CFM Teaching Ideas for August 14-20, 2023 {Romans 7-16}

This blogpost features some  resources and ideas to complement the Come Follow Me (CFM) reading for August 14-20, 2023.    Click here for an index and links to my CFM blogposts for other weeks.

(Can I ask a favor please?   If you use these activity sheets or teaching ideas, PLEASE leave a comment and let me know.   I spend a lot of time pulling these together and I'm trying to determine if they're worth my time continuing forward. )

PRINTABLE ACTIVITY SHEET:    These printable activity sheets are designed to be printed 2 to a page (double-sided).  They make for good reviews or discussion starters in your classes or families.  In our ward, they are handed out with the sacrament programs and many kids, teens, and even adults enjoy them.  

TEACHING IDEA: 

This video is a little cheesy, but I feel like it does a great job at teaching about what discipleship actually is {Romans 12-16}.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2s4KuhrSZY

 IDEA #2 (directly taken from the Don't Miss This podcast--start at 29:31): 
Romans 16 is Paul telling different people what he loves and respects about them.  After reading some of these scriptures, go around your family or class, person by person, and tell them something good you see in them.  I imagine it would be a very memorable and meaningful experience and a great way to tie the scriptures to their real lives.  

QUOTE(S):   

“The pain of sacrifice lasts only one moment. It is the fear of the pain of sacrifice that makes you hesitate to do it. Be grateful for every opportunity to serve. It helps you more than those you serve...Finally, when you are compelled to give up something or when things that are dear to you are withdrawn from you, know that this is your lesson to be learned right now. But also know that while you are learning this lesson, God wants to give you something better.”  Enzio Busche, "Unleashing the Dormant Spirit," 1996

“The day is gone when you can be a quiet and comfortable Christian. Your religion is not just about showing up for church on Sunday. It is about showing up as a true disciple from Sunday morning through Saturday night. … There is no such thing as a ‘part-time’ disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Russell M. Nelson, "BYU Commencement Address," 2014

VIDEOS:  
The Goal:  A Story of Faith, Friendship, and Forgiveness   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aBU-wSjuPQ



Nearer My God to Thee  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKsr49csFYk



HAVE FUN LEARNING THE GOSPEL TOGETHER!!!!

 

CFM Teaching Ideas for August 7-13, 2023 {Romans 1-6}

This blogpost features some  resources and ideas to complement the Come Follow Me (CFM) reading for August 7-13, 2023.    Click here for an index and links to my CFM blogposts for other weeks.

(Can I ask a favor please?   If you use these activity sheets or teaching ideas, PLEASE leave a comment and let me know.   I spend a lot of time pulling these together and I'm trying to determine if they're worth my time continuing forward. )

PRINTABLE ACTIVITY SHEET:    This activity sheet is designed to be printed two to a page (double-sided).   They're perfect for handing out along with the sacrament programs, as a review activity, or as a discussion starter in your classes or families.  In any case, hopefully they help you to have a little more fun as you learn the gospel together! 

OBJECT LESSON:

GRACE AND MERCY LESSON:
Read and familiarize yourself with Romans 5:20-21
Quick definitions:   mercy = not getting what you deserve
grace= getting what you don't deserve

ITEMS NEEDED:
1. a treat to share with the whole class/family  {TO SHOW GRACE}
2. a threatened "punishment" that you'll never actually use (marshmallows you'll throw at them / a glass of water you'll toss their way / you'll get to take each of one of their shoes, etc) {TO SHOW MERCY}

Start off by talking a little about Romans 5:20-21 and what they think that scripture means.   Then show them the "prize"  and tell them about the "punishment".    Now give them an impossible task (like guessing what number you're thinking of from 1-1000, or reciting all the books in the New Testament in under 10 seconds, or whatever).   Emphasize that they'll only get the prize if they complete the task you've given them, and if they don't, then they will receive the punishment.   After they fail at the task, lead into your discussion about how Christ died for our sins.   When you've gotten your discussion to a good place, tell them that they do not have to receive the punishment (though they deserve it for not completing the task), because you are showing them MERCY (like Christ shows us MERCY and does not punish us with eternal damnation when we make mistakes).  Then offer the treats/prize and remind them that now they are receiving GRACE, because they are receiving something they don't deserve, because they did not complete the task. 

Wrap this up as you testify of Christ. 
 

QUOTE(S):  

"There should never be just two options: perfection or giving up. When learning the piano, are the only options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? No. Growth and development take time. Learning takes time. When we understand grace, we understand that God is long-suffering, that change is a process, and that repentance is a pattern in our lives. When we understand grace, we understand that the blessings of Christ’s Atonement are continuous and His strength is perfect in our weakness. When we understand grace, we can, as it says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “continue in patience until [we] are perfected”.

