- Participants will recognise feedback and correction as tools of refinement.
- Participants will recognise challenges and refinement as a process of love and purpose.
Lesson Preparation
God refines us through his Word, the Holy Spirit, and life experiences. This shapes our character, removing pride, selfishness, and compromise, while forming us into clearer reflections of God's image. We are also refined when we welcome correction, accountability, and encouragement from others, choosing growth over comfort, discipline over laziness, and long-term purpose over short-term pleasure.
Proverbs 27:12; Jeremiah 18:1-6; Ephesians 4:15; Psalm 91:1-4
- Refine: to go through a process of improvement and sharpening so that what is valuable and strong remains and what is weak, impure, or unhelpful is removed
- Workbook
- Pen/Pencil
Need help teaching the session?
Need help teaching the session?
- Lesson Summary: The summary provides an overview of what will be covered in the lesson. It includes the Scripture or biblical truths and how the biblical principles apply to the lives of the participants.
- Lesson Objectives: These goals guide instruction and support the main idea of the lesson. They state what participants should know and be able to do once they have completed the lesson.
- Scripture References: These are passages of Scripture used in each lesson. Plan to read these passages prior to teaching the lesson
- Vocabulary: These are the key words discussed in each lesson that should be taught in context.
- Materials: This is a list of supplies needed to teach the lesson and/or to do the activities.
- Welcome and Review: Begin each class by welcoming the participants and reviewing the material from the previous lesson.
- Icebreaker: In Lesson 1, there is an icebreaker activity to start the lesson. This is a great way to get participants talking and comfortable with one another.
- Scripture Study: Includes different parts. The leader shares the Bible story interactively, asking questions and guiding discussion to engage participants in the Scripture.
- Workbook Activity: During each lesson, students will complete a workbook exercise that will help reinforce learning through hands-on engagement. The workbook activities provide structure for applying the lesson content to the project. Completed examples are provided in this leader's guide and at the back of the participant's workbook.
- Facilitation Tips: These support the leader with strategies for guiding the group projects. These reminders help facilitators adapt to challenges and adjust for learners with different abilities and styles.
- Project Milestone: This statement is designed to help define the progress goal for the group project. It outlines the key steps that the leader and student should aim to accomplish by the end of the lesson.
Pray: Participants will reflect on the lesson, and the facilitator will end the lesson with a prayer.
Welcome and Review
Greet participants and review the previous lesson.
Using the groups the participants are in, each team gets simple building materials (paper cups, index cards, tape, or blocks).
Round 1 (Solo): Choose one volunteer per team. Blindfold them and ask them to build a tower/bridge for 1 minute without any feedback from the group.
Round 2 (Guided): The same student tries again, blindfolded, but this time with their group giving verbal instructions and encouragement.
Say:
Let us compare the results of our activity. When your builder put the first tower together, they were completely on their own. There was no one there to encourage their good ideas or point out opportunities for improvement. But when they built the second tower, they were able to use their team's insights to build something stronger.
Say:
We need voices in our lives that guide us from where we are in our calling to where we could go. Likewise, we need God's Word and his Spirit to reveal how we can strengthen our relationship with Jesus. With the help of wise input, we can be refined as workers in God's kingdom.
The last time we met, we presented our pitches, and you all did so well.
Ask:
In what ways is receiving feedback on your projects like the blindfolded builder listening to their team? How can this help refine both our ideas and our character?
Allow time for responses.
Say:
For a very long time, people have used God's word to sharpen and correct themselves. Let us look at a verse that contrasts someone who learns, listens, and adjusts with someone who ignores correction and ends up paying the price.
Invite students to open to page 19 in their workbook and follow along as you read the Scripture selections.
Proverbs 27:12:
A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
Pause and invite students to respond to questions 1 and 2 in the workbook.
Question 1:
What does this verse teach us about the importance of awareness, wisdom, and being willing to change direction?
Question 2:
In what areas of your life or project do you need to start listening, adjusting, and strengthening so that you do not just "keep going" and face unnecessary setbacks?
Say:
In order for us to be refined, we have to be self-aware enough to admit that we have room to improve. However, inviting others to speak into our lives and hold us accountable to our potential is not always easy. It takes humility, patience, and a willingness to change.
But while autonomy—living on our own and by our own rules—may feel like freedom, it actually holds us captive to our own individual capacities. We are unable to grow because we are boxed into our own, limited way of thinking.
In many ways, refinement is the safety Proverbs 27:12 is referring to. When we accept and lean into correction, we can take refuge from the dangers of being blindfolded by stubbornness, comfort, and pride.
Share a story of a time you were willing, or unwilling, to be refined. What were the consequences?
