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What is most important about the Church's holy days?
In "God's Word for Today" Gordon Snider writes:
Christianity is a historically based faith, which means that the events of the life of our Lord are important. In the Western Church, we pay particular attention to the birth and death of Jesus, but in the Eastern Church, the calendar has many more holy days that are especially remembered. There is a danger that the Church can become so focused on historical events that Christians lose sight of the contemporary relevance of her holy days. That is why today's lesson focuses upon the significance of the resurrection. Does the resurrection of Jesus Christ have a daily impact on your life? It should! If we have been resurrected with Christ, we will have a new way of living. Philippians 3:10 suggests that the resurrection was not only an event, it is also a present power that is working in our lives. Today Christians rejoice in the fact of the resurrection, but every day should be lived in the power of that same resurrection.
Source: Building Christian Relationships: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 40.
Checking for Evidence
Read Matthew 28:1-7
“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay” (v. 6).
Our governmental system makes provision for the solving of disputes in a court of law. After all the evidence has been presented, the jury will retire to deliberate, and after a time will return to present their decision to the judge, who will hand down the final verdict. Today we are going to look at some of the evidence that Jesus truly arose from the grave. First of all, the stone was rolled back, and the tomb was empty. Jesus' body was nowhere to be found. Second, many eyewitnesses have left us their testimony of seeing Jesus alive again after His death. Many Bible scholars feel that there are ten post-resurrection appearances. Here are few of them:
Mary Magdalene, in the garden (John 20:11-18)
Women returning from the tomb (Matt. 28:9, 10)
Two disciples on the Emmaus road (Luke 24:13-32)
The eleven and 500 more at Mt. Tabor (Matt. 28:16-20)
After all the evidence is presented, and the eyewitnesses give record, we may know with certainty that Jesus arose from the dead. (Steve Gifford)
One of the greatest evidences of Jesus' resurrection is a changed life.
This devotional is the Sunday, April 16, 2017 entry of Opening the Word.
The Narrative
Another major form of presentation is narrative, or story-telling. Narrative presentations can easily be inductive in reasoning, presenting the conclusion at the end of the story, but they can also be deductive, using stories to illustrate the truth that is stated upfront.
Story-telling is an ancient form of teaching, and was used by Jesus extensively. (Jesus used inductive reasoning with story-telling throughout His earthly ministry.) This method may be more effective for certain lessons; a lesson built around a story in scripture would seem to fit this approach more easily. Yet even the “driest” lesson could be taught using a series of stories that progressively or repeatedly emphasize the scriptural truth.
The teacher need not be the only person telling stories, but could ask students to share life stories related to the scriptural truth. (Note: it may be best to ask select persons beforehand so they have time to prepare and not waste time recalling details or getting sidetracked into unnecessary minutiae.)
Raised From The Dead (Easter)
Lesson 7 - April 16, 2017
Focus Text: Luke 23:55-24:12
Central Truth: Christ's resurrection is good news -- that is true!
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to identify several proofs of the resurrection of Christ.
Lesson Outline:
- Burial of Jesus (Luke 23:50-56)
- Resurrection Dawn (Luke 24:1-7)
- The Good News Proclaimed (Luke 24:8-12)
How do the blessings promised in the Old Testament relate to Christians today?
In "God's Word for Today" Gordon Snider writes:
[Malachi 3:10-12] focus on blessings that will come to those who honor their financial commitments to God. These verses have been used by preachers of a “prosperity gospel” to prove that it is God's will for His people to be materially blessed. How do the blessings of these verses relate to New Testament Christians?
Source: Building Christian Relationships: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 35.