“Here
I Raise My Ebenezer”
Optional Spiritual Autobiography Retreat
Brief: Use this section as a retreat or as a
mini-series during your weekly meetings to help students understand and share
how God has helped them so far in life.
Sample Schedule
Friday night –
bonfire, campfire games, session 1, board games
Saturday – breakfast,
session 2, activity/board games, lunch, camp activity, session, 3, dinner,
session 4, flashlight hide and seek, movie, board games
Sunday – breakfast,
session 5
Session 1
Praise songs and “Come
Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”
Intro Question
Tell us one thing we
don’t know about you.
Scripture: 1 Samuel 7:2-12
The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim a long time—twenty
years in all.
Then all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord. 3 So Samuel said to all the
Israelites, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of
the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve Him only, and He
will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”
So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.
5 Then Samuel said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I
will intercede with the Lord for you.” 6 When they had assembled at
Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, “We have sinned
against the Lord.” Now Samuel
was serving as leader of Israel at Mizpah.
7 When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah,
the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard
of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. 8 They said to Samuel, “Do
not stop crying out to the Lord our
God for us, that He may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 Then Samuel took a
suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out to the Lord on Israel’s behalf, and
the Lord answered him.
10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines
drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud
thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were
routed before the Israelites. 11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and
pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth
Kar.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and
Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”
What was an Ebenezer?
(An Ebenezer is a monument set up to show how far God has helped you.)
God helped the
Israelites fight and beat the Philistines up to a certain point, so Samuel
raised the Ebenezer there.
This weekend, we’re
going to be raising our Ebenezers. God is working in our lives all the time,
but we don’t always notice it when it’s happening. Writing our spiritual
autobiographies will help us look back and see what God has done for us and in
us. We’ll see how far God has helped us.
What did the people
have to do for God to help them against the Philistines?
1. They had to turn
to God (verses 2-4). Part of writing our spiritual autobiographies will be
remembering when we turned to God or when we turned back to God.
2. They had to
confess their sins (verse 6). Part of writing our spiritual autobiographies
will be remembering and talking about times when we have sinned and made
mistakes.
3. They recognized
the challenge (verse 7). We’ll also be talking about challenges and scary times
that have come up in our lives.
4. They asked God for
help (verses 8-9). We’ll talk about times God has helped us and times He
hasn’t.
5. They took action.
They knew what they had to do, and they did it. We’ll talk about the things God
is asking us to do as well.
(Hand out Writing a Spiritual Autobiography instructions and
journals and give time to work on them. Conclude the session by singing another
praise song and “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” again.)
“Here
I Raise My Ebenezer”
Optional Spiritual Autobiography Retreat
Session 2
Praise songs and “Come
Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”
Intro Question
Tell a favorite story
about your family.
What did God have to
do with your story?
Who is the most religious
person in your family? The least?
Scripture: Genesis
12:1-5; Hebrews 12:1-2
Genesis 12:1-5: The Lord had
said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s
household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless
you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and
whoever curses you I will curse; and all
peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had
told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years
old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all
the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired
in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived
there.
What did it cost
Abraham to go on this journey? (Leaving everything familiar, his family, etc.)
Did Abraham know
where he was going? (No.)
What was Abraham’s
goal? (To go where God led him.)
Abraham’s goal was to
keep going wherever God led him. He didn’t want to stall or get lost or get
stuck in one place. He started on his journey right away, and he wanted to get
where God was leading him.
We’re on a journey
too. We’re on a spiritual journey with God. We might not know everything that’s
going to happen to us in life on our journey, but our goal is to follow God and not get stalled or lost or
stuck on the way but to keep going forward.
How could we get
stalled, lost, or trapped on our spiritual journey?
Hebrews 12:1-2: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that
so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked
out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the
pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its
shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The big thing that
hinders us in our journey, that stalls us, makes us get lost, or trapped, is sin. When we sin, when we don’t follow God and
what He wants for us in life, we lose our way on the journey.
So, Abraham starts
out on this journey. What did God promise him in return? (That God would bless
him and that he would be a blessing to others.)
God will bless us too if we follow Him in our spiritual journey.
What does it mean to
bless others?
How can you be a
blessing to others?
(Give time to work on
spiritual autobiography journals. To conclude the session, the leader should
share their spiritual autobiography. Pass out the Listening to a Spiritual Autobiography instructions and go
over it as you begin.)
