rcc.5gr Class Blog: June 2013

Friday, June 28, 2013

June 23, 2013 -- "We Will PRAISE the LORD !” -- The Special Fifth Grade BIBLE Reading Program

By George Nielsen

This week we covered Lesson 3 from Bible Adventures, “We Will Praise The LORD!” which starts with a description of King Hezekiah’s call to celebrate the Feast of Passover, although it was one month late, and his invitation to those people who were Israelites living in the Northern Kingdom to come and join in the celebration. The Bible passage studied was from 2 Chronicles, chapter 30 (verses 1 -- 27). This was a renewing of the practice of celebrating this Feast, as commanded by the Lord, after many years of not celebrating it.

The Passover lamb was slaughtered and the meal called for in God’s Word was eaten. Some of the people eating the meal were ceremonially unclean, and by law, they should not have eaten. However, Hezekiah prayed to God, asking for forgiveness and mercy for those people. God heard his prayer, and did grant those people forgiveness. Next, the people continued for seven days, celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They gathered at the Temple and they sang, played musical instruments, listened to a message from the Word of God, gave offerings, and were happy and joyful. They wanted to show their love for God, and their commitment to turn away from sin and unfaithfulness to the commands in God’s Word.

There was great joy among the people, in Jerusalem, and the leaders of the people brought many more of their animals for sacrifices of worship and for meals. They decided to continue their joyous worship and celebrating for an extra week. A great blessing resulted from all of this.

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Our Lesson Focus is one spiritual truth that we emphasize, that the kids can take away from class as the application of what was taught, for them. We want them to understand the lesson content, to build Biblical literacy, and we also want the students to take away a truth-statement that will help them in achieving our major learning objectives for 5th grade.

Today’s Lesson Focus is: We Can Choose to Praise God.

The Commitment Learning Objective that they can take from this is that Young Disciple of Jesus express love for the Lord and thankfulness through praise, with singing, dance/movement, the use of musical instruments, and with their giving. Adults do this too. As an example of what joyous praise might have been like in Jerusalem, at the time our lesson took place during the reign of King Hezekiah, a brief explanation then a demonstration of the Jewish song “Hava Nagila” (‘Let us rejoice’) was given in class (sung a’capella). [To see a copy of the lyric to Hava Nagila, click here .]

The Memory Verse assigned this week is 1 Chronicles 16: 29.

29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

This week we have also made the assignment of the first Emphasis Memory Verse, Acts 10: 38 (NKJV). This verse can be recited for at least the next three weeks, or perhaps longer.

38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. --- Acts 10: 38 (NKJV)

In today’s class, we gave the students more details about the 5th grade Special Bible Reading program that will start June 24th (this week) and continue throughout the Sunday School year to May, 2014. The details will be published in the next Parents Newsletter and also are given in the Class Blog post about the program, which was published on June 28th. ( Click Here to go to that Blog Post. )

The 5th grade special Bible Reading program is focused on two New Testament books and three Psalms: the Gospel of Luke, Acts of the Apostles, Psalms 51, 23, and 24. It has both a reading component and a writing component. Students are permitted to receive help from parents on the written work.

Parents can contact the 5th grade teacher by email at rcc.5gr@gmail.com

You can read the class summaries and other information about our class by following our Class Blog at the address rcc5gr.blogspot.com

Weekly Blog posts will be made.

The Fifth Grade Special BIBLE READING Program

June 26, 2013

The 5th grade special Bible Reading program is focused on two New Testament books and three very theologically significant Psalms: the Gospel of Luke, Acts of the Apostles, Psalms 51, 23, and 24.

It has both a reading component and a writing component. Students are permitted to receive help from parents on the written work.

The reading of the Bible, for this program, should be done in the order listed, beginning with the Gospel of Luke. There are 52 chapters in the New Testament books to be read, and then 3 more chapters for the selected Psalms. The suggested schedule for completing this program is:

Finish Luke by the end of October, 2013;
Finish Acts by the end of April, 2014;
Finish the three Psalms: 51, 23, and 24 (in that order) by the end of May, 2014.

