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?
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Re: Forcing people to participate. I think there is a certain point where you can certainly force a person to give an answer, although you must be careful not to embarrass them, otherwise you’ll completely lose them. Calling people to answer when they are talking is a really good technique, I think you did that once or twice. I would say that you had about the right mix on Sunday, but there is always room for improvement.
ReplyDeleteRe: Ample Notes or on a whim. I would say that you probably had ample notes knowing you, and it’s much better to have more than you need than to not have enough. I wish I had prepared more material or more questions when I taught, and you filled up the hour completely. It all flowed together, and therefore I’d say stick with the ample notes, unless you are an expert at coaxing people to talk like Mike does.
Re: forcing people to participate. I agree with Tyler when he says you can only force a person to answer to a certain extent. Don't embarass them, because they will not feel like they are welcome in the group. Try going around in a circle (if that is how the room is set up), calling on one person at a time, so no one is surprised when it is their turn.
ReplyDeleteRe: Ample notes. It is hard to be overprepared for a situation, but being underprepared is really easy. I think the better you know your lesson, the better you can anticipate where it will go and what it will do when you teach it. Detail the lesson as much as you can, but don't be obsessive about it.