Our Christian Education begins right after worship, 11:00 am..
High School students meet in the Student Room.
Middle School students meet in Room 200.
We have begun studies in the SO WHAT? Curriculum
Our Middle School students are going through "Knowing the God Who Is"
You can find the MS digital student journal HERE
Our High School students are going through "Romans"
You can find the HS digital student journal HERE
We began this semester going through lessons on the Spiritual Disciplines based on the book Habits of Grace, by David Mathis.
Lesson 1 (8/18): What are Spiritual Disciplines?
Lesson 2 (8/25): The Word
Lesson 3 (9/8): Prayer
Lesson 4 (9/15): Fellowship: Belonging to His body (the church)
We are now planning to practice the discipline of listening to sermons well by taking notes during our service and discussing what we have learned during the CE hour.
Do you know how to listen to a sermon? (by Phil Ryken)
From http://www.reformation21.org/articles/how-to-listen-to-a-sermon.php
- Most churchgoers assume that the sermon starts when the pastor opens his mouth on Sunday. However, listening to a sermon actually starts the week before. It starts when we pray for the minister, asking God to bless the time he spends studying the Bible as he prepares to preach.
- If the body is well rested and the soul is well prepared, then the mind will be alert. Good preaching appeals first to the mind. After all, it is by the renewing of our minds that God does his transforming work in our lives (see 12:2). So when we listen to a sermon, our minds need to be fully engaged. Being attentive requires self-discipline. Our minds tend to wander when we worship; sometimes we daydream. But listening to sermons is part of the worship that we offer to God. It is also a prime opportunity for us to hear his voice.
- Although note taking is not required, it is an excellent way to stay focused during a sermon. It is also a valuable aid to memory. The physical act of writing something down helps to fix it in our minds. Then there is the added advantage of having the notes for future reference. We get extra benefit from a sermon when we read over, pray through, and talk about our sermon notes with someone else afterwards.
- It also requires hearts that are receptive to the influence of God's Spirit. Something important happens when we hear a good sermon: God speaks to us.
Listening--really listening--takes a prepared soul, an alert mind, an open Bible, and a receptive heart. But the best way to tell if we are listening is by the way that we live. Our lives should repeat the sermons that we have heard.
You can view our previous CE lessons on the Westminster Shorter Catechism here