There are no specific due-dates, except for the final end-date of the program, which is the last Sunday in May, 2014. The writing will be more time-consuming than the reading, so students should pace themselves, doing some work each week and taking advantage of free-time during school vacations/holidays by doing extra work when school is not in session.

The students can participate in the reading component of the program, without doing the written assignments, if they choose. Also, it is suggested that the reading and writing be completed together, during the same week, but that is not mandatory. A student can read a chapter one week, and then turn-in written work later. After reviewing the written homework, it will be returned to the student, and we will provide a folder later this summer so students can assemble their written work into a personal commentary booklet, on these Bible books and Psalms. Points are awarded for completion of reading and writing, and students with a high level of achievement in the program will be recognized on a quarterly basis -- with the Readers are Leaders recognition and a gift.

PARENTS please note: This program is assigned as Homework.

In-class lessons will follow the format described in our Class Introduction, using the Bible Adventures and The Bible is God’s Message for Me curriculum materials, which include Scripture Memory work and some other written homework assignments.

Parents should note that one hour per week of Sunday School is just the start toward meeting the learning objectives for Fifth grade -- Making a personal commitment to Jesus, and to Christianity as a Way of Life, which we refer to as Being a Young Disciple of Jesus.

Your child is just starting 5th grade, and has not yet had the benefit of studying our in-class lessons. So, it is particularly important for parents to encourage their children -- assuring them that the High Expectations we have for them are justified and that they are very capable -- able to meet the challenges of 5th grade. Encourage them to trust that God will help them, and that you will help them.

This is a summary of the purpose and goals of this program, reprinted from the June 9th Class Summary.

The program combines reading, for building Bible literacy, and project-based learning, where the students will be writing a Kid's Commentary on the Life and ministry of Jesus Christ, the launching and the history of the early Church, and Psalms about Confession, Repentance, and Restoration, the Good Shepherd, and the King of Glory. The writing is done one chapter (or part of a chapter) at a time, throughout the entire Sunday School year, starting this week (June 24, 2013) although students can begin at any later time, if they wish. Starting later will require working at a faster pace to finish the entire program by the end of next May.

This is additional information about the writing component of the program, and about Bible Study tools parents can use when helping their child.

In Fifth grade, the students will be learning to express themselves clearly, in writing, throughout the year. This involves learning to organize their thoughts in an orderly way, to express an idea. Then, it includes learning correct sentence structure, combining three or more sentences into a clear paragraph, and eventually, to combine paragraphs into an essay, story, or theme, with three or more paragraphs.

Now, at the very beginning of the fifth grade year, the students are likely to need help with their writing. Parents can give them help, to write their ideas down, clearly. Also, some of the writing can be just phrases, made into a list, rather than full sentences. Any version of the Holy Bible may be used; all that is necessary is that the name of the version used is written on the papers that are turned-in.

We are providing a list of three sets of questions. These questions are shown below and should be answered, using 3-ring lined paper, to produce the written reports, one for each chapter. Parents and students should note that if the student wants to only report on part of a chapter, they can do so. Just hold that written report until the additional reports covering the rest of that chapter are finished and then turn them in together.

The three sets of questions that students are to answer in the written report cover these categories: (A) Description of Content of the chapter; (B) Meaning and Importance; and (C) Personal Thoughts, Comments, Prayers.

Questions:

(A) 1. What happened in the chapter --

- what are the major events,

- who is involved in these events

(B) 1. What is the meaning of what has been said or done in the chapter;

2. Explain why what is described in the chapter is important;

3. Is there a Truth-Statement (one, or more) in the chapter -- a highly-significant law or principle, that applies to everyone, not just the people in the chapter.

