Everyday CommunicatorGuide Week3 XP3HS

COMMUNICATOR GUIDE
Everyday / Week 3
SERIES OVERVIEW
SERIES SUMMARY
A series about habits.
SERIES BOTTOM LINE

Engaging with the four faith skills.
WEEKLY BOTTOM LINES

WEEK 1: We can connect with God every day.
WEEK 2: We can hear from God through scripture every day.
WEEK 3: We can talk to God every day.
WEEK 4: We can talk about God every day.
WEEK 5: We can worship God with how we live every day.
SCRIPTURE
…man after my own heart (Acts 13:22 NIV).
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every
day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief (Psalm 22:
1-2 NLT).
O Lord, hear my plea for justice. Listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my prayer, for it comes from
honest lips (Psalm 17:1b NIV).
I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual
wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God (Ephesians 1:16b-17 NLT).
In the same way, the Holy Spirit helps us when we are weak. We don’t know what we should pray for. But
the Spirit himself prays for us. He prays through groans too deep for words (Romans 8:26 NIrV).
NOTES FOR THIS WEEK

THINK ABOUT THIS
Be sensitive to the experiences and circumstances represented in your group as you talk about prayer.
You may have many students in your circle living on the other side of what they see as an unanswered
prayer. You may even have students in the middle of praying through challenging situations and seeing
no apparent response from God. That’s a really difficult place for anyone to be, but especially a teenager!
You don’t want to inadvertently contribute to the idea that if they’d just prayed the right prayers or spent
enough time talking to God, things would be different. Instead of focusing on outcomes and results, focus
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on the connection. Prayer is about so much more than what happens after we say “Amen!” It’s about
the conversation and connection it gives us with the God who loves us.
INTERACTIVE 1: A MILLION PIECES

OVERVIEW
For this interactive, you’ll use a puzzle with hundreds of pieces to show how, when we don’t know what to
do, we need humility to ask for help.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED

