To: Stephen Howlett
From: Kevin Aaron
Subject: Practicum Report #10
Time: 3 hours (prep. 1/2 hour, SS 1 hour, service 1 1/2 hours)
Preparation: Preparation for this lesson was simple. I read over the passage after praying and examined the questions given for this lesson. The passage was Luke 22:7-34, which deals with the Last Supper. Then I decided on ways to help get the group involved. I prepared to use a chalkboard again as well as bread and grape juice.
Class: To open class, I asked Caleb to pray for us. Once Caleb was done praying, I had Shandalyn read the passage, Luke 22:7-34. I asked them if any of them had every done any kind of servant work. I got a variety of answers, including Katrina relief from Shandalyn and Rebecca, Orphan Grain Train work from Chelsea and a missions trip to Haiti from Caleb. Then I asked how it felt to help these people and in what ways they helped. Most of the answers were of physical needs, such as gutting homes, cleaning things and doing gardening. The group unanimously agreed that they came back completely blown away by the trip. I had Adam make a list of these things on the chalkboard so we could see our answers. Then we got into the text. We looked at the idea of the Last Supper being Jesus' final meal and instituting a way for us to remember his sacrifice. So I passed around a loaf of bread and a jug of grape juice for everyone. The rest of the study people had food and drink similar to the Last Supper to enjoy. We discussed how Jesus might have felt during the Last Supper and what it might have felt like to be betrayed. The key in it all was that he knew what he was supposed to do and he did it. I asked them how Jesus was being a servant to us. Adam answered by saying that he died on the cross just like God had planned. It was the answer I was looking for. Jesus was the ultimate servant in that he gave his life for us at the command of his father. So I asked them how they can realistically mimic this. Clearly, I did not expect them to go die for someone. They gave a variety of answers. Chelsea suggested doing volunteer work. Rebecca suggested spending time at food shelters serving meals. Shandalyn suggested giving up many of our unneeded possessions to those less fortunate. They got the point though, that Jesus was a servant and showed us how to be a good servant. So I challenged them to go out and be a servant for someone during the week. I told them to go do at least one random nice thing for someone that they did not have to. Then I closed us in prayer.
Questions:
1. Was it a good idea to have them eat and drink during the lesson, even though it could distract them?
2. Should I have probed for more in depth, life changing ways to imitate the servanthood of Jesus?
3. How do I go about keeping the group as focused and willing to learn as I did today?
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Practicum Report #9 Formal Report #2
Kevin Aaron
Teaching Report 2
Time Spent: 3 hours (1 prep, 1 SS, 1 Worship)
A. The Lesson
I was asked if I would be willing to allow a few extra youth from a different class join my class for last Sunday’s lesson. Eager to work with as many people as possible, I quickly agreed and set to work on my lesson plan. Since Thanksgiving was coming up soon, I figured it would be a good idea to do something on Thanksgiving. So my lesson dealt with giving thanks. The basic idea of it is that I need to show love for God and my neighbors through spiritual and physical acts of giving thanks for my blessings. I started the lesson off with a balloon. I asked for an artist to help me. No one volunteered at first, but after a little coaxing, I got Rachel to help me out. So I gave her the balloon and a black marker. I told her to draw me on that balloon. I expected her to take a few seconds drawing a quick sketch. I did not expect a long, intricate drawing of my face, but that is exactly what I got. It may not have been very accurate (I had a comb over) but everyone thought it was pretty funny. So I began discussing things in life that cause stress. I asked the group what kind of things caused stress in their life. I got a variety of answers including school, friendships and sports. Adam cited having to get up early