Session 2: Remembered
Suggested Week of Use: September 8, 2019
Core Passages: Ephesians 1:15-23
News Story Summary
The Amazon rainforest fire in Brazil has burned throughout the month of August. The program director of Amazon Watch Christian Poirier said, “The vast majority of these fires are human-lit” by farmers and ranchers who use fire to clear land for a small-scale agricultural practice or for a mechanized and modern agribusiness project. Alberto Setzer, a senior scientist at the space research center (INPE), said that the number of fires at the rainforest are 80% higher than last year. This year’s rainforest fire is so large and has spread so quickly that it can spell disaster for the local environment and ecology. It can decrease oxygen and increase carbon levels worldwide.
(For more on this story, search the Internet using the phrase “Amazon rainforest fire cause.”)
Focus Attention
To supplement the Welcome idea under Focus Attention, explain that some effects can be devastating on a large scale. Share the news story summary about the Amazon rainforest fire in Brazil. Ask: What are the cause and effect patterns embedded in this story? (The farmers and ranchers caused the fire; the fire can cause environmental and ecological disasters) Why is it important to identify the cause and effect? Complete the step as written.
Challenge
To replace the Review idea under Summarize and Challenge, begin by reminding the group of the news summary. Share that the Amazon rainforest fire became a powerful force that has had an effect on the landscape and possibly the world. Explain that Paul prayed the Ephesian believers would realize the effect salvation through Christ had in their daily lives. Ask: How can we foster a spiritual fire in our hearts that will have an effect on our daily lives? What difference would it make in our prayer lives and the world around us? Complete the step as written.