News to Use: A High School Discussion

Why I Chose the Church

Teachers:  Distribute the following essay to students or have it on their desks when they come in as an opening exercise. Ask them to read the essay. Have them explore questions in small groups or as a class. Direct students to the St. Nersess website for more information on preparing for ministry.

Why I Chose the Church (PDF FILE) Essay by Daron Bolat

Be familiar with the ‘Digging Deeper” passages beforehand. Some notes as a guide:

1) Moses: He came up with several different reasons why he didn’t feel he could do what God asked of him (Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh? They will ask him who sent me, they will not believe me, I am not eloquent).  For each one God responded and supports him in some way.  God does not ask him to do something and just leaves to figure out how, or without help

Mary:  Mary is initially scared and confused and questions Gabriel.  But then she says “Let it be according to your will” She gladly submitted to the Will of God and does whatever is asked of her. 

Paul: Paul had been persecuting Christians very heavily.  After Jesus appears to him, he immediately does what is asked of him, and goes on to become one of the most important leaders of the church. 

2) Each of us has gifts given to us by God that we can use to serve him.  These can include anything from having a good voice and singing in the choir; to teaching Sunday school; to serving the needy.  It is important to know that we all have gifts, even if they may not be very apparent to us.  And whatever gifts we have, we can all serve.

3) Whatever we serve and motivates our decisions becomes our master.  This could be God, it could also be our friends, the culture, MTV.  Whatever our master (Lord) is, that is what we serve.  It is very important we have the right things motivate our actions and what we do. 

A Reflection for Sunday of the World Church: April 30

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus to be born again: John 2:23-3:12

In this Gospel reading from the Armenian Church lectionary, the evangelist John has already shared with us the accounts of our Lord’s baptism, His calling of the Twelve, the miracle at the wedding of Cana and His vigorous clearing of the Temple. Having witnessed or heard of these wonderful things, many people were beginning to express their belief in Him. But they had so much to learn!

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a teacher and in a gesture of humility, comes to Jesus to learn more. This alone can serve as a lesson to all of us—that no matter how learned or how sure of our faith, we still need to draw close to our Lord and open our hearts to more understanding.

The Kingdom of God is not an easy thing to understand. Jesus spends most of His earthly ministry trying to describe it in parable and in action. Here, He is as vivid as always: to enter the Kingdom of God, you must be born again. Is this a physical rebirth? asks Nicodemus. No, a spiritual rebirth through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is Jesus’ repeated message: access to the Kingdom is not a birthright, neither national nor ethnic, not the privilege of the Pharisee or for that matter, a voting member of the Armenian Church. It is personal and spiritual in nature, a gift from God you can no better describe or predict than your own physical birth. Being born again is not a moment in time, but a change of heart.

• What is so significant about Nicodemus’ coming to Jesus?
• Why does Jesus compare spiritual rebirth to the wind?
• What is paradoxical about Nicodemus’ confusion?
• Where do you think you are right now in this process of spiritual birth?

Teachers: If you are using these questions in class as a reflection, below are some important points to think about.

1. As a Pharisee and a respected elder, he could have felt “too important” to approach Jesus

2. It cannot be predicted, its source cannot be identified, but it is felt

3. He is supposed to be a teacher, one of those expected to understand, but does not

Download NICODEMUS (PDF FILE)