for classes as a source of stress on his body. So I began to blow the balloon up a little bit as they told me different stressed. Then I added my part of the story. I talked about how stress builds up and how sometimes I feel like I can do things my way and I forget about God because of the stress and my pride. I discussed how I fail to give thanks and how I allow things to continue to build up until I burst. I expected the balloon to blow up big and then I would pop it, but conveniently, it popped on its own a little earlier than expected. A few people, including Caleb and my dad, jumped a bit at the pop. They all saw it coming, yet still jumped. And so I asked them why this was and what could be done. None of them hit what I was hoping they would. They all discussed the build up of stress as the cause and finding ways to alleviate stress as the solution. What I discussed with them then was that I failed to follow what Jesus called the two greatest commandments: loving God and loving my neighbors. By neglecting God, I did not show love to him. By letting stress build up and letting it affect my relationships and then exploding, I failed to show love to my neighbors. I talked to them about how not having and show that love invites fear and then stress and problems. I mentioned 1 John 4:18 to them, which discusses the idea of how perfect love drives out fear. I told them I thought the reason I had these problems was my lack of showing love. Then I read to them Hosea 6:4, “What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.” My point here was that in no way was I showing love. Just like the Israelites, my love came and went as quickly as the morning dew. I failed to show love and as such, fear and problems came into my life. So then my question to them was how to fix this. How do I go about changing this and showing love? I got answers from Caleb and Anne pertaining to simply telling people that I love them. Some said I could give loved ones gifts. Then I suggested that the best way I could show love for God and my neighbors was to give thanks. By giving thanks, both spiritually and physically I can show love. By worshipping God and thanking him in my prayers, I can show love for him. By serving others and doing other physical acts for people, I can show my love for both God and my neighbors. I then quoted 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I wrapped up the study by telling them that we can alleviate a lot of problems in life and build a relationship with God by praising him and giving thanks in many different ways for all the blessings we have.
B. Response:
I had extra youth present this week as well as a few adults present for this Bible study. This added to the group. They all were much more awake and lively. Some of this may have been the fact that there were new people around. Some of it may have stemmed from the fact that there were extra adults present. They all seemed to enjoy the use of the balloon. It did scare them a bit though when it popped, even though most of them saw it coming and expected it to happen. They were much more talkative and gave me some answers. While they did not go where I hoped they would with their responses, it was a start and encouraging to see them talk.
C. Supervising Teacher’s Evaluation
My dad, an elder at the church, and Peggy, in charge of the class I was teaching that week, were both on hand for this Bible study. Both told me it was a good study and enjoyed it. Peggy felt like I did a good job and got the point across to the youth well. She did say that it would have been nice to see a little more involvement physically other than drawing on the balloon and then simply talking the rest of the way. My dad had the follow comments for me:
The good points:
• Excellent use of visual aids with the balloon illustration
• Getting the youth involved by making a drawing on the balloon was good
• Good use of Scriptural references
• Point of message was well thought out and the youth were able to take home a point to remember
• The youth definitely were paying attention and buying what you were sellling
The less exciting points:
• Too much motion on your part, movement is alright but not necessarily an aerobic exercise video
