All Issues articles – Page 25
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IssuesNew heaven, new Earth: Session 4
Meeting aim:To look at how God is going to make everything new again.
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IssuesFirst Word - December 2017
Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year. Chestnuts are roasting on an open fire, there’s a sparkling white sheet of snow covering rolling hills and that product we’ve coveted all year is waiting for us under the tree.
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IssuesThe early Church: Session 2
Meeting aim:To discover how the early Church met together and reached out to others.
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IssuesThe early Church: Session 2
Meeting aim: To see the way the early Church lived and worshipped together.
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IssuesCall for under-18s’ records to be wiped
I am joining MPs in calling for a ‘relaxation’ to the law around the disclosure of childhood convictions. Currently, unless specified, these do not have to be divulged once the convictions have been spent. But this isn’t enough.
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IssuesAscension and Pentecost: Session 1
Meeting aim: To discover who the Holy Spirit is and how he helps us.
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IssuesGood Friday: Session 3
Meeting aim: To listen to the whole story of Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion and burial (with some omissions) so that the children can see how it all fits together.
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IssuesJesus teaches: Session 2
Meeting aim: To connect the children with the story of Jesus’ last meal with his friends, which every church celebrates regularly, although children may or may not be participants.
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IssuesGames: Small-group games
These games are great to play either in a small-group setting or in a large group, competing as small groups. All of them act as brilliant team-builders, giving each individual in the group a time to bond, become better accustomed to each other’s strengths and cheer one another on in the process! Most of these games require little to no resources, making them perfect to play with children and young people.
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IssuesYCW Investigates: Religious education
Across society, you won’t find many calling for an end to the teaching of religious education in schools. Even renowned atheist Richard Dawkins once said: “I don’t think religious education should be abolished. I think it is an important part of our culture to know about the Bible, after all so much of English literature has allusions to the Bible.”
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Issues
Gardner’s World: Dream on
Have you ever heard someone talk about that moment when they are suddenly reminded of why they do what they do? In my experience, it is always told with a wistful smile and a faraway look in the eye, pointing to the idea that when you remember why it is that you do what you do, you feel nice.
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IssuesIf ‘God is love’, why are there so many natural disasters?
Recently, we’ve seen hurricanes annihilate towns, earthquakes devastate communities and floods kill thousands across the world. Even for hardcore believers, these heartbreaking circumstances raise questions about the goodness of God. Surely someone so ‘loving’ wouldn’t allow such awful things to happen?
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IssuesCulture: Hope
Taylor Swift is returning! The new Marvel movie is, in fact, all about Jesus and young people. What’s Kanye been up to recently? Oh! The Star wars trailer, we should talk about that… The apprentice is still bad… So much culture to talk about, so little to say.
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IssuesMentoring: Creating robots
I recently trained to be a full-time firefighter. The training was hard but they ingrained one thing into us: they are not trying to create robots who just follow orders, but crews who think for themselves and use their skills as each incident requires. It’s not enough to go through the motions - that could kill you. Something about that resonated with me regarding mentoring.
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IssuesTidings of comfort and joy
Christmas is coming and our inboxes are probably filling up with numerous suggestions of how to make the Nativity story relevant for our children and young people. But how can we reach beyond our church walls this Christmas? Emily Howarth explores some activities and projects we can encourage our groups to get involved in
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IssuesCast your cares
Recent research suggests that as many as one in six young people will experience an anxiety condition at some point in their lives. Liz Edge looks at how we can encourage the children and young people in our groups to talk about these issues and seek help where they need it
