Learning for Life

LEARNING FOR LIFE!

CONNECT - for mid-week/Home League groups

Education Session - Personal Journey

The importance of life-long learning.

Summary

Share childhood hopes and dreams
Learn about an education sponsorship project or a Salvation Army school overseas
Lets intentionally learn from Jesus, a pattern shaped by the faith and love we have in him

Ask members to bring a school photo of themselves, and be prepared to talk about their dreams at that age
Gather some information about Salvation Army schools overseas (eg some past Self Denial videos contain school projects)
Collect some information about child sponsorship, for example Compassion UK or World Vision UK
Prepare a display of ‘new skills’ people could learn, for example handicrafts like knitting or card making, natural or factual history books, computer courses …
Provide a range of pens/pencils for members to annotate/decorate a Bible verse

Additional resource

Bible verses

Anyone with children or grandchildren will know how important education is. Certain points of the school year impact on the whole family, as anyone supporting young people through GCSEs, SATs or getting everything ready for a new school year can testify. This is because education as the accumulation of knowledge is not the whole picture, but the school experience contains a whole bunch of other learning, personal development and confidence building opportunities.

Many youngsters spent nearly two years learning virtually due to Covid lockdowns. For some, in terms of school attendance, they jumped from year 7 (the first year of secondary school), to year 10, the start of exam preparation. However, despite being disadvantages in one important sense, there was still learning, personal development and confidence building opportunities, not least from Salvation Army churches using creative ways to stay connected.

Surely all this tells us that the whole of life is about learning, and learning doesn’t end when we leave school. We can all be intentional in learning something new. It doesn’t have to be a crazy idea to embark on a PhD at 56, but the whole of life, even the curveballs that interrupt our plans, teach us new things all the time. New experiences, things that make us think and stretch our minds, things that make us angry or upset and help us process our personal politics and values are all opportunities for personal development and confidence building.

Recognising these are all opportunities to live

'life in all its fullness’

(as Jesus said in John 10 GNT), we also need to think about those people in our world who are denied opportunity to learn, develop and to reach their potential. Those with early life trauma which can lead to addiction, children who can’t afford to go to school, girls denied education because of their country’s regime and of course the thousands of children displaced by war and injustice.

So today is an opportunity to celebrate learning, challenge ourselves to learn something new, and pray for the young people in our lives and world.

Ask members to share a school photograph of themselves and encourage them to talk about their hopes and dreams at that age.

CHALLENGE

Discuss with the group the latest new skill they have learned. How easy was it? What helped? How did it feel to accomplish it?

Challenge your group to think about a new skill they could learn or an interesting subject to read about. Who can help them learn? Think about what they could learn from a family member or friend and ask them to teach it. Or perhaps someone in your group could help too? Get your group excited about the challenge of learning something new!

SERVE

Learn about some charitable education projects overseas. For example, show a video of a Salvation Army school overseas featured in a Self-Denial video or share some statistics or videos from an education charity like Compassion UK or World Vision UK.

Fundraise

Consider a fundraiser for a Salvation Army school overseas, or child sponsorship to ensure a child living in poverty receives an education.

Prayer

Spend some time praying in response to the situations your group has been learning about.

QUIZ

UK and Ireland universities

Which is the oldest university in the UK and Ireland?

Oxford – considered the oldest in the English-speaking world, founded in 1096
Where is the UK’s most northerly university, known as the University of the Highlands and Islands?

Inverness
Which two universities contest an annual boat race on the River Thames?

Oxford and Cambridge
Where is the Royal Northern College of Music located?

Manchester
At which university did Prince William and Kate Middleton meet?

St Andrews
Where is Yorkshire’s main university, and one of the largest in the UK?

Leeds
How many universities are there in Northern Ireland?

Three – two in Belfast, one in Ulster
Which university has the largest enrolment – more than three times larger than any other university?

The Open University
What degree do the letters BSc after a person’s name signify?

Bachelor of Science
In which city is the University of Northumbria located?

Newcastle
What is the oldest university in Ireland, has the country’s largest library and houses the Book of Kells?

Trinity College, Dublin – founded in 1592
Which is the nearest university to the Isle of Wight?

Portsmouth is nearest due to shorter ferry crossing, but as the crow flies Southampton is nearer
Which of these are genuine courses you could study, at some point, at university?

a) Feel the force: How to train in the Jedi Way

Yes – Queens’s University Belfast

b) The zombie apocalypse! The rise of zombies

Yes – University of Winchester

c) Tournament Golf

Yes – Cornwall College
Which Welsh university was funded by quarrymen and farmers and started with 58 students in an old coaching inn but now the students often outnumber the locals?

University of Bangor
Which university did Winston Churchill attend?

Although he currently holds the record for the most honorary degrees from Britain, Europe and the US, Churchill did not actually go to University

‘Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me … a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus.’

(2 Timothy 1:13 NLT)

The Bible teaches us we are shaped by what we learn – and also who we learn from. Jesus is our pattern for living.

A few years ago WWJD bracelets were popular. Standing for ‘What Would Jesus Do’, the idea was the bracelet was a constant reminder of who helps us make God-honouring decisions in our lives. When we hold on to the teaching about God we learn at church, from our Bibles, or from the values in Christian community groups we belong to, that learning is able to impact our lives.

Our pattern for living also influences others. Others learn from us, look to us as an example. The children and young people in our lives, trying to navigate their way in the world look to us for guidance. If our ongoing learning is not being shaped by the example of Jesus, we risk others learning unwholesome attitudes from us.

As we continue to learn, which we will do naturally, let us intentionally learn from Jesus, a pattern shaped by the faith and love we have in him.

REFLECT

Share the following Bible verses. You may wish to give members a Bible verse sheet of the verse that resonates the most with them, to annotate/decorate or to write a prayer around it.

‘As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should! Let praise flow from my lips, for you have taught me your decrees.’

(Psalm 119:7,171 NLT)

‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.’

(Matthew 11:28-29 NIV)

‘The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.’

(John 14:26 NIV)

‘Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth!

Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honour you.’

(Psalm 86:11 NLT)