• A few too many "you knows" and "OKs" in your delivery
D. Things I did well
1. I got the group involved with the balloon
2. I was active
3. I used multiple sources of scripture to support my lesson
4. I had a good solid point to finish up on
E. Things I need to improve
1. I need to move around a little less
2. I need to not use as many “you knows” and “OKs”
3. I need to get the group more involved in activities during the lesson
4. I need to have more than one major point throughout the study for them to take
F. Questions
1. Was my topic a good choice given the season, or should I have stayed the course with the series we had been doing?
2. Should I have added some form of group work in to the lesson to get them all involved?
3. Since it worked so well having two classes combine, should I suggest combining the two classes for future studies?
Teaching Report 2
Time Spent: 3 hours (1 prep, 1 SS, 1 Worship)
A. The Lesson
I was asked if I would be willing to allow a few extra youth from a different class join my class for last Sunday’s lesson. Eager to work with as many people as possible, I quickly agreed and set to work on my lesson plan. Since Thanksgiving was coming up soon, I figured it would be a good idea to do something on Thanksgiving. So my lesson dealt with giving thanks. The basic idea of it is that I need to show love for God and my neighbors through spiritual and physical acts of giving thanks for my blessings. I started the lesson off with a balloon. I asked for an artist to help me. No one volunteered at first, but after a little coaxing, I got Rachel to help me out. So I gave her the balloon and a black marker. I told her to draw me on that balloon. I expected her to take a few seconds drawing a quick sketch. I did not expect a long, intricate drawing of my face, but that is exactly what I got. It may not have been very accurate (I had a comb over) but everyone thought it was pretty funny. So I began discussing things in life that cause stress. I asked the group what kind of things caused stress in their life. I got a variety of answers including school, friendships and sports. Adam cited having to get up early for classes as a source of stress on his body. So I began to blow the balloon up a little bit as they told me different stressed. Then I added my part of the story. I talked about how stress builds up and how sometimes I feel like I can do things my way and I forget about God because of the stress and my pride. I discussed how I fail to give thanks and how I allow things to continue to build up until I burst. I expected the balloon to blow up big and then I would pop it, but conveniently, it popped on its own a little earlier than expected. A few people, including Caleb and my dad, jumped a bit at the pop. They all saw it coming, yet still jumped. And so I asked them why this was and what could be done. None of them hit what I was hoping they would. They all discussed the build up of stress as the cause and finding ways to alleviate stress as the solution. What I discussed with them then was that I failed to follow what Jesus called the two greatest commandments: loving God and loving my neighbors. By neglecting God, I did not show love to him. By letting stress build up and letting it affect my relationships and then exploding, I failed to show love to my neighbors. I talked to them about how not having and show that love invites fear and then stress and problems. I mentioned 1 John 4:18 to them, which discusses the idea of how perfect love drives out fear. I told them I thought the reason I had these problems was my lack of showing love. Then I read to them Hosea 6:4, “What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.” My point here was that in no way was I showing love. Just like the Israelites, my love came and went as quickly as the morning dew. I failed to show love and as such, fear and problems came into my life. So then my question to them was how to fix this. How do I go about changing this and showing love? I got answers from Caleb and Anne pertaining to simply telling people that I love them. Some said I could give loved ones gifts. Then I suggested that the best way I could show love for God and my neighbors was to give thanks. By giving thanks, both spiritually and physically I can show love. By worshipping God and thanking him in my prayers, I can show love for him. By serving others and doing other physical acts for people, I can show my love for both God and my neighbors. I then quoted 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I wrapped up the study by telling them that we can alleviate a lot of problems in life and build a relationship with God by praising him and giving thanks in many different ways for all the blessings we have.
B. Response:
I had extra youth present this week as well as a few adults present for this Bible study. This added to the group. They all were much more awake and lively. Some of this may have been the fact that there were new people around. Some of it may have stemmed from the fact that there were extra adults present. They all seemed to enjoy the use of the balloon. It did scare them a bit though when it popped, even though most of them saw it coming and expected it to happen. They were much more talkative and gave me some answers. While they did not go where I hoped they would with their responses, it was a start and encouraging to see them talk.
C. Supervising Teacher’s Evaluation
My dad, an elder at the church, and Peggy, in charge of the class I was teaching that week, were both on hand for this Bible study. Both told me it was a good study and enjoyed it. Peggy felt like I did a good job and got the point across to the youth well. She did say that it would have been nice to see a little more involvement physically other than drawing on the balloon and then simply talking the rest of the way. My dad had the follow comments for me:
The good points:
• Excellent use of visual aids with the balloon illustration
• Getting the youth involved by making a drawing on the balloon was good
• Good use of Scriptural references
• Point of message was well thought out and the youth were able to take home a point to remember
• The youth definitely were paying attention and buying what you were sellling
The less exciting points:
• Too much motion on your part, movement is alright but not necessarily an aerobic exercise video
