WeChat ESL Class on Feb. 13, 2016 Jesus was Born.

A. High Lights of your week

B. Breaking News in the world

C. Complete the idioms:

1. Hanna is always up before the sun. She is an early _____________.
2. Vicki wouldn't speak to her friend Matt. She gave him the cold _______.
3. Martin was feeling _________ when his best friend moved away.
4. I think you will be eating your ________ when I prove you wrong.
5. When her team won the hockey championship, Reena was sitting on top of the _________.
6. Graduating from cooking school is a big ______ towards becoming a chef.
7. Jess and I will be ________ out at the park after school.
8. Billy is practical. He is a very down to _______ person.
9. Time _______ when you are having fun.
10. When my boss asked me at the last minute to prepare for a presentation, I was really under the ________ to finish it on time.

D. Bible Story : Jesus was Born
a). Discuss the following questions before reading.
1. What did God promise to Abraham?
2. How would God bless everyone on earth?
3. How was Jesus an answer to these promises? 

b). Read the following passage.
Jesus Christ came from the family of King David and also from the family of Abraham.
This is how Jesus Christ was born. A young woman named Mary was engaged to Joseph from King David‟s family. But before they were married, she learned that she was going to have a baby by God‟s Holy Spirit. Joseph was a good man and did not want to embarrass Mary in front of everyone. So he decided to quietly call off the wedding. While Joseph was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, the baby that Mary will have is from the Holy Spirit. Go ahead and marry her. Then after her baby is born, name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” So the Lord‟s promise came true, just as the prophet had said, “A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.” After Joseph woke up, he and Mary were soon married, just as the Lord‟s angel had told him to do.
 
Everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed. So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David‟shometown, and Joseph went there because he was from David‟s family. Mary was engaged to Joseph and traveled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, and while they were there, she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn.
 
When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and said, “Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard about this, he  was worried, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. Herod brought together the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses and asked them, “Where will the Messiah be born?” They told him, “He will be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote, „Bethlehem in the land of Judea, you are very important among the towns of Judea. From your town will come a leader, who will be like a shepherd for my people Israel.‟” Herod secretly called in the wise men and asked them when they had first seen the star. He told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I want to go and worship him too.”
 
The wise men listened to what the king said and left. And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. They were thrilled and excited to see the star. When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and gave them to him.
                                                    (Matthew 1:1, 18-24; Luke 2:3-7; Matthew 2:1-11 (CEV))
c). Is the statement T (true) or F (false)?
1. Jesus was a descendant of Abraham and Sarah.
2. Mary became pregnant with Jesus by the power of God.
3. An angel told Joseph that his son will save people from their sins.
4. God‟s promise about a virgin came true just as the prophet had said.
5. King Herod was excited to hear about the baby born to be king.
6. The wise men wanted to see the baby born to be the next king.
7. The wise men brought gifts for Joseph and Mary.
 
d). Match the following words with their meanings. Write the correct letter on
the line.
1. kneel down                                 a. kind of grass that animals eat
2. dream                                          b. a person who takes care of sheep
3. virgin                                           c. hotel, place to sleep while traveling
4. save                                              d. rest your body on your knees
5. thrilled                                         e. a person who has never had sex
6. inn                                                f. group of thoughts while you are asleep
7. shepherd                                      g. very excited
8. hay                                               h. rescue, take away from danger
 
Use the words above to complete the following sentences.
1. A __________ named Mary was engaged to Joseph.
2. Joseph saw an angel in a __________.
3. The angel told Joseph that Jesus will __________ people.
4. Joseph and Mary could't find a room in an __________.
5. Mary laid the baby Jesus on ___________.
6. Herod learned that the Messiah would be like a ______________.
7. The wise men were _______________ to see the baby.
8. They __________________ and gave gifts to the baby born to be king.
 
e). Answer the following questions by writing a complete sentence.
1. How did Mary get a baby before marrying Joseph?

