Sept. 16, 2012 "The Bible is God's Message for Me"- Session 2 (continued)

This week we continued the presentation of the Fall session of extra Bible Curriculum materials for 5th graders, Session 2.   The Lesson is "The Bible is God's Message for Me" (‘BGMM’) covering the major topic of Salvation and JESUS our Savior.  The Fall session also has involved extended time for review of important things on the topics of God and Man, in response to student questions and comments.

Last week’s review included my declaration that Adam and Eve were created by God, not the result of a random development through evolution, and a student commented: “I thought we did come from monkeys.”     Both last week and again this week, this was answered and the teaching reviewed.  

Issues dealt with in the September 16th class included:

• atheism and its belief system, known as naturalism,
• the human spirit and the life of God breathed-into Adam, and death,
• the animals and their level of intelligence; also, how man was given a human spirit, by God, when man was created, and the animals do not have this spirit.  
• The concept of a Supreme Being, and that “supreme” does mean that there is no other being that is higher in order or in authority/power, was discussed, to answer a student’s question.  
• The fact was presented that, as Christians, we teach the Holy Bible and are absolutely opposed to naturalism.  This statement from the July 8th class notes was read to the class:

We teach the Biblical Christian explanation of the origin of mankind, and of the world & the universe, which is Creation

We teach Creation because it is the truth; this means that evolution is a lie.  We did not expound on the motivation for, or the legal issues/court cases associated with the teaching of this lie in the schools that the students attend.

In the remainder of the class, we taught about Jesus, as our Savior, using our John 3:16 poster and also going over the verse announced as the next Memory Verse, Romans 5:8.
We also discussed the Emphasis verse for this month, 1 Corinthians 16: 13-14, and the idea of being a defender of the faith.  

The Emphasis Memory Verse was assigned for next week. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (HCSB),   This is the Emphasis verse for the next three weeks, so it can be repeated each week during that time.  The HCSB text is shown below:

13 Be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like a man, be strong. 14 Your every action must be done with love.  

The other verse presented in class, Romans 5:8 was not assigned on 9/16/12, but will be a Memory Verse next week.  

Sept. 9, 2012 "The Bible is God's Message for Me" - Session 2

"The Bible is God's Message for Me"-- Session 2  

This week we began the presentation of the Fall session of extra Bible Curriculum materials for 5th graders.   Today the Lesson is "The Bible is God's Message for Me" (‘BGMM’) covering the major topic of Salvation and JESUS our Savior.  The Fall session also will begin the transition from presenting major topics to presenting the ‘On the Right Path’ (‘OTRP’) lessons.   This transition will be completed in the Winter session, when both BGMM and OTRP present lessons on the major topic of the Kingdom of God.


This class began with a very brief review of the lesson taught on 9/2/12, about Giving, being generous, and Christian service as a form of giving.   Then the Second-place award for the Summer Quarter Achievement was given, to Christopher Koerwitz, and the announcement was made that beginning in the Fall, the minimum level of achievement to receive an award will be 22 points.  


The first session of BGMM was taught on July 1st, 8th, and 15th.   Session two began by explaining the basic objective of BGMM, which is to see that there is a unified message presented by the Holy Bible which can be  seen and understood through studying five major topics: God, Man, Sin, Salvation - through Jesus our Savior, and the Kingdom of God.    Then a review of the lessons from Session one was started.   The topics covered in July were God, Man, and Sin.   The lesson on Sin also introduces the topic of Salvation.  


The review of the lessons from July lasted for the remainder of the class period and beyond (including our closing prayer time, the class dismissed 10 minutes late).   This was not anticipated, but it was announced to the class that the asking of questions that are on-topic is OK, and those questions will be answered.  If this delays the presentation of new lesson material, we will just press-on and extend the lesson into the following week.


The students had questions about the review material in all three of the topics from July, including God as a Trinity, Creation, Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden, the punishment of Adam and Eve as a result of their sin, including difficulty in childbirth, man existing as a 3-part being (body, soul, and spirit), what is the soul, death, and evolution.


“I thought we did come from monkeys.”    
This was a student comment to my declaration that Adam and Eve were created by God, not the result of a random development through evolution of species.     Since my declaring of Creation as the truth and evolution as a lie was a point heavily emphasized on July 1 and July 8, it was somewhat frustrating to hear that a student was already convinced of the opposing view.   But, parents and other readers of this Blog post should note the importance of this comment.   Our fifth graders have already been exposed to the viewpoint known as naturalism, and the teaching of evolution as Fact.   Nothing else is presented as an alternate explanation for the existence of mankind.   


This stands in direct opposition to the viewpoint expressed in the Bible, which is what we teach.   Our number one learning  objective  for 5th grade  is  that the  students  learn  that the spiritual realm is real, and that God Almighty along with the other spiritual beings mentioned in the Bible are real.   The Spiritual Realm is not religious mythology. After being indoctrinated with naturalism, in schools that teach this, students are likely to consider what we teach, creation by God, to be just a story. They can "take it or leave it" and parents shouldn't be surprised if they choose to leave it behind, as just a myth.   

