lesson loop 7.31.14

Middle School - "God as Savior"
After our series on Creation and the Bible, we began a new series on Salvation.
We started by using an illustration of creating a paper airplane which is intended to fly. Then I took the students' airplanes and tore them to shreds and asked them to fly them again. Obviously, they didn't fly too well. This is an illustration of how our lives are torn apart from sin, and we do not accomplish what we are created to do - bring glory to God.

We then considered the reason why we need God - because this sin is ingrained in us, and we cannot earn our way to heaven. We looked at the following verses:

Romans 5:12
Because of Adam's sin, we are all born sinners, and because of our sin we all experience death - separation of body and soul, and separation from God.

Romans 6:23
We discussed the idea of a "wage", and how we can never earn our way to heaven. In fact, the wage that we deserve (because of our sin) is separation from God for all eternity.

Romans 4:4-5
Getting to heaven does not require a wage that we pay, but rather it is a wage that Jesus paid, and posts on our account as a free gift. Where would we be without a Savior??

We then talked about how Jesus blots out our sins with His own blood, and we considered Isaiah 43:25. We illustrated this by using white-out on the word sin written on 3x5 cards.


High School - "facing opposition (while sharing your faith)"
We continued the conversation from Kickback, where we went over how to share your faith, particularly with those who disagree with you. We looked at 1 Timothy 3:13-17, and considered that we should have a:

1. Bold Defense
   * No one can harm us unless God allows it.
   * We will be blessed even if we are persecuted.
   * We are commanded to have no fear.
   * We are told to make a defense and get ready for when people ask us about our faith - this is why we are studying the various world-views.
2. Gentle Approach
   * We are told to share Christ with gentleness.
   *We are told to have respect for those who disagree with us.

Then we watched a Dare 2 Share video on how to share your faith with those from other faiths. You can find that video here: http://youtu.be/E7RkC9C3H7U

This can be summed up with 3 words:

1. Ask - ask questions, let someone talk about themselves. Transition from the "un-spiritual" to the "spiritual".
2. Admire - There is always something we can admire about people, no matter what their faith viewpoint is.
3. Admit - We must admit that the reason we are a Christian is because we are sinners desperately in need of a Savior. We should share the gospel very clearly (use the G.O.S.P.E.L. acronym if you want to).

We then broke up into pairs and picked one of the worldviews to study  - students accessed these on their Dare 2 Share app they downloaded or on the paper handout I had. That app can be downloaded for android, iOS or iPad here: is.gd/Eqh74O

If you prefer to have the packet of the 13 worldviews, you can find that here: http://goo.gl/MMPE2y

I believe this is important for our students to begin to learn about other faith systems and prepare to share their faith. Lord willing this will lead to awesome conversations that lead students to Christ!

lesson loop 7.9.14

Middle School - "Doers of the Word"
We finished our series on the Bible last night, and we focused on putting into practice what the Scriptures say. This is the only option for disciples according to Jesus Christ. Jesus gave us 4 very challenging contrasts that show us the difference between "doers" of the Word and those who merely "hear".

• The Easy Way vs. The Hard Way—Matthew 7:13-14

(Matthew 16:26; John 16:33; Romans 12:2; James 1:1-4)

• The Healthy Tree vs. The Diseased Tree—Matthew 7:15-20

(John 15:1-8; Galatians 5:19-26; Ephesians 5:8-11)

• Genuine vs. Imposter—Matthew 7:21-23

(Matthew 15:7-9; John 17:3; Philippians 3:7-8)

• House on Rock vs. House on Sand—Matthew 7:24-27

(Titus 1:16; James 1:22-25; 2:14-18)

After considering each of these contrasts, we split into groups and looked at the supporting Scriptures in parenthesis. Then each group sketched a picture that illustrated one of the contrasts.

After coming back together, we emphasized that there is no such thing as a mediocre Christian. Either we are a disciple or we are not. Of course, we slip and fall and we have times of spiritual apathy. But we were challenged to turn from this type of apathy, because in the end when we stand before Jesus there is no middle of the road.

