Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Helpful Tools
I like to hear Chuck Missler's take on any given text or topic. Chuck has a web site at www.khouse.org. Here you can find audio commentaries on every book in the Bible. You can download them pretty cheap or buy cd's in mp3 or audio format. He tries to keep all of his sessions around an hour long in order to fit on 1 audio cd. Chuck had an incredible 30 year professional carrer, but now does his radio and other ministries full time. He has a caverness mind and, in my opinion, has been a good stuard of applying it to the study of scripture.
I downloaded 1 and 2 Peter for about $20 and it has 8 one hour sessions.
I also scan www.sermonindex.org to see if my favorites there have related sermons. You can download tens of thousands of sermons from a very broad spectrum of preachers completely FREE of charge.
I like audio because I have a lot more time to listen than to read.
I downloaded 1 and 2 Peter for about $20 and it has 8 one hour sessions.
I also scan www.sermonindex.org to see if my favorites there have related sermons. You can download tens of thousands of sermons from a very broad spectrum of preachers completely FREE of charge.
I like audio because I have a lot more time to listen than to read.
2 Maps to Consider
I may just be much slower than most, but I noticed that 1 Peter and 2 Peter are letters written to the ancestors of one of the same people groups we're focusing on as a church (the Kurds).
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Got your Attention now. 1 Peter 2:1-12
This Sunday I plan on spilling some stuff all over the place. (well, not really) I am working with a member of the class to make this happen but no one else will know. It will help the impact on those unsuspecting members.
We will open the class in the normal fashion, when it comes time for me to speak I will ask the member to get me something to drink and he will promptly spill some (don't worry Wes, it will be a very small some) of it on me and not too much on the carpet. I will most likely use water. I plan on making a big production of getting out the shirt I am wearing (I will have a shirt on underneath) and express a small part of irritation at my helper for being so clumsy to give it a sense of realism. I am quite sure someone in the class will assist me and help clean the water from myself and the floor. Before I leave to dry my shirt I will ask the class to do the care groups. I will have already instructed the leaders, before hand to discuss the terms malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander and other fleshly lusts (v11).
When I get back to the class I will open with letting the CGL's tell us about their discussion. After that I will explain what happened and that the same way I reacted to the filth is the same way we should react to the list of behaviors in our own lives. And then discuss how the class reacted to symbolize how we should and shouldn't help those when we have to clean up the messes created by these behaviors.
The point is; in verse 1 of chapter 2 it says "put away", "put aside", "rid yourself" "laying aside" or Barclay uses the terms "strip off" all of these things as they are a stench to God. I want to illustrate what that should look like in a way people will remember. Now that we are in the light and we see these behaviors for what they are we should repel them and cleanse ourselves in the same manner as if someone had just spilled rotten milk on us.
If I did not have to worry about ruining the carpet I would use rotten milk or eggs to express how God views these behaviors we are to strip off. Even the fact that people would keep away from me because of the stench is a picture of how Christians and non Christians react when believers behave this way, while others would help me to rid myself of them.
Jeff
We will open the class in the normal fashion, when it comes time for me to speak I will ask the member to get me something to drink and he will promptly spill some (don't worry Wes, it will be a very small some) of it on me and not too much on the carpet. I will most likely use water. I plan on making a big production of getting out the shirt I am wearing (I will have a shirt on underneath) and express a small part of irritation at my helper for being so clumsy to give it a sense of realism. I am quite sure someone in the class will assist me and help clean the water from myself and the floor. Before I leave to dry my shirt I will ask the class to do the care groups. I will have already instructed the leaders, before hand to discuss the terms malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander and other fleshly lusts (v11).
When I get back to the class I will open with letting the CGL's tell us about their discussion. After that I will explain what happened and that the same way I reacted to the filth is the same way we should react to the list of behaviors in our own lives. And then discuss how the class reacted to symbolize how we should and shouldn't help those when we have to clean up the messes created by these behaviors.
