Real Time Faith Lessons: L6-3Q

Sabbath Afternoon

GOD SPEAKS BOTH LANGUAGES

(What connection do you think the following illustration has with the Bible texts in Wednesday’s section?)

“What are you talking about?” Tim was 15 years old and had just started “dating.” (Of course, this “dating” consisted primarily of talking on the phone and telling his girlfriend that he really, really liked her—as she did him.) One particular time when Tim’s girlfriend was telling him about her day, in the greatest detail, he sort of—well—fell asleep on the phone with her. You can imagine how upset she was when she found out that he had been sleeping. How had she found out? He had started to snore! He tried to explain to her that he didn’t need to hear about her day in quite so much detail, but she just couldn’t understand it at all. John Gray wrote a book called Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. In this book Gray sets up the idea that men and women, or guys and girls, speak a different language from one another. Anyone who has had Tim’s and his girlfriend’s experience can probably testify that this is a pretty valid idea. However, a Christian can add something to the title. “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, but God speaks both languages!” While none of you are planning marriage any time soon, here is some advice: God can help you understand the other gender! Why would He want to do that? Simply because God loves it when people communicate, and especially when they get around to communicating about Him and His love for them. When you begin to look for that person with whom you would like to spend a great deal of time, it is important that the relationship with God that you both have be a prominent part of your relationship. In fact, some really good advice is that you should be able to pray with the person with whom you want to have a long-lasting relationship. It probably won’t solve all the miscommunications, but it surely will help!

Key Text: Choose one of the texts from Wednesday’s section of the lesson. Write it here and memorize it this week.

Sunday

HERE’S WHAT I THINK

First, think about how girls would react to this situation. Then think how a group of guys would react: You’re sitting in class, and your friend (of the same gender) walks in. You know they have been talking with their boyfriend/girlfriend. They are visibly upset, red eyes, splotchy face, etc. You are concerned, and you look to your group of friends who are all around you. Since the teacher has not yet entered into the classroom, you have some time to react. You are a girl; what do you do? You are a guy; what do you do?
It will be interesting to see if the answers are the same for both.
Log on to www.guidemagazine.org/rtf to post your responses. Be upfront and honest. Say what you think.

Monday

WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO SAY?

Different people, different opinions. Some of the quotations below represent the views of true kingdom citizens; others may not. Can you tell the difference? How do these statements compare with what God is saying in His Word? After reviewing the texts in the God Says . . . section of the lesson, write a statement that captures your belief. Be prepared to quote yourself at Sabbath School.

“Girls we love for what they are; men for what they promise to be.” —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 18th-19th-century German writer, scientist, and philosopher.
“It is a known fact that men are practical, hardheaded realists, in contrast to women, who are romantic dreamers and actually believe that estrogenic skin cream must do something or they couldn’t charge sixteen dollars for that little tiny jar.”—Jane Goodsell, U.S. American author.
“If God wanted women to understand men, football would never have been created.”—Seen on a bumper sticker.
“Why are women so much more interesting to men than men are to women?”—Virginia Woolf, 20th-century British author.
“Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough but not baked in the same oven.”—Yiddish proverb.
“Men always want to be a woman’s first love—women like to be a man’s last romance.”—Oscar Wilde, 19th-century Irish author.

Write your own quotation. What I say is . . .

Tuesday

SO WHAT?

Don’t you just love that question? The reason that this topic matters is that you are coming to a time in your life when you have to make decisions concerning what you want out of your relationships with other people, male or female. God has set some boundaries that can guide us when it comes to relationships with the other gender. Not only this, but it is also important to try to understand the differences God created in guys and girls. These differences not only make us sometimes difficult for each other, but they also make us curious about each other. Cultivating great friendships is a fun thing to do, and it also helps us when we decide to become closer with someone of the other gender!
Your job in the next few years is to begin to create an idea of what you are looking for in someone you will choose to spend your life with. The more you understand the differences between guys and girls, the better off you will be when you begin that long search of finding someone whom you can truly understand and who can understand you.

Wednesday

GOD SAYS . . .

Genesis 1:26 (NIV)

“God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’”

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 4:24 (NIV)

“And to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Genesis 5:2 (NIV)

“He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them ‘Mankind’ when they were created.”

1 Corinthians 11:12 (NIV)

“For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.”

Thursday

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ME?

Where are you when it comes to relationships with the other gender? Are you interested? too busy? annoyed? Remember, as you head into your teen years, while there is no perfect time to begin to date (although later is better than sooner), but the time is always perfect for learning about what makes the other gender tick! The truth is, we are all created in God’s image, and He loves each one of us, regardless of what gender we are. In fact, He’s the one who made us who we are!

Friday

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Text, phone or chat with two people, one guy and one girl, and ask them each the following questions. Make sure to write down their responses in the space given so you have a great view of the differences between guys and girls.

1. What is your favorite type of video?