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Introduction
During this Sunday School quarter, “Tips for Teachers” will have a different focus. If asked, we would probably all agree that prayer is essential, not just for every Christian, church, and Sunday school class, but also in the preparation of Sunday school lessons, etc.
The problem often is implementation. We say we believe in prayer and we know we should pray, but we don’t actually take time to do it. In an attempt to encourage his own prayer life, this writer has found it helpful to use a book of prayers as a prayer starter each day.
With that idea in mind, the “Tips for Teachers” in Lessons 2–12 of this quarter will be written as prayers that you could pray each day of the week for each particular lesson, or you could choose of these prayers, one or more to pray for each day of the week.
Heavenly Father, we pray for each teacher reading this text right now. Encourage them in their faith. Bless them in their teaching ministry. Help them to reflect You in everything they do, say, and think, so their students may find in them Christian role models to imitate, and thus grow in their faith. Amen.
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The Depravity of Mankind
Lesson 1 - December 4, 2016
Focus Text: Romans 1:18-32
Central Truth: Mankind's sin results in an ever-deepening cycle of depravity and despair.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to identify the characteristics of a sinful person.
Lesson Outline:
- The Wrath of God (Romans 1:18-23)
- The Wrong of Man (Romans 1:24-28)
- The Wickedness of Sin (Romans 1:29-32)
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Prayer – Lesson 13, Praising the Living God
Heavenly Father, help us to worship You with our lives. May You be pleased with every expression of praise, we pray. Amen.
Perfect Worship?
In "God's Word for Today" David Woods writes:
Psalm 145 is the last Psalm in the Psalter that cites David as its author. It is a praise Psalm, and is noted for being an acrostic. Each verse in this Psalm begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. There is a problem with this, however. The Hebrew alphabet has twenty-two letters; this Psalm is comprised of only twenty-one verses. This Psalm is missing a verse beginning with the Hebrew letter nun. Interestingly, the Jewish transla-tors of the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament that Jesus and many of the New Testament writers quoted, added a verse to make up the missing nun. While well-intentioned, this probably should not have been done. (The KJV does not include this verse, but some newer translations do [verse 13b], with a marginal note. The English Standard Version renders this verse as: “[The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works],” but notes that these two lines are only in one Hebrew manuscript, the Septuagint, and the Syriac.) Commentators suggest the absence of one letter of the alphabet in this acrostic Psalm does not indicate a problem with God's Word, but rather was intentional. J. Vernon McGee writes: “From Psalm 145 to 150 we find that every one of them is a hallelujah Psalm. It is an increasing crescendo. Why would one verse be left out of Psalm 145? I think it speaks of the fact that our praise is imperfect.”
Source: Studies in the Psalms: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 77.
What single word should you use to describe God's greatness?
"And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness." (Psalm 145:6)
In "Biblical Perspective" Gordon Snider writes:
The psalmist could not find a single adjective to describe the greatness of God. So he added adjective to adjective: “mighty” (v. 4), “wondrous” (v. 5), and here, thy terrible acts. What God does and the way He acts inspires in the righteous reverence and awe. In the unrighteous these same actions inspire fear and dread. The theme of discussion of all generations is the source of His power to do these works. I will declare thy greatness again emphasizes man's public recounting of the mighty acts of God.
Source: Studies in the Psalms: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 77.
What makes a song a hymn?
In "Doctrinal Discussion" William Sillings writes:
While gospel songs are forms of praise, traditionally hymns have carried the greater weight of praise. Defining a hymn is an elusive task, but most authorities, says Ralph Martin, appeal to Augustine. Augustine claimed there were three distinctive characteristics of a hymn. 1. A hymn is praise. 2. It is designed to be sung. 3. It is directed to God. Furthermore, a hymn differs largely from a gospel song in that the gospel song tends to be more subjective. That is, it tends to concentrate on “my experience” of certain great spiritual truths. In contrast, the most remarkable characteristic of a hymn is its objectiveness. Hymns express in virtually universally applicable terms the praise of the Church to God, whereas a gospel song may describe one person's experience — which, in turn, may not have significance for someone halfway around the world.
Source: Studies in the Psalms: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 80.