January 28, 2018
Per sonal Jesus?!
make- up l esson
CONFIRMAND NAME ______________________ Return completed worksheet to Catherine Curtis or the file in class
Would you rather... Woul d you rat her expl ain Communion or Bapt ism t o a non-Christ ian f riend? Share with each other which you would choose and why.
Conf irmand ___________________________________________________ Sponsor _____________________________________________________
Focus Script ure Read silently through the scripture the first time then one person read aloud as the other circles words or phrases that impact them. Then switch.
The focus scripture excerpt immediately follows the four Gospels and tells of Jesus instructing the disciples to no longer be students and followers but now witnesses and evangelists going into the world to share the gospel, the good news, of Jesus?death and resurrection to save us from our sins. -
Act s 1:6-11 As a resul t , t hose who had gat hered t oget her asked Jesus, ?Lord, are you going t o rest ore t he kingdom t o Israel now?? Jesus repl ied, ?It isn?t f or you t o know t he t imes or seasons t hat t he Fat her has set by his own aut horit y. Rat her, you wil l receive power when t he Hol y Spirit has come upon you, and you wil l be my wit nesses in Jerusal em, in al l Judea and Samaria, and t o t he end of t he eart h.? Af t er Jesus said t hese t hings, as t hey were wat ching, he was l if t ed up and a cl oud t ook him out of t heir sight . Whil e he was going away and as t hey were st aring t oward heaven, suddenl y t wo men in whit e robes st ood next t o t hem. They said, ?Gal il eans, why are you st anding here, l ooking t oward heaven? This Jesus, who was t aken up f rom you int o heaven, wil l come in t he same way t hat you saw him go int o heaven.?
Have you ever been in a situation where something mind-blowing has just happened and yet you were still expected to make decisions and take immediate action?
Often these types of situations arise during emergencies where someone?s safety or life is at risk, such as accident of some type. -
Imagine what this scripture describes and put yourself in the place of the disciples, what feelings do you think they had in the moment as disappeared from their sight?
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What do think they felt when the men in white robes, presumably angels, basically told them to get going and go preach?
Today we explore the idea that Christianity is more than ?feeling good about oneself (but is) of repentance of sin, of keeping the Sabbath, of living as a servant of a sovereign divine, of steadfastly saying one?s prayers, of faithfully observing high holy days, of building character through suffering, of basking in God?s love and grace, of spending oneself in gratitude and love for the cause of social justice, etc.? (Christian Smith)
Theol ogical Tour nament - Br acket your choices Both Confirmand and Sponsor should review the theological tenets below and using a bracketing decision process, make your choices on which ones are most important to you in your Christian faith. After selecting your "winner," discuss the questions below based on each of your thought processes and "tournament winners." -
What tenets were not included in the bracket that you wish were included?
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What were your top two tenets?
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Which seemed less important?
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How did you decide which Christian faith tenets to send to the next bracket?
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What Christian faith tenet were you not able keep as a winner but really wanted to do so? (NOTE: out that in the "real world" we may all value and choose to live our lives by all of the tenets.)
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Which of these do you think your church passed along to you?
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Which of these do you think your parents passed along to you?
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How have they communicated these tenets to you?
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Which you want to pass along to your children?
Love your neighbor Our actions have eternal Better to give than to receive Faith requires sacrifice Good people go to Heaven God's grace & forgiveness are free God is triune: Creator, Son, Holy Spirit God wants us to be happy
Encount er ? ?You? -
Do you bel ieve t he act of Jesus rising f rom t he dead makes t he Christ ian f ait h unique?
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Have you ever put int o words what Jesus?resurrect ion impl ies f or you personal l y?
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What are some of t he big Movement s of our t ime? -
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Black Lives Matter Women?s March Me Too Civil Rights What else? _____________________________________________________________________________________
What is t he Purpose of t hese Movement s? _________________________________________ -
To promote rights for people of color To end sexism and sexual assault
The earl y Christ ian Church was a movement - Jesus was a Jewish l eader who want ed t o ref orm a worl d t hat had got t en away f rom t he ways God want ed us t o l ive. -
What are some of t he ways Jesus ref ormed and cal l s us t o l ive? -
Love One another Forgive Help those in need What else? ____________________________________________________________________________________
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For you what part s of t he Christ ian f ait h do you connect wit h?
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How has t hat changed over t he years?
It is dif f icul t t o put int o words or describe your own f ait h wit hout t he knowl edge, underst anding, and vocabul ary f undament al t o your f ait h. Today?s l esson is designed t o f urt her your underst anding of t he t enet s of Christ ianit y and t o give you some l anguage t o use as you t hink and writ e about your f ait h as a Christ ian. Wat ch t he video above by Past or Rob Bel l ht t ps:/ / www.yout ube.com/ wat ch?v=gIBf j-5x6Ic about t he movement t hat became Christ ianit y. As you wat ch, writ e down t he words and concept s t hat evoke a response f rom you. This short f il m shares what commit t ed, l if e changing Christ ianit y can be.
