PRESS ON

WEEK 1
Community | “Bring a Buddy to Breakfast”
[Advertise this in advance. Have core attendees bring breakfast foods each week for the next 4 weeks and invite
friends to attend the Uprising breakfast! You can bring tangerines, grapes, pop tarts, cinnamon rolls, muffins,
bagels, juice boxes, etc.]

Vision | “Fasting”
[Open this time with prayer.]

For the next 4 weeks we are going to get back to the basics: fasting, prayer, Scripture, and reflection. Learning and
putting to use several spiritual disciplines that will allow you to further your connection to God. As Christians we
are called to greaten the understanding of our Lord, while many ways to achieve this exist there are a few ways
that can be used by everyone. These methods allow us to speak, hear, and learn from God.

∗ How many of you need that as we finish the school year strong?
∗ How many of you need fuel to press on?!

This week, we focus on the practice of fasting. Fasting helps us connect with God and hear from Him in new and
fresh ways. Read Isaiah 58:6.

The idea of fasting isn’t to deprive a person or harm someone but to remove unnecessary distractions in our lives
allowing us to focus on our life and our circumstances. Thus showing to ourselves why we should depend on God
and why we need Him in our lives to sustain us.

Small Group Discussion| “Give Up”

[Break everyone into smaller groups. Have them discuss these questions. Afterwards invite groups to share aloud.]

∗ Think of your favorite activity or possession; how hard would it be for you to give it up?
∗ Would you be willing to give it up for a little while in order to spend more time with God or ask Him for a
special request?
∗ Why do you think that people in biblical times fasted on a regular basis, whereas nowadays we rarely do?
∗ What role, if any, does consumerism/materialism play in this?
∗ What are some other ways that you could fast besides giving up food?
∗ What does God want us to get out of our experience with fasting/learn from fasting?
∗ Is there anything in your life that you think God might be calling you to fast from? What could you gain
from this?

Challenge | “Do it!”

Make a list of the top 5 things you spend your time on over the course of a week (video games, TV, texting,
hanging out with friends, playing guitar, etc.). Choose one of those things to give up for the following week. Use
the free time you now have reading the Bible, praying, meditating on scripture, or just listening to God. Keep an
eye out for how God working in your life and be ready to share your experiences at the next Uprising

[Pray.]
 PRESS ON
WEEK 2
Community | “Bring a Buddy to Breakfast”
[Advertise this in advance. Have core attendees bring breakfast foods each week for the next 4 weeks and invite
friends to attend the Uprising breakfast! You can bring tangerines, grapes, pop tarts, cinnamon rolls, muffins,
bagels, juice boxes, etc.]

Introduction | “Prayer”
[Open this time with prayer.]

For the next 3 weeks we are going to get back to the basics: prayer, Scripture, and reflection. Learning and putting
to use several spiritual disciplines that will allow you to further your connection to God.

To sustain our lifestyle we must rely on God through prayer. You must understand the importance of prayer and
how it affects our relationship with God.

Read Matthew 21:22.

Through the act of prayer we are able to not only speak to God but are able to do everything from just letting Him
know how our day has been to asking for deliverance or forgiveness. God loves to hear from His people and
prayer is one of the most widely used and easiest ways to accomplish this, by praying to God we establish a
personal connection to Him which allows us to freely give our hearts to God.

Activity Stations | “3 Prayers”

[Set up 3 stations. Split up the group into 3 and give them 5-10 minutes at each station before rotating them.]

Station 1: Put Jeremiah 29:11 on individual sheets for every student and include these prompts. Now, read this
verse again, inserting your name in the blanks. For I know the plans I have for ______," declares the LORD, "plans
to prosper ______ and not to harm _______, plans to give _______ hope and a future. Spend some time with God
asking Him how He can use your life to live for Him. Ask Him what his plan is for your life.

Station 2: Provide art supplies like colored pencils, markers, and crayons. Also, provide blank paper for each
student. Have a sign with these verses: Psalm 36:5, Psalm 36:7, Jeremiah 31:3 and the instructions: use your
creativity to draw a picture or anything you want that describes God’s love for us as is shown in the verses above.

Station 3: Create several copies of the following verses for the students or let them use their Bibles, supply paper
for the students to write their letters to God on the table/station. Read the following verses: John 4:19, Psalm 61:8,
Matthew 28:19, John 3:16. Write a letter to God explaining what these verses mean to you. Just spend some quiet
time just reflecting on the verses. Pray that he will help you through the day.

