permission to print twenty copies of this Learners Study Guide. Neither the file nor the printed contents may be sold copied or transferred to another person or church. The purchaser may make a backup copy of the file.

The purchaser of this file has permission to print one copy of this Teaching Guide. Neither the file nor the printed contents may be sold, copied or transferred to another person or church. The purchaser may make a backup copy of the file.