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But I’m Afraid Chapter 2; p. 19-25

I look up to the mountains—   does my help come from there? My help comes from the LORD,   who made heaven and earth!

Psalm 121:1-2

Someone once said,

The brain is a wonderful thing. It never stops working from the time you are born until the moment you get up to speak.

First Speech Jitters are Over

  Even though you planned well and practiced   Still had a sick feeling

  Heart was beating so loud, you thought your neighbor heard it

  Legs felt like Jell-o

  Voice quivered

  Felt like words were tripping you up

Jeremiah 1:17

"Get up and get dressed. Go out, and tell them whatever I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them...”

Fearful of Speaking in Public?

 Join the club!  Veteran speakers suffer the same fate   “I still have butterflies in my stomach;

I just make them fly in formation.”

Experienced Speakers

 Proper perspective on actual speaking performance self-evaluation  A bad speech is not the end of the

world  Other’s opinions do not change who

you are

Get the Right Perspective

 Many 8th Graders worry about:  The future  Social relationships  School pressures  Your complexion

Describe Yourself

 On page 21 (or on a sheet of paper)  List at least10 adjectives to describe you  Can describe social, physical,

psychological, or spiritual characteristics

Your Self-Concept

 View or idea you have of yourself (not to be confused with self-esteem: Feeling good about yourself in spite of what you do or who you are)

Stuck on Labels

 Will remain with you unless you work on:  Changing yourself  Changing your view of yourself

The World’s View (Secular) about developing self-concept

 Social Comparison Theory

 Reflected Appraisal Theory

 Selective Self-Verification

Social Comparison Theory

 Compare ourselves to others

 Compare how we used to be

 Compare how we want to be

 Constantly analyzing how we are socially, academically, physically, & spiritually

Social Dynamics Change Situations but I Remain the Same

 Comparing yourself to others does not change your abilities  Joining an advanced math program

puts you at the bottom of the class  A new student on the team puts you

on the 2nd string

Comparing the Past You

 Before you were angered easily

 You learned to “control” your anger better

 Today you consider yourself patient and more controlled

TRUE????

Comparing What I Would Someday Like to Be

 You have grand expectations for your future  Have your reached those expectations?  Does that mean failure?  Valid evaluation of you?

Comparisons on First Speech

 Compare yourself to others?

 Compared how you did in previous grades in presenting to a class?

 Compared to how you thought you would do?

Any of these types of comparisons are “Social Comparisons”

2 Corinthians 10:12

Oh, don't worry; I wouldn't dare say that I am as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing

themselves with each other, and measuring themselves by themselves. What foolishness!

God & His Word will show the truth about ourselves.

Reflected Appraisal Theory

  You believe what you think others think about you

  Do you really know what other people think?   Could it be a person could be self-absorbed?

  A scowl or strange look from someone in the class may not be directed towards you

  If someone does not applaud, does that mean anything?

Selective Self-Verification

  “No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it…” Ephesians 5:29a

Justification: You just failed a math test, but you justify the “F,” because “everyone else did bad on the test too.”

Protecting our self-concept: Choose what we want to believe and throw out the rest

The Bible gives us the way He views us

Genesis 1:27 “So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.”

“When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.” Romans 5:12

God knows we are sinners in need of a Savior.

God made a way for the atonement of our sins!

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in

God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's judgment.

Romans 5:8-9

Trust Jesus with your talents & abilities. He will take care of it all.

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the

things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.

1 Corinthians 1:27

Knowing what the Lord thinks of what His creation must go through…

But this precious treasure--this light and power that now shine within us--is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak

bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own. We are pressed on every side by

troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don't give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God

never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. Through suffering, these bodies of ours

constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

2 Corinthians 4:7-10

Why talk about Self-Concept?

 To separate “YOU” from the comments made about your speeches   Comments designed to perfect your speaking

  Take the critique to help you improve   View comments with right perspective

We Need to Value the Way God Values

Don't be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.

You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

1 Peter 3:3-4