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Lesson 3: The Savior Born (Christmas)
Lesson 3: December 20, 2015
Focus Text: Luke 2:1-17
Central Truth: The greatest miracle the world has ever seen was that God loved us enough to take on human form.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to state why the Incarnation was such a great miracle.
Lesson Outline:
- The Miraculous Birth (Luke 2:1-7)
- The Angelic Announcement (Luke 2:8-14)
- The Shepherd's Response (Luke 2:15-20)
Prayer: Lesson 2, Miracles of Jesus
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the power Christ has over death and sin. Thank you for His resurrection power that He works in us, giving us victory over sin. Thank you for the hope we have of life for all eternity. Bless our Sunday school teachers today. Use them to inspire their classes to greater faith in Christ, we pray. Amen.
Effective & Creative Bible Teaching – mintools.com
This page at Mintools.com has a number of teaching resources to help the Sunday school teacher. As a teacher, what do you feel are some of your greatest needs in performing this ministry for God?
Lesson Highlight: "quickened"
"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses." (Colossians 2:13)
In "Word Focus" William Sillings writes,
Colossians 2:13 says two things about our sins. One, being dead (nekrous ontas) uses the present participle “being” to describe our deadness as a continual state of existence. We not only died by sinning once, but we were in a state of deadness brought on by continual sinning and by the nature of sin in our lives. The second thing Paul said is that he quickened [us] together with him. Quickened (sunezoopoiesen — aorist active indicative) means “He made us alive together with Him.” We were dead, but now we are alive.
Discussion: What is the significance of being "made ... alive together with Him"?
Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 10.
Lesson Highlight: "nailing it to his cross"
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. (Colossians 2:14)
In "Biblical Perspective", Dr. Gayle Woods writes:
Paul was comparing the practice of one who forgives a large debt by wiping his ledger sheet clean with what God does for us. ...The ordinances (God’s law) had been broken many times by each of us. Each time we broke His law, another mark was put on our ledger sheet. Jesus came to this world to provide salvation, full and free. ...Jesus not only erased all the transgressions that had been listed against us on our ledger of life, but He then nailed the blank document to His cross as a public testimony that we were totally forgiven of all our actions against Him and His law.
Discussion: Since we are totally forgiven by Christ, how should we feel? How should we think? How should we act?
Source: Miracles of Jesus: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 12.
Lesson Highlight: "funerals in Israel"
In "Biblical Perspective" Dr. Gayle Woods writes:
A funeral in Israel was a special event that lasted thirty days. As a funeral procession moved along, it was led by hired mourners who wailed loudly in an effort to make an adequate public display of sorrow. The procession was followed by friends and relatives. This particular funeral was that of the only son of a widow, making it an even more tragic event. Many of the city showed their sympathy for the widow by joining the procession. The man who had died was probably the sole provider for the widow. It was wonderful to have sympathetic friends, but soon they would be gone, and she would be left to fight for survival in a day in which it was very difficult for women to find employment. The possibility that she would soon be reduced to begging was great.
Discussion: Do you think the elaborate display of sorrow made the grieving easier or more difficult on the bereaved?
Discussion: From your experiences of loss, imagine the pain and distress of this widow.
Source: Miracles of Jesus, Adult Teacher's Insights, pages 10-11.