I have recently been asked and accepted teaching Sunday School for the teenagers in our church.  Pray for me and them.  What I would like to do here is to use this as my lesson plan.  It is my prayer that you as well as my self and my class can apply what we learn to our daily lives.  I would greatly love any feed back or suggestions you might have as this is a new experience for me.  So without future ado......

The quarter will be based upon 1 John and Philippians.  1 John is about assurance and Philippians is about how Jesus is the way and the joy we have in a relationship with Him. 

Our first lesson is taken from 1 John 1:1-7, titled Walking in the Light. 



Let us first look at who John is.  John wrote five books of the New Testament:

the Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3rd John and the Revelation.   He was also know as the disciple that Jesus loved.  Jesus nicknamed him as one of the "Sons of Thunder."  He was a fisherman before Jesus called him as one of His chosen twelve.  He was an eye witness to Jesus Christ. 

That being said, John starts out defending and affirming why he and the other apostles(and we) believed that Jesus is the Light.  Jesus is and was God in the beginning of time.  Jesus is and was God in the flesh.  Jesus was seen, heard and touched by John.  John listened, worked and watched as Jesus fulfilled God's plan on this earth.  John watched Jesus heal and save physically and spiritually those who came to Him.  John watched the people in question, those who believed and those who refused to believe upon Jesus. 

John shows us that the object of our faith and hope is Jesus and that Jesus is the rope that ties us to God.  John says that God is light.  God shed's light on us revealing what is sinful and what is right in us.  God is light, in Him is no darkness.  God is holy.  God is beautiful and there is absolute excellence in Him.  God never changes.  God's light reveals our sin and our need of a One who would save us from ourselves.  God's Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin so that we may turn to God for forgiveness and fellowship with God for eternity.  In the beginning when God created Adam and Eve there was fellowship till man broke that fellowship in sin.  God does not fellowship with those who do not choose Him. God made Adam and Eve leave the garden in Eden.  God still loved His creation but God is holy and thus He cannot have fellowship with unholy people.   He does call to them for that fellowship but He will not force Himself upon us.  God made a way for mankind to be able to fellowship with Him like it was in the beginning.  God gave His Son Jesus Christ to take our place.  Jesus shed His blood for us so that we might appear before God holy and blameless.  When we believe Jesus and accept that His blood paid for our sin and when we confess and ask Him to come be our Lord and Savior then we will have fellowship with God.  It is then that God's light shines through us.  There is joy then with others who are letting God's light shine in their own lives.  When we deny ourselves and let God's Holy Spirit live in us we shine so that others might be drawn to God through Jesus.  This joy is a blessing and a gift when we walk in God's light. 

I thought about adding some stories of authors of some hymns who buy God's grace and light they were able to overcome some great odds to bring Him honor and glory by letting His light shine through them.  One such author would be Fanny Crosby. 

I also though as an activity to let them compose a poem or song showing God's light.