Time Spent this Week: 7.5 hrs
2 hrs: youth group
2 hrs: open gym ministry
1 hr: Sunday school
1.5 hrs: Worship service
My Class this Week:
Mike returned from his weeklong vacation for spring break this week. He began the class period by reviewing the entire book of James. He had the class make a list of the main topics that had been discussed throughout the book.
- Warnings, Wisdom, Faith and Actions, Taming the Tongue, Patience and Enduring, Temptation, Power of Prayer, Prejudice, Perseverance, Submission, Suffering, Jesus, James, and Sin were the responses.
Mike then asked the class to give a summary statement of the book of James using the subjects that had been expressed in the previous list of main topics.
- The book of James gives wisdom and warning of temptation.
- The book of James reached perseverance through temptation and warnings of sin.
SUFFERING:
Mike tried to sum up the book of James with a review of suffering. He told the class that his teaching style is one of questions and his goal as a teacher is to get the class to think. But he went on to tell them that this week he intended to provide them with some important information. He began telling the class about the misconception that life gets easier when a person decides to become a Christian. He mentioned a book called “The Road less Traveled” by Scott Peck which opens with the statement, “Life is difficult.”
Life doesn’t get easier as a Christian. Then he asked some questions.
“In what ways have you thought that if you get through this problem/struggle, then life would be better?”
- school, Chemistry, homework, sickness
“Is life easy afterwards?”
- not necessarily…new problems arise
- Taylor: optimistic thinking is what gets us through certain struggles
PERSEVERANCE & PATIENCE:
“How do perseverance and patience set an example for others?”
- Non-Christians wonder what we have and they want it.
- Christians realize that if we can get through it, so can they.
RIVER ANALOGY:
Mike ended the lesson with an analogy of a RIVER. He drew the river on the whiteboard and had it represent struggles/suffering we endure in life. He said that no matter how hard we try to avoid these problems in our lives, we will not be able to go around it. We have to go through it.
Questions:
1. What is the effect of telling teenagers that they will suffer in the future? They are going through so much already, it seems quite depressing to let them know that life isn’t going to get any easier…in fact, it will get more difficult.
2. How do you think youth will feel when they realize when they finally manage to cross their current river of suffering, there will only be another, wider river with swifter rapids to cross on the other side? I know it is part of reality, but is this what they need to hear? I would much rather encourage them with something like: “regardless of what may come your way, God WILL provide you with the strength to stand up to temptation and discover His way of escape into holy living. Is that just me?
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Tyler Klein: Week 10
A. Time Spent this week: (Youth Group 2, Sunday School 1)
B. My Class this week:
1. Waiting for People to Arrive:
Mike was back this week from Spring break, but the youth group had just arrived back from a 20 mile hike the night before, specifically 1 in the morning, so we all just talked and waited for “stragglers” until around 9:25. The attendance was really low today. Then we started the lesson.
2. Begin Lesson:
Mike started by asking everyone what Phil had taught about the last week. Kids responded that it was about suffering, so Mike when on from there, saying that for today he was going to finish up the book of James. With that he asked the girls to pass out the Bibles in the room. After everyone had a Bible Mike asked them to take a few minutes and bring out the main topic of the Book of James. Some of the topics that were mentioned were: warnings, wisdom, faith vs. actions, taming the tongue, patience, endurance, temptation, the power of prayer, perseverance, submission, suffering, sin, and patience (second time). In the middle of the list Seth Bye arrived, causing a distraction. I expected more people to come in late and distract, but Seth was the only one.
With all of these topics up on the board Mike asked a follow-up question, “what is the purpose of the book of James, and what did you take away from it?” Because today was so dead no one really gave an effort or an answer.
3. Mr. Mcdivitt’s thoughts on James
With no one answering, Mike went right into explaining his purpose for teaching the book of James, that he wants for the class to be challenged and to understand their faith better, specifically through the topics of suffering, patience and perseverance in James. He explained the book “The Road Less Traveled” and brought up its summary statement that “life is difficult”. He wanted for the class to understand that they need to make it clear to people and even that they understand that when you become a Christian things aren’t going to be automatically easy, it’ll still be a tough life, maybe even harder as a Christian. But that is why patience and perseverance are important, because if we display those traits to those around us we can affect others for Christ. If we can take life’s difficulties in stride then our faith will grow and mature in ways we cannot fathom.
4. Dismissal:
Then all of a sudden the class was over, probably because we started late, but Mike explained the he was going to be done teaching for a few months and that Pastor Tony was going to be teaching the class for that period. We ended with prayer, and the strange session of Sunday school that was this morning was ended, as was the remainder of my observances for this practicum. It was a great experience, and I was blessed to get to learn from Mike and Phil when he taught. The kids were great and the environment taught me a lot.
C. My Questions for the week
1. When you know people are going to be coming in late, how can you effectively keep the attention of the class?
2. If everyone were tired, like this morning, would it have been better to have a mellower, fellowship building time rather than a teaching time? None of the kids were in any kind of readiness to learn today, it just seemed like a waste of time and effort.
B. My Class this week:
1. Waiting for People to Arrive:
Mike was back this week from Spring break, but the youth group had just arrived back from a 20 mile hike the night before, specifically 1 in the morning, so we all just talked and waited for “stragglers” until around 9:25. The attendance was really low today. Then we started the lesson.
2. Begin Lesson:
Mike started by asking everyone what Phil had taught about the last week. Kids responded that it was about suffering, so Mike when on from there, saying that for today he was going to finish up the book of James. With that he asked the girls to pass out the Bibles in the room. After everyone had a Bible Mike asked them to take a few minutes and bring out the main topic of the Book of James. Some of the topics that were mentioned were: warnings, wisdom, faith vs. actions, taming the tongue, patience, endurance, temptation, the power of prayer, perseverance, submission, suffering, sin, and patience (second time). In the middle of the list Seth Bye arrived, causing a distraction. I expected more people to come in late and distract, but Seth was the only one.
With all of these topics up on the board Mike asked a follow-up question, “what is the purpose of the book of James, and what did you take away from it?” Because today was so dead no one really gave an effort or an answer.
3. Mr. Mcdivitt’s thoughts on James
With no one answering, Mike went right into explaining his purpose for teaching the book of James, that he wants for the class to be challenged and to understand their faith better, specifically through the topics of suffering, patience and perseverance in James. He explained the book “The Road Less Traveled” and brought up its summary statement that “life is difficult”. He wanted for the class to understand that they need to make it clear to people and even that they understand that when you become a Christian things aren’t going to be automatically easy, it’ll still be a tough life, maybe even harder as a Christian. But that is why patience and perseverance are important, because if we display those traits to those around us we can affect others for Christ. If we can take life’s difficulties in stride then our faith will grow and mature in ways we cannot fathom.
