SUNFUN agenda

We have come to the end of the book that we have been doing with our youths and we are going to be having GAMES this sunday :D! 


Please also take note that we will be having a prayer and discussion meeting for our retreat after lesson that would end at 3pm if you are unable to make it please let ahlegs or me know, thanks!

Have a Blessed weekend! :)

Service

Scripture passage for today:
Matthew 25:31-46


Theme verse:
Matthew 25:35-36 (NIV)
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’


Questions to get your youths to answer:
Who from who will 
God separate? Identify who are the "Sheep and Goats". (verse 32)


One side question to ask them: Does this mean that if we don't serve, we wont go into heaven?
The answer: No, we probably still will. But take note that service is a part of being a Christian and one of the manifestations of having Christ in our lives. Since service is something that God guides us to do. It is possible to not serve but still enter heaven, as long as Jesus is Lord of your life, but you won't experience the true joy of serving, following and growing in God's guidance here on Earth. Furthermore,when we serve others, we too are serving God.


Take heart that most of us do serve in our small, little ways. We all probably serve in different forms and occasions, as having the Spirit of God in our lives, we would hear prompts when we're called to help others or do that little kind deed for someone (Could be as simple as opening the door for someone).
But this lesson is not focusing on these small nice deeds. It's good, but rather, service is something we should adopt into our lives. Its an attitude. Service should be a huge part of our lives, since we're followers of God, and should be done in LOVE, both for God and God's creation.


This service aspect is something that God Himself will guide you to do. We can't tell you where you should serve and whom exactly, but we can help you identify some places that you can serve in, and you should pray and ask God for guidance where He would like you to go.
We'll focus on our meso community, the church.


Ask the youths:
Who attends church? (Note. "Christians" are not the right answer. People who attend church are people who are seeking God. This includes Non Christians as well)

Why do they attend church? (Note. Seeking God is only a partial answer. Most of them seek God because of difficulties or uncertainties in their lives. Christians as well.)

How can you help them? (PRAY. The rest depends on their needs. Do they need attention? A listening ear? Encouragement? All these things are also acts of service, done in love.)

Next: Their school
What is one big problem that all people who attend school face? (Well. i hope the obvious answer is exams)

Is everyone coping well with exams? Are your friends struggling? ( Everyone struggles, im sure)

How can you help them? (If your friend is a Christian, how about asking that person whether you can pray for him/her? Then again, why not both of you pray for each other? If its a group, also can! Prayers work wonders. Really. If your friend is Non Christian, you could also request to pray for him/her! That'll be really great! But if you feel he/she might not like it, or if youre shy, then you can just spend time in your QT and pray for him/her also! That is, also, an act of service. =D )



HOMEWORK. YES. HOMEWORK. I really suggest EVERYONE to do this. Yes. ESPECIALLY LEADERS. :)

Christmas is coming!!! Buy a small gift for everyone in the group! YES. EVERYONE. Tell your youths to do so to! Buy a small gift, wrap it up, and give it to each other in December! (You decide the date) It would be better if each gift to each person is different. Like customised, or different entirely. So that at least it shows that you put in some thought in it :) but of course be fair to everyone and dont specially give one person 99 roses. or if you do, do it secretly. not in this session.


Doesnt have to be expensive, but do give it some thought. Make it more thoughtful than costly. I'm sure everyone will appreciate it! Its a small act of service, but I hope that if everyone does this, youll be able to build love and friendship. and it'll be fun!

Today's lesson key points in summary:
1) Service is important as it is an out pour of God's love in you and also we are serving God as we serve others.
2) God will guide you to serve. Identify the areas you can serve, ask Him and He will lead you :)

Pray after you're done!


God Bless everyone!!!!


Done by Kenn

Forgiveness

Hey guys this sunday's lesson is on Forgiveness.

I find it quite app that it was just last week that i was talking to John my brother about the bible and we were talking about the exact verse or story that we are going to teach our kids today.

Key verse for this lesson is taken from:

Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.


We will also be looking at the parable of the unforgiving servant, which is found in Matthew 18: 21- 35




As usual there are three main points that we want our kids to take home.

They are:

1) A forgiving spirit comes from the trust in his finished work on the cross
2) To Forgive is not the absence of anger to sin or the absence of serious consequences for sin
3) True forgiveness comes from your heart




Tuner:  The rock:


Bring in a load of rocks, preferably large ones if possible, and hand each student a rock (it needs to be big enough so that it is uncomfortable to hold and would get in the way of normal activity). Some of the rocks can be bigger than others. Give the students the rocks at the beginning of the lesson. As you start the lesson, tell the students they cannot put their rocks down, they must hold them constantly on their own, and they can’t rest them on anything else. Begin the lesson and get them to take down notes, etc. while holding the rocks. After a 20 mins or so while holding the rocks, ask them if their rocks are bothering them yet. What about if they carried them everyday? What if they had to hold on to them while they were using the restroom? Playing sports? Sleeping? After a short time ask the students (or take them into the scripture block to have them find the answer) what they think the rock symbolizes and what it is supposed to teach them.

