Lesson 14: Chastity & Purity

Lesson 14: Chastity & Purity

"Chastity is the most unpopular of the Christian virtues." -- C.S. Lewis

Is it realistic to think that chastity (the state or practice of refraining from extramarital or especially from all, sexual intercourse) is possible in today's society? It certainly is! Nowadays, you're told that it's not possible. Mostly everyone you know first had kids and possibly are now married. Premarital sex can actually destabilize marriages. If you have self-control before you're married, how do you think this can help once you're already married? Premarital sex is dangerous as it can damage your relationships, judgement, family, and your body. Today's world has forgotten about the beauty of God's plan. Two people together who are committed for life. Remember that there's no sexual relationship approved by God outside of marriage. 

Please do the following assignment and return to me by email.

Honor God with Your Body 

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 

1. How have you seen people flee from sexual impurity? 

2. How might you see yourself fleeing from sexual impurity? 

3. Why do you feel the Bible says “the man who sins sexually sins against his own body”? 

4. What do you think the Scripture means when it says “you are not your own, you are bought at a price”? 

5. How might this affect the way you live your life, particularly physically? 

Renewing Your Mind for Good 

Romans 12:1-2 

1.What do you think it means to be a “living sacrifice”? 

2. How have you seen people conforming to the pattern of this world? 

3. How have you seen people not conforming to the pattern of this world? 

4. What do you think renewing your mind has to do with the things you think about? (See Philippians 4:8-9) 

Turning Your Eyes From Worthless Things 

Matthew 6:22-23

1. What do you think God cares about this? 

2. How does what you see feed what your brain thinks about? What are ways this can be good or bad? 

3. What are some things you can do to be more in control over the things you look at? 

Guarding Your Heart Above All Else 

Proverbs 4:23 

1. When a soldier does “guard-duty,” what does he or she have to do? 

2. What do you feel it means to “guard your heart”? 

3. What should “guarding our hearts” look like in real life? 

4. Why is it hard to “guard our hearts?” 

5. How can God help us to “guard our hearts?” 

Source: homeword.com

Lesson 13: Homosexuality

Lesson 13: Homosexuality

You may have already encountered some of your classmates expressing negatively in regards to Christianity. The Barna group found that  young people think that Christians show “excessive contempt and unloving attitudes towards gays and lesbians.” 91% of young non-Christians and 80% of young churchgoers think Christianity is “anti-homosexual.” You may have felt at times in a decision between your faith and friends. Maybe you’ve felt this way because you don’t know how to respond or don’t want to be the strange one among your group of friends.

Read 1 Peter 3:15. We’re instructed to always be prepared with a gentle and respectful answer whenever we are asked about our faith or our Christian perspective. As Christians we cannot be involved in quarrels. It’s not our goal to win a debate. It’s always our goal to reflect our Lord Jesus Christ. We are to be wise, astute, perceptive as the snake and innocent as the dove (Mt. 10:16).

Before we can present an answer, we must understand and have total conviction of what the Bible teaches us regarding homosexuality. Follow the link below to read an article titled, A Biblical View on Homosexuality.

https://douglasgroothuis.com/2014/07/10/a-biblical-view-on-homosexuality/

Also read the article below,

http://www.dayofdialogue.com/2011/01/13/gods-design-for-sexuality/

The Bible teaches us that male and female were created by God (Gen. 1:27). While different, complementary. He created them for one another. From the very beginning and Jesus goes back to the beginning when he teaches about the types of marital relationships that should exists between a male and female (Mt. 19:1-12). There is no gray areas for whether marriage or a union should be between a male-male or female-female.

Now view the video below.

In addition to founding our beliefs on the Bible, you may also consider the natural law, the common good, and public health. Below’s a suggestion on how you can respond to someone who has an opposing viewpoint:

1. Re-state your statements with questions. I’m curious to know your thoughts on this. Can you tell me why you think if something is genetic, it must be right?
2. If someone makes a claim, it’s their job to defend it, not yours to refute. We shouldn’t do all the work for them. Ask them how they came to that conclusion or to provide reasons for thinking that’s true.
3. Treat homosexuals the way you would anyone else who is without Christ.
4. Make a long-term difference. Sometimes we focus on trying to change or stop a person’s sinful life, instead of first treating them like a person without Christ in their life. It will not be us changing them. However, we do have a responsibility to announce Christ in our life.

Source: Apologetics for a New Generation

EVALUATION: Write a response as to what impacted you the most about this lesson, what you learned, and how you plan to apply it to your life? Send it to me by email or text message.

Lesson 12: The Origin of Races

Write a four paragraph essay explaining the reason there are different races and send to me by email. Additional research may be required. Please cite your sources.

Lesson 11: Evolution

Lesson 11: Evolution

You've briefly been introduced to the topic of evolution from a biblical perspective. As a reminder, evolution can be defined as a simple form, that over a period of time, develops into a complex life form. This same definition can be used to describe macroevolution. For example, an ameba gradually becoming a human.

We don’t question microevolution, which are those variations occurring within a species or subspecies. In microevolution, a bird’s beak may change in length or a butterfly may change in color, but nothing new comes into being.

Creationism is a legitimate scientific concept. Creationism teaches us the spontaneous existence of a complex life form. This is the truth that we have a Creator or architect that created and designed all.

It’s important to understand that both of these arguments concern not only scientists and the religious. This transcends into other sectors such as educators, politicians and entire communities, as they need to determine what should be taught in schools, what laws to enact...evolution, creationism, or both. The press also becomes involved as it tries to cover both sides of the spectrum. This subject should also concern you. I’m certain you’ve already asked, where did I come from and why am I here. At this moment, maybe you’re trying to determine who you are, what you want to do with your life. If you haven’t, most certainly you will in the future. Remember that the Bible does not teach us that we came from an ameba or any other simple form. God formed you and breathed the breath of life into you.

In you considering the above mentioned questions, consider how the theory of evolution doesn’t rely on solid arguments.

1. The Law of Biogenesis is attributed to Louis Pasteur and is widely accepted. This law basically states that complex living things come from other complex living things by reproduction. Have you ever heard of a scientist developing a complex life form from a simple one? NO! We know that life currently emerges from a pre existing one. Did God not say to Adam and Eve to reproduce?
2. Let’s consider Darwin’s idea of “natural selection” or the “survival of the fittest.” This idea tells us that a living thing will try to get rid of all the bad variations and try to keep all the good ones to survive. For example, take a horse that has long legs, allowing it to run faster, then we can say that it can easily escape predators. This ability would allow it to survive. These are the good variations that the horse would try to keep to maintain it alive. However, this idea doesn’t explain HOW different life forms were created or HOW these species came to adapt. We can’t rely or be led to believe an idea that’s easily lacking.
3. Finally, consider the science of genetics. While a fairly new science, the genetic code is now universal. This code is always copied exactly the same way. There are VERY rare instances when this code isn’t copied exactly the same way and 99% of the time they’re harmful to the living form. This works against evolution as it believes that mutations or alterations must happen to form a complex living thing. The genetic code cannot be altered as it can have major, harmful consequences.

Take a look at the table below to review evolution and creationism.

Evolution	Creationism
Everything came into existence randomly, without any supernatural explanation. Every living thing came to be from a simple cell organism, like an amino acid or protein.	A Creator or architect created and designed all. The universe has been designed by a Creator. Creation is deliberate.

Link to Quiz: https://form.jotform.us/72310495422147