Jars Of Clay Essays - Biblical People In Islam, Acts 9, Free Essays

Jars Of Clay Essays - Biblical People In Islam, Acts 9, Free Essays Jars Of Clay 1. Introduction: I will be teaching this lesson to a group of second graders at my church. Are classroom is on the upstairs level and, I will also be utilizing the outside area that is directly behind of my church. There are about thirty second graders in my classroom. So, it is a really busy class. But, they are a whole lot of fun to work with. And, they seem to respond to me well. We will be talking about II Cor. 4:7-18. I think that this lesson will be very interesting to first and second graders. It will help them to better understand the gift of salvation. 2. Outline: I. Opening Focus A. Make small clay pinch pots B. Ask the children questions C. Show large pot II. Saul (Acts : 9) A. Sauls threats B. Jesus speaking to Saul 1. why do you persecute me? 2. go to the city C. Sauls blindness 1. blind for three days 2. Saul meets Ananias 3. Saul is healed spiritually and physically D. Sauls Discipleship 1. the other disciples did not believe Paul 2. Barnabas tells of Sauls healing 3. Paul is accepted III. Paul (Acts 13:9) A. Asked of God B. Prison 1. wrote letters 2. rejoiced C. Pauls letter to Corinth (2 Cor. 4:1-18) 1. Corinths problems 2. Corinths disbelief 3. Jars of Clay (2 Cor. 4:7) a. kept treasures in them b. fragil 4. Christians as Jars of Clay a. hard pressed b. struck down by others c. treasures of heaven inside (2 Cor. 4:18) 3-5 External Content, Internal Content, and Application: Opening focus: As my opening focus I am going to take the children outside to make clay pots. I will teach them to make a simple pinch pot. While the children are pinching their pots I will ask them questions (Where in the Bible do we learn about clay pots? What are some of the things that you can do with a clay pot? Do you all have any clay pots at your house? Do clay pots break easy? and etc.). Then when they are finished I will show them a large clay pot that I have made. Then, I will have all of the children leave their pots at their seats and come sit in the grass so I can tell them a story. Lesson Body: I want to tell you a story about a man named Saul (Acts:9). Saul was a very bad man. He threatened to murder Jesuss disciples in Acts 9:1. One day while Saul was walking to Damascus he fell to the ground. He heard a great voice saying, Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?. Who are you, Lord Saul asked. And, what do you all think that the voice replied? The voice said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now, get up and go into the city. But, when Saul got up he had a big problem. He could not see anything. So, he had to be lead by hand into Damascus. And, for three whole days he could not see a thing. Can you all imagine what it would be like not to be able to see anything? Do you think it would be scary? Saul was very scared. But, he met up with a man named Ananias. And, Ananias was sent by the Lord to help Paul see again. And, he was also here to fill Saul with the Holy Spirit. And, when Ananias told Saul these things Saul felt something heavy lift from his eyes. And, it was a miracle. Saul could see again. What is a miracle? A miracle is an act that only God can do. When Saul finally made it to Damascus he met with the disciples. Do you all know what a disciple is? A disciple is someone who spreads the word of God. But, when Saul met up with the disciples. They did not believe that he was a disciple. But, Barnabas told them about Sauls vision of God. And, the disciples believed him and accepted him as their own. So, Saul changed his name to Paul (Acts 13:9). Do you all know what the name Paul means? The name Paul means asked of God. And, Paul surely was asked of God. After Paul was saved he had a bit of misfortune. He was arrested. And, where do you go when you are arrested? You go to jail. But, while Paul was in jail he still continued to work for the Lord. He learned to rejoice in times of sorrow. Do you

