Rev. Judy Tefteller was our guest speaker today and taught the lesson on the Holy Spirit.
We've learned about God as Father and Creator, God as Son and redeemer through Jesus Christ and today we will talk about God as Holy Spirit and sustainer.
We can't see God but God is always present with us and within creation. God is not a physical object or person that can be located in time and space right now (he was in Jesus when he walked on the Earth, but not right now). God is more than even the universe. He is beyond time and space. He is Spirit. Throughout the Bible people have experienced God as Spirit. In Genesis 1:2 (Now the Earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.) the Holy Spirit is present and involved in the creation of the universe.
Judy told us at her lake house on of her favorite things to do is sit on her porch and watch the trees blow in the wind. She doesn't actually see the wind but she sees the trees moving which is witness to the wind blowing. The Holy Spirit is like the wind-- you can't see it but you know that it is real by the effect it has on other things. The Spirit moves like the wind. Jesus talked about this in John 3:8- "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." One image then that we have of the Holy Spirit is wind. The Holy Spirit is also known as the Breath of God. The Hebrew word for breath is ruach which also means wind. In Genesis 2:7 it says: "the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Breath is a special kind of wind; it gives life. When we stop breathing our life here on Earth is gone. God breathed into each of us the breath of life, and breathed into us his Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is known as wind, as the breath of God and one other image-- Fire. The flame of a candle is real, has great power but no substance, no mass, no weight, yet it is still very real. After Jesus' death and resurrection the Holy Spirit appeared to the disciples as tongues of fire. In Acts 2:1-4 we read: .... Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a vviolent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. The saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." Wind, breath and fire-- all images for the Holy Spirit-- ways to help us understand One who comes in various ways.
The Holy Spirit was involved in Creation and also involved in people's lives throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit came to particular people at particular times for particular tasks to give power to do something for God. Look at Exodus 31:1-5 and Judges 15:14-15 for two examples of this. We also see in Ezekiel 36:26-27 that God promises that the Holy Spirit will come to all people. In several passages in the New Testament we see how the Holy Spirit was very active. See Luke 3:16, Luke 3:22, and Luke 4:1. We also see in the Bible how the Holy Spirit worked through the Disciples and Paul to tell people about Jesus.
The Holy Spirit is God with us, to guide, counsel, give courage and hope, to give us faith, to empower us to do great things for God, to comfort us and to correct us when we have sinned.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Redemption 2: October 7, 2012
Who is our Redeemer? Jesus
John 3:16 - Who is familiar with this verse? Everyone raised their hand and then we had one boy who knew it from memory who recited it for us: " For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16 is one of the best known verses of the Bible, because it reminds us in one sentence of the salvation we have in Christ. But who knows what John 3:17 says? No one raised their hand. John 3:17 is not as well known but equally important. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." These two verses together demonstrate that, despite our sin, God doesn't give up on us. God wants to redeem each of us and all creation; and God sent Jesus Christ to make that possible. Romans 3:23 reminds us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." So we know that all need redemption, a Savior.
How many have ever had a broken item that needed to be fixed? When we fix the item, will it be as good as it was before it was broken? Will it be better than it was before it was broken? How does God, through Christ, fix us?
In Table Group time, the students read and talked about the following Scripture:
Romans 5: 6-9
Romans 5: 12-15, 18-19
Romans 6: 1-11
Phillipians 2: 5-11
1 Peter 2: 24
Groups were asked to answer the following questions about the Scripture- What does this Scripture tell you about Christ, how Christ is our redeemer, and how Christ atones, or makes amends, for our sins?
Redemption in the United Methodist Church:
Article VIII - Reconciliation through Christ from the "Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church" - We believe God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. The offering Christ freely made on the cross is the perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, redeeming man from all sin, so that no other satisfaction is required.
This statement affirms that our belief is that Christ is our redeemer and that Christ is capable of atoning for the sins of the entire world.
