Personal note
As I write this I am very aware of how tired I am even after sleeping for most of the day. I was totally useless during class time. But before the day is up I want to share with you Ezra 7:10,
Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.
These 3 things must come together. Think about it...
If you study God's word but don't put it into practice your study is useless. Really, I'm not kidding. See James 1:22-25.
If you practice God's word but don't teach it in some way, what good are you? Jesus himself said, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." He calls on all of us to love people and make disciples.
If you teach God's word but do not study it, can you teach it rightly? We can only depend so much on our old understanding. But when we study God's word, our roots grow and we ourselves are renewed and refreshed. =]
If you teach God's word but do not practice it, you will surely feel like a hypocrite. I have seen leaders stop teaching because of this. They are rightly convicted of their hypocrisy but their response is to stop teaching rather than to start practicing. Of course that is not always the case... sometimes God is just calling his children to go elsewhere... but once in a while I cannot help but wish that we could have persevered on together.
Scripture records that God favored Ezra and blessed him because he gave his life to these 3 things. I believe if we do the same we will likewise be blessed. Keep praying and encouraging one another that we will see our ministry blessed and bearing fruit... we have to... otherwise we only have ourselves to blame when we cannot find the faith to go on...
hello all (:
Prayer lesson (28/2)
At the end of the lesson I hope the youth will take away 2 important things. 1) they should understand that prayer is simply talking to God. 2) they should be encouraged that God does listen and answer prayer.
How do you think God feels when a person is always trying to "take advantage" of him?
As a young child, I remember there were many toys that I wanted. Often I would ask God for them... but I seldom got really awesome presents because my parents were not the type to spoil me with expensive things that we couldn't afford. I believe many of the youth will have shared my experience of asking God for something but not getting what they wanted. This can unconsciously lead to the perception that God isn't there, He doesn't answer prayer, or maybe He doesn't care. What we don't realize is that we often fail to treat God as a person. Instead we treat God like a genie, who must give us what we want, or a slot machine, which gives us what we want sometimes if we're lucky. We sin against God and don't even realize it.
James says when we ask we don't receive because we we have self-seeking motives. God does answer prayer. Try to share you own experiences.
OK. Now you've told your youth that prayer works. Maybe you've told them that when you talk to God, God talks back, and they think you are crazy. They want to know how you do it. That's what the disciples wanted to know too (Matthew 6: 5-17). We can't do better than Jesus so we will imitate Him teach them the Lord's prayer.
When you go through the Lord's prayer, it is good to clarify... the difference between a formula and format. They know from chemistry if you mix the right elements together you will always get the same result because it is defined by a formula. Prayer is not a formula. We should not expect God to answer our prayer just because we pray in a certain way. The Lord's prayer and other prayer models are more of a format...a general guide or structure to go by, just like you have "Hello" and "Goodbye" in your conversation. But we are free to choose to follow or not to follow it.
Of course Jesus probably had more to say than just repeating this long and complex prayer over and over again each time to talked to God. You can ask them to read Luke 5:16 and imagine what Jesus prayed about and why Jesus practiced times of praying alone. Simple prayers mean a lot to God. You can close by taking turns to pray and each tell God something that is on their minds or hearts.
Cheers
Personal Note
Glad you guys made it down for training today... It was an eye-opener to watch you guys in action! I want to apologize to Zhang Feng, Daena and anyone else I might have accidentally or callously offended today. Will try not to speak too fast...
Reminder...
This Sunday's lesson is Love Expressed (http://ttbleads.blogspot.com/2010/02/expression-of-love.html)
How to be true…..
1. How to be true to the Spirit in reading Bible narratives
a. Depend on God
i. Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. (Psalms 119:18)
b. Don’t be proud
i. Be willing to admit that we have been wrong. [Pastor B]
ii. Don’t assume that you can do it all by yourself. Consider the words of God, scholars, and your teachers.
c. Desire to perfect your skill to wield the Bible like a sword
i. And take (you can take it anytime!) THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Eph 6:17)
ii. The good hand of his God was upon him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel. (Ezra 7:9-10)
d. Done? Ask yourself…
i. Has the Holy Spirit convicted my heart of something?
ii. What have I learnt… and what will I do?
e. Key caution… Don’t think that you have mastered a book just because you spent some time studying it.
