My Class

Next week I will not be blogging very often if at all. I'll be doing something that I love to do...church camp! I'm going to be representing Teen Mission USA at Scenic Hills next week. It is the jr. high 1 week and will feature the age group of kids going into 8th and 9th grade.

I'm also teaching a class while I'm there. I wanted to get some of your feedback on my lesson rough drafts so just take a gander at what I'm going to be teaching.

Last year I taught about parables while we walked through the beautiful paths of camp. This year I'm going to continue with the concept of getting my class out in the woods away from camp. However, since we will have many of the same kids from last year I wanted to teach something different. So...this is what I've come up with.

I'm going to use my class as a story time. I'll be featuring 4 Bible characters, each one with something that the kids might be able to relate to. The first character is Paul. I'm still thinking about telling the story of Paul but putting it in modern day terms but that's a work in progress. Either way, the ultimate lesson behind Paul is this: Don't let your past dictate your future. My thinking behind this is that there are going to be kids at this week that have some messed up pasts, some that are "known" for being a crazy kid or a bad kid. I want them to understand that God can take that past and use it for his glory.

The second character is David. The concept is this: There will be kids at the week that have been given some wonderful talents and gifts from God but they've got a sin in their past...a "Bathsheba" of their own that they need to let God take.

The third character is Jonah. The concept is this: There will be some kids that God is calling to do more...to talk to the kids at their school who nobody really wants to talk to...to be a leader in their youth group...maybe even to go into full time ministry in the future. But they're trying to push God's calling away. They're trying to run and just live a "normal" life.

The final character is Judas. The concept is this: Perhaps if there's one character in the Bible that we can all relate to very closely it's Judas. We have the opportunity to share communion with Jesus. We have the opportunity to be a best friend with the savior of the Universe and yet we through it all away for earthly desires. However, the difference between us and Judas...Judas paid a dear price for what he did...Jesus paid our price for us.

Perhaps you think there's a character that better personafies the concept I'm going for with each less. If so please send me an e-mail with your thoughts and suggestions.

I'm also going to start out each lesson with a crazy/bizarre story from the Bible. Something to kinda break the ice and grab the kids' attention. For example...Ehud, Baalam's donkey, Elijah calling out the bears on 42 kids because they made fun of his bald head, and perhaps some others.

Once again, if you have any stories to suggest just shoot me an e-mail a camandry@gmail.com

Also, have not received any responses to the challenge I issued a couple of days ago. Can you describe your life in a 6 word phrase? I'm really interested to see what people come up with.