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Which should we stress in Sunday School – real-life issues or Bible content?
"Which is more important in Christian teaching - dealing with real-life issues or communicating Bible content?" If you think this is a trick question, you're right! Both elements are essential for faithful Christian teaching. If the Bible is not taught, we have little authority for what we teach. If we fail to address life issues, then our lesson risks becoming stale theology. In truth, the Gospel separated from real life is truly not Good News.
These lessons have been developed with the purpose of both addressing real-life issues and communicating the timeless truth of God's Word. Yet you may need to tailor these lessons to address your students' specific needs. Furthermore, while this lesson has been developed with the intention of giving you more than enough material to teach the week's Scripture passage, further study made be needed to understand what God's Word is saying to you and your class.
Source: Haystead, Wes (2005). The 21st Century Sunday School: Strategies for Today and Tomorrow. Cincinnati, OH: The Standard Publishing Company. p.16
The Giver of Life
Lesson 12 - February 21, 2016
Focus Text: John 11:31-44
Central Truth: Jesus is our source of life.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to state ways the understanding that Jesus is the giver of life changes our search for purpose and fulfillment.
Lesson Outline:
- Great Need (John 11:1-19)
- Great Perplexity (John 11:20-37)
- Great Victory (John 11:38-44)
Prayer – Lesson 11: Faith Rewarded
Heavenly Father, bless our classes today with Your Presence. Challenge our faith. Help us to believe You for great things. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Why does God provides miracles?
In "God's Word for Today", David Fry writes:
The reason for miracles is for us to accept Jesus Christ as the true God. The greatest faith, according to Jesus, is the faith of those who simply believe Him and do not ask for signs and wonders. I am reminded that the reason Gideon asked God for a sign was because of the uncertainty of his faith. Our asking God for a sign may reflect an uncertainty in our faith, or it may be our lack of understanding of God’s will. Either way, Jesus made it clear that our faith should not be dependent on Him performing signs and wonders for us.
The nobleman is an example of simple faith... Simple faith believes what it understands and seeks understanding of what it does not know.
Discussion: What is the reason many people think God performs miracles?
Discussion: How can understanding why God performs miracles encourage our faith in Him?
Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 66.
What Does It Mean to Persist in Prayer
In "Word Focus", William Sillings writes:
This man was in earnest about his request. He went unto him, and besought him (v. 47). This construction is made of verbs of varying intensity, and when used together they convey how the man approached Jesus. The first, went unto him (apelthen), is an ingressive aorist indicative indicating that he “went off at once” as soon as he heard that Jesus had come to Galilee. The second, besought (erota), is an imperfect active indicative verb which has the sense, “he began to beg and kept it up.”
While the major purpose of this passage seems not to be intended to teach persistence in prayer, it certainly does illustrate it. This man went down to get Jesus to come back home with him, but Jesus refused with the words, “You won’t believe unless you see signs and wonders.” But this man kept up his request, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” This was a dire situation, and there was no hope outside of Jesus’ intervention.
Perhaps many of us would have given up when we were first denied our request by the Lord. But not this man. Something inside him made him keep asking. The reward for such persistence is that he got what he wanted.
Discussion: How can we learn from this man's persistence in seeking Jesus' help?
Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 64.
The Accessible Sunday School
Wes Haystead writes, "A Sunday school that is not seeing unchurched people won to Christ is a stagnant program." Haystead also notes that many Sunday schools have become ingrown, even though they may have never said that their purpose was only to serve the Christian.
As you consider your typical class format, are there any methods that would be confusing to the new person? For example, when your class prays together, do you prompt your students to stand, kneel, etc., or is the prayer position assumed? Would a new person be embarrassed because she didn't know the procedures your class follow by habit? When referring to lesson books, do you prompt your students where to turn? Would a new person be frustrated because he didn't know how to follow along?
As you teach this week, be attentive to ways your class may have become less accessible to the unchurched.
Haystead, Wes (2005). The 21st Century Sunday School: Strategies for Today and Tomorrow. Cincinnati, OH: The Standard Publishing Company. p.15