20 mins : Review my thoughts about Sunday School in general.
30 mins : Get into class material.
Review
These are my thoughts so far about the new come follow me materials and my responsibility to teach you. In no particular order.
- I do love teaching. I don't know why exactly, because it is hard work, and I do still get nervous. I find it a lot easier to teach adults than children.
- Someone with a deep voice. Voice comparison. It requires significant effort for me to project my voice in a way that come natural to Ben. It's not because I'm lazy, it's physiology. I will make a bit of an effort, but lets work together. If you cannot hear me, before telling me this, please come forward. If after coming forward, you still cannot hear me, then I will try even harder. But I'd rather concentrate my efforts on the content of the lesson rather than worrying about whether i'm projecting my voice enough.
Reading #1
- "In the new reduced Sunday schedule, Sunday School is held only on the first and third Sundays of each month. However, Come, Follow Me--For Sunday School includes an outline for every week of the year (except for the two Sundays when general conference is held). Even on weeks when Sunday School is not held, families should continue reading the New Testament at home according to the schedule outlined. In order to keep your Sunday School class on schedule, you may choose to teach only the current week’s outline or select activities from multiple outlines" - These are not my words. They are from 'learning and teaching helps for Sunday school.
- The Materials state that the teacher does not have to teach. So here is some forewarning, I may ask you to teach, if you are married, I may ask you to teach together.
- I’m not always going to come to class as prepared as I’d like to be. Life, and kids will prevent me from fulfilling me calling perfectly. And to be honest, I’m fine with that, because you should not be relying on me to be fully prepared. There are probably over 50 of us in this room right now. I’m confident that between us, all of our preparation combined will yield a good lesson.
- Do Bro Wilson's exercise again. This time with Topsy. Demonstrate that his exercise is still only one sided. I want to throw stuff (cute little teddy bears) out to you, but I want you to be throwing stuff back. However, I can promise you, the more preparation you put in. The more you will get out. Alma 41:15.
- We have come follow me manuals you can take if you prefer paper copies or if your ministering families need.
Invite class members to share their thoughts on the style of the materials compared to the old Sunday school style. If they have any.
- The material is pretty basic. As a gospel doctrine teacher traditionally we might go in to some pretty heavy doctrine. It would seem these manuals are not doing this but instead encouraging us to ask difficult questions.
Or at least this has been my impressions far. It has been easy to gloss over these questions in the hope that if I’m asked this question on Sunday school someone else will answer that question and then we will move on. I don’t need to worry about this particular question.
Please don’t do this. Please ponder these questions. Ponder them in your heart. When we are asked these questions in Sunday school we often can’t think of an example there and then. But if we know we may be asked these questions, and we have time to remember a previous experience or time to experience then we are more likely to have something to contribute. This is why I highlighted some questions from the materials and posted them on the ward WhatsApp group.
Will not identifying an answer to such questions not increase your faith and gratitude towards your father heaven? I believe the new come follow me is giving us less information and instead asking us to ponder more. If we do not do this, I think we will be missing the point of the new lessons/materials/manuals/approach.
- Finally. I listen to a lot of personal development podcasts. A quote I heard the other day was You have to be 100% in it to want to change yourself. This got me thinking about the reasons we attend Sunday School. Why are we here. It is not my intention in asking you this question for you to think "You know what? David's right, I shouldn't really be here because I'm wasting my time" but more to remind you that we are here to learn, but for what purpose? To be perfect. Or rather to grow into a perfect state. To progress. We are not going to improve ourselves if we go home and do nothing. We have to be committed to change. So my invitation to you is to attend Sunday School with an attitude of change. Commit now to grow.
President Roberts is very good at committing the Elders quorum to actions each week. I'm going to do something slightly different. I'm going to invite each of you to listen to the spirit and record what action it it inviting you to do. Then a couple of minutes from the end, I'm going to open up and if anyone feels comfortable, invite you to share your action with the class. Then, if anyone by this point has not recorded an action you may feel inspired by our other class members actions.
Class Material
Matthew 1; Luke 1
Does anybody have any thoughts they wish to share from Matthew 1; Luke 1?
I have 2.
- What does the new testament start with? Why am I drawing attention to this?
- I loved the insight into a lesson we have heard time and time again "with God, nothing is impossible" (Luke 1:37).
Who can tell me what was so impossible about Elizabeth & Zacharia's situation?
What was so impossible about Mary & Joseph's situation?
The manual makes a great point.
It can be helpful to remember their miraculous experiences whenever we face something that seems impossible.
What impossible things has your Father in Heaven helped you overcome?
Was your initial reaction similar to Zacharias' or Mary's?
Luke 2; Matthew 2
Did anybody identify any detail or insight in this story that they had not noticed before?
For me noticed something about Mary. Found in verses 19 & 51.
This week we start looking at a number of individuals who seek out Christ. If you remember a couple of weeks ago the lesson material promised us that if we do seek him, we will find him.
Seekers of Christ came from all walks of life.
The manual identifies 4 people or groups of people.
Shepards
Simeon
Anna
The Wise Men
Are there any other examples of individuals in the scriptures who sought and found the lord?
Enos
Joseph Smith
How were these individuals guided to the saviour?
Seekers of Christ continue to come from all walks of life.
Do you know of any?
What does seeking the saviour look like to you?
In 1990 President Monson shared the formula for finding Jesus. Would you like to know what it is? Its a silly question of me to ask really, I should assume you would be here if you didn't want to learn and I wasn't going to leave this bit out anyway. This was my mind blown moment of this weeks study, there was no way I wasn't going to share this with you.
Reading #2
The formula for finding Jesus has always been and ever will be the same—the earnest and sincere prayer of a humble and pure heart. . . .
Before we can successfully undertake a personal search for Jesus, we must first prepare time for him in our lives and room for him in our hearts. In these busy days there are many who have time for golf, time for shopping, time for work, time for play—but no time for Christ.
Lovely homes dot the land and provide rooms for eating, rooms for sleeping, playrooms, sewing rooms, television rooms, but no room for Christ.
Do we get a pang of conscience as we recall his own words: ‘The foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.’ (Matt. 8:20.) Or do we flush with embarrassment when we remember, ‘And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.’ (Luke 2:7.) No room. No room. No room. Ever has it been.
No room for Christ to enter our lives. It has been this way since the day he was born! Do you have any room for Christ?
As we undertake our personal search for Jesus, aided and guided by the principle of prayer, it is fundamental that we have a clear concept of him whom we seek. The shepherds of old sought Jesus the child. But we seek Jesus the Christ, our Older Brother, our Mediator with the Father, our Redeemer, the Author of our salvation; he who was in the beginning with the Father; he who took upon himself the sins of the world and so willingly died that we might forever live. This is the Jesus whom we seek” (“The Search for Jesus,” Ensign, Dec. 1990, 4–5).
My commitment for this week sounds simple, it is to continue to study the come follow me materials.
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