Who Am I?

In today’s session we are going to start exploring the question ‘Who am I?’ We will turn to Scripture to discover how God created each one of us as wonderfully unique individuals.

WELCOME

Use this fun game to introduce this month’s cell group theme ‘Who Am I?’.

Place a pile of washed unpeeled potatoes in the centre of the group. Invite group members to pick up a potato from the pile and examine it thoroughly – contour, blemishes, colour, size, smell, bumps, etc. When each person indicates that she/he knows her/his potato well, gather all the potatoes back in a pile and mix them around (you could add some extra potatoes to the pile to confuse the game a little more!). Pass the potatoes back around the circle of participants. Each one is to claim his/her potato as it comes by. (Not all will be able to recognise theirs! Some potatoes may have to go around the circle a number of times.)

Discussion:

• Are any two potatoes exactly alike? 
• How difficult did you find it to identify your potato?
• What were the features that helped you to identify your potato?

Something as simple as the humble potato has its own quirks and features that make each one unique. In today’s session we are going to explore the way God created each one of us as wonderfully unique individuals.

Adapted from Coralyn and Laslo Medyesy from the following website which is now no longer available. 
http://globalministries.org/resources/special-days/gm-sunday/youth-bible-study.html

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

Ask yourself the following question:

• Who am I?
• What is the first answer that comes into your mind?

Discuss the responses with the group. What did their answers focus on?

WORD

Watch the following clip together and use the questions as a prompt for discussion.
 

Discussion Questions

• How often do you define who you are by the things that you do?
• How often do you define who you are by the things you have achieved?
• How do past mistakes hold you back and prevent you from believing the truth about your identity?
• How important to you is what others think about you?
• How much are you moulded by others’ expectations of you? Is this a positive or negative influence?
• Who does God say you are?
• Why is it so vitally important that we each know and understand who God says we are?
• Which one statement from the clip stood out for you? Why?

Find James 1:23-24 in your Bibles. How does it relate to our search for our true identity?

23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. (James 1:23-24)

We often see ourselves through the eyes of others, comparing and contrasting our looks, personality and lifestyle. In his book Mirror, Mirror Graham Beynon makes the following comments about identity and how we see ourselves.

‘Our identity or self-image is a bit like looking in the mirror, seeing our reflection and making a judgement about ourselves. However, as we’ve been exploring, the “mirror” we tend to use is the world around us: how do I compare to others, or what do they think of me? The world around me reflects back my image and tells me how I should think of myself.

However, there is another mirror we can use. It’s the mirror we should use. We are told in James 1:23-24 that the word of God, the Bible, is like a mirror. We look into it and we see what we are really like. Here is a description of ourselves that comes, not from our culture, or from within us, but from God. That is the identity we should want to have.’
– Graham Beynon, Mirror Mirror

• In what way is Scripture an effective mirror for us to use to find our true identity?

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

• What is your response to the following quote?

‘Comparison will either make you feel inferior or superior. Neither honours God.’ – Craig Groeschel

WITNESS

For this activity you will need a mirror and some marker pens that will work on a mirrored surface. If you want to clean and use the mirror again, then ensure you are using mirror pens that can be erased. If you intend to keep the mirror in the room where your youth group meet, then you could use permanent markers. For this activity you can share out the Bible references below and ask the group to explore what they say about our identity. Encourage the group to write the Bible reference, and a summary word/phrase that represents the meaning of the verse, on the mirror. The full Scripture is shown below but the group will only need the reference. Once the group has added the Bible messages to the mirror, ask them to share which one resonates with them the most and why that is.

The Bible references are taken from the ‘Your Identity in Christ’ clip. 
‘Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.’ (John 1:12)

‘It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.’ (1 Corinthians 1:30)

‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!’
(2 Corinthians 5:17)

‘For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.’ (Ephesians 1:4)

‘For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.’ (Ephesians 2:10)

‘For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you.’ (1 Thessalonians 1:4)

‘But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.’ (2 Corinthians 12:9)

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY
Encourage the group to go on a Scripture search and find one additional verse to add to the mirror.

WORSHIP

During a time of reflection and worship, invite each member of the group to individually come and look at the words and phrases on the mirror. When they feel ready, they can sign their name on the mirror. Encourage them to thank God for the unique and wonderful person that they are. A song is provided to use in this time of reflection. When everyone has signed their name, pray for each member of the group.

