Shortcuts feel faster
They cost more
Jacob got the blessing and lost peace. That’s what half-hearted living does. You get the thing and still feel empty, because you didn’t meet God in it.
New series · 2 weeks
Try Hard
Make up your mind to live with passion.
Week one · the question
Has anyone in this room ever been called a try-hard
- You studied when everybody else coasted.
- You were kind when the room was cruel.
They didn’t call you faithful. They called you extra.
Heaven has another name for that.
From the lesson, TRY HARD WEEK 1.pdf
Week 1
“And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day… And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.”
Genesis 32:24–26 KJV · the lesson’s opening scripture
The Wrestle, Not the Shortcut
A shortcut asks, “How little can I give and still get it?”
A wrestle says, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
Not a three-minute altar moment.
The bout at the river: Jacob and the angel, all night
In this corner…
Jacob
Alone at a river called Jabbok.
- From the lesson “…the mark of somebody who wouldn’t quit at 2 a.m.”
- From the lesson He left that place with a limp.
- The angel Genesis 32:26 KJV “Let me go, for the day breaketh.”
- Jacob Genesis 32:26 KJV “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.”
And in this corner…
The Angel
“There wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.”
All. Night.
From the lesson, TRY HARD WEEK 1.pdf · Genesis 32:24 and 32:26 KJV, as the lesson quotes them
Genesis 32:27
What is thy name?
Before the river, in Genesis 27, Jacob put on his brother’s clothes and told his father, “I am Esau.” At the river he told the truth.
Jacob.
Heel-grabber. Deceiver. The one who takes shortcuts.
“Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”
Genesis 32:28 KJV
God does not rename the costume. He renames the person who finally stops hiding.
Drag across the costume to take it offRub side to side to take the costume off
Costume and names from the lesson, TRY HARD WEEK 1.pdf (“I am Esau,” Genesis 27). Scripture KJV, as quoted in the lesson.
Week one, three points
The blessing that lasts
Is wrestled for
He left that place with a limp. Don’t despise the limp. The limp is proof you stayed when it would have been easier to let go.
God will ask
For your real name
Not the Instagram name. Not the “I’m fine” name. The real one.
Points from the week one slides and TRY HARD WEEK 1.pdf
You are not extra. You are in a fight most people quit at midnight.
Is there any fight in anyone tonight?
The close of TRY HARD WEEK 1.pdf
Week 2
Wear the Label
“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”
Colossians 3:23–24 KJV · the lesson’s opening scripture
If your audience is the lunch table, you will always shrink. If your audience is Jesus, you can afford to look extra.
These people would have been roasted in a hallway.
- DavidThe whole army stayed behind the line. David ran at Goliath. “A try-hard with a sling and a conviction.”
- The alabaster boxShe broke something expensive and poured it on Jesus. The room said, “Why this waste?”
- Four friendsThe house was full. They tore the roof to get one paralyzed man to Jesus.
- Two mitesThe widow didn’t give extra from overflow. She gave all.
The same act can be “waste” in the mouth of people and “beautiful” in the mouth of Jesus.
From the lesson, TRY HARD WEEK 2.pdf
Week two, three points
Who you work for changes how you work
If you are working for them, their mockery will manage you. If you are working for Him, their mockery becomes background noise.
The label is coming either way
They will call you try-hard or they will call you lukewarm. Only one of those names shows up in Scripture as a warning.
I’d rather be mocked for fire than complimented for being normal.
The reward is not in the room
The hallway does not cut the check. The group chat does not write the last chapter.
Points from TRY HARD WEEK 2.pdf.
So wear the label. Not as a brand.
As a decision.
Whatever you do this week, do it heartily. Not because they’re watching. Because He is.
Try Hard · Youth series
Get the series.
- Week 1
- The Wrestle, Not the Shortcut · Genesis 32:24–28
- Week 2
- Wear the Label · Colossians 3:23–24
- Lessons
- 2 weekly teaching PDFs (3 pages each)
- Slides
- 1 series title slide, plus a title slide and 3 point slides for each week
- Socials
- 6 social graphics (social, this month, this week, tomorrow, today, tonight)
- Status
- Complete in 2 weeks. Free download, and in All-Access
- Download
- One ZIP from smr.church after checkout, or from the Library with All-Access
- For
- Middle school through young adult
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