 A puzzle box with hundreds of pieces
 A table to display the puzzle box
PREP
 Place the puzzle box and pieces on the table on stage prior to your Talk.
HOW-TO
 Hold up the puzzle box as an illustration.
 Dump some or all of their pieces out as you continue talking.
TEACHING OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
 Where’s your favorite restaurant to eat?
 The one thing we can probably all agree on is once we do finally decide on a place to eat, there’s
nothing better than spending time with friends or family and talking.
 In this series, Everyday, we’ve been talking about how getting to know God better is more like the
way you first developed a relationship with some of your closest friends; you just spent time with
them.
 One of the primary ways to spend time with God is through prayer.
 Prayer is about developing the ability to talk to and listen to God.
TENSION
 If someone asked you to pray out loud right now, there might be a little knot in your stomach.
 For many reasons, when it comes to prayer, a lot of times, we just don’t want to.
o We don’t know what to say.
o We don’t know how to say it.
o We don’t know what to expect.
 For most of us, our number one concern about prayer is that we’re not doing it right.
 Because of all of that, this is how most of us approach prayer:
o We’re fake.
o We’re formal.
o We’re impersonal.
 We think that’s how we’re supposed to pray! We assume that’s what God wants from us.
 But what if the reason a lot of us don’t pray or don’t feel like we can talk to God every day is that
we’ve completely misunderstood the right way to approach it?
TRUTH
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 I want to read a passage in the Bible that helps us understand a little bit better what prayer is
supposed to be like.
 David was a guy who fought a giant, was a great king, and had some major mess-ups. God
describes David as “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22 NIV).
 David talked about how important prayer was to his life and his relationship with God.
o My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan
for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my
voice, but I find no relief (Psalm 22: 1-2 NLT).
 There’s nothing fake about this prayer. It’s real, raw, and authentic.
 I think David himself captured what his prayers were like in another Psalm when he said this:
o O Lord, hear my plea for justice. Listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my prayer, for
it comes from honest lips (Psalm 17:1b NIV).
 David told God that his prayer was honest, but it was also humble.
 Many, many years after King David, a guy named Paul had a radical experience with Jesus.
 Paul spent a lot of time writing letters to the early churches to encourage them in difficult times.
o I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give
you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God
(Ephesians 1:16b-17 NLT).
 Paul prayed for their faith to grow. He prayed for their faith to stay connected to God no matter
what.
 Prayer is an act of humility. It is an acknowledgment that we don’t know best, and we don’t know
the rest.
 [INTERACTIVE: A Million Pieces: This is where you’ll use a puzzle with hundreds of pieces to
show how, when we don’t know what to do, we need humility to ask for help.]
 Do you remember being a little kid and getting something that came in what seemed like a million
pieces? If you couldn’t figure it out, at some point, you’d go to someone older and say, “I can’t put
this together. Can you help me?”
 This is life for you and me. When we say, “I can’t put this together,” that’s honesty. And when we
ask for help, that's humility.
 Prayer is both of those. And we can talk to God every day.
 Part of staying in a growing relationship with God is to stay in conversation with God.
APPLICATION
 This week, I just want you to commit to giving prayer a try.
 In the same way, each of our relationships to God is unique, so is the way we talk to God.
 If you’re not exactly sure what to say in your conversation with God, here are a few ideas to get
you started:
o First, thank God for the good things in your life.
o Next, get honest with God about what’s on your mind.
o Then, talk to God about what you need.
o And finally, trust God with your prayers.
 The Apostle Paul wrote:
o In the same way, the Holy Spirit helps us when we are weak. We don’t know what we
should pray for. But the Spirit himself prays for us. He prays through groans too deep for
words (Romans 8:26 NIRV).
 We may not even know what to pray, but God’s Spirit steps in on our behalf. So, you can trust
God with your prayers.
 And that’s the kind of relationship God wants with you! One where we know we can talk to God
every day!
LANDING
 What if you talked to God like the real you?
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 Go home and pray to God like David did—with total honesty.
 Go home and pray like Paul did—with total humility.
 You can talk to God every day!
 If there is a chance that the Creator of the universe wants to have a conversation with me, is it
worth a try?
TEACHING SLIDES
All bolded words and phrases in the Teaching Script are also provided as teaching slides for Premium Tier
subscribers.
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TEACHING SCRIPT
Everyday / Week 2
BOTTOM LINE
WE CAN TALK TO GOD EVERY DAY
INTRODUCTION
1 MINUTES
I want to start today by asking a question:
Where’s your favorite restaurant to eat?
Some of you might prefer places like Applebee’s, where you sit down, order, and wait for your food to
come to you. Others prefer faster options like Taco Bell, where your food is already in front of you at the
counter before you’re done paying! And some of you have no preference at all as long as there’s food!
Now, here’s another question: Have you ever found yourself spending more time deciding on a place to
eat than it would have taken to make a meal at home?
Whether you prefer places like Applebee’s or Taco Bell, the one thing we can probably all agree on is
once we do finally decide on a place, there’s nothing better than spending time with friends or family and
talking.
You talk. . . well, about whatever.
In this series, Everyday, we’ve been talking about how most of us think about getting to know God better
as a requirement, like doing homework, going to school, or doing chores. But actually, it’s more like the
way you first developed a relationship with some of your closest friends; you just spent time with them.
