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    Creative Bible Lessons in 1 and 2 Corinthians: 12 Lessons About Making Tough Choices in Tough Times
    Creative Bible Lessons in 1 and 2 Corinthians: 12 Lessons About Making Tough Choices in Tough Times
    Creative Bible Lessons in 1 and 2 Corinthians: 12 Lessons About Making Tough Choices in Tough Times
    Ebook195 pages2 hours

    Creative Bible Lessons in 1 and 2 Corinthians: 12 Lessons About Making Tough Choices in Tough Times

    By Marv Penner

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    About this ebook

    Christian adolescents in the 21st century face pretty much the same situations as the first-century Christians in Corinth did -- an indulgent, profligate, choose-your-own-god society. The latest in the Creative Bible Lessons series, Creative Bible Lessons in 1 & 2 Corinthians is a 12-lesson curriculum with an issues-oriented spin on living one’s faith in the real world. It lets teenagers wrestle with the tension between biblical instruction and cultural realities. These 12 studies about the not-so-easily-tamed people of Corinth and their founding pastor Paul of Tarsus pave the way for youth workers and Sunday school teachers to teach high schoolers about conversion, transformation, failure, leadership, authority, and God's constant saving love even in the midst of people making a mess of things. Here are some of the not-so-ancient issues you'll explore in this study: Give Me Liberty or Give Me Love, Friends Don't Let Friends Go Unforgiven, Those Pesky STDs (Sexually Tough Decisions), Love Is . . ., No Easy Answers, Show Me the Money, and Ouch! Of course, there's lots of what the Creative bible Lessons series is known for: provocative and relevant discussion starters, to-the-point scripts, high-energy games, reproducible pages of interactive activities -- all in the context of hard-core Bible study.12 lessons.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherZondervan
    Release dateOct 5, 2010
    ISBN9780310867180
    Creative Bible Lessons in 1 and 2 Corinthians: 12 Lessons About Making Tough Choices in Tough Times
    Author

    Marv Penner

    Marv Penner is a youth ministry expert with more than 30 years in the field, chairs the youth and family ministry department at Briercrest Graduate School in Saskatchewan, Canada. He's also director of the Canadian Centre of Adolescent Research and author of "The Youth Worker's Guide to Parent Ministry" and "Help! My Kids Are Hurting."

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      Book preview

      Creative Bible Lessons in 1 and 2 Corinthians - Marv Penner

      0310230942_content_0001_0020310230942_content_0003_002

      YOUTH SPECIALTIES

      CREATIVE BIBLE LESSONS IN 1 & 2 CORINTHIANS: 12 LESSONS ABOUT MAKING TOUGH CHOICES IN TOUGH TIMES

      Copyright © 1999, 2007 by Youth Specialties, Inc.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

      ePub Edition August 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-86718-0

      Youth Specialties products, 1890 Cordell Ct. Ste. 105, El Cajon, CA 92020 are published by Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49530.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Penner, Marv, 1951-

      Creative Bible Lessons in 1 & 2 Corinthians : 12 lessons about making tough choices in tough times / Marv Penner.

      p. cm.

      ISBN 978-0-310-23094-6

      1. Bible. N.T. Corinthians—Study and teaching (Higher)—Activity programs. 2. Christian education of teenagers. 3. Junior high school—Religious life. 4. High school students—Religious life. I. Title. II. Title: Creative Bible Lessons in First and Second Corinthians.

      BS2675.5.P46 1999

      268'.433—dc21

      99-30189

      All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible:New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

      Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

      SPECIAL THANKS

      I’ve been blessed with a wife who understands ministry and has made it easy to follow God’s call. Thanks, Lois, for the friendship and freedom you have given me and your consistent encouragement during this project.

      Tim, Jeff, and Melissa—you’ve often shared me with other kids over the years, but you know that you’ll always be in a league of your own. Thanks for making home my very favorite place to be.

      I’m honored to be part of the Youth Specialties family. You model excellence and generosity in all you do. Thanks especially to my friends on the National Resource Seminar team. Your integrity and giftedness make our times together rich and invigorating.

      A special thanks to the team who helped put this project together: to Tim for your encouragement, to Vicki for your patience and grace, to Karla for your timely prodding, and to the many who work behind the scenes. Thanks for using your gifts to bring these ministry tools into existence.

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      COVER PAGE

      TITLE PAGE

      COPYRIGHT PAGE

      INTRODUCTION HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THIS BOOK

      LESSON 1 MY KINDA TOWN

      (1 & 2 CORINTHIANS; ACTS 18)

      PAUL’S LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS 2,000 YEARS AGO STILL SPEAK DIRECTLY TO OUR SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL ISSUES.

      LESSON 2 FRIENDS DON’T LET FRIENDS GO UNFORGIVEN

      (1 CORINTHIANS 5; 2 CORINTHIANS 2:5-11)

      WHEN ACCOUNTABILITY GETS JUST PLAIN HARD—CONFRONTING SIN IN ANOTHER BELIEVER.

      LESSON 3 YOU’LL HEAR FROM MY LAWYER!

      (1 CORINTHIANS 6:1-11) WITH PAUL’S STRATEGY OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION, CHRISTIANS CAN SETTLE THEIR DIFFERENCES WITH EACH OTHER IN A GOD-HONORING MANNER.

      LESSON 4 THOSE PESKY STDS (SEXUALLY TOUGH DECISIONS)

      (1 CORINTHIANS 6:12-20) FREEDOM IS THE RESULT OF MAKING GOOD MORAL CHOICES FOR GOOD REASONS.