Listen: ‘Who You Say I Am’ (Lyric Video) – Hillsong Worship
 

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY
•    What does it mean for you that you are ‘chosen, not forsaken’?
•    Who does God say you are?

Today’s session helps the young people to reflect on the external influences that try to define their identity. They will have the opportunity to look into the many mirrors in their life that reflect who they are and compare them to God’s mirror talked about in the book of James.

WELCOME

Play the following game which encourages the group to describe themselves in different ways. Taking it in turns, each member throws a dice. They then need to answer the question ‘Who am I?’ using the description related to the number they threw on the dice.

Dice:    Way to describe yourself.

1. In relationship to someone else, eg ‘I’m Bert’s niece.’
2. Something you belong to, eg ‘I play for Southall Saints.’
3. The school you go to or job you do.
4. A hobby or talent, eg ‘I’m a Grade 2 violinist.’
5. Style of clothes you wear or band you follow, eg ‘I wear shorts all year round.’
6. Who you really are – up to you what you say!

(From Youthwork magazine Vol 2 Issue 20)

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

As a group, create a new set of descriptors for the six numbers on the dice. Play the new version of the game together.

WORD

In the starter activity you had the opportunity to describe yourself from several perspectives. 

• When you introduce yourself to someone new, how does your description of yourself change depending on who you are talking to?
• Is your social media platform presenting an accurate version of who you are? If not, why not? Do you think it needs to show the ‘real’ you? Explain your response.

Today we’re going to explore the different influences that impact our identity and how we see ourselves.

In his book Mirror, Mirror Graham Beynon says the following:

‘Our culture tells us how to go about creating an identity and we follow suit. We are told about thinking well of ourselves, being concerned with our image and comparing ourselves to those around us. 

And we go along with it.

Everyone plays the game and we join in without even asking.’

– Mirror, Mirror by Graham Beynon

Keep this quote in mind as we think about how our culture influences our identity.

Lay out a long piece of paper and draw on it an outline of a person. Share the following statement with the group and encourage them to discuss and write their responses within the outline.

Imagine you are an alien arriving here for the first time. Your job is to gather data from the culture around you about how you should look, act, and behave. 

What would you report back to the aliens on your planet?

Write your ideas within the outline of the body.

When the group has filled the body outline with their ideas, encourage them to discuss their responses. Use the following information to support your group discussion.

It is important to understand that the culture/society that we live in today is trying to shape our identity for us. We are offered a vast array of lifestyle choices that we can make to create who we want to be. Through things like the media, advertising and celebrities, we are encouraged to:

• look a certain way
• behave a certain way
• buy certain products 
• belong to a certain group.

So often we define ourselves … that is, we decide who we are and whether we like ourselves … by how we look, what we wear, what we do, how successful we are, what we have achieved, who our friends are, and so on. It’s even possible that sometimes we can try to find our identity in the things we do at church, playing our part in a busy Salvation Army programme.

We make judgements about ourselves – whether we like ourselves or are acceptable – as we compare ourselves against the things that the world values and considers important. Our culture wants us to buy into a belief system that says it’s only those who look the best, who have the latest stuff and the greatest achievements, who become the most popular, the happiest, and the most content.

In our session last week we discovered the source for our true identity.

• Read James 1:23-24. What does it tell us about where our true identity is found?

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. (James 1:23-24) 

We look in so many mirrors to find a reflection of who we should be; but there is only one place to look.

Watch the clip together and discuss what it teaches us about our identity in Christ.

Watch: ‘Knowing My Identity’ from Youth Bible Study featuring Eric Mason – Bluefish TV

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

The following quote was originally printed in the Mail on Sunday in July 2012 regarding social media:

‘One study of college-aged users in the USA found that identity was becoming “increasingly externally driven; the self turning into a kind of brand crafted in response to feedback from invisible consumers.”’ – Mail on Sunday ‘You’ magazine July 2012

• What do you think a similar study would find today?
• In what ways do you think identity has become a ‘brand crafted in response to feedback from invisible consumers’?

