Way of Discipleship-- November 24, 2013

The lesson is focused on "way of discipleship".  Being a disciple means being a follower of Jesus.  The Footprints in the sand poem talks about several sets of footprints, Jesus walking in front of us, Jesus walking beside us, and when there was one set of footprints, Jesus was carrying us.  But maybe that one set of footprints was when we were walking so close to Jesus that we were actually walking in the same footprint as Him. 
The first followers of Jesus were called followers of "the Way".  John 14:6 says "I am the way..."
A jungle safari guide doesn't show the way through the jungle by pointing and saying that's the way; he is the way through the jungle.  We will join the ranks of the early followers of Christ and discuss ways to be disciples of the Way. 

Jerusalem Cross is a large cross in the center with four smaller crosses, one in each corner of the large cross.  The attached picture shows the cross and the 4 parts of being disciple.  The first part, devotion, describes the activities that we do that draw us closer to God.   Devotion involves just one, or is something we can do alone.  It involves prayer, reading scripture, practicing the Presence of God and incorporates a time of silence and reflection in scripture. 

Jerusalem Cross

The second part, Worship, involves more than one person.  It is something we do in a group, as a church.  In Acts 2: 37-47 we read about the different aspects of worship--"devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, the breaking of the bread and to prayer... gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts, eating together and praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people." In both traditional worship and contemporary the elements of worship remain the same-- praising God through song, prayer, teaching from scripture, and communion.

New Creation -- November 17, 2013

We've learned that God is a creator, that he saw all things he created as ''good", that he's all powerful-- that he spoke it and it was created.  We've also learned that God wanted a beautiful space for humans, a job of tending to everything he created, rules to live by, and a free will to choose to live by those rules or not. God created us to be in relationship with him.   And then we learned that mankind chose to not live by God's rules and therefore, sin entered the world.  Unfortunately, Adam and Eve were not the only ones that didn't follow God's commands.  Scripture is full of examples of people who disobeyed God.  So what did God do?  He sent a Savior-- Jesus.  And what did Jesus do?  He rescued us from sin by being our sin offering. 

In Genesis we see our story starts in a Garden.  Now let's read in Revelation 21: 1-5 and Revelation 22: 1-5.  As we can see by the scripture, our story starts and ends in the same place-- in a garden and with people living in right relationship with God. The other similarity between Genesis and Revelation is that everything is NEW. 

The really cool thing is that in between Genesis (the beginning) and Revelation (the end), God is working at making things new all the time.  He doesn't wait until the end to make all things new.  He's constantly making things and people new. 

We have some really good examples of persons who became new when they encountered Jesus. 
John 4: 1-42 tells us of the Samaritan woman at the well who became new and brought others to Jesus through her encounter with Jesus.  Acts 9: 1-19 is the story of Saul who encounters Jesus on the road to Damascus and has a conversion.  Later Saul becomes Paul and goes on to spread Christianity throughout the Roman empire and wrote many letters (the Epistles) that included in the New Testament.  (Epistles-- Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1& 2 Thessolonians)  In fact, Paul's letter to the Romans has made more of an impact on readers than all the volumes of all the great Roman writers put together. 

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) - it says: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come." Another translation (NRSV) says this: "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see everything has become new." What is the difference between these two translations?  NIV uses 'he' and NRSV uses 'there'.
Both are accurate translations from Greek.  When someone has a relationship with Christ, he or she changes or is made new, becomes a different person.  But this change is not limited to that one person.  That person, through their actions and attitudes, affects those around him.  You see this change-- newness-- starts with one but doesn't end with just one.  It ends with many. 

How does God use persons such as the woman at the well and Saul/Paul?  The story of the Samaritan woman says that she went through the town telling about Jesus and many believed because of her testimony.  Paul became an important leader of the church and wrote letters that have been touching people's lives for nearly 2000 years. 

Church-- Built Together-- November 10, 2013

Today we are going to be doing some body building together.  What does body building make you think of?  Yes, working out, making your body stronger, making your body healthier.  Making your body stronger and healthier is the reason to work out right?  The same is true with our body known as the Church. 

Read - 1 Corinthians 12: 12-27

Which part of the body are you right now?  Like, if you like to talk about faith, you are the Mouth.  And maybe you are an Ear if you are a great listener to Christian music and friends or Hands because you love to serve. 

