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.