The point is; in verse 1 of chapter 2 it says "put away", "put aside", "rid yourself" "laying aside" or Barclay uses the terms "strip off" all of these things as they are a stench to God. I want to illustrate what that should look like in a way people will remember. Now that we are in the light and we see these behaviors for what they are we should repel them and cleanse ourselves in the same manner as if someone had just spilled rotten milk on us.
If I did not have to worry about ruining the carpet I would use rotten milk or eggs to express how God views these behaviors we are to strip off. Even the fact that people would keep away from me because of the stench is a picture of how Christians and non Christians react when believers behave this way, while others would help me to rid myself of them.
Jeff
Thursday, March 8, 2007
A Challenging Lesson
This week's lesson is extremely compelling. What a timely challenge! The commentary was particularly helpful to me this week. I spent some time meditating on this quote, "Many people separate their spiritual and secular lives in order to advance in the world. The Bible countenances no such separation. God expects His people to be people of integrity whose conduct reflects a higher standard in all they say and do." Wow.
If you need more help, check out www.lifeway.com/extra.
Have a great lesson
Wes
If you need more help, check out www.lifeway.com/extra.
Have a great lesson
Wes
Friday, March 2, 2007
Living Hope
Here's yet another link to a story you may have heard about. Peter asserts in verse 3 that we, belivers, have a "living hope" that has as its foundation the ressurection of Jesus. We've all seen/heard/read liberal scholars, archaeologist, novelists try to discredit the life, deity, purity of our savior; now, according to James Cameron (director of Titanic) we have archaeological "proof" that Jesus indeed did not resurrect but was intombed with several members of His family, not the least of which, his wife, Mary Magdalene and their son!
Archaeology certainly has its place in helping us understand ancient history and put pieces of otherwise unsolvable puzzles together, but for me, we see here clearly the reason Peter identified himself as an apostle in verse 1. Peter is saying in essence, "hey, I walked with the man, I loved Him, I was there when they took Him away to kill Him, and most of all, I saw Him after those 3 lonely days when all hope was seemingly gone, so believe me this is a "living" hope. I don't know about you, but I'll take an eywitness to any event over someone with an agenda any day. He is risen. We have a living hope.
Mr. Cameron made quite a fortune weaving a love story around one of the most tragic accidents in history in which thousands of people were buried at sea. How sad to see him try and make a mockery out of our Saviour, who the grave could not hold, and has given untold millions life and life more abundantly!
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/tomb/about/about.html
Archaeology certainly has its place in helping us understand ancient history and put pieces of otherwise unsolvable puzzles together, but for me, we see here clearly the reason Peter identified himself as an apostle in verse 1. Peter is saying in essence, "hey, I walked with the man, I loved Him, I was there when they took Him away to kill Him, and most of all, I saw Him after those 3 lonely days when all hope was seemingly gone, so believe me this is a "living" hope. I don't know about you, but I'll take an eywitness to any event over someone with an agenda any day. He is risen. We have a living hope.
Mr. Cameron made quite a fortune weaving a love story around one of the most tragic accidents in history in which thousands of people were buried at sea. How sad to see him try and make a mockery out of our Saviour, who the grave could not hold, and has given untold millions life and life more abundantly!
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/tomb/about/about.html
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Ice Breaker- The Ultimate Fraud
I came across this article that your class may find humorous which you could use as a segue into Paul's positive identification as an apostle at the beginning of chapter one.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070301/D8NJBBQO0.html
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070301/D8NJBBQO0.html
Monday, February 26, 2007
Alternative Lesson Plan
Hey Leaders,
Below is an alternative lesson plan for this week that I found on lifeway.com. The illustrations are fresh, and I think you'll find most of them helpful in driving home the point. Let me know what you think. It will be easier to read if you print it up or you can find it at www.lifeway.com/extra and follow the prompts.
If you have other resources that you use weekly as you prepare, let us all in on them and post them on the blog so we can all check them out.
Wes
Acknowledge a Secure Salvation Richard E. Dodge Lesson Passage 1 Peter 1:1-12
Positive Identification (1 Peter 1:1-2)
Ask: When you write a letter to someone you know, do you have to establish your identity?