• A few too many "you knows" and "OKs" in your delivery
D. Things I did well
1. I got the group involved with the balloon
2. I was active
3. I used multiple sources of scripture to support my lesson
4. I had a good solid point to finish up on
E. Things I need to improve
1. I need to move around a little less
2. I need to not use as many “you knows” and “OKs”
3. I need to get the group more involved in activities during the lesson
4. I need to have more than one major point throughout the study for them to take
F. Questions
1. Was my topic a good choice given the season, or should I have stayed the course with the series we had been doing?
2. Should I have added some form of group work in to the lesson to get them all involved?
3. Since it worked so well having two classes combine, should I suggest combining the two classes for future studies?
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Practicum Report #8
To: Stephen Howlett
From: Kevin Aaron
Subject: Practicum Report #8
Time: 3 hours (1 Prep, 1 SS, 1 Service)
Preparation: The lesson for this coming week was the next step in our series and came from Mark 1:29-39. I read the passage over a few times over again and studied the questions. Then I began thinking about creative ways to lead the study differently from in the past. I could not come up with anything wild and crazy so I settled on relying on the chalkboard and forcing group discussion.
Study: As I try to do with my studies, I opened with a prayer for the group. Then I had Caleb read the passage aloud a couple times. As usual I had to keep Adam awake. I quickly began asking questions following the reading. I got the group discussing stress in their lives and how Jesus must have felt having to deal with the demands of the large crowd. Dan, the newcomer of the group this week, offered that he often dealt with stress by spending time alone and that Jesus was simply trying to do the same. The group quickly agreed with Dan hoping to take pressure off them from having to answer questions. I continued to press for discussion by asking how they deal with stress and if there are better ways they think they could go about dealing with stress. Adam spoke about how he usually just takes naps since he sleeps so often as it is. Chelsea said she usually talks to her boyfriend Steven about her stress, unless of course it deals with him. Then she usually just vents to a friend. Then I used the chalkboard. Hopefully I could get the group loosened up by making lists on the board and having fun with it. They began spewing out ways to deal with stress and the things in life that stress them out. Many of the answers were meant to be goofy, but it got the group talking. That was a victory in and of itself. The group came to the consensus that the point of the passage was that we need to take time out of busy lives to be alone with God. That time can recharge us and help us get through all the stress in our lives. After this, we took prayer requests and prayed to close out the study.
Questions:
1 Is it a good idea to let the group get goofy and silly even though it helps get conversation going?
2 Would incentives like donuts and juice help attendance and keeping everyone awake and involved?
From: Kevin Aaron
Subject: Practicum Report #8
Time: 3 hours (1 Prep, 1 SS, 1 Service)
Preparation: The lesson for this coming week was the next step in our series and came from Mark 1:29-39. I read the passage over a few times over again and studied the questions. Then I began thinking about creative ways to lead the study differently from in the past. I could not come up with anything wild and crazy so I settled on relying on the chalkboard and forcing group discussion.
Study: As I try to do with my studies, I opened with a prayer for the group. Then I had Caleb read the passage aloud a couple times. As usual I had to keep Adam awake. I quickly began asking questions following the reading. I got the group discussing stress in their lives and how Jesus must have felt having to deal with the demands of the large crowd. Dan, the newcomer of the group this week, offered that he often dealt with stress by spending time alone and that Jesus was simply trying to do the same. The group quickly agreed with Dan hoping to take pressure off them from having to answer questions. I continued to press for discussion by asking how they deal with stress and if there are better ways they think they could go about dealing with stress. Adam spoke about how he usually just takes naps since he sleeps so often as it is. Chelsea said she usually talks to her boyfriend Steven about her stress, unless of course it deals with him. Then she usually just vents to a friend. Then I used the chalkboard. Hopefully I could get the group loosened up by making lists on the board and having fun with it. They began spewing out ways to deal with stress and the things in life that stress them out. Many of the answers were meant to be goofy, but it got the group talking. That was a victory in and of itself. The group came to the consensus that the point of the passage was that we need to take time out of busy lives to be alone with God. That time can recharge us and help us get through all the stress in our lives. After this, we took prayer requests and prayed to close out the study.