Grace is not a booster engine that kicks in once our fuel supply is exhausted. Rather, it is our constant energy source. It is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light that moves us through the tunnel. Grace is not achieved somewhere down the road. It is received right here and right now."  Brad Wilcox, "His Grace is Sufficient," September 2013



"The prophet Nephi made an important contribution to our understanding of God’s grace when he declared, “We labor diligently … to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”31

However, I wonder if sometimes we misinterpret the phrase “after all we can do.” We must understand that “after” does not equal “because.”

We are not saved “because” of all that we can do. Have any of us done all that we can do? Does God wait until we’ve expended every effort before He will intervene in our lives with His saving grace?

Many people feel discouraged because they constantly fall short. They know firsthand that “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” They raise their voices with Nephi in proclaiming, “My soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.”

I am certain Nephi knew that the Savior’s grace allows and enables us to overcome sin. This is why Nephi labored so diligently to persuade his children and brethren “to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God.”  After all, that is what we can do! And that is our task in mortality!"  Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Gift of Grace," April 2015

VIDEOS:  

The Perfect Lie (I LOVE this video--it was a perspective changer for me)   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIQFLbvuWXc



Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znzx2HXY8fo


Let God Guide You:  From Weakness to Strength   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_aWbWnmytY



HAVE FUN LEARNING THE GOSPEL TOGETHER!!!!

CFM Teaching Ideas for July 31 - August 6, 2023 {Acts 22-28}

This blogpost features some  resources and ideas to complement the Come Follow Me (CFM) reading for July 31-August 6, 2023, which include Paul beginning his ministry.    Click here for an index and links to my CFM blogposts for other weeks. 

(Can I ask a favor please?   If you use these activity sheets or teaching ideas, PLEASE leave a comment and let me know.   I spend a lot of time pulling these together and I'm trying to determine if they're worth my time. )

PRINTABLE ACTIVITY SHEET: 
  I create these activity pages to be a discussion starter or review for the CFM reading each week.  They can be used in classrooms, as a supplement to be handed out with the sacrament programs, or in your families.    They print two to a page (double-sided) and are meant to make learning the gospel together a little more fun.   Word searches (like in this week's activity sheet) are always a favorite in my ward, and adults and teens will often seek them out. 

FUN TEACHING IDEA:   
Villains to Heroes / Repentance Activity:  

NEED:  post-it notes with different villains from  pop-culture listed on each one, tape
Some examples of possible villains to use {make sure to use villains your age group should be familiar with}:   Ursula (from Little Mermaid), Darth Vader (from Star Wars), Scar (from Lion King), Wicked Stepmother (from Cinderella), Thanos (from Marvel), Voldemort (from Harry Potter), Hans (from Frozen), Gaston (from Beauty and the Beast)

HOW TO TEACH:  tape a post-it note with a villain on everyone's back.  Give them 3ish minutes to go around and ask questions of the other students and see if they can guess the villain.

After all the villains have been guessed, pick a couple of the people and ask them to tell  a very quick alternate ending to the story of their villain if they had learned of Christ,repented, and  experienced the same kind of change of heart that Paul had.  For example, Ursula would have felt compassion on all the mermaids she'd hurt, restored them to their families, and gone around helping mermaids the rest of her life.   Have fun with it.  

After a couple minutes of this, make sure to bring the focus back to Paul and the remarkable changes he'd made.  He really had been a villain to the Christians, but because of his repentance and relationship with Christ, he was able to become a hero instead.    Make sure to emphasize that it's through Christ that we can repent and have second and third and fourth and so on chances when we make mistakes.   Repentance is a beautiful gift.

QUOTE:   

"The truth is, those who diligently seek to learn of Christ eventually will come to know Him. They will personally receive a divine portrait of the Master, although it most often comes in the form of a puzzle—one piece at a time. Each individual piece may not be easily recognizable by itself; it may not be clear how it relates to the whole. Each piece helps us to see the big picture a little more clearly. Eventually, after enough pieces have been put together, we recognize the grand beauty of it all. Then, looking back on our experience, we see that the Savior had indeed come to be with us—not all at once but quietly, gently, almost unnoticed.  This can be our experience if we move forward with faith and do not wait too long on the road to Damascus."  Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Waiting on the Road to Damascus," April 2011

VIDEOS:  

Repentance:  A Joyful Choice   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvrVP95BnUk
 

 Acts 22:  The Road to Damascus:  Paul Takes His Journey  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPlez-rwhKY

Paul A Chosen Vessel:  https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2012-06-1980-paul-a-chosen-vessel?lang=eng

Waiting On Our Road to Damascus  https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2012-01-0003-waiting-on-our-road-to-damascus?lang=eng

HAVE FUN LEARNING THE GOSPEL TOGETHER!!!!