      LESSON 5 MYSTERIES OF MARRIAGE

      (1 CORINTHIANS 7) HEALTHY MARRIAGES GROW ON BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES.

      LESSON 6 GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME LOVE

      (1 CORINTHIANS 8) SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO SHELVE YOUR CHRISTIAN FREEDOM FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS.

      LESSON 7 GIVE ME A HAND, LEND ME YOUR EAR

      (1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-27) BELIEVERS SHOULD WORK AT ELIMINATING ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR THAT HINDER THEIR UNITY.

      LESSON 8 LOVE IS...

      (1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-8) TIME TO SEPARATE FACT FROM FICTION ABOUT THE KIND OF LOVE WE NEED TO GIVE AND RECEIVE.

      LESSON 9 NO EASY ANSWERS

      (2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-7) AS BADLY AS IT MAY HURT NOW, YOUR PAIN CAN EVENTUALLY BECOME EMPATHY, COMFORT, AND EVEN HEALING FOR ANOTHER.

      LESSON 10 FRIENDS

      (2 CORINTHIANS 6:14-18) ARE NON-CHRISTIAN FRIENDS A THREAT TO YOUR FAITH?

      LESSON 11 SHOW ME THE MONEY

      (2 CORINTHIANS 8 & 9) YES, IT’S STILL TRUE (AND STILL HARD TO DO)—GIVING IS BETTER THAN KEEPING.

      LESSON 12 OUCH!

      (2 CORINTHIANS 11:21-12:10) ALTHOUGH SUFFERING IS UNAVOIDABLE, GOD EVENTUALLY AND INEVITABLY TURNS IT TO GOODNESS.

      ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

      SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

      INTRODUCTION

      0310230942_content_0009_002

      HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THIS BOOK

      THESE OLD LETTERS STILL APPLY TODAY

      As today’s postmodern adolescents saunter into the third millennium, Paul’s letters to the first-millennium Corinthians are still strikingly relevant. As then, so now: Christians still struggle to retain some degree of moral purity in an X-rated culture, still struggle to cultivate some ethical integrity in a values-free world, still struggle to live according to absolute truth in the middle of relativism and confusion. Christians still find themselves in the daily dilemmas of trying hard not to resent those who are disagreeable, of trying hard to overcome pain or doubt or temptation, of trying hard to be charitable and generous toward selfish people.

      Paul covers all of this, and more, in his pair of letters to Corinth’s Christians. He attempts to remedy church problems, explain church practices, and generally whip them into mature and disciplined shape. The apostle even lays down principles for dealing with the gray areas of Christian experience—questions that have neither a right nor wrong answer in all circumstances.

      In short, the letters read like they could have been written last week to Christians in Tempe, Louisville, Sioux Falls, Toronto.

      But during the course of this century, many voices have interpreted St. Paul in seemingly clear yet inaccurate ways (simplistic interpretations that have unfortunately trivialized much of the diagnosis and cure that the apostle prescribes for then and now). Adolescents have consequently been deprived of the opportunity to learn to think biblically and theologically about issues with no easy answers. Which is a pity, for Paul tackles his varied and controversial subjects with outspoken conviction, principled clarity, and a strong pastoral flavor. He writes with the gentleness of a mentor and friend. Kind of like a youth worker talking to kids.

      The lessons in Creative Bible Lessons in 1 & 2 Corinthians refl ect the reality of at least the kids I work with and teach, and in ways that (again, to me and my students) are biblically sound, creative, and relevant. What I don’t do is conclude with authoritative answers matters that St. Paul leaves ambiguous. There’s still plenty of tension here between biblical instruction and cultural realities, so go ahead and allow your kids to wrestle with it. Don’t give in to the temptation to jump in and give them easy answers—the black and white, the superficial, the legalistic. Give your students the time and space to think. Allow them to speak.

      And don’t you feel pressured to wrap up the lessons in neat little packages of Correct Answers. The tough truths of the Corinthian letters just don’t let you wrap them that way.

      HOW THE LESSONS ARE PUT TOGETHER

      Tough Times, Tough Truth, Tough Choices doesn’t just describe the spirit of Paul’s two letters to Corinth, but also provides a logical and convenient outline for each of the 12 lessons. Here are the six components that appear in every session:

      • Here’s the Deal states the purpose of the specific lesson in one concise thought.

      • The Big Picture offers historical, cultural, or biblical background, putting the lessons into its historic and contemporary context. It points out the larger biblical context of the lesson at hand and the relevance of the lesson to your kids’ current cultural context.

      • Just for Starters are creative ways to funnel students into thinking about the lesson. After all, each student in the room is coming from a very different place emotionally, spiritually, and relationally—which means your first task is to get them all moving in a similar direction. It’s a critical burden these activities carry, so choose and plan them deliberately. Neogothic Tess is fresh from a fight with her mom about the black pants, top, and makeup she put on for the evening… Steve is slouched in the back of the room—he just found out he didn’t make the team…Up in the front row, Taylor is feeling guilty about what happened with her boyfriend last night…Tipped back in his chair, Mark is there only because, as usual, he has to be…There’s that new girl on the right with a J name, Jessica or Jennifer or something, you forget it exactly; you’re glad she’s quiet. Only problem is, behind the apparent dutifulness, she’s worried about tomorrow’s chemistry exam and feeling that she should really be home studying.

      Your job is to gather up all that diversity, bring them out of their pasts and futures into the present, and introduce a topic that will benefit everyone. No sweat.

      Well, that’s the goal, at any rate. The generally lighthearted and

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