PYCL: Start where you want to end up! Bring in a Hoola-Hoop!

[PYCL: Start where you want to end up! Bring in a Hoola-Hoop! (3)]
Possible Younger Class Lessons for the Christian Science Bible Lesson on

"Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force? "

For June 18, 2017

by Kerry Jenkins, CS, House Springs, MO
kerry.helen.jenkins@gmail.com (314) 406-0041

Pycl #1: Give a simple explanation of this subject. Does the universe and man come from some big explosion in space, from biological factors, etc.? Or is God the only source of creation and power? If God is this source, what kind of power does He wield? Is there room for bad things to happen—sin, sickness, and so on? Look through the lesson together and see what examples are given of God's power, all of them involve Jesus this week!

Pycl #2: Look into the idea of God's hand and arm together. Christie addresses this in her met for CedarS this week if you want some insights. What do we do with our hands? Think of all the things we use hands for! Why might this be something that we think about as an analogy for God's might and creative government? Does God have "hands"? When we do things, we are reflecting God's "doing". We don't have to have the creative "ability" or "strength" or "wisdom", we just shine with reflected good from God. You could use the moon reflecting the light of the sun as an example here. Also the way that the earth orbits the sun, but doesn't have to "work" to do this. There is a really lovely story/article that is shared at the end of the My Bible Lesson this week called "God Carries the Load". Here is a link. https://sentinel.christianscience.com/issues/2011/2/113-06/god-carries-the-load It gives such an excellent and beautiful illustration of how God's power is supporting us in every way. Also a good illustration to accompany Jesus walking on water and, really, all of the healings in this lesson. It's likely to make the kids smile, since they have probably never considered the idea that a truck could not carry whatever weight they are carrying! This article can be related as a story, if the children aren't likely to enjoy listening to you read the article.

Pycl #3: It could be said that how we start determines where we end up. I know this is true with playing a musical instrument. When practicing with my boys we are careful to look at how we are "set up" before playing a single note. At some point in their experience this will come as second nature, but until then, if they don't think about where they set the violin on their shoulder, where the bow contacts the string and how it comes down on the string, they will end up sounding less than optimal. Likewise, if we just wander off on a trip without seeing where the goal is, we won't likely make it to our destination. The first section speaks of beginnings. All starts with God…but also, because God is eternal, there isn't really a "beginning" to anything. You can use the idea of a circle here to illustrate. Bring in a Hoola-Hoop or something to give a visual. Where does it start/end? Man is like that, we don't begin and end, because the universe is spiritual and man is a spiritual idea. Ideas never "age". If we "start" with infinite God, we are given harmony, wholeness, joy, endurance, strength, goodness, and so on. And there is an infinite supply of these God qualities in His infinite creation.

Pycl #4: God knows everything in the universe. And He knows it "by names" (B4). Again you can emphasize the meaning of "name" in the Bible as more than a title, but a real sense of identity. In His infinite, unending—without beginning creation—God knows each of us! So we can ask Him anything! Look at citation B5 where it says: "Ask me of things to come concerning my sons…" (italics added for emphasis). I love this passage because it really tells us where we can go to find out the answers! And it also tells us that there are really no answers anywhere else. You could hold up the books that comprise our pastor as examples of how we can find answers from God. You can link this to, perhaps, the story in Section 4 of Jesus healing the leprous man. Jesus touched the man, an act that was unheard of as a leper was considered unclean and contagious. But he touched him because he only asked God about man's status, and never looked to see what he could do physically to "fix" things. Check out citation S20 and "…the supposed necessity for physical thought-taking and doctoring…". I especially love that she connects this with these three essential ingredients: "unselfish affections, common sense and common humanity…"—all of these are also necessary in healing. Jesus let the man know he was loved and not outside God's care by touching him. We can do this in our own healing work too! (What does it mean to "touch" someone?)

Pycl #5: Since we are working here with the facts about God being the creator and the only power in this week's lesson. It's interesting to note that we aren't "making good happen" (as that story illustrated earlier). Citation B15 helps clarify the state of mind that is most ready to accept that God's goodness is truly established and available at all times. Show a picture of the desert and talk about how welcome a drink of water might be if we were lost in a desert. How badly would we want one???? Sometimes it is helpful if we are more focused on how "thirsty" we are for God than how badly we want to be healed of something. Being healed is good and a natural outcome of God's goodness, but sometimes we aren't very focused on God, but on our discomfort or unhappiness and how to "get rid of them". So maybe this verse can help to explain this state of thought. Was that leprous man pretty "thirsty" for knowledge of God's power and goodness? He came to Jesus, reached out to the Christ for that sense of power. He recognized where the power came from.

Hope this gives you a few places to start this week! Have a great Sunday.