High School - James 5:13-20

We began by recognizing that every human is created for community. An illustration of this is how necessary we all feel social networks are in this day and age. There are so many ways to connect with people, which is a huge advantage for community. And yet, despite all of these opportunities, often our "connectedness" works against what God has in mind for community.

James 5 lays out several aspects of community that we desperately need if we are going to maintain a faith that works.

Big Idea: Having a faith that works requires community

In order to maintain a faith that works, we need a community that is...

1. Prayerful - in everything (suffering, joy, sickness and sin)
2. Real - we cannot be plastic Christians. We must be flesh and blood, humbly confessing sin to one another and seeking each other's help.
3. Proactive - we each bare a responsibility for the spiritual development of those God has placed in our life. It is not just pastors that have this responsibility. Each one of us do. We cannot leave any comrade behind!

When our community reflects these things, we reflect Jesus Christ and the gospel. Jesus was dependent on His Father through the good and the bad.

Jesus had real, flesh and blood relationships with people, and unlike the Pharisees was the same inside and out.

Jesus is absolutely proactive. He came to "seek and save the lost".

We need community. Period. No matter how tough or mature we think we are. May Ebenezer student ministry be a place where we can look out for one another and have a Biblical community which goes much deeper than the community of a social network.

lesson loop 7.5.14

Middle School - "The Measuring Stick"
We continued our study on the Bible by considering how Scripture is God's measuring stick.

We began by talking about the ways in which the world measures each other - how rich, beautiful, strong or popular we are. Most of us at times in our life feel like we don't measure up, but in reality it does not matter how other people measure us. It only matters how we measure up to God's standard, which is the Word of God.

Big Idea: God wants us to measure ourselves by the Scriptures

2 Timothy 3:16-17
Scripture is a measuring stick that...

1. Teaches - the story of Creation, Fall and Redemption (we find our story in God's story)
2. Convicts - the only way we know what God likes and dislikes is through the Bible
3. Corrects - God doesn't just convict us that we are wrong, but helps us change
4. Trains - in righteousness

Hebrews 4:12

Scripture is a measuring stick that is...

1. Alive - God breathed the Scripture!
2. Sharp - cuts like an expert surgeon's knife
3. Discerning - able to get to our heart

We concluded by realizing that the Scripture is the perfect measuring stick, able to do all these things. However, if we do not study and meditate on it, the Bible will not teach, convict, correct or train us. We must pick it up and study!

High School - James 5:7-12

We are almost through the book of James, and we looked at James 5:7-12 this past Tuesday.

Big Idea: Having a faith that works means enduring. 

We began discussing how the Christian life is a marathon, where it takes the grace of God to endure. We often feel like giving up, but we cannot. We must press on, and carry our cross. What is even more interesting is that this is a race in which we have no idea how long we will be running. We must continue until Christ comes back or He takes us home.

We endure with...

1. Patience - the people James was writing to needed patience because all around them the wicked seemed to be prospering and worldliness seemed to be winning! We also need patience as we await the return of the King, who will make all wrongs right and all sad things untrue.

James uses the illustration of a Farmer who awaits the harvest. We need to have this same kind of diligent patience. 

2. Peace - During the time we wait for Christ's return, we must seek peace with God's people. Rather than turn on each other and quarrel, we must come together as God's unified people, ready to build His kingdom.

3. Hope - James moves from the illustration of the Farmer to that of the Prophets who patiently endured suffering. Then James used the example of Job, who endured trials, temptation and suffering. We as believers need to have this same type of patient endurance as we await Christ's return. The way that the prophets and Job were able to do this was because of hope in God's character and promises - His purpose, compassion and mercy!!

4. Integrity - James constantly comes back to the tongue, and he focuses here on integrity in our words. Our word should be trustworthy, and especially as Christians, we should be different from the world, who needs a contract for everything. Our faith should affect our speech and our integrity.