Chr ist ian Phil osophy or chr ist ian l it eor Chr ist ian Fait h?
Christ ian Humanism (Phil osophical ) - summarized excerpt from Script ure, Conf l ict , and a New Theol ogical Humanism by William Schweiker at http:/ / reflections.yale.edu/ article/ between-babel-and-beatitude/ scripture-conflict-and-new-theological-humanism)
It is important to remember the richness of the English word ?humanity.? ?The root word is, quite literally, humble (humilis), from the Latin humus, earth or ground; hence homo, earth-being, and humanus, earthly, human.? TheBibledepictsthecreation of human beingsfromthedust of theearth; many
mythsand storiestell that thedeepest failureof human beingsistheprideful assertion of power beyond our finite capacities. In scriptural terms, human beings are dust that breathes? breathing and longing for peace, for meaning, and for what is sacred and true. We are creatures ?in between? dust and breath, finitude and infinite longing. A (Christian) humanist views her or his religious tradition? and all traditions? with a double vision. 1. Firstly, one is mindful of human dust? the weakness, fallibility, fault, and the hope of finite existence and says ?yes? to this life in its pain and hope. God does not scorn the human lot. Yet as mere dust, humility and not pride should rule our lives; the affirmation of life, not domination, should be the rule of social existence. It is an awareness of our dust and reads Scripture to glean the mixing of dust and breath in human existence. 2. Secondly, one also insists that human dust breathes: the human spirit seeks meaning and freedom in forms of culture and this quest reaches out to the living God. Any form of social existence, any ideology or faith, that denies the transcendent reach of existence narrows human reality. It is aware of the reach of human aspiration yet challenges ideologies that deny our fallibility or suppress the spirit.
Chr ist ian Phil osophy or chr ist ian l it eor Chr ist ian Fait h?
Moral ist ic Therapeut ic Deism (Christ ian "l it e") - summarized excerpt from On ?Moralistic Therapeutic Deism? as U.S. Teenagers?Actual, Tacit, De Facto Religious Faith1 by Christian Smith at http:/ / www2.ptsem.edu/ uploadedFiles/ IYM/ YCCL/ Smith-Moralistic.pdf)
Moral ist ic t herapeut ic deism (MTD) is a term that was first introduced in the book Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (2005) by sociologists Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton. The term is used to describe what they consider to be the common religious beliefs among American youth. The book is the result of the research project the "National Study of Youth and Religion." The authors find that many young people believed in several moral statutes not exclusive to any of the major world religions. It is this combination of beliefs that they label Moralistic Therapeutic Deism: 1. A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth. 2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions. 3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself. 4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem. 5. Good people go to heaven when they die. These points of belief were compiled from interviews with approximately 3,000 teenagers.
Chr ist ian Phil osophy or Chr ist ian l it eor Chr ist ian Fait h? Christ ianit y (Theist ic) - summarized excerpt from Worl dview comparison ? Christ ian Theism, Nat ural ism and Humanism by Michael Fackerell at http:/ / www.christian-faith.com/ worldview-comparison-christian-theism-naturalism-and-humanism/ )
Christian Theism holds that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is a full revelation of the Creator God (John 1:1,14) and that faith in God, love for God and our fellow man are supreme values (1 Corinthians 13:10; Hebrews 11:6; Luke 10:27). In Christian Theism our lives should be guided by the Bible, and the ?Fear of the Lord? is considered to be both the beginning of wisdom and knowledge (Proverbs 1:7; Proverbs 9:10). Christian Theism holds that (hu)mankind is a special creation of God, made in God?s image and that our purpose as per the Westminster Shorter Confession is to ?glorify God and enjoy Him forever? (Centre for Reformed Theology and Apologetic, n.d.). We have the ?Creation Mandate? of Genesis 1:26-28 to ?fill the earth and subdue it?. Christian educators such as Van Brummelen point out that ?God entrusts us with His creation in all its complexity? (Van Brummelen, 1994, p28) and they see in this Mandate the rationale for a broad Christian based education (pp 26-30). In Christian Theism it is believed that God reveals truth both through nature (including, ?the heavens? and our own mental processes at times) (Romans 1:19-20; Psalm 19) and by His Word and Spirit ? especially the Bible (Psalm 119; Psalm 19).
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What does it really mean to believe in Christ?
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What does it mean to follow Christ?
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How do we as Christians not focus on what we are doing or thinking but on God?
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Share a time when it felt right to follow someone.
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Do you ever regret following anyone?
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What does it mean to believe and follow- do we have to do these equal?
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What does it mean to you?
Share your Joys and Concerns and end your t ime t oget her wit h t he Lord's Prayer. Go in Peace.
