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BIBLE CLASS LESSONS

YEAR 1

LESSONS 21 - 40

OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS

Lesson 21 Isaiah

Aim: To show that God loves His people and is true to His covenant promise to save His own for all eternity and to judge those who do not believe.

Materials: Bible, pens/pencils, worksheets

Introduction: Isaiah lived during the late 8th and early 7th centuries BC. When Isaiah was young both Judah and Israel were going through a time of prosperity. Samaria fell in 722 BC, and that was the final end of the kingdom of Israel. Isaiah prophesied over the reigns of four kings, the fourth being Hezekiah, to whom the prophet was loyal despite disagreeing with his desire to forge alliances with other kings.

1. Isaiah reminds God’s people that they are chosen, reared by God to be His own, and that their rebellion is anathema to Him (1:2-4). Their religious ordinances give God no pleasure (1:11), yet He still holds out the offer of forgiveness to His people (1:18ff).

2. That scenario sums up much of Isaiah’s prophecy – the fact that God’s people are chosen, that they have rebelled, and that He remains faithful to his covenant promises (Ch 3 & 4).

3. Chapter 6 describes Isaiah’s call to service. Note his realisation of unworthiness in the presence of the Lord (6:5), and the cleansing that is made available (6:6-7). Isaiah expressed repentance but he cannot cleanse himself. God sends His angels to cleanse him. His call follows immediately upon his cleansing. God chose His servant, brought him to repentance, cleansed him from his sin and then called him into service. This is the pattern to which the Lord works in the hearts of His people, although each person’s experience is different in detail.

4. Through Isaiah the Lord shows that He is judge of all the earth, not just of His chosen people (Chapter 8ff, 34).

5. Chapters 38-55 speak of the One who is to come, as do other shorter passages in the prophecy (e.g. 9:1-7, 11). The Saviour is seen as the Suffering Servant, most especially in chapter 53. This chapter describes in detail what salvation cost Almighty God, and how His plans were laid in eternity.

6. Chapter 56 indicates that salvation wrought by the Suffering Servant will extend beyond Judah. ‘I will gather still others to them beside those already gathered’ (v 8). Just as God’s judgement extends beyond the borders of Judah to all the world, so His offer of salvation extends to all who will believe.

7. Chapter 56 moves on from the Suffering Servant to the Anointed Conqueror. Just as God’s judgement is inevitable, so his day of redemption is secure. Chapter 63:3 moves from one to the other. ‘I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground. I will tell of the kindness of the Lord, the deeds for which he is to be praised …’ Judgement and mercy go together for they both have their origins in God.

8. It is worth noting the accuracy with which Isaiah’s prophecies have been realised historically in relation to Israel and Judah, and specifically in relation to the birth and death of Jesus. It is a worthwhile exercise to compare the details of His birth (referenced above) and His death in chapter 53 with the accounts of the Lord’s nativity and crucifixion.

9. The prophecy has been helpfully divided by Rev. Alex Motyer into three sections: the book of the King (chapters 1-37), where we see God’s rule and judgement over all nations; the book of the Servant (chapters 38-55), where we see the plan of salvation, and the book of the Anointed Conqueror (chapters 56-66) where we see what is yet to come of final and certain judgement and final and glorious victory.

Activities: Complete the worksheet.


Lesson 22 Jeremiah and Ezekiel Jeremiah 13 & Ezekiel 4

Aim: To show that God loves his people even when he severely disciplines them.


Introduction: Jeremiah and Ezekiel lived at the same time. They lived at a time when God’s people were defeated by their enemies and sent into exile. This catastrophe comes on Judah in three waves over a period of twenty years. Jeremiah prophesies in Jerusalem whilst Ezekiel is one of the exiles living in the Babylonian empire.

1. Fundamental to an understanding of this part of Israel’s history is the key concept of the covenant God made with his people. Covenants were made between a king and his subjects. He promised to protect them and they promised to obey him. God made a covenant with Abraham which was to cover all his descendants (Genesis 17). He promised to be their God, take them as His people, give them a land to live in, bless them and bless all nations through them. They had to obey God and demonstrate this by accepting the sign of circumcision.

2. Later God renewed the covenant with His people at Sinai (Exodus 19:5-6). There Moses was given the law. There He renewed His commitment to bless them and to give them the promised land.

3. Centuries later God renewed the covenant with King David. There he further showed that the full blessing would come through the descendants of David. In the light of the New Testament we know that King David’s greater Son was Jesus, the Saviour of the whole world. Through Jesus Christ all the promises made to Abraham, Moses and David would be fulfilled in ways more wonderful than anyone had imagined.

4. However, the history of Israel was not one of obedience but of rebellion. Time and time again they forgot God. Each time God brought them back to himself. This was seen, often dramatically, in the incident of the golden calf at Sinai, during the time of the judges and throughout the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah. God sent His prophets to warn His people. Sometimes they listened. Mostly they did not.

5. At the time of Jeremiah and Ezekiel sin had become so deeply rooted in the life of the nation that God had to act decisively and drastically. The Babylonian army invaded in 605 BC and carried away some of the people to Babylon. Again the same happened in 597 BC and 587 BC. This last time Jerusalem was totally destroyed. Jeremiah was one of the few not taken into exile while Ezekiel had been taken away early on.

6. But God could not forget his promise made to Abraham. His covenant was permanent. He would punish the Babylonians, change his people and bring them back to Jerusalem (Jeremiah 25:11-12). God’s eternal plan could not be upset, even by His disobedient people. The promised Messiah did come and the Kingdom of God was set up.

