Questions to Ask about Your Lesson

These questions are from Teach Like a Pirate by David Burgess.

Is there something we can write on the board or shine on our screens that will spark a conversation or create a buzz?

Is there some way we can get our class outside of this lesson?

Where would be the perfect place on campus to deliver this lesson?

Can I inject an activity that will get every student out of there seat at some point in this lesson?

Can I offer some sort of artistic opportunity — a chance for students to express their own art voice?

Can I offer an activity where they challenge each other?

Can I make it like National Treasure where they solve clues and they come to me for the next clue?

Can I use the amazing power of silence? Pictionary? Charades? Little placards that I turn over like in those videos that are strangely engaging?

Is there some way that I can turn this into a contest?

Is there something I can do to myself to immediately spark curiosity as they enter the room?

Is there something I can do to transform my space — can I change my room some way to deliver this lesson?

Can I use the people of my class as props (e.g. make a graph out of people) in order to demonstrate a point?

Death of Saints Precious in God's Sight

Ps 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.

Precious : yaqar ( yaw-kawr' )
- valuable
- prized
- rare
- splendid
- costly
- highly-valued
- glorious
- excellent

Matthew Henry:
Though no man lays it to heart when the righteous perish, God will make it to appear that He lays it to heart.
This should make us willing to die, to die for Christ, if we are called to it, that our death shall be registered in heaven, and let that be precious to us which is so to God.

Tombstone:
Another link is broken
In our household band
But a chain is forming
In a better land

2 Cor 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

1 Cor 15:36-44

36 ...that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: 

37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: 

38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. 

39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind offlesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. 

40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 

43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 

44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

Dreams and Visions

Greek - Acts 2:17
men	3495	young men
see	3700
visions	3706
men	4245	presbuteros = elders = overseers
dream	1798
dreams	1797
Hebrew - Joel 2:28
men	970	youth, young man
see	7200	see, inspect, perceive, regard, look after, observe, discern
visions	2384	9x - vision, oracle, prophecy - used re: Nathan's vision to David of Solomon's temple 2 Sam 7:17
men	2205	elders, ancients, senators, old, old men
dream	2492	25x - Jacob's ladder, Joseph's dreams
dreams	2472	55x - ¿seem muddy - not always understood?

Ecclesiastes 5:3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business, and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.

To believe = to be persuaded

“First, To be a Christian indeed is to believe on Christ’s name; it is to assent to the gospel discovery, and consent to the gospel proposal, concerning Him.” - Matthew Henry

- to acknowledge that He is [the King of Kings, the Savior, the Anointed One]

- to acquiesce in it [consent with enthusiasm]

Greek "pisteuo" means "to be persuaded"

- St Jerome, latin, "credo" (from "cor do": I give my hand) not "opinar" (I have an opinion)

- In 1611, "believe" meant "be loyal to a person to whom you are bound by promise or duty."

- Now, "belief" is more like an "intellectual assent"

Serving

Notes from a Weds PM class at Hillcrest Christian Church... The word "serve" is one of the biggest themes in the Bible and the preferred title of saints. "Serve" or "servant" are mentioned 1100 times in scripture. "Servant" was the coveted title of many from Abraham to Paul.

Gen 16: The God Who Sees

A few interesting topics or sermonettes in Gen 16:

• The first (possible, but weak/sketchy/slight) mention of sex slavery
• the angel asking Hagar, “Where’d you come from and where are you going?”
• Hagar’s name for God: “The God Who Sees [me].”
• Hagar’s name for the well: “The Well of the Living God Who Sees Me.”

Thom S. Rainer - Simple Church

p26
To have a simple church, you must have a simple discipleship process. This process must be clear. It must move people toward maturity. It must be integrated fully into your church, and you must get rid of the clutter around it.

p33
People have come to know Christ, and they have stayed at the church. They have gotten plugged into ministry and are contributing to the body of Christ.

p43
[Re: Mk 2:27] Programs are made for man, not man for programs. If the goal is to keep certain things going, the church is in trouble. The end result must always be about people. Programs should only be tools.