4. Dismissal:
Then all of a sudden the class was over, probably because we started late, but Mike explained the he was going to be done teaching for a few months and that Pastor Tony was going to be teaching the class for that period. We ended with prayer, and the strange session of Sunday school that was this morning was ended, as was the remainder of my observances for this practicum. It was a great experience, and I was blessed to get to learn from Mike and Phil when he taught. The kids were great and the environment taught me a lot.
C. My Questions for the week
1. When you know people are going to be coming in late, how can you effectively keep the attention of the class?
2. If everyone were tired, like this morning, would it have been better to have a mellower, fellowship building time rather than a teaching time? None of the kids were in any kind of readiness to learn today, it just seemed like a waste of time and effort.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
WEEK 9 JON BLANCHARD
A. Time spent this week
Sunday school: 1 hour; Evening Worship: 3.5 hours; youth group: 9 hours; Total hours: 13.5 hours
B. My class this week
This week we continued the “fireproofing your marriage” Sunday school venue. Our leader started off by handing us a map of the differences between the male and female brain structures. Apparently the male brain is focused on sports and sex, while the female brain is focused on love and shopping (it was a joke). We did talk about the differences between the way men and women communicate though. In a society where men are taught not to show emotion and women are typically tender and emotional, it becomes difficult to get the right message across.
We watched a clip of the movie “Fireproof” again, this week discussing the perceptions we have of our significant others because of how we communicate. The main character, Caleb, is venting to Michael, while Caleb’s wife is out to dinner with a few girlfriends from work. Caleb believes that his marriage is falling apart because his wife does not respect him and his wife thinks he doesn’t care about her anymore or show any type of affection towards her. Because of this, both people have come to the same conclusion: they are incompatible.
We were each encouraged to talk to our spouses (my fiancé in this case, because I am not married yet) about how we can better communicate. Jocelyn (my fiancé) and I both laughed at the clip, but we also talked about how we needed to learn each other’s way of communicating better.
C. Questions
Is it appropriate to teach Sunday school without the use of scripture?
How do you teach a series that is not primarily focused on the Bible to a person who comes in during the middle of the series?
Sunday school: 1 hour; Evening Worship: 3.5 hours; youth group: 9 hours; Total hours: 13.5 hours
B. My class this week
This week we continued the “fireproofing your marriage” Sunday school venue. Our leader started off by handing us a map of the differences between the male and female brain structures. Apparently the male brain is focused on sports and sex, while the female brain is focused on love and shopping (it was a joke). We did talk about the differences between the way men and women communicate though. In a society where men are taught not to show emotion and women are typically tender and emotional, it becomes difficult to get the right message across.
We watched a clip of the movie “Fireproof” again, this week discussing the perceptions we have of our significant others because of how we communicate. The main character, Caleb, is venting to Michael, while Caleb’s wife is out to dinner with a few girlfriends from work. Caleb believes that his marriage is falling apart because his wife does not respect him and his wife thinks he doesn’t care about her anymore or show any type of affection towards her. Because of this, both people have come to the same conclusion: they are incompatible.
We were each encouraged to talk to our spouses (my fiancé in this case, because I am not married yet) about how we can better communicate. Jocelyn (my fiancé) and I both laughed at the clip, but we also talked about how we needed to learn each other’s way of communicating better.
C. Questions
Is it appropriate to teach Sunday school without the use of scripture?
How do you teach a series that is not primarily focused on the Bible to a person who comes in during the middle of the series?
WEEK 9: PHILLIP TELFER (TEACHING REPORT)
Time Spent this Week: 7 hrs
2 hrs - open gym ministry
2.5 hrs - youth group
1 hr - Sunday school
1.5 hrs - Sunday worship
My Lesson:
This week I finished our discussion on suffering from last week, and I gave a lesson on the power of prayer from James 5:13-18. I wanted to get the kids to think about something they do every day, adding a greater sense of importance and urgency to what has become a mundane and simple act of faith.
9:00-9:15 Arrival: I talked with the students as they came in. Pastor Tony was there to supervise my teaching. Someone wrote Happy Birthday on the dry-erase board, because it was Cortez's 16th birthday. There was cake and icing to be handed out. Tony gave a brief introduction to the class, before I started the lesson.
9:15-9:30 Suffering: Tony passed out the cake while I reviewed last week's lesson on suffering with the class. Mike had made it seem that people in the United States couldn't know what suffering is, because they don't experience the physical suffering of third world countries around the world. I guided the discussion by encouraging the class to think about where suffering originated. We came to the conclusion that suffering is a result of sin and the devil in the Garden of Eden.
Suffering can be experienced in a number of different ways. I told a story about a mission team that traveled to South Africa. They were warned by the missionaries and pastors living in South Africa that there had been recent tribal activity between local witch doctors. These medicine men had been gathering together and banging their drums, casting curses and spells on people. When the team arrived, the drums stopped beating, but the night the team left - the drums began again. I used this illustration to explain that the devil works in different ways cross-culturally. Suffering overseas is often seen in physical form, but I told the class that I believe suffering in the United States can be seen through complacency, self-subsistence, and a consumer-oriented culture. We don't need a God here, and I believe we are suffering spiritually as a result.
9:30-10:00 Power of Prayer: After this review of suffering, I began my lesson of the week on the power of prayer. I tried to use Mike's teaching style of question and answer. I began by asking Matt to open us in prayer, which he did. I then read the scripture passage from James 5:13-18.
1. Does God answer prayer?
- unanimous YES
2. How do you know? (examples)
I shared a personal testimony about one of my friends at home who had a miscarriage a year ago who had recently become pregnant again.
- provision (friends)
- protection
3. What do we pray for?
- food/meals, football games, health, wealth, and prosperity, protection, traveling mercies, tests, houses to sell
4. What should we pray for (according to James 5:13-18)?
- Suffering hardships
I shared a story about the corruption in Mozambique, Africa when I lived there.
- Physical and spiritual healing
- PRAISE God for His blessings
I went around the room and had everyone name one thing they were grateful for, and nothing was allowed to be repeated.
5. Does prayer change the future?
- the class was confused and mixed in their responses
6. What is required from us for God to answer our prayers? (James 5:16)
- "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other"
- We can't know how to pray for people if we don't share our struggles
- Pure motives (unselfish - praying for the well-being of others and the glory of God)
(Job 16:16-17; Prov 15:8, 29; Proverbs 28:9; Matthew 21:22)
7.When do we pray?
- before meals, bedtime, and during church
8. Are we praying enough? (Phil. 4:6, Mark 9:29)
I think we have lost sight of the role prayer should have in our lives and in the church.
9. Matt: How did you feel when I asked you to pray at the beginning of class?
- pretty comfortable, but sometimes I don't know what to say
10. Class: Do you ever find it hard to pray in public? (fast food restaurants, school lunch)
- unanimous YES
11. Why do you feel uncomfortable?
- afraid, nervous, threatened
- don't want to be judged
- people interrupt you sometimes
10:00-10:05 Challenge: Become uncomfortable in your prayer life.