7. Jeremiah had a very difficult task. He had to tell his people, whom he loved very much, that they were going to be punished for their sins. He was often accused of being a traitor as he told the people of Judah they should hand themselves over to the king of Babylon to avoid being destroyed by him. God had brought this disaster on them and they could not escape. He sometimes acted out his message as in chapter 13.

8. Ezekiel lived with a work party on the Chebar canal. He often acted out his message which told the people in exile the same as Jeremiah was telling those still left in Jerusalem. There were false prophets who promised God would deliver Jerusalem from the Babylonians and those already in exile would be able to go back home. Ezekiel denounced these messages as lies and emphasised that Jerusalem would be destroyed.

9. However unpopular, God’s message of punishment for sin must still be made clear to all. Salvation comes through confession and repentance.

Activities: Complete worksheet


Lesson 23 Malachi Malachi

Aim: To understand the importance of a right relationship with God and its outworking in daily life.


Introduction: Malachi is the last prophet in the Old Testament and has important lessons for us today. An understanding of the historical context helps us learn from this book.

1. Malachi lived at the time of Ezra, who came to Jerusalem in 458 BC, and Nehemiah who followed in 445 BC. His prophecies probably predate Nehemiah’s period as governor in Jerusalem.

2. The Babylonian empire that had destroyed Jerusalem was conquered by the Persians. Cyrus initiated a policy of encouraging the exiled Jews to return to their own land. Over a period of some decades groups of Jews did return and set up home again in their ancestral lands. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah encouraged them to rebuild the temple. Malachi’s ministry came to the people more than half a century later. The city of Jerusalem was still largely ruined and its walls still destroyed.

3. God’s love for his people involved choices. God chose them rather than any others. They were to choose to serve Him rather than any other god.

4. After the first flush of enthusiasm in rebuilding the temple the people settled into a daily routine of getting what they could for themselves. They were religious on the surface, offering sacrifices at the temple without putting their hearts into it. Malachi denounced them for cheating God by not paying all the tithes for the support of the temple worship (Malachi 3:8) and by bringing the weak of the flock as sacrifices rather than offering the best to God (Malachi 1:6-8). The priests were also to blame in this devaluing of the temple worship. We, too, have to ask ourselves if our heart is in our worship.

5. Their choices came down to practical details in everyday living. Malachi had to rebuke them for their hard hearted attitude to the poor, for their dishonesty and lies and also their unfaithfulness to their wives (Malachi 3:5). It is the same for us today. How we live in the details of daily life says a lot about the state of our hearts before God.

6. Malachi was the last of the Old Testament prophets. The people of his day were probably confused about God’s plan. The exile in Babylon and their current position as a weak province in the Persian empire made some doubt God’s intentions. But some were faithful and would be kept as treasure by God (Malachi 3:16,17). After him there would be a period of about 400 years before the Messiah came to Bethlehem. During Malachi God’s people had to wait patiently for the fulfilment of the promises made through the prophets.

7. Malachi could look back on a long line of God’s messengers who spoke to the people, always warning them about their sinful ways and always reminding them that God would be true to his promises. Throughout it all, there runs a thread that does not become clear until Christ came. The prophecy ends with a promise that Elijah (John the Baptist) would come before the Messiah to prepare the hearts of the people, and a solemn warning of God’s anger directed at those who would not repent.


LESSON 24 IS A REVISION OF THE LESSONS ON THE PROPHETS USING THE PREVIOUS NOTES

TIME TO TALK

Lesson 25 The Prophets

Aim: To discuss subjects raised in the lessons on the prophets.


Introduction: The prophets brought up some interesting subjects, but were they just for long ago and far away? Do they have anything to say to us today?

1. Ask members of the class to read the comments made on the front page of the worksheet. Take them individually with time for discussion in between.

2. The first comment tackles some interesting topics, for example, we are Christians because we live in a ‘Christian’ country. You could remind the students of God’s words of judgement, spoken through the prophets, against those who disobeyed him, even if they were from the nation that was his chosen people. The comment also raises the issue of God ‘understanding us’ in a way that is taken to mean that he understands our failings and failures and will let us off with them. What is meant by a ‘Christian’ country anyway? That is a good subject for discussion as we often assume that the UK is in some way a Christian country, when it long ago left that behind, if it ever really was true.

3. The second comment raises the issue of God’s judgement not being real. How can a God of love also be a judge? Point out that it IS hard to understand Scripture’s apparent paradoxes but that we have to accept them because they are in God’s Word and God is Truth, therefore they must be true because God cannot tell lies. ‘The God of all the earth does right’ even when we can’t begin to understand. The second comment also suggests you cannot believe in heaven and yet find yourself there when you die, the ultimate wonderful surprise. Try to get the young people to express the ridiculousness of this. Only those whose hearts are right with God will be in heaven, even though there will be surprises there for us as we don’t know what is in the heart of man.

4. The third comment raises issues from both Isaiah and Jonah. God calls all his chosen people into Christian service, and each one of us is called to pass on the good news about the Lord Jesus in some way or another. Point out that this need not be in Africa or India, but in their own classroom or café, within their own groups of friends. Accept that this is really hard. Try to help the young people to discuss Jonah’s reaction – running a mile (many miles!) to get away from doing God’s will because he thought the people to whom he was being sent didn’t deserve the opportunity of repentance. Do we pick and choose who we think should be Christians and discount others we see as unsuitable? Compare Jonah with Isaiah who was willing to go wherever God sent him with the words he was given to speak.

