Event Overview
We all face pressures. By the time we’re adults, we’re supposed to have learned healthy ways of dealing with things and to have developed a good perspective on life so those pressures won’t feel overwhelming. However, those lessons are just being learned in middle school.
We want our students to know that pressures are going to continue to come their way, but with a strong foundation in faith, a strong support group, and healthy strategies for dealing with pressure, they can thrive in the pivotal years of middle and high school.
Message Overview
For maybe the first time, middle schoolers are aware of the pressures of life and are learning that they have to release the pressure or else! It’s like blowing up a balloon. The pressures of life will continue to build and build, and we have to learn how to release them. Tonight students will learn that Jesus knows all the pressures they feel and shows them how to deal with those pressures. Dealing with pressure in healthy ways will actually release the pressure they feel.
BOTTOM LINE
Choose healthy ways to deal with the pressures you feel.
SCRIPTURE
The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. // Mark 6:30–32
Discussion Guide
CONVERSATION STARTERS
How would you define pressure? (Examples: Pressure is when you feel stressed or pushed to do something, like trying to fit in, do well in school, or not let people down. Pressure is when it feels like everyone expects something from you, and it’s hard to handle. Or pressure is when things feel too much.)
What are some common pressures middle schoolers face? (Use this list if students need help identifying the pressures they experience. Read a few aloud if needed.)
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Are there times when you feel more pressure than others? (End of semester tests, tryouts, when school dances are coming up, etc.)
Does anyone want to share what pressure(s) you’re feeling the most right now?
WHAT GOD SAYS
Read Mark 6:30–32. What pressures were the apostles feeling?
Here’s the background of the Scripture: First, Jesus’s friends see that people in Jesus’s hometown reject who he is. It was probably stressful to see people discount the amazing things Jesus did and who he was. Then, Jesus and his friends go from town to town to town to town for Jesus to teach. Talk about a whirlwind tour. THEN Jesus sends his 12 apostles out on their own for the first time. They have to go from town to town and try to teach like Jesus did. Talk about pressure! Then, they get word that John the Baptist, a relative of Jesus, was killed (actually beheaded) by the king for believing in Jesus and teaching about him! Finally, we see Jesus feed over 5,000 people and the crowd wants more and more from him and the apostles.
So, to recap:
The disciples were doing something they had never done before.
They traveled to places they’d likely never been.
They told strangers about Jesus (a stranger they’d never met).
They relied on those strangers to feed them and give them a place to sleep.
They attempted to perform miracles.
They likely heard the news about John the Baptist and were now worried about possible imprisonment or death.
How did Jesus encourage the apostles to deal with the pressure?
Why would Jesus want his apostles and you to deal with pressure in healthy ways instead of harmful ways?
If Jesus were sitting in our small group, what would you want him to know about the pressures you’re dealing with?
FINAL ACTIVITY
First, lay out the activity cards on the floor or table, GRAY SIDE UP (harmful ways to deal with pressure).
Start the conversation:
These are some harmful ways to deal with pressure.
Look at the cards and think about a time when you used harmful ways to deal with pressure. How did they leave you feeling in the moment? The next day? Did they help or only add more pressure?
WHAT WE CAN DO – ACTIVITY CONTINUED
Flip the cards over to COLORFUL SIDE UP (healthy ways to deal with pressure).
Have students look through them and pick out two that would help them deal with pressure.
Everyone can share the two they chose and how they could use those to deal with the pressure they feel. Allow students to think back on the unhealthy ways they have dealt with pressure in the past. How can choosing a healthy response instead help?
Pass out student decks to each student. Tell the group, “Next time you feel pressure, pull out this stack of cards and choose a healthy way to deal with pressure!”
Where can you keep these cards so that you quickly turn to them for help when you need it?
WRAP UP
As a group, how can we help each other deal with pressure?
What do you want to remember from this weekend?
Close in prayer.