Divine Providence, by Mrs. M.A.W. Cook

In some way or other
The Lord will provide;
It may not be my way,
It may not be thy way,
And yet in His own way,
The Lord will provide.

At some time or other
The Lord will provide,
It may not be my time.
It may not be thy time.
And yet in His own time,
The Lord will provide.

Despond then no longer,
The Lord will provide;
And this be the token—
No word He hath spoken
Was ever yet broken.
The Lord will provide.

March on, then, right boldly
The sea shall divide;
The pathway made glorious
With shoutings victorious,
We'll join in the chorus
The Lord will provide.

I Have a Problem

Source: Ray Comfort's facebook page.

“FATHER, I HAVE a problem. It’s weighing heavy on me. It’s all I can think about, night and day. Before I bring it to you in prayer, I suppose I should pray for those who are less fortunate than me—those in this world who have hardly enough food for this day, and for those who don’t have a roof over their heads at night. I also pray for families who have lost loved ones in sudden death, for parents whose children have leukemia, for the many people who are dying of brain tumors, for the hundreds of thousands who are laid waste with other terrible cancers, for people whose bodies have been suddenly shattered in car wrecks, for those who are lying in hospitals with agonizing burns over their bodies, whose faces have been burned beyond recognition. I pray for people with emphysema, whose eyes fill with terror as they struggle for every breath merely to live, for those who are tormented beyond words by irrational fears, for the elderly who are wracked with the pains of aging, whose only ‘escape’ is death.

“I pray for people who are watching their loved ones fade before their eyes through the grief of Alzheimer’s disease, for the many thousands who are suffering the agony of AIDS, for those who are in such despair that they are contemplating suicide, for people who are tormented by the demons of alcoholism and drug addiction. I pray for children who have been abandoned by their parents, for those who are sexually abused, for wives held in quiet despair, beaten and abused by cruel drunken husbands, for people whose minds have been destroyed by mental disorders, for those who have lost everything in floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes. I pray for the blind, who never see the faces of the ones they love or the beauty of a sunrise, for those whose bodies are deformed by painful arthritis, for the many whose lives will be taken from them today by murderers, for those wasting away on their deathbeds in hospitals.

“Most of all, I cry out for the millions who don’t know the forgiveness that is in Jesus Christ . . . for those who in a moment of time will be swept into hell by the cold hand of death, and find to their utter horror the unspeakable vengeance of eternal fire. They will be eternally damned to everlasting punishment. O God, I pray for them.

“Strange. I can’t seem to remember what my problem was. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

When Lust Conceives

John Gill -
Then when lust hath conceived…
A proposal of pleasure or profit being made, agreeable to lust, or the principle of corrupt nature, sinful man is pleased with it; and instead of resisting and rejecting the motion made, he admits of it, and receives it, and cherishes it in his mind; he dallies and plays with it; he dwells upon it in his thoughts, and hides it under his tongue, and in his heart, as a sweet morsel, and forsakes it not, but contrives ways and means how to bring it about; and this is lust's conceiving. The figure is used in (Psalms 7:14) on which Kimchi, a Jewish commentator, has this note; ``he (the psalmist) compares the thoughts of the heart (Nwyrhl) , "to a conception", and when they go out in word, this is "travail", and in work or act, this is "bringing forth".''

Matthew Henry -

As holiness consists of two parts-forsaking that which is evil and cleaving to that which is good, so these two things, reversed, are the two parts of sin. The heart is carried from that which is good, and enticed to cleave to that which is evil.

"Their sin lies at their own door, and therefore their blood will lie upon their own heads."

Then, when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; that is, sin being allowed to excite desires in us, it will soon ripen those desires into consent, and then it is said to have conceived.