5. There are four other discussion topics on the back of the worksheet that should help to open up subjects. If the young people are slow to speak, you could suggest that they act the parts of a group of friends sitting in a youth club discussion the Christian faith, with one of them trying to be a missionary. Try to get them to relax and be themselves as they do this.

Activities: Complete worksheet

PERSONAL RELIGION

Lesson 26 Prayer Matthew 6:5-15

Aim: To learn from Jesus’ teaching on prayer


Introduction: Begin by exploring how we relate to one another. Think for a while about what makes for good personal relationships, especially listening and speaking. Go on to explain that we will be looking at how we can talk with God.

1. It is an amazing fact that God hears prayer. We are so used to it that we often fail to realise what a privilege prayer is. God is real. God is personal. He made us in his image so we can have a personal relationship with him. We can speak to him and be sure he will hear us. We are not alone even at the worst of times. He is always there. Prayer is “the highest activity of the soul”. Man is at his greatest when he is on his knees before God. Jesus was a man of prayer. It clearly was important to him and He took time to teach His disciples about prayer.

2. Jesus starts by saying how not to pray. First we must avoid hypocrisy. We are not to pray so as to draw people’s attention to ourselves. The Pharisees prayed like that to get praise from men. Secondly, we must avoid simply repeating words without meaning. Some other religions use prayer wheels or prayer flags. Some ‘Christians’ use prayer beads. These look on prayer as something mechanical we do to please God and get his attention. We do not have to force God to listen to us (Mat 6:5-7). It is not wrong to repeat prayers which have been written down by others, and certainly not wrong to think about what we will say before we pray. But it is insulting to God to make prayer some kind of magic formula that enables us to make Him do what we want. When we pray we must mean what we say.

3. Jesus then goes on to tell us how to pray. Unless we are taking part in a prayer meeting with others, we should go somewhere private where we can be alone with God, where all that matters is what God hears and what he thinks of our prayers. (Mat 6:6)

4. Jesus then gives us a model for prayer (Matt 6:9-13). We start with ADORATION by remembering who God is. He is our Father and also the high and holy One who lives in eternity. God’s glory matters more than anything else. He knows what we need before we ask and is able to do much more than we ask or even dream of.

5. The Lord’s Prayer goes on to SUPPLICATION, asking for six things - three with regard to God and three with regard to ourselves. We start with God as we always should. a) “Hallowed be thy name”. We want everyone everywhere to know God as He has revealed Himself to us in Christ. b) “Thy kingdom come”. We ask that the Kingdom of God which came with Christ two thousand years ago and exists in the hearts of his followers today will come fully. c) “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. We wish to see God’s rule extended over the whole earth with all evil banished.

6. The three petitions for ourselves ask for daily bread, forgiveness for sin and protection from temptation. It is right and proper that we ask for the things we need in this life. It reminds us that we are not self-sufficient but that every good and perfect gift comes down from above. Our spiritual needs are of greatest importance. CONFESSION and forgiveness is vital. Recognition that we have a spiritual enemy who is too strong for us should drive us frequently to our knees to ask for God’s help in fighting temptation.

7. Someone once summarised prayer as ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. Although thanksgiving is not mentioned explicitly in the Lord’s Prayer, it is clearly taught elsewhere in Scripture.

8. There is a final solemn warning that we can only expect mercy if we show mercy. We must forgive others if we wish God to forgive us.

PERSONAL RELIGION

Lesson 27 Bible Reading Psalm 119

Aim: To show how important it is to feed on God’s Word and how to go about studying the Bible.


Introduction: Start with a short discussion on how we know something we are told is true.

1. The canon of our OT was determined by the time Jesus was teaching in Palestine. There were other Jewish books (apocrypha) which some Christian traditions have in their Bibles today. Our Old Testament was Jesus’ Bible. The NT canon was fixed when the Church recognised the clear divine inspiration of the books we have in our NT today. There were other false gospels, some made notorious by those who talk of a conspiracy by the Church to suppress opinions the Church leaders were not happy with. These books were written much later and are clearly less reliable.

2. The Bible was written originally in Hebrew and Greek with a little Aramaic. It was written over centuries by men who varied in their education, their cultural setting and their temperaments. Yet it is all God’s Word.

3. Jesus valued the Scriptures. He read them publicly. He used them to resist the Devil. He quoted from them frequently as he taught. He said about the Bible, “the Scriptures cannot be broken” and “Your word is truth”).

4. The foundation principle for approaching Scripture is to be found in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is God-breathed ...” The Bible is not a collection of human wisdom. It is not the best of human effort to seek after God. It is God speaking to man. It is inspired in the sense that God has spoken (the Greek is “theopneustos”=”God-breathed”). He has chosen not to be a remote and silent God. We often fail to realise just how great is our privilege in having God’s will recorded for us in written form. Add to that the promise of the Holy Spirit to enable us to understand the message and we are truly privileged indeed. The Bible is entirely trustworthy. You can stake your life on what the Bible teaches.

5. It was communicated through men prepared by the Holy Spirit. It was not dictated to them nor presented to them as a vision of a heavenly original. They wrote with their own styles and in the context of their own cultures but under the control of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21).