Say: Most of the time, people with whom we have regular contact know our voice, handwriting, and other characteristics that help them confirm that we are who we say we are. But that’s not always the case, particularly when we shop in places where we are not known or when we shop online. Identity theft has become such a big problem today that consumers must be very careful with personal information—credit card, driver’s license, and Social Security numbers, for example—to hinder criminals from stealing our identity.
Read or paraphrase the following information about what one consumer organization is doing to protect its customers.
Alabama Credit Union League First Association in Nation to Provide New Security Breach Program at No Charge
The Alabama Credit Union League (ACUL) announced recently that it will provide a new Security Breach Response program to 81 member credit unions at no cost.
The ACUL has partnered with Identity Theft 911 to provide identity theft resolution and educational services.
“More than 100 million records containing sensitive personal information were potentially exposed in database breaches since February 2005,” said Adam Levin, chairman of Identity Theft 911.
“The growing prominence and increasing threat of security breaches in this country have major consequences on the ability of organizations such as credit unions to conduct business effectively and maintain the trust of their members,” said Gary Wolter, President/CEO of the Alabama Credit Union League.
Source: “Alabama Credit Union League First Association in Nation to Provide New Security Breach Program at No Charge,” Business Wire, 19 February 2007, http://www.lifeway.com/common/clickthru/0,1603,Link%3D231053,00.html?X=http://www.businesswire.com?www.businesswire.com
Say: Members of each credit union associated with ACUL must feel that they can trust those who handle their financial resources. Without trust, financial institutions would not be able to survive.
Read or enlist a volunteer to read 1 Peter 1:1-2.
Point out that Peter’s readers needed to know they could trust the apostle. Peter asserted his authority in the opening of this first of two letters, but those who read and heard the letter needed to know that their trust was placed in one who knew and learned from Jesus.
Ask: Can you trust everything someone says to you? Why? How do you determine whether someone tells you the truth? What makes you skeptical when someone claims to have a special word from Jesus for you? How can you know whether this message is truly from Jesus?
Certain Hope (1 Peter 1:3-5)
Ask: How can you determine whether a life has been wasted?
Point out that they are to list ways Christians and non-Christians might waste their lives Allow no more than five minutes and then discuss the differences. Read the following. NOTE TO TEACHERS: The following excerpt is from a politically motivated response to comments from one presidential candidate. Avoid discussion about political issues or politically inflammatory debate about candidates. Focus on these positive words regarding the sacrifice our military personnel make in defending our nation.
No Soldiers Die in Vain
To say that war is wasteful is to state the obvious. But to say a life has been wasted is to say something else entirely. A “wasted” life implies one spent for nothing, as for example someone of great talent who wastes their life pursuing low and mean pleasures of the moment, spending their potential on things of no value. The United States soldier does not swear an oath of allegiance to any one man, as German soldiers once swore to Hitler, but rather they swear to defend the Constitution. It is from this simple oath that the honor of the soldier, living or dead, rests securely. Whatever the motivations of those who sent him, the soldier offers his life in defense of the core values of his country. To all our fallen heroes, you are not forgotten, you are not gone from within us, your spirit moves us, your lives were indeed not wasted.
Source: “No Soldier Dies in Vain,” Blog Critics Magazine, 16 February 2007, blogcritics.org
Ask: What hope do we have for the future because of the sacrifice of those who have died in battle?
Point out that a life wasted cannot be recovered. Call attention to the precious freedoms we have because of the supreme sacrifices made by countless military personnel since the beginning of our nation.
Read or enlist a volunteer to read 1 Peter 1:3-5.
Compare the hope we have for life today in America and the price that was paid for our hope with the hope we have for eternity and the price that was paid for that hope. Note that our freedom has been challenged many times over the course of our history, and that Americans are called on to fight battles periodically to protect and guarantee our freedom. Call attention to the single battle Jesus waged on the cross and how that battle will never be fought again.
