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Prayer – Lesson 9, The Foundation of Hope
Heavenly Father, we live in a broken, messed-up world. Encourage our classes today as they learn about the foundation of Christian hope. May our hope in You be rekindled and may we be challenged to live boldly for Jesus! Amen.
Teaching is Questioning
An essential aspect of good teaching is well-placed questions. Teaching necessarily involves giving out information, but questions help students to internalize truth and apply it to their lives. Criticalthinking.org notes that every textbook basically contains answers to questions but this does not mean answers are more important than questions. Instead, this source asserts:
"Thinking is not driven by answers but by questions. ... To think through or rethink anything, one must ask questions that stimulate our thought. Questions define tasks, express problems and delineate issues. Answers on the other hand, often signal a full stop in thought. Only when an answer generates a further question does thought continue its life as such. This is why it is true that only students who have questions are really thinking and learning." (http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/the-role-of-questions-in-teaching-thinking-and-learning/524)
Does your teaching style assume students will learn if you give them the right answers, or are you attempting to help them ask the right questions?
Hope of Glory
*"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27). *
One of my favorite vacation activities is reading G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown mysteries. For a mystery to “work,” the secret must be revealed at the end. No one would want to reach the end of a book only to read, “I can’t tell you who did it. It is a mystery.” The last chapter should reveal the solution to the mystery.
Paul said to the Colossians, “Let me reveal the mystery that was hidden in the past: because of Jesus Christ, Jews and Gentiles alike live in hope” (Personal paraphrase). Christ is in you – that is the hope of glory! Our hope is not grounded on political currents or social trends; our hope is in Christ.
This hope is more than a statement of intellectual consent. It is a personal relationship; “Christ in you.” A political leader who professes to be a Christian was recently asked, “What does being a Christian mean to you?” He responded, “It means that I believe Jesus existed.” “Christ in you, the hope of glory” is much more than believing that Jesus existed. The hope of glory is Jesus Christ living in us leading to a daily transformation into His image. The hope of glory is lives shaped by the reality of His presence. (Randy McElwain)
Rejoice today in this wonderful news: the mystery of the ages has been revealed – Jesus Christ in us brings the hope of glory!
This devotional is the Friday, April 29, 2016 entry of Opening the Word.
Foundation for Christian Hope
Lesson 9 - May 1, 2016
Focus Text: John 14:1-19
Central Truth: Christ gives us good reason to live with hope.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to state the foundation of the hope of the Christian in at least three areas.
Lesson Outline:
- The Home Christ Is Preparing (John 14:1-7)
- The Help Christ Promises (John 14:8-14)
- The Helper Christ Has Provided (John 14:15-31)
Prayer – Lesson 8, Christ Demonstrates Humility
Heavenly Father, bless our Sunday school classes today. Help them to understand how humility is not weakness, but greatness in Your eyes. In Jesus' name, Amen.
The Contrast between Pride and Humility
In "Doctrinal Discussion" Randy Bland writes:
One definition of pride is an inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority. This definition is an apt description of the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable. Humility, on the other hand, is defined as having a modest opinion of one’s own importance. Perhaps we should add that it is having a true opinion of one’s own importance. The publican knew exactly who he was and where he stood before God. Such knowledge is the most important thing when it comes to living lives of humility.
Discussion: What kind of opinion do we possess?
Source: Jesus, Son of God: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 50.