Leader’s guide · 12 weeks
Leader’s guide: Absolute Surrender (For Teens)
Using this guide with a class? See Ochorus for schools or homeschool families
This guide takes your group through “Absolute Surrender (For Teens)” in twelve weeks, one chapter a week. It retells Andrew Murray’s famous talks on giving yourself wholly to God, and on how God himself makes that possible, for teens aged about 13 to 18. It suits a youth group, a homeschool or a small group, and it works especially well for teens who are serious about their faith but tired of trying hard and falling short.
Each session takes about 30 to 40 minutes. Open by saying the memory verse together (3 minutes). Read the chapter, either aloud together or beforehand at home (6–8 minutes). Talk through the chapter’s three questions, which come with answers to help you (10 minutes). Do the activity (10 minutes). Then close by praying the chapter’s prayer, or one of your own (2–3 minutes).
To prepare, read the chapter and try its weekly step yourself. Keep coming back to Murray’s central comfort: God does not ask for surrender in our own strength but works it in us, so the book should leave teens relieved, not pressured. Some may be discouraged by repeated failure or carry a lot of guilt; let the chapters on Peter and Romans 7 point them to Jesus rather than to harder effort, and be available to talk privately. As chapter 1 itself notes, surrender is to God alone and never to a person who tries to control you, which is worth saying clearly to any teen in an unhealthy relationship. Keep all personal reflection private.
Week 1 — The One Thing
Andrew Murray was born in 1828 in Graaff-Reinet, South Africa, studied in Scotland and the Netherlands, rode for weeks to reach his scattered church, saw revival in Worcester, and wrote more than 240 books before he died in 1917. In Scotland an experienced trainer of Christian workers told him quietly, “Absolute surrender to God is the one thing.” Murray found its words in King Ahab’s reply to an enemy king, “I am thine, and all that I have,” though we say them to a loving Father, never to a person who tries to control us. The big idea: the one thing a Christian most needs is to say to God, I am yours, and all that I have.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” — Romans 12:1 (KJV)
Memory verse
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Romans 12:1
Talk together
What did the experienced Christian worker tell Murray was the church’s greatest need?
“Absolute surrender to God is the one thing.”
What words of King Ahab does Murray use to describe surrender?
“My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have.”
How is surrendering to God different from Ahab surrendering to his enemy?
Ahab gave in to a cruel enemy; we give ourselves to a loving Father who wants our good. And surrender is to God alone, never to a person who tries to control us.
Activity
Surrender to Whom?
You will need: Paper and pens
- Ask the group what the word “surrender” usually makes them think of.
- Compare Ahab surrendering to a cruel enemy with a Christian surrendering to a loving Father, and list the differences together.
- Talk about why surrender to God is never the same as letting another person control you.
- Ask each person to write privately Ahab’s sentence as a prayer in their own words, to pray each morning this week.
Week 2 — Like a Pen in a Hand
Murray says God asks for everything because he is the fountain of all life and goodness, and points out that the sun, the stars and the lilies are all wholly surrendered to him. His picture is a pen: it can only write properly if one hand holds it, and if someone else grips it too the writing is a mess. The pen loses nothing by being held; that is when it does what it was made for. The big idea: God doesn’t want to grab from us but to give, and he can do his best work only when we stop gripping part of our lives.
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” — 1 Corinthians 6:19 (KJV)
Memory verse
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.
1 Corinthians 6:19
Talk together
Why does Murray say all of nature is “absolutely surrendered” to God?
Because things like the sun, stars and flowers simply let God work in them as he pleases; a lily lets God make it beautiful.
What is Murray’s point with the picture of the pen?
A pen can only write properly when it is fully given over to the writer’s hand. If someone else holds it partly, the writing goes wrong, and our lives are the same with God.
Does God want everything so he can take good things away?
No. Murray says God delights to give himself to those ready to receive him; it is our holding back that hinders him.
Activity
Ticks and Question Marks
You will need: Paper and pens
- Ask one volunteer to try writing their name while another person grips the same pen and pulls, then talk about the result.
- Have each person write privately a list of the main areas of their life: school, friends, family, phone, money, future plans, free time.
- Ask them to put a tick by areas they have honestly given to God and a question mark by the ones they are still gripping.
- Ask them to choose one question mark and spend a minute talking to God about it silently.
Week 3 — Make Me Willing
Many readers think they can’t surrender and don’t even want to. Murray says God does not ask us to surrender in our own strength but is willing to work it in us, since he works in us both to will and to do. He gives a prayer for the unwilling, “My God, I am willing that Thou shouldst make me willing,” and says God will not command what he will not give. The big idea: you don’t have to feel ready; start where you are and ask God to make you willing.
