1. Kenn (done)
2. Alex (done)
3. Cheryl (done)
4. Alden (done)
5. Mund (Day 3 The Heaviness of Hatred- 14 Aug)
6. Rayner
7. Clarence
8. JJ
9. Gaily
10. Pet
11. Alicia
12. Joanna
13. Elvie
14. YY
15. Ariel
16. Justina
17. Caitlyn
18. Joel
19. Zhan Feng
20. Heng Guang
21. Leroy

Please take note of your position on the roster, I did not set sepcific dates because it changes sometimes so after that it gets a little messy. Anyways same things apply, ahlegs and I will try to remind you again during that week who is supposed to prepare lesson and if its your turn please try to send it to either one of us by fri night :):):)

Open with a word of prayer :)


Almost Home

To start, we shall have a drawing activity. Inform your youths that there is no right or wrong answer, as we do not really know exactly how heaven is really like. Instead, get them to do this based on their true opinions and perception. Take a piece of paper and ask your youths to draw out what they imagine heaven to look like. After which, they are to describe and write down how they think being in heaven will be like. E.g. what they will be feeling or doing in heaven. Get them to share their answers with one another, identify similarities and differences among answers.

After which, ask them what their definition of “home” is, and see if there is any similarities as to how they perceive heaven to be.

A home is supposed to be a place of rest, acceptance and belonging. A place whereby we feel comfortable being in. The text describes heaven as our true and eternal home; Upon our passing from this Earth, we return to where we truly belong- By God’s side.

The Best is Yet to Come

Do question 2.

Life on earth can be both good and bad for us, filled with both happy and sad memories. While life might seem worth living during the happy days and a waste of time during the sad ones, the fact remains that there is something even better that awaits us. A world without pain or suffering, face to face with our Dearest Creator, worshipping Him every single day of our lives forever. Good news- Whatever the youths and you perceive heaven to be, it’s actually a lot better. Our minds can’t perceive truly how great heaven is. But what we do know is that heaven is a place whereby you won’t regret being in, since it is a place we belong and experience God fully. No death, suffering, illnesses, sin or whatever.

Get your youths to share about the happiest memory they have. Share yours too! The joy you experience in heaven is even greater than that feeling experienced during the happiest memory. And imagine experience that feeling every single day.

Do question 3 and 4

Eternal Joy

Question 4 tell us this: Whatever happens in this life, in Faith, focus on the joy and eternity that is in heaven, and hold on and turn towards it during the saddest and most demoralized moments in life. While the temporary might seem overwhelming, the temporary will and always is, temporary. Our true focus is heaven. Thus, rather than storing up things on this earth, store up your treasures in heaven.

The Incomparable Value of Joy

To end, ponder on these questions

What is this treasure worth to you? What will you give up to reach this prize that has been granted unto us by God? And, in the end, do you want to go to heaven?

by kenn

Today's topic is about the wonder of Joy. lol i can hear all the sniggering

Hey guys sorry that the lesson is not up yet.

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

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