2. Why did Joseph decide not to call off the wedding?

3. What did Joseph learn from the angel about the baby?

4. Why did Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem?

5. How did King Herod know that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem?

6. What did the wise men do when they saw Mary with her child?
 
f). Answer the following questions by writing complete sentences. Then discuss
your answers.
1. How was Jesus‟ birth different from the birth of other people? Why was it necessary for Jesus‟ birth to be different?

2. How did God communicate to people that Jesus the Messiah was coming?

3. Why did God send Jesus?

4. Why was Jesus also called Immanuel?

WeChat ESL Class on Jan. 30, 2016 - God Chose Abraham.

A. High Lights of your week

B. Breaking News in the world

C. Short Story:

Chinese New Year

Written by Jason Cuce

Chinese New Year 2016 falls on Monday, February 08, 2016

Red Lanterns in an Alley

Photo © Morgane Constanty at SXC

The ancient Chinese calendar is a "lunisolar" calendar, in that it is a hybrid calendar based both on the location of the Moon and the location of the Sun relative to the Earth. In contrast, the Gregorian calendar that is widely used today is primarily a solar calendar, which is derived from the fact that it takes approximately 365 days for the Earth to make one complete orbit around the Sun. As Chinese New Year is an ancient Chinese holiday based on the lunisolar calendar, it doesn't fall on the same Gregorian calendar day each year - it falls within a range of Gregorian calendar days instead. This range spans from January 21 - February 20.
Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival, is one of the most important, if not the most important, celebrations in Chinese culture. The celebrations surrounding the holiday last 15 days, and there are a myriad of festivities and observed traditions that occur within those 15 days. Many of these festivities revolve around the origins of the holiday and the mythical beast called Nian, which means "year" or "years" in Chinese.

History and Mythology

A long time ago in China, a monster called Nian (?) came down from the mountains once a year and terrorized villagers - small children in particular. The villagers were very afraid of the Nian, so they attempted to use any method possible to frighten the monster away or get it to leave. One of the tactics involved making food for the monster and leaving it on the doorstep so that it would be full and go back to the mountains. At another time, the villagers noticed that it was afraid of a small child who was wearing red. They realized that the Nian was afraid of the color red, and began wearing red at that time of year to keep the beast away. In addition to wearing red, they found that loud noises and fireworks helped frighten the monster.

Celebrations

As legend has it, the Nian still lives in the mountains of China. It is customary to wear red and shoot fireworks each year during the Spring Festival, to help keep the Nian and other evil spirits away. The traditional "Lion Dance" involves several of these customs and many others. According to Wikipedia, each day has its own unique celebration. For example, on the first day of the Spring or New Year Festival, people will gather together for large feasts and spend time with family. On the fourth day, people begin returning to work. The eighth, ninth and tenth days involve celebrating the birth of the Jade Emperor, who is considered to be the head of the heavenly bureaucracy. The festival ends on the fifteenth day which is also known as the Lantern Festival.

D: Complete each idiom:

1. Kevin is coughing and sneezing. He is feeling under the _____________.
2. Kevin didn't finish his homework. When his teacher finds out, he will be in hot __________.
3. Do you need help fixing the car? I'd be happy to lend you a ____________.
4. I'd like to get started on this project. Would you please help me get the ball ____________.
5. Max's hamster is very old. I'm surprised it hasn't kicked the __________ yet.
6. I heard an annoying, slow dripping sound. The sound is driving me up a ______________.
7. All that glitters isn't ____________.
8. Easy come, easy _____________.
9. Hold your ____________ or you will eat crow.
10. You cannot have your __________ and eat it too.