“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” — Philippians 2:13 (KJV)
Memory verse
For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13
Talk together
Does God expect you to surrender to him in your own strength?
No. Murray says God does not ask for perfect surrender by our own strength or willpower; he is willing to work it in us.
What prayer does Murray suggest for people who don’t feel willing?
“My God, I am willing that Thou shouldst make me willing.”
What does Murray say our longings for more of God really are?
“The drawings of the divine magnet, Christ Jesus”: signs that Jesus himself is drawing us.
Activity
Honest Prayers
You will need: Paper and pens
- Read Murray’s prayer aloud and ask the group why it is a prayer anyone can pray.
- Have each person write a version of it in their own words, as honest as they can make it.
- Talk about Murray’s line “be not afraid that He will command from you what He will not bestow.”
- Agree to pray the prayer daily this week and to notice whether anything shifts.
Week 4 — Trembling Is Allowed
Murray says surrender often feels imperfect, and people doubt whether they really meant it. He points to the desperate father who cried, “Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief,” and whose son Jesus healed, and to Jesus in Gethsemane, where no power was visible yet the Spirit was at work. His counsel is to be occupied with God rather than checking our own hearts, because God takes possession of us when we trust him, whether we feel it or not. The big idea: trembling and doubt are allowed; come anyway, just as you are.
“Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” — Mark 9:24 (KJV)
Memory verse
I believe; help my unbelief!
Mark 9:24
Talk together
What does Murray say about surrender that feels imperfect or uncertain?
That it is normal to feel it is imperfect and to wonder whether it is absolute, but even if you come with a trembling heart, it will succeed.
What did the father in Mark 9 say to Jesus, and why does Murray mention him?
“Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” Murray uses him to show that honest, mixed faith is accepted, and God works through it.
Where should we look, according to Murray, instead of at our own feelings?
At God: “be occupied with God,” trusting that he takes possession of us even when we do not feel it.
Activity
Feelings Thermometer
You will need: Nothing
- Name one end of the room “I feel totally sure” and the other “I feel nothing at all.”
- Read out moments such as “after a great worship song,” “on a tired Monday,” “after I’ve messed up,” and “after praying at camp,” and have the group stand where their feelings usually are.
- Ask: if feelings move this much, why can’t they be the measure of what God is doing?
- Read Murray’s words about God taking possession “if you will trust Him,” and close with the father’s prayer from Mark 9:24.
Week 5 — When the Fire Fades
Many people are stirred at a meeting and consecrate themselves to God, only to find it fade within weeks. Murray says the problem is thinking that keeping going depends on us, when God both accepts our surrender and maintains it: we are kept by the power of God, “moment by moment.” Our part is the one George Müller named on his ninetieth birthday: keeping a good conscience before God day by day and loving God’s Word. The big idea: the fire may flicker, but the God who lit it keeps us.
“Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.” — 1 Peter 1:5 (KJV)
Memory verse
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
Talk together
Why do our commitments to God often fade, according to Murray?
Because we think keeping going depends on us, instead of believing that God maintains our surrender and keeps us.
What does Murray’s picture of the father and the inheritance teach?
That God not only keeps heaven safe for us but keeps us, here and now, for it, unlike a foolish father who saves money but does nothing to raise his children.
What two secrets did George Müller give for his happy life?
Keeping a good conscience before God day by day, and being a lover of God’s Word.
Activity
After the Camp
You will need: Paper and pens
- Ask the group to describe, in general terms, what usually happens to the excitement after a camp or big Christian event.
- List what tends to make it fade.
- Read George Müller’s two reasons from the chapter and talk about what they would look like in a teenager’s week.
- Have each person write down a simple daily plan for this week: one short Bible passage each morning and a quick honest check with God each evening.
Week 6 — What Your Temper Tells You
Murray’s test of a surrendered life is practical: the fruit of the Spirit is love, so we should grow more loving as we have more of the Spirit. He calls temper the hands of a clock that show what is going on inside, and says it proves whether Christ’s love is filling the heart. Love is not squeezed out by trying harder but grows as God, whose nature is always to give, fills us; and a divided group, like a cracked jar, cannot be filled. The big idea: how we treat people shows what is really inside, so let your temper point you to God for more of his love.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.” — Galatians 5:22 (KJV)
Memory verse
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22–23
Talk together
What test does Murray give for whether we really have more of the Holy Spirit?
Whether we become more loving: “the more we have of the Holy Spirit the more loving we become.”
What does Murray compare our temper to?
The hands of a clock, which show what is going on inside it. Temper shows whether the love of Christ is filling the heart.
