Study the Word of God

This week we are looking at the importance of studying our Bible.  There will be three aspects to teaching this lesson:

1. To introduce students to the spiritual discipline of studying scripture;
2. To practice with students the process of studying a passage of scripture;
3. To inspire students to begin studying Scripture more regularly

Psalm 119:11 tells us that if we want to live a life that pleases God, a life without sin, that we must hide the Word of God in our hearts.  I have always tried to inspire the young people to learn their memory verses, sometimes successfully and sometimes not so successfully.  There are many reasons why the young people in my class might want to learn their memory verses, but my aim is that they would want to memorise and study the Word of God in order to live out the Word of God and live a life for a Saviour that they love.

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 119:11

Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Feel free to talk to me at any time.

God bless you,

Heather

It's All Good

To Christians who follow the leading of the Spirit and the guidance of the Scriptures, there is no difference between what is sacred and what is secular - everything in life becomes sacred becasue they have fully devoted themselves to God. How does this play out in real life? A Christian is ot only doing God stuff when doing church stuff (being at church, witnessing, reading Scripture etc). God is not as interested in how we do church stuff as He is interested in how we do life. Deuteronomy 6:5 instructs us that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, and strength. God does not ask us to do church stuff all the time, but He does require us to do life in response to what He has done for us - which includes church stuff. When Christians see their own individual lives as a celebration of God's grace and mercy, they will be doing God stuff in every little normal activity of every day.

Our memory verse for this week is found in Deuteronomy 6:5

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Please feel free to come and talk to me anytime,

Heather

Without both Spirit and Truth, it ain't Worship

Worship involves both spirit and truth - which includes our bodies, actions, emotions, and thoughts. Worship in spirit is following the leading of the Spirit, allowing our thoughts to be transformed and being mentally/emotionally engaged with God. Worship in truth is allowing the leading of the Spirit and the instructions in Scripture to be intricately woven into every part of our daily actions and events.

Our memory verse for this week is found in Romans 12:1 and we're using the New International Version of the Bible just for this week:-

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship

Please feel free to come and talk to me anytime.

God bless you,

Heather

Jesus and a Sinner Discuss Worship

The recount of Jesus' conversation with the samaritan woman at the well is His introduction to New Testament worship. The format follows Jesus' explanation of worship to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:1-26. This new worship is not limited to a location, but allows someone to worship anywhere, anytime. There are differences between those who worship in spirit and in truth, and those who do not. Those who do not are not worshippers; they simply ignorantly go through the motions. "Worshipping in spirit" involves God's Holy Spirit and our human spirit. "Worshipping in truth" means obeying the truths written in Scripture.

Our memory verse this week is found in John 4:23-24:

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Please don't hesitate to come and chat to me at any time,

Heather

Seeing all of Life as Worship

Welcome back to term 3 of Sunday School. I trust you were able to have a break and come back feeling refreshed and rested!

This term sees Sis Melanie assisting the Lower Primary class and so I will be flying solo for a while. Sis Melanie is such a wonderful teacher of the Word of God and the young people have really benefited from her wonderful talents. I would appreciate your prayers as I attempt to fulfill what I see as a vital ministry. Sunday School really is such an integral part of the church ... as we seek the face and mind of God to know how we should minister to those in our care for one short hour each week, we realise that, potentially, we have future pastors, teachers, evangelists, apostles and prophets (as expounded in Ephesians 4:11) and so it is essential that we know the mind of God for these young ones that you have entrusted to us.

We are starting the term with a four week series on worship. As you can see from the above banner, our curriculum for these lessons is called "Seeing All of Life as Worship." It's not enough to come to church every week, worship God and than live lives to please ourselves. Worship really needs to be lived out with our whole lives which means that we need to have a relationship with God and recognise Him for who He is and for His greatness in our lives. Anything we do that brings pleasure to God is worship. Our full devotion is our heart, mind, and body.

God bless you. Please feel free to come and have a chat with me if you have any concerns.