Guide a discussion with learners about how to help people avoiding wasting their lives by leading lost adults to Christ.
Glorious Joy (1 Peter 1:6-9)
Ask: Have you ever faced hostility and animosity from others? If so, how did you respond?
Say: It’s hard to understand how some people can have a positive attitude toward those who show extreme animosity to you or your family, but a woman in New Zealand demonstrated that not everyone has to be hostile to those who injure you or those you love.
Read: Murdered woman’s mother urges no animosity to killer
The mother of a woman whose naked and decomposing body was found on the side of a New Zealand highway told friends and family not to hold any animosity towards her daughter’s killer.
The dead woman was identified as 35-year-old Rowena Kopara. The mother of three children had not been seen since January 20.
“All we were told by her mum was to have no animosity towards whoever has done it,” said the dead woman’s aunt after the family was notified.
Source: “Murdered woman’s mother urges no animosity to killer,” The New Zealand Herald, 2 February 2007, http://www.lifeway.com/common/clickthru/0,1603,Link%3D232666,00.html?X=http://www.nzherald.co.nz
Ask: How would you have responded if your daughter or mother had been brutally murdered and left along the side of the road? What do you think might have prompted the grieving mother’s response to her daughter’s killer?
Read or enlist a volunteer to read 1 Peter 1:6-9.
Guide learners to compare and contrast this mother’s attitude with the attitudes the Asian Christians might have felt because of their faith. Point out how Peter encouraged the Christians to respond to their trials and experiences.
Marvelous Salvation (1 Peter 1:10-12)
Ask: Have you ever wished you could see into the future? Most of us would like to see some of the possible results in the future of what we do now in our work and actions in Christian service.
Say: The prophets proclaimed a message about the coming Messiah. Unfortunately they were not able to see the One about whom they prophesied. Nonetheless they helped God’s people know that their future would be glorious because of God’s miraculous work.
Planning for the future is something that every generation has done in one way or another. Listen to how some scientists are trying to deal with the future of fisheries and ocean life for generations to come.
Read: Understanding the world’s oceans a benefit for future generations
Dalhousie University has become the epicenter for international research that will change how scientists and world leaders understand and manage pressing global concerns such as fisheries management in the face of climate change.
A global monitoring system will track the movement and behavior of diverse marine species—salmon to turtles to whales. The network will establish “listening curtains,” comprised of innovative Canadian-made tracking technology, in 14 ocean regions covering the entire planet.
The results will provide the most comprehensive data to inform marine management practices ever available and will determine how life-sustaining ocean properties are changing in response to climate change in a way never before possible.
Source: “Understanding the world’s oceans a benefit for future generations,” FISHupdate.com, 14 February 2007, http://www.lifeway.com/common/clickthru/0,1603,Link%3D232667,00.html?X=http://www.fishupdate.com
Ask: How might this monitoring system benefit future generations?
Why is monitoring the impact of climate change important?
What “climate changes” are endangering the church and individual Christians?
Do Christians today pay attention to changing political climates and how these changes impact Christians worldwide? Why?
How should Christians respond to the changes in how governments and secular groups accept and support Christians today?
Read 1 Peter 1:10-12. Guide learners to discuss how Peter’s instructions to the Asian Christians who heard his message can apply to Christians today.
Below is an alternative lesson plan for this week that I found on lifeway.com. The illustrations are fresh, and I think you'll find most of them helpful in driving home the point. Let me know what you think. It will be easier to read if you print it up or you can find it at www.lifeway.com/extra and follow the prompts.
If you have other resources that you use weekly as you prepare, let us all in on them and post them on the blog so we can all check them out.
Wes
Acknowledge a Secure Salvation Richard E. Dodge Lesson Passage 1 Peter 1:1-12
Positive Identification (1 Peter 1:1-2)
Ask: When you write a letter to someone you know, do you have to establish your identity?