Though we are many parts, we are one body.  As one body we cooperate or work together.  When we form a circle and pass a ball around, it's easy to pass the ball because we are all working together to pass the ball from one to another around the circle.  But if people start dropping out what happens?  It gets harder and harder because we don't have each other working together to get that ball around the circle.  In the same way, people dropping out of the church hampers the church and what it does.  How many does it take for us to be KUMC?  To do a worship service?  To run S.O.S.S.? 

We said that we are many members of one body.  What's the glue that holds us together?  Jesus.  Ephesians 2: 19-22 says:  Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.  And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. And Galatians 3: 26-28 says that we are all sons of God through our faith in Jesus and that there is no one better than the other but we all belong to Christ and are heirs according to His promise.  Our differences are much less significant than our unity in Christ. 

You are the church right now.  Not after you grow up.....NOW!

Let's be the church and make a difference in this world.

Church-- November 3, 2013

To open the discussion on "Church", Kayla asked the students some questions regarding their visit to the Synagogue.  She asked:  "What are some things they learned?", "What is the difference between what they believe and what we believe?" The short answer is Jesus.  "Why was there a split in the Early church?"  The original split was because Jesus did not meet the criteria that the Jewish people had for the Messiah. 

In the beginning there was just one church.  If you read the book of Acts, we see the church started and grew quickly.  But believers are human and are not without sin.  Therefore, people began to disagree on how the church should operate and on belief.  In 1517 the Catholic Church in Germany was stuck on tradition and distorted the truth of Scripture.  Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the church calling for reform.  This was the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.  In the year 1554 because King Henry VIII wanted a divorce and could not get one granted to him in the Roman Catholic Church, he split from the Catholic Church and started the Church of England.  The Church of England is most closely related to what we know today as the Episcopal Church. 

But out of the Church of England came a man by the name of John Wesley.  He believed in God's grace for all, personal holiness and social responsibility.  He believed in methodical study of the Word, worship, prayer and praise and formed a Christian group know as the Holy Club.  This Holy Club was nicknamed the Methodists.  After studying and entering the Anglican priesthood and having a disappointing experience as a missionary in the colony of Georgia, John Wesley went through a period of profound soul-searching which led to a heart -warming experience at a Christian gathering on Aldersgate Street in London.  There he experienced Christ's love and forgiveness and a wider dimension of Christianity.  Soon after, he began taking faith to the people, outside the confines of the church, and found multitudes of common people who were hungry for the Gospel. He formed small groups called "classes" who met regularly for Bible study, prayer, to help the poor, and to be accountable in their Christian walk.  These people became known as the "Methodists".  Before the Revolutionary War, many British Methodists immigrated to America, and re-formed their Methodist groups.  After some dividing and reorganizing mostly centered around the topic of slavery, The United Methodist Church was formed in 1968. 

Redemption-- September 29, 2013

In Luke 5: 27-32 - Jesus, who is eating with tax collectors and sinners, is questioned by the Pharisees and teachers of the law about why he is eating with these people.  Jesus answers, "it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

Who are sinners?  Everyone  In Romans 3:10 it says, "As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;"

What does redemption mean?  Where have you heard the word redemption before?  Redemption as in redeeming tickets is trading one thing to get another.  In Biblical times, redemption was often associated with slavery.  Leviticus 25: 47-49 First let's review what the book of Leviticus is about and who wrote it.  The theme of Leviticus is "laws and how to present sacrifices" and Moses is believed to have written this book.  So in this specific chapter we read about the Sabbath Year and the rules for that.  The Sabbath year occurs every seven years and the land is given a rest on that year.  Slaves and temporary residents gather the produce that had grown that year.  In the verses that we are looking at the Jubilee, which occurs every 50 years, is occurring and during the Jubilee, those who acquired other peoples lands were required to return the land to the original owners.  Also, Israelite slaves were also released and allowed to return to their families.  So in these verses we see that for a person to pay off a debt that is owed, they or someone else is sold into slavery.  And to be redeemed from this slavery, they had to wait for the Jubilee year to come around. 

Romans 7: 14-20 -describes how sin living in us causes us to do what we do not want to do, that we want to do good but we can't because of that sinful nature.  So what does it mean to be a slave to sin?  It means we keep doing it, and we can't break free from it on our own.  Even the law does not keep us from doing wrong.  Romans 8: 1-8 - gives us the answer.  How can we be freed from slavery to sin?  We're freed by Christ who was our sin offering.  Romans 8: 3 says, "for what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering...." When we live connected to Christ, living by focusing on God, trusting in his grace, trusting in God's spirit living in you-- this frees us from the grip of sin. 

So the meaning of redemption- the state of being redeemed; deliverance from sin through the life, death and resurrection of Christ. 