Heather

Tick, Tick, Ticking Away

This week we are learning about priorities and how setting God at the top of our priorities bring blessings into our lives.

Time is a precious resource. When we spend time doing something, we are making an investment. Given the fact that time is limited, when we give our time to something, we are giving one of our most precious commodities. To see that our investment pays off, we need to give our precious time to worthwhile activities, not something that will leave us with nothing to show for the investment.

Setting priorities can certainly be challenging. The very act requires decision making, and making choices can be difficult. Sometimes we will need to make sacrifices because decisions involving time are not always easy. For example, Jonah did not want to go to Ninevah. It did not fit with his idea of acceptable ways to spend his time, but it was what God wanted him to do. After spending three days in the belly of the great fish, he realised that God's plans should always come first, even if that meant rearranging his week. How much time and msery would Jonah have saved if he had sacrificed his own desires and put God's plan at the top of his list of priorities.

Our memory verse this week is found in Ephesians 5:16

"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil"

Congratulations to Ben who consistently learns his memory verses each week. Congratulations also goes to Rem, Sangi and Matthew.

God bless you,

Melanie and Heather

The God of Abraham, Jacob .....& Isaac?

What a great man of faith Abraham was - last week we heard about the great faith it took for Abraham to pack his family up and go to wherever God wanted him to go!

This week we move on to the next in the family tree - Isaac.

Isaac's life was not very exciting. The only time he left the area where Abraham settled was during a famine. Besides staying in the same place, he had a seemingly monotonous job - digging out wells.

In ancient times wells were the life-line and the future of a family. Without a well not only would Isaac's family have perished, but the promise God had bestowed on his father and on him would have perished. Wells were vital.

Christians need life-lines in order for the promise of the Holy Ghost to continue for generations!!!!!

- Reading and studying the Word of God

- Fasting and praying

- Faithfulness to the house of God

- Godly friends who encourage us with God's Word.

Isaac was not only a well digger but a bridge builder - a bridge to the future for the nation of Israel. Without his perseverence and tenacity, Abraham's lineage would have perished. By digging the wells, he established security for his descendents while at the same time establishing fear in the eyes of onlookers.

How will YOU build a bridge to the future? How is what YOU are doing now affecting future generations??

Take a little time to think about it!

We do pray that each student in the class will fulfill their role in God's kingdom. Whether the students are noticed by all or by few, what matters is that they fulfill God's desire for their lives and that they exhibit obedience as Isaac did.

This weeks memory verse:

1 Samuel 15:22

'But Samuel replied, What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.

The Call, the Sacrifice, the Faith - One Mans Journey for God

Welcome to Term 2 of Sunday School. We trust that you have had a restful break and that you're feeling refreshed.

This week we are exploring Abraham and his faith. God called Abraham to rise up with his family, to leave his home and to move to a place that was unknown to Abraham and his family. Some of the points we will cover are:

• Abraham and his entire family left their homeland, Ur, and travelled to Haran, about 600 miles over desert lands.


• Ur was a thriving city and archeological evidence suggests that Ur's civilisation was far advanced - equal to that of Babylon 1,000 years later.


• Abraham and his family left Ur without any idea of where they were going. God did not provide a map!

Abrahams' relationship with God deepened in such a way that when God made promises to Abraham, he knew without a doubt that God would deliver on His promises!!

We want to encourage our young people to have the same kind of faith that Abraham had when he blindly trusted God. When God places a calling on our lives, we can trust Him to go with us ... all the way!

The memory verse this week is found in Hebrews 11:8 -

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went

If you have anything you wish to discuss, please do not hesitate to talk to either of us.

God bless you,

Melanie and Heather

Small Hard Things

In Rudyard Kipling's classic novel Captains Courageous, 15 year old Harvey Cheyne, the son of a wealthy railroad tycoon, is washed overboard from a transatlantic steamship and rescued by fishermen.

