Piercing the Darkness of the Inner City

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Piercing the Darkness of the Inner City

• Jean Marrapodi
• Applestar Productions

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Jesus loves the little children
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All the children of the world
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Red and yellow, black and white
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They are precious in His sight
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Jesus loves the little children of the world!
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An Early City
Trivia question What is the first city mentioned
in the Bible? See Genesis 417

• Our story from Genesis 111-9

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An Early City

• Genesis 111
• At one time the whole world spoke a single
  language and used the same words. 2  As the
  people migrated eastward, they found a plain in
  the land of Babylonia and settled there. 3  They
  began to talk about construction projects.
  Come, they said, lets make great piles of
  burnt brick and collect natural asphalt to use as
  mortar.

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An Early City
4  Lets build a great city with a tower that
reaches to the skiesa monument to our greatness!
This will bring us together and keep us from
scattering all over the world.
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An Early City
5 But the Lord came down to see the city
and the tower the people were building.
6  Look! he said. If they can accomplish this
when they have just begun to take advantage of
their common language and political unity, just
think of what they will do later. Nothing will be
impossible for them! 7  Come, lets go down and
give them different languages. Then they wont be
able to understand each other.
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An Early City
8 In that way, the Lord scattered them all
over the earth and that ended the building of
the city. 9  That is why the city was called
Babel, because it was there that the Lord
confused the people by giving them many
languages, thus scattering them across the earth.
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Principles from an Early City

• Ingenuity of man working together a monument to
  our greatness
• God confuses their languages so they cannot
  understand one another, and scatters them
• People in cities today do not understand one
  another
• Racially
• Culturally
• Spiritually

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Sodom and Gomorrah

• 2 angels visiting the city
• Men of the city wanted to rape the visitors
• Lots attempt to protect them
• Lot and family removed, city destroyed
• Lots wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt

Genesis 191-16
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Principles of the City

• Mixed religious beliefs within the family
• Evil is readily accessible to the children
• Sex
• Drugs
• Alcohol
• Willingness to make out-of-character sacrifices
  to protect loved ones

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Where is the problem?

• Psalm 55  
• 9 Destroy them, Lord, and confuse their speech,
  for I see violence and strife in the city.
• 10 Its walls are patrolled day and night against
  invaders, but the real danger is wickedness
  within the city.
• 11 Murder and robbery are everywhere there
  threats and cheating are rampant in the streets.

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Where is the problem?

• Psalm 55  
• 9 Destroy them, Lord, and confuse their speech,
  for I see violence and strife in the city.
• 10 Its walls are patrolled day and night against
  invaders, but the real danger is wickedness
  within the city.
• 11 Murder and robbery are everywhere there
  threats and cheating are rampant in the streets.

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In Jesus time, people avoided Samaria

• The people of Samaria were different
• Believed differently from the Jews
• Economic differences
• Racial differences
• Cultural differences

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In our culture, we avoid parts of the city

• Boston
• Roxbury
• Dorchester
• Providence
• South Side
• Olneyville
• West End

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Like Samaria, the people of the city are viewed
differently

• Believe differently
• Economic differences
• Racial differences
• Cultural differences

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Jesus loved the Samaritans

• Woman at the well was a Samaritan
• Told the parable of the Good Samaritan, making
  the Samaritan a hero

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Jesus loves the city and its children

• Matthew 2337
• O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills
  the prophets and stones Gods messengers! How
  often I have wanted to gather your children
  together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her
  wings, but you wouldnt let me.

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Jesus welcomes all children

• Let the children come to me. Dont stop them!
  For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as
  these.
• Mathew 1914

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Jamelia

• Orphaned at 4
• Lives with aunt
• Youngest of 4
• Sweet

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Danielle

• Youngest of 5 children
• Stable home
• Attended Christian school 3 years
• Parents part of the founding of the church
• Helps in soup kitchen
• Brought Jamelia to church

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Jonathan

• From single parent home
• Mother recently saved (3 years)
• Very poor reader
• Loves cars
• Father in NY, inconsistent contact

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Louis

• Lives downstairs from Jonathan
• Very bright
• Lives with mother
• Estranged father beaten to death in a basement in
  NYC this spring
• Moved away

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Sean

• From a single parent home
• Mother runs the singles ministry
• Bonus babysiblings in high school and college
• Wonderful comprehension

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Charimaine

• Lives with mother
• Father is in rehab at Teen Challenge 2000-2001
• From bi-racial family
• Sister pregnant at 15

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Bobby, Darren, Kaleil, Germaine

• All from single moms
• 2 moms have been mentored in the church

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6th graders

• Jonathan from single mother with 3 children
• Others from 2 parent homes
• Families all actively involved at the church

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Patterns within the children

• Short attention span
• Weak reading skills
• Easily distracted
• Starved for attention
• Restricted creativity

• Aggression
• Showing off
• Competitiveness
• Test limits in class
• Generational patterns repeated

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Timing

• Time is relative
• 9 AM starting time means show up by 930

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Commitment

• Level varies
• May not show up week to week
• May volunteer for important part, then not show
  up for it

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Adapt lessons as needed

• Examples
• Johnny and his tractor
• Conceptual awareness
• Pictures

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Provide Success

• Competition
• Goals they can attain on their own
• Prizes to earn
• Lunch with teacher
• Sticker
• Candy

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Rootin the Fruit
100 points lunch with the teacher
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Love them where they are in the moment

• Who they are
• Where they come from
• What they bring to class

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You must also be there in the moment

• Pay attention to them
• Be aware of what is occurring
• In them Gee, you look sad today
• Within the room
• Be yourself

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Love them one by one

• Each is unique
• Each has gifts
• Affirm their gifts
• Affirm they are a gift to you
• Recognize birthdays
• Call
• Card

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Teaching the Tough Ones

• Be gentle
• Listen
• Have patience
• Use creative lesson plans
• Notice what they do right

• Take low reading levels into account
• Get to know their world
• Maintain a humble attitude

Elaine Creasman, Discipleship Journal Issue 123,
2001 p. 92
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More info

• E-mail rejoicer_at_aol.com
• Church Website www.ProvidenceAssembly.org
• Applestar Website www.applestar.org