This is an email from Esther.
Hi LCs
 
Kindly inform your SGLs to keep this date free for the Classroom Management Training:
13 Aug, Sat, from 4pm - 6pm. It will be held at the Board Room.     
Will send you a reminder nearer the date.
 
Thanks.
 
Esther  

Hook: Don’t Forget the Lyrics!
Get the group to sing these together (leaders must participate!)!! And of course, add in the missing lyrics! The number of blanks fits the number of letters exactly. Bonus points for actions! :D
Song 1: J-O-Y down in my heart
I’ve got joy that is down in my heart, deep deep down in my heart.
(Spell it out!) J-O-Y that is down in my heart, deep deep down in my heart.
Jesus put it there and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _ _ _ _, _ _ _ _ _ _ _, _ _!
I’ve got joy that is down in my heart, deep deep down in my heart!
Missing lyrics: nothing can destroy, destroy, destroy, NO
Song 2: I’ve got peace like a river
(I've got peace like a river
I've got peace like a river
I've got peace like a river in my soul) x2

(I've got love an ocean
I've got love an ocean
I've got love an ocean in my soul) x2

(_’_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_’_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_’_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _) x2
Missing lyrics:
I've got joy like a fountain
I've got joy like a fountain
I've got joy like a fountain in my soul

Link: Do we really have that JOY deep down in our hearts? Last week we learnt about God’s sacred delight! Do we share that kind of delight and have that kind of stubborn, unshakeable peace and JOY? Sounds so appealing but HOW do we even get there?
Book and Look:
Read Matt 5:1-10 and then the section on The Blessing of God.
In addition to answering questions 1 and 2, you might also consider discussing with the group what a ‘radical reconstruction of the heart’ means before going on to the section on Radical Reconstruction.

From the section of Radical Reconstruction, take turns sharing about a phrase/sentence/paragraph that is meaningful to you.
For me, it’s ‘No excuses. No justification. Just tears.’ Part of the process of the reconstruction of our hearts includes mourning! Truly, I know that it’s hard to problem-free and to always end up doing the right thing, sometimes even trying is so tiring and frustrating. If I wanna be joyful, it’s nothing like pretending my life is perfect or that people will never find loopholes in the way I do things, that’s not me! So herein lies the difference between being drugged and being joyful, which is that I recognize that indeed many things are wrong and I mourn, in order that I might be comforted.
I’m not familiar Black Bart, the character that Lucado mentions in the section The Bandit of Joy. So can I suggest that the groups share their personal encounters with bandits of joy, followed by a discussion of question 4. (The Bible identifies this thief who holds up Christians and makes us surrender our joy. Read John 10:10 and identify who this thief is, and what he does to us. What does Christ in turn do?)
Took:
Take the section Promises of Joy further by encouraging every member to claim these promises throughout the week! Please also unhurriedly discuss question 6 (What fears are keeping you from receiving God’s forgiveness and beginning your journey of real joy?), share with sincerity!
We can end by highlighting The Heart of the Matter, sharing thoughts on The Heart of Jesus and doing a memory verse review on Matt 5:12! :D

What is joy?
- According to the dictionary, it means a deep feeling or condition of happiness or contentment, something causing such a feeling; a source of happiness, an outward show of pleasure or delight; rejoicing.
- When was the last time you felt joyful? What caused you to feel that way? Was it a short term feeling or a long term feeling?
Read the passage on joy and delight to find out more about what the bible says about joy and do question 1.
Joy does not really mean happiness. Happiness is a momentary feeling. You can feel happy when you have a good day or a good time with your friends, family, etc. Joy is much more deep and abiding. Well, according to the bible, Joy is defined as the happy state that results from knowing and serving God.
-Are you experiencing this kind of joy now? If not, what is holding you back from experiencing it?
Joy in the Christian life is in direct proportion as believers walk with the Lord. They can rejoice because they are in the Lord (Philippians 4:4). Joy is a fruit of a Spirit-led life (Galatians 5:22). Sin in a believer's life robs the person of joy (Psalms 51:8,Psalms 51:12).
We can have real joy in knowing that He loves us and is coming back for us. No matter what problems that we have throughout our day, we can have real joy in the comfort of His love.
Read the passage on the truth about God and do question 2.
When a person walks with the Lord, the person can continue to rejoice even when troubles come. You can have joy even in the darkest moments. Jesus spoke of those who could rejoice even when persecuted and killed (Matthew 5:12). Paul wrote of rejoicing in suffering because of the final fruit that would result (Romans 5:3-5). Both Peter and James also echoed the Lord's teachings about rejoicing in troubles (1 Peter 1:6-8; James 1:2).
-When times are hard we still can have JOY.
Psalms 30:5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
-Suffering and trials like Paul and Silas.
Acts 16:24-25 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
They sang praises to the Lord because they were happy in spite of their circumstances. They trusted the Lord to take care of them and to help them get through the trials.
Sickness like Job or Paul with the thorn in the flesh didn't stop their JOY. In the story of Job, God allowed Satan to test Job. Satan made Job lost his servants because the work was gone and lost his children. (Children were inheritance to the future. Among the Jewish people, children were an asset that made you rich.) Job lost his health which removed him from his ability to work.
Job had a solid foundation of faith to keep the JOY in him. Job built his life on trusting the Lord no matter what happened and rebuild his life with the Lord's help. Job knew that his real and lasting joy would come from the Lord. Job prayed for his friends and the Lord restored his life to full joy and blessings. (Corinthians II 12:9-10 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.)
Do question 3., 4 and 5.
Read John 16:20-22.

