Jesus Blog (Year 5 Leaders)

Food!

FOOOOOOOOOD

FOOD is something that we cannot do without and we know that it is also an equally important component of our weekly cell meetings and much joy comes from being able to have meals together afterwards too!

So do you think it is just a Singaporean thing? Because we live in a food haven so we dont have a choice as we havebeen primed and brought up this way? Or do you think it just happens because everyone needs food anyways!

But have you thought about it… actually this whole idea of sharing meals together started way back during Jesus’stime! Food expresses our dependence on God and on other people while meals embody friendship and welcome since it was a practice for them to share food and in that time the act was a sign of a special friendship.

Jesus also showed his people how food was another powerful way of doing mission and community.

Luke 7:34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners."'

Let’s take one example from the above accusation that Jesus was charged with. He ate with tax collectors. Tax collectors were collaborators with the Romans (who were oppressing the Jews at that time) and also they were extorting money from them. This meant they were not only betraying the nation, but they were enemies of God. But Jesus sits and eats with his enemies. It’s an amazing expression of grace.

Matt 9:10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples.

Then about community, our meetings normally involve food plus we encourage people to share their lives throughout the week during mealtime and this also works with unbelievers as well. But one thing to note is that meals don’t make acommunity. They only simply embody or express it. It is the gospel that creates community. This is what makescommunities “work ” since we know that the gospel is what gives us as a community HOPE! haha and of course more bonding over good FOOOD in heaven!

Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine--the best of meats and the finest of wines.

This was what Jesus said after he went to eat with Zacchaeusin Luke 19:9-10 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Note that Christ did not simply go to his house to eat and befriend Zacchaeus but it was through the act of choosing to eat with him that he managed to show Zacchaeus acceptance but the chief end of it was to bring him back into the family.

But besides just looking at food and meals let us take a look at the other significant meals they had in the past. (Aim: to lead to talk about Holy Communion)

1. The Passover Meal

Ask the youths what they think the meal is about? Is it a meal that they passed-over therefore like dieting like that?

So what was it about and why was it significant?

Exodus 12:16-27 26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”Then the people bowed down and worshiped.

Bitter herbs, unleavened bread and lamb were eaten. The herbs symbolize the bitterness of slavery; the unleavened bread and lamb recall the people’s flight from Egypt.

If you want to give them a better understanding you can get them to read the whole of Exodus 12: 1-29

Okays so perhaps your youths might say eh we no longer participate in this meal anymore! But what is one meal we do participate in every 3rd Sunday of the month? (mostMethodist Churches (adult service) it is 1st Sunday of the month).

2. The Last Supper

Mark 14:22-24 22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying,“Take it; this is my body.” 23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.24 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them.

Luke 22:19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

On the day before he was crucified, Jesus gathered the Apostles and shared the Passover meal with them. And they were told to continue this rite in remembrance of him.

After Jesus resurrected in Luke 24:30-31 it describes: When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

3. The Lord’s Supper / Holy Communion

So what is Holy Communion? Is there a difference between The Lord’s Supper & Holy Communion ? Can someone describe what happens during Holy Communion? Why do you think we take part in Holy Communion?

The Lord’s Supper reminds us of the last meal Jesus shared with the Apostles before dying on the cross at the same time it recalls the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

The term Holy Communion invites us to focus on the self-giving of the Holy God, which makes the sacrament an occasion of grace, and on the holiness of our communion with God and it also expresses the unity of God’s family.At the same time this also anticipates the final fulfilling union of all Christians.

Ephesians 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,

Whenever I think about Jesus inviting all of us sinners to eat at his table now and in the future when he returns I am reminded of how King David invited Mephibosheth to eat with him, someone who was of such low status but he was personally invited to eat with the King always!

2 Sam 9: 8 8Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

2 Sam 9: 13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.

Imagine sitting and eating with the Prime Minister but Jesus is one with infinity more authority.

