The Theme: You Are More
One Of The Cabins
Our Group: Outside of Cabin
Mega Box Wars
Our Group (Minus One) Inside
Friday, September 30, 2011
Confirmation Retreat
On September 23-25, we went to Lutheran Hills for a Fall Retreat. Here are just a few pictures for your viewing:
The Theme: You Are More
One Of The Cabins
Our Group: Outside of Cabin
Mega Box Wars
Our Group (Minus One) Inside
The Theme: You Are More
One Of The Cabins
Our Group: Outside of Cabin
Mega Box Wars
Our Group (Minus One) Inside
Make Up: September 18th, 2011 - Human Condition
On September 18th in Confirmation Small Group, you studied the Human Condition from the Old Testament. Since you missed class, we ask you to take time to read the scripture, the key words and the highlights of the session. We then want you to click on the comment button and place a comment down there for our communication and record keeping. Thank-you.
Bible Text:
Genesis 3–4
Lesson Focus:
We rebel against God when we sin, but God consistently comes to us with mercy and forgiveness.
Big Question:
Am I a bad person when I make a poor choice or break a rule (even if I think it's not a good rule)?
Key Words:
SIN, JUDGMENT, SEPARATION, MERCY
Definition of Key Words
SIN: An action that causes a breakdown of relationships—human relationships, divine-human relationships, or relationships with creation. Sin leads to separation and alienation in our lives.
JUDGMENT: the act of deciding what action or punishment results when someone rebels and does something wrong.
SEPARATION: division, end of a relationship, and the consequence of one's actions. Separation is distancing oneself from another person.
MERCY: compassionate treatment and lovingkindness. God's mercy is evident in the forgiveness we receive daily.
Six Major Points
• Sin is not mentioned by name in these stories, but we recognize it in the breakdown of relationships and the complexities that follow.
• The serpent suggests that Adam and Eve can rise above their status as dependent creatures and become autonomous. They can be like God and in charge of themselves!
• Adam and Eve are banished from paradise (judgment and separation), but God goes with them (mercy). The rest of the Bible is about God's activity in the outside-of-paradise world.
• The story of Cain and Abel shows that the deepest ties do not prevent hatred and violence.
• Our choices and our deeds have consequences. God did not create puppets.
• God consistently comes to us in our sin and does not leave us in the ensuing disasters of our own making.
Bible Text:
Genesis 3–4
Lesson Focus:
We rebel against God when we sin, but God consistently comes to us with mercy and forgiveness.
Big Question:
Am I a bad person when I make a poor choice or break a rule (even if I think it's not a good rule)?
Key Words:
SIN, JUDGMENT, SEPARATION, MERCY
Definition of Key Words
SIN: An action that causes a breakdown of relationships—human relationships, divine-human relationships, or relationships with creation. Sin leads to separation and alienation in our lives.
JUDGMENT: the act of deciding what action or punishment results when someone rebels and does something wrong.
SEPARATION: division, end of a relationship, and the consequence of one's actions. Separation is distancing oneself from another person.
MERCY: compassionate treatment and lovingkindness. God's mercy is evident in the forgiveness we receive daily.
Six Major Points
• Sin is not mentioned by name in these stories, but we recognize it in the breakdown of relationships and the complexities that follow.
• The serpent suggests that Adam and Eve can rise above their status as dependent creatures and become autonomous. They can be like God and in charge of themselves!
• Adam and Eve are banished from paradise (judgment and separation), but God goes with them (mercy). The rest of the Bible is about God's activity in the outside-of-paradise world.
• The story of Cain and Abel shows that the deepest ties do not prevent hatred and violence.
• Our choices and our deeds have consequences. God did not create puppets.
• God consistently comes to us in our sin and does not leave us in the ensuing disasters of our own making.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
National Gathering: Returning to NOLA
Here is the National Gathering (2009) through the eyes of the teenagers. As you can see, they told the story of NOLA mostly through serving.
National Gathering: Recap
We are headed to the National Gathering in July. Below is a quick highlight from the 2009 National Gathering just to give you a very small taste. In 2012, we will be going back to the city of New Orleans (July 16 - 23). Those students who have finished 8th grade when the Gathring occurs can join us.