6. The following suggestions might help in making good use of the Bible.

Never lose sight of the main purpose of Scripture. “The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God and what duty God requires of man.” (Westminster Shorter Catechism)

Always approach the Bible with humility and prayer.

Look at each text in its context, i.e. as part of the teaching of the passage it belongs to.

Compare Scripture with Scripture. One text cannot contradict what another teaches. Use different translations if that helps.

Plan to make sure there is a time each day when you can be alone with the Bible. There are many useful schemes (such as SU notes) to help with regular Bible reading.

Try to memorise Scripture and think of how to put its teaching into practice.

7. Psalm 119 is all about God’s Word. It is an acrostic poem where every verse in each section starts with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Every verse except two of them contains a word (law, statutes, rules, testimonies etc,) that refer to God’s Word.

Activities: Complete the worksheet. Investigate the work of Bible translators today.

PERSONAL RELIGION

Lesson 28 Worship John 4:21-24 Ephesians 5:18-21

Aim: To help understand what worship is.


Introduction: Briefly talk about what the young people understand by “worship”.

1. In the book of Revelation we have a number of songs sung in heaven. Some, as in 4:11 and 5:9 begin “Worthy are you …”. They tell of how God or Christ are worthy to be praised and honoured. This is expressing God’s “worthship” or offering “worship” to him.

2. Worship in public or private is something all creatures would wish to offer to God if it were not for sin. Sin destroys this desire although the obligation remains. Someday every knee will bow before our Lord. We worship God because of what he is, (“infinite, eternal and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth”), and because of what he did and does as Creator and Redeemer.

3. Worship is such an important activity that we have to listen to what God says about how we are to worship him. Most importantly we must recognise that “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Worship must never be done so as to please men rather than God. Worship is not entertainment. It needs no visual aids and certainly no attempt to portray God in picture or 3D image. The second commandment clearly forbids the use of images. Worship focuses on God and comes from the heart.

4. Since God is to be worshipped in spirit we do not need any special holy place to conduct an act of worship. He may be worshipped in a building or in the open air, by individuals or in groups.

5. The following elements may be present in an act of worship: (Acts 2:42)

Teaching – reading and explaining God’s Word.

Fellowship – expressing our oneness with the rest of God’s people and our shared personal relationship with Him. This involves cultivating a sense of belonging as well as sharing our joys and sorrows. It also means submitting to one another in humility.

Breaking of Bread – The two sacraments of the NT are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Prayers – whether offered by an individual in private or offered on behalf of a gathering of worshippers.

Praise – raising our voices in praise to God. Ephesians 5:18-21 speaks of “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs”. These are almost certainly references to various types of Psalms. Try looking through the headings at the start of each of the Psalms. Spiritual usually refers to the Holy Spirit so that “spiritual songs” are songs inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Giving – The apostle Paul encouraged congregations to lay aside every week whatever they could afford to be used to help the poor and promote the work of the gospel.

6. The promised presence of God in any gathering of his people is vital to make for true worship. The mere coming together to go through a recognised form of worship will not do if the Holy Spirit is not at the heart of it.


PERSONAL RELIGION

Lesson 29 Witness John 4:1-26 Hebrews 4:14-16

Aim: To encourage all to think about what they believe and how they should share this with others.


Introduction: Think about what a witness in court might have to do. There are also useful videos available with modern examples of lives transformed following a simple sharing of the gospel.

1. Jesus began his ministry by choosing twelve disciples who would be with him, seeing how he lived and what he did and listening to what he said. These were to be his witnesses to tell the world all they had learned.

2. A witness tells what he knows. Passing on second hand evidence or opinions is not allowed. The true witness talks about what he knows to be true. John spoke about something “which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and touched with our hands …” (1 John 1:1).

3. In the Christian life we testify to what God has done for us and pass on the teaching of Scripture that has become a living and a life transforming word for us. This witness is mostly without words. How we live speaks louder than what we say. Our lives must shine as lights in a dark world (Philippians 2:15).

4. However, the great truths of the gospel have to be spoken to be understood. Peter says we must be “ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us” (1 Peter 3:15). This defence must be thought through, clear and done “with meekness and fear”, i.e. fear of God. There may well be fear of man which holds us back from letting others know where we stand. It is an easy but also a dangerous thing to be too ashamed of Jesus to tell others about him. Arrogance and sectarianism have no place in true witness.

5. Evangelism is an essential feature of the Christian faith. Many other religions complain about Christian evangelism. They think everyone should stick with their own religion and object to the Christian claim that Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life” in a unique sense. In today’s post-modern world it is commonly believed that every individual is entitled to his/her own opinions and there is no universally true faith. There is so much spiritual confusion today, but the Christian must insist that “Jesus is Lord” and that “there is only one name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved”. Many Christians in other countries pay with their lives for their faithfulness to Christ.

6. We can learn a lot from Christ’s approach to those who were naturally suspicious of him. The Samaritan woman knew that Jews, and especially Jewish Rabbis, despised the Samaritans and especially a woman with a bad reputation. Yet Jesus spoke to her, humbly asking for a drink of water. He did not let traditional taboos get in the way of his ministry. He had “come to seek and to save that which was lost.” This naturally led on to a conversation that very quickly caused the woman to face up to the big issues in her life. Jesus answered her questions without getting sidetracked but keeping her involvement in the conversation. She was so changed by Jesus that she went immediately to bring others to meet him too (John 4:1-26).