Robertson's Word Pictures -
Then (eita). The next step. The lust (h epiqumia). Note article, the lust (verse 2 Peter 14) which one has. When it hath conceived (sullabousa). Second aorist active participle of sullambanw, old word to grasp together, in hostile sense (Acts 26:21), in friendly sense of help (Philippians 4:3), in technical sense of a woman taking a man's seed in conception (Luke 1:24), here also of lust (as a woman), "having conceived." The will yields to lust and conception takes place. Beareth sin (tiktei amartian). Present active indicative of tiktw to bring forth as a mother or fruit from seed, old verb, often in N.T., here only in James. Sin is the union of the will with lust. See Psalms 7:14 for this same metaphor. The sin (h amartia). The article refers to amartia just mentioned.

Things You Never Hear in Church

(Seen on facebook)

1. Hey! It's my turn to sit in the front pew.
2. I was so enthralled, I never noticed your sermon went 25 minutes over time.
3. Personally I find witnessing much more enjoyable than golf. 
4. I've decided to give our church the $500 a month I used to send to TV evangelists. 
5. I volunteer to be the permanent teacher for the Junior High Sunday School class. 
6. Forget the denominational minimum salary, let's pay our pastor so he/she can live like we do. 
7. I love it when we sing hymns I've never heard before! 
8. Since we're all here, let's start the service early. 
9. Pastor, we'd like to send you to this Bible seminar in the Bahamas. 
10. Nothing inspires me and strengthens my commitment like our annual stewardship campaign! 
11. I couldn't find space to park outside. Praise God!!

The Lord is My Shepherd — That’s Relationship!

You may have seen this gem before in a chain email or on the internet. It's been around long enough you might even find a copy tucked inside an old family Bible. The author is unknown.

The Lord is my Shepherd
— that’s RELATIONSHIP!
I shall not want
— that’s SUPPLY!
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures
— that’s REST!
He leadeth me beside still waters
— that’s REFRESHMENT!
He restoreth my soul
— that’s HEALING!
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
— that’s GUIDANCE!
For His name sake
— that’s PURPOSE!
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil
— that’s PROTECTION!
For thou art with me
— that’s FAITHFULNESS!
Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me
— that’s COMFORT!
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies
— that’s HOPE!
Thou anointest my head with oil
— that’s CONSECRATION!
My cup runneth over
— that’s ABUNDANCE!
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
— that’s BLESSING!
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
— that’s SECURITY!
Forever
— that’s ETERNITY!

Adversity's Blast

And ye, who have met with Adversity's blast,
And been bow'd to the earth by its fury;
To whom the Twelve Months, that have recently pass'd
Were as harsh as a prejudiced jury -
Still, fill to the Future! and join in our chime,
The regrets of remembrance to cozen,
And having obtained a New Trial of Time,
Shout in hopes of a kindlier dozen.
- Thomas Hood

2010 and 2011 Tweets

Oct 3, 2011
Finished Wheat Belly by William Davis

Jun 26, 2011
"If you want to convince people that Jesus is alive, then start praying for the sick." ~ Karl Hargestam

Jun 24, 2011
"The just shall live by faith". They can't waltz through life -- God brings them through stuff that mandates faith.

Jun 16, 2011
It's moving day!  I'm hoping to load 2 trucks in under 4 hours... overly optimistic?  We'll see.

Jun 7, 2011
"The greater the process one walks through, the greater the promotion will be. Before God can promote you, He has to process you." ~ T.D. Jakes

Jun 10, 2011
God, You brought order out of chaos in the beginning. I ask that You do it again with this chaos that overwhelms me today.

May 27, 2011
When the kids fight over who gets to say grace, it kinda defeats the purpose. Ditto for adults and church work.

May 26, 2011
"On the other side of the flood, you'll walk on land that's dry!" ~ Russell Hylton

May 26, 2011
Song mashup idea: He Hath Made Me Glad + He'll Do It Again.

May 26, 2011
This is the day that the Lord has made; I WILL rejoice... Sometimes you just gotta will yourself to do a thing.

