God’s Plan

Main Point: In this video, Drake reportedly gave away $996,631.90 of the million dollar budget that was slated for the video. During the video he hands out cash to people on the street, delivers toys, cars, and more. It raises the question for every viewer of how we are handling the position and resources God has given to each of us.

Vital Info Before You Get Started: The following info should help you contextualize this very popular song so you can have a great discussion about it with your kids.

• IMPORTANT NOTE TO PARENTS: We at The Source for Youth Ministry believe that certain elements in our youth culture can serve as good discussion jump starters with students. At the same time, we would never hope to introduce teens to a negative influence that they haven’t already encountered. This balance is a delicate one. In our experience most teens, churched and unchurched, keep pretty current with music and music videos like this one. Thanks to YouTube, MTV.com, and iTunes, the most popular music videos and songs are free to access only a click away. If you decide to use this, do so by catering it to fit your family’s needs.

• Aubrey “Drake” Graham started his career at fifteen when he landed a role on the Canadian television series Degrassi: The Next Generation. Appearing in 145 episodes, it wasn’t until he was nearly twenty that he released his debut mixtape.

• Drake was almost twenty-four when he released his first single Over, which peaked at fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100. When his debut album Thank Me Later was released, it shot to the top of the Billboard 200 chart.

• Drake has since released four albums, earning himself three Grammy awards as well as a record 13 wins at the Music Billboard Awards all in the same night.

• He released God’s Plan in January of 2018, with the video being released in February, receiving over fourteen million views in its first four days on YouTube.

• Don’t appear as if you have a “canned” discussion in your head and rattle off questions like a teacher giving a pop quiz—your kids get enough of that in school. This is a guide, primarily—not a verbatim script. Just familiarize yourself with the content here and start a conversation in the most natural, unforced way you know how.

Introducing the Song: Typically we would focus on the lyrics to the song at this point, but in this situation we are going to focus directly on the video for God’s Plan, looking at how each of us should respond to the position and resources we have been given.

The Music Video: The music video can be viewed for free at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpVfcZ0ZcFM

Want help getting your teenager engaged in conversation? CLICK HERE for a helpful article from our “Parenting Help” page providing you with 3 Essentials to Talking with Today’s Teens.

Transitional Statement – Say something like this:
Drake is worth an approximated ninety million dollars. Odds are pretty good each of us will never see that level of wealth. Does someone need to be wealthy to be generous? Do each of us have a responsibility to do something with the position and resources we have, even if it is vastly different than what Drake has?

Let’s talk about this a bit and then look and see what God’s Word says on the subject.

Discussion Questions:

1. ASK ALL FAMILY MEMBERS: How would you respond if you were one of the people in the video? Which person’s response to Drake’s generosity resonated with how you might act?
2. ASK A FEW FAMILY MEMBERS: If someone has great wealth or a high position, what do you think they should do with what they have been given?
3. ASK A FEW FAMILY MEMBERS: If a person has less than Drake or people in a similar financial position, do you think they should be as generous? Why or why not?
4. ASK A FEW FAMILY MEMBERS: Consider the position you have in life. How have you used that to help others? What could you do that you are not doing right now?
5. ASK A FEW FAMILY MEMBERS: Do you think the amount you give is the most important element to giving? Explain why you think the way you do.
6. ASK A FEW FAMILY MEMBERS: How do you feel about Drake filming his generosity?
7. ASK A FEW FAMILY MEMBERS: What about this video do you think made it go viral so quickly?

Read the following passage:

Proverbs 11:25

The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

8. ASK A FEW FAMILY MEMBERS: In what ways do you think the generous will prosper?

9. ASK A FEW FAMILY MEMBERS: How do you feel about giving with confidence that you will receive as a result? Does it feel wrong to give with knowledge that you will get something back?

10. ASK A FEW FAMILY MEMBERS: In what ways have you used your position or resources to refresh others?

11. ASK A FEW FAMILY MEMBERS: Tell of a time when you found yourself refreshed after you helped someone.

12. ASK A FEW FAMILY MEMBERS: What do you think keeps people from being generous with what they have?

13. ASK ALL FAMILY MEMBERS: Considering the reality that each of us has more than many others in this world, what can we specifically do to help others with what God has trusted us with?

Wrap Up:
During this time, we watched Drake’s music video “God’s Plan.” Even though the lyrics do not seem to line up, Drake makes a powerful statement about the impact one person can make when they use what they have to help others.

Psalm24:1 says, “the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” When we consider this truth, how should that shape how we view our resources?

(Pause and give them a moment to consider this question.)

What if we realized that everything we have, position and resources, truly are from God? How would you use things differently if you asked God what He would desire you to do with them?

(Pause and give them a moment to consider this question.)

Drake is a man of means, and he seemed to relish the opportunity to help others. It’s easy for most people to think if they were millionaires, they would be generous. The reality is that generosity is a condition of the heart. It’s not about how much one gives, but it’s about how they use what they have been given. God has given each of us position and resources. Luke 12:48 records Jesus saying “when someone has been given much, much will be required in return.” Each of us has been graciously given enough to help others. While we may not be able to give a million dollars away in a day, God has invited us to do our part to show others how great He is by the way we give. Let us be people who show people God’s Kingdom on earth by seizing everything opportunity we have to help others.

CLOSE IN PRAYER