Sin-- September 22, 2013

Genesis 3-- Read this chapter to hear how sin started on Earth. 

Who has ever been sick?  Sin is like a tumor or infection that is passed on from person to person.  So even though a tumor can be removed with surgery, a person still has healing to do after the tumor is gone.  Well, sin is also like that.  Even though our sins have been covered and forgiven, we are still recovering/healing. 

The only way to take away this illness called Sin is through belief in Jesus and that He died on for our sin. 

Goodness of creation got broken by sin.  What kind of damage can sin do?  Some examples might be: throwing garbage out of a car window is a sin and the damage it does is it harms the environment and animals, taking harmful drugs is a sin and the damage it does is it can have damaging effects to the body or lead to addictions, lying is a sin and the damage it can do is causing broken relationships. 

Sin can be done singularly by people or in groups such as corporate sin.  Examples of corporate sin are war, pollution, groups acting to perform animal abuse.  In Amos 5: 21-24 the Jewish people are addressed as a group and are told that they aren't being righteous because they are celebrating the day of the Lord.  But that righteous people are those who try not to sin and who listen to God. 

1 Corinthians 1: 10 - Paul urges the church in Corinth saying that they should be in agreement with no divisions between them.  How do we keep from sinning?  Work, pray, and let the Holy Spirit come into our lives. 

To get rid of our sin belief in Jesus as our savior that he died on the cross for our sins is the only way.  And we still sin.  But He offers us Grace-- undeserved love that can never be earned but He gives it to us anyway. 

Confirmation Retreat - Sept. 14-15, 2013

Lesson 1: Building our community

Confirmation is a journey of discovering who Christ is, who we are in Christ, and what it means to be working member of the body.

(Not just a member) 

Through this process, it's important to know that you are not alone! But you have each other. What does it look like to support and love one another during the year of confirmation?

 I thought of two examples:

1. Encouragement to stray from the way of the world

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 ESV)

 What does it mean to encourage one another?

Why is this important?

What happens when we don't?

 2. It should look like that of the church in Acts.

Acts 4:32-37

"Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. (Acts 4:32-37 ESV)

 This church in Acts supports its members, who can we do that?

- encourage

- reach out
- pray
- have each others backs in times of need

 Why is it hard sometimes to be like this church?

How can we combat that?

Know that this is a safe place of love and support. Learn to trust one another and lean on each other in hard times.

 

Lesson 2:  Covenant

 

What is a covenant?  A promise, an agreement, a contract

The definition is this:  a bond (agreement) entered into voluntarily by two parties by which each pledges himself to do something for the other.  In the church, such a covenant involves people and God. 

 

A Christian marriage is really a type of covenant-- one person promises to another person and to God that they will be loyal to that person as long as they live.  So Clint might have said something like this when he married his wife:

I, Clint, take you Abby to be my wife,

to have and to hold from this day forward,

for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer,

in sickness and in health,

to love and to cherish,

until we are parted by death.

This is my solemn vow.

 

These are supposed to be words that bind the two together as they stand before God.  Covenants are the "glue" that keep people together or at least we hope they do.  But we mess up. We aren't perfect and often we don't keep our promises.  

 

Read Exodus 23: 32-33.  In the Bible, God makes covenants with individuals and with His people.  And as in the Scripture that you just read, He warns us about making covenant with the wrong people.  In fact the Bible is divided into two covenants-- an old covenant (Old Testament) that God made with the Hebrew people and the new covenant (New Testament) that God made with all persons through Jesus.  We can read the Bible as the story of the covenant between God and God's people. 

 

Covenants made with God are very serious.  In the Old Testament the people would literally "cut" a covenant with God.  They would take a young lamb or goat and cut it in half with a saw.  Then they would walk between the two halves and make their promise or covenant with God.  They would say "God if I break this promise let what happened to this lamb happen to me." How about that for a covenant?  Who would make that covenant?

 

One of the earliest covenants made was one made with Abraham.  Genesis 17: 1-7 Who had the most responsibility in this covenant?  God did and when God makes a promise he keeps it.  God also made a covenant with the Hebrew people when he brought them out of Egypt -- called the Sinai Covenant-- 10 Commandments -- a covenant that helped them to live in community. Exodus 24 God told them that if they broke the covenant that there would be consequences.  Do you think they kept it?  No, they broke it and ended up in captivity for years.  But in the midst of their brokenness, God says there will be a new covenant.  Jeremiah 31: 31-34

 

God knows people are who they are, saying one thing and intending to do that thing but messing up.  So He needed a new non- breakable covenant-- Jesus! We will learn more about God's covenant with all of us through Jesus in the coming weeks. 

