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Applications
Remember that one of the primary responsibilities of the church is to equip people for service and to live a life pleasing to God. Allow this to guide your conversation and teaching, especially when someone brings up a struggle or a concern they have. You want them to walk out of class feeling encouraged and more ready to face the week ahead of them. Encourage practical application in the discussion, and come up with great application as you are preparing.
Prepared for Christ’s Coming
Focus Text: 2 Peter 3:8-18
Central Truth: The believer’s responsibility is to live righteously in the hope of Christ’s coming.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to list ways they can be better prepared for Christ’s coming.
I. Delay of Christ's Coming (2 Peter 3:8, 9)
II. Dissolution at Christ's Coming (2 Peter 3:10-13)
III. Diligence for Christ's Coming (2 Peter 3:14-18)
Learning Styles
Remember that your class may have different styles of learners. Although it can be challenging to accommodate everyone, it can also be fun to try! Perhaps you can come up with a great object lesson to go along with your lesson. You could also have students write down a few key points that stuck out to them during the lesson and share it back toward the close to help everyone remember the main ideas.
The Preciousness of Truth
Read Proverbs 23:22-26
“Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding” (v. 23).
“Invest in truth and wisdom . . . and don’t part with them,” says a modern Bible version. I occasionally read investment advice from a successful brokerage. The writers tell their readers what stocks they should purchase — they are considered good investments. The desire, of course, is that the investment will gain in value, increasing the investor’s wealth. However, the advisors also tell their readers how to calculate a “trailing stop” — the price at which to sell the stock if it begins to lose value. The idea is for the “trailing stop” to rise along with the stock value but provide for a selling price to lock in most of the gains when the stock falters. They offer such advice, of course, because investments rise and fall in value, companies lose money or go out of business, and investor confidence sours. No one wants to lose money, so everyone is poised to sell his investment at the most advantageous moment. God’s advice about truth and wisdom, though, does not include a “trailing stop” or a selling price. Rather, He urges us to purchase, or invest in, truth — and then keep it! We should even add to it. Truth is an investment that will never lose its value. Our greatest advantage is to keep it, for truth will take us to heaven. (Steven E. Hight)
Truth is a valuable investment for eternity.
Confronting Falsehood
Focus Text: 2 Peter 2:1-3, 10-22
Central Truth: The believer must know how to identify teachings contrary to the Bible and overcome temptation to follow them.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to list ways to distinguish truth from error.
I. Conduct of False Teachers (2 Peter 2:1-3)
II. Characteristics of False Teachers (2 Peter 2:10-19)
III. Condemnation of False Teachers (2 Peter 2:20-22)
Fellowship Is Key
It can be tempting to quickly move from meet and greet time in Sunday school class to the lesson. Fellowship is a key and important component. People often connect best over food, so if that is an acceptable option at your church, try using some refreshments to encourage your class to connect. This is especially helpful if you regularly have new people in attendance. Use that time to ask questions like, “What are some ways God has been acting in your life this week? What are some things you have learned from your own study of Scripture?”