I love street witnessing because it forces me to be stretched in my faith. I am not naturally drawn to put myself on the line and make myself vulnerable like that, but I will do it to spread the gospel.
We can't grow unless we are stretched. Every growth spurt is followed by an awkward stage, but that's the only way to reach our full potential. Prayer should be a lifestyle, and this was my challenge to the class: Find someone at school and ask them if you can pray for them.
Response:
I felt that the class was quite attentive throughout the lesson, and I was pleased with their interaction and involvement in the class. They answered my questions, and seemed to enjoy my stories. I also think they received the message well, and I hope they follow through with the challenge.
Supervisor's Evaluation:
Pastor Tony was 100% encouraging. He liked the way I kept the class involved through questions. He also enjoyed the personal insights I shared, reinforcing my lesson. He acknowledged the difficulty of keeping high school students involved and focused for forty-five minutes of teaching, but he thought I did a good job. He was a little unsure about how I had Matt pray in front of the class, but when I brought that around and tied it into the lesson Tony understood and agreed that it was appropriate.
I asked him for some suggestions for improvements, but he really couldn't think of anything. I had my laptop with me, and he said that it wasn't necessary, but that it helped relate to the kids in this technological environment. He also warned me about forcing students to do something like pray and read from the Bible, because not everyone is on the same level academically and this can be a self-esteem breaker.
Things I did well:
1. I thought the questions were relevant to the student's lives.
2. The class period was almost perfect on time. I was wondering how that would play out.
Things I need to improve:
1. I need to be able to teach without notes
2. I need to know the names of the students when I call on them. At one point, I couldn't think of Matt's name.
Questions:
1. I want to involve everyone, but I don't force people to do things they don't feel comfortable doing. What should I do?
2. Would it be better to come without strict lesson notes and risk the chance of going off track, or is it wiser to bring ample notes to ensure a well-guided discussion?
2 hrs - open gym ministry
2.5 hrs - youth group
1 hr - Sunday school
1.5 hrs - Sunday worship
My Lesson:
This week I finished our discussion on suffering from last week, and I gave a lesson on the power of prayer from James 5:13-18. I wanted to get the kids to think about something they do every day, adding a greater sense of importance and urgency to what has become a mundane and simple act of faith.
9:00-9:15 Arrival: I talked with the students as they came in. Pastor Tony was there to supervise my teaching. Someone wrote Happy Birthday on the dry-erase board, because it was Cortez's 16th birthday. There was cake and icing to be handed out. Tony gave a brief introduction to the class, before I started the lesson.
9:15-9:30 Suffering: Tony passed out the cake while I reviewed last week's lesson on suffering with the class. Mike had made it seem that people in the United States couldn't know what suffering is, because they don't experience the physical suffering of third world countries around the world. I guided the discussion by encouraging the class to think about where suffering originated. We came to the conclusion that suffering is a result of sin and the devil in the Garden of Eden.
Suffering can be experienced in a number of different ways. I told a story about a mission team that traveled to South Africa. They were warned by the missionaries and pastors living in South Africa that there had been recent tribal activity between local witch doctors. These medicine men had been gathering together and banging their drums, casting curses and spells on people. When the team arrived, the drums stopped beating, but the night the team left - the drums began again. I used this illustration to explain that the devil works in different ways cross-culturally. Suffering overseas is often seen in physical form, but I told the class that I believe suffering in the United States can be seen through complacency, self-subsistence, and a consumer-oriented culture. We don't need a God here, and I believe we are suffering spiritually as a result.
9:30-10:00 Power of Prayer: After this review of suffering, I began my lesson of the week on the power of prayer. I tried to use Mike's teaching style of question and answer. I began by asking Matt to open us in prayer, which he did. I then read the scripture passage from James 5:13-18.
1. Does God answer prayer?
- unanimous YES
2. How do you know? (examples)
I shared a personal testimony about one of my friends at home who had a miscarriage a year ago who had recently become pregnant again.
- provision (friends)
- protection
3. What do we pray for?
- food/meals, football games, health, wealth, and prosperity, protection, traveling mercies, tests, houses to sell
4. What should we pray for (according to James 5:13-18)?
- Suffering hardships
I shared a story about the corruption in Mozambique, Africa when I lived there.
- Physical and spiritual healing
- PRAISE God for His blessings
I went around the room and had everyone name one thing they were grateful for, and nothing was allowed to be repeated.
5. Does prayer change the future?
- the class was confused and mixed in their responses
6. What is required from us for God to answer our prayers? (James 5:16)
- "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other"
- We can't know how to pray for people if we don't share our struggles
- Pure motives (unselfish - praying for the well-being of others and the glory of God)
(Job 16:16-17; Prov 15:8, 29; Proverbs 28:9; Matthew 21:22)
7.When do we pray?
- before meals, bedtime, and during church
8. Are we praying enough? (Phil. 4:6, Mark 9:29)
I think we have lost sight of the role prayer should have in our lives and in the church.
9. Matt: How did you feel when I asked you to pray at the beginning of class?
- pretty comfortable, but sometimes I don't know what to say
10. Class: Do you ever find it hard to pray in public? (fast food restaurants, school lunch)
- unanimous YES
11. Why do you feel uncomfortable?
- afraid, nervous, threatened
- don't want to be judged
- people interrupt you sometimes
10:00-10:05 Challenge: Become uncomfortable in your prayer life.
I love street witnessing because it forces me to be stretched in my faith. I am not naturally drawn to put myself on the line and make myself vulnerable like that, but I will do it to spread the gospel.
We can't grow unless we are stretched. Every growth spurt is followed by an awkward stage, but that's the only way to reach our full potential. Prayer should be a lifestyle, and this was my challenge to the class: Find someone at school and ask them if you can pray for them.
Response:
I felt that the class was quite attentive throughout the lesson, and I was pleased with their interaction and involvement in the class. They answered my questions, and seemed to enjoy my stories. I also think they received the message well, and I hope they follow through with the challenge.
Supervisor's Evaluation:
Pastor Tony was 100% encouraging. He liked the way I kept the class involved through questions. He also enjoyed the personal insights I shared, reinforcing my lesson. He acknowledged the difficulty of keeping high school students involved and focused for forty-five minutes of teaching, but he thought I did a good job. He was a little unsure about how I had Matt pray in front of the class, but when I brought that around and tied it into the lesson Tony understood and agreed that it was appropriate.
I asked him for some suggestions for improvements, but he really couldn't think of anything. I had my laptop with me, and he said that it wasn't necessary, but that it helped relate to the kids in this technological environment. He also warned me about forcing students to do something like pray and read from the Bible, because not everyone is on the same level academically and this can be a self-esteem breaker.