Mission Trip: Denver, Colorado
We are headed to Denver, Colorado for our Summer 2012 mission trip. All students who are in grades 7-12 during the 2011-2012 school year are invited to attend this mission trip. We are partnering with a church called The Refuge in northwest Denver. Kathy Escobar (one of the co-pastors) share a little about herself, the church and the ministry that we will be doing while we are out there. The trip is June 15-23. The deadline to register is Sunday, October 23, 2011.
down we go indy mission team adventure 9.6.11 from kathy escobar on Vimeo.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Aug. 28th: Small Group (Creation)
Creation
Bible Text:
Genesis 1–2
Lesson Focus:
God has created us to reflect God's image as we actively participate in creation today.
Big Question:
What can I really do to make a difference in caring for creation?
Key Words:
CREATE, CHAOS, ORDER, STEWARDSHIP
Definition of Key Words
CREATE/CREATION: to bring into being; the environment or surroundings; a creature or a living being.
CHAOS: a state of utter confusion; the confused unorganized state of matter before the creation of distinct forms.
ORDER: the arrangement or sequence of objects or of events in time; to arrange by putting persons or things in relation to each other.
STEWARDSHIP: the careful and responsible management of the resources that have been entrusted to our care.
QUICK HIGHLIGHTS
God is our creator and we are part of God's good creation.
The two biblical versions of the creation story help us explain who we are and whose we are; they are not meant to be read as scientific or historical fact.
God gave human beings a special place in creation that puts a heavy responsibility on them.
We are called to live in faithfulness to God the creator, in whose image we were created.
Bible Text:
Genesis 1–2
Lesson Focus:
God has created us to reflect God's image as we actively participate in creation today.
Big Question:
What can I really do to make a difference in caring for creation?
Key Words:
CREATE, CHAOS, ORDER, STEWARDSHIP
Definition of Key Words
CREATE/CREATION: to bring into being; the environment or surroundings; a creature or a living being.
CHAOS: a state of utter confusion; the confused unorganized state of matter before the creation of distinct forms.
ORDER: the arrangement or sequence of objects or of events in time; to arrange by putting persons or things in relation to each other.
STEWARDSHIP: the careful and responsible management of the resources that have been entrusted to our care.
QUICK HIGHLIGHTS
God is our creator and we are part of God's good creation.
The two biblical versions of the creation story help us explain who we are and whose we are; they are not meant to be read as scientific or historical fact.
God gave human beings a special place in creation that puts a heavy responsibility on them.
We are called to live in faithfulness to God the creator, in whose image we were created.
Big Group: Doubt
We have had two confirmation classes thus far. We are in our new format and our "big group" time for the first two weeks was on "doubt".
We finished our series on Doubt. Here is a highlight from the series:
Everyone has moments of doubt. We doubt if we are heading in the right direction when going someplace new. We doubt if that low-fat snack that tastes really good is really as healthy as it claims to be. We doubt if sometimes the people in our lives really care about us, despite the evidence that they do. And sometimes our doubts are about God. Can we really trust Him? Does He have our best in mind? What does that Bible verse really mean?
When questions arise, they can be a little unsettling, especially questions about our faith. But what if God was big enough to handle the questions? He is. What if He was secure enough to handle our uncertainty? He is. And what if doubt actually paved the way to a deeper belief, a stronger relationship with Christ? It can.
August 21st: Honest Questions
Bottom Line: Doubt paves the way to belief.
August 28th: Gray Matters Bottom Line: Faith grows when you learn how to view doubt through both what you know and what you've been through.
-------------------------------
Beginning Sept. 18th, we will have updates on big group time and small group time. Big Group time is where we look at wonder / discovery / passion. Small group time is when we look at our confirmation material.
We finished our series on Doubt. Here is a highlight from the series:
Everyone has moments of doubt. We doubt if we are heading in the right direction when going someplace new. We doubt if that low-fat snack that tastes really good is really as healthy as it claims to be. We doubt if sometimes the people in our lives really care about us, despite the evidence that they do. And sometimes our doubts are about God. Can we really trust Him? Does He have our best in mind? What does that Bible verse really mean?
When questions arise, they can be a little unsettling, especially questions about our faith. But what if God was big enough to handle the questions? He is. What if He was secure enough to handle our uncertainty? He is. And what if doubt actually paved the way to a deeper belief, a stronger relationship with Christ? It can.
August 21st: Honest Questions
Bottom Line: Doubt paves the way to belief.
August 28th: Gray Matters Bottom Line: Faith grows when you learn how to view doubt through both what you know and what you've been through.
-------------------------------
Beginning Sept. 18th, we will have updates on big group time and small group time. Big Group time is where we look at wonder / discovery / passion. Small group time is when we look at our confirmation material.
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