What does it mean that Christ's sacrifice is perfect and sufficient? How can this statement give us hope and comfort when we struggle with sin?
John 3:16 - Who is familiar with this verse? Everyone raised their hand and then we had one boy who knew it from memory who recited it for us: " For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16 is one of the best known verses of the Bible, because it reminds us in one sentence of the salvation we have in Christ. But who knows what John 3:17 says? No one raised their hand. John 3:17 is not as well known but equally important. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." These two verses together demonstrate that, despite our sin, God doesn't give up on us. God wants to redeem each of us and all creation; and God sent Jesus Christ to make that possible. Romans 3:23 reminds us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." So we know that all need redemption, a Savior.
How many have ever had a broken item that needed to be fixed? When we fix the item, will it be as good as it was before it was broken? Will it be better than it was before it was broken? How does God, through Christ, fix us?
In Table Group time, the students read and talked about the following Scripture:
Romans 5: 6-9
Romans 5: 12-15, 18-19
Romans 6: 1-11
Phillipians 2: 5-11
1 Peter 2: 24
Groups were asked to answer the following questions about the Scripture- What does this Scripture tell you about Christ, how Christ is our redeemer, and how Christ atones, or makes amends, for our sins?
Redemption in the United Methodist Church:
Article VIII - Reconciliation through Christ from the "Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church" - We believe God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. The offering Christ freely made on the cross is the perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, redeeming man from all sin, so that no other satisfaction is required.
This statement affirms that our belief is that Christ is our redeemer and that Christ is capable of atoning for the sins of the entire world.
What does it mean that Christ's sacrifice is perfect and sufficient? How can this statement give us hope and comfort when we struggle with sin?
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Redemption - Sept. 30, 2012
Luke 5:27-32-
The story of Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners, and Jesus was questioned by Pharisees and teachers of the law about why is he 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." We talked about this passage to refer back to last week's lesson on sin being a sickness.
So the first question was asked: Who are the sinners? Yes, Everyone of us.
Redemption-- what does it mean?
Leviticus 25:47-49- (We first talked about the book of Leviticus -- it's a book about laws, how to worship,and how to make sacrifices)
In Biblical times, redemption was often associated with slavery. So in these verses we see that in ancient cultures, selling oneself into slavery was a way to pay off a debt or having one's debt paid off by someone else and being released as a slave. In other words, being redeemed.
Romans 7:14-20 -
This passage of scripture talks about doing what we don't want to do and being a slave to sin. What does it mean to be a slave to sin? We keep sinning and can't break free from it.
Romans 8:1-8 -
How can we be freed from slavery to sin? We are redeemed by Christ who was our sin offering. When we live connected to Christ, living by focusing on God, trusting in his grace, trust 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.
The story of Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners, and Jesus was questioned by Pharisees and teachers of the law about why is he 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." We talked about this passage to refer back to last week's lesson on sin being a sickness.
So the first question was asked: Who are the sinners? Yes, Everyone of us.
Redemption-- what does it mean?
Leviticus 25:47-49- (We first talked about the book of Leviticus -- it's a book about laws, how to worship,and how to make sacrifices)
In Biblical times, redemption was often associated with slavery. So in these verses we see that in ancient cultures, selling oneself into slavery was a way to pay off a debt or having one's debt paid off by someone else and being released as a slave. In other words, being redeemed.
Romans 7:14-20 -
This passage of scripture talks about doing what we don't want to do and being a slave to sin. What does it mean to be a slave to sin? We keep sinning and can't break free from it.
Romans 8:1-8 -
How can we be freed from slavery to sin? We are redeemed by Christ who was our sin offering. When we live connected to Christ, living by focusing on God, trusting in his grace, trust 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.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Sin - Sept. 23, 2012
Our lesson on Sin started with the reading from Genesis 3, the story of the "Fall of Man".