Things I did well:
1. I thought the questions were relevant to the student's lives.
2. The class period was almost perfect on time. I was wondering how that would play out.
Things I need to improve:
1. I need to be able to teach without notes
2. I need to know the names of the students when I call on them. At one point, I couldn't think of Matt's name.
Questions:
1. I want to involve everyone, but I don't force people to do things they don't feel comfortable doing. What should I do?
2. Would it be better to come without strict lesson notes and risk the chance of going off track, or is it wiser to bring ample notes to ensure a well-guided discussion?
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Tyler Klein: Week 9
A. Time Spent this week: 2.5 hours total (S.S.=1 Worship= 1.5)
B. My Class this week:
1. Conclusion of Suffering.
Phil was teaching this week, and he started the lesson off by trying to bring everyone in the class back to what we were talking about the last week. Suffering wasn’t completely finished up after Mike threw out the idea that the kids don’t really suffer, so Phil tied it off by bringing up the fact that there are many different kinds of suffering, and that although we may not deal with the physical types in the US we still run into other types. He also went into detail about how you need to know where something comes from to completely understand it. He asked where it came from, and the kids responded with things that make them suffering, as well as sin and the devil, which were what Phil was looking for, because those two things are the cause of all suffering here on earth. That way we understand that it isn’t God who subjects us to suffering, but rather ourselves and our own sinful choices, stemming from the garden of eden.
2. James 5:12-18 on prayer
After suffering was done, Phil took everyone to James 5:12-18 to talk about prayer for the rest of the lesson. After reading the verses he asked everyone if it’s true that God answers prayer. Being the church kids that they are, everyone answered yes. Phil then hit them with the question, “How do you know?” I think they knew it was coming, but they still didn’t have a ton of answers. They know God does, but not many kids had experiences of it. Phil shared his own example of how a woman who had miscarried a time ago was now pregnant again, answering his semester long prayer for healing in the situation. With that we looked at the examples of what James said we should be praying about, if God does answer pray. There were many examples, like you should pray in troubled times, for healing, etc.
3. Does whether or not you pray change things?
He asked this loaded question and related it to sports, when Christians on two different teams may be praying for a win, and only one of them will. Does God care in those situations. This got a lot of the teens a little excited, because they all knew the right answer, that God doesn’t necessarily take sides, but they just didn’t know how to explain it. After this Phil took the discussion towards what we can pray for each other about, and how there is a need to confess things to one another so we can pray together about things. We discussed the accountability in that situation with prayer, as well as looking at five scriptures on what our motives should be when praying (they should be pure).
4. Challenge & Dismissal
It was a couple minutes past ten, and Phil gave everyone his challenge, to become uncomfortable in the way we pray. Before this he had everyone talking about how there is a sad uncomfortability about praying in public. He was completely right when he said that in order to grow we must be stretched, so he asked everyone to ask someone they know during the week if they could pray with them or for them. Simple but very effective in the lives of self-conscious teenagers.
C. My Questions for the week
1. Since we had snacks this week, what is a good way to keep them from becoming a distraction?
2. Should we have had snacks right at the beginning of the time instead of during Phil’s lesson? I thought it was going really well, and the cake could have been a distraction bomb. I know Tony was in there, but wasn’t it a bad idea to eat when we did, 5 minutes into Phil’s teaching time?
B. My Class this week:
1. Conclusion of Suffering.
Phil was teaching this week, and he started the lesson off by trying to bring everyone in the class back to what we were talking about the last week. Suffering wasn’t completely finished up after Mike threw out the idea that the kids don’t really suffer, so Phil tied it off by bringing up the fact that there are many different kinds of suffering, and that although we may not deal with the physical types in the US we still run into other types. He also went into detail about how you need to know where something comes from to completely understand it. He asked where it came from, and the kids responded with things that make them suffering, as well as sin and the devil, which were what Phil was looking for, because those two things are the cause of all suffering here on earth. That way we understand that it isn’t God who subjects us to suffering, but rather ourselves and our own sinful choices, stemming from the garden of eden.
2. James 5:12-18 on prayer
After suffering was done, Phil took everyone to James 5:12-18 to talk about prayer for the rest of the lesson. After reading the verses he asked everyone if it’s true that God answers prayer. Being the church kids that they are, everyone answered yes. Phil then hit them with the question, “How do you know?” I think they knew it was coming, but they still didn’t have a ton of answers. They know God does, but not many kids had experiences of it. Phil shared his own example of how a woman who had miscarried a time ago was now pregnant again, answering his semester long prayer for healing in the situation. With that we looked at the examples of what James said we should be praying about, if God does answer pray. There were many examples, like you should pray in troubled times, for healing, etc.
3. Does whether or not you pray change things?
He asked this loaded question and related it to sports, when Christians on two different teams may be praying for a win, and only one of them will. Does God care in those situations. This got a lot of the teens a little excited, because they all knew the right answer, that God doesn’t necessarily take sides, but they just didn’t know how to explain it. After this Phil took the discussion towards what we can pray for each other about, and how there is a need to confess things to one another so we can pray together about things. We discussed the accountability in that situation with prayer, as well as looking at five scriptures on what our motives should be when praying (they should be pure).
4. Challenge & Dismissal
It was a couple minutes past ten, and Phil gave everyone his challenge, to become uncomfortable in the way we pray. Before this he had everyone talking about how there is a sad uncomfortability about praying in public. He was completely right when he said that in order to grow we must be stretched, so he asked everyone to ask someone they know during the week if they could pray with them or for them. Simple but very effective in the lives of self-conscious teenagers.
C. My Questions for the week
1. Since we had snacks this week, what is a good way to keep them from becoming a distraction?
2. Should we have had snacks right at the beginning of the time instead of during Phil’s lesson? I thought it was going really well, and the cake could have been a distraction bomb. I know Tony was in there, but wasn’t it a bad idea to eat when we did, 5 minutes into Phil’s teaching time?
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Week 8: Jon Blanchard
A. Time spent this week
SS: 1 Hour Worship: 1 hour Night service: 2 hours Total Hours: 4
B. My class this week
This week we started a new series for married couples. Since the move fireproof has come out, there has been some interest in ‘fireproof-ing’ people’s marriages. We started off the series by having everyone sign a contract, basically setting up a safe environment in which to speak truthfully and also to state the purpose of the group. We then watched a video clip from the actual movie, which portrays a conversation between Michael, an officer in a fire company, and another officer. Michael talks about how he began a 4o day ‘love dare,” which challenged him to reconcile with his estranged wife, and in the process, he ‘came to the faith’ of the other man. The two talked about how it was becoming extremely difficult to for Michael to love his wife, and the other firefighter told him about how he had been married before, and that it had ended it divorce because he was in the relationship solely for himself. Being married takes a lot of work, and sometimes you don’t really like the other person, but it is a commitment before God.
