Ministry Lesson: Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People

Specific Lesson Aim: Why do bad things happen to good and bad people?

30 minutes Intro: http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=69cf201ea91bd737a4ff

Prayer

Songs: My Desire, Jeremy Camp

Shiny Plastic People, Casting Crowns

Take it All, Hillsong

I've chosen these songs as they represent how individuals can be hurt in this world, and that we can easily turn to God for his love, grace, and trust in him. I believe at the beginning of a lesson of this nature, this music will be appealing and hold benefit to the information to come.

Prayer

30 minutes Approach: to connect and share stories that are real in the Bible and then in real life situations that allow us to understand how bad things can happen.

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

Life: If we truly look at negative circumstances, tragedies hardships as only temporary, we can as believers in Christ, know that his promise is true and that our eternity with him is what we strive for. So many people in their walk of life, discover hardship and walk away from their faith. Why? Are they afraid, scared, angry, hurt? We've all felt this way before. Why do bad things happen to good and bad people?

Adam and Eve: Let's take a look at Adam and Eve (Genesis), the first perfect creations -- the first humans. The first good humans. They obviously made a mistake, didn't obey God's one request of them, and they were punished for this action. They had a consequence. Temptation led them astray. Some people might argue that the devil was to blame, that Adam and Eve took no part in the eating of the apple; however, regardless of what tempted them -- they allowed their temptations for their own hearts to win over. This situation wasn't perfect or ideal. In fact, the creation of sin enters our world. The result of this is how the bad situation was dealt with. God provided his consequence, and Adam and Eve lived on. They still had faith. They walked their lives knowing and trusting in God, despite their bad choice.

How about Job. In Job 1:3, it states, "He was the greatest man among all the people of the East." Yet, Job was tested by God and Satan. Satan wanted to bet God that Job would shun him if he took all of his valuables away: his crops, his family, his life. Job didn't ever do so, allowing God to discredit the devil. I imagine Job felt horrible. Job shares his grief with his close friends Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad, and they question Job's ability to defy God. They wonder what he had done to deserve this punishment. In the end, God and Job discuss these tests of faith. Job walks out physically unscathed, and God returns all of his belongings. The moral of the story is that Job didn't ever shun God, but became closer to him in his process of grief. Was Job a bad person? No, the situation was innately bad.

Jonah: This is by far, my favorite story in the bible. Here is Jonah, who is walking away from his request from God to return to Ninevah. Job is uncertain, questions God's request, and doesn't want to go. So, he flees. He decides his power is within his free will -- and God has other plans. Jonah quickly learns that God isn't playing games with him, and despite his fear, he needs to have a change of heart. God sends tumultuous storms to the carrier of Jonah. Once Jonah realizes his mistake, he tells the people to throw him overboard and that the storms will pass, which they do. A whale eats Jonah, and he sits in the whale's mouth contemplating the situation he is in. When he prays to God that he will return to Ninevah, as he was originally asked, God spares Jonah and gives him another chance. Again, a story of reconnecting faith, or allowing our faith to become stronger, and a relationship salvaged. Was Jonah a bad person? Probably not, he just made a bad decision. We all can have second chances in life.

I personally don't believe that anyone is innately good or bad. I believe people are. We made bad choices, we all sin. It is what we do to walk out of these circumstances, and hopefully build strong connections to God and our faith that allow us to succeed and overcome.

10 minutes Discovery: our walk of faith determines how we react to bad things when they happen.

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/cardboard-testimonies/2165737523

20-30 min Response: Let teens have an opportunity to discuss within the group what other stories they have heard, and what other issues they might have experienced that makes them question, react, and how to cope with negative consequences.

Prayer

Allow individuals to work on their own individual testimonies.

In smaller groups allow teens to discuss how we can choose to not define people as good or bad, but as people how we can connect people to God and to strengthen their lives so that they continue to make positive decisions.

15 minutes Summary

Closing song: Jeremy Camp, Walk by Faith

Can we look around a room and determine who is potentially good or bad? Can we tell what negative circumstances may have happened to any one of us? Our lives are shaped on our ability to walk in Jesus' footsteps. Like Jonah, we also are granted a second chance. Take that chance and let's make an impact that will help shape the world.

Prayer