Cold, wet and forgotten for the first time in his spoiled existence, Harvey at first tries to convince the fishermen of his parents' great wealth. He wants them to abandon their fishing season and take him ashore, where he promises his father will reward them generously. But his pleas don't work. In the end he is forced to earn his keep mending nets and gutting fish.

At first, Harvey can't believe his bad luck. The backbreaking work, the long hours, the stench, and the cold and wet disgust and overwhelm him. But over time, Harvey mysteriously changes. His body toughens. He learns to use his hands and his head to perform the tasks and weather the trials of fishing on the open sea. He begins to actually enjoy the hardships and to admire the strength and intelligence of his new companions.

When the boat finally returns to port, Harvey wires his parents, who rush to the small town. Amazed, they find a transformed son. Their lazy, demanding boy has become an industrious, serious, and considerate young man. No longer needing or wanting his mother's constant doting, Harvey is ready to start a successful career in his father's shipping lines.

This week we are discussing how doing small hard things that don't immediately benefit us are important. Small things most often occur behind the closed doors of our homes, schools, or churches. They are rarely new or exciting and they are often repetitive - even tedious. Small things happen on the level at which we normally live our lives. In fact, in the most basic sense they are our lives - the "stuff" that makes up everyday living. You won't make it in the headlines for any of them or wake up looking forward to them. But the purpose of doing these things is to gain strength. Being faithful in the smallest things is the way to gain, maintain and demonstrate the strength needed to accomplish something great.

Our memory verse this week is found in Colossians 3:23-24

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Congratulations Mark, Ben, Joel and Matthew for learning your memory verse last week. Well done!!

God bless,

Melanie and Heather

The Power Of Collaboration!

How to do hard things that are too big for you to do alone!

The clip above would have been impossible to do {with any kind of impact} alone! Likewise, there are some things God calls us to do that can only be accomplished with others. This week in Sunday School we will learn about how God calls us to work together in unity - and warns us against isolating ourselves from others. We will look at 10 things to consider when working in teams, and then we will look further into God's Word to discover people who worked together to accomplish God's plan.

Thank you Ben for learning your memory verse last week!!!!!!!!!

Heather and Melanie

Raising the Bar

This week we are continuing our lessons based on the book "Doing Hard Things" by Alex and Brett Harris. Our lesson flows on from last weeks excellent lesson on doing things that take us out of our comfort zone into rising above complacency and doing things that go beyond what is expected or required of us.

We all have expectations placed upon us in our homes, schools, workplaces, churches and our social circles. Do we merely meet those expectations or do we strive for excellence and go beyond what we are asked to do? It is easy to become complacent and think that "near enough is good enough" but have we really done all that we can do in order to make our world a better place? As Christians, Jesus wants us to go the second mile, but, in order to do that, we must move out of complacency - and out of our comfort zone - and stretch our abilities to try to become everything He wants us to be.

Complacency kills growth on a personal level and on a societal level. It is vital for all Christians to rise above it and become the vessel that Jesus wants us to be.

Our memory verse for this week is found in 1 Timothy 4:12-13

Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine

Please feel free to come and chat with us at any time.

God bless you,

Melanie and Heather

Do Hard Things!

This term, the High School class will be studying lessons from the book 'Do Hard Things' by Alex & Brett Harris.

On the back of the book the teenage authors have written: Most people don't expect you to understand what we're going to tell you in this book. And even if you understand, they don't expect you to care. And even if you care, they don't expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they don't expect it to last. We do.'

This book is written to teenagers and encourages them to 'rebel against low expectations'.

What do you think of when you hear the word 'teenager'? Rude, rebellious, attitude, lazy.

If these are the expectations for our teens, what have they got to work towards?

Over the coming weeks, we want to encourage the High School class to think about the Hard Things in their lives that they are able to accomplish.

This week we will look at the first scary step towards doing hard things - Doing Hard Things That Take Us Out Of Our Comfort Zone!

Please pray that God will move amongst us as we focus on Him for the hour lesson. Pray that God will soften the heart of our students and that He will reveal to them their significance in His plan.

God bless you,

Heather and Melanie