We were given a set of notebooks to keep our material in, and with the set we were given a bunch of 3x5 cards with a different love dare for each day. We were challenged to do a different dare each day to help strengthen our relationship.
C. Questions
How do you feel about postponing traditional Sunday school to do a series on marriage?
How do you feel about scripture not being emphasize in Sunday school?
SS: 1 Hour Worship: 1 hour Night service: 2 hours Total Hours: 4
B. My class this week
This week we started a new series for married couples. Since the move fireproof has come out, there has been some interest in ‘fireproof-ing’ people’s marriages. We started off the series by having everyone sign a contract, basically setting up a safe environment in which to speak truthfully and also to state the purpose of the group. We then watched a video clip from the actual movie, which portrays a conversation between Michael, an officer in a fire company, and another officer. Michael talks about how he began a 4o day ‘love dare,” which challenged him to reconcile with his estranged wife, and in the process, he ‘came to the faith’ of the other man. The two talked about how it was becoming extremely difficult to for Michael to love his wife, and the other firefighter told him about how he had been married before, and that it had ended it divorce because he was in the relationship solely for himself. Being married takes a lot of work, and sometimes you don’t really like the other person, but it is a commitment before God.
We were given a set of notebooks to keep our material in, and with the set we were given a bunch of 3x5 cards with a different love dare for each day. We were challenged to do a different dare each day to help strengthen our relationship.
C. Questions
How do you feel about postponing traditional Sunday school to do a series on marriage?
How do you feel about scripture not being emphasize in Sunday school?
WEEK 7: Jon Blanchard
A. Time Spent: SS: 1 Hour MW: 1 Hour NW: 2 Hours Mid-week: 1 hour Youth Group: 2 hours Total Hours: 6 Hours
B. My class this week.
We came back from spring break this week, so Sunday school was cancelled. I would like to count my mid week attendance as my observation.
This week, we watched a video called “He chose the nails” by Max Lucado, to tie in with the season of Lent. The video started out with a story: where is the worst place that a man could go to buy his wife a gift for Christmas? In the lady’s underwear department. Lucado talked about how he tried again and again to find a nice gift for his wife, but it always ended up being a smelly cheap perfume that she didn’t like. This often happens when we try to buy gifts for someone: we want to get them something that they enjoy, but the price we pay and the discomfort we experience when we try to find the perfect gift sometimes gets the best of us.
Lucado’s point was that Christ gave us the best gift, his sacrifice on the cross. When we are trying to give a gift back, are we settling for the one gift that we should be giving, our hearts?
We discussed the sacrifice that was made for us, how it was the perfect gift, then we were challenged to consider how we were giving our lives back. The meeting ended in prayer and a strong focus on the sacrifice of the cross.
C. Questions:
How do you feel about using a video for lessons? How much emphasis should be placed on them?
How do you gauge whether you are doing enough to show Jesus that you are grateful for his sacrifice?
B. My class this week.
We came back from spring break this week, so Sunday school was cancelled. I would like to count my mid week attendance as my observation.
This week, we watched a video called “He chose the nails” by Max Lucado, to tie in with the season of Lent. The video started out with a story: where is the worst place that a man could go to buy his wife a gift for Christmas? In the lady’s underwear department. Lucado talked about how he tried again and again to find a nice gift for his wife, but it always ended up being a smelly cheap perfume that she didn’t like. This often happens when we try to buy gifts for someone: we want to get them something that they enjoy, but the price we pay and the discomfort we experience when we try to find the perfect gift sometimes gets the best of us.
Lucado’s point was that Christ gave us the best gift, his sacrifice on the cross. When we are trying to give a gift back, are we settling for the one gift that we should be giving, our hearts?
We discussed the sacrifice that was made for us, how it was the perfect gift, then we were challenged to consider how we were giving our lives back. The meeting ended in prayer and a strong focus on the sacrifice of the cross.
C. Questions:
How do you feel about using a video for lessons? How much emphasis should be placed on them?
How do you gauge whether you are doing enough to show Jesus that you are grateful for his sacrifice?
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Tyler Klein: Week 8
Teaching Report 2 (3/15/09)
Time Spent: 14 hours total (S.S.=1 Worship= 1.5 Youth small group Bible Study= 1.5 Youth Group 2, Winter Jam Concert= 8)
A. My Lesson (The outline I used during teaching)
9:00 – 9:15 Hangman Bible Edition
Words - Resurrection, Justification, Melchizedek, Simeon Peter, Tabernacle, Cat of Nine Tails, Mount of Olives
9:15 – 9:25 Prayer Requests – If there are no volunteers, have 3 people pray, 1 for our country’s direction/leaders/troops, 2 for the upcoming service at 10:15, 3 for Our Sunday school class lesson, that we learn something new, or are reminded of something about our God. I’ll close.
9:25 Lesson
-Beginning Question (Don’t answer this, No Names) “Do you have anyone in your life that just really tears you down, either by their actions or by their words? While you’re thinking I’ll tell you about my own.
- Joe Watt, supposed to be my friend, and was most of the time, just when certain people came around suddenly I was worthless and repulsive. I remember that he called me stupid names, or tore me down for the most trivial things, but after a little while it really started to hurt. I felt really attacked by this guy who was supposed to be my friend?
- If you have someone in mind then do any of you have examples of what just really eats away at you? (once again without any names)
-The reason why I bring this up, even though it is a little painful for me, is that this is exactly what the people James was writing to were going through.
BIBLICAL OUTLINE
BACKGROUND OF 5:1-6
- James is warning/condemning the rich person, because of the way they’ve laid up treasures here on earth, and also how they have mistreated those lower than them. V. 4 says that they are withholding fair wages and oppressing the poor V. 6 says that they have condemned and murdered the righteous person, or the lowly persons.
How do you guys handle these tough situations when you’re being torn down? OR I didn’t really ever react or do anything in the situation with Joe, I just got down about it, and allowed myself to be hurt… was that right?
JAMES 5:7-11 ON PATIENCE AND SUFFERING
- Our passage today 7-11 is James’s advice to those suffering
- Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord (1). (Illustration 1) See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. (Illustration 2) As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast (2). (Illustration 3) You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (3)
- (1) It is important to note that James is primarily speaking about being patient with people, not so much in circumstances or for things to happen.
- (2) There is one prophet that I really thought of.. Jeremiah ( he was thrown in the stocks, in prison, in a hole, and he kept faithful to God and kept speaking his word.)
- (3) What role does faith have in patience, perseverance, and suffering? What does it do for those who are going through tough times?
Patience - With people Perseverance - With Circumstances.
- James is urging readers not to fight back but to exercise long-suffering patience towards their oppressors and to have perseverance in tough circumstances.
- But what good is that? Does anyone remember another place in James that would give us a reason to exercise patience and perseverance? (James 1: 2-4)
Count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let Steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
- You want a better reason… this is mostly what I wanted to share….Who is the best example of suffering?
