Hook

1. Fold a paper heart! (This paper heart will be used at the end of the lesson too)

Materials: Square paper, preferably not too small

Video on how to fold a paper heart: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqAbig-unUY (There are other videos out there so you might want to check them out!)

2. Everyone will take turns to share what they think the word “heart means”

Lead into the lesson proper by sharing with them the biblical idea of “heart

What is the heart? (The wellspring of life)

Basically, we need to communicate the idea that the heart is pretty much “the totality of an inner person”. It is a lot more than what the origin of our emotions. It also determines our character, which in turn influences our conduct.

Do Question 1

There is the idea above all else, our heart is of importance in the Christian faith.

1. It reflects our state of being – good/evil, obedient/disobedient, christian/non-christian etc..

2. It reveals what we love, not just in an emotional intangible sense, but also in a tangible way. What we speak of most often, what we spend most of our time doing etc…

What is the state of your heart? (The heart of the problem)

Ask some hypotheticals that may reveal your students’ hearts, this will depend on what you know of your students.

For the muggers:

When you have an assignment due the next day and you are in the midst of completing it, are you very highstrung? If your mother asks you for a little time, or somebody needs help, what do you do?

For the socialites:

When your friends don’t like a certain person in your group, do you join them in badmouthing her?

When you are told a juicy bit of gossip, or someone badmouths another to you, do you pass this information on to your good friends?

For the gamers:

When you are spending time with your family, or even with God (in church), does your mind drift to the newest game? Or are you in fact playing that game with your psp/iphone/techthingy?

For the self-absorbed/apathetic (most):

When you see a person in need or who are less blessed than you (maybe the uncle who sells tissue paper at the mrt station), does anything even cross your mind? Do you think of them as an opportunity for God to use you to bless others?

You are encouraged to share with your students some of your experiences too.

Do Question 2

Now that the students know how important the state of their hearts is to their faith, lead into the next segment of the danger of trying to change your heart on your own.

Problem: Trying to change from the outside in

Question: Since you know that your heart isn’t right in these areas, have you tried to change before? (Try and get everyone to share)

Read the passage below Question 2, which links the beatitudes to this danger.

Emphasise the idea that change has to happen from the inside out, and only God can change our hearts. If we try to change our conduct with the aim of changing our hearts, we will only fail sadly.

Solution: Looking to God (Make a change)

So how do we go about asking God to change our hearts?

Read the segment under “Make a Change” and do Questions 4 and 5 sequentially

Ending activity: Ask them to unfold the hearts that they folded just now, and have them write on the paper a prayer to God to change their hearts.

Encourage them along the week to ask God to change their hearts daily and allow them to change into people that God wants them to be. For those who are clueless as to what they think God wants them to be, ask them to pray to become loving Christians, and link this to the TTB production. If they want to serve God through the production, first, their hearts should be changed and set right so that they can serve God joyfully.

Done by Ariel