What is Sin? Students had the chance to answer and then also talk about the difference between sins and Sin like cancer and the symptoms of cancer. We do sins because we are infected with Sin. Only grace througn Christ can get rid of the "cancer" (sin). We still do sinful things but now we have the power through the Holy Spirit to start being returned to the image of God we were originally created to be.
Who in the Bible and other faithful people have sinned?
Moses - murdered an Egyptian but was still called to do great things for God (Exodus 2 & 3).
David - was an adulterer but was still one of God's most faithful servants (2 Samuel 11)
Peter - denied Jesus but was one of his most faithful disciples (Luke 22: 54-62)
Paul - persecuted Christians but God called him to spread the gospel (Acts 9)
John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church - banded a girl that he was in love with from taking communion when she married another man but he still went on to be the founder of Methodism.
Besides looking at individuals who sinned, corporate sin (which is groups of people or communities who can be guilty of sin) was addressed. The book of Jonah talks about the city of Nineveh as being a "wicked city" who's wickedness has come up before God (Jonah 1:2). * In Amos 5:21-27, God scolds the nation of Israel for injustice and idolatry. In Paul's letters to the churches, he holds Christian communities accountable for their behavior. The United Methodist Church has a history of focusing on both personal and corporate sins. We challenge individuals to be disciplined and avoid "doing harm" which is the first of John Wesley's General Rules, and hold the church to a standard of justice.
Sin distorts God's image in us. Grace through Christ restores the image.
*Credo Curriculum
What is Sin? Students had the chance to answer and then also talk about the difference between sins and Sin like cancer and the symptoms of cancer. We do sins because we are infected with Sin. Only grace througn Christ can get rid of the "cancer" (sin). We still do sinful things but now we have the power through the Holy Spirit to start being returned to the image of God we were originally created to be.
Who in the Bible and other faithful people have sinned?
Moses - murdered an Egyptian but was still called to do great things for God (Exodus 2 & 3).
David - was an adulterer but was still one of God's most faithful servants (2 Samuel 11)
Peter - denied Jesus but was one of his most faithful disciples (Luke 22: 54-62)
Paul - persecuted Christians but God called him to spread the gospel (Acts 9)
John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church - banded a girl that he was in love with from taking communion when she married another man but he still went on to be the founder of Methodism.
Besides looking at individuals who sinned, corporate sin (which is groups of people or communities who can be guilty of sin) was addressed. The book of Jonah talks about the city of Nineveh as being a "wicked city" who's wickedness has come up before God (Jonah 1:2). * In Amos 5:21-27, God scolds the nation of Israel for injustice and idolatry. In Paul's letters to the churches, he holds Christian communities accountable for their behavior. The United Methodist Church has a history of focusing on both personal and corporate sins. We challenge individuals to be disciplined and avoid "doing harm" which is the first of John Wesley's General Rules, and hold the church to a standard of justice.
Sin distorts God's image in us. Grace through Christ restores the image.
*Credo Curriculum
Monday, September 17, 2012
Confirmation Retreat Weekend - Sept. 15-16
Our confirmation retreat was this past weekend and it will be pretty difficult to tell you in this small space everything we did and learned. But let me at least try to talk about our 3 lessons.
Lesson 1: Journeying Together-
Our scripture reading came from Luke 24: 13-32 -The Walk to Emmaus . We broke down the scripture and talked about how this story is similar to the journey that we are making together in Confirmation. Confirmation is also a journey and God is with us during this journey. I believe and pray that just as the disciples had their eyes opended and were able to see Jesus, our eyes will be opened to who Jesus is and how God works and is present in our lives. As part of this lesson we did a blind-folded trust walk and lifeline exercise where the students had to do three things- 1. Follow the lifeline wherever it leads you, no matter how difficult, 2. Whatever you do, do not let go of the lifeline, not even for a second, and 3. Be careful. There may be obstacles along the path that you could trip over or run into. The lifeline in the exercise represented our relationship with God, and the obstacles, things that may get in the way of that relationship.
