Herald & Banner Press, Author at HERALD AND BANNER PRESS

Brainstorming

Too often, questions asked in church are given single, “pat” answers, given with little thought. There is a story of a junior teacher describing a squirrel, asking his class what it was, and a boy saying it sounded like a squirrel, “But … I’ll say it’s Jesus!” Adult classes sometimes mirror this type of thinking.

Following are a couple ways to encourage your class to learn by brainstorming:

Using a whiteboard, and writing down answers in a list can help students think more deeply about issues. (One technique this writer was taught was to always add a new bullet point after being given an answer; doing so creates a mindset that there are more possible answers.)

Depending on the question and type of lesson, creating a mind map (writing down various concepts, scattered on the board, then drawing lines indicating the relationships between them) may also be an effective way of exploring an issue.

Herald & Banner Press2017-05-02T09:00:00+00:00May 2nd, 2017|Categories: Teacher Helps|Tags: Question|0 Comments

Safeguarding the Home

Lesson 10 - May 7, 2017

Focus Text: Deuteronomy 6:1-9, 20-25

Central Truth: The Christian home's greatest priority is instilling love for God.

Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to identify ways to develop a Christian heritage.

Lesson Outline:

Keep God's Commandments (Deuteronomy 6:1-3)
Instruct Your Children (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
Reinforce the Lesson (Deuteronomy 6:20-25)

Herald & Banner Press2017-05-01T09:00:00+00:00May 1st, 2017|Categories: Weekly Lesson Summaries|Tags: Home|0 Comments

Building a Happy Home
Building a Happy Home

Building a Happy Home

https://youtu.be/dfwgn-yHWOA

Herald & Banner Press2017-04-30T08:00:59+00:00April 30th, 2017|Categories: Teacher Helps|0 Comments

Love and Submission
Love and Submission

Love and Submission

In "Biblical Perspective" Larry Grile writes:

The highest ideal of love is that we love our neighbors as ourselves (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:39). This means that we transfer the love we naturally have for ourselves to include having a caring and thoughtful regard for others. This kind of love should be most evident in marriage. Husbands need to express their love verbally and practically every day. Women are usually more loving than men, and they also need the security of being loved. It is much easier for a wife to be submissive when a man truly loves and affirms her. Reverence includes the ideas of submission, respect, and deference. God has so made men that they need and desire these qualities in a woman, but they cannot require them. Reverence is needed because man is the authority and head of the home. Respectful submission is part of a woman's submission to God. Husbands can lead only when wives will follow. A woman is much easier to love when she is submissive, respectful, and affectionate. Only as men love and lead, and women respect and follow, can marriage reach the joyful and fulfilling ideal it was meant to be.

Source: Building Christian Relationships: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 53.

Herald & Banner Press2017-04-29T09:18:00+00:00April 29th, 2017|Categories: Lesson Highlights|Tags: love, Submission|0 Comments

When the family is run without the operations manual…

In "Doctrinal Discussion" Jason Lindahl writes:

In fact, progressive society now tells us that the basic parts of a family machine are no longer necessary for it to run smoothly. Instead of parts A and B, we can substitute two A parts or two B parts and everything will work just fine. Satan can and will twist and distort anything and everything good which God has designed and created, but he cannot destroy the original blueprint. Have you ever used a machine or device for which you did not have the instruction manual, and while you could get it to function to some degree, you could just tell something wasn't right? The machine didn't seem to be working as efficiently as it should, and there were sections or parts that didn't seem to be useful for anything but must be designed for something. In the same way, in spite of all of society's confident insistence that the family can be anything we want it to be, there is a nagging reminder that Somebody designed this relationship, and it will never function properly except in the way fashioned by the Designer.

Source: Building Christian Relationships: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 56.

Herald & Banner Press2017-04-28T09:25:00+00:00April 28th, 2017|Categories: Lesson Highlights|Tags: Family|0 Comments

Is your family functional or dysfunctional?
Is your family functional or dysfunctional?

Is your family functional or dysfunctional?

In "God's Word for Today" Gordon Snider writes:

“Dysfunctional family” is a common term these days. Psychology Dictionary defines that term as “a family showing impaired communication and relationships where members are unable to get close.” There may be a tendency to think of such a family as including divorced parents, alcohol or some other substance abuse, and/or moral failure. But by definition, a family may be dysfunctional where none of these components exist. It just means that a family is not close enough to communicate or feel connected on a meaningful level. God created the family to be a tightly knit unit where life's deepest emotional needs could be met. Yet many Christian families fail to operate with this degree of intimacy among its members: Obedience is compelled but not inspired; respect is demanded, but loving consideration is not shown; love is based upon things given instead of communication shared. To get back to God's intention for the family, the Christian home should follow God's relational principles.

Source: Building Christian Relationships: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 52.

Herald & Banner Press2017-04-27T09:15:00+00:00April 27th, 2017|Categories: Lesson Highlights|Tags: Family|0 Comments

Timothy’s Home

Read 2 Timothy 1:3-6
“When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also” (v. 5).
A young man told my husband, “If my mom were the only Christian I knew, I never would have become one!” How important is it to have the real thing? In most areas of life, it matters not one whit whether you have “a cheap knock-off” instead of the “genuine article.” If the lesser one works, no problem!
This is so-not-true when it come to our spiritual lives. The ones we are closest to, the ones we are around the most will know if our faith is real. Someone said that even sinners know how a Christian should act. This doesn’t mean a Christian will always have a godly reaction to every situation, but a faithful Christian will ask forgiveness, make restitution, and seek God’s help to change a character flaw or mistake.
If you desire your faith to be passed on to the next generations of your family, they must know without any doubt that you are genuine. If changes need to be made, make them immediately with God’s help. Get rid of anything fake in your walk with God. It is most likely people know if you are not genuinely walking with God anyway and will consider you and your faith a fraud. (Wanda Skeen)

I would be true, for there are those who trust me.— Howard Walter

Be the real deal, true blue through and through.

This devotional is the Monday, April 24, 2017 entry of Opening the Word.

Herald & Banner Press2017-04-26T09:00:00+00:00April 26th, 2017|Categories: Opening the Word|Tags: Family|0 Comments

Object Lesson

Using object lessons may seem a technique best left for teaching children, but this method is surprisingly effective in teaching adults. Just ask the chagrined pastor whose congregation is more abuzz after the service about his “children’s sermon” than the message he spent hours crafting!

Plan your object lesson well in advance of Sunday. Searching for the necessary materials last-minute creates unnecessary stress that can keep you from a proper focus on your lesson.
Avoid over-analogizing or over-spiritualizing your object lesson. Like Jesus’ parables were meant to make ONE point rather than for each aspect to hold some spiritual significance, the better object lesson will seek to make one point, rather than to provide a complete picture of life.
Consider your audience. While some object lessons may be very effective, others may promote the idea of childishness and therefore detract from the authority of God’s Word.

Herald & Banner Press2017-04-25T09:00:00+00:00April 25th, 2017|Categories: Teacher Helps|Tags: Teaching|0 Comments

Building Family Relationships

Lesson 9 - April 30, 2017

Focus Text: Ephesians 5:31-6:4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Peter 3:1-7

Key Verse: Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it (Psalm 127:1).

Central Truth: The Christian home should follow God's relational principles.

Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to list several ways they can make their home a better place in which to live.

Lesson Outline:

God's Order for Marriage (Ephesians 5:31-33; 1 Peter 3:1-7; Colossians 3:18, 19)
God's Order for Children (Colossians 3:20; Ephesians 6:1-3)
God's Order for Parents (Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21)