E. Bible Lesson: God Chose Abraham.

a). Read the following passage.
After Terah was seventy years old, he had three sons: Abram, Nahor, and Haran, who became the father of Lot. Terah‟s sons were born in the city of Ur in Chaldea, and Haran died there before the death of his father. The following is the story of Terah‟s descendants. Abram married Sarai, but she was not able to have any children.
The LORD said to Abram: Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you. I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.
Abram was seventy-five years old when the LORD told him to leave the city of Haran. He obeyed and left with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and slaves they had gotten while in Haran. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram went as far as the sacred tree of Moreh in a place called Shechem. The Canaanites were still living in the land at that time, but the LORD appeared to Abram and promised, “I will give this land to your family forever.” Abram then built an altar there for the LORD.
Later the LORD spoke to Abram in a vision, “Abram, don‟t be afraid! I will protect you and reward you greatly.” But Abram answered, “LORD All-Powerful, you have given me everything I could ask for, except children. And when I die, Eliezer of Damascus will get all I own. You have not given me any children, and this servant of mine will inherit everything.” The LORD replied, “No, he won‟t! You will have a son of your own, and everything you have will be his.” Then the LORD took Abram outside and said, “Look at the sky and see if you can count the stars. That‟s how many descendants you will have.” Abram believed the LORD, and the was pleased with him.
Abram was ninety-nine years old when the LORD appeared to him again and said, “I am God All-Powerful. If you obey me and always do right, I will keep my solemn promise to you and give you more descendants than can be counted.” Abram bowed with his face to the ground, and God said: I promise that you will be the father of many nations. That‟s why I now change your name from Abram to Abraham. I will give you a lot of descendants, and in the future they will become great nations. Some of them will even be kings.
Although Abraham was very old, Sarah had a son exactly at the time God had said. Abraham named his son Isaac, and when the boy was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, just as the Lord had commanded. Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born, and Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Now everyone will laugh with me. Who would have dared to tell Abraham that someday I would have a child? But in his old age, I have given him a son.”
Genesis 11:26-29; 12:1-7; 15:1-6; 17:1-6; 21:2-7 (CEV)

b). Circle the letter of the best answer or answers for each blank according to the reading.
1. God told Abraham to leave ____________________.
a. his country
b. his relatives
c. Haran
d. Canaan
2. God told Abraham to go to ___________________.
a. Ur
b. his country
c. the land he will show him
d. the land he came from
3. God said he would make Abraham‟s descendants into __________.
a. a large army
b. a large country
4. God said he would ___________________ Abraham.
a. bless
b. curse
c. give many descendants to
d. bless others because of
5. When God spoke to Abraham, he _____________ God.
a. believed
b. doubted
c. trusted
d. had faith in
6. God declared Abraham right with him because Abraham _________ God.
a. believed
b. obeyed
c. listened to
d. doubted
7. God was good to Abraham and Sarah and kept his _____________.
a. son
b. promise
8. When Isaac was born, Sarah ________________.
a. was sad and cried
b. was happy and laughed

c). Answer the following questions by writing complete sentences. Then
discuss your answers.

1. Summary the part or the whole story in your own words. What do you like the most about this story?

2. What did God ask Abraham to do? Do you think that these were easy or difficult things for Abraham to do? Why?

3. God told Abraham that his descendants would be a great nation and that some of his descendants would be kings. Do you think it was easy for Abraham to believe this promise? Why or why not?

4. How did Abraham show that he believed God and trusted him?

5. Why did God choose Abraham and bless him? Was he good to Abraham because Abraham was a good man?

Gates of Paradise

WeChat ESL Class on Jan. 23, 2016 God Destroyed with a Flood.

A. High Lights of your week

B. Breaking News in the world

C. Short Story: New to America

Nancy was new to America. She came to America speaking only her native language. She brought her 8-year-old son with her. He was all she had in the world.

They found an apartment in Arcadia. They were there for only two months when a neighbor's dog jumped over the fence. The dog ran toward Nancy's son. Nancy put her body in between the dog and her son. The dog stopped when it saw Nancy screaming at it. She was going to punch it in the nose. The dog turned around.

Shaking, Nancy took her son upstairs. They stayed in the apartment all weekend. Then Nancy found another apartment, close to the school that her son was going to attend.

She and her son walked everywhere. One day her son started coughing badly. He had an asthma attack. All the walking was making his asthma worse.

Nancy knew that she had to buy a car. So she called up the Honda dealer. She talked to a salesman who spoke her language. She told him that she wanted to buy a new car if he could come over to pick her up. The salesman said he would be right over.

