CFM Teaching Ideas for July 3-9, 2023 {Acts 1-5}

 This blogpost features some  resources and ideas to complement the Come Follow Me (CFM) reading for July 3-9, 2023.    Click here for an index and links to my CFM blogposts for other weeks.

PRINTABLE ACTIVITY SHEET:  These activity sheets are designed to print 2 to a page.  They're perfect for kids ages 8-14, though the coloring pages are for all ages and  many adults like the activities as well.  We hand them out with the sacrament programs in our ward; many others use them as  a review or discussion starter in their families and classrooms. 
   


TEACHING IDEA ABOUT THE HOLY GHOST:   
Plastic Plate Demonstration (need scriptures, plates/pans, post-it notes or small pieces of paper,  and spoons):

Have one person (a good reader) wearing a sign saying "Holy Ghost" and being prepared to read Moroni 10:5 very softly several times over.  

Have one person stand up next to the "Holy Ghost" while the reader very softly reads Moroni 10:5.  
Ask the other person if they were able to hear the promptings of the Spirit.   Of course they should have been able to, since the room was quiet and they were standing next to each other. 

Next, have another person come forward and stand in between the first two people. Give the person a  plastic plate/pan with a spoon and discuss what some things in our lives that can make it harder to hear the Holy Ghost.   {Some possible examples:   spending too much time on video games, being too tied to your phone, sinning, listening to bad music, being so busy that you never have time to read your scriptures, whatever you think could be distracting your class/family, etc}  Have them pick one, write it on the post-it note and attach it to the plate/pan.  

Then have them repeatedly bang the plate while the "Holy Ghost" softly reads the scripture again. Was it harder to hear the promptings this time?   Repeat this process, each time discussing and labeling a plate/pan with another distraction, and having the new person bang the plate while the "Holy Ghost" continues softly reading the scripture  until all the people in your family/class are a part of the demonstration. The first person and the person representing the Holy Ghost should be far apart by the end, with plate banging people in between them. It should be almost impossible to hear the scripture being read. Explain that distractions (bad things and daily distractions that pull us away from Christ) can make it hard to hear the still, small voice. Even though the Spirit is trying to communicate with us, we cannot hear him.

Discuss what you can do to minimize the distractions and to be more in tune to hearing the still small voice of the Spirit.  


QUOTE(S):  

"Too many of us are like those whom the Lord said “[came] with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, … [and] at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.”

Imagine that: “And they knew it not.” It is not unusual for one to have received the gift and not really know it.

I fear this supernal gift is being obscured by programs and activities and schedules and so many meetings. There are so many places to go, so many things to do in this noisy world. We can be too busy to pay attention to the promptings of the Spirit.

The voice of the Spirit is a still, small voice—a voice that is felt rather than heard. It is a spiritual voice that comes into the mind as a thought put into your heart.

All over the world ordinary men, women, and children, not completely aware that they have the gift, bless their families, teach, preach, and minister by the Spirit within them."   Boyd K. Packer, "The Cloven Tongues of Fire," May 2000


"The comforting Spirit of the Holy Ghost can abide with us twenty-four hours a day: when we work, when we play, when we rest. Its strengthening influence can be with us year in and year out. That sustaining influence can be with us in joy and sorrow, when we rejoice as well as when we grieve.

I believe the Spirit of the Holy Ghost is the greatest guarantor of inward peace in our unstable world. It can be more mind-expanding and can make us have a better sense of well-being than any chemical or other earthly substance. It will calm nerves; it will breathe peace to our souls. This Comforter can be with us as we seek to improve. It can function as a source of revelation to warn us of impending danger and also help keep us from making mistakes. It can enhance our natural senses so that we can see more clearly, hear more keenly, and remember what we should remember. It is a way of maximizing our happiness."  James E Faust, "The Gift of the Holy Ghost--A Sure Compass," April 1989

VIDEOS:  

Acts 3:  Peter Preaches and Is Arrested  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU3Hqpc8AYE


Acts 3: Peter and John Heal a Crippled Man     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT7cnOkGcBQ


Acts 5:  Peter and John Continue Teaching the Gospel   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrOmq3otiBo




HAVE FUN LEARNING THE GOSPEL TOGETHER!!!!