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God's Love; Hope: Linkin Park - Numb June 26, 2007 Main Point of Discussion: Jesus cares about us…even when we don’t. The Music Video: Numb (“I've become so numb I can't feel you there.”) Linkin Park is once again at the top of the charts. Originally from Agoura Hills, California, they achieved mainstream success in 2000 with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which has since sold over fifteen million copies. The band’s following studio album, Meteora also garnered success, topping the Billboard 200’s album charts in 2003. The band’s latest album, Minutes to Midnight, which was released in May 2007, topped the Billboard Charts within its debut week, selling nearly 625,000 copies. The most contraversal track on the album, What I've Done, is the 5th most downloaded music video on iTunes. The song is in the number 11 spot on iTunes and is number 28 on the Billboard Top 100. At THE SOURCE FOR YOUTH MINISTRY we like to use pop culture references to start Biblical conversation (just like the Apostle Paul used culture to start conversations about Jesus in Acts 17). This music video might be a good discussion starter in some circles. Use your discernment. If you want, you can print out the lyrics (below) and give each student a copy to refer to. MTV.com has the video on their site for free right now and iTunes offers the video as a download for $1.99. Ask the tech guy at your church how to play the video on a laptop through a projector. Introducing the Music Video: Many of you might be familiar with Linkin Park. In 2003 they released Meteora. Numb was the most successful single from that CD, reaching #11 on The Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on both Mainstream and Modern Rock Charts. As we watch the video Circle the words that carry a negative feeling. Pass out a handout with the lyrics on it. Song Lyrics:
I'm tired of being what you want me to be Feeling so faithless lost under the surface Don't know what you're expecting of me Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes (Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow) Every step that I take is another mistake to you (Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow) [Chorus] I've become so numb I can't feel you there Become so tired so much more aware I'm becoming this all I want to do Is be more like me and be less like you Can't you see that you're smothering me Holding too tightly afraid to lose control Cause everything that you thought I would be Has fallen apart right in front of you (Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow) Every step that I take is another mistake to you (Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow) And every second I waste is more than I can take [Chorus] I've become so numb I can't feel you there Become so tired so much more aware I'm becoming this all I want to do Is be more like me and be less like you And I know I may end up failing too But I know You were just like me with someone disappointed in you [Chorus] I've become so numb I can't feel you there Become so tired so much more aware I'm becoming this all I want to do Is be more like me and be less like you [Chorus] I've become so numb I can't feel you there I'm tired of being what you want me to be I've become so numb I can't feel you there I'm tired of being what you want me to be Transitional Statement: Linkin Park does an incredible job of summing up the emotions so many of us in this room feel. While everyone may not feel numb tonight, I believe we have in the past or we will in the future. And even if that is not the case for you, I believe many of your friends feel this way right now. So tonight let’s take some time to discuss this video and we’ll meet a woman from the Bible who I believe felt the same way. Divide into Small Groups: Let’s go ahead and split up into our discussion groups to discuss this video, and then afterward we’ll come back together for a final word. CLICK HERE for a quick training article on how to maximize your small groups using our small group format—a great resource to equip your small group leaders. Discussion Questions:
A lot of times things like the things you wrote down cause us to become numb. We stop caring, we stop trying, we give up. Let’s look at someone else who felt numb. The woman we are about to look at felt like a failure, she felt alone and rejected. Then she met Jesus and everything changed. Let’s see what happened. READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE: John 4:5-18 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans) 10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." 11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?" 13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." 16 He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back." 17 "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true." Let’s see what happens next. READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE: John 4:25-30 25 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." 26 Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he." 27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?" 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
Let’s read the rest of the story. I love this part...it shows us that no matter where we have been or what we have done, God can use us if we begin to care. READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE: John 4:39-42 39Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41And because of his words many more became believers. 42They said to the woman, "We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world." CLOSE GROUP IN PRAYER Wrap Up: Tonight we had a chance to watch a cool video and see how this modern “story” is very familiar to a story that happened 2000 years ago. Two women alone and rejected both had stopped caring and became numb. Both were desperately looking for something. I wish we knew what happened to the girl in the video. Did she find love and acceptance when she ran into that church? Did she begin to get along with her mom? Did she find friends in school? We just don’t know. On the other hand, we do know that the woman at the well had a real encounter with Jesus and she found love and acceptance in Him. We all have things that bring us down. Some are things that we do, some are things that have been done to us. Tonight we wrote some of those things down on a card. Tonight the same Jesus that offered acceptance and love to a woman who was numb, offers it to us. The great thing about it is that just like the woman at the well, we don’t have to earn God’s forgiveness. The Bible tells that the cure for numbness is simply putting our trust in Christ as our only hope of salvation. If you have never done that, I encourage you to do that tonight. Close in Prayer By Todd Pearage |
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