Today we learned that God wants to be first in every area of our lives.  In our story, we saw that the rich young ruler allowed God into every area of his life except money.  God calls true believers to surrender it all in order to follow Him completely with heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Make sure each of your students has access to a piece of paper and pencil. Have students spread out and find a quiet place in the classroom if you are meeting together. Ask them to think of a situation where they may not have put God first because they thought it was too hard, there was too much on the line, they felt embarrassed, or they just didn’t want to.  Give students a few minutes to think quietly.

Maybe today it’s time for you to set things right with God and ask Him for a do-over. He will never force you to give that thing up if something is taking His place—the choice is yours.   

Encourage your preteens to write a letter to God telling Him their feelings about putting Him first in their lives. Remind them that God knows their hearts, so they should be honest. If they want to make their letter one of confession and surrender, share with them what that might look like. If they are not ready to do that, encourage them to share with God about what is holding them back. As your students are thinking and writing, you might want to play the following music video.

Optional music video [4:45]:
Chris Tomlin – Lay Me Down (Lyrics) 

All of us struggle with putting God first all the time! Things sneak in and take over that first-place spot like sports or playing on the computer or (share one of your own first-place priority robbers as appropriate so that your students know you identify with their situation.)  Some of us just wrote God a letter of surrender about those things, but they might try to sneak up on us again.

• What are some ways we can keep other things from taking over first place in our lives? (Answers will vary but may include staying in the Word, spending time with God in prayer, asking God to show us ways He has been edged out by someone or something, etc.)

Encourage your students to put the letter they wrote in their Bible and read through it again several times during the week. If it was a letter of surrender, it should encourage them to stay strong in their desire to keep God in first place. If the letter was about struggles they have with making that commitment, urge them to seek God about whatever it is that is holding them back.

If you are using a social conferencing platform or meeting in person, close in group prayer. If not, consider calling each of your students this week and praying with them over the phone encouraging them to put God first.