Bible Study Theme: Reality

A few months ago I was sitting in a coffee shop here in Columbus, Texas working on some things for Outback. I sat back at one point and just started listening to the people around me. One of the conversations I heard was between one of the coffee shop baristas and a gentleman. The gentleman was talking about a show he watched on TV the night before and how it was a “Reality Show”. He talked about how the show was “full of lies” and “fake”, not “reality” at all.

I stood up and made my way to the counter. After introducing myself and creating some small talk I asked them this question, “Where do you guys find REALITY in this world?”

This is a question that many us (especially teenagers) think they know the answer to, until we are asked. Sometimes we may even have the so called “right” answer, yet we don’t really know why we believe it.

As I have looked over this question and sought out to answer it myself, that’s when the idea of this Bible Study for the summer came along. Our theme for the summer here at Outback is “Reality”. Our desire is to help our middle school to high school age kids grasp the truths of Scriptures. We hope they will discover what’s “real” in the midst of a lost and dying world that is feeding them lie after lie: lies about culture, lies about self-image, lies about truth, and ultimately lies about identity. Our hope is for campers to get a deeper realization of their identity in Christ and the “reality” of His work in their lives.

Here is a small outline of where we will be going this summer:

Monday – The Reality of Sin

We will take a look at sin and what it really is, and talk about the false realities the world says about sin.

Tuesday – The Reality of Self

We will discover the truth about how sin affects us as humans and points us to a need for a savior, and in turn see how the worlds view of self is misleading.

Wednesday – The Reality of Scripture

We will ask the question, “What can I put my trust in?” After realizing the truth about sin and how it affects us it is important to step back and seek out where we can put our trust.

Thursday – The Reality of Savior

This is when we will get to the reality of the gospel. We will seek out the truth about our Savior and the implications it has for our lives.

Friday – The Reality of Sanctification

Finally we will ask the question, “Where do we go from here?” The answer we hope to communicate to the campers is that they do not go alone. God is with them and walks with them through this life. He has made us holy, will make us holy, and is presently making us holy right now. We are not alone!

Before I left the coffee shop that day, I was given two very different answers about where “reality” was found in life. One in the world, and one in the LORD. All around us we are fed false realities and fake truth that deceive us and makes us believe in something that is actually not real, while the one and only REAL God stands true. He was, is, and will always be REAL. I am thankful he has shown me this.

My desire is to point campers to find their “reality” in who God is, rather than who or what the world is. I am excited to journey through the Scriptures this summer and seek to grow closer to Jesus as we talk about “Reality”.

Praying for the LORD to work in and through your campers this summer!