We finished our year studying the prophecies in the book of Revelation. We were not very detailed but had a basic understanding of the events to come. We also prepared an outline of the books of the Bible we had studied. The students memorized in order the books of the New Testament as well.
Miss Rivera
We finished our year preparing an outline of the books of the Bible we had studied. As the final, the students presented on the book they had chosen to outline and memorize in order the books of the Old Testament.
Miss Rivera
We used the one week we had in the month of June to review for our final. We also saw a Spanish movie to see how the trends in the literature are also manifested in other forms of communications and how the fantasy mixes with reality to make a very good work of art. We saw the movie “Nos Miran” (They are watching us) from Spain, winner of the Goya award, a very prestigious Spanish award.
Miss Rivera
We used the one week we had in the month of June to review for our final.
Miss Rivera
As we continued our study of the New Testament we read and studied the letters of Peter and John, and the letter addressed to the Hebrews. These letters were filled with practical advice and profound understanding of the grace of God. As we studied we were forced to see ourselves and answer the challenge to make changes in our lives. Here is what some students had to say:
§ “Hebrews is basically Cliff Notes for the whole Bible. The whole purpose of Hebrews is to walk back through the history of Israel and point out that Jesus was greater than any and all of their highly thought of ancestors and rituals. The purpose of the book is to say that Jesus provides all we need for a personal relationship with God.”
§ “The author of Hebrews uses the letter to show how Yeshua is indeed the fulfillment of all that was written before. The rituals have been superseded and replaced by a life of faith in Messiah because He performed redemption.
§ “The purpose of the book of Hebrews is to show the superiority of Christ. Jesus is superior to the angels and to Moses. The priesthood of Jesus is superior to the Levitical priesthood. The New Covenant is superior to the Old Covenant. Jesus entered heaven as a priest and offered himself as a sacrifice. He is the ultimate sacrifice. We can have confidence when we go before God’s throne. We are able to live a life that pleases God.”
§ “The rites of Judaism were but a shadow of things to come. All the pomp and circumstance of religion pales in comparison to the person, work, and ministry of Christ Jesus.”
§ “I learned from Peter that it is because of struggles and trials that we get stronger. It is through these trials that our impurities rise, and like a blacksmith wipes the impurities from a sword, so does God wipes the impurities from our lives.”
§ “I learned a lot from Peter’s letter about facing trials. I learned I should be looking forward, I should see the bigger picture, lesson and wait patiently until the Lord’s glorious day, when we are taken up. I learned that I should rejoice whether I’m in a trial or on a mountaintop, I should still rejoice…. I was also very inspired by the verse in 1 Peter 5:10: “And after you have suffered for a little while the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory, in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” He gives us grace, He will perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish Himself in us! Yes, it is so worth it going through various tests and trials. Like James said that the testing of our faith develops perseverance and maturity.”
§ “What I have learned from Peter’s letters about facing trials is that we should still remain faithful during these times we face pain and struggles. We face trials because they make us stronger in our faith. We need to learn to trust in God to help us through the struggles we face. We need to learn to commit ourselves and situations we face to God.”
§ “To expect hard times is wise, but to know that God is control of everything is even wiser; knowing that He would not give us anything or tempt us any further than He knows we could handle.”
§ “Struggles are bound to happen, but we must not put the flesh above the spirit. We must not be swayed by this world”
§ “Jude states that God is well able to keep them from stumbling and preserve them as they develop endurance/ perseverance. He encourages believers to lead blameless lives with great joy, glorifying God.”
Miss Rivera
In May we continued to study Israel. We studied how Joel warned them about the judgment of God that was coming. We studied how God spoke to them as a hurt person, through Hosea, letting them know the He still loved them and that they could still come back to Him. We also saw how the Lord used Jeremiah to warn them of the upcoming judgment and the difficult position of this prophet to see his prophecies fulfilled and the destruction of their beloved Jerusalem.
We studied how the Babylonians took Judah captive. Even during this time, the voice of God was not silent. He used Daniel to speak about the nations and the future and He used Ezekiel to speak to the people in captivity. During a shift of power from the Babylonians to the Medo-Persians, God continued to use Daniel in a place of power and he was tested to remain faithful to the Lord.
We also studied the book of Esther, as the Lord put her in a position of power to free her people from destruction. We looked at our society and ourselves and pondered upon the reason why we are here at this time in history. We continued studying the return of the captivity back to their land and the trials they had to face. The instrumental people God used and the things they had to endure to reestablish themselves in their own land. We studied Ezra who led the people to rebuild the temple, reestablished the Law and the worship unto God. We studied Nehemiah, a man of prayer, who God used to rebuild the Wall of Jerusalem against all opposition and became the civil leader of the people. Together, Ezra ad Nehemiah, ushered a spiritual revival in the people who returned to Jerusalem.