Questions:
1 Is it a good idea to let the group get goofy and silly even though it helps get conversation going?
2 Would incentives like donuts and juice help attendance and keeping everyone awake and involved?
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Practicum Blog 5
To: Stephen Howlett
From: Caleb Hall
Subject: Practicum Report 5
Time: 4 Hours (SS-1.5 hour, Service-1.5 hour Preparation-1 hour)
Preparation: For the preparation for this week’s lesson Kevin and I had a quick talk to see if we really wanted to continue on the track that we have set for our Bible study. After we talked about it a little while we quickly decided to continue with the study that we originally picked out. After we decided to keep with the topic that we originally chose I then had to prepare the lesson. The Serendipity Bible that we have suggested to use Luke 16:19-31. This was a relatively easy lesson to plan for, because this passage is pretty self explanatory. I then had to look at the questions that the Serendipity Bible gave me so that I could pick out the ones that I wanted to actually use. I ended up using most of the questions that the Bible had in it.
Lesson: This passage again was Luke 16:19-31, and it was about the rich man that had the banquet that none of his friends that he invited came to. To start the lesson I had Charlie read the verse in Luke so that there would be some class involvement in the lesson. This topic was about the rich man who had a banquet, and invited a lot of his friends to come to this banquet. When the day of the banquet arrived none of his friends showed up, and they all had a different excuse for not being there. After this the rich man had his servants go out and get anyone that he can find to come to the banquet. After the passage was read we then discussed what exactly this meant to use as Christians. After posing this question I quickly realized that our group again was not very awake or participant. When I realized this I quickly asked Kevin if he would grab some chalk and write some things down on the chalk board so that we would be able to see the things that we were thinking. Kevin also drew us a little stick figure diagram of the rich man, his friends that did not attend the party, and the people that did attend the party. This was something that helped get the attention of the class, because it was definitely something different than we normally do. This tactic clearly helped with keeping the class on task, and in the discussion. The group seemed to conquer that we needed to stop ignoring God’s calling to come to his banquet, and we need to stop making excuses.
Questions:
1. Should I have done the writing on the chalk board, or was it good to get a “class member” to do it?
2. We have found that a chalk board keeps their attention, what else would be a good attention grabber?
From: Caleb Hall
Subject: Practicum Report 5
Time: 4 Hours (SS-1.5 hour, Service-1.5 hour Preparation-1 hour)
Preparation: For the preparation for this week’s lesson Kevin and I had a quick talk to see if we really wanted to continue on the track that we have set for our Bible study. After we talked about it a little while we quickly decided to continue with the study that we originally picked out. After we decided to keep with the topic that we originally chose I then had to prepare the lesson. The Serendipity Bible that we have suggested to use Luke 16:19-31. This was a relatively easy lesson to plan for, because this passage is pretty self explanatory. I then had to look at the questions that the Serendipity Bible gave me so that I could pick out the ones that I wanted to actually use. I ended up using most of the questions that the Bible had in it.
Lesson: This passage again was Luke 16:19-31, and it was about the rich man that had the banquet that none of his friends that he invited came to. To start the lesson I had Charlie read the verse in Luke so that there would be some class involvement in the lesson. This topic was about the rich man who had a banquet, and invited a lot of his friends to come to this banquet. When the day of the banquet arrived none of his friends showed up, and they all had a different excuse for not being there. After this the rich man had his servants go out and get anyone that he can find to come to the banquet. After the passage was read we then discussed what exactly this meant to use as Christians. After posing this question I quickly realized that our group again was not very awake or participant. When I realized this I quickly asked Kevin if he would grab some chalk and write some things down on the chalk board so that we would be able to see the things that we were thinking. Kevin also drew us a little stick figure diagram of the rich man, his friends that did not attend the party, and the people that did attend the party. This was something that helped get the attention of the class, because it was definitely something different than we normally do. This tactic clearly helped with keeping the class on task, and in the discussion. The group seemed to conquer that we needed to stop ignoring God’s calling to come to his banquet, and we need to stop making excuses.