- are there things you can or will do, because of reading this chapter.

These are links for online Bible dictionaries:

http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/eastons-bible-dictionary/

http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/

These dictionaries are recommended for parents to use if they want to do research about words, names, or other content in the Bible. There also are other types of study tools in addition to dictionaries at the website www.biblestudytools.com . However, none of the tools reviewed were written at a 5th grade reading level, so they are recommended for parent’s use.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

A "Love Does" Excerpt -- 'The Invitation to the Banquet' -- June 18,2013

This excerpt from the book Love Does by Bob Goff is from chapter 11, titled "There's More Room".

'The Invitation to the Banquet'

Jesus tells a story in the Bible about a rich guy who had a banquet. The rich guy invited lots of people, but most of them made excuses and didn't come, so the guy sent his servants to invite other folks -- but this time he invited the unlikely ones, people who normally don’t get invited to anything, folks like me. The message he had for this new round of people was simple: “There’s more room.” I think life is like that banquet Jesus talked about. I think God sends out His messengers to tell everybody there’s plenty of room and there’s free food and conversation and adventure and a wonderful and generous host who has invited us by name.

Can you even believe that Jesus would invite people to a banquet and they wouldn’t want to show up? When we accept Jesus’ invitation to show up to life, we get to do life with Him.

A couple of other things happen when we accept Jesus’ invitation to participate with Him in life. Obstacles that seem insurmountable aren’t. Impediments that we believe disqualify us don’t. When we show up to participate with Jesus in the big life, we’re participating with the very Person who made life in the first place. He asks us how we are and invites us to get better -- together with Him.

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Note - for 5th Grade Parents:

The Lesson Focus for our class on June 16th was: Through Jesus we can come to God. This is the first of many lessons that will present the idea of committing your life to Jesus, as Savior and Lord.

The excerpt from Loves Does summarizes a story Jesus told which is recorded in Matthew 22: 1-14, and uses that as the foundation for giving an invitation -- in our class we use the phrase Come to Jesus to express that invitation.

We explain that by saying that your child would believe that Jesus died on the Cross and then rose from the dead on the third day after His death, and that he/she would trust that what Jesus did paid the price for our sins to be forgiven, and that they want that forgiveness. They are willing to confess and turn away from their own sins, and agree to serve Jesus, their Lord, from now on. When they decide that they will trust in what Jesus did, the action that they take after confessing, repenting, and declaring the Lordship of Jesus, is to be baptized in water. We have found that it is important to help our preteen children understand the commitment they are making and the purpose of baptism by having them attend a Baptism class, which is held at the church. There is a new class held every few months.

June 16, 2013 -- "Once Will Do” -and- A Teacher’s Comments to Fathers, on Father’s Day

By George Nielsen

This week we covered the Lesson from Bible Adventures, “Once Will Do”, which starts with a description of King Hezekiah and the large amount of animal sacrifices he brought to the Temple, after it had been cleansed. The Bible passages studied were from 2 Chronicles, chapter 29. Next, the lesson presented two passages from Hebrews, chapter 10. (verses 10, and 21-22). These verses teach that we have been made holy by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, once for all (from v. 10), and that we should draw near to God, by faith, with a sincere heart (from v. 21-22).

In class we used a two-sided poster in presenting the lesson, with the animals being led to the priests at the altar of the Temple, on one side, and Jesus hanging on the Cross on the other side.

Today’s Lesson Focus is: Through Jesus we can come to God.

The Commitment Learning Objective that they can take from this is to have the personal resolve to want to be a Young Disciple of Jesus. Adults that are reading this lesson summary should also note that this Lesson Focus is specifically contradicting the cliche that is popular in our culture - “there are many paths that lead to God.”

June 16th is Father’s Day. At the beginning of class, we asked the question - “what does the word ‘HONOR’ mean?” - and then discussed the responses from students, mentioning the 10 Commandments, and particularly Commandment 5 - “Honor your Father and Mother.” After class, the students were given a bag with a few chocolate chip cookies to give to their fathers, in honor of Father’s Day.