WITNESS

Other people can have a huge influence on the way that we perceive ourselves and build our identity. Our family and friends, teachers and leaders, the things people say about us, and the things we feel pressured to get involved in – all have an impact on how we think about ourselves, how confident we become, and how secure and fulfilled we are. Some people influence us for the good; others are a negative influence and may destroy our self-confidence.

We are going to take some time to consider the positive and negative ways that others can impact our image. There are those whose opinion is valuable to us and their thoughts about us come from a place of love, even if they aren’t what we want to hear. 

Give each member a piece of paper and ask them to draw a variety of picture frames. Encourage them to fill each mirror with words or pictures that represent moments where external influences have impacted their identity. These can be both positive and negative. Reiterate the point that we don’t need to dismiss completely those external influences, as they may come from a place of love or a desire to help us grow in character. The important thing is that we always hold them up to the mirror of God’s word.

In the book of James, we read how we should look into God’s word as the only source of our true identity. 

• As you look at your mirror drawings, which ones reflect how God sees you?
• Which ones are a fair reflection of areas where God is trying to grow your character?
• Which ones need to be shattered with the truth of God’s word?

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

Find a Scripture verse to combat lies that you have believed about yourself. Write it next to the mirror on your sheet and spend the week speaking truth over your mistaken identity.

WORSHIP

You may find the group members have shared openly about some of the pressures they are facing in their identity. Play some reflective music (option given below) and ask each person to pray inwardly about the contents of their Hall of Mirrors worksheet. Encourage them to ask God to set them free from pressure from the world and people around them that stop them from living in the freedom that Jesus died to give them.

Ask each member of the group to make a commitment to live in their true identity as a special child of God.

Watch: Lauren Daigle – ‘You Say’ Lyric Video (4:29)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8WK9HmF53w

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

Heavenly Father, 

Thank you that we are loved even when we may not feel like it.

Thank you that, through you, we have all the strength and power we could ever need.

Thank you that we are held in your love, even when we feel like we don’t measure up.

Thank you that we belong to you and are your precious children.

Amen.

In today’s session the young people will spend time looking into the mirror of Scripture to gain an understanding of their true identity. They will consider the many verses in the Bible that describe our identity in Christ as followers of Jesus.

WELCOME

Ask each person to say what they would be and why, as they complete the ‘if I were’ statement:

eg ‘If I were a piece of fruit I would be a pineapple, as I’m sweet once you get to know me but a little spiky on the outside.’

• a piece of fruit
• a breed of dog
• a cartoon character
• a historical figure
• a household object
• a zoo animal

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

Ask each member of the group to create their own category, write it on a piece of paper, fold it up and place it in a container. Take turns to remove a slip of paper and complete the ‘If I were’ statement.

WORD

Read and discuss the following statements with the group.

You are God’s wonderful creation.

• From the 266 days from your conception to your birth, one single fertilised cell became a staggeringly complex organisation of some 200 million cells. 
• Your growth rate was such that if you had continued to grow from birth at the same rate, then you would be 75 feet tall and weigh several tons by the age of 16.
• Each cell which divided exactly copied your unique genetic code, so that each cell would now be uniquely you.
• To view the code from just one cell would require watching five million frames on TV.
• You have between 10 and 15 billion brain cells. If each cell were a person, then they would populate two planets the size of Earth.
• Your heart began beating after about 21 days when you were only 3 mm long.
• You could hear your mother’s voice after 16 weeks and also had your own unique fingerprints.

You are special. There is no one in the world like you!

Share out the following Bible references among the group and ask them to read and feed back on their main message. 

• Genesis 1:27
• Psalm 139:13-16
• Matthew 10:30
• John 3:16

The full Scripture and key messages are shown below to prompt discussion with the group.

God is our designer and creator. 

²⁷So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:27

God knows each one of us intimately.

¹³For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13-16

He even knows the hairs on our head.

³⁰ And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Matthew 10:30

He loves us enough to rescue us.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

The Bible also tells us that ‘if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away’ (2 Corinthians 5:17 RSV).

When we accept Jesus as Lord of our lives, when we become a Christian, we gain a new (spiritual) identity in Christ.

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

In Session 1 we looked at the following quote: 

‘Our identity or self-image is a bit like looking in the mirror, seeing our reflection and making a judgement about ourselves. However, as we’ve been exploring, the “mirror” we tend to use is the world around us: how do I compare to others, or what do they think of me? The world around me reflects back my image and tells me how I should think of myself.