- Jesus Christ…. Because he chose to come down from heaven, to suffer here on earth, I’m sure it was hard to be away from your home if it’s heaven. He had to deal with the Devil tempting him, Pharisee’s grilling him, people doubting him, and then he was taken on false accusations, traded for a murderer, spat on, whipped, had his skin torn off his body, thorns pushed into his head, was forced to carry a heavy, splintery cross up a hill, had his hands and feet pierced with a stake, and then was mocked and suffocated next to two criminals.
- Jesus came to die, so that we could have everlasting life, and a new relationship with him that makes our life here on this earth worthwhile. He suffered, and therefore I think we need to look to Jesus’ example of patience and perseverance when we think our days are bad, and someone else is tearing us down.
- Maybe you’re feeling down, like you’re being persecuted, and maybe you are, but remember Christ’s suffering for you, remember that these trials build maturity and steadfastness, and strength in your faith. Be thankful in suffering.
- Pray
B. Response: Of the twenty some kids that were there, there was maybe one girl who wasn’t a regular, and the rest were the committed youth in the church. At the beginning they were all excited that I was teaching, and then at the end of the lesson they were really supportive and thankful for me teaching the class. We all had a good time as we played hangman, and I noticed that some of the kids really are rowdy by the number of times my laptop was stolen off the podium. Throughout the lesson they were all really respectful, and some of them really tried to be involved, even though I didn’t provide a whole lot of opportunity for them to. I’m pretty pleased with the first time that I taught, but I know I could do better the next time.
D. Supervising Teacher’s Evaluation:
Mike gave me some good advice after the lesson, mostly about the way of starting a lesson. The way I did it he said was good, but he advised me to try and use a question that really gets the kids to think about their faith. He said I did a nice job for the first time teaching, and gave me some good advice about how the first time you teach a class you always tend to go a little short, which I did. I got done about 10 minutes early, which I never expected I would have, but it worked well because Mike was able to talk to the kids a little bit and enjoy continuity since he is the teacher of the class.
E. Things I did well
1. I think that I taught the Bible passage well.
2. When I had the kids pray in groups, it actually worked because they came back to their regular seats without much prodding.
3. I got them to interact well even though I didn’t give a lot of opportunity.
4. I felt comfortable teaching in front of the class behind a podium, even though I’m usually a sitting down at a table with people guy.
F. Things I could improve on
1. I should ask more questions for people to answer.
2. I need to fill the entire hour with material.
3. Moved the podium in twitching that may have been distracting.
4. Could work more on trying to get everyone involved in the class.
G. Questions
1. How can I ask open ended questions, because that’s not how I’m programmed, I want people to get answers?
2. What could I do if I accidentally have the lesson run short that would be productive?
3. What is the right timing of how long to allow kids to think of a question you’re asking, when is too long or too short?
Time Spent: 14 hours total (S.S.=1 Worship= 1.5 Youth small group Bible Study= 1.5 Youth Group 2, Winter Jam Concert= 8)
A. My Lesson (The outline I used during teaching)
9:00 – 9:15 Hangman Bible Edition
Words - Resurrection, Justification, Melchizedek, Simeon Peter, Tabernacle, Cat of Nine Tails, Mount of Olives
9:15 – 9:25 Prayer Requests – If there are no volunteers, have 3 people pray, 1 for our country’s direction/leaders/troops, 2 for the upcoming service at 10:15, 3 for Our Sunday school class lesson, that we learn something new, or are reminded of something about our God. I’ll close.
9:25 Lesson
-Beginning Question (Don’t answer this, No Names) “Do you have anyone in your life that just really tears you down, either by their actions or by their words? While you’re thinking I’ll tell you about my own.
- Joe Watt, supposed to be my friend, and was most of the time, just when certain people came around suddenly I was worthless and repulsive. I remember that he called me stupid names, or tore me down for the most trivial things, but after a little while it really started to hurt. I felt really attacked by this guy who was supposed to be my friend?
- If you have someone in mind then do any of you have examples of what just really eats away at you? (once again without any names)
-The reason why I bring this up, even though it is a little painful for me, is that this is exactly what the people James was writing to were going through.
BIBLICAL OUTLINE
BACKGROUND OF 5:1-6
- James is warning/condemning the rich person, because of the way they’ve laid up treasures here on earth, and also how they have mistreated those lower than them. V. 4 says that they are withholding fair wages and oppressing the poor V. 6 says that they have condemned and murdered the righteous person, or the lowly persons.
How do you guys handle these tough situations when you’re being torn down? OR I didn’t really ever react or do anything in the situation with Joe, I just got down about it, and allowed myself to be hurt… was that right?
JAMES 5:7-11 ON PATIENCE AND SUFFERING
- Our passage today 7-11 is James’s advice to those suffering
- Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord (1). (Illustration 1) See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. (Illustration 2) As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast (2). (Illustration 3) You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (3)
- (1) It is important to note that James is primarily speaking about being patient with people, not so much in circumstances or for things to happen.
- (2) There is one prophet that I really thought of.. Jeremiah ( he was thrown in the stocks, in prison, in a hole, and he kept faithful to God and kept speaking his word.)
- (3) What role does faith have in patience, perseverance, and suffering? What does it do for those who are going through tough times?
Patience - With people Perseverance - With Circumstances.
- James is urging readers not to fight back but to exercise long-suffering patience towards their oppressors and to have perseverance in tough circumstances.
- But what good is that? Does anyone remember another place in James that would give us a reason to exercise patience and perseverance? (James 1: 2-4)
Count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let Steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
- You want a better reason… this is mostly what I wanted to share….Who is the best example of suffering?
- Jesus Christ…. Because he chose to come down from heaven, to suffer here on earth, I’m sure it was hard to be away from your home if it’s heaven. He had to deal with the Devil tempting him, Pharisee’s grilling him, people doubting him, and then he was taken on false accusations, traded for a murderer, spat on, whipped, had his skin torn off his body, thorns pushed into his head, was forced to carry a heavy, splintery cross up a hill, had his hands and feet pierced with a stake, and then was mocked and suffocated next to two criminals.
- Jesus came to die, so that we could have everlasting life, and a new relationship with him that makes our life here on this earth worthwhile. He suffered, and therefore I think we need to look to Jesus’ example of patience and perseverance when we think our days are bad, and someone else is tearing us down.
- Maybe you’re feeling down, like you’re being persecuted, and maybe you are, but remember Christ’s suffering for you, remember that these trials build maturity and steadfastness, and strength in your faith. Be thankful in suffering.
- Pray
B. Response: Of the twenty some kids that were there, there was maybe one girl who wasn’t a regular, and the rest were the committed youth in the church. At the beginning they were all excited that I was teaching, and then at the end of the lesson they were really supportive and thankful for me teaching the class. We all had a good time as we played hangman, and I noticed that some of the kids really are rowdy by the number of times my laptop was stolen off the podium. Throughout the lesson they were all really respectful, and some of them really tried to be involved, even though I didn’t provide a whole lot of opportunity for them to. I’m pretty pleased with the first time that I taught, but I know I could do better the next time.