Say:
Refinement is God's process of reshaping us, removing what is broken or weak, and moulding us into something strong, beautiful, and useful for his purpose—into his image. Let us read this next verse:
Invite students to continue following along in their workbook.
Jeremiah 18:1-6:
The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, "Go down to the potter's shop, and I will speak to you there." So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. Then the Lord gave me this message: "O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand."
Question 3:
What does the image of clay in the potter's hand teach us about how God refines and reshapes our lives?
Question 4:
Where in your own journey do you sense God reshaping you so that he can form something better?
Say:
God is the Master Potter, and we are the clay. Sometimes, like the clay on the wheel, our lives do not turn out right the first time. Our attitudes, decisions, and even our projects may fall short. But instead of discarding us, God patiently reshapes. He refines us. This is not punishment; it is a process of love and purpose.
Just as the clay must remain soft and responsive in the potter's hand, we must remain teachable, willing to grow. When we allow God to refine us through his Word, the Holy Spirit, life experiences and even feedback from others, he strengthens us so that we can do even more for our communities and his kingdom.
Question 5:
Who is someone in your life that you can trust to provide you with feedback to help you grow in your work? What about in your relationship with Jesus?
Question 6:
How can you be a refiner for someone else? What posture should you take when you encourage a friend or a co-worker to improve?
Say:
As you learn which voices to lean into and how to be a voice of refinement, remember how Paul calls us to correct one another as equal members of the body of Jesus.
Ephesians 4:15:
Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
Say:
Last time we met, you shared your project pitches and received feedback from your peers. Today, we are going to take those ideas a step further. Think of it like how God works in our lives, refining us through the process, shaping, adjusting, and strengthening us so we can grow.
We are going to do an activity called a SWOT analysis. This tool helps us take an honest look at our work so we can see what is going well and where we can improve. It stands for: Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats
Invite students to turn to page 20 in their workbook. Work through the activity together by breaking it down step by step rather than having students do it independently. Then, invite students to share their thoughts aloud with the group.
Sample Completed Activity
| Category | Question | Example Response |
|---|---|---|
| Strengths |
What parts of your pitch went well? What positive feedback did you receive? |
People appreciated that we want to give every child attention and encouragement. |
| Weakness | Based on the feedback, what part of our plan needs improvement? | More detail is needed about how tutors will be trained to handle different learning challenges. |
| Opportunities | What could we add or change to make it stronger? | Using simple learning tools like WhatsApp, study groups, or printable practice sheets could make the idea more practical. |
| Threats | What could block success? What risks should we anticipate? | Finding enough committed volunteers might be difficult. |
Project
Milestone:
Milestone:
Refine pitch.
By the end of the lesson, students will have completed the SWOT analysis within their groups and addressed any improvements that need to be made to make their project successful.
If you sense your students need additional support, consider these teaching strategies.
-
Model an example
Walk through one section as a group (for example, "Strengths") before students work on their own. Give a simple, relatable example so they understand what to write.
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Coach specificity
Encourage concrete improvements and ask questions that help students make specific and measurable improvements.
-
Work in pairs or small groups
Pair older students with those who need help so they can talk through ideas together before writing.
Say:
Today, we have seen that refinement is a process. In the same way your advice helped our blindfolded builders create stronger towers, your pitches became more effective with constructive feedback. The SWOT analysis also helped us identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in your community projects.
God, like the potter, is reshaping us, removing what holds us back, and strengthening what will make us thrive. True refinement requires teachability, faithfulness, and the willingness to adjust in every area of our lives.
Before we end today, I would like to leave you with one more passage to reflect on throughout your week.
Psalm 91:1-4:
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armour and protection.
Correction will always be easier to receive when you understand the character of the one who is giving it to you. God's guidance is not an attack on your character. His refinement is not an insult to your abilities. In truth, his wisdom holds you in a place of untouchable security. There is no better place to grow than in the arms of the God who loves you more than you could ever imagine.
Pray:
Allow time for participants to repeat each section after you.
Lord, thank you for shaping us like clay in your hands.
Help us to be teachable and willing to listen to your guidance and the counsel of others.
Refine our hearts, our minds, and our actions so that we grow stronger and wiser each day.
May we embrace your process and reflect your excellence in all that we do.
Amen.
Lessons 1-12
- Lesson 1 Being Who I Am Called To Be
- Lesson 2 Called To a Kingdom
- Lesson 3 Called To Image
- Lesson 4 Called To Serve
- Lesson 5 Called To Responsibility
- Lesson 6 Called To Overcome
- Lesson 7 Called To Collaborate
- Lesson 8 Called To Confidence
- Lesson 9 Called To Refine
- Lesson 10 Called To Implement
- Lesson 11 Called To Evaluate
- Lesson 12 Called To Continue