Say: Most of the time, people with whom we have regular contact know our voice, handwriting, and other characteristics that help them confirm that we are who we say we are. But that’s not always the case, particularly when we shop in places where we are not known or when we shop online. Identity theft has become such a big problem today that consumers must be very careful with personal information—credit card, driver’s license, and Social Security numbers, for example—to hinder criminals from stealing our identity.
Read or paraphrase the following information about what one consumer organization is doing to protect its customers.
Alabama Credit Union League First Association in Nation to Provide New Security Breach Program at No Charge
The Alabama Credit Union League (ACUL) announced recently that it will provide a new Security Breach Response program to 81 member credit unions at no cost.
The ACUL has partnered with Identity Theft 911 to provide identity theft resolution and educational services.
“More than 100 million records containing sensitive personal information were potentially exposed in database breaches since February 2005,” said Adam Levin, chairman of Identity Theft 911.
“The growing prominence and increasing threat of security breaches in this country have major consequences on the ability of organizations such as credit unions to conduct business effectively and maintain the trust of their members,” said Gary Wolter, President/CEO of the Alabama Credit Union League.
Source: “Alabama Credit Union League First Association in Nation to Provide New Security Breach Program at No Charge,” Business Wire, 19 February 2007, http://www.lifeway.com/common/clickthru/0,1603,Link%3D231053,00.html?X=http://www.businesswire.com?www.businesswire.com
Say: Members of each credit union associated with ACUL must feel that they can trust those who handle their financial resources. Without trust, financial institutions would not be able to survive.
Read or enlist a volunteer to read 1 Peter 1:1-2.
Point out that Peter’s readers needed to know they could trust the apostle. Peter asserted his authority in the opening of this first of two letters, but those who read and heard the letter needed to know that their trust was placed in one who knew and learned from Jesus.
Ask: Can you trust everything someone says to you? Why? How do you determine whether someone tells you the truth? What makes you skeptical when someone claims to have a special word from Jesus for you? How can you know whether this message is truly from Jesus?
Certain Hope (1 Peter 1:3-5)
Ask: How can you determine whether a life has been wasted?
Point out that they are to list ways Christians and non-Christians might waste their lives Allow no more than five minutes and then discuss the differences. Read the following. NOTE TO TEACHERS: The following excerpt is from a politically motivated response to comments from one presidential candidate. Avoid discussion about political issues or politically inflammatory debate about candidates. Focus on these positive words regarding the sacrifice our military personnel make in defending our nation.
No Soldiers Die in Vain
To say that war is wasteful is to state the obvious. But to say a life has been wasted is to say something else entirely. A “wasted” life implies one spent for nothing, as for example someone of great talent who wastes their life pursuing low and mean pleasures of the moment, spending their potential on things of no value. The United States soldier does not swear an oath of allegiance to any one man, as German soldiers once swore to Hitler, but rather they swear to defend the Constitution. It is from this simple oath that the honor of the soldier, living or dead, rests securely. Whatever the motivations of those who sent him, the soldier offers his life in defense of the core values of his country. To all our fallen heroes, you are not forgotten, you are not gone from within us, your spirit moves us, your lives were indeed not wasted.
Source: “No Soldier Dies in Vain,” Blog Critics Magazine, 16 February 2007, blogcritics.org
Ask: What hope do we have for the future because of the sacrifice of those who have died in battle?
Point out that a life wasted cannot be recovered. Call attention to the precious freedoms we have because of the supreme sacrifices made by countless military personnel since the beginning of our nation.
Read or enlist a volunteer to read 1 Peter 1:3-5.
Compare the hope we have for life today in America and the price that was paid for our hope with the hope we have for eternity and the price that was paid for that hope. Note that our freedom has been challenged many times over the course of our history, and that Americans are called on to fight battles periodically to protect and guarantee our freedom. Call attention to the single battle Jesus waged on the cross and how that battle will never be fought again.
Guide a discussion with learners about how to help people avoiding wasting their lives by leading lost adults to Christ.
Glorious Joy (1 Peter 1:6-9)
Ask: Have you ever faced hostility and animosity from others? If so, how did you respond?