Application: The rock is symbolic of holding grudges, or withholding our forgiveness from other people. When we hold a grudge, or harbor bitter feelings toward someone else, who does it affect? When we withhold our forgiveness we are only hurting ourselves.

I know its not a game but it as a great object lesson. ok maybe it doesnt have to be a rock haha but something that annoys the kids. Maybe ill get aaron to go around each classroom and annoy them for 15 mins each. haha. Ill think of something.





Point 1: A Forgiving spirit comes from the trust in his finished work on the cross

Start of by reading the parable of the unforgiving servant. In this story we are the servants who owe the king a huge debt. In reality these debts are the sins that we have done against God.  As you can see in the parable the state which the relationship we have with God. That we have sinned so much against God that it is impossible to pay back our debts.

This is a point that we as Christians must first internalise. That we have wronged God, we must acknowledge that we have not followed him and have sinned against him. But this act that we have done against him is not one which can be easily cancelled. This act against him is huge and has dire consequences. We as christians must understand how far the pit we have fallen then can we understand how great God's grace is for us.



In verse 27, it says that the master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. This is grace. In our lives, God cancelled our debts, our sins for a price, by giving up his one and only Son.

In Ephesians 4:32  'Forgive each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." In other words God's forgiveness is underneath ours and creates it and supports it. So that if we don't give it to others—if we go on in an unforgiving spirit—what we show is that God is not there in our lives. We are not trusting him.  We are not trusting him that our debts are cleared. And not trusting him will keep us out of heaven. And cause us to be handed over to the tormentors.


The reason is not because we can earn heaven or merit heaven by forgiving others, but because holding fast to an unforgiving spirit proves that we do not trust Christ. If we trust him, we will not spurn his way of life. If we trust him, we will not be able to take forgiveness from his hand for our million dollar debt and withhold it from our ten dollar debtor (those that have done wrong to us)

This is the perpective in life we should have.




The blew two points are taken from Desiring God which i thought was pretty good, cause most of the time we talk about what is forgiveness but we also forget to emphasis to our kids what forgiveness is not. That leads to us having doubts.




Point 2: To forgive is not the Absence of Anger at Sin

Forgiveness is not the absence of anger at sin. It is not feeling good about what was bad.

I was on the phone yesterday with a pastor from out of state who told me about a woman in his church who, he noticed after he came to the church, never came to communion. He probed and found that 15 years earlier she had been separated from her husband because he repeatedly beat her and sexually abused their children. She said that every time she came to communion she would remember what he had done and feel so angry at what it cost her children that she felt unworthy to take communion. This was over a decade later.

My friend said to her, You are not expected to feel good about what happened. Anger against sin and its horrible consequences is fitting up to a point. But you don't need to hold on to that in a vindictive way that desires harm for your husband. You can hand it over to him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23) again and again, and pray for the transformation of your husband. Forgiveness is not feeling good about horrible things. And he encouraged her to forgive him in this way, if she hadn't, and to take communion as she handed her anger over to God and prayed for her husband.





Forgiveness is not the absence of serious consequences for sin.

In other words, sending a person to jail does not mean you are unforgiving to him. My pastor friend has been part of putting two of his members in prison for sexual misconduct. Can you imagine the stresses on that congregation as they come to terms with what forgiveness is!

More Help from Watson

Thomas Watson was helpful to me again on this point. He asks,

Question: Is God angry with his pardoned ones?

Answer: Though a child of God, after pardon, may incur his fatherly displeasure, yet his judicial wrath is removed. Though he may lay on the rod, yet he has taken away the curse. Correction may befall the saints, but not destruction. (Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity, p. 556)

This gives us a pointer to how we may at times have to discipline a child in the home, or a leader in the church, or a criminal in society. We may prescribe painful consequences in each case, and not have an unforgiving spirit.






TBC HAHA


Salt and Light


Session Aims:
1.      Learn what Jesus says about living out our faith in the world
2.      Be motivated to live our faith in the world
3.      Repent of one thing in your life that keeps you from being Christ’s salt and light


Key verse: Matthew 5:13-14
You are the salt and light of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Are you proud to be a Christian?
What makes you a Christian?

James 2:14-17
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

1.      How are we supposed to ‘shine’? Examples?
·         By living among people and letting others see Jesus in us.
·         You may give the analogy of us being ambassadors. When an foreign ambassador comes to your country, is he part of your country? No. His citizenship is still in his home country. Likewise, we are made for eternity and our citizenship is in heaven. What does this foreign ambassador do in your country? He bridges the gap between his home country and this country, and fosters a relationship. That is also our role here on earth: to be a living testimony for what you believe in, to bridge the gap; to befriend but not become a part of this world.

