SCRIPTURE Foundation

“I have called you by name: you are mine” Isaiah 43:1

“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for

this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my

Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on

this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will

not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of

heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be] bound in

heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in

heaven.” Matthew 16:13-20

FOCUS OF TODAY:

God knows us by name and calls us His own. “I have called you by name: you are mine” Isaiah 43:1

Bring to Together: a Journeyer (12th grader) will led this. Betsy has asked and trained the youth leader.

GAME: Play is an essential way to connect with each other and to build community. Each session will begin with a game or activity.

Connect to Faith Tradition & Today Genesis and Beyonce

Connect to our own Lives: A discussion about the power and promise of names

Connect to the WORLD: Close with Prayer

BRING TOGETHER: Announcements, Attendance Prayer Leaders _________________________ & ___________________________ GAME TO BEGIN: HEADS UP!

(If you don’t have the app on your phone, you are missing out- it’s a good one!)

Have everyone download the app. Everyone will take turn holding a picture of something in a

certain category above their head. Then people give hints to the person to help them guess

what / place / or thing you are holding on your forehead.

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Genesis and Beyoncé …

In this session, you will connect the concept of naming to the story of Jacob wresting with God.

SAY:

In the Ancient Near East, your name was more than just words. Name was identity. Your name was reflective of your character, your substance, the very fiber that made you, you. Your name told who you were. Here’s a story from the Bible about someone wrestling with God and their identity.

Ask for a volunteer to read Genesis 32:22 – 31 T

hat night, Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. The man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” The man asked him, “What’s your name?”

“Jacob”, he answered.

SAY

For a long while, Jacob had been living with the name Esau… remember the story of Jacob coming home hungry and tired and wanting his father’s blessing? He put hair on this arms

and pretended to be someone that he wasn’t.

When the angel asked his name, it wasn’t just to identify him, it was to name his essence, and bless his being. Jacob had struggled with being broken and pretending he was someone else - Jacob has wrestled and overcome. Jacob is ready to be Jacob.

When Beyoncé was writing “Say My Name” for Destiny’s Child, she wrote the lyrics:

Say my name, say my name You actin' kinda shady Ain't callin' me baby Why the sudden change Say my name, say my name If no one is around you Say baby I love you If you ain't runnin' game Say my name, say my name

And our tribe, this Christian Community, will try to be more

like Jesus every day: To be our authentic selves that Jesus

knows and loves.

Continue to Connect to Our Lives

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And our tribe, this Christian Community, will try to be more like Jesus every day: To be our authentic selves that Jesus knows and loves.

In the words of the angel that wrestled with Joseph, “What’s your name?” Jacob has the chance to continue (in the words of Beyonce) acting shady and running games, or be blessed by the angel by “saying his name”

If I asked you who Robert Galbraith was, you might not know that it is the same person as JK Rowling – just another pen name.

If I say the name Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr is, you might not recognize that name unless I said the tabloid master Perez Hilton.

Names have power. Our names, online and off, carry weight, identity and a piece of us. God has called us by name and knows us as his own. All of us.

Questions to wonder:

MAKING A NAME FOR YOURSELF write your favorite name for yourself (the one you would want to hear Jesus call you by) on a jar and use slips of paper to add the rest of your names.

Which ones do you want to hold onto? Which ones do you want to let go? How can you live more fully as your authentic self?

Have you ever held onto a name or label that you don’t want to live into anymore?

Do you keep looking at people as though they can’t change their name—from enemy to friend? From ‘she doesn’t like me’ to ‘I should get to know her?’

End with Prayer, Hope and Wonders

Give this time in your group some thought before you begin

your time together. How might you like to end your time

together. How might you close with prayer?