The meaning of Holy Communion

1. Remembrance (as mentioned earlier)

2. Thanksgiving “broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising

God and enjoying the favor of all the people” (Acts 2:46-47a)

3. Proclamation Holy Communion is the sacrament that sustains and nourishes us in our journey of salvation. In a sacrament, God uses tangible, material things as vehicles or instruments of grace. Wesley defines a sacrament, in accord with his Anglican tradition, as “an outward sign of inward

grace, and a means whereby we receive the same” (“Means of Grace,” II.1).

4. Communion First Corinthians 10:17 explains that because there is one bread, we who are

many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”

5. Anticipation We are anticipating the heavenly banquet celebrating God’s victory over sin, evil, and

death (Matthew 22:1-14; Revelation 19:9; 21:1-7)

The Wesleys recognized the power of God available in the Lord’s Supper and urged their followers to draw on that power by frequent participation. The grace available in and through the sacrament was active in conviction, repentance and conversion, forgiveness, and sanctification. John Wesley described the Lord’s Supper as “the grand channel whereby the grace of his Spirit was conveyed to the souls of all the children of God” (“Sermon on the Mount—Discourse Six,” III.11).

How then should we approach Holy Communion?

Perhaps based on a simple guide suggested by Greg Laurie Daily Devotional we can try to:

First, we should look back. We are to participate in Communion in remembrance of Christ (see verse 19). Though we must be reverent and must be appreciative of what Communion symbolizes, Communion also speaks of intimacy and fellowship. And so we look back. We look back to the cross. We remember what Christ accomplished for us. And we are reminded of His love for us.

Second, we are to look ahead. The Scriptures say to do this "until he comes again" (1 Corinthians 11:26). The first time Jesus came to this earth, He came as the Suffering Servant. The next time, He will come as the Conquering King. Communion is an observance to remind us that Jesus will come again.

Third, Communion is a time to look within. We are to look within and ask the Holy Spirit to show us any areas of our lives that may not be pleasing to God so that sin would not get in the way of our communion with God.

So come to the Communion table in joy. Come in reverence. Come in honesty.

If there is something that isn't right, this is the time to deal with it. Communion is an ideal time to make a commitment or recommitment to Jesus Christ.

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)
³⁵For 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, ³⁶I 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!!!

Listening to God

Hi guys, we thought we should emphasize that sharing and praying is really important before you guys read the rest of the lesson. So please try to set aside 15-20 minutes for sharing and praying. It’s also highly encouraged that the leaders and youth break up into smaller groups to share.

Okay so today’s lesson’s going to be on listening to God. The main Bible passage is probably one that’s familiar to most of the youth and today’s topic is also probably one that the youth might have come across before. But just like the main verse (Matt 13:9) implies, hearing with our physical ears is something that’s completely different from hearing with the ears of our heart. So we hope that as you go through this lesson, and before you share this lesson with your youth, we will all pray that God will open the eyes and ears of our heart to see and hear what He has in stall for us, and that we will learn to be still and listen to God. And it is our hope that as we listen to Him, we shall respond to Him and we will experience our wonderful God for who He is.

Key Verse

Matthew 13:9

“He who has ears, let him hear.”

Key takeaways

11) We listen to God because we love Him and because He knows what is best for us

22) Distractions of this world can keep from listening to God/tuning into Him. Thus it is important to be aware of these and guard our hearts and minds against these.

33) Be ready to listen to God. Make a conscientious stand that you want to listen to Him.

To start off, listening to God is something that all of us are capable of experiencing if we are TRUE disciples of Christ. God’s voice may not come as an audible sound to most or most of the time, but if we are His sheep, we can all certainly tune in to Him. (& we can tune into Him only because of God’s Grace :D)

He speaks through spontaneous thoughts, feelings or visions too.

John 10:27

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

John 8:47

“Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

Okay, so…

11) Why do we want to/should we listen to God?

a) Because we love God. Firstly, people generally love to listen to someone that they love alot- parents, friends, someone they’re interested in etc. If we truly love God, we’ll want to spend time at His feet daily, listening to what He wants to say to us.