How to Write Great Ledes for Feature Stories

How to Write Great Ledes for Feature Stories When you think of newspapers, you probably tend to focus on the hard-news stories that fill the front page. But much of the writing found in any newspaper is done in a much more feature-oriented way. Writing ledes for feature stories, as opposed to  hard-news ledes, requires a different approach. Feature Ledes vs. Hard-News Ledes Hard-news ledes need to get all the important points of the story - the who, what, where, when, why, and how - into the first sentence  or two, so that if the reader only wants the basic facts, he or she gets them quickly. The more of a news story he or she reads, the more detail he gets. Feature ledes, sometimes called delayed, narrative, or anecdotal ledes, unfold more slowly. They allow the writer to tell a story in a more traditional, sometimes chronological way. The objective is to draw the readers into the story and to make them want to read more. Setting a Scene, Painting a Picture Feature ledes often begin by setting a scene or painting a picture of a person or place. Here’s a Pulitzer Prize-winning example by Andrea Elliott of The New York Times: The young Egyptian professional could pass for any New York Bachelor. Dressed in a crisp polo shirt and swathed in Cologne, he races his Nissan Maxima through the rain-slicked streets of Manhattan, late for a date with a tall brunette. At red lights, he fusses with his hair. What sets the Bachelor apart from other young men on the make is the chaperone sitting next to him - a tall, bearded man in a white robe and stiff embroidered hat. Notice how Elliott effectively uses phrases like â€Å"crisp polo shirt† and â€Å"rain-slicked streets.† The reader doesnt yet know exactly what this article is about, but he or she is drawn into the story through these descriptive passages. Using an Anecdote Another way to begin a feature is to tell a story or an anecdote. Here’s an example by Edward Wong of The New York Times Beijing bureau: BEIJING - The first sign of trouble was powder in the baby’s urine. Then there was blood. By the time the parents took their son to the hospital, he had no urine at all. Kidney stones were the problem, doctors told the parents. The baby died on May 1 in the hospital, just two weeks after the first symptoms appeared. His name was Yi Kaixuan. He was 6 months old. The parents filed a lawsuit on Monday in the arid northwest province of Gansu, where the family lives, asking for compensation from Sanlu Group, the maker of the powdered baby formula that Kaixuan had been drinking. It seemed like a clear-cut liability case; since last month, Sanlu has been at the center of China’s biggest contaminated food crisis in years. But as in two other courts dealing with related lawsuits, judges have so far declined to hear the case. Taking Time to Tell the Story You’ll notice that both Elliott and Wong take several paragraphs to begin their stories. That’s fine - feature ledes in newspapers generally take two to four paragraphs to set a scene or convey an anecdote; magazine articles can take much longer. But pretty soon, even a feature story has to get to the point. The Nut Graph The nut graph is where the feature writer lays out for the reader exactly what the story is all about. It usually follows the first few paragraphs of the scene-setting or storytelling the writer has done. A nut graph can be a single paragraph or more. Here’s Elliott’s lede again, this time with the nut graph included: The young Egyptian professional could pass for any New York Bachelor. Dressed in a crisp polo shirt and swathed in Cologne, he races his Nissan Maxima through the rain-slicked streets of Manhattan, late for a date with a tall brunette. At red lights, he fusses with his hair. What sets the Bachelor apart from other young men on the make is the chaperone sitting next to him - a tall, bearded man in a white robe and stiff embroidered hat. I pray that Allah will bring this couple together, the man, Sheik Reda Shata, says, clutching his seat belt and urging the Bachelor to slow down. (Here is the nut graph, along with the following sentence): Christian singles meet for  coffee. Young Jews have JDate. But many Muslims believe that it is forbidden for an unmarried man and woman to meet in private. In predominantly Muslim countries, the job of making introductions and even arranging marriages typically falls to a vast network of family and friends. In Brooklyn, there is Mr. Shata. Week after week, Muslims embark on dates with him in tow. Mr. Shata, the imam of a Bay Ridge mosque, juggles some 550 marriage candidates, from a gold-toothed electrician to a professor at Columbia University. The meetings often unfold on the green velour couch of his office or over a meal at his favorite Yemeni restaurant on Atlantic Avenue. So now the reader knows – this is the story of a Brooklyn imam who helps bring young Muslim couples together for marriage. Elliott could just as easily have written the story with a hard-news lede something like this: An imam based in Brooklyn says he works as a chaperone with hundreds of young Muslims in an effort to bring them together for marriage. That’s certainly quicker. But it’s not nearly as interesting as Elliott’s descriptive, well-crafted approach. When to Use the Feature Approach When done right, feature ledes can be a joy to read. But feature ledes aren’t appropriate for every story in print or online. Hard-news ledes are generally used for breaking news  and for more important, time-sensitive stories. Feature ledes are generally used on stories that are less deadline-oriented and for those that examine issues in a more in-depth way.