There are several things that stand out in these verses. One is that before the disciples great joy there was grief and sorrow. Sometimes we have to experience grief to know true joy. Not always, but the joy is sometimes sweeter.

Secondly, verse 22 spoke volumes to me. No one will take away your joy.
-What do you think that means?
Joy comes from God and our walk with him. Once, we have asked Jesus into our heart our joy comes from our salvation and forgiveness of sins. No one can take away the joy of our salvation.

Heyys guys, so I wanna thank all the leaders that came down to play captain’s ball with your kids last Sunday! I heard that it went pretty well and I know that the kids definitelyyy enjoyed it so pat your own backs yeahhhh! Well done especially for those ahem a little unfit ones. we will try to have more of these sessions for bonding and FUNNN

Leaders please help cher out with the collection of the Faith anniversary dinner money collection  1. remind your kids to bring the money 2. Help her collect the money before she comes around to collect! thanks loads

Okays so back to this week’s lesson:

Day 5- Freedom from Shame

Main takeaway point for the lesson: (don’t reveal yet)

1. We will fail, again and again and when we do, guilt and shame weighs us down completely.

2. However, as Christians Jesus has called you to come to him, not to punish or chide you but to wash you clean, of your sins/guilt/shame as long as we bring all of it to him and confess our misdeeds

3. Because he has prepared a place for you in heaven and he isn’t going to leave you here on earth with all the pain and guilt that you have brought upon yourself.

Hook:
Scenario Timeeeee--- dangdangdangdang…

So lets say your friend comes to you, looks down, shuffles his/her feet (and no they are not shuffling everyday!!!) anyways back to the story, so he/she wants to reveal something to you/ tell you a secret….. but they make you swear that you would never tell a soul. I mean seriously would anyone say… neh dont tell me because I would tell the whole world. So all of us know how the story goes… the person reveals *the secret* and you gasp! Okays maybe too dramatic but yeah you get my point, the person made you pinky promise again/ for guys urm a whack on the back with a death stare and you promise that you would never ever leak this out and you confidently say: “over my dead body” (okays something along the lines of exuberating confidence)
Initially, you never had the intention of leaking this *secret* out and you were pretty confident that you could keep this but then…..peer pressure kicks in, some cool friends find out that you know something about that friend, something all of them want to know. They threaten you with your reputation if you did not give up that information and you spill but you knew they wanted more and you started to fabricate more to add flavour to the *secret* and sooner of later the whole sch came to know about it.......

A few days later, you saw that friend in the corridor, all broken and shaken up but he/she manages to force out with much pain in his/her eyes: “You promised!”
Fade to black.

Questions:
1. Have you faced a situation like this before or at least heard about something like this that happened?
2. Do you think the person trusted you when he/she revealed the secret to you?
3. How would you have felt after you friend said those words to you? (you promised!) -----guilt/shame (hopefully haha, guide them to the ans)
4. Do you think the friend would ever forgive you? If the person had to drop out of school eventually, would you feel even guiltier?

Book:

Part 1:
A Promise Broken - familiar eh

Read Luke 22:33-34 and v54-62

- Get one of your kids to summarise what happened at the last supper (v33-34) and then what happened after Jesus was arrested (v54-62).

1. What did Peter pledge to Jesus?
- He pledged that he was ready to go with Jesus to prison and to die with him

2. What was Jesus’s response?
- Jesus told Peter that before the rooster crows on that day, Peter would deny knowing Christ 3 times.

