Desire a Better Country

Overview

• Icebreaker: Secret Admirer or Faith and Trust Obstacle Course
• Bible Reading: Hebrews 11:1-3 and 8-16, CEB
• Discussion Questions
• Active Learning Activity: Our Perfect World
• Prayer

Note to the Teacher

The key phrase in this scripture (for this lesson) is “[...] they are longing for a better country, that is, a heavenly one.” The lesson concerns how “a negative emotion or a rejection cannot motivate the way a larger vision can. You can’t sustain a passion based on discontent. You need something more, something that builds up, something that drives, something that encourages. The writer of Hebrews says that is faith. Faith is defined here as an assurance.”

The icebreakers provide the youth with an opportunity to write love letters to one another and to themselves or participate in a trust exercise obstacle course. The discussion prompts youth to reflect on their anxieties about the world and encourages them to hold onto hope for a better future. The activity invites them to create their own world.

Times are based on a fifty-minute lesson period but may be adjusted.

Icebreaker: Writing love letters or participating in a trust exercise (10 minutes)

Option 1: Secret Admirer (No Tech, No Prep)

Supplies: Cards and envelopes, or Valentine’s Day card supplies, or fancy stationery, writing utensils, postage stamps

Prep work: Write the names of everyone present on a slip of paper

1. Discuss various types of love. The English language has the word “love,” but the ancient Greeks identified five different types of love: agape (love between God and humanity), eros (romantic love), storge (affectionate love within families), phileo (brotherly love or friendship), and philautia (self-love). These words have been translated from ancient sources, including some scripture, as the English equivalent of the word “love.”

2. Students will write two love letters:

• One anonymous love letter to someone else in the room, explaining why the writer loves that person and signed “from your secret appreciator.”
• One letter to themselves, detailing all the ways they are loved.

3. Have the students choose a random name and write a “love” letter to that person. Ensure that you guide youth to write from the perspective of “phileo” or “storge” – the kind of love and appreciation that siblings in the adopted family of Christ can have for one another.

• Ensure they write the recipient's name on the card or envelope but keep their name a secret.

4. Collect all the cards and shuffle them, then hand them out.

5. For the second letter, have students write their names and addresses on the envelopes. Collect them and mail them at the end of the series or when you think enough time has passed that teens have “forgotten” about this activity. They’ll receive their love letters in the mail as a special surprise.

Option 2: Faith and Trust Obstacle Course (No Tech, High Prep)

Supplies: Furniture, obstacles, blindfolds

Prep work: Create an obstacle course, adjusting for youth of all abilities

Pair students. Have one teen put on a blindfold and have the other person lead the blindfolded person through the obstacle course, using only the sound of their voice. Play another round, switching up the leaders and teams. This could be a good exercise to pair students who don’t normally interact.

Have students help you clean up and put the room back together.

Bible Reading (5 minutes)

Our scripture reading comes from the Book of Hebrews, which was “written by an unknown hand to an unknown and scattered audience.” This passage calls us to navigate the world by faith, placing our trust and hope in God. It reminds us of various individuals in the Bible who, despite facing hardship, remained faithful throughout. They dreamed of a better world, and God was faithful to them in return.

Read Hebrews 11:1-3 and 8-16.

Discussion Questions (10 minutes)

Themes: the world is constantly changing; anxiety is contrasted with hope and faith.

• What aspects of your world have changed significantly over the past year? What changes do you see happening in the world around you?
• Do any current changes or trends cause you anxiety, worry, or uncertainty about the future?
• What do you see in the world today that inspires you with hope for the future?
• Which is stronger and lasts longer – anxiety or hope? Why?
• Throughout our lives, we will see the world changing. That’s a natural part of history and humanity. What do you think won’t change? What can we depend on?
• What do you think the writer of Hebrews meant when he said, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen?”
• How can our faith give us hope and help us navigate the world today?
• What are you hoping for and dreaming about?
• If you could create a more perfect world, what one thing would you change?

Active Learning Activity (20 minutes)

Students will come together to design their own world.

This activity invites students to create their own world. They will design a planet together, then split up to create their own countries. They’ll come back together to see how well their countries work on a global scale. Has their world become a utopia, or are there complications? What can we learn from this activity?

Supplies: Posterboard, colorful markers, paper, pens, and pencils.

1. Give the students posterboard and markers. Have the class design a planet with oceans and land masses. It doesn’t have to look like Earth.

• Instruct the students to add geographical features such as mountains, rivers, seas, and deserts.

2. When the world is complete, split students into pairs or small groups and have them choose a location to build a country.

3. Each pair draws the borders of their countries on the poster.

4. Each pair should examine the geographical features they have and write a list on a piece of paper of natural resources that will benefit their country.

• For example, mountains could contain ores and minerals. Rivers and seas could provide trade routes and fish. Forests could provide lumber.

5. On another sheet of paper, each pair should write the name of their country, the type of government (monarchy, democracy, etc.), their fundamental beliefs, and three laws every citizen needs to follow.

6. When everyone is ready, bring all the countries together and see how well they get along and if they have created an ideal world.

7. Ask students to share what they learned from this activity.

• What in this activity seemed similar or different from the real world?
• If we were able to create a utopia, why do you think the historical and modern leaders of our world haven’t been able to create one?
• If there were complications in bringing all the countries together, what does that tell us about human nature in leadership?
• What place does religion (or different faiths) play in our imagined world? What role does religion play in our world, and how do belief systems interact to shape our real world?

Prayer (5 minutes)

Close the session.

Pray with the students, asking God to help us be hopeful for a better, brighter future.

Ask if anyone has any joys (things they want to thank God for) and any concerns (things they want to ask God to help with). Ask different students to pray about joys and concerns, as they are said to encourage participation from everyone.

Supplies:

• Cards and envelopes, or Valentine’s Day card supplies, or fancy stationery
• Pens or pencils
• Postage stamps
• Posterboard
• Colorful markers
• Paper