Where does real love come from, according to Murray?
From God, who is love and whose nature is always to give. As the Holy Spirit fills us, he teaches us to love more.
Activity
Reading the Clock
You will need: Paper and pens
- Draw a clock face and ask the group what the hands tell you about the inside of a clock.
- List together the places where a teen’s “clock hands” show most: at home, in group chats, with annoying people.
- Ask each person to write privately one situation where their temper usually flares.
- Have them write underneath, for themselves, the question Murray suggests: “What is this showing me about my heart?”
- Close by praying together for God to fill the group with his love and unity.
Week 7 — Peter Wasn’t Ready
Murray found Peter a great comfort: he left his boats, walked on water and confessed Jesus as the Christ, yet “he had left his boats and his nets, but not his old self.” Trusting his own strength, he boasted he would never deny Jesus and then did so three times, until Jesus turned and looked at him and he went out and wept bitterly. Murray calls that look a look of love and the turning point from self to Christ, leading to Pentecost. The big idea: failure is not the end; Jesus can rid us of the self-life when we humble ourselves before him.
“And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter… And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.” — Luke 22:61–62 (KJV)
Memory verse
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.
1 Peter 5:6
Talk together
What was good about Peter before his denial?
He was a devoted disciple: he left everything, obeyed, walked on water in faith, and recognised Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God.
What does Murray say was still wrong with Peter?
“He had left his boats and his nets, but not his old self”: he still trusted his own wisdom and strength and wanted his own honour.
What was the turning point in Peter’s life?
When Jesus turned and looked at him after his denial, and Peter went out and wept bitterly. That broke his self-reliance, and later he was filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
Activity
Before and After
You will need: Bibles, paper and pens
- Read Luke 22:54–62 aloud together.
- Draw two columns, “Peter before the look” and “Peter after Pentecost,” and fill them in as a group from the chapter.
- Ask: what was the difference, according to Murray?
- Give everyone a quiet minute to think privately of a time they let Jesus down, and to thank him silently that he looks at them with love.
Week 8 — Impossible
When the rich young man walked away, Jesus said that what is impossible with men is possible with God. Murray says this holds two lessons: you can’t, and God can. He describes the usual pattern of a young Christian who fails, makes stronger promises, fails again, and either keeps trying or gives up, and says many never learn the second lesson. The big idea: the answer to repeated failure is neither trying harder nor giving up, but bringing our “I can’t” to God, who can.
“The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” — Luke 18:27 (KJV)
Memory verse
What is impossible with man is possible with God.
Luke 18:27
Talk together
What are the two lessons Murray finds in Luke 18:27?
First, that we cannot live the Christian life in our own strength; second, that what is impossible with us is possible with God.
What goes wrong for Christians who learn only the first lesson?
They conclude “I cannot” and give up, settling for a life of failure instead of rest and victory.
What should we do with our “I can’t,” according to this chapter?
Bring it to God and trust him to do in us what we cannot: “I can’t, but you can.”
Activity
The Cycle
You will need: A whiteboard or large sheet of paper
- Draw the cycle the chapter describes: confidence, failure, stronger promises, failure again, giving up.
- Ask the group where they think most teens get stuck, and why.
- Add a new arrow out of the cycle labelled “I can’t, Lord, but you can,” and talk about what that looks like in practice.
- Ask each person to think privately of one thing they keep failing to change, and to pray Murray’s prayer about it silently.
- Encourage them to tell one trusted person about it this week.
Week 9 — Who Shall Deliver Me?
Romans 7 describes someone who delights in God’s law and wants to do right, yet keeps failing, until they cry, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me?” Murray calls these the words of someone who has come to the end of themselves, and says the cry is a gateway, not a dead end. Paul answers at once with thanks to God through Jesus Christ, and Romans 8, where the Holy Spirit is named again and again, shows life by the Spirit instead of by our own strength. The big idea: the answer to our struggle is not a what but a who: Jesus Christ, by his Spirit.
“O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” — Romans 7:24–25 (KJV)
Memory verse
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Romans 7:24–25
Talk together
What kind of person is described in Romans 7, according to Murray?
Someone who genuinely loves God’s law and wants to do right, but finds they do not have the power to do it.
Why does Murray call the cry “O wretched man that I am” a gateway?
Because it is the cry of someone who has come to the end of himself, and it leads straight into Paul’s thanks to God through Jesus and the life of the Spirit in Romans 8.
Why is it important that Paul asks “who” will deliver him?
Because the answer is not a technique or a stronger resolution but a person: Jesus Christ, working by his Spirit.