2.      Is it easy to always be a ‘proper Christian’? What can we do when it isn’t easy?
·         Pray and seek God. We aren’t showing OUR light or OUR goodness. It is God’s goodness that we want to show through us, so how else do we get it except by asking and knowing the source of it?
·         Do you truly believe that prayer works? Do we seek Him enough? Maybe we can ponder on this and seek Him with honesty. It is an inward change that we seek, not proving that we can be good.
3.      Who is the salt that loses its saltiness?
·         People who say they believe but do not live for Him.
4.      What happens when we cover up a light?
·         It becomes ineffective.
Philippians 2:12-15
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky



Do our deeds make us who we are? Are we Christian because we ‘act like it’?
No. We are saved by Grace.  It is not earned, neither can it be. No matter how much kinder we are to the people around us, we cannot earn any more grace than we already are given. In fact, our ability to show grace is by God and from God alone.

Isa 64:6
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”

Psalm 16:2
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    I have no good apart from you.”

God’s love is limitless; He cannot love us any more or less no matter what we do. He is constant. And this love compels us to act in a way that is a suitable response to this overwhelming gift. So, what does it mean to live for Christ?

To be salt and light, out of gratitude and love, for God loved us first.

Done by Gaily & Zhan Feng

Gifted by God


Hey guys, sorry for the late lesson

Today's lesson can be found on page 129. Session 9 entitled Gifted by God

Key verse: Matthew 25:21

Main 3 points:

1) What are spiritual gifts
2) Recognising God has given everyone has their own individual gifts
3) Commit to using their gifts to help other this week

*please make sure you have 15 mins of sharing*

Again i will take stuff from desiringgod.org and from the book as well



1)What are spiritual Gifts? (Key verse for this part is romans 1:11,12)

Spiritual gifts are for strengthening others. In romans 1:11,12, paul says i long to see you that i may use my gifts to strengthen you.

From this we can infer that gifts are given to be given.
Spiritual gifts are expressions of our faith to strengthen someone's else's faith by word or deed.


You can also refer to Thessalonians 3:2 
What does it mean to strengthen someone by a spiritual gift means to help their faith not give way when trouble enters their life. 





2)Recognising everyone has a gift ( Refer to romans 12:4-8)

Do page 139, the first  two questions

Question one's answer is we are all part of the Body of Christ

Question two, answer is that by using our spiritual gifts we serve one another and strengthen each other's faith about Jesus Christ.

i think it would be fair to say also from this text that you shouldn't bend your mind too much trying to label your spiritual gift before you use it. That is, don't worry about whether you can point to prophecy, or teaching, or wisdom, or knowledge, or healing, or miracles, or mercy, or administration, etc., and say, "That's mine." The way to think is this: The reason we have spiritual gifts is so that we can strengthen other people's faith; here is someone whose faith is in jeopardy; how can I help him? Then do or say what seems most helpful, and if the person is helped, then you may have discovered one of your gifts. If you warned him of the folly of his way and he repented, then perhaps you have the gift of "warning." If you took a walk with her and said you knew what she was going through and lifted her hope, then perhaps you have the gift of "empathy.'' If you had them over to your home when they were new and lonely, then perhaps you have the gift of "hospitality." We must not get hung up on naming our gifts. The thing to get hung up on is, "Are we doing what wecan do to strengthen the faith of the people around us?

Another way of finding out what our spiritual gifts are is when you help people. What you did use to help someone is your spiritual gift. According to the definition given above. Spiritual gifts may not have to be playing the guitar or the gift of tongues.  
The problem is not knowing our spiritual gifts, that is not the basic problem. The more basic problem is not desiring very much to strengthen other people's faith. Human nature is more prone to tear down than it is to build up. 

So the basic problem is becoming the kind of person who wakes up in the morning, thanks God for our great salvation and then says " Lord O how i want to strengthen people's faith today. Grant that at the end of this day, somebody will be more confident of your pomises and more joyful in your grace because i crossed his path.

We want to become this sort person because of what Christ did on the cross, his great love. Also we are really living until we live for God. We won't experience the fullness of life.



3)Committing to using their gifts for God
1 peter 4:10-11
Surpeme joy of life is to discover what gifts you have and then pour yourself out to others through these gifts. Grace is the currency of God and the way we disburse Grace is through spiritual gifts. God wants all of his children to disburse  that grace. Cause faith feeds on grace and is strengthen by grace
So therefore we should all commit to serving not only our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. But even more so for all our pre believing neighbours. Impacting the world the way Jesus did!!!