You might not understand God until you’re hungry for Him.

Having seen the idea of spiritual hunger, let’s try an exercise that helps us to consider our own hunger for God.

Discussion Questions

• What stood out to you in the video?

• In the video, John talks about being hungry as if it’s magical or spiritual. Do you think you’ve ever sensed anything you might think of as spiritual? Can you give an example?

Leader Tip: Have spare sweets and tissues. Reassure anyone who can’t eat sweets that they can still join by timing silently.

In this activity, we’ll take a few moments to reflect on where our relationship with Jesus is right now—if we feel we have one. Each group member will be given a piece of paper, a pen, and a sweet. The sweet is intended to help them concentrate, create a comforting atmosphere, and act as a natural timer. Once all the sweets are finished, the activity ends.

Ask everyone to place the sweet in their mouth while writing an honest evaluation of their current relationship or understanding of God. Then invite them to write down what they would like their relationship or understanding to be by the end of the programme.

Give each young person an envelope to seal their paper in. These will be opened during the final week as part of your response or evaluation. Direct the young people to write their name on the envelope.

Say something like this:

“In this session we’re going to try and get our heads around the love God has for us, regardless of how hungry we may be for Him. Of course, we’re not talking about physical hunger—this is about a drive to know, understand, or experience more.

In the story, we were introduced to Kana and Ningen, two characters who are written to be a picture of the relationship between God and us.

In this activity, we’ve just (hopefully) been honest about what we understand or feel about God. Some of us might have strong feelings, while some of us may not have the first clue about who or what God is. The good news is that God is able to understand all of our thoughts and feelings.

We’re going to explore who God is—and maybe you’ll even sense Him for yourself?

Before we move on, take a moment to think back to our last activity. Do you remember the smell of the sweet before you put it in your mouth? Many people describe the smell as mouth-watering, which is similar to what happens in the story John told in the video.”

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Discussion Questions:

• Which words or phrases jumped out to you in this Bible passage?

• Which parts did you struggle to understand?

• Read it again—are there any words or phrases you’re confident you understand?

• What do you think might get in the way of us being hungry to know God better?

Explain to your group that following Jesus or accepting God’s love is a personal decision. This week, we’re recognising our desire to understand more. Some may already be eager to follow Jesus, while others might simply want to pray for a hunger they don’t yet feel. Take a moment to pray for them.

You will instinctively know how best to pray for your young people. Begin by asking them if there’s anything they would like the group to pray about together. Depending on your group, you may also want to invite them to pray for one another.

• Thank God that He accepts us exactly as we are—curious, confused, distant, or devoted.

• Invite God to meet each person where they are in a way they can recognise.

• Pray that the things written in the envelopes would not just be wishes, but seeds of real change.