PERSONAL RELIGION

Lesson 30 Missionscene India

Aim: To help the young people to learn about the Lord’s work in India.


Introduction: Imagine being in a country where people worshipped many gods – or is that not really very different from how we are here?

Go through the facts and figures given on the front page of the worksheet, perhaps asking each student to read one aloud.

Explain the difficulties involved in spreading the gospel in a land where Christians cannot witness freely, either missionaries or indigenous people. You could ask the students to suggest solutions to some problems.

Some examples:

A UK missionary society wants to spread the gospel in a Hindu part of India. Missionaries are not welcome. How can they do this? (They might send people to secular jobs with a view to them witnessing as ways open up for them).

A young person hears the gospel at university and wants to follow Jesus. He knows that this will make him very unpopular with his family and decides to live a double life, to be a Christian at university and a Hindu at home.

A local Indian church wants to reach out to the people in the neighbourhood. It’s a poor part of the city. How can they do that without causing problems?

There has been a disastrous flood along part of the Indian coastline, how can a church become involved in the relief effort even though it is not a wealthy congregation?

A young person from the UK wants to spend a year doing the Lord’s work in India. What can he or she do?

Allow the class time to look at the missionary materials you have relating to India.

PERSONAL RELIGION

Lesson 31 Fellowship 1 John 1-3 Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-35

Hebrews 10:25Aim: To understand what fellowship is, how important it is and how to enjoy it.


Introduction: Encourage the young folk to talk around their special interests about their hobbies and the times they share with others.

1. The word “Fellowship” may often be identified with religious activities and not be clearly understood. Basically it is friendship around a common interest. In spiritual terms it is a sense of belonging and common interest centred on our relationship with Christ. We share a very special personal relationship that defines who we are and determines how we live.

2. The New Testament Greek word for fellowship is “koinonia” coming from a word meaning “common”. By God’s grace he and we have certain things in common. By redeeming us to Himself we are given the righteousness of Christ. We have the Holy Spirit within us. (1 John 1-3) This leads to all God’s people rejoicing together in common privileges and sharing blessings with one another. Whatever the differences of culture, social status, denomination etc., if we belong to God we belong to one another. Fellowship in the gospel is a precious reality we should protect from the corrosion of pride and prejudice.

3. The early Christians shared in the teaching ministry of the apostles. They came together to hear the gospel taught, to think through its implications together and to encourage one another to apply this teaching to their daily lives. (Acts 2:42) This emphasises the need for meeting together with other believers around the Word of God for growing in understanding of the gospel, for praise and for prayer. Formal church services and informal gatherings provide the means to do this.

4. Meeting together is also necessary to encourage one another to persevere in the Christian life, overcoming all the obstacles one finds in daily living. A live coal quickly grows cold on its own but burns brightly in a fire with other coals. Shared experiences and wisdom learned from life are necessary for our growth in grace.

5. Shared fellowship leads to recognising all the needs of others and providing opportunities to help. The early Christians even sold their property to enable them to help the poor in their midst, being willing to share their own possessions. (Acts 2:44-45 & 4:32-35) Later in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians we see the Christian community giving expression to this principle through a weekly offering in their church fellowship. In today’s global village we are made aware of needy people in all parts of the world and are able to do them good through church and para-church organisations.

6. Encourage the young people to see the importance of church meetings and to consider their own responsibilities to give from their possessions to those in need of help. Tearfund has many resources that would help with this. Look at Galatians 6:10 to show the need to begin with the needs of believers and to go beyond to all in need.

7. There are many obstacles to fellowship including, persecution, loss of interest, cultural difficulties, too busy etc. It is therefore important to encourage one another to practice love and good works. (Hebrews 10:25)

Activities: Complete the worksheet. Spend some time discussing the importance of fellowship and of generosity to those in need.

LESSON 32 REVISES LESSONS 27-31 USING THOSE LESSON NOTES

Lesson 33 Time to Talk

Aim: To allow the young people to discuss the subjects studied in Bible Class and to provide you with the opportunity to encourage them and assure them of your understanding and support.

Materials: Bibles and worksheets

Introduction: Talk with the students about the fact that the Christian faith is practical. It involves every part of us: body, mind and soul. It also affects how we relate to other people. This lesson revises the practical aspects of the faith. Time to Talk gives the young people time to explore their thoughts aloud. Be gentle with them and try to remember that we once found it hard to express spiritual thoughts to others, perhaps we still do.

The worksheet provides five subjects for discussion, three on the front and two on the back page. You could ask the students each to present one subject – reading the topic and then asking the others in the class to discuss it. The five subjects are:

1. Why bother praying? We teach our students that God knows everything, so it is legitimate for them to ask why we need to pray. You could give the example of a parent who wants his child to learn to ask for things rather than being provided with everything automatically. Prayer is an expression of our childlike approach to God. In prayer we come to our Heavenly Father expressing our total dependence on him. Other issues about prayer may well come up from what is on the worksheet. Try to encourage the class to discuss prayer as a personal, rather than an academic, issue. It might be helpful if you share some of your own blessings, and difficulties, in prayer.

2. Reading the Bible. It is important to stress that the Bible is not dead history; it is a living book – the living Word of the Living God. Encourage the young people to realise that ALL of the Bible is the Word of God, not just the gospels. You could prepare in advance some instances of when you have known God’s Word speak to you in quite clear ways – words of guidance in time of difficulty, help in time of need, assurance in time of doubt.

