Image is everything: the key to love, happiness, and contentment . . . or is it?

Modern media and marketing certainly would like us to think so, but when we look at the Bible, we get a radically different story. The Bible's story isn't flashed on TV screens or on the covers of magazines, which makes it even more important that youth have a chance to think about an alternative to believing that how we look is who we are.

In this one-session study, youth will ask themselves the key question: Who gets to decide what is beautiful? God's reminder that we are "wonderfully made" is contrasted with marketing models that see teens as fearful consumers. Using revealing statistics, quotes from modern marketing "experts," and the power of biblical witness, this study engages youth in ways to rethink and resist society's message of superficial beauty. A range of possible activities including quizzes, multi-media clips, collage, and t-shirt design ignite youth participation on various levels with this significant issue.