SHAPE Week 4: Personality This includes: 1. Leader Preparation 2. Lesson Guide 1. LEADER PREPARATION LESSON OVERVIEW In this week s lesson, we examine the fourth piece of the SHAPE acronym: our personality. There s no such thing as the perfect personality; God made all kinds of people because he loves variety. Using the Apostle Paul, we ll see how God can take our personality traits and work through them for his purposes. LESSON OBJECTIVES 1. WHAT: God created us with specific personality traits that often remain unchanged but prove beneficial after we choose to follow Jesus. 2. WHY: Some teenagers may expect that God will radically change them into people with new personalities, but often God simply wants us to find a new focus and redirect our personalities in a different direction. 3. HOW: Encourage your young people to consider their key personality traits and how these traits might be used to honor God and serve others. PRIMARY SCRIPTURE Acts 9:1-22 SECONDARY SCRIPTURE Galatians 5:16-26 TEACHING PREP The short overview below is designed to help you prepare for your lesson. While you may not want to convey this information word-for-word with your teenagers, you ll definitely want to refer to it as you lead your small group lesson. Read Acts 9:1-22. This chapter presents a remarkable story of change and transformation in the Apostle Paul s life. Yet we see one aspect of Paul s life that remained the same: his personality. Verses 1-2 reveal a Paul who passionately attempted to persecute and kill Christians. Then he encounters Jesus while traveling to Damascus, and his life is changed. When we reach verses 20-22, we discover Paul is still acting passionately but now he s spreading the message of Jesus. He remained zealous, but his energy was redirected. Your students especially ones who are quieter and more reserved may expect that God will radically change them into people with new personalities. Yes, God wants us to grow and change and mature. But many of our personality traits will remain the same, even as we mature in our faith. The key is how we use these traits and where we direct our energy.
THE BEFORE & AFTER [optional] Text Questions We ve provided a couple of different text message questions to send out to your students prior to your meeting. Feel free to use one or both of the questions below. As with the rest of the curriculum, edit these questions to fit the needs of your ministry. What three things do you like about your personality? Hope to see you at small group tonight! What changes and what stays the same once you choose to follow Jesus? Dig deeper at small group tonight. Parent Email We ve provided you with an email below that you can send to your parents following the lesson. Our hope is to encourage parents to continue the conversation at home. Feel free to edit and customize the email to fit your ministry needs. Dear parents, We re continuing our series on how God has created each of us to serve him and other people. Our lesson focused on the fourth letter of the SHAPE acronym our personality. God formed each one of us as individuals, and that includes our personality traits. When we choose to follow Jesus, we begin a process of change and transformation, but many parts of our personality remain the same because that s how God created us. Teenagers especially those who are quieter and more reserved may expect that God will radically change them into people with new personalities once they become Christians. Yes, God wants us to grow and change and mature. But many of our personality traits will remain the same, even as we mature in our faith. The key is how we use these traits and where we direct our energy. This week, I d encourage you to take a few minutes to talk with your student about this small group lesson. Here are some questions that could help get your conversation started: Think of one personality trait that you have or a friend has. How can this trait be used to either honor God or dishonor God? When have you felt pressure (at church, home, or anywhere) to change your personality to fit a certain image or ideal for a ministry role? How did people expect you to change, and how did you respond? What changes have you seen in your personality or attitude since becoming a Christian? How did those changes happen? Have a great week. Thanks for continuing to pray for our young people and our small group ministry!
SHAPE Week 4: Personality 2. LESSON GUIDE GETTING THINGS STARTED [optional] Welcome your students and invite them into your meeting area. Open in prayer, and then SAY SOMETHING LIKE: We re going to start this week s lesson with a quick quiz but this quiz won t test your knowledge or your skills. It will simply gauge how you respond to different situations and how you go through life reflections of your God-given personality. Ask each question, and then give your teenagers a chance to raise their hands for which answer better reflects their actions, responses, and attitudes. 1. When in a room, do you usually place yourself nearer to the side or closer to the center of the room? 2. It is in your nature to assume responsibility, or do you let others take the lead? 3. Do you often complete projects in a hurry, or do you plan ahead so you have plenty of time? 4. Do you value justice more, or do you value mercy more? 5. Do you prefer to read a book or go to a party? 6. Which is more important to you, the process of searching for a solution or the solution itself? 7. Are your decisions based more on the feelings of a moment or on the careful planning? 8. Is your room usually neat and orderly, or cluttered and disorganized? 9. Do you find it difficult to talk about your feelings, or do you enjoy talking about your feelings? 10. Are your actions influenced more by your emotions or by your rational reasoning? SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Isn t it fun to see how different people are? God loves variety. I hope you don t buy into the lie and fall into the trap of trying to be someone you aren t. Each of us is created as a unique person, and there s no such thing as the perfect personality type. We all have strengths and weaknesses. That s God s plan and design for us. If you came up with an opening activity, movie clip, or game that worked well with your group, and you d like to share it with other youth workers, please email us at ideas@simplyyouthministry.com. TEACHING POINTS The goal of the Teaching Points is to help students capture the essence of each lesson with more discussion and less lecture-style teaching. The main points we have chosen here are that when it comes to God working through our personalities, (1) Some things stay the same and (2) Some things change.
