lesson loop 11.15.13

Middle School: "Jesus Suffering, Death and Burial"
This was a sobering lesson as we continue in our study of Jesus Christ. This past Tuesday we looked at:

Jesus' Suffering
We listed these aspects to Jesus' physical suffering:

vs. 1) flogged - cat of 9 tails, blood loss
vs. 2) crown of thorns - long thorns that would go deep into the head, causing bleeding
vs. 3) struck by wicked men
vs. 17) bearing his own cross
vs. 18) crucifixion

That is only his physical suffering, not to mention emotional and spiritual. 

The next question was, why did Jesus need to suffer? Couldn't He just die a painless death and pay for our sins? We answered that with no, and here is why:

• He was our substitute (Isaiah 53) - Jesus took our place and so He needed to be punished.
• His suffering was prophesied (Isaiah 50, 52, 53, Psalm 22, etc.)
• Forgiveness can only come through bloodshed (Hebrews 9:22)

Jesus Death

Jesus willingly died for us. No man took His life from Him. And yet, Jesus waited until the payment for sin was complete, and He said these important words - "It is finished"

The work is done. God's wrath is satisfied. We don't need to impress God or others.  Praise Him!

Jesus Burial

Jesus' burial is often overlooked, but it emphasizes the finality of His death. He really did die! Not only that, but since our sins were placed on Him on the cross, they went to the grave with Him, and that is where they are to stay. Colossians 3 teaches us that. We need to leave our sins in the grave, and stop trying to wear our old graveclothes! Let's walk in the new life of the resurrection!

Here are the discussion questions:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s4BVgRa4lreXuxcDDiAXUrN7vUe8OwOdxu0pHt-sDGI/edit?usp=sharing

High School: "Harvest: The Kingdom Worker"
We finished our video series with a lesson that focused on the harvest that is available for kingdom work. God wants to release all of us, students included to go out and be the hands and feet of Jesus helping others and sharing the gospel. Students were challenged to get involved right now, and not wait until they are adults.
It was a great lesson and excellent end to this series.
Here is the video for those who would want to watch it:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2zJ0haVL2YNWm9Ld28zMXlQWkU/edit?usp=sharing

And here are the discussion questions:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2zJ0haVL2YNVWEyNlM1UDk0ZVk/edit?usp=sharing

media review: Ender's Game

New in theaters this week is Ender's Game, based on the Orson Scott Card book of the same name, winner of both Hugo and Nebula awards when it was first published in 1985. It follows the childhood life of Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, born into a world living in fear of the Formics, a race of bug-like aliens who almost wiped out life on Earth 50 years prior. Convinced that only adolescent brains have the acuity and flexibility to develop the strategies needed to fight the next war, society has developed a program to send the best and brightest children to battle school to become the next generation of military commanders. Though it is technically a sci-fi tale, at its heart it is a story about the choices we make when it appears that the only way to defeat our enemies is to become aggressors ourselves.

The book was not originally targeted towards young adults, but it quickly found popularity among children and teens, who are drawn in by Card's compelling portrayal of what it feels like both to be bullied and bullying, outcast and hero. With the current popularity of teenage characters in dystopian settings (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will be released later this month), the story's 30-year incubation period from page to screen will probably turn out to be well-timed. Today's teens seem to relish tales like these, where a character their age is faced with insurmountable odds and a mission that no one else can accomplish. Throughout the story, the adults attempt to keep Ender isolated in hopes of molding him into a visionary leader, but friendships still manage to grow, and teamwork becomes key as the conclusion nears.

In the conversion from page to film, the timeline is compressed down to one year of Ender's life, and the story suffers a little loss of depth because of that. Still, it captures the spirit of the book well, and it raises the same pressing questions at the end. It is also a visual feast, worthy of the cost to see it on the big screen (and even in IMAX) - and its PG-13 rating may allow it to be fun for the whole family, depending on the maturity level of your children. Find more information about specific content and themes at http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/enders-game and http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/enders-game. In my opinion, the movie is suitable for a slightly younger audience than the book. The more violent moments of the story feel less intense when you are viewing them as an outsider rather than experiencing the emotions inside Ender's head. The movie also does a good job of showing the friendships and family relationships that keep Ender centered at times when it seems the adult leaders might prefer him to follow a path that is morally ambiguous.

