Learning to BEE Like Dorcas

It's banquet night and I had one of their guest teachers (who is very talented in this area) make each girl a corsage to wear.  
I had the girls meet me in the classroom before our guests arrived and I pined their corsages on them, went over there last minute questions and tried to calm their jittery nerves.

Our guests arrived and the banquest started.  The girls did amazing in their presentations, I was amazed at how much they had learned about Dorcas.

The girls presented the 2 guest teachers they had had with a gift, got to open the prizes they had been earning and had refreshments while we invited our guests to look through the things on the table ...

Not all the girls finished their embrodiery work, but that was okay too.  The goal was for the girls too learn about Dorcas and about how they could BEE like her.  I feel like we succeeded!

I simply loved teaching this class and would do it again in a heartbeat!

I have tried to give you a glimpse of what we did, if you have any questions, please feel free to asked.

I taught a teenage girls Bible class for 8 years and have lots more material that I'll share at a later date.  

patsy
She Hath Done What She Could

Learning to BEE Like Dorcas

Weeks 10 - 12 (I was back in town.) found us preparing for our our upcoming banquet.  We made invitations for the girls to hand deliver to their mothers and grandmothers inviting them to the banquet.   We also gave invitations to our two guest speakers.  

In addition, each girl was to prepare a 2 - 3 minute presentation on Dorcas to give at the banquet and that's what we worked on during the 3 week period of time that remained in the series.  

patsy
She Hath Done What She Could

Learning to BEE Like Dorcas

Week 9 I was still out of town so the girls had another guest teacher (I knew I was going to be out of town during this time so I arranged ahead of time to have the guest teachers.)

Our guest teacher started working with the girls on our upcoming banquet.  The girls made these utensil holders ... yes they did the sewing by hand in class ...

patsy
She Hath Done What She Could

Learning to BEE Like Dorcas

Week 8 found me out of town so I left the girls in capable hands ... a guest teacher!  

Our guest teacher guided them on making cards to send out to the sick in our congregation ... they were learning to reach out to others ... like Dorcas!

patsy
She Hath Done What She Could

Learning to BEE Like Dorcas

Lessons 6 and 7 found us reviewing previous lessons, working on our ABC memory verses and scrapbooking. Yes, that’s right scrapbooking. I had been taking pictures all along so we took a couple of weeks and put them into a scrapbook. I let the girls do the scrapbooking themselves.  What fun they had with this!

And what did we do while the girl's scrapbooked?  We talked of course ... about whatever they wanted to talk about!  I did a lot of listening and they did a lot of sharing.  Sometimes it was biblical issues they wanted to talk about and sometimes it was teenage girl kind of drama stuff.  We spent 2 class periods doing this ... and the girls loved it!

patsy
She Hath Done What She Could

Learning to BEE Like Dorcas

By patsy norwood © 2008 - 2017 All Rights Reserved

Lessons 5 

Lesson 5 found us looking at the words influence and example. We talked about what each meant and about Dorcas’ influence and example. Then we applied it to their lives and talked about the influence they had, the power of their influence, and the importance of knowing that their/our influence affects those they/we associate with.

patsy

She Hath Done What She Could

Learning to BEE Like Dorcas

By patsy norwood ~ © 2008 - 2017 ~ All Rights Reserved

Lesson 4

After reviewing previous lessons we delved into lesson 4 which was based on Dorcas’ death. We talked about how the dead were cared for in Bible times verses how the dead are cared for in today’s times which came as a result of ‘Dorcas’ body being laid in the upper room.’ In the midst of our discussion one of the girls said she needed to ask me a Bible question later. Well ladies, if the girls want to discuss Bible we are going to discuss Bible even if it is in the middle of a Bible lesson, so we stopped our lesson on Dorcas and addressed her question. She made the statement that in a discussion with one of her friends she had been asked if she was going to the prom this year and she had said no. When asked why, she stated that the Bible taught that the type of dancing that went on at proms was wrong. The friend, of course, wanted to know where in the Bible it said that. That was my student’s question, where in the Bible does it say dancing of this nature is wrong. I was overjoyed with my student’s response and willingness to be different and was more than willing to arm her with the knowledge she needed to carry an answer back to her friend. We started at …

I Peter 4:1-4 (NKJV)
Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles – when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking, parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.

After reading these Scriptures I asked if she/they heard the word dancing anywhere in the reading and she/they correctly answered, ‘no.’ I told them they were right and then directed them to look at the word ‘revelries’ in verse 3.

Definition of revelries …
An occasion or course of noisy festivity with dancing and other forms of entertainment

We then turned to Galatians 5:19-21 (NKJV)

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you before hand, just as I also told you in time past that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Here again I noted to them that we don’t find the word ‘dancing’ but what we do find is the word lewdness (some translations use lasciviousness) in verse 19.