Remember: All throughout these lessons, it s up to you to choose (1) how many questions you use, and (2) the wording of the main points keep ours, or change the wording to make it clearer for your audience. Read Acts 9:1-22 together as a group. Consider allowing one or more of the teenagers to read the text. SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Let s spend some time talking about our personalities, and the important role that God plays in developing our personalities. 1. Some things stay the same SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Many of our personality traits will remain the same, even as we mature in our faith. The key is how we use these traits and where we direct our energy. In our passage from Acts 9, what parts of Paul s personality didn t change after his conversion experience? What clues from the text support your answer? Think of one personality trait that you have or a friend has. How can this trait be used to either honor God or dishonor God? SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Paul was passionate and zealous at the beginning of Acts 9, and he was passionate and zealous in the middle of the chapter, too. God didn t take a passionate man and turn him into a quiet, meek man. God was able to use Paul s personality for Christlike purposes. This can be true of other traits, too. In most cases, the key isn t the trait, but how you use that trait. Remember, we re talking this week about our personality how do we respond to situations, how do we approach life, what are the core traits that define who we are? 2. Some things change SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Change is an important part of the Christian journey. God loves us just the way we are, but God also loves us enough to help us change and grow into his image. What about our personalities? We ve already talked about how much of our core personality remains the same as we follow Jesus. But are there some areas where change occurs? In our passage from Acts 9, what did change in Paul s life? What are examples of personality traits God might want to change in a new Christian s life, and why? What changes have you seen in your personality or attitude since becoming a Christian? How did those changes happen? What are some aspects of your personality that God might want to change, and why? Video Clip [optional] SAY SOMETHING LIKE: By now, I hope most of you are aware that Santa Claus isn t real. If not, well, maybe you and I need to talk later this week! In this scene from The Santa Clause (rated PG), we see this theme of change and how it applies to the central character, Scott Calvin. It s probably not the kind of change most people would expect after trying on a magical Santa jacket.
Start the clip at 0:57:53 on the DVD, as Scott is running on the treadmill. Stop the clip at 1:03:33 on the DVD, with the line, What am I supposed to do with all of these packages? How would you react if you experienced this kind of immediate change after putting on a piece of clothing? In the areas of our lives where God does desire transformation, when does that change ever resemble what Scott Calvin experienced? How quickly or slowly have you seen your life change since choosing to follow Jesus? Explain. SAY SOMETHING LIKE: For most of us, change is a process that takes time. We may recognize an area where God is working, but we don t have magic clothing or a special phrase that will help us change overnight. As God works in our lives, we will see the change occur. ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION [optional] After his conversion experience, Paul went on to become one of the key leaders in the early church. He led several missionary trips to spread the message of Christianity and planted churches in many cities. Based on this information and what you already knew about Paul, what role did his personality play in his ministry efforts? Read Galatians 5:16-26. What are some examples in this passage of personality traits that God might want us to abandon or ask for his help in changing? What are some examples in these verses of positive, Christ-like traits that we could pursue and desire? APPLICATION When have you felt pressure (at church, home, or anywhere) to change your personality to fit a certain image or ideal for a ministry role? How did people expect you to change, and how did you respond? Here are several opposites when it comes to most people s personalities. Most of us fall somewhere in between the two extremes, but take a moment and try to figure out how you tend to respond or act. Mark an X next to the answer from each pair that describes you best: Outgoing vs. Reserved Outgoing: More dynamic, prefer large groups of people, enjoy being at center of everything Reserved: Quieter, prefer smaller groups or only groups of people you know well Planned vs. Spontaneous Planned: You like schedules, deadlines, structure, and organization Spontaneous: You like flexibility, impulsiveness, impromptu activities, and freedom Collaborative vs. Spirited Collaborative: You enjoy finding common ground and avoiding conflict Spirited: You enjoy making everything a competition
Pair up with another person in the group to discuss these questions. With your partner, talk about the way you answered the previous question. Then talk about other aspects of your personality. Choose four or five adjectives descriptive words to explain who you are and the personality you have. So far in this series, we ve talked about how God has shaped us through our spiritual gifts, our heart and passions, and our abilities. How does our personality fit into this big picture? How might different personalities fit into different ministry settings? Bring everyone back together. What surprised you most as you took time to examine and discuss your personality? Will some people have a greater impact because of how they were created, or does God just work through each person in a different way? Explain. How has this week s discussion impacted your perspective on how you ve been created and shaped to worship God and serve others? SUMMARY End your small group lesson here. Provide your teenagers with a quick summary or takehome challenge based on (1) the content of this lesson, (2) the dialogue that took place during the lesson, (3) your understanding of the issues and struggles your teenagers are facing, and (4) the big picture of your youth ministry and what your leadership team wants accomplished with the teaching and discussion time. FOR KEEPS [MEMORY VERSE] Encourage and/or challenge your teenagers to memorize the verse below. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit s leading in every part of our lives (Galatians 5:25).