3a. Referring to Peter’s pledge, do you think that Peter was confident of what he was saying?
-Yes, he was sure that he was willing to sacrifice for being one of Christ’s followers. However, we know that eventually when he was faced with danger, he broke under pressure and could not deliver what he pledged to Jesus and he felt ashamed and upset. (he wept when he realized the mistake that he made, the one swore he would never make)

3b. Have you ever boasted to someone that you could do something very well? (Maybe run really fast, jump really high or shoot zombies really well) whatever the case, you were very confident of that particular skill. So crunch time came andyou had the chance to show off that skill in front of everyone. You were given not 1 but 3 tries….however, you just couldn’t do it, and the worst thing was that you even fell flat on your face. Were you ashamed?

3c. Or maybe when you ask God desperately for help during your end of the year exams because you know that you did not put in the effort throughout the year and you promise God that this would not happen again… neverrrr.
So I guess Justin Bieber was right yea… NEVER SAY NEVER
But we still do it? Are we that different from Peter?


So…. Is there hope for us? Do you think we need to feel ashamed, hopeless and guilty whenever we do something wrong, or we fail to meet the mark?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Part 2:
Return to Shore
Read John 21: 4-12

WE HAVE HOPE why?????

-Again I think it’s good to know that the kids understand what’s going on here so try to get them to summarise what happened before Jesus approached them and what happened after?

Questions:
1. Why do you think that Peter and the gang were fishing again? Didn’t they already quit two years back to fish for men and follow Jesus? So why do you think he is fishing now?
-Maybe they were just hungry but it could also be out of a broken heart, a heart that though aware of Christ’s return felt that he had no hope and that Jesus would never return, much less forgive him.
- Don’t we feel like that sometimes, when we keep failing God or when we keep doing the things that we know upsets him…. So we are ashamed and afraid to ask for help. For eg. Exams again, you realized that it is yet another round of final year papers and you are not fully prepared for it again but you know that you have done this before and you are ashamed to run to him for help afraid that he would not help you so you depend on your own strength, do the papers the only way you know how to.


2a. Despite what Peter did, what did Jesus do when he saw them?
- He provided them with an incredible catch of fish and MOST IMPORTANTLY! He invited Peter and gang join him for breakfast.

2b. What does this mean? Jesus inviting them to have breakfast with him?
- Even though we might have failed him, he is ever ready to have breakfast with us  which basically means he is ever ready to commune with us again, can you imagine the KING is sooo willing to invite you to sit down with him, prepare a meal and just hear you out and at the end of it instead of scolding you he forgives you!
(Jesus reinstates Peter v15-19)


okay now learning from Peter
3. What did Peter do to show his eagerness for Jesus to set him free from shame and restore their fellowship? (v7)
- He jumped into the water.

Part 3:
What the bible tells us further about guilt: IMPT VERSES TO REFER TO
Psalms 32:5
- Then I confessed my sins to you and didn’t hide my guilt. I said, “ I will confess my sins to the Lord,” and you forgave my guilt.

Hebrews 10:22
- “Let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, because we have been made free from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.’

Took:

What should you do when you are in a whirlpool of guilt and failures?

1. Don’t waste any time, do what Peter did, jumpto take the opportunity that Jesus has given to all of us to go to him, always remb that he does not want to scold you but to hold you and he is always ready to invite you back to have breakfast with him.
2. Confess to him whatever you have done wrong, so that he can wipe you clean.
3. Since you have been washed clean, you can thus continue to commune with God without feeling that guilt anymore and you also no longer have to face the agony of it.
Before you end off take time to read Matt 26:27-28
Ask them what are their thoughts when they take Holy Communion? Is it like snack time to them? How can we relate today’s lesson of Jesus inviting Peter and his gang to have breakfast with him to the Last supper?
- I think many of them do not understand the meaning but hopefully you guys can share about what Holy Communion is to you and how you feel when you take it?
- In the same way, in relation to today’s lesson taking Holy Communion is a reminder for us that when Christ comes again, we will be seated with him in heaven to have supper  despite anything and everything that we have done wrong we are still able to drink of the cup and eat of the bread because of what Christ did on the cross for us…

MEMORY VERSE:
last time to recite it :)
- John8:36
‘So if the SON sets you FREE, you will indeed be FREE”

Close in Prayer.

Sorry I would not be there on Sunday and Alex is also overseas. Oh yeah, its also good to make use of the holidays to plan a small group outing with your kids, for girls maybe movie and lunch? Guys soccer and whatever com game is hip now? To bond and really get to know them outside church context.

pet/.