PYCLs— 1) BE CAREFUL ABOUT FALSE “HEADLINES”.2) COMPARE A FLASHLIGHT TO GOD’S LIGHT. 3) WAS THE ADAM STORY THE REASON WE GOT THE 10 COMMANDMENTS & THE BEATITUDES? 4) GOLDEN TEXT WITNESSING 5) BRING A STUFFED OR RUBBER TOY SNAKE…
CedarS PYCLs, Possible Younger Class Lessons, for the Christian Science Quarterly Bible Lesson:
“Adam and Fallen Man”
for May 8, 2022
by Kerry Jenkins, CS, House Springs, MO
kerry.helen.jenkins@gmail.com (314) 406-0041
PYCL #1: BE CAREFUL ABOUT FALSE “HEADLINES”.
Headlines in the news are the attention-grabbing main events of the day. In recent years these headlines are often unsupported by fact depending on the source. This parallels the kinds of information we often get from our physical senses. Someone says something hurtful and we immediately jump on the “bandwagon” of condemnation and recrimination, rather than offer a gentle thought of love and space for that person to grow, assuming the best (since we all say things we don’t mean sometimes).
Something on our body hurts and we immediately are afraid, or are upset about it, or wonder what is wrong. We feel overwhelmed by school tasks and instead of looking to infinite Mind for rest and inspiration, we dissolve in anxiety and tell all our friends how tired or how much schoolwork we have to do. These responses are not uncommon. We have probably all been there at one time or another! What if instead of these responses we recognize the suggestions of unkindness, pain, or anxiety/pressure as “false headlines”?
There is only one true creation (read about it in citation B2/Gen. 1:1,3,26-28,31). This is a creation in which there is no unkindness, nothing out of order, spaciousness for all good, and only good.
Could we imagine such a creation as the only true “headline”?
If we can consider this for a moment when we are confronted by things that seem bad, we may be able to turn the situations around in surprising ways!
The “bad” can be seen as an erroneous suggestion rather than a fact.
Once we are willing to admit that it might be a lie, we will lose our fear of it, and then the thing itself diminishes into nothing.
Try writing some true and false “headlines” together and consider how to do the right “fact-checking” to make sure our sources are responsible and reliable.
What do we always need to start with if we are going to find out what is true and false?
Do we start with our own impressions, beliefs, fears—other people’s impressions, suggestions, diagnoses?
Or, do we start with a God who is Truth?
PYCL #2: COMPARE A FLASHLIGHT TO GOD’S LIGHT.
Again, read the first Genesis account of creation, then read the account in the second and third sections of the lesson (Gen 2:6, 7, 21-22 and Gen.3:1-6, 9, 11-13, 17, 23). Get out a flashlight and talk about how when it turns on we have instant light. With the little ones, let them try it. Compare this “instant light” with the light from citation B2.
Did God create a sun first to make that light? Where did it come from?
Was there a process that God went through to “create” that light?
Did it have flame, batteries, electricity?
Now take the flashlight apart (or let them do it). Check out all the components, what makes it work? There are, of course batteries, a bulb, a reflective piece around the bulb to amplify its effects, there are places where the battery touches contacts that connect its stored energy to the light bulb, and so on. Even the case in which all these things are placed is part of the workings of the flashlight.
Now, think together about how the flashlight is put together of pieces (of matter), but God’s light just comes into being! The light comes with a word. Consider this kind of creation and how different it is from the second and third chapters where everything is formed of matter—Adam of dust, Eve of rib, and later man and woman of egg, etc.
PYCL #3: WAS THE ADAM STORY THE REASON WE GOT THE 10 COMMANDMENTS & THE BEATITUDES?
Look at all the things that the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes address (Yay \, a great review!). Have them go through all of each so they remember what we are talking about. Think about God’s one true creation.
Aren’t these Commandments and Beatitudes actually embedded in who we are as God’s reflection?
If so, then these were written to help us to rise above the material picture of things so that we can actually bear witness to man’s true loving, generous, peaceful, non-judgmental, man/woman of integrity and purity.
Through our study of these major Biblical statements we can get the view of man that God made and find ourselves surrounded by that true creation more and more right here and now.
PYCL #4: GOLDEN TEXT WITNESSING.
Read the Golden Text together and define “bearing witness”. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:” The International Children’s Bible says it this way: “…the Spirit himself joins with our spirits to say that we are God’s children.”
You can talk about a court trial and how a witness is someone who saw what happened, knows the facts (ideally), and can testify truly to those facts.
Who is bearing witness in this verse? God!
Who is God/Love/Life bearing witness together with? Us (man)!
What is our “spirit”? Talk about spiritual sense.
Look up two places where Mary Baker Eddy defines spiritual sense in single sentences and discuss these definitions. (SH p.505:20-21 and 209:31-32)
Do we all have spiritual sense? (yes!)
Come up with some persuasive examples of spiritual sense that we can demonstrate each day.
It is helpful to note that if what we are perceiving is not good, it’s not from God or the only creation.
It is with these senses that perceive God’s goodness and presence that we can do this witness bearing to our true selves!
Can we bear witness to others’ true nature with this kind of activity, another yes!!
PYCL #5: BRING A STUFFED OR RUBBER TOY SNAKE to represent mythal whisperings of mortal thought
While there is nothing inherently evil about snakes, we can use the serpent story in this week’s lesson as an opportunity to have some fun with a toy snake, and what it represents in this myth…the whisperings of mortal thought. This is kind of the opposite of the spiritual sense we just talked about.
If your class is young it could be fun to have an actual stuffed toy snake to bring in as a representative of sneaky “error thoughts”.
What is the real serpent that we face?
It’s the temptation to think that we can’t trust God.
When we are afraid in any circumstance, when we feel ill, sad, or angry…these are all times where we might be listening to that serpent talk of material sense.
The children can take turns “hissing” a lie and then telling the snake “no”!
You can use this as an opportunity to reinforce the truth that humor often is a great way to chase off error!
Whatever you do in Sunday School, I hope you have some fun!