 
D. American Idioms 

Idioms - A (Don't) add fuel to the fire (Don't) add insult to injury (Don't) kick a man when he's’s down - Don't make a bad situation even worse. Absence makes the heart grow fonder - Being far away from a person you love makes your love even stronger. A penny saved is a penny earned - It's good to save money, rather than spending and wasting it. A picture is worth a thousand words - Pictures can give more information than words alone. Actions speak louder than words - What you actually do is more important than what you say you will do. (It's) all in your head - imagined, not real Around the clock - all the time; 24 hours Asleep at the wheel - not paying attention; not doing his/her responsibilities (Shout or yell) at the top of your lungs - (to shout or yell) as loud as you can

Idiom Advice Using the idioms, give advice to these people: Tom: I really want to go see a movie tonight, but I'm trying to save my money to buy a new watch. Advice:_____________________________________________ Julie: I just saw my brother's girlfriend with another boy, but he's in a really bad mood because he got fired this morning. Do you think I should tell him? Advice:_____________________________________________ Iris: Did you hear that? I think I heard something in the kitchen! Wait. . . . I'm not sure. There it is again! I think I heard something. Do you hear it? Maybe it's a ghost! Maybe it's a thief! Advice:_____________________________________________ William: My grandfather is so old that he's almost deaf. When I talk to him, he doesn't even notice that I'm talking. Advice:_____________________________________________ Rita: My sister always steals my money! I yelled at her, and she apologized and promised that she would stop, but I don't know if I should believe her. Advice:_____________________________________________ David: My girlfriend got a really good job offer in Taipei, but I’m afraid that if she moves away, she’ll forget about me and we might break up. Advice:_____________________________________________

E. Bible Lesson : Genesis 6, 7, 8  God Destroyed with a Flood
a). Discuss the following questions before reading:

1. What were the first people on the earth like ?
2. What is a flood?
3. What happens during a flood? 

b). Read the following passage:

More and more people were born, until finally they spread all over the earth. The Lord saw how bad the people on earth were and that everything they thought and planned was evil. But the Lord was pleased with Noah, and this is the story about him.

Noah was the only person who lived right and obeyed God. He had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. God knew that everyone was terribly cruel and violent. So he told Noah: Cruelty and violence have spread everywhere. Now I‟m going to destroy the whole earth and all its people. Get some good lumber and build a boat. Put rooms in it and cover it with tar inside and out. Make it four hundred fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. Build a roof on the boat and leave a space of about eighteen inches between the roof and the sides. Make the boat three stories high and put a door on one side. I‟m going to send a flood that will destroy everything that breathes! Nothing will be left alive. But I solemnly promise that you, your wife, your sons, and your daughters-in-law will be kept safe in the boat. Bring into the boat with you a male and a female of every kind of animal and bird, as well as a male and a female of every reptile. I don‟t want them to be destroyed. Store up enough food both for yourself and for them. Noah did everything the Lord told him to do.The Lord told Noah: Take your whole family with you into the boat, because you are the only one on this earth who pleases me. Seven days from now I will send rain that will last for forty days and nights, and I will destroy all other living creatures I have made.

Seven days later a flood began to cover the earth. For forty days the rain poured down without stopping. And the water became deeper and deeper, until the boat started floating high above the ground. Finally, the mighty flood was so deep that even the highest mountain peaks were almost twenty-five feet below the surface of the water. Not a bird, animal, reptile, or human was left alive anywhere on earth. The Lord destroyed everything that breathed. Nothing was left alive except Noah and the others in the boat. A hundred fifty days later, the water started going down. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was completely dry. God said to Noah, “You, your wife, your sons, and your daughters-in-law may now leave the boat. Let out the birds, animals, and reptiles, so they can mate and live all over the earth.” After Noah and his family had gone out of the boat, the living creatures left in groups of their own kind. Noah built an altar where he could offer sacrifices to the Lord. Then he offered on the altar one of each kind of animal and bird that could be used for a sacrifice. The smell of the burning offering pleased God, and he said: Never again will I punish the earth for the sinful things its people do. All of them have evil thoughts from the time they are young, but I will never destroy everything that breathes, as I did this time.

c). Answer the following questions by writing complete sentences. Then discuss your answers.