And in the case of God, you can spend time with God every day!
Getting to know God is about being around God and spending time with God. And one of the primary
ways to spend time with God is through prayer.
Like spending time talking with our friends or family when we go out to eat, prayer is about developing
the ability to talk to and listen to God.
TENSION
2 ½ MINUTES
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Think about it. If someone asked you to pray out loud right now, there might be a little knot in your
stomach.
Maybe that happens even when you don’t have to pray out loud. Just the idea of talking to God makes
you feel a little odd. Maybe it’s all the big, fancy words people use when they pray. Maybe it’s the fact that
God doesn’t answer you out loud, so you sit there and stare at the ceiling. Maybe you have a million other
things going on, and it feels impossible to sit silently and focus.
For these reasons (and many more!), when it comes to prayer, a lot of times, we just don’t want to.
We probably wouldn’t admit that out loud, especially in church, but it’s true. Let’s think about it this way…
● We don’t know what to say. I mean, how exactly do you make small talk with God? Do you ask,
“How’s your day going, God?” Do you jump right in and ask for what you want? Do you start with
a compliment? A joke? Does God even like jokes?
● We don’t know how to say it. Maybe, like me, you grew up hearing religious people use really
big, fancy language. They address God with titles like “Our most kind and gracious Heavenly
Father.” And that’s fine, but it’s intimidating when you’re learning to pray. What if you forget
something? You don’t want to mess up when talking to God! Is God keeping track!?
● We don’t know what to expect. How do you have a conversation with someone you can’t hear
like you can hear other people? Should you bother to ask questions? Should you pause for a
response? And what would you do if God actually responded out loud?
For most of us, our number one concern about prayer is that we’re not doing it right. Even if we
aren’t exactly sure what “right” is, that might be why we don’t pray very often. It’s not that we’re against
God or that we hate the idea of talking to God. It’s that we don’t like doing something that feels awkward.
Because of all of that, this is how most of us approach prayer:
● We’re fake. We try to put our best selves in front of God to make a good impression. We try to be
someone we’re not.
● We’re formal. We talk to God like God’s a famous politician. We use formal, polite language. We
even throw in some fancy vocabulary.
● We’re impersonal. We talk to God like someone we don’t know and who doesn’t know us.
And here’s what’s wild: We think that’s how we’re supposed to pray! We assume that’s what God wants
from us.
But what if it isn’t? What if the reason a lot of us don’t pray or don’t feel like we can talk to God every day
is that we’ve completely misunderstood the right way to approach it?
TRUTH
4 ½ MINUTES
I want to read a passage in the Bible that helps us understand a little bit better what prayer is supposed to
be like.
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Some of you might know David as the guy who fought Goliath. Some of you also might know that David
was a great king, but he also had some major mess-ups.
David was also a man who was close to God. In fact, God describes David as “a man after my own
heart” (Acts 13:22 NIV).
David also loved to pray. He talked about how important it was to his life and his relationship with God. It’s
almost as if David knew something that we don’t when it comes to talking with God. Listen to how David
prayed:
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no
relief (Psalm 22: 1-2 NLT).
David had some enemies who allied against him. He felt helpless and abandoned. He’s having a
“Where’s God?” moment. Talk about honesty! He basically said, “God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away?” You can hear his emotion and distress. He’s upset, and he doesn’t hold back
or filter. There’s nothing fake about this prayer. It’s real, raw, and authentic. I mean, who has the guts to
talk to God like this?
Evidently, people who know how to pray!
When I think about my history of trying to connect with God and build my faith, I’ll be honest: I’ve never
prayed like this. Prayer, for me, has always been more impersonal, formal, and a little fake.
But when I came across David’s prayers, I saw how different they were. It’s so exhilarating and refreshing
to see someone pray the way he did! In fact, I think David himself captured what his prayers were like in
another Psalm when he said this:
O Lord, hear my plea for justice. Listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my prayer, for it comes
from honest lips (Psalm 17:1b NIV).
David told God that his prayer was honest. And I think that’s what made all the difference for him.
But it’s not just honesty; it’s also humility.
Many, many years after King David, a guy named Paul had a radical experience with Jesus. After that
experience, Paul’s life completely changed. Paul went from trying to stop this movement called “The Way”
to writing almost half of the New Testament and teaching people about God. Paul knew that a relationship
with God was better than anything he could think of or ask for, and he wanted to make sure that other
believers knew the same thing.
Paul spent a lot of time writing letters to the early churches to encourage them. Many of them were going
through a really difficult time. The Roman government was coming for them, people were trying to keep
them from sharing about God, and they were being threatened every day.
With all that in mind, here’s what he wrote:
I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you
spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God (Ephesians 1:16b-
17 NLT).
Did you catch that? Paul didn’t pray for their protection, or for their circumstances to change, or for their
situation to end. Instead, Paul prayed for their faith to grow. He prayed for their faith to stay connected to
God no matter what.
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Prayer, at its most fundamental level, is an act of humility. It is recognizing our need for God. It is an
acknowledgment that we don’t know best, and we don’t know the rest. It is placing ourselves in a
mutual relationship with God where we share our heart with God, opening ourselves up to hear God’s
heart for us.
INTERACTIVE: A Million Pieces