2. How to be skillful and true in studying Bible narratives
a. Big Picture (Breath before Depth)
i. Why? We want to get the key message(s)
ii. How? Look for authorial and Authorial intent (or no intent)
iii. When? Often. Review how in-depth study changes our overall perspective.
b. Look for Detail
i. Look at the words used and the way words are used.
ii. Consider other passages… We can’t read Greek but we can read different verses and translations.
o Faith in Bible > Faith in Greek.
iii. Lexicons and grammar aids can help even a beginner.
c. Read in Context
i. Why? We are not supposed to create new messages only identify them.
ii. How? Look up. Look down. Look around.
o Consider the words of scholars in understand the historical context.
o Avoid reading verses in isolation (for study purposes).
o Ask yourself… is that really what the author meant to communicate?
iii. When? All the time.
d. Key caution… No right answer / No right opinion, but there are strong inferences and poor inferences.
3. How to be skillful in teaching Bible narratives
a. Study and Pray
i. Watch and pray, so that you will not fall into temptation. (Matt 26:41)
ii. Ask God… what do you want me to teach?
b. Know the main point and bring it home.
i. Over-communication is not better.
ii. You won’t get lost if you are true to the text. People pay attention when you crystallize a thought that they’ve never thought about. And because studying scripture is part skill part Spirit, there are lots of thoughts that your student has never thought about.
iii. Be relevant. People pay attention when you say something meaningful.
c. Be ready to answer questions… How?
i. Ask yourself… what do I not understand? Because what you understand your can give an answer for.
ii. Ask yourself… where do I stand? Have I considered the alternatives?
iii. Ask yourself… Must I take a stand?
o It’s better to take a stand than not to. Otherwise…
o It’s better to admit you don’t know than to talk trash.
d. Challenge when appropriate.
i. Key Caution: Bible study groups are not primarily about “what it means to me”… The Bible means what it means. But “What I think it means” or “What I learnt” and venturing guesses are OK.
Training
I have booked K206 for our training from 9-2pm on the 20th. Very sorry that we will have to squeeze... wonder if we can book the basement...
Personal note...
When I sat down with a few of your groups today, I was secretly glad to see that each of you were engaging with the youth at a personal level and not just focused on the teaching. My prayer is that those who are already better teachers will spur on those who those are already better with people and vice versa.
I am also very proud of the Mentors, Noel and Kenneth. =] I can only do so little alone, but where I am weak, you are strong. The saying is true... A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
You guys & girls are simply the best!
Love Expressed (21/2)
WORKING DRAFT - Bro and sis... waiting for your comments ;)
Update: Attached is a supplementary reading (click me). Only one page. Read it, will make your preparation easier.
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Think about someone that matters to you. If you could do something, anything in the world, to express your affection for him or her, what would you do? Tell the class who this person is (if you dare), and share you answer. Wow, that was fun! Who do you think had the best idea? Now think about God. How do you express your love towards God? Do you think there is a best way?
Let’s take a look at what the scripture says:
Matthew 21:28-30
28"… A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go work today in the vineyard.' 29"And he answered, 'I will not'; but afterward he regretted it and went. 30"The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, 'I will, sir'; but he did not go. 31"Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." …
- Imagine you are the father and your two sons have just given you their responses (neither of them has gone to work yet!). Which son appears to be the better son?
- Some time has passed and you found out who actually went to work in the vineyard. How will you feel about your two sons?
1. Which son expressed true love for his father? Substantiate your answer.
The son who went. Verse 31 states clearly that he was considered obedient. It is obvious which son did better so let’s dig a little deeper.
2. Why do you think the unrepentant son promised to go but didn’t?
He didn’t really have the intention of doing what his father asked. He expressed his love outwardly but it was only lip service.
3. Why do you think the obedient son regretted his words and/or changed his mind?
Probably because he knew that his father loved him and that it was wrong for him to disobey. But what’s more important is his action…
The obedient son went, and his obedience revealed the authenticity of his love and repentance.
4. Do you see the relationship between love and obedience?
We cannot claim to love God (we cannot even be sure that we do love God!) if there is no evidence of obedience in our lives. Conversely our self-effort to obey him will fall short unless we love him.
5. What does obeying God look like? (Luke 10:27, Luke 9:23-25, 2 Tim 3:12)
Luke 10:27 He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me
2 Tim 3:12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
One of the greatest ways to love God is to “live for Him”. This expression refers to the continual act of surrendering every aspect of our lives to His will. When the Father tells us to do something, we respond “I will do it” and we do it. This is not an easy task. If we want to follow Jesus we cannot to indulge in sin which is pleasurable. Instead like the obedient son God will put us to work. We may even be persecuted! But Jesus assures us our temporal “sacrifice”; our taking up of the cross will be worth it.