3. Sunday observance – this is an issue that every young person has to face. Encourage your class to talk about their own experiences and how they have resolved problems, or not. Try to get them to discuss ways round problems. e.g. school sports teams playing on Sundays and the feeling of being left out when they cannot join in. Could they organise an alternative team that meets at another time? Try to keep this discussion applicable to their lives, always remembering the theological reason for the Lord’s Day being special, and that observing it is God’s command.

4. Witnessing. Some in your class may be believers and others not. Just by talking together in the class those who are believers are witnessing to their faith. Be honest about the difficulties of witnessing to the faith.

5. The final comment is also about witnessing – even just admitting attending church is hard for some young people. Try to encourage them, remembering back to our own youth and the embarrassment that overwhelmed us so often. It hasn’t ever been easy being a teenager, and it certainly isn’t easy now. Use Time to Talk to allow your students to express their difficulties and assure them of your support and prayers.

You could end by suggesting that the members of your Bible Class agree to support and help each other.

CHRISTIAN COUNTER-CULTURE

Lesson 34 Purity of Language Matthew 5:33-37

Aim: To show that responsible and honest use of language is a Christian duty.


Introduction: Encourage the young people to describe incidents where they or others have been hurt by words – spiteful, gossiping, untrue, swearing, blasphemy etc.

1. In the letter by James we are told that the tongue is very powerful and capable of doing much damage. (James 3:1-12) With the tongue lies are told, false promises made, spiteful words spoken, reputations ruined, threats made, hurtful words spoken, blasphemy uttered and sexual impurity encouraged.

2. Oaths have always been part of the judicial scene. Jesus was placed under oath at his trial. (Matthew 26:63) Abraham promised with an oath not to enrich himself from his rescue of Lot and the people of Sodom (Genesis 14:22-24) and also in his dealings with Abimelech, king of the Philistines (Genesis 21: 24-34) It is not wrong to take an oath in a court of law nor in the sealing of an important treaty. What is wrong is taking an oath and failing to keep it.

3. Jesus spoke against the practice of taking oaths lightly. (Matthew 5:33-37) To swear by heaven or earth is to swear by something we cannot change. These are part of God’s domain where he alone has ultimate authority. There is an inherent dishonesty in such oaths. To make a promise is not wrong but to promise what we cannot keep is wrong. Simple promises are best. If we have to back up our promise with an oath or a “cross my heart and hope to die” our word is already suspect. We should be known as those who do not go back on what they say, who do not wriggle out of agreements and who do not fudge issues to backtrack on a promise.

4. While telling lies is as old as Adam (Genesis 3) yet it seems past ages that depended on oral agreements had a higher view of truth telling than our age. It seems perfectly respectable now for people at all levels in society to tell lies. Politicians, journalists and salesmen are not expected to tell the truth and parents often feel comfortable with “white lies” when they wish to hide something from their children. The result is a general ethos of mistrust with consequent lack of cohesion in society from family to national level. Gaining the trust of others is important and may take a long time. Losing their trust only takes a few words.

5. Twisting the truth, putting a spin on the facts, is an art that is easily learned but very corrosive of trust. Truth telling comes from honesty in heart. We often deceive ourselves before attempting to deceive others. We are too ready to justify our words. “She deserves it.” “I’m only saying this to protect him from the truth.” Particularly unacceptable is carelessness with the reputation of others. The ninth commandment is devoted to this sin. Not only is the truth stretched but it is done to hurt another or to get a laugh or boost our image. (Psalm 15)

6. There are many other ways in which we can let our tongues lead us into sin. Perhaps the young folk might like to talk about some of them such as taking God’s name in vain or smutty jokes or aggressive swearing.



Lesson 35 Love your Enemies Matthew 5:38-48

Aim: To understand the radical nature of Christian love towards all.


Introduction: Ask the young folk how they would react if someone did something nasty to them.

1. “Love” is the key word for understanding how we should live to please God. However, love has become a devalued word. In the New Testament the word “agape” is used of God’s love. It is that kind of love we are called on to express in our daily relationships with others. “God is love”. In the eternal relationships among the three persons of the godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, love is perfectly expressed. In God’s dealings with us we experience perfect love. God not only loved His perfect Son but loves rebellious sinners. Indeed He so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son for them. (John 3:16)

2. God is holy and cannot overlook sin. In the law of Moses we see strict justice including due penalty for wrongdoing – “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” (Exodus 21:23-25) This is not a barbaric rule but strict justice and, indeed, was meant to stop vengeance going too far. But God is also merciful and gracious and has devised means to be “just and the justifier of the ungodly”. Through Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary God can and does forgive sins. This love is directed at His enemies. While we were yet enemies Christ died for us and brought us into a loving relationship with Himself.

3. Love is a very practical matter. It is not about trying hard to have cosy feelings about someone but about doing good to them. We love the hungry when we feed them. Love is the opposite of selfishness. It puts others before ourselves.

4. As God loves his enemies we, too, must love those who hurt us. This is a radical departure from our normal way of thinking and is only possible through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is natural to want to hit back when we are hurt. It is natural to want our enemies to feel the misery that we feel. Yet Jesus teaches us a better way (Matthew 5:39-42).