Parents should note that this is one major reason why we emphasize developing strong character in our 5th graders.   They will have to stand-up to this opposition to the Bible.   Parents should also note that our one hour per week of  Church-based Christian Education is not enough to overcome what they are exposed to in school and the media.   Parents need to reinforce the Biblical viewpoint, throughout the week.    Furthermore,  the preteen years  are the best time to do this; the children are ready for the next level up, in their spiritual development - from hearing the stories in the Bible to making the commitment to be young disciples of Jesus.

We concluded the class by focusing on Jesus, and on the choice we all make, whether or not to be disciples of Jesus.   The ‘On the Right Path’ illustration was distributed to the students, and we discussed the right path.   Class closed with Memory Verse  practice, then the closing prayers.

A Memory Verse was assigned, 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (HCSB),   This is the Emphasis verse for the next month, so it can be repeated each week during that time, for Achievement Points credit.  Each student received a copy of the verse to take home.  The HCSB text is shown below:

13 Be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like a man, be strong. 14 Your every action must be done with love.  

The girls in the class have been instructed that they have to memorize the verse, just as it is written, but when they read and then say “act like a man” - they should understand this to mean that they should be brave, and be willing to fight (fighting the good fight of faith).

Sept. 2, 2012 "Joyful, Generous Giving"

"Joyful Generous Giving" - 2 Corinthians 8 & 9

Today's class  began with a review of last week’s lesson, ‘The Perfect Sacrifice’, re- emphasizing the important points about animal sacrifices in the Old Testament, and how that principle - that shedding of blood is required - also applies to paying for our sins.  We repeated the definition of sin, given last week:

SIN is anything you and I Say, Do, or Think, that does not please God.  It is breaking God’s laws.

The incident described in the video clip shown last week was mentioned (mass murder at a movie theater), and we also contrasted this gross sin with so-called “kid-sins” such as lying to  your parents.   God is Holy, and ALL sin separates us from God.   The review concluded by presenting Jesus as “The Lamb of God” - the Perfect Sacrifice.  This was followed by discussion, using posters of Jesus being crucified.  Jesus suffered and died as a sacrifice for our sins.   This was last week’s Lesson Focus: Jesus is the Perfect Sacrifice for your sins.

After the review, we covered Lesson 13 from Bible Adventures,  using Scripture texts from   2 Corinthians, chapters 8 and 9.   The churches of Macedonia are mentioned in chapter 8, and in class discussion it was pointed out that these people were not wealthy, but they were very generous, beyond what Saint Paul the Apostle had expected.   Paul uses this as an example to the Corinthians, who were financially better off than the Macedonian believers.  Paul taught important principles of giving, which were covered in chapter 9.   These principles are referred to as The Law of Sowing and Reaping, and this particular reference, in the key verses, 2 Corinthians 9: 6-8, emphasizes attitude - being a cheerful giver.  It also promises that God will respond to your giving in a gracious way and will be generous to you in return.   


The Memory Verse assigned this week is Galatians 6: 10.   Each week, now through the 9/9/12 class, we also are permitting students to say the previously assigned verse, Psalm 19: 1, using the NIV text, and earn extra Achievement Points.   
The Summer Quarter Achievement Award winner was announced this week -- Joshua Scranton.   
Homework  assigned is to read and review pages 1 and 4 of Bible Adventures.

August 26, 2012 - "The Perfect Sacrifice" - in the Old and New Testaments

The Perfect Sacrifice

Today's class  covered Lesson 11 from Bible Adventures, ‘The Perfect Sacrifice’, using Scripture texts from Exodus, chapters 11 and 12, and John 1: 29, in the lesson materials, and John 3: 16 in our class discussion.   Much of the lesson was covering Old Testament sacrifices and answering questions about the procedures for doing the sacrifice.   But the culmination of the lesson was the New Testament declaration of John the Baptist, where he says that Jesus is “The Lamb of God.”   This was followed by discussion, using posters of Jesus being crucified and also referring to John 3:16, of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins.   This is the Lesson Focus: Jesus is the Perfect Sacrifice for your sins.

This class also included Sunday School that Clicks materials, used as an introduction to the lesson -- a video from Fox News about the recent Aurora Colorado movie theater shooting, and discussion of the definition of sin.  Three students gave their own definitions of sin; and their definitions were correct but not complete.  So, then we gave the “official” definition:

SIN is anything you and I Say, Do, or Think, that does not please God.  It is breaking God’s laws.

The video of the mass murder at the movie was an example of gross, terrible sin.  We also contrasted this gross sin with what the lesson material called “kid-sins” such as lying to your parents.   God is Holy, and all sin separates us from God.  

The Memory Verse assigned this week is Ephesians 1: 7.   Each week, now through the 9/9/12 class, we also are permitting students to say the previously assigned verse, Psalm 19: 1, using the NIV text, and earn extra Achievement Points.   

Homework was assigned this week -- to read and review pages 1 and 4 of Bible Adventures.