Download: The verse cards we used for the posterboards, and that the students can use for memory and meditation, can be downloaded here.

New Breakout Session

We are now going to have a new kind of breakout session—something that we’ve never done before. And we’re going to have so much time together in discussion groups. You guys aren’t going to know what to do with each other. We’re going to be in discussion groups until 3 o’clock. You might be like, “What are we going to discuss until 3:00?” Well, I’m going to tell you.

Can you take your notebooks and open it up to this page that says “Breakout Session”?

We’re going to have the privilege. A lot of times you guys sit here as the word of God is taught to you, as passages are opened, and you get the benefit of the preacher having sat under God’s word and thought about it for a long time—thought about what it means, how it relates to other passages. And the preacher then knows God’s word, and that’s how we can then teach it to you.

The Goal

You guys, our goal for the next hour and a half in discussion groups is for you to take a list of passages—what the Bible says not just about friendships but about influences—and think about what it says and then categorize them.

Okay. So, I said that this camp is about friendships, and at one of its deepest, most fundamental levels, friendships—when the Bible’s talking about friendships and those who you spend time with—it’s talking about those who influence you and those who you influence, and what mutual convictions you guys have. And the Bible has a lot to say about that.

It’s not just these verses, but Jackson and I spent quite a bit of time going through these verses and categorizing them for you.

So, you’ll see…

There are six categories:

Let’s read those together, and then we’re going to look at each verse and you’re going to say, “Which category does this go into?”

And I don’t just want you to put the verses in the category and move on. But if a verse stands out to you—especially think back to your discussion today and you think, “Okay, I need to change what I heard today, this morning, and what I heard last night”—you might think, “This needs to affect me.” And then if you see a verse that helps draw that out all that much more, share that, discuss that in your group, and say, “This is one that I want to memorize. This is a verse I want to meditate on.”

Okay. So, let’s look at the categories, and then I’ll go into what we’re going to do.

Six Categories

So, the categories—what you’re going to be looking for—is you’re going to see that the Bible teaches:

1. That a godly friendship seeks and gives words of truth. So, a godly friend seeks out words of truth and gives words of truth; seeks out words of correction and gives words of correction; and seeks out words of wisdom and gives words of wisdom. So you’re going to see a lot of places where the Bible says that in different ways.
2. Secondly, popularity, or having a lot of acquaintances—people that call you friends—is not the same thing as godly friendships.
3. Third, a godly friend steadfastly loves, forgives, and seeks good from their neighbor. We heard, we saw that from some passages this morning. You’re going to see that from a lot more.
4. Fourth, there’s a lot of verses here: friendship with fools is a really bad idea. It doesn’t always seem bad. In fact, sometimes being a friend of fools, it seems like fools are the popular ones. Fools are the ones who you might want to be friends with because they’re having a lot of fun, but it always ends badly. And by fool, we’re going to use Proverbs and the Bible’s definition of fool: one who does not fear the Lord.
5. Fifth, God commands us not to befriend fools and the things fools love. By befriend, that doesn’t mean don’t be friendly towards them. But remember what we talked about—friendships being knit together, being rooted together, letting them influence you.
6. And then finally, this is critical: you want to make God and his word your closest friend and influence.

So, I need a volunteer. Who wants to volunteer? Haley, come on up.

Poster Board & Verse Cards

If you can hold this… each discussion group is going to stand behind it so you can hold it. Each discussion group is going to get a poster like this. And you can see each of those categories that’s in your breakout session book is on this board.

Okay? And then you’re going to have a little baggie with verses on it—cut out verses—and we are going to email these to your parents. So, you’re going to put these on the poster board, but you’re going to be able to print these for yourself and maybe make flash cards, or cards that you can post to the mirror in your bathroom, or on the door, or over your bed next to your bed—a place where you’re going to see it regularly.

So, as we go through these verses, I’d encourage you to put a star or circle the ones in your breakout session book. You say, “That’s one that I want to delight in. That’s one that I want to meditate on.”

Okay. So, you’re going to have these and you can print these at home, but what we’re going to do is you’re going to get a verse. Let’s see which one comes off the top here. Colossians 3:16.

Colossians 3:16

So, Colossians 3:16. So, look down at your different categories and see which one this fits into.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thanksgiving in your heart to God.

I’m going to read it again.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thanksgiving in your heart to God.

Which category do you guys think that goes into?

Which one?

Make God and his word your closest friend and influence. It could go there, and you might lobby for that. You might say, “Let’s put it there because let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” The word of Christ needs to be your deepest influence. It needs to not just be close to you, but in you so that what comes out of you is God’s word.

Where else might this go? Do you guys see another category this might fit into? Which one’s number one?

Yeah, a godly friendship seeks and gives words of truth, correction, and wisdom.

You could argue that this could go there. And it actually would be great if you had a discussion in your group that then drew out the kind of friend I’m looking for is one whose greatest influence is God, so that when they’re near me, they can give me words of truth, words of wisdom.

So, this isn’t like there’s an answer key and you need to have the Jacob answers, or every group will likely be slightly different—and that’s okay. The important thing is that what I want you to do is actually think about what the passage means. Think about how the passage should influence you, and then figure out where it should go.

So then, at the end of this, you’re going to have lots of God’s word having passed through your mind and hopefully into your heart, and that’s where it will influence you.

God loves to change lives through his word. That’s why it’s important that we not only read God’s word, but we meditate on it—think on it. This is why you should, at home, when you read God’s word, write, make charts like this, memorize it.

So, what I want you to do is, in your groups, focus really hard on working together to try to finish this. You can put that down. Good job. And then, like I said, resolve. Yeah. Everybody give Haley a hand.

Doesn’t Stay at Camp

Think really hard: How do I make sure that what I learn at camp doesn’t stay at camp? How do I take it in my mind, in my heart, and let it affect my life as I leave camp?

And one of the best ways to do that would be to make the only memory verses that come out of camp not be Proverbs 13:20 and Psalm 1 through 3. Although I hope that those are in your mind and on your tongue leaving camp.

But I hope that you say, “Wow, God’s word has a lot that I need to know, that I need to believe. I need to trust. I need to obey.” And you can’t do those things unless it’s dwelling in your heart. And it’s going to get to your heart through your brain. And I pray that you would memorize these things.