Questions:
1. Should I have done the writing on the chalk board, or was it good to get a “class member” to do it?
2. We have found that a chalk board keeps their attention, what else would be a good attention grabber?
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Practicum Report #7
To: Stephen Howlett
From: Kevin Aaron
Subject: Practicum Report #7
Time: 3 hours (1.5 SS, 1.5 Service)
Preparation: Caleb and I sat and discussed briefly the direction of our Bible study. We have to decide if we wanted to continue on the course we were on with the series we had begun studying. We quickly agreed it would not be advantageous to change directions and decided to forge on ahead. From there it was up to Caleb to prepare the lesson, so my involvement was minimal. The passage to be studied was Luke 16:19-31, the parable of the rich man and his banquet.
Study: As I said, the passage used was Luke 16:19-31, the parable of the rich man and his banquet. To start, Caleb had Charlie read the passage out loud for us to hear. The passage discussed the rich man that was going to have a banquet and how all his friends told his servants he could not attend for various reasons. After being angered by this, the rich man sent his servant to get the poor and lame off the streets to enjoy the banquet. Caleb asked us for our thoughts and after realizing that most of us were not very awake, decided to use a new tactic. He had me use the chalkboard to write down ideas. This forced us to see our thoughts and focus on them. It helped keep us awake and talking. What transpired were us diagramming rich man, his friends and the needy that were brought in off the street. Caleb then asked us what kind of things get in our life today to give us excuses to ignore God’s calling us to his banquet. A variety of answers came out from Adam and Chelsea such as school, video games and significant others. It became clear to our group pretty quickly that there are a lot of things in life that keep us from listening to what God is trying to tell us. As a result, we started to realize how we needed to stop ignoring God’s calling us. Also, we thought about the idea of helping those in need by inviting the needy to eat with us or doing service projects to help them. Because it is to those in need that accept the calling from God that inherit the kingdom.
Questions:
1 How can the class take lessons like this and put them into practice in our everyday lives?
2 What are some other ways to keep the class on task and focused such as using the chalkboard?
From: Kevin Aaron
Subject: Practicum Report #7
Time: 3 hours (1.5 SS, 1.5 Service)
Preparation: Caleb and I sat and discussed briefly the direction of our Bible study. We have to decide if we wanted to continue on the course we were on with the series we had begun studying. We quickly agreed it would not be advantageous to change directions and decided to forge on ahead. From there it was up to Caleb to prepare the lesson, so my involvement was minimal. The passage to be studied was Luke 16:19-31, the parable of the rich man and his banquet.
Study: As I said, the passage used was Luke 16:19-31, the parable of the rich man and his banquet. To start, Caleb had Charlie read the passage out loud for us to hear. The passage discussed the rich man that was going to have a banquet and how all his friends told his servants he could not attend for various reasons. After being angered by this, the rich man sent his servant to get the poor and lame off the streets to enjoy the banquet. Caleb asked us for our thoughts and after realizing that most of us were not very awake, decided to use a new tactic. He had me use the chalkboard to write down ideas. This forced us to see our thoughts and focus on them. It helped keep us awake and talking. What transpired were us diagramming rich man, his friends and the needy that were brought in off the street. Caleb then asked us what kind of things get in our life today to give us excuses to ignore God’s calling us to his banquet. A variety of answers came out from Adam and Chelsea such as school, video games and significant others. It became clear to our group pretty quickly that there are a lot of things in life that keep us from listening to what God is trying to tell us. As a result, we started to realize how we needed to stop ignoring God’s calling us. Also, we thought about the idea of helping those in need by inviting the needy to eat with us or doing service projects to help them. Because it is to those in need that accept the calling from God that inherit the kingdom.
