Wednesday Question

How's it going all,

Here is the Wednesday question for the week.

Evangelism # 4

Think of one friend who doesn't know Jesus. Now, like the friends of the paralytic in Mark 2, how might you help your friend overcome obstacles and come to a place where he or she can encounter Jesus?

Think of someone specifically or just be general. Remember that we don't want anyone to be embarrassed though so no names.

I'll be back on Friday. See you Sunday.

TD

The Computer is Working

Hey All,

As promised, I'm on the blog again.

The question (slightly changed from the book) is:

How might a small group of teenagers do something to help people?

Is there a group from your church already doing something for these people that you could join?

When answering this question, remember the different opportunities to help people in the first question of the "Ministry" section of today's lesson. Also, look back to the first question in the "Ministry" section from last week's Sunday School meeting.

I'll be back Wednesday.

TD

Week 3 Question

Hey All,

Here is the question for the week.

As a small group, talk about what you can do to help protect each another from your worst temptations?

I’ll be back Friday.

TD

In the Heart of the Desert Summary

Hi Everyone,

We had a good session this morning. I was pleased that people participated and discussed the lesson. Remember that Sunday School isn't here to test you. If you don't know what I'm talking about, stop me and ask. I'd rather take a few minutes to answer a question than have you miss something.

The Bible verse for the week is on page 116 and is Proverbs 13:10

"Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice."

There are a few points that we should remember.

Jesus used the scriptures to resist temptation. That is why it is important for us to read the Bible and memorize it. I don't want you to memorize the passages for an arbitrary reason like I think all people should have 15 verses memorized by the time they are 20 or so we look like super-Christians. Jesus spent a great deal of time, presumably, in study. If He didn't memorize the scripture, He would not have been as prepared to answer Satan's offers.

That said, remember to be careful how you use the Bible. Satan was able to use the scripture to tempt Jesus. If I ever say something and back it up with the Bible that you think is wrong, challenge me on it. I won't be offended.

Remember not to take the Bible for granted. Just because it is seemingly everywhere with dozens of translations doesn't mean that it is the equivalent to a supermarket tabloid. Take the time to use it.

I plan to be back on the blog Wednesday, sometime after 5:00.

TD

Week 2 Question

Hello all,

Here is the Wednesday question. I think that this can generate some good discussion.

If all Christians are supposed to deny themselves and follow the same thing (Jesus), does that mean we all become the same person, with the same personality, desires, dreams and so on? Explain your answer. (page 22, # 9)

PS – My computer is acting up, so I may not be on the blog as frequently as usual. If I don’t respond to your post right away, I’m not ignoring you. I’ll try to get on in the evenings before I leave work, however.

TD

The Cost of Discipleship Summary

Hey,

I think the discussion we had today was good. There were a few things I want to continue on.

- Following Jesus does have a cost, but we will receive something in return. It is up to you to decide whether the cost is something you are willing to part with. It is difficult today to think of "cost" without thinking about money. Remember, following Jesus may cost something other that money. I believe that whatever the cost of following Jesus may be, the benefits are most certainly worth price.

- Based on these parables (in Matthew 13: 44-46), is it possible to be a Christian without giving up everything?

- What does it mean to "take up your cross daily?" (Check out page 27 for more info)

- What might a non-Christian find attractive about being friends with a really committed follower of Jesus?

I'll check back for your comments over the next few days. Feel free to post whatever questions and answers you have and hopefully the group will be able to continue this morning's discussion.

Don't feel obliged to continue the discussions above. If you have a topic from this morning you want to talk more about, feel free to post that as well.

I'll start a fresh new post on Wednesday. This post will be a question we did not discuss this morning.

See you next Sunday.

TD

Week 1 Question

Howdy,

What I'm planning for a midweek post is to ask a question. It won't be a simple "yes" or "no" type question. Instead it will be something that will hopefully generate some discussion among the group.

Week 1 Question:

What do you think it means to serve Jesus?

TD

What do you think?

Hey Everyone,

This will just be a quick post to get things started. Hopefully I don't have a different definition of "quick" than you do.

My plan for Sundays is to post a summary about of our morning's discussion topics. I'm hoping this will do three things. First, give everyone an opportunity to continue any discussions we had in the morning that we didn't finish. Second, ask any new questions you may have thought of. Third, let you post some of your own ideas about the lesson.

In case you didn't write anything down this morning, the stuff I thought you should read is:

about cliques, pp 100 - 101
praying as a group, pp 127 - 132
who is Jesus, pp 95 - 98

My big question for the week is: What are your initial reactions to the book?

I know it is early and we didn't do too much this morning, but I am interested to know if you think the next six weeks will be useful. Don't be afraid to be honest if you don't look forward to the next 6 weeks. I hope you will find everything interesting, but if you don't think it will be I want to know that as well. I'd like you to give the material a chance and I'll do my best to fix with anything you think will be dull or otherwise unappealing.

Check out the questions Scott posted as well. I'd be interested to see your thoughts.

This ended up quite a bit longer than I expected. I'll try to be more brief next time.

TD

Growing in Jesus - a new study

In Sunday School, the middle- and high-school class is starting a new book called Growing in Jesus. We're hoping this book will be helpful to you as you discover God's way of living life - the way of Jesus.

This blog will soon (we plan) become more active, a place where you can check in during the week and discuss things with me and Tony and each other, things that come up from our study of the book together.

So, this week, some preliminary questions to think about:

1. Who is God? Why would anyone care to become the person God wants her or him to become?

2. Who is Jesus and why does he matter to anyone's life in 2007?

Post your thoughts as comments...