Say: It’s hard to understand how some people can have a positive attitude toward those who show extreme animosity to you or your family, but a woman in New Zealand demonstrated that not everyone has to be hostile to those who injure you or those you love.
Read: Murdered woman’s mother urges no animosity to killer
The mother of a woman whose naked and decomposing body was found on the side of a New Zealand highway told friends and family not to hold any animosity towards her daughter’s killer.
The dead woman was identified as 35-year-old Rowena Kopara. The mother of three children had not been seen since January 20.
“All we were told by her mum was to have no animosity towards whoever has done it,” said the dead woman’s aunt after the family was notified.
Source: “Murdered woman’s mother urges no animosity to killer,” The New Zealand Herald, 2 February 2007, http://www.lifeway.com/common/clickthru/0,1603,Link%3D232666,00.html?X=http://www.nzherald.co.nz
Ask: How would you have responded if your daughter or mother had been brutally murdered and left along the side of the road? What do you think might have prompted the grieving mother’s response to her daughter’s killer?
Read or enlist a volunteer to read 1 Peter 1:6-9.
Guide learners to compare and contrast this mother’s attitude with the attitudes the Asian Christians might have felt because of their faith. Point out how Peter encouraged the Christians to respond to their trials and experiences.
Marvelous Salvation (1 Peter 1:10-12)
Ask: Have you ever wished you could see into the future? Most of us would like to see some of the possible results in the future of what we do now in our work and actions in Christian service.
Say: The prophets proclaimed a message about the coming Messiah. Unfortunately they were not able to see the One about whom they prophesied. Nonetheless they helped God’s people know that their future would be glorious because of God’s miraculous work.
Planning for the future is something that every generation has done in one way or another. Listen to how some scientists are trying to deal with the future of fisheries and ocean life for generations to come.
Read: Understanding the world’s oceans a benefit for future generations
Dalhousie University has become the epicenter for international research that will change how scientists and world leaders understand and manage pressing global concerns such as fisheries management in the face of climate change.
A global monitoring system will track the movement and behavior of diverse marine species—salmon to turtles to whales. The network will establish “listening curtains,” comprised of innovative Canadian-made tracking technology, in 14 ocean regions covering the entire planet.
The results will provide the most comprehensive data to inform marine management practices ever available and will determine how life-sustaining ocean properties are changing in response to climate change in a way never before possible.
Source: “Understanding the world’s oceans a benefit for future generations,” FISHupdate.com, 14 February 2007, http://www.lifeway.com/common/clickthru/0,1603,Link%3D232667,00.html?X=http://www.fishupdate.com
Ask: How might this monitoring system benefit future generations?
Why is monitoring the impact of climate change important?
What “climate changes” are endangering the church and individual Christians?
Do Christians today pay attention to changing political climates and how these changes impact Christians worldwide? Why?
How should Christians respond to the changes in how governments and secular groups accept and support Christians today?
Read 1 Peter 1:10-12. Guide learners to discuss how Peter’s instructions to the Asian Christians who heard his message can apply to Christians today.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Welcome to our Blog
Hey Leaders,
Welcome to The Young Adult Ministry blog. I hope this becomes a very useful tool to help us be even better communicators of the Word of God. Lets exchange ideas each week of how to share the truth from the assigned passage of scripture in a relevant way. We can also share ideas for outreach and ministry as well.
I'll try to post some thoughts each Monday about that week's lesson in order to get the ball rolling. Feel free to give post-lesson ideas as well about what worked and what didn't. We really are better when we work together.
Wes
Welcome to The Young Adult Ministry blog. I hope this becomes a very useful tool to help us be even better communicators of the Word of God. Lets exchange ideas each week of how to share the truth from the assigned passage of scripture in a relevant way. We can also share ideas for outreach and ministry as well.
I'll try to post some thoughts each Monday about that week's lesson in order to get the ball rolling. Feel free to give post-lesson ideas as well about what worked and what didn't. We really are better when we work together.
Wes
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