Kevin Johnson - Thrive: Dare to Live Like Jesus

YOUTH SPECIALTIES

THRIVE: DARE TO LIVE LIKE JESUS
Copyright 2009 by Kevin Johnson

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ePub Edition August 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-86754-8

Youth Specialties resources, 300 S. Pierce St., El Cajon, CA 92020 are published by Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49530.

ISBN 978-0-310-28265-5

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, TodaysNew International Version. TNIV. Copyright 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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Cover design by David Conn

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Contents

1. LIVE IT UP
Give yourself to God
Romans 12:1-2

2. GET IT RIGHT
You are accepted by God in Jesus
Romans 3:22-26

3. PRICELESS
You are insanely valuable
1 Peter 1:17-21

4. BACK FROM THE DEAD
You are alive because of God You
Ephesians 2:4-10

5. GO AND SIN NO MORE
Jesus will change you forever
John 8:7-11

6. DO OVERS
You can get fresh starts
1 John 1:8-2:2

7. LOVE UNLIMITED
You are wildly loved
Romans 8:31-39

8. OPEN-DOOR POLICY
You can get close to God
Hebrews 10:19-23

9. GO TO GOD
Your best friend understands your struggles
Hebrews 4:13-16

10. GET IT TOGETHER
You are part of a family
Acts 2:42-47

11. PLUGGED IN
You have a new power source
John 14:15-21

12. PURE SATISFACTION
You'll get everything you really need
Philippians 4:10-13

13. SIMPLY AMAZING
You are gifted
Ephesians 4:11-16

14. THE PLAN
God is working for your good
Romans 8:28-30

15. UPPER HAND
You can beat temptation
Matthew 4:1-11

16. TRUE FAITH
You are tougher than any trial
1 Peter 1:3-9

17. NO FEAR
You can laugh at death
1 Corinthians 15:51-58

18. REAL BELIEVERS
You can have authentic faith
James 2:14-19

19. THE FLYING WALLENDAS
You'll get to God's goal
Philippians 1:3-11

20. YOUR DESTINY
You'll live with God and his people forever
Revelation 21:1-7

Start Here

Its time to let your faith fl y HIGHER. If youre ready to take your relationship with God to the next level, this series of books shows you how.

Thrive contains 20 Bible studies that lead you upward. Youll fi nd Scriptures that speak to the core of your life, along with space to express whats on your mind. Youll think for yourself and discover signifi cant insights you might not find on your own. Thrive shows you how to break free and be different from the rest of the world. Youll fi nd out how to live the thoroughly transformed life God wants you to enjoy. And youll fi gure out for yourself why you dont want to settle for anything less.

Dont rush through Thrive. You can do a study per day, a study per week, or anything between. Actually, the slower you go, the more youll gain. Each study is just a few pages long but provides you plenty to think about and act on. The end of each study comes with added material to let you fl y even higher.

Youll see that every study opens with a mostly-blank page that has a single Bible verse that sums up the main point. These verses are worth memorizing, as a way to fi ll your head with the amazing truths of Gods Word. Then comes START, a brief introduction to get you into the topic. READ takes you to a Scripture passage. You can read the verses here in the book or, if you want, grab your own Bible and read the passage there. THINK helps you examine the main ideas of the text, and LIVE makes it easy to apply what you learn. WRAP pulls everything together.

Then theres some bonus material. MORE THOUGHTS TO MULL tosses you a few more questions to ask yourself or others. MORE SCRIPTURESTO DIG leads you to related Bible passages to help you hear even more from God on the topic.

Whether you read on your own or get together with a group, Thrive will help your faith fl y high. Its your chance to grab the best that God has in store for you.

Kevin Johnson

So brothers and sisters, sinceGod has shown us great mercy,I beg you to offer your lives asa living sacrifi ce to him. Youroffering must be only for Godand pleasing to him, which is thespiritual way for you to worship.

START Living for God might sound riskyuntil you realize everything hes done for you. Giving him your all might feel like the losing end of a bargainuntil youre amazed by his moment-by-moment care for you. God overflows with kindness, fairness, and intelligence. His plans for you are the best path you could ever pick. And his Son died to give you life. Whether or not you fully experience Gods greatness, however, is up to you. It all starts when you open yourself up to him.

Why would you want to live it upgive your whole life to God? Why wouldnt you?

READ Romans 12:1-2 (NCV)

1 So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifi ce to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship. 2 Do not be shaped by this world; instead be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.

THINK The phrase since God has shown us great mercy points back to everything God has done for usacts that are spelled out in the fi rst 11 chapters of Romans. The short version: Even though people consistently do wrong, God has rebuilt our relationship with him through the death and rising again of Jesus. And through the Holy Spirit, he is present with us right now to make us into new people.

Say it in your own words: How has God shown us great mercy and compassion?

Because God has been so kind to us, we should offer ourselves to him as a living sacrifi ce. Whats that?

You might assume you have to live for God to get his love. The Bible says it works just the opposite. God lavishes you with his love so youll want to give yourself back to him.

What happens when you allow God to change the way you think?

LIVE Why is it worship when you give yourself totally to God?