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Living With Integrity
Lesson 3 - September 20
Focus Text: Genesis 39:1-12
Central Truth: The Christian family insists on living with integrity at all times.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to identify and put into practice at least two principles for maintaining integrity in their lives.
Lesson Outline:
- Integrity in Daily Chores (Genesis 39:1-6)
- Integrity in Difficulty Circumstances (Genesis 39:7-10)
- Integrity in Definite Crisis (Genesis 39:11-12)
"pray for us" – Hebrews 13:18
"Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly." (Hebrews 13:18)
In "Biblical Perspective" for this week's lesson, Dr. Gordon Snider writes:
Is there a connection between the leaders of verse 17 and this request for prayer support in verse 18? Some would suggest that there is, and that this request shows that whoever wrote Hebrews had at one time been a leader among them. For we . . . have a good conscience. For here grammatically can be a cause for what follows. “Pray for us because.” If that is so here, the leader’s integrity becomes a call for prayer. Because he had lived blamelessly in their midst he hoped his people would be even more inclined to include him in their prayers.
"whatsoever ye do" – Colossians 3:23
"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." (Colossians 3:23)
In "Biblical Perspective" of this week's lesson Gordon Snider writes:
It is important to interpret these verses in the context of the servant situation, although they certainly may have a broader application. It is so easy, in difficult situations, to just go through the motions of doing your job, without any heart in it. But Christians, even in adverse situations, are reminded to fulfill their duty heartily, as to the Lord. When we are in a “survival” mentality, we often think thoughts like, “Who cares anyway?” Paul’s answer was that God cares. And He will reward you according to your faithfulness or lack of it.
Source: "Respecting Authority", Biblical Family Values, Adult Teacher's Insights, p. 12.
The Humility of Respect
Read John 3:25-30
“He must increase, but I must decrease” (v. 30).
Real respect can be extremely costly. In the world’s eyes, John de- creased to the point that his head rolled, and Jesus did not perform a miracle to stop it. One of the last glimpses we get of John from Scripture is the question he sent to Jesus. “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” (Matt. 11:3). In the light it had looked so right to respect Jesus. Now in the dark John had questions. But for his respect John received the greatest accolade of all, for Jesus said, “Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist” (Matt. 11:11).
A life of respect is a life of humility. Selfish people cannot be respectful, because respect always involves giving instead of receiving. True respect is not trading compliments. It is giving honor with no expectation of the honor being returned.
Today we honor the victims of the tragedies that unfolded on September 11, 2001. The stories of courage that have come from that tragedy never cease to amaze. We respect those men and women because they had an inner sense of respect for the lives of others and gave themselves to save those lives. (Gordon Snider)
Can respect that is not costly be called respect?
This devotional is the Friday, September 11, 2015 entry of Opening the Word.
Respecting Authority
Lesson 2 - September 13, 2015
Focus Text: Colossians 3:18-4:1; Romans 13:1-3; Hebrews 13:17-19
Central Truth: The Christian family respects the God-ordained authorities of society.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to explain how to demonstrate a proper respect for various God-ordained authority figures.
Lesson Outline:
- Authority in the Home (Colossians 3:18-21)
- Authority in the Workplace (Colossians 3:22-4:1)
- Authority in the State (Romans 13:1-3)
- Authority in the Body of Christ (Hebrews 13:17-19)
Lesson Highlight: love his brother – 1 John 4:21
In "Biblical Perspective" for this lesson, Dr. Gordon Snider writes:
Lest we think that love is the easy way out, John had a word of warning. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar. If my love for God is not seen in my love for others, I don’t love God. It is that simple. It is easy to say that we love God, but do our actions toward others prove it? Love is to be the top priority in every relationship.
Source: "Biblical Perspective", Adult Teacher's Insights, page 7.