D. Supervising Teacher’s Evaluation:
Mike gave me some good advice after the lesson, mostly about the way of starting a lesson. The way I did it he said was good, but he advised me to try and use a question that really gets the kids to think about their faith. He said I did a nice job for the first time teaching, and gave me some good advice about how the first time you teach a class you always tend to go a little short, which I did. I got done about 10 minutes early, which I never expected I would have, but it worked well because Mike was able to talk to the kids a little bit and enjoy continuity since he is the teacher of the class.
E. Things I did well
1. I think that I taught the Bible passage well.
2. When I had the kids pray in groups, it actually worked because they came back to their regular seats without much prodding.
3. I got them to interact well even though I didn’t give a lot of opportunity.
4. I felt comfortable teaching in front of the class behind a podium, even though I’m usually a sitting down at a table with people guy.
F. Things I could improve on
1. I should ask more questions for people to answer.
2. I need to fill the entire hour with material.
3. Moved the podium in twitching that may have been distracting.
4. Could work more on trying to get everyone involved in the class.
G. Questions
1. How can I ask open ended questions, because that’s not how I’m programmed, I want people to get answers?
2. What could I do if I accidentally have the lesson run short that would be productive?
3. What is the right timing of how long to allow kids to think of a question you’re asking, when is too long or too short?
WEEK 8: PHILLIP TELFER
Time Spent this Week: 17 hr.
1 hr - Sunday school
1.5 hr - worship service
1.5 hr - gym ministry
2 hr - Ipods (Bible study)
3 hr - youth
8 hr - Winter Jam concert
My Class this Week:
Fellow classmate, Tyler Klein, spoke today and led the Sunday school in a sermon on Patience through Suffering (James 5:7-11).
HANGMAN:
He opened the classtime with a game of hangman. He finished this game by incorporating a couple words relating to his lesson for the day. The kids were captured by this event, having fun trying to guess the words without asking for individual letters.
PRAYER:
Tyler divided the room up into three or four different groups and listed specific prayer requests for each group to cover. My group was asked to pray for the Sunday school lesson. This was an effective way of preparing the students to anticipate a good lesson and an honest Word from the Lord.
QUESTION:
"Has there ever been a person in your life who always seemed to get under your skin?"
This is the question Tyler opened up for discussion concerning the lesson. He followed it up by sharing a personal testimony of a time in high school when he was routinely, verbally persecuted/bullied at school.
READING:
Tyler read the scripture passage of James 5:7-11 and explained how unnocent poor people were being persecuted by their rich oppressors. He noted the two examples of farming and prophets that illustrated patience as the key to perservering through suffering.
DEFINING DIFFERENCES:
Tyler went on to ask the kids to explain the differences between Patience and Perserverance.
Patience: waiting
Perserverance: keeping at something, endurance, standing firm
He explained patience as being patient with individuals, and perserverance as enduring through hardships.
Relating this back to a previous passage in chapter one of James, Amanda noted that James 1:1-3 tells us that the testing of our faith develops perserverance that will lead to our eventual spiritual maturation.
CLOSING:
Tyler ended the lesson with a great analogy of Christ's suffering on the cross - the ultimate price and the best example of having patience through suffering. He closed with a prayer for patience through such suffering.
Following Tyler's lesson, Mike stood up and tried his best at a follow-up question: "Are we really persecuted for our faith?" The kids talked back and forth about this for fifteen minutes until class ended.
My Questions for the Week:
1. Is it really a problem if a class ends early? What does that imply? I don't think Mike was trying to belittle anything Tyler said, but I think it would have been fine to leave it as was without interjecting personal thoughts and questions. Maybe that's just me. If I would have been teaching, I believe I would have felt undercut. Adding on to this issue - what can be done to ensure a complete class period?
2. At one point in the lesson, the kids were distracted and began speaking while Tyler was trying to explain the most important part of Jesus' suffering on the cross. My question is "How do you maintain teenager's attention for a straight hour?"
1 hr - Sunday school
1.5 hr - worship service
1.5 hr - gym ministry
2 hr - Ipods (Bible study)
3 hr - youth
8 hr - Winter Jam concert
My Class this Week:
Fellow classmate, Tyler Klein, spoke today and led the Sunday school in a sermon on Patience through Suffering (James 5:7-11).
HANGMAN:
He opened the classtime with a game of hangman. He finished this game by incorporating a couple words relating to his lesson for the day. The kids were captured by this event, having fun trying to guess the words without asking for individual letters.
PRAYER:
Tyler divided the room up into three or four different groups and listed specific prayer requests for each group to cover. My group was asked to pray for the Sunday school lesson. This was an effective way of preparing the students to anticipate a good lesson and an honest Word from the Lord.
QUESTION:
"Has there ever been a person in your life who always seemed to get under your skin?"
This is the question Tyler opened up for discussion concerning the lesson. He followed it up by sharing a personal testimony of a time in high school when he was routinely, verbally persecuted/bullied at school.
READING:
Tyler read the scripture passage of James 5:7-11 and explained how unnocent poor people were being persecuted by their rich oppressors. He noted the two examples of farming and prophets that illustrated patience as the key to perservering through suffering.
DEFINING DIFFERENCES:
Tyler went on to ask the kids to explain the differences between Patience and Perserverance.
Patience: waiting
Perserverance: keeping at something, endurance, standing firm
He explained patience as being patient with individuals, and perserverance as enduring through hardships.
Relating this back to a previous passage in chapter one of James, Amanda noted that James 1:1-3 tells us that the testing of our faith develops perserverance that will lead to our eventual spiritual maturation.
CLOSING:
Tyler ended the lesson with a great analogy of Christ's suffering on the cross - the ultimate price and the best example of having patience through suffering. He closed with a prayer for patience through such suffering.
Following Tyler's lesson, Mike stood up and tried his best at a follow-up question: "Are we really persecuted for our faith?" The kids talked back and forth about this for fifteen minutes until class ended.
My Questions for the Week:
1. Is it really a problem if a class ends early? What does that imply? I don't think Mike was trying to belittle anything Tyler said, but I think it would have been fine to leave it as was without interjecting personal thoughts and questions. Maybe that's just me. If I would have been teaching, I believe I would have felt undercut. Adding on to this issue - what can be done to ensure a complete class period?
2. At one point in the lesson, the kids were distracted and began speaking while Tyler was trying to explain the most important part of Jesus' suffering on the cross. My question is "How do you maintain teenager's attention for a straight hour?"