 

Covenants are very important to God and they are important to make when we enter into something that will help us to grow in our faith. Even though we are imperfect, we should still try to keep covenant with God to show our love to Him.  So we will write a Confirmation Covenant that we will make to our congregation and to God on Sunday, Sept. 22nd in church.  The church and your families will also make a covenant with you on that same day. 

Lesson 3: Faith

 

Hebrews 11:1-3 

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1 NIV) 

1. Trust -

Trust fall -volunteer came to the front and stood on a chair while Clint walked to the other side of the room and asked her if she trusted him to catch her.  The volunteer said "no" since Clint was across the room. 

Past - we trust through past experiences.

-our own
-People we know
-History

2. Hope - future - hope in what is to come

-Hope that Clint was gonna catch the volunteer 
-Hope to get good presents
-Hope to get a good grade
-Hope to get a girlfriend
-Hope to go to heaven

3. Love - present - give and receive love

-Because I love and care for you I'm not gonna let you fall
-Because he first loved us

1John 4:19- We love because He first loved us.

-His whole plan was out of love

-Everything he does is out of love for us.

 Trust, hope, love- Past, future and present

 Biblical examples of faith in action, in practice... What does faith lived out look like?

Abraham- loved God and was strong in faith. God promised Abraham that he would have a son.  God gave him that son, and when God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, Abraham trusted God to the point where he was going to sacrifice his son. But God stopped Abraham.   

Moses- was faithful to do all that God instructed him to do to bring the Israelites out of captivity. Even when God had Moses lead the people through the desert, he was faithful.

Noah- followed God's instructions to build an ark when everyone thought he was crazy for doing it.  He was faithful and believed that God would do what He said he was going to do. 

To live by faith is to live boldly

When we have an understanding of trust, hope, love we are freed to live boldly!

Because we love the people we boldly proclaim the name of Christ.  We live out our faith.

Jesus Christ - made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could all live eternally. When we have faith in Jesus and that he died for our sins, we can live knowing that we are forgiven. 

 So "faith is being sure of what we hope for"; it's being able to trust that what we do not see is true and that God loves us enough to give us a hope of an everlasting life through the sacrifice of his son.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creation 2-- September 8, 2013

Our lesson on Sunday started with students dividing into small groups and drawing posters of the days of Creation (Genesis 1).  When they completed their drawings we discussed each day of creation, reading the verse and asking what part stood out and what might have been a surprise or something they never heard before. 

In Genesis 1, the Creation story, scripture shows us that God is a Creator, and loves all that he has created and cares about the well-being of his creation.  It also shows us God's power.  Throughout the creation story we see that God speaks it and creation happens.  He can do all.  He is all powerful. 

In Genesis 1: 27 -- So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  What does this mean that God created man in his image?  It doesn't necessarily mean that we physically look like God but it means that we share many of God's characteristics.  One way we are like God is that we have the ability to create things.  Some examples of things we create are:  model airplanes and cars, artwork (paintings and drawings), wood working projects, knitted scarves, etc.  Creativity is one way we are made in God's image.  Since we are created in God's image, as we learn more about God and who He is, we learn more about who we are, who he created us to be, and who God calls us to be.  In Genesis 1:28 God gives humankind dominion over all the Earth and in Genesis 2:15, God tells Adam to till and keep the garden. So part of who God calls us to be is to care for his creation.  But being a caretaker of God's creation is more than just protecting his environment or caring for his plants and animals.  We also have to faithfully use our gifts and talents to honor God, to show people God's love and to let others know the good news about what God has done through Jesus. 

Last week in our table time we read and acted out some different scripture to demonstrate who God is.  Each of these passages tells us something different about who God is.  Its like a story I heard....
there are these 6 blind men walking down a road together in India.  They came upon an elephant and each of them touched it and had a differnt experience. One touched the tusk, a second touched the trunk, the third an ear, the fourth a leg, the fifth a tail and the last the side of the elephant.  As they continued on their walk they talked about their experience with the elephant and started to argue.  One said it was like a spear, another said it was like a large snake, the third said it was like a warm, thin flat leaf, the next said it was like a trunk of a tree, the fifth said it was like a rope that he could hold in his hand, and the last insisted it was like a wall.  Try as they might, they could not agree on what an elephant was like.  Each was convinced he was right and the others were wrong.  Who was right? What is the point of the story?  How does this story relate to our understanding about God?
We will not learn everything we need to know about God from any one scripture or experience.  God is much bigger than we can know fully, but God invites us to spend a lifetime knowing Him better and better.  He wants us to know him by having a relationship with Him.  Also, what we know and feel about God may not be exactly the same as what someone else experiences with God.  That's also why being in community is important-- so we can share our knowledge and experiences and learn more. 

