Senior High School News & Updates

Sunday’s Recap (April 6)

Word: Incarnation (Jesus’ Promises)
Focus: Because Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine, we are able to see more clearly how to live in community with humans and with God.
Text: Philippians 2:5-8 (God came in human form.)

Practices of the Faith
Many artists have used poetry to express their love of Christ and their gratitude for God’s love revealed in the Incarnation. Some of these poems express the mystery of the Incarnation and how it is beyond human understanding. Some other poems express the poet’s ability to find the face of God in other created things, celebrating the mini-incarnations of life. Poetry itself is like a mini-incarnation because it gives life to new realities, offering new ways of seeing the world. Did you know that the psalms of the Bible are considered poetry? The very act of writing poetry can be an effort to seek the mystery of God. Can you try writing a poem about how God became a human being out of love for us? Aim for a poem of six lines; it doesn’t even have to rhyme. You could start by writing about what you think is the most amazing part of Jesus’ life and ministry. I’d love to see your efforts if you’d like to show them.

Check This!
What do each of the images suggest about the type of human being Jesus was and the type of God we serve?
• http://www.heqiarts.com/gallery/new-works/072002/pages/new2003/the-Baptism-of-Jesus.htm
• http://perso.orange.fr/saint.pierre/pagesan/ale_lavement_de_pieds.html
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HchTtLU5Bwg

SMART Living: Your Offering to God
Your SMART goals give you the chance to be an incarnation of God to the world. How is this week’s goal coming for you?

My Prayer for You
May your days be filled with the knowledge that God has redeemed creation through the gift of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ. May your words and actions reveal the true meaning of the Incarnation to the world. Amen.

This Coming Sunday-April 13

Sheila and Alan will be leading the class.  Have a great week, and I will see you on April 20.     Elaine

Some people focus on what they don’t have. Not us! We’ll remind ourselves of one of the best gifts Jesus gave us. See you in Sunday school.

Next Sunday-April 13

Coming soon, the class will be working on posters to display for our Homecoming Celebration in May.  The posters will focus on some of the topics we have been studying this year.

Sunday’s Word: Hope
(THEME: Jesus’ Promises)

What gives you hope? What makes having hope difficult? Think of this subject in light of your teenager. What do you think your son or daughter is hopeful about? What do you think might get in the way of your teen’s positive outlook on life and his or her future? Help your teen live a life of hope. Encourage your child to be among the people of God in Sunday school and worship.

Text: Romans 8:22-25 (We wait with hope.)
Focus: Knowing that God continues to work for good gives us hope and helps us through the difficult times.

For You and Your Teen
• Talk about your dreams for the future with each other. Feel free to dream big instead of focusing on what is realistic, affordable, and immediately practical.                    
• Consider the common fears people of various generations grew up with. What might the worries have been for a teenager in the Depression? World War II? the Vietnam War? the Cold War era (with nuclear war threats)? What was different about those teenagers’ fears from those of contemporary youth? What might have been the same?
• Visit with older adults in your church, and ask them to tell you their life story. Ask them what gave them hope to make it through the hard times. Do they have any words of wisdom to offer about how to be hopeful?
• Make or buy cards to send to people you know who may be going through tou gh times. Write a note that expresses your support and concern.
• Moms and daughters might enjoy watching this movie together: Hope Floats (1998), a romantic comedy and drama rated PG-13 for thematic elements. Here’s a quotation from the movie: “Beginnings are scary. Endings are usually sad, but it’s what’s in the middle that counts. So, when you find yourself at the beginning, just give hope a chance to float up. And it will.”

Consider This
Watch for signs of hopelessness in your teen and his or her friends such as depression, chronic illness, drug use, lack of focus, not caring about themselves (their health or how they look or feel), talking often about how bad or hard things are, put-downs about themselves, and low self-esteem. These indicators of hopelessness can lead to suicide. Being aware of attitudes and behaviors can help you intervene before things get worse if your teen or any of his or her friends is having difficulties. Ask often about what your teenager is looking forward to doing next month, next season, next year, and so on. Communicate your hopes for the future, both yours and theirs.

Click on above picture for more information.