‘However, there is another mirror we can use. It’s the mirror we should use. We are told in James 1:23-24 that the word of God, the Bible, is like a mirror. We look into it and we see what we are really like. Here is a description of ourselves that comes, not from our culture, or from within us, but from God. That is the identity we should want to have.’

– Graham Beynon, Mirror Mirror

• How has your understanding of Graham Beynon’s words developed as you have discovered more about your identity in Christ?

WITNESS

Begin by creating a blank mural using flipchart paper or wallpaper. Using a marker, write a number of Bible references (only the references) scattered across the mural. Choose from any of the verses below or choose your own. Provide the young people with lots of markers and pens and ask them to discover what the Bible says about our identity as Christians.

Use a modern translation to look up the verses. Invite the young people to write or illustrate their findings on the mural beside each Bible reference. Encourage discussion while the mural is being created. Explain unfamiliar words and give context if necessary. Ask how certain things they discover make them feel about themselves and God. Once the mural is complete, remind the group that if you are ‘in Christ’ then every one of these statements is true for you. That’s who you are.

Accepted: Ephesians 1:6

Loved: Ephesians 1:4

Adopted: Ephesians 1:5,6

Forgiven: Ephesians 1:7

A child of God: Romans 8:16

Saved by grace: Ephesians 2:8

Chosen: John 15:16

Complete: Colossians 2:10

Rescued: Colossians 1:13

Cared for: 1 Peter 5:7

Blessed: Ephesians 1:3

Healed: 1 Peter 2:24

Eternal: 1 John 5:11,12

A masterpiece: Ephesians 2: 10 

An example: Ephesians 5:1

Declared not guilty: Romans 3:24

Living by faith: 2 Corinthians 5:7

Being transformed: Romans 12:1,2

Not afraid: 2 Timothy 1:7

Strong in the Lord: Ephesians 6:10

Victorious: Romans 8:37

An overcomer: 1 John 4:4

A co-worker with God: 1 Corinthians 3:9

Adapted from Insight: Resources for Christian Youth Ministry

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

• Which statement or verse stood out for you? 
• Why did it resonate with you?

WORSHIP

Give each young person a blank postcard or A6 index card. Ask them to write seven verses from the mural (one for each day of the coming week) to look at each day and remember how special and loved by God they are and their identity in Christ.

You could listen to the following piece of music as they complete their postcard.

Watch: ‘Worst Days’ – CalledOut Music (3:32)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-x9obK_rMo

When the group has completed the activity, ask them to share the one verse that resonates with them the most and explain why they have chosen it. 

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

Ask the group to look at the verses again and choose one to share with a friend or family member as a word of encouragement.

The final session in this series pulls together everything the young people have discovered about their identity in Christ. Focusing on the power of the names we call ourselves, this session aims to shift focus on to the many precious names given to us by God.

WELCOME

Using the letters of your name, create a description of yourself. It is up to you whether you use your surname as well. Here is an example for the name ‘Jacob’.

Joyful

Argumentative

Creative

Open-minded

Brave

Give the group time to create their description and then share them together. If there are any particularly negative descriptions, then encourage the group to think of more positive alternatives.

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

Choose a character from the Bible and create a description using the letters of their name.

WORD

In today’s session we are continuing to explore the theme of identity. To help us explore this theme in more depth we’re going to watch a clip that shares the story of Jacob. Let’s turn to Genesis 32:22-32 to find out more.

Read:

²² During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. ²³ After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions.

²⁴ This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. ²⁵ When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!”

But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

²⁷ “What is your name?” the man asked.

He replied, “Jacob.”

²⁸ “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.”

²⁹ “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said.

“Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.

³⁰ Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” ³¹ The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip. ³² (Even today the people of Israel don’t eat the tendon near the hip socket because of what happened that night when the man strained the tendon of Jacob’s hip.)

(Genesis 32:22-32 NLT)

Watch the following clip with your group and work through the discussion points below.

Watch: 18 Nooma Rob Bell NAME 018 (11:24)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EYT30sV1NY

• Why do you think we so often worry about what everyone else is doing, saying or thinking?
• Should it matter to us what’s ‘normal’ to everyone else?