If we are insulted we should respond calmly. Apart from being the right thing to do it stops an ugly situation getting worse and often defuses the attack on us. Bullies enjoy hurting others. They don’t know how to respond to love. (verse 39)

We must not insist on our rights. Before God we deserve punishment for our sins yet he forgave us. When others wrong us our concern for them should follow the pattern of God’s concern for us. Loss of material goods or status is not the most important matter. (verse 40)

We should be willing to undertake unpleasant tasks, those that hurt us because they are unjust. Doing good to those that hate us and misuse us is the love that God has shown to us. (verse 41)

We must be ready to give generously to those in need. God makes his sun to shine on the righteous and the unrighteous. While we have a special duty to love Christians, we also have a duty to love all men. Once again we note that this love is practical. It is doing something for someone. (verse 42)

Activities: Complete the worksheet. This lesson lends itself to discussing in real terms what it means to love our enemies. Try to get the young folk to think of who might be an enemy and how one should respond in particular circumstances.


Lesson 36 Liberality & Stewardship Matthew 6:1-4

Aim: To understand our responsibilities to share with those in need.


Introduction: Begin by discussing how much we all have. Even those who are “poor” in our part of the world are fabulously rich in world terms. We only have what we’ve been given. Anything we give to others has already been given to us. And when we give anything to God, we are only giving back a little of what he has already given us.

1. The secular thinking is that all we have is a result of our own efforts and a bit of luck. Increasingly luck plays an important part with gambling becoming more pervasive. The Bible teaches us that all we have has come down to us from God. We are stewards of God’s gifts to us and must use our possessions in ways that please Him. (James 1:17)

2. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. (Acts 20:35) Here, as often, Jesus turns human thinking on its head. Happiness does not come from getting wealth but from obedience to God, including the use of our possessions to help those in need. “God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all he had, give the proceeds to the poor and follow Him. Then he would enjoy eternal life. (Matthew 19:21)

3. We give because He gave. Our motivation in giving must be out of gratitude to God. He did not spare His only begotten Son that we might receive the gift of eternal life. What can we refuse to give in the light of such infinite love towards us? Whatever we do, we do for God. The law of Moses, revealed by God on Mount Sinai, was strong on protection for the poor. (Deuteronomy 15:11) The rest of the Old Testament is equally strong on the sin of neglecting the poor. (Proverbs 14:31, Psalm 146, Isaiah 58:7) Jesus’ example and teaching in the gospels is just as clear. (Matthew 25:37-39) Those who belong to the family of God and benefit from His grace must reflect His love in all their relationships with others.

4. We give according to our means. There is no fixed amount we are asked to give. The OT law commanded the Israelites to give ten per cent of their goods. The poor widow who put a tiny coin into the temple treasury was highly commended by Jesus for her generosity and faith. What is required is a spirit of generosity, a recognition that we depend on God for all we need, and a careful assessment of what God has given us.

5. We give what is appropriate to the need. How we respond to the needs of others must consider carefully what their real needs are. We are blessed in the church with those who have built up considerable experience in knowing how to help the needy. We can trust their judgement in giving our money to make a real difference to those who suffer.

6. We give because there are those who need our help. “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Is the second great commandment. (Leviticus 19:18, Mark 12:31) Jesus said, “The poor you have always with you”. There will never be a lack of opportunity to express the love of Christ that has been placed in our hearts.

7. We give out of love for others and not love for ourselves. There are those who make sure lots of people know about their giving to charity. They give to get praise from men. Their motive for giving is selfish. Such giving cuts no ice with God. The rule is, “Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” God’s reward is all we should expect. (Matthew 6:2-4)

8. We do not give in order to earn favour with God. It is good to give to the Lord’s cause but we must never fool ourselves into thinking God cannot work without our help nor believe that God is in debt to us.

Activities: Complete the worksheet. Take time to look at material from Tearfund and others to help the young folk think seriously about making a commitment of regular giving.


Lesson 37 Materialism & Anxiety Matthew 6:19-34

Aim: To understand the values that lead to right priorities in life, valuing the spiritual over the material.


Introduction: Begin by discussing what kinds of TV programmes are most popular and why they should attract such large audiences.

1. Everyone spends time and energy pursuing what is important to them. In the Middle Ages people believed that God was real and had spoken through the Holy Scriptures. Life after death was of first importance. Their lives frequently did not match their basic beliefs and they were often sadly ignorant of how to relate to God. In the Western World today materialism has taken over. Pursuing wealth is of first importance. Happiness is seen as inextricably bound up with money and what money can buy. The lottery, the wage packet, houses, cars, entertainment, celebrity status etc. dominate modern secular life. Words on the number plate of a smart, red, Porsche sports car read, “He who dies with the most toys wins”. That seems to sum up modern Western materialism.

2. Jesus contrasted treasure on earth and treasure in heaven. (Matthew 6:19-21) Consider what these earthly treasures might be, concentrating on things that might be particularly attractive to young folk but avoiding giving any impression that young folk are worse than adults in idolising material things. Think of the things that take up a lot of our time, particularly what we choose to do with our free time. Think of ways in which possessions may be lost, stolen, broken, etc.

3. Consider what heavenly treasures would be. Paul gives a list of the fruits of the Spirit, “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”. (Galatians 5:22,23) What other gifts from God are of eternal significance? Think how permanent, even eternal, these all are. It is more difficult in out materialistic age to really accept that these will bring more happiness than money. We are like the rich young ruler who was sad at the thought of giving away all he had. The words quoted by Jim Eliot, one of the five Auca martyrs, is very relevant, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose.”

