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Forever With Christ
Lesson 13 - August 28, 2016
Focus Text: Revelation 22:1-14
Central Truth: All Christ's followers will one day live with Him in eternity.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to identify things in heaven which a Christian can look forward to.
Lesson Outline:
- Great Gifts (Revelation 22:1-5)
- A Great Promise (Revelation 22:6-16)
- A Great Invitation (Revelation 22:17-21)
Prayer – Lesson 12, All Things New
Heavenly Father, infuse our classes with hope and confidence today as they study about the day You will make all things new. We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.
Overcoming by the Blood of the Lamb
In "Biblical Perspective" R.E. Trotter writes:
Jesus made it clear to each of the seven churches that a life of victory was required of each of the saints regard-less of how impossible their situations seemed (Rev. 2 and 3). Even when Satan was cast out of heaven and came down to earth with great fury to attack the saints, “they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony” (Rev. 12:11). Overcoming is the normal standard for all Christians and a requirement for keeping one's name in the Book of Life (Rev. 3:5).
Source: Christ, the Triumphant Lord: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 71.
The tabernacle of God is with men – Revelation 21:3
In "Word Focus" Darrell Grim writes:
The Tabernacle has ever been the place of God's presence with His people.
The Tabernacle was first erected in the wilderness exactly one year after the Passover when the Israelites were freed from their Egyptian slavery. It was a mobile tent with portable furniture that the people traveled with and set up wherever they pitched camp. The instruction on how to build the Tabernacle was first given to Moses in the wilderness, who then gave the orders to the Israelites.
God knew that the Israelites needed visual evidence of His presence. When Moses went up to Mount Sinai for forty days and the people did not see or hear from him, they grew impatient and gathered their gold to form a golden calf that they worshiped in place of God. After ten generations of living in Egypt, it was not surprising that the Israelites mimicked the Egyptians in fashioning a visual idol of their own. This act of disobedience demon-strated their need to follow and worship a God who was visually tangible. God's provision of a Tabernacle — itself a splendor to behold — not only allowed the people to sense His presence, but also to see their leader go in to meet with God in a concrete place and not disappear up a mountain.
Source: Christ, the Triumphant Lord: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 69.
Image: CC BY-SA 3.0 {{PD-US}}
Read books, articles, websites for Sunday school teachers
Another best practice for the Sunday school teacher is to constantly take opportunities to "sharpen the saw." There are numerous resources available. Here are a few you may want to consider:
Books:
- Arn, Charles, Donald McGavran, and Win Arn. (1980). Growth: A New Vision for the Sunday School.
- Hall, Kenneth F. (1995). Bridges to Teaching: A Basic Guide for Teaching in the Church.
- Harper, Albert F. (1956). The Sunday School Teacher.
- Haystead, Wes. (1995). The 21st Century Sunday School: Strategies for Today and Tomorrow.
- Johnston, Ray. (1996). Help! I'm a Sunday School Teacher.
- Neece, William C. How to Be a Successful Sunday School Teacher.
- Schultz, Thom and Joani. (1993). Why Nobody Learns Much of Anything at Church: And How to Fix It.
- Toler, Stan. (1995). 101 Ways to Grow a Healthy Sunday School.
Websites:
- Christian Teacher's Training. http://trainbibleteachers.com/training-resources.htm
- Ministry Tools Resource Center. http://mintools.com/teacher-training.htm
- Pennsylvania State Sunday School Association. http://www.sundayschoolhelp.org
- Teacher Training - Sunday School. http://www.sunday-school-center.com/teacher-training.html
- Sunday School Teacher Training. https://www.m2820.com/sunday-school-teacher-training-3
Heaven – No More Tears
"He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it" (v. 8)
In her book, Emotional Freedom, New York Times best-selling author Judith Orloff talks about the health benefits of tears. According to this doctor, our bodies produce three kinds of tears: reflex, continuous, and emotional. And each of them has unique, healing benefits. In fact, the good doctor says, "I've been this enthusiastic about crying for years." So why would God do away with something that medicine has found to be so beneficial?
First, let’s thank God for tears, even the emotional kind that seem to be in mind in our text verse. Most of us have experienced times that, without tears, we would simply have exploded like an overfilled balloon. But let us also notice that the purpose for which God gave us tears is for healing. Tears will be wiped away in heaven because our healing will be complete. We will be whole.
If you need to cry today, please do so! Anyone who looks down on you for crying has a bigger problem than you do! But as you experience the healing effects of tears, take a moment to bask in the thought that someday those tears will not be needed. We will be home and whole! (Gordon Snider)
"What soap is for the body, tears are for the soul." Jewish Proverb
In heaven, we will need neither!
This devotional is the Tuesday, August 16, 2016 entry of Opening the Word.