WE DON’T HAVE TO WALK IN THE SINFUL PATHS OF THOSE WHO WALKED BEFORE US. 

SCRIPTURE | 2 Kings 18:1-6; 2 Kings 22:1-2,8-11; 2 Kings 23:1-3,21-23 

CENTRAL TRUTH 

We aren’t defined by anyone else’s choices. Like Hezekiah and Josiah, our life can tell a new story when we choose to live for Jesus. 

KEY QUESTION 

BOTH KINGS STOPPED A GENERATIONAL CYCLE OF EVIL DISOBEDIENCE. IS THERE A CYCLE YOU NEED TO STOP? HOW CAN YOU? 

KEEP IN MIND 

Some students may struggle to believe they can break free from the bad examples they’ve watched in their family or friend group. Sometimes, culture feeds this idea that we’re simply products of our environments. To some degree, this is true. Our students’ environments do help shape them, like their personalities and their passions. They can even shape how they view the world. And God. But their environments don’t define them. We must help our students understand that they aren’t stuck. Some of your students may use their background as a crutch. Instead of trying to make a change, they settle for what they’ve seen displayed in front of them, even leading to a type of victim mentality—a feeling that they’re helpless. But really, God’s power living within us transforms us and makes us entirely new (2 Cor. 5:17). Students need to know that God has a purpose for them. He can use their background, whether it has been good or bad. He isn’t limited by it one bit. 

APPLICATION 

WHY DO YOU THINK WE’RE ABLE TO READ AND HEAR GOD’S WORD AND NOT BE CHANGED? 

THE WIN 

FOR THE STUDENT: When students devote the same discipline to reading and understanding God’s Word that they give to other things, they’ll be astounded at how it transforms them into someone new. When they allow the Word to permeate their minds and hearts, they’ll break sinful patterns. 

FOR THE LEADER: As leaders, we still need reformation and revival. Some of us have broken generational cycles and chosen to live for Christ. It’s sometimes good to remind our hearts that we’re never stuck in sinful patterns because Christ came to free us from the power of sin. God’s Word is alive and active, and we get to model how it continues to change us throughout our lives, not just at the point of salvation!