Meditating on the Scripture | UMC YoungPeople
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4
February 2019

Meditating on the Scripture

By Jeremy Steele

God is always speaking to us if we will be still and listen, but we rarely carve out the space to do that. This activity will help students listen to what God might be revealing to them about who they are by meditating on their favorite verse(s) through a specific lens. This is part of our Epiphany Lessons for youth this year, but can be used on its own as well!

Talk to students about the fact that God sees things in us that we cannot see it ourselves, and can reveal to us as we listen to the voice of God. Talk to students about the fact that God sees things in us that we cannot see it ourselves, and can reveal to us as we listen to the voice of God. One of the easiest ways is to spend time meditating on Scripture.

Begin this activity by asking students to share their favorite Bible verses. If they aren’t sure where the verses are located in the Bible use a smart phone to google and find the location in the Scriptures. If students do not have a favorite verse, offer several popular verses, and have the students choose a couple that they like or resonates with them in some way.

Then pass out a sheet of paper that has the following questions printed on it with plenty of lines in between for students to write their answers:

  • What does this say about who I am?
  • What is the say about what I might be able to see or notice?
  • What is the say about what I am able to do?
  • What does this say about the people I love?

Explain to the students that their selection of the verses reveals things about them. The verse can be a guide to helping hear what God is trying to say to them. The questions on the paper are prompt that will help them listen to the voice of God. Once they have finished the meditation time they should talk about what they wrote down with someone else to help them understand what God might have been saying to them. As they meditate on the question invite them to read the verse over and over.

Begin the meditation time letting students know that you will tell them when to move from one question to another. They should spend all of the given amount of time on a single question before moving to the next question.

When he's not playing with his four children with his wonderful wife, Jeremy is the associate pastor at Los Altos UMC in Los Altos, CA. Jeremy has spent over twenty years working in youth and children's ministry and continues to train children and youth workers as well as writing and speaking extensively in that field. His most recent book is the "All the Best Questions." You can find a list of all his books, articles, and resources for churches at JeremyWords.com.