Susannah

lesson loop 11.1.13

Middle School - "Jesus is More Than Just a Nice Guy"
This past Tuesday we continued our study on Jesus Christ. We began by watching a video where people on the street were interviewed about who they thought Jesus Christ was. There were some really interesting (and sad) comments on the video, but I believe it was an honest representation of what people actually believe. If you want to check out the video, you can here: http://youtu.be/johNLhZ5y48

We can only know who Jesus really is by looking at Jesus' claims He made about Himself. So that was our focus on Tuesday. Each of the groups looked at several Scriptures and then we compiled the claims of Christ. Here are some of them:



Matthew 26:50-64 and Luke 22:63-70

• “I can summon angels.”
• “I am the Messiah, the Son of God.”
• “You will see me seated at the right hand of God, and I will come back in the clouds of heaven.”

John 8:42-59

• “I came from God, and He sent me”
• “God is my Father”
• “God seeks my glory, He glorifies me”
• “If anyone keeps my word, he will never die.”
• “I know God and you do not.”
• “I existed before Abraham, I am eternal.”
• (earlier in 8:29) - “I always please God.”

John 10:14-39; 14:6-10

• “I know God and He knows me (He is my Father).”
• “I will lay down my life, and then take it up again. I have this authority.”
• “I can give eternal life, and secure people’s salvation.”
• “I am one with God”
• “God consecrated me and sent me into the world.” 
• “God the Father is in me and I am in Him.”
• “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can get to God unless they come through me.”

We finished the night by considering C.S. Lewis' Trilemma ("Lord, Liar or Lunatic") Here is what C.S. Lewis proposed:

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ... Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God."

You can watch a video that sums it up right here if you would like: http://youtu.be/__4m_QvMQAY

Here are the small group questions:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YQWJRihimAAZ0S5OyeYJYdWA12i7yB0T35Jhi3FJmc8/edit?usp=sharing

My prayer is that our students see that Jesus claimed to be God, and He is God!!

High School - "What Defines You"

This was another great video lesson that got to the heart of who we are. We are defined by what is inside of us. And who we are inside comes out in the way we live. We learned that we can be defined by the stuff we have, or relationships we are in, or anything that is really important to us. One of the ways to know if anything is "defining us", is to ask the question - "would I be angry if it was taken away from me?".

This was challenging, and in the small group time afterwards students were challenged to evaluate what in their life might be defining them other than Jesus Christ. They were even challenged to find a couple people they trust and ask them for advice what they might need to change in their life. My hope is that some of our students actually took that challenge seriously. Those can be tough conversations to have, but important ones.

Here is the video we watched: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2zJ0haVL2YNSHF5anpiSk5BZ3M/edit?usp=sharing

And here are the small group questions:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2zJ0haVL2YNOTgyOUNxU3lhX1E/edit?usp=sharing

lesson loop 10.23.13

Middle School - "Jesus Birth"
We are continuing our study of the Trinity and we began a mini-series on Jesus called "Messiah".
Last night we looked at Jesus' birth, and how our "Limitless God" limited Himself by becoming man. This is an incredible idea, and hard to grasp - but we emphasized that Jesus is 100% human and 100% divine. He is not half and half, He is fully God and fully man. We focused more on Jesus' humanity last night, and considered questions such as "Was Jesus average or above average at sports?", did He as a baby go through all the normal stuff like crying and teething and dirty "diapers"? Did he go through the awkward puberty years the same way we do? These are interesting questions to entertain, but in the end we know that Jesus was fully human and so He did indeed experience the things we do that are a natural part of life.
We proceeded to read through Luke 1:26-38 and 2:1-38 and look for indications that prove Jesus was both human and divine. Here are some things we came up with:
Jesus Humanity

• 1:31) conceived in Mary’s womb; she gave birth to him
• 1:32) his ancestor was David
• 2:5) was pregnant
• 2:7) Mary delivered Jesus; they were turned away like any other normal family would have been.
• 2:12) Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes - shows his vulnerability as a normal baby - needing comfort and warmth
• 2:21) Jesus was circumcised
• 2:22-23) Jesus was dedicated like any other Jewish male

Jesus' Divinity

• 1:26) Gabriel sent from God
• 1:32) Named “Son of the Most High”
• 1:33) He will reign forever on the throne of David
• 1:34) virgin birth (Holy Spirit)
• 1:35) called “holy”, Son of God
• 2:9) angel appears to shepherds; “glory of the Lord shone around them”
• 2:11) Given the names of Savior, Christ and Lord
• 2:13) a multitude of the heavenly host
• 2:26) revealed as the Lord’s Christ
• 2:32) called a “light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel
• 2:38) called “the redemption of Jerusalem”

We also considered how our faith would change if Jesus were not divine or human?