1.What were most people in the world like during the time of Noah? Today what are most people like?

2. How did Noah show that he believed and trusted God?

3. Why does God have the right and power to destroy all the living things on earth?

4. Why did God show mercy to Noah and his family?

WeChat ESL Class on Jan, 16, 2016 The First People Disobeyed God.

A. High Lights of your week

B. Breaking News in the world

C. Short Story: Cat and Dog Discuss Humans

The cat and the dog were talking. The cat said, "Humans treat us better than you. If we turn up our nose at the cat food they serve us, they buy us another brand. If we're sleepy, we can sleep on the pillows in their bed." The dog said, "But humans take us out for walks. They throw Frisbees for us to catch. They put us in their tub and give us baths." The cat said, "They don't take us for walks because there's a litter box in the house. If we want to catch something, we catch birds or mice. They don't give us baths because we clean ourselves. And one more thing—they respect our independence. They don't put a chain on our neck and a leash on the chain." The dog said, "I'd rather have a leash than have their kids pulling my tail all the time."

D. American Idioms

1. Back Seat Driver
2. Back To Square One: 
3. Back To The Drawing Board: 
4. Baker's Dozen:
5. Barking Up The Wrong Tree: 
6. Beat A Dead Horse: 
7. Beating Around The Bush: 
8. Bend Over Backwards: 
9. Between A Rock And A Hard Place: 
10. Bite Off More Than You Can Chew: 

E. Use the simple present tense. Put the following words into a sentence.

1. a / fix / mechanic / cars
2. at / the / cry / night / baby
3. east / the / rise / the / in / sun
4. eat / she / breakfast / for / carrots
5. her / children / worry / always / about / she
6. brush / breakfast / his / he / after / teeth
7. speak / students / the / the / classroom / English / in
8. people / lawyer / a / in / defend / trouble

F. Bible Lesson

Lesson Two: The First People Disobeyed God 

A. Discuss the following questions before reading. 

1. Was the Garden of Eden a nice place to live? Who lived there? 

2. In your opinion, where is the nicest place to go for vacation? 

3. When you go to that nice place, are there things you can and cannot do? 

4. Who decides what you can and cannot do? 

B. Read the following passage. 

The snake was sneakier than any of the other wild animals that the Lord God had made. One day it came to the woman and asked, “Did God tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?” The woman answered, “God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden, except the one in the middle. He told us not to eat fruit from that tree or even to touch it. If we do, we will die.” “No, you won‟t!” the snake replied. “God understands what will happen on the day you eat fruit from that tree. You will see what you have done, and you will know the difference between right and wrong, just as God does.” The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too. Right away they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to make something to cover themselves. Late in the afternoon a breeze began to blow, and the man and woman heard the Lord God walking in the garden. They were frightened and hid behind some trees. The Lord called out to the man and asked, “Where are you?” The man answered, “I was naked, and when I heard you walking through the garden, I was frightened and hid!” “How did you know you were naked?” God asked. “Did you eat any fruit from that tree in the middle of the garden?” “It was the woman you put here with me,” the man said. “She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it.” The Lord God then asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The snake tricked me,” she answered. “And I ate some of that fruit.” 8 So the Lord God said to the snake: “Because of what you have done, you will be the only animal to suffer this curse—for as long as you live, you will crawl on your stomach and eat dirt. You and this woman will hate each other; your descendants and hers will always be enemies. One of hers will strike you on the head, and you will strike him on the heel.” Then the Lord said to the woman, “You will suffer terribly when you give birth. But you will still desire your husband, and he will rule over you.” The Lord said to the man, “You listened to your wife and ate fruit from that tree. And so, the ground will be under a curse because of what you did. As long as you live, you will have to struggle to grow enough food. Your food will be plants, but the ground will produce thorns and thistles. You will have to sweat to earn a living; you were made out of soil, and you will once again turn into soil.” The man Adam named his wife Eve because she would become the mother of all who live. Then the Lord God made clothes out of animal skins for the man and his wife. The Lord said, “These people now know the difference between right and wrong, just as we do. But they must not be allowed to eat fruit from the tree that lets them live forever.” So the Lord God sent them out of the Garden of Eden, where they would have to work the ground from which the man had been made. Then God put winged creatures at the entrance to the garden and a flaming, flashing sword to guard the way to the life-giving tree. Genesis 3:1-24 (CEV)