Lastly, we studied Malachi. The Lord used Malachi to call the people to order and to let them know about the judgment of God. He reminded them of all the things they had gone through and all the times God had spoken to them through different prophets. After Malachi finished, God fell silent for about 400 years until a voice was heard from the dessert calling to prepare the way of the Lord. That voice was the voice of John the Baptist. This we will discuss next year.
Miss Rivera
This month took us into the literature of the twentieth century. Modernism took this century by storm. We read different poets, among them Julia de Burgos from Puerto Rico. In reading this poem we were able to see the use of dual perspective. In her poem “A Julia de Burgos”, she writes to herself from the perspective of her true self to her social self. As complicated as that sounds, it was a lot of work to pull both points of view apart and have an idea of what struggles the poet was going through at the time.
We also did an overview of the Spanish literature across the centuries as a review of the perspectives and the themes that predominated across the centuries. We saw how the literature influenced the perspective of the people very much the same way that media influences our perspective today.
Miss Rivera
During this month we had a lot of fun planning and putting together a weather forecast for the news. The students made their own dialogues; their visuals were excellent. Some of the groups used computer models and animation while other used traditional poster board models. Each group tapped into their own strengths and the outcome was beautiful. The language used was very accurate and technical. The students truly shined.
Picking up on the same theme, we worked on making plans according to the weather. Some student planned to go to the beach on a sunny day while others planned to stay home and play videogames on a rainy day. With both these themes we reinforced the use of vocabulary related to activities around the home, and outside, the use of the verbs in the future, inviting people to events and even convincing someone to do what they were not planning to do; all in Spanish. That was excellent work on the part of the students.
Miss Rivera
We continued and finished our study of the book of Acts. We also read the last of Paul’s letters and considered some of the promises God has given us. Here is what some students had to say:
§ Q: Peter and Paul were great influences to the world. Where is your Jerusalem, your area of influence?
§ A: “To be honest, I’m most active at home and at school than outside. I should be more active outside where I can influence the world. I used to be so involved in my old church and as I got older I became part of another church and instead of influencing many, I influenced none. It’s embarrassing to admit I’ve not been much of an influential person in my church or community.”
§ A: “The efforts I have made to share the message of Jesus to the people are efforts usually rooted in many community activities like running a community basketball team for boys, or a community reading program for children.”
§ A: “My place of influence is my home. My mother never took much interest in the things of the Lord until recently. I explain to her what the Bible says and the stories of the Bible to her. I am also one of the elders of the children of the family so I set an example that they can follow and those who are my age or older respect me because I do not mix with anything like drinking or drugs or anything like that.”
Miss Rivera
We continued the book of acts and started studying the life of the apostle Paul. We are studying his missionary travels, his trials and the letters he wrote. We studied the letter to the Galatians and the Thessalonians. We also took the time admire in awe at God’s creation and asked ourselves what is acceptable to God. Here is what some students had to say about this topic and the letters.
§ Q: Is following the Ten Commandments and the golden rule enough to please God?
§ A: “I think we should follow the Ten Commandments and the golden rule, but that is not enough to please God. As humans, we can’t follow all the rules at all times, we do sin. Just like in the Old Testament, the priest had to sacrifice, make offerings for the sins of the people. This is why Jesus came, He made a way for us to have a relationship with God… so following just the rules, but not having a personal relationship with God is not enough. You need faith.”
§ A: “Deeds without faith is nothing to God. Only by throwing your arms and submitting to Christ may you receive favor and blessing. Having faith in the Law is nothing compared to having faith tin the One that made the Law.”
§ Q: Analyze yourself, which part of the fruit of the Spirit is more developed in you?
§ A: “I think I am a very joyful person. Being happy and being joyful is not the same thing. Happiness is only for a season, but joyfulness lasts forever, it never dies because joy comes from God and God is everlasting.”
§ Q: How would you prepare, how would you change your life if you were convinced that Jesus would return in one year?
§ A: “I would prepare by deepening my relationship with the Lord. I would develop a stronger faith in Him and be reluctant towards the world. I would start with prayer and continuous reading of God’s Word. II Thessalonians 3:1-5 speaks of prayer and how we should pray to be delivered from evil and the wicked men. I would stand firm in my beliefs and choose whether I am convinced He is God and not be frustrated. II Thessalonians 2:13-17 speaks on being firm in your actions and in the Lord. I will try not to falter in my beliefs when being questioned. I will show gratitude for all things around me as well. My life would change in a totally positive manner. I would treasure my time on earth, using it for God’s will and focusing on other things. My life will be devoted to God and I will not show weakness. I will show apathetic feelings towards others’ opinions of me and this will lead in God’s work in my life.”
§ Q: What is acceptable worship before the Lord?
§ A: “I believe that an acceptable worship is giving the Lord clean hands and a pure heart, a holy pleasing life. We should give the Lord what he gave us, our lives.”
Miss Rivera