New Era

Yesterday is the first day of the Au's coming every week.  That means we can do play and music programs outside of Sunday morning!  Yay, a new era has arrived.

So, yesterday in teen Sunday school, we talked about Jacob wrestling with God the Son.  We showed the last David Murray video on the Angel of the Lord that I will show.  There are four left and I have to find ways to show them next fall.  I started talking about Jacob preparing to meet Esau, but I forgot to finish it.  Then I showed Aubrie my Reformation Day Power Point, new and improved with Cake Wrecks pictures. 

With the kids, I thought the lesson went really well.  It's so true that kids have a faith that fades with the teen years.  I showed different pictures of kids: some playing, some in school, some going to the doctor, poor kids having fun in the rain, a sick girl with a fever.  I asked where was God in all these situations?  They all said "Everywhere" like it's obvious.

Then I split them up into partners, breaking up potential cliques.  Austin and a missionary boy named Caleb (yay, another boy) worked on Joseph interpreting the cupbearer's dream, Alexis and Autumn worked on the baker's dream, and Madison and Emily got Potiphar and his wife, which I decided to print out the text, changing "come to bed with me" to "let's make out."

I finally got all the nesting doll versions of Joseph and the four other folks in the narratives, laminated them, and each group told what they read using the dolls.  In each situation, we had to ask where was God.  They still said "everywhere."  It's like they either have that good of faith now, or are simply not thinking through this.  I'm saying, so God was there letting the baker get beheaded?  God was there when Joseph got imprisoned when he was only framed?  God was there when the cupbearer forgot about Joseph who is still waiting in jail?  Of course he was there, and the kids agreed.  I just hope they keep agreeing when they become 12 or 13 and face peer pressure, ostracism for their beliefs, or in college and their 20s when they face tragedies and growing pains.  I agree, but I needed to learn to wrestle with God like Jacob which I'm not sure I'm teaching them to do, but I want to.