Questions:
1 How can the class take lessons like this and put them into practice in our everyday lives?
2 What are some other ways to keep the class on task and focused such as using the chalkboard?
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Practicum Report 4
To: Stephen Howlett
From: Caleb Hall
Subject: Practicum Report 4
Time: (SS-1 hour, Service-1 hour)
Preparation: I did not have to do anything to prepare for this week’s lesson in terms of getting a lesson ready. I did however spend some time in prayer, specifically for Kevin as he taught. I think that praying for the teacher and the Bible study are both very important. This encourages the teacher, by doing this you are inviting God to come into the lesson and work in the hearts of the people.
Lesson: There were only four of us that showed up at the Bible study this week, which is a few less than usual. We opened this week in prayer, to invite the spirit to fall on us, and for him to speak to us during the Bible study. After the time of prayer there was a problem with Adam, as he fell asleep in the corner of the class room while Kevin was trying to introduce the topic. We quickly woke him up so that he could pay attention to the lesson. The topic for this week was out of Luke16:19-31, which is the passage that talked about the rich man and Lazarus the beggar. I read this passage aloud for the class, and after the scripture reading Kevin then asked for some General reactions to the passage. Most of us agreed that we all need to be more aware of the people who have physical needs, and how we need to go a little bit out of our way to help the people that are in need. Kevin then asked a series of questions out of the serendipity Bible to try to engage us into deeper discussions. The first question that Kevin asked was if we fell into a lot of money, what would we end up doing with the money? Most people said that they would spend some, save some, and give some away. The one thing that I noticed was that nobody was willing to give away all of the money, or even half of it. Kevin then asked who we felt sorry for in this passage. Most of them said that they felt sorry for Lazarus, because he was a poor man. I however said that I felt bad for the rich man because of how miserable the rich man’s life was, and that even though Lazarus was poor, that he was a happy man.
Questions:
1.) Would it be more beneficial to do the Bible study at a later time so that we are more awake?
2.) How do we get deeper reactions and conversation?
From: Caleb Hall
Subject: Practicum Report 4
Time: (SS-1 hour, Service-1 hour)
Preparation: I did not have to do anything to prepare for this week’s lesson in terms of getting a lesson ready. I did however spend some time in prayer, specifically for Kevin as he taught. I think that praying for the teacher and the Bible study are both very important. This encourages the teacher, by doing this you are inviting God to come into the lesson and work in the hearts of the people.
Lesson: There were only four of us that showed up at the Bible study this week, which is a few less than usual. We opened this week in prayer, to invite the spirit to fall on us, and for him to speak to us during the Bible study. After the time of prayer there was a problem with Adam, as he fell asleep in the corner of the class room while Kevin was trying to introduce the topic. We quickly woke him up so that he could pay attention to the lesson. The topic for this week was out of Luke16:19-31, which is the passage that talked about the rich man and Lazarus the beggar. I read this passage aloud for the class, and after the scripture reading Kevin then asked for some General reactions to the passage. Most of us agreed that we all need to be more aware of the people who have physical needs, and how we need to go a little bit out of our way to help the people that are in need. Kevin then asked a series of questions out of the serendipity Bible to try to engage us into deeper discussions. The first question that Kevin asked was if we fell into a lot of money, what would we end up doing with the money? Most people said that they would spend some, save some, and give some away. The one thing that I noticed was that nobody was willing to give away all of the money, or even half of it. Kevin then asked who we felt sorry for in this passage. Most of them said that they felt sorry for Lazarus, because he was a poor man. I however said that I felt bad for the rich man because of how miserable the rich man’s life was, and that even though Lazarus was poor, that he was a happy man.
Questions:
1.) Would it be more beneficial to do the Bible study at a later time so that we are more awake?