Father’s Day is also a time when we publish a Commentary by 5th grade teacher George Nielsen, addressed to fathers reading this summary:

Fathers -- BE Spiritual Leaders

Fathers hopefully already know how vital their role is in the family. On Father’s Day, I want to make comments to emphasize that the Dad’s role includes being a spiritual leader over their home and family. In Ephesians 6, the Holy Bible teaches:

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6: 10-11 (NKJV)

In a Christian home, you can expect that the wiles of the devil includes direct attacks by satan and evil forces against you and your home. As a Christian father, you can’t expect someone else to take over for you and be strong in the Lord in your home -- you have to be strong. If you can’t stand up to attacks by satan, maybe your family will stand in the gap, against satan, for you -- but, do you want to put them in that position? As the spiritual leader, you have to be able stand yourself.

Some men, who don’t have any children, may stumble along in their spiritual lives, growing older but still living as the so-called “wimpy-kid Christian”. The consequences of that will probably only affect them. But FATHERS directly impact the lives of their children, and a “wimpy-kid Christian” Dad is planting seeds of spiritual defeat in his children.

We make a substantial effort to teach your 5th grade, preteen kids NOT to be wimpy-kids; they can Come to Jesus, be sons and daughters of God, and heirs of the Kingdom -- overcomers in life and more than conquerors, not stopped by adverse circumstances.

37 Yet in all these things [“very bad things”] we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37 (NKJV)

So, we challenge our preteens not to be wimpy-kid Christians, but to take their spiritual lives seriously and be committed, practicing what we teach. We challenge them to do what is called service-learning, following our “Love Does” ministry theme, and also participating in the Impact discipleship group’s activities. If we are teaching your kids not to be wimpy-kids, there is no way that it is going to be acceptable for Dad to be one.

Finally, I have said before, and now am repeating, that I have a vested interest in the men of the church. I am a called teacher, pastor, and evangelist, now serving in a teaching ministry. My particular interest in having the men in the church be discipled as strong Christian men is because I teach boys in the church. My contact-time with my students is about one hour per week. The men who are involved in our boys’ lives the rest of the week can have a much greater influence than I do. Our boys can learn things from me, and they can learn from women teachers, but just learning about the Bible lessons isn't what we strive for. We have a Commitment Objective that our students be young disciples of Jesus. No matter who is the teacher, for our boys, if the men (in their lives) don’t “buy-into” what we teach them, then the boys won’t “buy-in” either.

Men have influence, by their example, on the girls too, but with the boys this influence is one of the most important ways they internalize what it means to be manly. That developmental milestone, what we commonly think of as “growing-up”, is something that boys as preteens and teens are interested in and are working on, at their own pace. Men are responsible for being there, as godly role models, to influence the boys to also be godly. Fathers are accountable for this with their own boys, and they also have opportunities to be a godly examples to other boys, particularly within our faith communities, the local church congregations.

Fathers, take to heart this command from God recorded in Ephesians 6: 4,

4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. (NKJV)

The Memory Verse assigned this week is Ephesians 3: 12.

12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

In today’s class, we introduced the 5th grade Special Bible Reading program that will start later in June and continue throughout the Sunday School year to May, 2014. The details will be published in the Parents Newsletter and also in a forthcoming Class Blog post. The 5th grade special Bible Reading program is focused on two New Testament books and three very theologically significant Psalms: the Gospel of Luke, Acts of the Apostles, Psalms 51, 23, and 24. It has both a reading component and a writing component. Students are permitted to receive help from parents on the written work.

Parents can contact the 5th grade teacher by email at rcc.5gr@gmail.com

You can read the class summaries and other information about our class by following our Class Blog at the address rcc5gr.blogspot.com

Weekly Blog posts will be made.