[After all of the stations are done, have everyone come back and discuss what everything meant to them.]

Pray.
 PRESS ON
WEEK 3
Community | “Bring a Buddy to Breakfast”
[Advertise this in advance. Have core attendees bring breakfast foods each week for the next 4 weeks and invite
friends to attend the Uprising breakfast! You can bring tangerines, grapes, pop tarts, cinnamon rolls, muffins,
bagels, juice boxes, etc.]

Introduction | “Scripture”
[Open this time with prayer.]

For the next 2 weeks we are going to get back to the basics: Scripture and reflection. Learning and putting to use
spiritual disciplines that will allow you to further your connection to God.

Today we will grow to understand the significance of Scripture. Allow Scripture to show us how Jesus, as well as,
others lived and how we can apply those principles to our everyday lives.

Read Luke 24:32; 24:45.

Scripture is the word of God. Scripture teaches us God’s will and how to live out a healthy life with God. The
importance of knowing scripture is that we can draw upon it in times of trial or joy, reminding us of God’s hand in
our life and the lives of others.

Sermon| “Heat up the Value”

Intro-Tell of a time when you discovered something in scripture and God related it to something very important in
your life; or when you were dealing with a decision/adversity and you decided to open up a bible and where really
changed by what God had said to you through scripture.
Theme-We need to realize how important scripture is in growing in your walk with God that we become so fired
up about reading that we desire to read, and from that grow closer to God.
Transition-Many people today really see scripture as old fashioned, but that is because they view it with no sense
of passion. We need to develop a respect and awareness of what scripture really is in order to understand why we
desire it so much.
Main Point- Scripture is so important in our walk with God and it determines how we live and how we lead so why
do we spend such little time on it.
What scripture is- start by describing what scripture actually is. I don’t mean generalizing what is known but more
that it was put together by select people of God and that it was spoken into by God, and that makes it holy; and
why being holy is significant.
Why it’s so important- It becomes so important because it gives us a foundation of beliefs and examples for us to
not just look at but also relate to.
Why it plays such an important role- by reading the bible we as Christians start to absorb Gods ideals and stories
and begin to think like him, our hearts begin to shift and we can grow much closer to God as a result and ultimately
that’s what Christians want so why not read.
Now knowing this what can you do- because you know this you can start to exercise this by just starting to read a
chapter each day and pray through it and if you do this for 30 days earnestly you will see spiritual growth.
Conclusion- Read Psalms 19:7-11 explain what it is saying then tie that into the challenge of reading just one
chapter of scripture everyday starting in john chapter 1, and then pray over the group to close out. Allow you to
surrender your hearts to God this morning and ask him to help you keep an eternal perspective.
 PRESS ON
WEEK 4
Community | “Bring a Buddy to Breakfast”
[Advertise this in advance. Have core attendees bring breakfast foods each week for the next 4 weeks and invite
friends to attend the Uprising breakfast! You can bring tangerines, grapes, pop tarts, cinnamon rolls, muffins,
bagels, juice boxes, etc.]

Introduction | “Reflection”
[Open this time with prayer.]

We are on the last week of a 4 part series on learning and putting to use spiritual disciplines that will allow us to
further our connection to God.

This week we will talk about the practice of reflecting on our day (or season of life) to see God’s role in it.

Read Psalms 19:14. Meditation allows us to see into the truth of things. By meditation or reflecting we give
ourselves the opportunity to look back and reflect on how we have lived. Are we being a positive influence on
others and glorify Christ or if we need to consider our actions and the consequences of not living a Christian
lifestyle?

Personal Reflection | “Meditate on Your Day”

On a piece of paper write the answers to the following questions:

1.) How do people see you?

2.) How do you see you?
3.) At the end of this school year how do you want others to see you?
4.) What do you have to do to be seen that way?
5.) What practices do you have to start including in your life to make the way others see you positive? What do
you have to take away?

Groups of 3 | “Share”

Break up into groups of no less than 3 people. Try to keep the group small and personal. Have them discuss points
1and 2 listed above as well as:

∗ Point out some difficulties in changing the way you live to change how others see you.
∗ Why do you think God wants you to live an outwardly positive lifestyle?
∗ Is your appearance defying the social norm?
∗ As Christians we are called to stand out from the crowd and be innovators in our communities, what can
you do to make sure you’re living this sort of life?

[Close in prayer.]