“Here
I Raise My Ebenezer”
Optional Spiritual Autobiography Retreat
Session 3
Praise songs and “Come
Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”
Intro Question
When have you
experienced God? (Pass out idea sheet)
Scripture: 1 Kings
18:16-40; 19:1-13
1 Kings 18:16-40: So Obadiah went to
meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you
troubler of Israel?”
18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But
you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the
Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on
Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and
the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets
on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you
waver between two opinions? If the Lord is
God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has
four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose
one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but
not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but
not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the
name of the Lord. The
god who answers by fire—He is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and
prepare it first, since there are so many
of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given
them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon.
“Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one
answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said.
“Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling.
Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and
slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they
continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening
sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid
attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came
to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down.31 Elijah took twelve stones,
one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name
shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an
altar in the name of the Lord,
and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed.33 He arranged the wood,
cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill
four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third
time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward
and prayed: “Lord, the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be
known today that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done
all these things at Your command. 37 Answer me, Lord,
answer me, so these people will know that You, Lord, are
God, and that You are turning their
hearts back again.”
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell
and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried,
“The Lord—He is God!
The Lord—He is God!”
40 Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let
anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the
Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
Elijah experience God
in an amazing way. He won this great victory. And sometimes we experience God
in some pretty amazing ways. But watch what happens next?
1 Kings 19:1-10: Now Ahab told
Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the
prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a
messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so
severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of
one of them.”
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he
came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a
day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under
it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am
no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and
eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over
hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and
drank and then lay down again.
7 The angel of the Lord came
back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey
is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he
traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the
mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
And the word of the Lord came
to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites
have rejected Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and put Your
prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are
trying to kill me too.”
Elijah has just had
this great time with God, doing this miracle, but now Elijah is feeling low.
He’s depressed. Maybe he’s even doubting
why God ever did this miracle in the first place. When have you doubted God?
1 Kings 19:11-13: The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the
mountain in the presence of the Lord,
for the Lord is about to
pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and
shattered the rocks before the Lord,
but the Lord was not in
the wind. After the wind there was an
earthquake, but the Lord was
not in the earthquake.12 After the earthquake came a
fire, but the Lord was
not in the fire. And after the fire came
a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and
went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Just like Elijah, we
experience God in some big ways sometimes, and these are special times, but we
know that God is also with us on a daily basis in a more subtle kind of way.
How can you feel God’s presence every day?
(Give students time
to work on their spiritual autobiography journals. Then, give a couple of students
time to share their spiritual autobiographies.)
“Here
I Raise My Ebenezer”
Optional Spiritual Autobiography Retreat
Session 4
Praise songs and “Come
Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”
Intro Question
When you were little, who was the most important
person in your life?
Who is the most
important person in your life now?
Have you ever had a
“spiritual friendship,” a friendship that was centered on helping each other
with your faith? What would that kind of friendship be like?
(Give students time
to work on their spiritual autobiographies. Then, give students time to share
their spiritual autobiographies.)
“Here
I Raise My Ebenezer”
Optional Spiritual Autobiography Retreat
Session 5
Praise songs and “Come
Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”
Intro Question
What is the scariest
to you? (Pass out idea sheet.)
What is the scariest
thing that has ever happened to you?
Scripture: Genesis 22:1-18
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him,
“Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you
love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt
offering on a mountain I will show you.”
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey.
He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough
wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him
about. 4 On the third day Abraham
looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants,
“Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy
go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his
son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two
of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham,
“Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the
lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for
the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham
built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son
Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his
hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from
heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to
him. Now I know that you fear God, because
you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.”
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught
by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt
offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day
it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it
will be provided.”
15 The angel of the Lord called
to Abraham from heaven a second time16 and said, “I swear by Myself, declares
the Lord, that because you
have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless
you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the
sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take
possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me.”
How has God provided
for you in scary or hard times?
What can we learn
about God during scary or hard times?
(Finish sharing
spiritual autobiographies. Then, have students pass their journals around. Each
student writes something they admire about that person in their journal.)
(To conclude the
retreat, have each student find a rock from the retreat center, decorate it
with their names and other designs in permanent marker and then, bring them to
the youth room to make an Ebenezer pile of stones in remembrance of the
weekend.)
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