Lewdness/lasciviousness
Wanton acts or manners; indecent bodily movements, unchaste handling of males and females

I then asked the class if any of those behaviors occurred at a prom and they all agreed that they did.

We turned to one more Scripture found in Romans 13:13 …

Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

I explained to the class that I didn’t write the Bible, that this teaching did not originate with me, but came from God’s word and that sometimes being a Christian meant that we would be different.

She then had another question … What passages of Scripture would be good to read during the partaking of the Lord’s Supper each week? Ladies, my heart soared with joy, these girls were listening even when I thought they might not have been! I explained to her that all the Scriptures were good ones to read during the Lord’s Supper then I shared with her what I do. I open my Bible wherever it might open and start reading quietly to myself and continuing reading until the Lord’s Supper is completed. I explained to her that by reading God’s Word during the Lord’s Supper it keeps my mind focused on Jesus and the tremendous sacrifice He made for me, for mankind. I also explained to the class that I am human just like everyone else and that if I don’t do this I find my mind wondering about things such as lunch, the many things I need to do at home, etc.

This young lady left class that night with Bible facts straight from God’s word to help her help others and to help fortify the choices she is making. From a teacher's point of view, it just doesn't get any better than that!

patsy
She Hath Done What She Could

Learning to BEE Like Dorcas

By patsy norwood © 2008 - 2017 All Rights Reserved

Lesson 3

In lesson 3 the girls were well on their way in their stitching projects had the needle ‘stick’ marks on their fingers to prove it.

Our spiritual lesson centered around Acts 9:36 and the fact that Dorcas was full of good works and charitable deeds. We spent a good portion of the lesson discussing what constituted good works and charitable deeds and our motives behind them. We also talked about what type of things each of them, as teenage girls, could do that would fall under this category.

And of course we checked their homework assignments, continued to work on our ABC memory verses, stitched some more, talked - talked - talked, and closed out the class in a circle of prayer.

patsy
She Hath Done What She Could

Learning to BEE Like Dorcas

I have searched and searched for the pattern I used for the teenage girls to embrodery on their pillow cases as part of the 'Dorcas' class, and  can't find it.  However, this one is very similiar!  

Each girl in the class traced the design onto their pillowcase and then started the embrodery work. We set aside about 15 minutes of each class period for them to work on their projects.  The girls were not allowed to take them home until after the banquet.

patsy
She Hath Done What She Could

Learning to BEE Like Dorcas, Lesson 2

By patsy norwood © 2008 - 2017 All Rights Reserved


Lesson 2
In lesson 1 we introduced this series on Dorcas by laying the ground work and learning about the city where Dorcas lived along with the circumstances that led up to their being so many widows and orphans in Joppa.

In lesson 2 we talked about the fact that Dorcas was a disciple of Christ, what the difference was between an apostle and a disciple, and how people today become Christians. We took some time and marked in our Bibles the verses showing how the New Testament says people became/become Christians. And of course, we worked on our ABC memory verses and did some more stitching!

The pattern I used for tracing the bee onto the pillowcases that the girls embroidered will be shared later in the week.

I hope you are enjoying this series, if you have any questions feel 
free to leave them in the comments.

patsy

She Hath Done What She Could

Learning to BEE Like Dorcas, ABC Memory Verses

In this post I mentioned that I had the teenage girls work on memorizing their ABC Memory verses as part of our Learning to BEE Like Dorcas class.  Here are the ABC Memory verses I came up with from the Bible ...

ABC Memory Verses

Memorizing Scripture is an important part of studying God’s word and when faced with the challenge of getting the teenage girls to memorize God’s word I came up with what I call the ABC memory Verses. 

We started out with the letter ‘A’ and learned the phrase “Abide in ME and I in you …” John 15:4.  Each girl memorized just the selected phrase and where it was found in the Bible.  We talked in depth about what the whole verse meant and I had them to mark it in their Bibles.  Each week we added another letter and repeated the process being careful to not only discuss what the new verse meant but also to review and or have the girls tell what each of the previous verses meant.  