‘We each have this unique path, a calling, a life that God has given us; and Jesus invites us to be our true selves and yet we get sidetracked, we get distracted, we get hung up on how we’re different from her or we aren’t like him and we end up asking all the wrong questions.’

– Rob Bell

• Do you have a sense of the unique path in your life? If so, what is it?
• Are there ways in which you tend to get distracted from ‘your path’ because of what others do, say or think?

‘You and I have pasts, families we come from, things we’ve done, mistakes we’ve made, and where we’ve been and what we’ve done has shaped us into who we are today.

So we have to embrace our story, our history.

You don’t have to be proud of it, but you must claim it because it is yours.’

– Rob Bell

• What do you think it means for people to claim their own history?
• Have you claimed yours? If so, how?

‘We have limits. There are all sorts of things we aren’t.

There are all kinds of people we aren’t.

Maybe this is why Jesus says to love your neighbour as yourself.

How could I ever love and embrace someone else when I’ve never come to terms with who I am and who I’m not?’

– Rob Bell

• What are some of your limits?
• Are you OK with your limitations or do you still sometimes wish you had the abilities and circumstances of others?

‘Some people live their whole lives according to the expectations of others.

Whether it’s authority figures or family members, it’s as if there’s a script that has already been written by someone else and all they’re essentially doing is acting it out.’

– Rob Bell

• Are there things in your life that you do because it’s ‘expected’ of you?
• If so, do these things get in the way of you doing what you really feel you should be doing?

‘There’s this moment by the side of the river as the sun rises and Jacob faces this man who has asked him the question, “What is your name?” and Jacob answers him, “I’m Jacob.”

He’s struggled and he’s been broken and he’s done pretending.

He isn’t trying to be Esau or anyone else; Jacob has wrestled and overcome.

Jacob is ready to be Jacob.’

– Rob Bell

• Do you think you could live in a way where you’re not comparing yourself to people who have more than you, who look different from you, or who can do things that you can’t?
• Do you think you can ever fully be you if you can’t?

‘We need to be saved from all the times we haven't been our true selves.

All the times we’ve tried to be someone else.

All the lies we believed about who God made when God made us.

All the times we’ve asked the wrong questions:

“What about him? What about her? What about them?”

And we’ve missed the voice of Jesus saying, “You, follow me.”’

– Rob Bell

• What would it look like for you to completely trust Jesus when he says, ‘You, follow me’?

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

• What is the most important thing you have discovered about your identity during these sessions?

WORSHIP

For today’s session, the Worship and Witness sections are swapped in order to give the young people time to reflect on the clip they have just watched.

In our society today, we repeatedly hear about the importance of how we identify. That identification gives us access to certain groups, belief systems and ways of thinking, but if we veer away from the group identity then our acceptance is often threatened.

That’s not how it works in the Kingdom of God.

Our identity is found in Christ.

We are always accepted, always known, and always loved.

As you listen to the music, consider how your identity has been influenced by the world around you. Maybe it’s time to reflect on all you have discovered over the past few weeks and reset your identity in Christ. If you feel it would be helpful, then write a prayer of thanksgiving to God as you reset your identity.

Listen: Francesca Battistelli – ‘He Knows My Name’ (Official Audio)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NHQJWdXfFE 

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

If the group would like to discover more about the story behind the song ‘He Knows My Name’ then watch the clip together. 

Watch: Francesca Battistelli – ‘He Knows My Name’ (Behind The Song)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmR6ZsnfN-w

WITNESS

Throughout these sessions, we have repeatedly turned to verses from the book of James.

²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. (James 1:23-24) 

• As you have listened to God’s word, what have you discovered about your identity?
• What does God say about who you are?
• What practical things can you do to ensure that you stay focused on your identity in Christ, rather than your identity in the world?

For this final question, encourage the group to set specific goals regarding spiritual disciplines that will help them focus on their identity in Christ. Try and follow this up in future sessions. Rather than saying ‘Read my Bible and pray’, encourage them to review the material from the four sessions and focus on specific Scriptures or clips that they can revisit.

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY

To bring the session to a close, spend time praying for each member of the group, raising the specific points they have mentioned throughout the session.