2.) How do we get deeper reactions and conversation?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Practicum Report #6
To: Stephen Howlett
From: Kevin Aaron
Subject: Practicum Report #6
Time: 3 hours (1 Prep, 1 SS, 1 Service)
Preparation: Preparation for the Bible study was relatively easy. It was simply a matter of pulling up the list for the series we are doing and looking ahead to the next passage we are studying. I read the passage, thought about what it meant to me and then looked at the questions that went with the study. After doing that I rethought the passage and searched my study Bible for footnotes about the passage. This gave me some different views on the passage and helped prep me for leading the study.
Study: To start the study, we opened in prayer with the few people we had in attendance. It was only Caleb, Adam, Rebecca and I that showed up. After opening in prayer, I introduced the topic as Adam quickly started to fall asleep in the corner. The study for the week was about Luke 16:19-31. This passage is about the rich man and Lazarus, the beggar. Caleb read the passage aloud and then I probed for general reactions. Typically, the reaction was that we need to be careful about caring more about the physical world and that we need to help each other. So I continued to probe for further examination of the passage by asking a series of questions. The first question I asked was what would you do if you suddenly came into a lot of money? Most people said they would do a combination of spending it, saving it and giving some away. No one said they would give it all away or even more than half. Then I asked who they felt sorrier for in the story. At first, they felt sorry for Lazarus, but seeing that things turned out well for him, it is hard to feel sorry for him. As for the rich man, in some ways it is hard to feel sorry for him because of how he acted. Yet it is hard to dismiss his misery and regret as well as his care for his family. That seemed to be a consensus answer. Rebecca gave it pretty quickly while Adam just shook his head in agreement. Caleb said he felt bad for the rich man because of how miserable he was and how concerned he was about his family. I continued to probe for answers and by the time I was done, the group looked at things a little differently. They saw the need to listen to Jesus in the story. The facts have been given to us. It is up to us to be like Lazarus or the rich man in our faith and daily lives. We then closed in prayer.
Questions:
1. How do I get more people to come to Bible study on a regular basis?
2. What should I do when someone falls asleep during Bible study?
3. Should I add activities to the study to keep it more lively and engaging?
From: Kevin Aaron
Subject: Practicum Report #6
Time: 3 hours (1 Prep, 1 SS, 1 Service)
Preparation: Preparation for the Bible study was relatively easy. It was simply a matter of pulling up the list for the series we are doing and looking ahead to the next passage we are studying. I read the passage, thought about what it meant to me and then looked at the questions that went with the study. After doing that I rethought the passage and searched my study Bible for footnotes about the passage. This gave me some different views on the passage and helped prep me for leading the study.
Study: To start the study, we opened in prayer with the few people we had in attendance. It was only Caleb, Adam, Rebecca and I that showed up. After opening in prayer, I introduced the topic as Adam quickly started to fall asleep in the corner. The study for the week was about Luke 16:19-31. This passage is about the rich man and Lazarus, the beggar. Caleb read the passage aloud and then I probed for general reactions. Typically, the reaction was that we need to be careful about caring more about the physical world and that we need to help each other. So I continued to probe for further examination of the passage by asking a series of questions. The first question I asked was what would you do if you suddenly came into a lot of money? Most people said they would do a combination of spending it, saving it and giving some away. No one said they would give it all away or even more than half. Then I asked who they felt sorrier for in the story. At first, they felt sorry for Lazarus, but seeing that things turned out well for him, it is hard to feel sorry for him. As for the rich man, in some ways it is hard to feel sorry for him because of how he acted. Yet it is hard to dismiss his misery and regret as well as his care for his family. That seemed to be a consensus answer. Rebecca gave it pretty quickly while Adam just shook his head in agreement. Caleb said he felt bad for the rich man because of how miserable he was and how concerned he was about his family. I continued to probe for answers and by the time I was done, the group looked at things a little differently. They saw the need to listen to Jesus in the story. The facts have been given to us. It is up to us to be like Lazarus or the rich man in our faith and daily lives. We then closed in prayer.
Questions:
1. How do I get more people to come to Bible study on a regular basis?
2. What should I do when someone falls asleep during Bible study?
3. Should I add activities to the study to keep it more lively and engaging?
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