Activity
Count the Spirit
You will need: Bibles, paper and pens
- Split into two groups: one reads Romans 7:15–25 and the other Romans 8:1–11.
- Each group counts how many times the Spirit is mentioned and notes the mood of the passage.
- Report back and compare: what is the difference between the two chapters?
- Read Paul’s question and answer aloud together, and talk about why he asks “who?” and not “what?”
Week 10 — Don’t Switch Engines
The Galatians began by trusting Jesus and receiving the Spirit, then tried to finish the work by their own effort. Murray says this is one of the biggest problems among Christians: we start running on God’s power and quietly switch to willpower, and then wonder why we feel tired and dry. “Flesh” includes good things done without God, and signs of the wrong engine are crushing guilt after failure and pride after success. The big idea: the same trust that started your Christian life is what keeps it going, so live every day by the Spirit’s power.
“Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” — Galatians 3:3 (KJV)
Memory verse
Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Galatians 3:3
Talk together
What mistake did the Galatian Christians make?
Having begun their Christian life by the Spirit, they tried to complete it by their own effort and rule-keeping.
What does “flesh” mean in this chapter?
Not only bad desires but human effort without God: doing even good things in our own strength.
How can you tell whether you are running on effort or on the Spirit?
Running on effort often shows in crushing guilt and frantic promises when we fail, or pride when we succeed; running on the Spirit looks like dependence: asking for help, giving thanks, and returning quickly to God.
Activity
Which Engine?
You will need: Nothing
- Read out pairs of attitudes, such as “I read my Bible so God will be pleased with me” and “I read my Bible because I need him.”
- For each pair, the group decides which runs on effort and which runs on the Spirit, and explains why.
- Talk about the two warning signs in the chapter: crushing guilt and pride.
- Agree on a five-second prayer to pray before each main part of the day this week: “Holy Spirit, I can’t do this well on my own. Help me.”
Week 11 — Waiting for Orders
In Acts 13 the Holy Spirit spoke to church leaders in Antioch as they worshipped and fasted, sending out Barnabas and Saul. Murray says the Spirit directs God’s work, and tells of the Mission Institute in Wellington, where only the architect knew what the rubble would become and the builders simply took his orders. He admits that Christians often make their own plans and then ask God to bless them. The big idea: God is the architect who sees the whole plan; our part is to wait on him, listen through the Bible, prayer and wise Christians, and take the next step.
“As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” — Acts 13:2 (KJV)
Memory verse
The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.
Proverbs 16:9
Talk together
What does Murray say is the role of the Holy Spirit in God’s work?
He is “the director of the work of God upon the earth”: God has his plans, and the Spirit directs them.
What is the lesson of the story about the building in Wellington?
Only the architect knew the full plan; the workers simply followed his orders. Likewise God sees the whole plan of our lives, and we follow his lead one step at a time.
What mistake does Murray say Christians often make with plans?
We make our own plans first and then ask God to bless them, instead of waiting to find out his will.
Activity
Ask the Architect
You will need: Paper and pens
- Ask the group to list the big decisions teens face: subjects, friendships, relationships, jobs, what to do after school.
- Talk about the difference between making a plan and then adding God, and asking God first.
- Using the chapter, list the ways God usually guides: the Bible, prayer and wise Christians.
- Have each person write privately one decision they face and one wise Christian adult they could ask for advice this week.
Week 12 — Just a Branch
Murray ends with Jesus’ picture of the vine and the branches. A branch simply receives sap from the vine and bears fruit, like the great vine at Hampton Court whose roots reached the River Thames. The branch teaches absolute dependence, since we have nothing but what we receive from Jesus, and rest, because the weight belongs to the vine. The big idea: absolute surrender is not grim effort but a branch saying to the vine, I am yours; flow through me, and the result is much fruit.
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” — John 15:5 (KJV)
Memory verse
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
Talk together
What is the branch’s only responsibility, according to Murray?
To receive sap and nourishment from the vine; the vine does the work, and the fruit comes through the branch.
Why was the vine at Hampton Court so fruitful?
Its roots had stretched hundreds of yards underground to the River Thames and drew rich nourishment from the riverbed.
What two lessons does Murray draw from the branch?
Absolute dependence on Jesus, since we have nothing but what we receive from him, and deep rest, not carrying the weight that belongs to him.
Activity
Branch Habits
You will need: Paper and pens
- Ask the group to list the ways a branch is different from a busy, stressed worker.
- Read the little branch’s words from the chapter aloud.
- Look back over the book together and name the moments when Murray said the same thing: God does it, not us.
- Ask each person to write themselves a short morning prayer for the week, such as “You are the vine, I am a branch. Flow through me,” and to note one bit of fruit each evening.