Questions- What is an obstacle that may get in your way of having a relationship with God? What can disconnect us from God? What do we need to do to stay close to God?
Lesson 2: Covenant-
What is a covenant? A special promise or agreement. The Bible is divided into two covenants-- the Old Testament (the one God made with the Hebrew people) and the New Testament (the one God made with us through Jesus).
In the Old Testament making a covenant was literally cutting a covenant-- taking a special animal, cutting into two and walking through it while making a promise to God (Jeremiah 34:18). In Genesis 17 we read about the covenant that God makes with Abraham, one that establishes a long line of descendants from a man and his wife who should not have been able to have children because of how old they were.
God establishes a new covenant for all who believe. That new covenant is Jesus. He sends his son to the cross to die for the sins of all people. In Hebrews 8:12 it says, "for I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." By calling this covenant "new" he has made the first one obsolete and what is obsolete will soon disappear.
After this lesson, we spent time in small groups writing our covenant for the confirmation year. The students came up with some fabulous statements of commitment and it will be put together for them to review on Sunday.
Lesson 3: Faith-
Our Faith lesson came from Hebrews 11:1-3. We identified faith in 3 parts. The first part, trust, we identified as being built on events from past experiences. We build trust from having information of what has already happened or people who have already proven themselves. The second part, hope, we identified as being related to the future. We hope we get something for Christmas, we hope that someone gets well, and we hope we do well on a test. The last part, love, we identified as being related to the present. We love now. We show love now and receive love in the present. 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.
Lesson 1: Journeying Together-
Our scripture reading came from Luke 24: 13-32 -The Walk to Emmaus . We broke down the scripture and talked about how this story is similar to the journey that we are making together in Confirmation. Confirmation is also a journey and God is with us during this journey. I believe and pray that just as the disciples had their eyes opended and were able to see Jesus, our eyes will be opened to who Jesus is and how God works and is present in our lives. As part of this lesson we did a blind-folded trust walk and lifeline exercise where the students had to do three things- 1. Follow the lifeline wherever it leads you, no matter how difficult, 2. Whatever you do, do not let go of the lifeline, not even for a second, and 3. Be careful. There may be obstacles along the path that you could trip over or run into. The lifeline in the exercise represented our relationship with God, and the obstacles, things that may get in the way of that relationship.
Questions- What is an obstacle that may get in your way of having a relationship with God? What can disconnect us from God? What do we need to do to stay close to God?
Lesson 2: Covenant-
What is a covenant? A special promise or agreement. The Bible is divided into two covenants-- the Old Testament (the one God made with the Hebrew people) and the New Testament (the one God made with us through Jesus).
In the Old Testament making a covenant was literally cutting a covenant-- taking a special animal, cutting into two and walking through it while making a promise to God (Jeremiah 34:18). In Genesis 17 we read about the covenant that God makes with Abraham, one that establishes a long line of descendants from a man and his wife who should not have been able to have children because of how old they were.
God establishes a new covenant for all who believe. That new covenant is Jesus. He sends his son to the cross to die for the sins of all people. In Hebrews 8:12 it says, "for I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." By calling this covenant "new" he has made the first one obsolete and what is obsolete will soon disappear.
After this lesson, we spent time in small groups writing our covenant for the confirmation year. The students came up with some fabulous statements of commitment and it will be put together for them to review on Sunday.
