Day 2 - Hearing Jesus' Voice (pg 26)
HIIII GUYSS!!! Kay after reading through, I kinda still don’t really know how to plan this plan. However, I hope all of us will use our personal experiences for this lesson cuz it’ll really encourage and excite our kids to wanna hear and ultimately obey His voice! So anyhow, I thought of some questions to lead this lesson. Hope it helpsss!
Here goes:
CONSTANT VOICES:
- Start by getting them to share the different kind of voices they have encountered in their lives.
Eg. (those that they gave in the book) ‘just wait till tomorrow’ etc.
- Ask them what they think those voices were.
Eg. Was it from themselves? Or the devil? Or God Himself.
- Ask them if they believe that WE CAN HEAR GOD’S VOICE TOOOO!:D (doesn’t have to be AUDIBLE, though there ARE ppl in life who can hear God auibly)
Conclude by telling them that the voices of the crowd are persuasive and clamor for attention. THEREFORE, we have to be careful of the voices we hear! There’re mainly 3 types of voice: our very own, the devil and GOD Himself=)
SO WHICH IS WHICH?????????
THE TRUE VOICE:
Please refer to the whole of John 10:1-21
Important verses to point out =v3-5, v14-16
- Basically, those verses show that WE are JESUS’ sheep and we CAN hear His voice and we need to OBEY that voice because He is a good shepherd
- However, how do we know that the voice we hear is Jesus’ and not any others? ( I think max didn’t really touch on this but I thought it’d be important) so anyway, ask them that question and the answer isss…..that it comes with practice! Ahha. We learn as we grow. Personally, it took me a while to even know that I can hear God’s voice and even when I’ve successfully heard His voice a few times, there were still times I recognised the wrong voice and ended up doing the wrong thing. So let’s warn our kids to be discerning also, it is only by hearing and obeying our true shepherd’s voice, can we receive the peace meant for us!
- Pause here and ask if they have any questions. Next, we can share our experiences of hearing God’s voice with them and get them excited and encouraged to wanna seek His voice!
- Next, I would like to jump to the ‘Jesus decision’ part of the book. Previously, I mentioned about how recognising God’s voice comes with practice. One of the practical ways to achieve that is to PRAY! Yayyy! Bring out MATT 14:22-23.
- Pause and ask them about those 2 verses. Ask them the questions given in the book.
I think max was trying to point out the significance of prayer, that through it, we’ll not just hear what He has to say but also experience the peace of God
- On the side note: we can bring out the
MARY AND MARTHA story of which, Mary did what was better by sitting at Jesus’ feet. Luke 10: 38-42. Often, we keep doing things/ministries, thinking that that’s better than praying. However, prayer is actually more vital than doing itself. Also, we can take this chance to tell our kids that if they are afraid to reach out to their non-Christian friends in anyway, maybe they should start praying and ask God to grant them the peace and courage to do so through prayer!
- We can then link this up to ‘BEST AMONG THE GOOD’ of the book. Sometimes we hear many (human) voices telling us to do this or that. Though everything sounds good and righteous, we have to bear in mind to also seek God before agreeing to any ministries/responsibilities. If not, we might become over stretched and this may even affect our walk with God drastically.
- Conclude with that line: sometimes peace comes from saying no to good things in order to choose what is better. Explain that we need to SURRENDER every of our desires to Him, in order to hear the TRUE VOICE and receive His peae.
Summary:
we really need to RECOGNISE God’s voice and OBEY in order to receive His PEACE! Yupppss! That’s all, thanks!:)
Okayys by now if you did not guess/forgot who planned this lesson... HAHA you should smack yourself sillyy!!! yeaps so thanks to yy for starting us off with this lesson :):):)
Saturday, January 29, 2011 | | 0 Comments
Day 4 - The One Who Satisfies
1. Imagine that today is the last day you will have on Earth. Are you ready to die? What are some things you would want to do before dying?
2. But should we desire to be satisfied, should we treasure, what the world has to offer? [rhetorical]
Read the following verses: Ecc 5:10, Matthew 6:24, Ps 17:15
What do this verses tell us about satisfaction?
Ecc 5:10 - The satisfaction offered by the world in never enough for us.
Matthew 6:24 - We cannot serve both God and the world.
Ps 17:15 - God alone satisfies.
It's true that the world does have a lot to offer us. After all God created the world. But we should only be satisfied by things that we can enjoy in God. For e.g. Loving our parents.
3. Ask them to name some activities that they used to [but no longer] enjoy.
Point out that this is just what the satisfaction offered by the world is like. Many activities are not immoral. We can give thanks to God and enjoy them, but they are temporal. They don't last. In contrast John 10:10 says that Jesus came that they may have life, and have it to the full.
4. Ask them if they believe that the satisfaction God offers lasts... forever, eternally, continuously .
Suggest that it is true BUT this truth is not always apparent in our lives. We know it in our heads.. but the truth does not always reach our hearts.
Let's explore this further.
Read Php 4:19, Ps 17:15.
5. What are the implications of belief these verses for Christians?
Philippians 4:19 (NASB) - And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Implications of Belief: You do not feel troubled when in need. Neither do you strive madly to obtain the objects of your desire.
Psalm 17:15 (NIV) - And I--in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. Implication of Belief: You reign in your desire for things apart from God. Instead you desire righteousness [Christ and his likeness] because you desire to see God.
Take some time here to let it sink in.
Matt 6:19-20 says Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...
Is God your greatest treasure, the greatest desire of your heart? We are easily satisfied with other things. Our favourite food. Our favourite TV show. Our favourite friends. I wonder how many of us can say that God is our favorite.
If we desire to treasure God above all else. We should express this desire. Here's 3 things we can do:
1. Acknowledge our desire to treasure God above all else and our sin for other things above God.
2. Reflect on the desires of your heart and how these desires affect you.
3. Memorize Psalms 37:4 and other verses we have covered today. Try living out the truth they contain.
Wednesday, January 05, 2011 | | 0 Comments