So what are some ways we can know God better:  Confirmation class, worship, Bible Study, reading the Bible, praying, serving others, seeking God, devotional time, being part of a faith community. 

Homework:  Memorize John 15:5

Creation-- September 1, 2013

Last week the students were given the assignment of finding out who wrote the book of Genesis and what the theme of Genesis is in preparation for our lesson on "Creation".  Moses is believed to have written Genesis and the theme of this book is beginnings, creation of the world and introduction to sin.  It is a book that describes who God is to us through creation. 

Creation story-- God created everything in 6 days and on the 7th He rested.  So without looking at Genesis 1, the students were asked to order what was created in those 6 days. 
1st day - night and day
2nd day - sky
3rd day - land, water, plants
4th day - sun, moon and stars
5th day - sea life and birds
6th day - animals and humankind
7th day - He rested or otherwise referred to as the Sabbath (day set apart for us to appreciate and honor God and what He created)

The students were then asked to give words that describe God.  These are some that they came up with:  unthinkable, awesome, creative, amazing, loving, caring, Trinity, forgiving, cool, trusting, incredible, one true King, King of the universe, nice. 

Trinity -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- we will learn about who God is in these three forms.  In the creation story we are talking about God the Father, creator of all. 

In the United Methodist Book of Discipline, God is defined as the following:
Article 1 - God: We believe in the one true, holy, and living God.  Eternal Spirit, who is Creator, Sovereign and Preserver of all things visible and invisible.  He is infinite in power, wisdom, justice, goodness and love, and rules with gracious regard for the well-being and salvation of men, to the glory of his name.  We believe the one God reveals himself as the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, distinct but inseparable, eternally one in essence and power. 

Students divided into 4 table groups and looked at the following scripture passages to see who God is described to be in each scripture passage:

Matthew 20: 1-16 -- God is like a generous boss
Luke 15: 8-10 -- God is like a rejoicing woman
Luke 15: 11-32 -- God is like a forgiving father
John 10: 1-18 -- God is like a shepherd
John 13: 3-5, 12-16 -- God is like a servant

Each group then acted out a skit that demonstrated that description of who God is. 

This Sunday we will continue to talk about the first 2 chapters of Genesis and creation. 

Confirmation Orientation-- August 25, 2013

Welcome KUMC Confirmation 2013-2014 families!  This will be the place that you can view information from classes that your child may miss or where you, as parents, can see the details of lessons that your child is learning in Confirmation class.  I hope that you find this a useful and helpful communication tool.  I want you to be as informed as possible about all aspects of Confirmation. 

This past Sunday, our first day of Confirmation, we took some time to start getting to know one another.  The students came into class and filled out a "Who Am I" form for me with questions such as what activities are you involved in, do you have any pets, any siblings, what is your favorite color.  This information helps me to get to know the students, and we also share this information with the person who is assigned as your child's prayer partner so that they can get to know him/her too.  I also took your child's photo that I will use to help prayer partners identify the student for whom they are praying. Our next activity, called Mission Possible, was a worksheet that required the students to find students in class who matched certain descriptions such as a person who knows how to skateboard, a dancer, a girl scout.  They spent about 10 or so minutes just talking to each other about which description best fit them. 

After getting to know each other we then sat in a circle and discussed the different aspects of this Confirmation year. Classes will meet weekly and we will start each morning with worship music and prayer followed by a lesson and then small group time.  We will have mission opportunities, social activities, Bible study on Wednesday nights, retreats (first one is Sept. 14-15), prayer partners who pray for us, and activities with the other part of our youth group.

The last thing we did was talk about our confirmation journey and that one of the most important things you can take on this journey is one another.  In the Christian faith, being in community is very important.  We learn out God, we learn to love God and one another through our relationships as part of a community journeying together.  Another very important aspect of Confirmation is learning and studying God's Word.  We will spend time in reading Scripture and seeing what God has for us through his Word.  So, that being said, there is some homework.  We will be doing our first lesson from the book of Genesis so to prepare for that lesson come with the following information: 1. Who wrote the book of Genesis and 2. What is the theme of Genesis?   Also, the first passage that we will need to memorize is John 15:5: "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."