Lesson 3: Faith-
Our Faith lesson came from Hebrews 11:1-3. We identified faith in 3 parts. The first part, trust, we identified as being built on events from past experiences. We build trust from having information of what has already happened or people who have already proven themselves. The second part, hope, we identified as being related to the future. We hope we get something for Christmas, we hope that someone gets well, and we hope we do well on a test. The last part, love, we identified as being related to the present. We love now. We show love now and receive love in the present. 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.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Creation Part 2 - September 9, 2012
So in all that we talked about last week we know God as "Creator". What are some other ways we describe God? (friend, Father, savior, provider, shepherd)
As Christians we believe in the Trinity: or God in three persons. We often refer to the persons of the Trinity as God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But it can also be helpful to refer to the persons of the Trinity by sone of the key roles they play. While all three play several roles and always work together, we're going to focus on three roles during our "Know Your Story" unit:
~Creator
~Redeemer
~Sustainer
In Genesis 1:27 we read, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." What does it mean that we are created in God's image? Do we physically resemble God? It means that we share many of God's characteristics but we don't necessarily look like him. Like God we have the ability to create and care for our creations. Creativity is one characteristic that we share with God. 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.
The following scripture lessons describe other characteristics of God:
Matthew 20: 1-16 (Generous Boss)
Luke 15: 8-10 (Rejoicing woman)
John 15: 11-32 (Forgiving Father who shows unconditional love)
John 10: 1-18 (Shepherd)
John 13: 3-5, 12-16 (Servant)
Each of these passages tells us something different about who God is. 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.
Question to ponder:
~What are some of the ways that we can know God better?
As Christians we believe in the Trinity: or God in three persons. We often refer to the persons of the Trinity as God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But it can also be helpful to refer to the persons of the Trinity by sone of the key roles they play. While all three play several roles and always work together, we're going to focus on three roles during our "Know Your Story" unit:
~Creator
~Redeemer
~Sustainer
In Genesis 1:27 we read, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." What does it mean that we are created in God's image? Do we physically resemble God? It means that we share many of God's characteristics but we don't necessarily look like him. Like God we have the ability to create and care for our creations. Creativity is one characteristic that we share with God. 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.
The following scripture lessons describe other characteristics of God:
Matthew 20: 1-16 (Generous Boss)
Luke 15: 8-10 (Rejoicing woman)
John 15: 11-32 (Forgiving Father who shows unconditional love)
John 10: 1-18 (Shepherd)
John 13: 3-5, 12-16 (Servant)
Each of these passages tells us something different about who God is. 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.
Question to ponder:
~What are some of the ways that we can know God better?
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Creation - Sept. 2, 2012
Our Creation lesson started with students gathering in 5 small groups, reading assigned parts of Genesis 1 and then drawing a poster to display a particular day of creation and what they read in Scripture. The groups then shared their posters with the entire group and talked about what they read in the scripture that was new to them. We discussed such things as in Genesis 1:2 - ... the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters which would be our first introduction to the Holy Spirit, that throughout the creation story God spoke it (such as "Let there be light") and it happened which shows God's power, and that at the end of each day God saw that it was good which indicates God's pleasure in what He created. We also had one student point out that in Genesis 1:26 God said, "Let us make man in our image which tells us that there was someone else there with God. In John 1:1-2 it states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." These verses help us to identify the presence of Jesus right from the beginning of creation.
We also touched briefly on the power of word. I read part of Genesis 1 from "The Message" so that the students could hear how Eugene Peterson interprets God's use of his words to make things happen. We see throughtout scripture that words have power. They can build up or tear down, can communicate love or hate, and can heal or admonish. We talked about how our words need to reflect the love asks us to display.
At the end of class I had each student in attendance fill out a "Who Am I" form so that I can get some information on likes and dislikes, family members, and what he/she is involved in. If your child was not in class, please see me to get this form.
Assignment:
~Continue to memorize: John 15:5
We also touched briefly on the power of word. I read part of Genesis 1 from "The Message" so that the students could hear how Eugene Peterson interprets God's use of his words to make things happen. We see throughtout scripture that words have power. They can build up or tear down, can communicate love or hate, and can heal or admonish. We talked about how our words need to reflect the love asks us to display.
At the end of class I had each student in attendance fill out a "Who Am I" form so that I can get some information on likes and dislikes, family members, and what he/she is involved in. If your child was not in class, please see me to get this form.
Assignment:
~Continue to memorize: John 15:5
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