C. Answer the following questions by writing a complete sentence. 

1. What did the snake want the woman to do? 

2. How did the snake trick the woman? 

3. Why did the man and woman hide from God? 

4. What will it be like for the man and woman outside the garden? 

5. How long will the man and woman live outside the garden? 

WeChat ESL Class on January 9, 2016 The First Man and the Garden of Eden

A. High Lights of your week

B. Breaking News in the world

C. Short Story: Colds

 a). Reading 

Pedro has a cold. His nose is stuffed up, he coughs a lot, and he has a sore throat. He felt fine last night, but now he is very sick. Pedro wants to go home and rest, but he can’t. He is an accountant and payroll is due today. He needs to print and sign payroll checks so the employees get paid on time. Pedro’s boss went on a business trip to Springfield, Illinois. He won’t be back until next week. Before he left, he asked Pedro to take care of the office. There are twenty office workers, and they are all very busy. Hopefully, they won’t catch Pedro’s cold. If the employees catch colds, they might take several days off work. 

 b). True or False 

1. ________ Pedro is sick. 

2. ________ All twenty office workers are busy. 

3. ________ Pedro’s boss is on vacation. 

4. ________ An accountant needs to be good at math. 

5. ________ Employees get payroll checks. 

 c). Yes or No – Share your opinion. 

1. ________ Pedro should stay at work. 

2. ________ Pedro should go home immediately and eat chicken soup. 

3. ________ The employees should avoid touching their nose, eyes, and mouth. 

4. ________ Pedro should cover his mouth when he coughs. 

5. ________ It’s okay if the employees get paid late. 

d). Writing – What do you do when you have a cold? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

D. American Idioms:

 1. Add Fuel To The Fire: 

 2 Against The Clock: 

 3. All Bark And No Bite: 

 4. All Greek to me: 

 5. All In The Same Boat: 

 6. An Arm And A Leg: 

 7. An Axe To Grind: 

 8. Apple of My Eye: 

 9. As High As A Kite: 

 10. At The Drop Of A Hat: 

E. Bible Story: Genesis 2:4-25

The First Man and the Garden of Eden

4 This is the story about the creation of the sky and the earth. This is what happened when the Lord God made the earth and the sky. 5 This was before there were plants on the earth. Nothing was growing in the fields because theLord God had not yet made it rain on the earth, and there was no one to care for the plants.

6 So water came up from the earth and spread over the ground. 7 Then the Lord God took dust from the ground and made a man. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nose, and the man became a living thing. 8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in the East, in a place named Eden. He put the man he made in that garden. 9 Then the Lord God caused all the beautiful trees that were good for food to grow in the garden. In the middle of the garden, he put the tree of life and the tree that gives knowledge about good and evil.

10 A river flowed from Eden and watered the garden. The river then separated and became four smaller rivers. 11 The name of the first river was Pishon. This river flowed around the entire country of Havilah. 12 (There is gold in that country, and that gold is pure. A kind of expensive perfume and onyx are also found there.) 13 The name of the second river was Gihon. This river flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river was Tigris. This river flowed east of Assyria. The fourth river was the Euphrates.

15 The Lord God put the man in the Garden of Eden to work the soil and take care of the garden. 16 The Lord God gave him this command: “You may eat from any tree in the garden. 17 But you must not eat from the tree that gives knowledge about good and evil. If you eat fruit from that tree, on that day you will certainly die!”

A Companion for Adam

18 Then the Lord God said, “I see that it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make the companion he needs, one just right for him.”

