4 weeks plus a discipleship event giving students a healthy lens for pursuing their goals.
$75.00
Teenagers don’t usually struggle because everything in their life is bad. They struggle because a few good things drift from peripheral to central—and once that happens, anxiety, conflict, comparison, bitterness, and identity confusion follow.
Peripheral is a 4-week youth ministry teaching series plus a bonus discipleship event that helps students re-order their lives through a gospel lens: Knowing the King overshadows everything. When Jesus is central, everything else gets clearer.
Week 1 — Knowing the King Overshadows Everything (Matthew 17:1–5)
The series launches with the Transfiguration: Peter sees Jesus revealed in glory alongside Moses and Elijah—and immediately tries to “do something good” by building shelters. God interrupts him mid-sentence: “This is my dearly loved Son… Listen to him.” Students learn a foundational truth: Jesus is not one priority among many. He is the central priority, and even good things must move outward when they compete with knowing Him.
Week 2 — There Are Better Things to Fight For Than Your Rights (Matthew 17:24–27)
Students explore a surprisingly practical moment: temple tax collectors question whether Jesus will pay. Jesus makes a point—citizens are free—and still chooses to pay anyway to avoid unnecessary offense. Students learn how to think about their rights with maturity: sometimes advocating for yourself is right, but sometimes keeping the door open for faith matters more than winning the moment.
Week 3 — Your Most Defining Status Is “Child” (Matthew 18:1–4)
This week targets the status game—clout, greatness, being seen, being impressive. The disciples ask Jesus who is greatest, and Jesus answers with a child and a call to humility. Students learn that their identity is not “popular,” “talented,” “successful,” or “the best.” Their deepest identity is child of God—and that changes how they chase goals, handle insecurity, and define worth.
Week 4 — The Good of Him Outweighs the Bad of Them (Matthew 18:23–33)
The finale deals with unfairness, grudges, and revenge. Using Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant, students see the math of mercy: God has forgiven them an unpayable debt, so it’s not unreasonable for Him to call them toward forgiveness. Students are invited to make God’s mercy central and push the offenses of others to the edges—because the good of Him outweighs the bad of them.
Week 5 – Discipleship Event
Walk students through a review of the series and interactive response stations activity that helps them lock in a few takeaways for their own life coming out of this Peripheral series.
Speaks to Real Teen Pressure Without Getting Lost in It
Rights, status, grudges, identity, unfairness—these are the exact areas where teens tend to lock in on something too hard and lose perspective.
Builds Identity Without Cheap Motivation
Week 3 anchors identity in sonship/daughterhood, not achievement—then Week 4 reinforces it with grace and mercy that outlast failure and conflict.
Strong Teaching + Natural Small Group Momentum
Each week is structured to move cleanly from tension → truth → landing, giving leaders a clear runway into discussion.
Teaching Assets for Youth Group
A Youth Sermon Series on Identity and Priorities
If students are defining themselves by performance, appearance, relationships, clout, or conflict—this series re-centers them on Jesus.
A Youth Group Study on Forgiveness and Letting Go
If bitterness, drama, and revenge cycles are showing up, Week 4 provides a gospel-heavy, pastorally useful path forward.
A Youth Ministry Series on Maturity and Perspective
If students keep getting trapped in “this is unfair,” “I deserve better,” or “they did me wrong,” this series gives a better way to see.
Peripheral helps students stop pressing one thing against the bridge of their nose until it’s all they can see. Over four weeks, they learn to make Jesus central, place everything else in its proper category, and live with more clarity, humility, and freedom—because knowing the King overshadows everything.