The KEY question we have to ask ourselves is whether or not we will back up our love for God with obedience. If we are not willing… or only obey when it suits us, are we very different from the bad son and Pharisees who claim to know and love God but do not?
Of course God knows that there are times when we will fail and so he doesn’t expect perfection from us. Instead He sent Jesus to the cross to provide us with grace. But when we have been disobedient, he expects us to recognize our fault and change our mind like the obedient son.
Hook for QT lesson
Courstesy of Sophia... P.S who wants posting privileges to this blog let me know.
so there are two photos and the lesson is quiet time and we are trying to teach them that quiet time is important as it keeps us in our walk with GOD. so basically [although nothing is really basic], the main gist of the lesson is to try and teach them to look at everything in GOD's point of view. without his help we only see the short term and not the long term. so sometimes when things that are real bad happen we just see it as a failure but GOD sees it as an opportunity to buff us and make us shine better in him and although sometimes its hard to comprehend, it is true. hence, bible aids us in looking at it in a "prettier" and more optimistic way.
Quiet Time (7/2)
This is my suggestion:
1. Preparation: go through the the teachers guide to reeducate yourself with the subject. If you have extra time, also go through the student's material.
2. Execution: teach using the leaders guide below. You do not have to use the student's material but may find its points helpful to add to your lesson.
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Purpose of Lesson: To share the importance of quiet time.
For this lesson I suggest you do it in a small group but not too big.
First start of by asking them...
Which do you think is more important... Trusting God or Pleasing God?
They will have all sorts of opinions, that's OK, we are all entitled to our opinion; And actually we want to do both but the best way to please God IS to trust God.
The Bible will tell us which is more important, turn to Luke 10:38-42.
Ask them: Why was Martha so frustrated and angry?
She was angry because she perceived that she was doing all the work. She thought that what she was doing was important... If she didn't prepare the drinks, make and serve breakfast, and wash Jesus feet, then Jesus and the disciples might not feel welcomed. And what was her sister Mary doing? Nothing.
Ask them to read v41-42 again. Why did the Lord say that Mary had chosen what was better? (2nd prompt) What was Mary really doing?
If they are sharp they will pick up v39, listening to the Lord's words and sitting at his feet. So Mary was not really doing nothing. In fact what she was doing was so important that God said that it was really the only thing necessary (v42).
Now is the time to bring in the hook. Show the picture and ask them what they think it is. Let them guess. When they fail.. show them the whole picture. The first picture represents what we can see... we THINK we know what it is.. and even if we are right it is only a guess. We could be wrong next time. God on the other hand knows the full picture. He knows what is good and what is bad for us. He knows what will happen in the future. And he knows what we WANT to know. So why not ask Him? Why don't we ask Him? (rhetorical qn)
Do you do Quiet Time?
- get them to raise their hands to indicate their answers
- this is to get them thinking about what quiet time is and whether they practice it or not
- go one round and ask them to explain what quiet time means to them.
Simply put, Quiet Time is... "spending a quiet time with God". Duh. But it is a good explanation. It is when we dedicate quiet moments with Him that start to build a personal relationship with God. Even Jesus did it. (Mark 6:46) And when we do, we learn to trust Him. e start to discover who God really is, to feel with God's heart, and also receive encouragement to deal with peer pressure, stress, etc. If there is time, you can share how quiet time has strengthened your relationship with God and how it affects your life. If you want go through portions of the student's material, here is also time to do it.
Note: If they insist that they diligently do QT you can invite them to check their motives. How do they do it? Do they do it because they want to know God or because it is a habit? Do they do it only because they are trying to please their parents and God or as an act of dependence on Him? The point is not to be militaristic or ritualistic but to be consistently in touch with God.
Challenge: We have a choice to be like Mary or Martha... Martha thought she knew what's best while Mary put her dependence in the words of God. It may seem stupid but it is not. Challenge them to do Quiet Time, to pray and read the Bible and follow up with them next week. (If they don't know where to start tell them specifically. You could ask your kids to read the same thing you are reading so that you can share your reflections w each other.)
Closing Prayer (Lead them to make a commitment to do quiet time)