Luke 10:39

“She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.”

b) Secondly, because then we can know what God wants us to do. The plans and directions He has for our lives.

Psalm 139:16

“All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

God has our whole life planned out for each and every one of us even before we were born. He wants to mold us into the best person that we can be; and only He knows how, so lets listen to Him.

God loves us and is the source of our lives. He wants only good things for us and from us.

22) What prevents us from listening to God?

Matthew 13:1-23

a) Who does the farmer represent? What do the seeds represent? What does the soil represent?

God; God’s Word, the truths that He is trying to show us; the state of our hearts

b) What are the differences between the four types of soil?

They were different in their willingness to receive or hear the truth that God was trying to give them.

c) What is Jesus trying to communicate to His hearers through this parable?

God wants us to listen to Him. God wants us to be open to what He has to say to us and obey Him, so that He can change our hearts.

The key to communicating with God as shown in this parable is removing the things in our lives that prevent us from hearing what He has to say.

Ask the youth to think about the things in their lives that are preventing them from listening to God. (Time of sharing; leaders please share too)

It is important to note that we may not always be one of the types of soil listed, all the time. In different phases or seasons of life, or in different situations, we may respond to God’s word differently.

But at the end of the day, we hope that we all will strive to be the good soil that responds to God’s teaching and yields a bountiful crop, regardless of the season of life we’re in.

(On a side note, I think it helps being honest with God to. True that God is omniscient, but for me, I realized that when I wasn’t being honest with God about the state of my heart, I couldn’t to listen to what He wanted to tell me- what He wanted me to change with my life.)

33) But how do we listen to God’s voice?

a) Be open to the fact that God’s voice can come as spontaneous flow of thoughts, feelings or impressions in you, if not an audible sound. (Leaders have to exercise great caution when explaining this part.) For example, you may have a sudden prompting to pray for someone or speak to someone.

Tell your youth that this is possible. That God can speak to us throughout the day, even when we’re busy. But we have to first of all be open to this possibility.

Also, it’s important that we learn to recognize how to discern whether such a thought or emotion is from God or not. How we can do this is by spending time to get to know God, reading His Word. It’s the same with people, when you get to know your best friend so well, you’ll be able to discern his or her voice in a crowd of voices even without turning around.

Hebrews 4:12

“For the world of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

And we know we have the Holy Spirit with us, to guide us at all times.

(Ref John 16:13)

b) By stilling our hearts before God

True that God can speak to us even when our hearts are not still, but when we’re still, we’ll find it a lot easier to hear His voice. If we’re not still, we won’t be able to hear His voice. We’ll be hearing our own thoughts most of the time.

By still, we mean the state of our hearts. Though it is possible to have stilled hearts even in a noisy external environment, but it’s a lot easier to still our hearts before God when we’re in a quiet environment. When it’s just us and God and we can pour everything that’s on our heart out to Him and listen to Him.

Luke 6:12

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”

Throughout the gospels, it records that Jesus often retired to a quiet place, to pray, to talk to God and to listen to Him.

So encourage the youth to still their hearts before God. Maybe they can do so at home, not rushing through QT, or on the bus or train on the way home. Maybe then, they can plug in to a quiet worship song, and seek God, instead of checking Facebook, twitter or Instagram. (which so many of us tend to do)

Habakkuk 2:1

“I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.”

‘I will stand at my watch and station myself’ – implies that Habakkuk readied himself to listen to God

c) By praying !

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your won understanding; in all your ways ACKNOWLEDGE him, and he will make your paths straight.”

When we pray and acknowledge God in our every endeavor, and every step of the way God supernaturally causes us to be agreeable with Him.

Praying is our communication with God! So when we pray and trust Him with our every step, He does speak!

Also! Believe that God is willing to lead us and wants to talk to us!

TIME FOR SHARING!!

http://www.cwgministries.org/Four-Keys-to-Hearing-Gods-Voice

http://www.edenlifemag.com/2012/08/how-to-hear-from-god/

Done by: Cher, Lish, Noel