If Jesus was not really human (and only appeared to be):

• Wouldn’t “suffer” for our sins
• Would not be our representative (2nd Adam)
• Would not have fulfilled the law - living a life of perfect obedience.
• Could not have died (God cannot die)

If Jesus was not truly God:

• Then he is not unique (there have been many great men)
• He was a liar (claimed to be God)
• He is still dead
• God remains distant and aloof, waiting for us to make a way to Him

Here are the small group questions we looked at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pjtHd1cgnyAe22tAxXvZm9Jm9ZcxxLqogtHBvp-KGr0/edit?usp=sharing

High School - "Choosing Friends - The Calling of Matthew and the Disciples"

We continued our study "Anything But Ordinary - where heaven and earth collide". This week we considered the kind of friends we surround ourselves with, and whether we are helping them or they are dragging us down. The main point was if we are going to reach out to those who need our help than we had better make sure we are anchored well to Christ and we have other strong believers who are upholding us and keeping us accountable.

You can watch the video lesson here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2zJ0haVL2YNZUE3ZzNPRFY0LXM/edit?usp=sharing

And here are the small group questions: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2zJ0haVL2YNMXE3VmIzZ3JsVk0/edit?usp=sharing

lesson loop 10.10.13

Family Night 10.10.13
We had a great night together this past Tuesday. I really love family nights. Few things are as encouraging to my heart as seeing parents and children going through the Scriptures together, and worshiping together. We looked at Romans 9:30-10:13, and our main emphasis was The Righteousness of God. Specifically, or big idea was:  Let's make sure our understanding of righteousness matches up with God's definition of righteousness, because our salvation depends on it!
We compared the common understanding of righteousness and goodness to the definition in Scripture. What we find is that the Bible sets forth a completely different method of righteousness from way the world thinks of it, and the way the 1st century Jews understood it. Here are the aspects of God's righteousness we considered:

1. God's Righteousness is reached by faith
2. God's Righteousness is found in Jesus
3. God's righteousness is offered to all

We ended the lesson time by breaking into family groups and growth groups, and considering these questions:

• Name a few "good people" that you know? (people who are not Christians but seem to live a decent life - neighbors, extended family, friends, etc...)
• How is it difficult to share the gospel with people who believe they are "good"?
• Take Romans 9:30-10:13, and put it in your own words in a way that you could share with "good" people that you know (explain the difference between man's definition of righteousness and God's definition.)
• Are you 100% sure that you are trusting in Jesus' righteousness and not your own?
• Spend some time praying as a family or growth group. (Pray for the "good" people you mentioned earlier - that God will make them aware of their sin, and ask God to use you to introduce them to Jesus' righteousness.)

Also, at the end of the night, we as parents met while the students enjoyed their ice cream sundaes. We focused on Teens and Media, and just barely scratched the surface. Here is the link to the slides we looked at (Parents and Media), and I have also included the link to the one website I directed parents attention to - http://www.digitalkidsinitiative.com/ . We had parents pair up and talk about ways that they have worked to keep their family safe when it comes to media.

Please feel free to keep the conversation going, and please ask me for suggestions when it comes to technology - filters, accountability software, and things like that.

A newer social networking site to beware of...

Ask.fm. . . Digital Playground For Teen Trouble. . . http://learningmylines.blogspot.com/2013/10/askfm-digital-playground-for-teen.html

parenting seminar at Hackman's

Parents -

I wanted to let you know about a parenting seminar that is coming up at Hackman's. Jessie Seneca and Brian Cooper will be sharing from the Scripture and their own experience. See the information below if you are interested!

Parenting Teens

Date: Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013

Time: 8:30 AM - 2:00 PM

Location: Hackman’s Bookstore, 1341 Mickley Road Whitehall, Pa

Presenters: Jessie Seneca and Pastor Brian Cooper

Call store to register 610.264.8600

Cost: $10.00

Pre-order a lunch for $7 of bring your own lunch

Together we will look at parenting through a Biblical perspective and what it will look like to practically walk it out in today's culture.

·  Session One: The Changing Parent and Child Relationship

·  Session Two: Building Relationships and Solving Problems

·  Session Three: Teen and culture issues: Dating, Dress, Media and finances