A         Abide in ME and I in you … John 15:4

B         Beware, lest anyone cheat you … Colossians 2:18

C         Continually earnestly in prayer …. Colossians 4:2

D         Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap … Galatians 6:7

E          Evil company corrupts good habits …  I Corinthians 15:33

F          For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil … I Timothy 6:10

G         Go therefore and make disciples …  Matthew 28:19-20

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord ...  James 4:10

I will never leave you nor forsake you … Hebrews 13:5

Jesus wept … John 11:35

K … but God knows your hearts … Luke 16:15

Love suffers long and is kind … I Corinthians 13:4

 M … blessed are the Meek … Matthew 5:5

N … and my God shall supply all your Need … Philippians 4:19

O … One Lord, one faith, one baptism … Ephesians 4:5

 P … Pray without ceasing … I Thessalonians 5:17

Q … not quarrelsome … I Timothy 3:3

 R … the righteous should choose his friends carefully … Proverbs 12:26

S … he who sows iniquity will reap sorrow … Proverbs 22:8

T … trust in the Lord with all your heart … Proverbs 3:5

U … Lord I believe, help my unbelief … Mark 9:24

V … Vengeance is mine, I will repay saith the Lord … Romans 12:19

W … Get wisdom, get understanding … Proverbs 4:5

 X …be thou an eXample …I Timothy 4:12

 Y … but let your yes be yes and your no be no … Matthew 5:37

Z … zealous for good works … Titus 2:14

The girls in the class told me that they like this way of memorizing Scripture and of course, I tried to encourage and reward them along the way.

patsy

She Hath Done What She Could

Learning to BEE Like Dorcas ... Earning Points

I talked about the point system I used with the girls in our Dorcas class in this post. Here are the ways they could earn points ...

Earn 1 point for each of the following things.  For every 5 points you earn you can choose a prize to put into your Dorcas bag.  Prizes cannot be opened or taken home until banquet night.

* Being in class

* Bringing someone with you to class

* Bringing your Bible, not a pew Bible

* Bringing completed homework sheet to class

patsy

She Hath Done What She Could

Learning to BEE Like Dorcas!

Lesson 1

Copyright 2008 - 2017.  All Rights Reserved!

by Patsy Norwood

A  couple of weeks before class began each girl received a personal invitation to our special 'summer series.'

I made the invitations out of card stock using my computer and printer. After they were printed out I cut them down using scrapbooking scissors and worked the 'ribbon' into bows in the 2 holes I had punched in the cards.

As a way of kicking off the class and welcoming each girl to the series I put together a ‘pocketbook’ of goodies made out of cardstock and jute string.

Each girl had a folder with the guidelines for earning points.  It would also hold their homework and any other activities or handouts I had for them.  Inside the folder was the bag shown in yesterday's post and would be used to keep their rewards in ... which they could not open until the night of the banquet.  The basket in the picture was were I put the rewards they could choose.

Then we opened the class with the ABC memory verses I wanted them to learn.

Next, I explained what we were going to be doing in the class and about the point system I had set up for them in which they could earn rewards.

I then had each girl take a pink highlighter and highlight Acts 9:36-42 in their Bibles. (We highlight women verses in pink. If it’s talking about any woman or women in general, it’s a woman verse.)

After that we delved into the lesson by talking about Dorcas the person, the town of Joppa where she lived, about why there were so many widows and orphans in Joppa, and about how Christianity came to Joppa. Each girl was given a homework sheet to take home about the lesson and instructions to bring it back completed the next week. (This was one way they could earn points that would go toward their reward.)

Then we broke out the needles, thread, and practice pieces of fabric. Yes, you guessed it, these young ladies were going to learn how to make basic stitches and complete a sewing project. (Now, what would a Dorcas class be without sewing!) It was so much fun watching them learn how to thread a needle, tie a knot, make the first stitch and then secure it.  I had them do a practice piece before we started on the actual project.

patsy

She Hath Done What She Could

Learning to BEE Like Dorcas

I recently had an inquiry about the series I wrote and taught on Dorcas some 8 years ago. It is a 13 week series and it was written with teenage girls in mind ... which was one of the Bible classes I was teaching at the time.

For the next several days I will be sharing this series and what we did.  I still remember how much fun I had teaching this class and how much the girls enjoyed it!  There were 4 teenage girls in the class and I can honestly say I'd do it all over again if given the opportunity!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I called the classes a special 'summer series.'  It took place on Wednesday nights and ran from June - August.  I titled it  'Learning to BEE like Dorcas.' In addition to a spiritual lesson each Wednesday night the girls also worked on a sewing project. I lined up a couple of guest speakers, we did a scrapbook, the girls had homework each week, they had opportunities to earn points which could be redeemed for small gifts and we closed out the series with a special banquet in which we invited the girl's mothers and grandmothers to be our honored guests.

These are just a few of the things I wrote and made to go with the class, we'll talk about them and much more as I share the series over the next several days.

I hope you enjoy this series and that you find it useful in your quest to either learn of God's teachings on Dorcas or to teach a teenage girl's Bible class yourself.  May God be glorified in all that we do!

patsy

She Hath Done What She Could