This is where you’ll use a puzzle with hundreds of pieces to show how, when we don’t know what to do,
we need humility to ask for help.
Do you remember being a little kid and getting something that came in what seemed like a million pieces?
[Hold up the puzzle box with all the pieces. If you want, you can even dump them on the table to show
just how many pieces there are.] If you couldn’t figure it out, at some point, you’d go to someone older
and say, “I can’t put this together. Can you help me?”
This is life for you and me. There are a million different pieces—relationships, struggles, school, family,
friends, our relationship with God, how we feel about ourselves, dating, the future, our health, and on and
on it goes. When we say, “I can’t put this together,” that’s honesty. And when we ask for help, that's
humility.
Prayer is both of those.
And here’s the good news:
We can talk to God every day.
Part of staying in a growing relationship with God is to stay in conversation with God. When prayers aren’t
answered, and circumstances don’t change, talk to God! Use your prayers to be honest with God about
what you’re feeling. Stay in conversation when things are going great, and stay in conversation when
things aren’t going great. Use prayer as the way to keep the connection and keep growing your everyday
faith. Remember, God loves you so much. God wants to hear from you!
APPLICATION
2 MINUTES
This week, I just want you to commit to giving prayer a try. Remember, you can talk to God about
anything. The goal is simply to show up and connect in conversation with God every day, whatever that
looks like for you! We can talk to God in a lot of different ways. In the same way, each of our relationships
to God is unique, so is the way we talk to God. If you want to talk aloud, do it. If you want to sing a song,
go for it. If you want to write your prayers down, that’s great! Connect with God in prayer in a way that
works for you.
If you’re not exactly sure what to say in your conversation with God, here are a few ideas to get you
started.
First, thank God for the good things in your life. Big or small, talk to God about the stuff you’re grateful for
every day.
Next, get honest with God about what’s on your mind. Share the good and the bad with God. If you
got a great grade on a test, made a new friend, or saw something good happen in your family, share it
with God. And if you’re concerned about a sick family member, or you’re dealing with friend drama, or
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you’re struggling to get past a mistake you made, talk to God about it. Be real and honest about what’s on
your mind when you pray.
Then, talk to God about what you need. Ask God for help where you need it. Pray for God to step in
and fix things that feel broken. Ask God to remind you that God’s listening and working for your good,
even if the answer doesn’t come the way you want it to.
And finally, trust God with your prayers. The Apostle Paul wrote:
In the same way, the Holy Spirit helps us when we are weak. We don’t know what we should pray
for. But the Spirit himself prays for us. He prays through groans too deep for words (Romans 8:26
NIRV).
This verse reminds us that God not only hears us when we are at our weakest but that God is praying
with us. We may not even know what to pray, but God’s Spirit steps in on our behalf. So, you can trust
God with your prayers. The more you talk to God, the more you’ll get to know God. The more you know
God, the more you’ll trust God. And the more you trust God, the more you’ll want to talk to God. That’s
how a good relationship works!
And that’s the kind of relationship God wants with you! One where we know we can talk to God every
day!
LANDING
1 MINUTE
What if you talked to God like the real you? What would you say? Don’t try to be someone you’re not.
Don’t use words you don’t understand. Don’t talk to God like God’s a million light years away.
I can imagine God looking at you and saying, “If you only knew how much I want to be close to you! The
real YOU! Because I love you more than you could ever know, I want to know what’s going on with your
life! Don’t hold back! Just be honest!”
Think about it this way. If there’s a chance that God—who created the universe—wants to have a
conversation with you, isn’t it worth giving it a try? Go home and pray to God like David did—with total
honesty. Go home and pray like Paul did—with total humility. Bring God all the pieces of your life and say,
“I can’t put this together. Can you help me?” And guess what? God can! You can bring it ALL to God.
You can talk to God every day!
Now, when you go to Small Group, think about how you would respond to this question: If there is a
chance that the Creator of the universe wants to have a conversation with me, is it worth a try?
TRANSITION INTO SMALL GROUPS
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COMMUNICATOR GUIDE

SERIES BOTTOM LINE

WEEKLY BOTTOM LINES

NOTES FOR THIS WEEK

INTERACTIVE 1: A MILLION PIECES

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

WE CAN TALK TO GOD EVERY DAY

I want to start today by asking a question:

Where’s your favorite restaurant to eat?

You talk. . . well, about whatever.

Because of all of that, this is how most of us approach prayer:

Evidently, people who know how to pray!

But it’s not just honesty; it’s also humility.

With all that in mind, here’s what he wrote:

INTERACTIVE: A Million Pieces

Prayer is both of those.

And here’s the good news:

We can talk to God every day.

You can talk to God every day!

TRANSITION INTO SMALL GROUPS

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