May 26, 2011
Me: Go back to bed, you're grouchy. 3yo: I'm not freaking grouchy!

Jul 8, 2010
"Only 2 kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done', and those to whom God says, 'All right, have it your way.'" ~ C. S. Lewis 

Brain Dump -- Learning from a Redwood About Ministry that Endures

Redwood Trees
- are huge (can't tell how big they are without people in the shot)
[Don't tell me about your building or your bank account; tell me how many people you've reached]

- have been here longer than we have
[This thing didn't start when you came into position and it won't end when you leave ]

- oldest and tallest are found in valleys/gullies with year-round streams and where fog-drip is regular
[We need some year-round streams and some fog-drip!]

- thick bark protects from fire and insect damage
--- can go through fire and not get burned [Can't wear our feelings on our sleeves]
--- anything damageable is too high to be reached by fire [Must lay up treasures in heaven.]

* Succession Planning
- new Redwoods feed off older, fallen Redwoods

Jesus didn't finish everything He started (Acts 1:1 "began"), and you may not finish everything you start either

- Jn 15:15
- Acts 20:20
- 2 Tim 2:2

* Keep the main thing the main thing
- Redwoods are happy being trees, don't wish they were something else
- God determines the main thing, not you
- Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
--- lift with your legs, not with your back

* Cooperative, not Competitive
- Redwoods don't fight each other -- they help each other
- What if God decided to save 1000 souls in your city, but He did it through the church next door?
- Cooperative -- work together, Eph 4:16
- Not competitive -- no envy, each should esteem others better (Phil 2:3-4)

Brain Dump -- The Real Jesus

Genesis 1:26
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Romans 8:28-29
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

2 Corinthians 3:18
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

[churchianity] is raising a lot of nice unbelievers who go to church. - unknown

Romans 1:23
And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

Matthew 24:23-24
23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Matthew 14:28-29
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

---

Mama Jesus - "Ah, hon, tell mama all about it." "Let me kiss your boo-boos away."

Flannel-Graph Jesus - The one we imagine walking on the sea shore or carrying a lamb, but not doing much today.

All-American Jesus - loves baseball and apple pie, wants everyone to have a nice house and nice care.

Bartender Jesus - someone to tell your troubles to

Mystic Jesus - so deep you can't understand Him, or like the force on Star Wars

Historical Jesus - acknowledged as a historical figure, but died years ago

Help-Me Jesus
- version 1, "help me, Jesus, achieve my dream"
- version 2, the one we call on in 911 moments, "Help me, Jesus!"
- version 3, "So help me Jesus, I'm gonna bust you if you don't straighten up!"

The Real Jesus
- loves you as you are, but also loves you too much to leave you that way
- might be a little like Sergeant Gunny (Kids' favorite commercial: "You know what makes me sad? You do! Maybe we should chug on over to mamby-pamby land where maybe we can find some self-confidence for you, you jackwagon.  Tissue?  Crybaby!")
- might be a little like eagles who boot eaglets from the nest to teach them to fly
- might be a little like giraffes who repeatedly kick their newborns over to teach them to stand up.
- The real Jesus was anything but boring.
- Jesus was not crucified for His pacifism!

A dangerous prayer might be: Make me more like Jesus!

---

Disparity

Where in Acts can one find a bored Christian?

Rather, their own world was turned upside-down, and all the complacent religious folk got nervous saying, "Those that turned the world upside-down have come here also."

We teach our kids how to survive the world, but we ought to teach them how to change the world!

Misc Stats Regarding Decline of Family Values

Stats presented in a meeting in late 2010 or early 2011... sources not identified.

Population of married people in US is decreasing: 7.4% of population in 2000, 4.3% in 2007.

Separation of couples in America: 2.3 million are married but separated.