19 The Lord God used dust from the ground and made every animal in the fields and every bird in the air. He brought all these animals to the man, and the man gave them all a name. 20 The man gave names to all the tame animals, to all the birds in the air, and to all the wild animals. He saw many animals and birds, but he could not find a companion that was right for him. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to sleep very deeply. While he was asleep, God took one of the ribs from the man’s body. Then he closed the man’s skin where the rib had been. 22 The Lord God used the rib from the man to make a woman. Then he brought the woman to the man. 23 And the man said,

“Finally! One like me,
    with bones from my bones
    and a body from my body.
She was taken out of a man,
    so I will call her ‘woman.’”

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife. In this way two people become one.

25 The man and his wife were naked, but they were not ashamed.

#### Match the following words with their meanings. Write the correct letter on the line. 

1. exclaim                                a. used to being with humans 

2. suitable                                b. curved bone near the lungs 

3. tame                                    c. say with excitement 

4. rib                                       d. but not 

5. except                                  e. good, right, acceptable 

Use the words above to complete the following sentences. 

1. God told the man to eat from all the trees __________one. 

2. The man gave names to the _____________ animals. 

3. God took a ___________ from the man‟s side.  

4. God made a ________________ person to live with the man.  

5. The man _________________ that he liked his new partner

#### Answer the following questions. Then discuss your answers. 

1. What was the world like in the beginning? 

2. What did you learn about God in this lesson? 

3. What did you learn about people in this lesson? 

4. What did you learn about the relationship between God and the first people in this lesson? 

5. How do you define a marriage? What is a suitable helper?

WeChat ESL Class on January 2, 2016 We Must Be Born Again.

A. High Lights of your week

B. Breaking News in the world

C. Short Story:  The Ugly Sister

Lisa grew up in a huge family. She had six older sisters. All of them were very beautiful. This made Lisa feel very bad. She knew she looked nothing like them. Lisa had even heard people say she was the ugly sister.

As teens the girls spent every weekend out on dates. Lisa always stayed home alone. Her sisters spent their days combing their hair and putting on makeup. Lisa spent her days reading and studying. Her sisters laughed at her a lot.

As adults, all her sisters got married young. They all had handsome husbands with no brains or jobs. Lisa went to college. She became a rich scientist and traveled the world. She was the one laughing now.

D. Idiom - Fill in the blanks

1. Lisa broke Michael's _________ when she refused to marry him.

2. Wow! It's raining ______  and ________ today! I wish I'd brought my umbrella to school!

3. Jean: How did you know it was my birthday today?

    Susan: Oh, a little ___________ told me!

4. When I told my mom I would be home around 2 am, she had a ______________!

5. Frank: Why didn't your brother ride the roller coaster with us?
    Sam: Oh, he's such a scaredy ___________! He won't get on any fast ride.

6. He was all ____________ when his boss talked.

7. He is a ___________ off the old block.

8. His comments threw a wet _____________ on the discussion.

9. The house fire meant we had to start from ______________.

10. They were __________ after three days of hard work.

11. Can you give me a ________ figure of what this project will cost?

12. The gangster told the cops they were ________ up the wrong tree in thinking he was responsible for the robbery.

E. Bible Story - John 3:1-21

You Must Be Born Again

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him,“Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you[f] do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

For God So Loved the World

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

A. Write T (true) or F (false) on the line next to each sentence. 

 1. Nicodemus was a Jewish leader. 

 2. Nicodemus came to see Jesus at noon. 

 3. Nicodemus knew that God sent Jesus to teach the people. 

 4. Jesus said that Nicodemus must be born a second time. 

 5. Only God's Spirit can change a person into a child of God. 

 6. Nicodemus has gone up to heaven. 

 7. God loved the people of the word and sent his only Son. 

 8. Everyone who has faith in God's Son will be condemned. 

 9. People who do evil things love the light and come to the light.

B. Answer the following questions by writing a complete sentence. 

1. When did Nicodemus come to see Jesus? 

2. What did Nicodemus think about Jesus?  

3. What did Nicodemus need to do before he could see God‟s kingdom?  

4. Who will have eternal life?  

5. What did God send his Son into the world to do?  

6. Who is the light?