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tyler Klein: Week 7
A. Time Spent this week: 6 hours total (S.S.=1 Worship= 1.5 Youth small group Bible Study= 1.5 Youth Group 2)
B. My Class this week:
1. Doughnuts.
It was Mike’s birthday, and he had brought doughnuts in for the class to enjoy. Everyone talked and tried a feeble attempt at “happy birthday” until around 9:15, at which point Mike fired from the side and asked one of his “questions”.
2. “What do you plan on doing after high school?”
This was an explosive question for a room full of high school students who have already been asked this question many times. As they murmured Mike asked a continuation question, “As you think about that question, how do you answer that question to yourself? So he got them riled up, and then set them loose upon their own minds. It was a very relevant and stirring question. He got some opinions, and even asked Jena and I how we came about to answer that question since we had just recently gone through it being college students. After he heard some opinions, like that God gives you talents that you should try to use in a career, or spiritual gifts that you are gifted with, he took everyone to James 4:11-17.
3. Dissection of James 4:11-17
This passage was James’ warning against boasting about tomorrow, about letting God’s will guide your life. We tried to reconcil 15 & 16, even though they seemed very different at first they were actually connected. We came to the conclusion that we do not have a right to try to decide for ourselves and then take credit for the direction that we take in life. Instead, we must try to be good stewards in choosing our life path, and then give the glory to God who opened the doors for us to move in that direction. The teens still wanted to talk about how God wants us to use talents, and Mike replied with the discussion of what drives our decisions, mainly security first. Not many stirred after that.
4. Dismissal
Then it was already 10:00, and Mike asked the teens if they would continue thinking about the opening question, and about what the passage in James has to do with the process. He asked them to go home and pray and contemplate what we had talked about, not just in the following week, but in the months or even years ahead where life-decisions must be made.
C. My Questions for the week
1. Rowdiness was a factor, with the weather storming and producing loud peals of thunder, so how do you plow through that, just speak louder?
2. What sort of time does it take for a teacher to put together a Sunday school lesson, for I am teaching next week and have no real idea how long Mike prepares, or how long I should prepare? My Dad teachers SS at home, and it takes him about an hour each week of concentrated prep-time to get ready, is that about right?
B. My Class this week:
1. Doughnuts.
It was Mike’s birthday, and he had brought doughnuts in for the class to enjoy. Everyone talked and tried a feeble attempt at “happy birthday” until around 9:15, at which point Mike fired from the side and asked one of his “questions”.
2. “What do you plan on doing after high school?”
This was an explosive question for a room full of high school students who have already been asked this question many times. As they murmured Mike asked a continuation question, “As you think about that question, how do you answer that question to yourself? So he got them riled up, and then set them loose upon their own minds. It was a very relevant and stirring question. He got some opinions, and even asked Jena and I how we came about to answer that question since we had just recently gone through it being college students. After he heard some opinions, like that God gives you talents that you should try to use in a career, or spiritual gifts that you are gifted with, he took everyone to James 4:11-17.
3. Dissection of James 4:11-17
This passage was James’ warning against boasting about tomorrow, about letting God’s will guide your life. We tried to reconcil 15 & 16, even though they seemed very different at first they were actually connected. We came to the conclusion that we do not have a right to try to decide for ourselves and then take credit for the direction that we take in life. Instead, we must try to be good stewards in choosing our life path, and then give the glory to God who opened the doors for us to move in that direction. The teens still wanted to talk about how God wants us to use talents, and Mike replied with the discussion of what drives our decisions, mainly security first. Not many stirred after that.
4. Dismissal
Then it was already 10:00, and Mike asked the teens if they would continue thinking about the opening question, and about what the passage in James has to do with the process. He asked them to go home and pray and contemplate what we had talked about, not just in the following week, but in the months or even years ahead where life-decisions must be made.
C. My Questions for the week
1. Rowdiness was a factor, with the weather storming and producing loud peals of thunder, so how do you plow through that, just speak louder?
2. What sort of time does it take for a teacher to put together a Sunday school lesson, for I am teaching next week and have no real idea how long Mike prepares, or how long I should prepare? My Dad teachers SS at home, and it takes him about an hour each week of concentrated prep-time to get ready, is that about right?
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
WEEK 7: PHILLIP TELFER
Time Spent this Week: 8 hrs
Basketball Ministry: 3 hrs
Ipods: 2hrs
Youth Group: 3 hrs
My Class this Week
This past week was Spring Break, and I was not able to attend the weekly Sunday school class on Sunday. I did make it to the small group discipleship meeting on Monday evening. This is a guys only group devoted to deepening their faith by looking closely at a passage of scripture each week. Although we meet in the parsonage basement, this small group is not run or attended by any fulltime Brookhaven ministers in hopes of giving the youth a fresh environment to grow closer to God.
This week in Ipods, Tim continued guiding the group through the book of Malachi. Looking at chapter two, we discussed the Lord's Admonition to the Priests. God was warning the people to change their lifestyles and remember the purpose for which He appointed them. Taking groups of verses, a few group members were assigned to discover specific truths within their designated passage. My group was told to discover the way priests were supposed to be living. Our answer included righteous lifestyles, correct instruction, and strict obedience of the Law.
Tim does quite a good job encouraging the teens to share their thoughts, affirming their responses even if they aren't on track. Monday nights are great times to get together and focus on God's truths during the first day of the work-week.
Questions:
1. How high should we place the Law on the priority list of our lifestyles in our modern age?
2. Are we exempt from many of the laws of the Old Testament in light of Jesus' death and resurrection on Calvary?
3. If some of the commands of the Old Testament do not apply to Christians today, which ones do and how do we know?
Basketball Ministry: 3 hrs
Ipods: 2hrs
Youth Group: 3 hrs
My Class this Week
This past week was Spring Break, and I was not able to attend the weekly Sunday school class on Sunday. I did make it to the small group discipleship meeting on Monday evening. This is a guys only group devoted to deepening their faith by looking closely at a passage of scripture each week. Although we meet in the parsonage basement, this small group is not run or attended by any fulltime Brookhaven ministers in hopes of giving the youth a fresh environment to grow closer to God.
This week in Ipods, Tim continued guiding the group through the book of Malachi. Looking at chapter two, we discussed the Lord's Admonition to the Priests. God was warning the people to change their lifestyles and remember the purpose for which He appointed them. Taking groups of verses, a few group members were assigned to discover specific truths within their designated passage. My group was told to discover the way priests were supposed to be living. Our answer included righteous lifestyles, correct instruction, and strict obedience of the Law.
Tim does quite a good job encouraging the teens to share their thoughts, affirming their responses even if they aren't on track. Monday nights are great times to get together and focus on God's truths during the first day of the work-week.
Questions:
1. How high should we place the Law on the priority list of our lifestyles in our modern age?
2. Are we exempt from many of the laws of the Old Testament in light of Jesus' death and resurrection on Calvary?
3. If some of the commands of the Old Testament do not apply to Christians today, which ones do and how do we know?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)