Divorce: 1970 4.3m, 1996 18.3m, 2000 21m, 2008, 25m

Co-habitation: 1960 - 439k, 2000 4.8m, 2007 12m

Single parenting: 2002 16.5m, 2003 20m, 2009 22m

Out-of-wedlock births: 1970 399k, 1980, 666k, 1990 1.16m, 2000 1.5m, 2007 1.72m

Fatherless families: 40% of households

Domestic violence: 2.5m per year

Adult health crisis: 70m will some sort of heart disease (due to lack of diet and exercise, along with 'anything is OK' attitude)

Childhood obesity - 60%

Addition to alcohol and drugs: 2003 195m, 2008 117.8m

Child maltreatment:
- Abused children in US: 2005 889k cases of substantiated abuse or neglect, 2006 2.4m, 2007 3.2m
- Foster children: 2007 500k, 2009 710k
- Kinship care: 6m living with grandparents or relatives
- Number of children who died at hands of their abusers: 1960 4, 2005 1460, 2008 1740

In the last 10 years, 4m children have aged out of foster care.

Juvenile justice system: 2002 126k, 2006 220k, 2011 400k+

Teen Crisis
- teen rape: 2004: 210k, 2008 410k
- teen pregnancy: 2006 750k
- teen abortion: 2006 2004k
- teen suicide: 2003 3rd leading cause of death in teens, 2005 2nd

Childless couples: 2007 27% by choice, 2009 36%

Church fellowship: population increased by 11.4% from 1986 to 1996, but church attendance decreased 12%

Faith in America today: 1990 86% Christian, 2001 79%, 2008 76% -- current trends predict Islam to be the dominant religion in America by 2050

George Mueller -The Life of Trust

... I fell into the snare into which so many young believers fall, the reading of religious books in preference to the Scriptures.  I read tracts, missionary papers, sermons, and biographies of godly persons. I never had been at any time of my life in the habit of reading the Holy Scriptures. When under fifteen years of age, I occasionally read a little of them at school; afterwards God's precious book was entirely laid aside, so that I never read one single chapter of it till it pleased God to begin a work of grace in my heart. Now the scriptural way of reasoning would have been: God himself has consented to be an author, and I am ignorant about that precious book, which his Holy Spirit has caused to be written through the instrumentality of his servants, and it contains that which I ought to know, the knowledge of which will lead me to true happiness; therefore I ought to read again and again this most precious book of books, most earnestly, most prayerfully, and with much meditation; and in this practice I ought to continue all the days of my life. ...like many believers, I practically preferred, for the first four years of my divine life, the works of uninspired men to the oracles of the living God. The consequence was, that I remained a babe, both in knowledge and in grace.

Three Things Peter Did Not Have Before Pentecost

What three things did Peter not have before the day of Pentecost?

SAYING POWER
PRAYING POWER
STAYING POWER

No saying power when he said he wouldn’t deny Jesus. (He didn’t know what he was SAYING.)
No praying power because he couldn’t pray in the garden.
No staying power — when they came to take Jesus, Peter walked afar off and left Jesus.

Look at Peter’s life after Pentecost.
He spoke the word boldly and 3000 were saved (SAYING POWER)
He prayed for the lame man at the gate and he was healed (PRAYING POWER)
He was steadfast from that day on (STAYING POWER)

— Sister Margaret Penny’s status on Facebook, Jan 26, 2011

Jakob Nielsen - Mental Models

Users don't just confuse search fields; many less-techy users don't understand the differences between many other common features:

• Operating-system windows vs. browser windows
• A window vs. an application,
• Icons vs. applications,
• Browser commands vs. native commands in a Web-based app
• Local vs. remote info
• Different passwords and log-in options (users often log in to other websites as if they were logging in to their email)

---

It's amazing how one misconception can thwart users throughout an entire session and cause them to systematically misinterpret everything that happens on the site. Through failure after failure, they never question their basic assumptions. This is yet another argument for complying with preexisting user expectations whenever possible. If you don't, then make certain that you're clearly explaining what you're doing — while also realizing that you face the added challenge of users' reluctance to read very much.