4. However, it is so easy to think of this as “jam tomorrow, but never jam today.” It takes the enlightening work of the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to where true happiness is to be found. Jesus talked about the eye being the lamp of the body. (Matthew 6:22) Ancient people thought of the eye as letting the light into the body. Jesus as the light that has come into the World is able to shine on our inmost thoughts and desires and show up what is beautiful and what is tawdry. In the third world many poor Christians who have almost nothing of earthly treasure have a deep seated happiness that the richest celebrities never seem to achieve.

5. You cannot serve two masters. (Matthew 6:22) Many try to have their cake and eat it. They want eternal life but also what they see as the best of earthly treasure too. The problem lies in where our allegiance is. Materialism becomes addictive. It leaves little room for serving God. It demotes God from the top spot in our lives. We have to ask ourselves constantly, “Whom do I serve daily?” Christ claims all of us – 24/7.

6. Worry is a big problem with most people. Jesus teaching here (Matthew 6:25-34) neatly follows the teaching on earthly treasures. Much anxiety is about material goods, some of it to do with physical necessities but much to do with the extras in life. In both cases Jesus reminds us that God is the provider of all we need. He knows best what is good for us. We must first learn to trust Him. Secondly we must learn to have the right priorities in life. It is essential we seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness. If we do not we will never know peace and real happiness.

Activities: Complete the worksheet. This issue calls for much sensitive dialogue.


Lesson 38 Judging Matthew 7:1-6

Aim: To alert ourselves to the dangers of criticising others.


Introduction: Begin by asking the young folk to think of an instance where they have heard people tearing each other to pieces.

1. No one likes a hypocrite. However, few realise how common hypocrisy is. We tend to see it as the other guy’s problem. In our secular society it is assumed that hypocrisy is part of the religious life yet atheism and agnosticism is rife with it. We only have to think about the accusation that religion has been responsible for so many wars down through the centuries. What about the tens of millions who died in the twentieth century by the aggression of atheistic powers (Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot)? Jesus rightly asks each one of us, without exception, to stop and think before we criticise. Are we even more guilty than the one we are condemning? The speck in our brother’s eye and the plank in our own eye is a vivid picture that relates only too well with our perception of faults in ourselves and others. (Matthew 7:3)

2. For the Pharisees in Jesus’ day the huge and complex mass of man-made laws that had been added to God’s law gave ample room for nit picking and censorious condemnation of lesser mortals. By contrast, Jesus, the only perfect man, taught us the real meaning of the law which is to love God and love our neighbour as ourselves. Paul reminds us that, “Love thinks no evil” (1 Corinthians 13:5).

3. What Jesus is condemning is not the normal legal system where criminals are judged, nor is it the practice of judging between right and wrong. If it were the latter, we would be in a moral quagmire and Jesus own words might be seen as self-contradictory. What is condemned here is setting ourselves up as superior to others and becoming self-appointed judges of their actions - the guilty judging the guilty. We are warned away from judging, or being judgemental, lest we fall ourselves into judgement (Matthew 7:1).

4. Judging others often devalues them. In the Law of Moses even convicted criminals were to receive some respect. For that reason the sentence of whipping was restricted to a maximum of forty lashes “lest the criminal be despised in their eyes.” Other legal systems up to the present time could well learn from that law.

5. A common breach of this teaching is the practice of “slagging off” others. This is so easy to fall into. It is a group activity and no one likes to appear different from the group lest s/he gives the impression of being “holier than thou.” There is also an element of humour in “slagging off” and it can be difficult not to laugh when others are enjoying the joke. There is also a sense of hitting out at those who have hurt us. Yet this is clearly an example of the “judging” that we are warned away from.

6. It is a Christian duty to stand up for truth and clean moral values. This is an area where we must judge between right and wrong. However, when we go the next step in pointing out to someone where s/he is doing wrong we have to tread very carefully, speaking in humility and love. It is so, so easy to feel self-righteous and enjoy pointing out the errors of others. But there is also a time when we are to refrain from speaking lest we merely waste our words or even risk being attacked (Matthew 7:6). Our failure to join in a “slagging off” session and our general avoidance of censorious judging of others will be noticed and may be a far more powerful witness than any words we could utter.

Activities: Complete the worksheet. Let the young folk discuss among themselves some of the experiences they have of judgemental attitudes and cruel slagging off.

LESSON 39 REVISES LESSONS 32-38 USING THOSE LESSON NOTES

Lesson 40 Revision of Memory Work

Aim: To help the young people to revise the scripture verses they have learned over the year, along with the psalm portions and Catechism, if these have been memorised.

Materials: Bible, pen, paper (different colours, if possible), scissors.

Introduction: Briefly tell the story of the temptations of Jesus and how he countered each temptation by quoting the Bible to the devil. Explain that Jesus could only do that because he had memorised the Bible. Conclude that learning Bible verses is not done for the benefit of the teacher, or to gain a certificate, but as a tool for living a practical Christian life, and a weapon for fighting Satan.

1. Give the young people the worksheets and ask them fill in the spaces in the memory verses. Keep an eye open for those who have to keep referring to the back of the page for the answers. It should be easy to spot them as the verses on the reverse of the sheet are written upside down!

2. When they have finished completing the verses, ask them to choose one as their favourite and then write in the box on the back of the worksheet why they have chosen that one.

3. If some students made heavy weather on the work, take time to do it with them. They will learn more easily if they feel you are helping rather than criticising them for not remembering.

4. While the slower young people are doing that, give those who are finished a sheet of paper each (use different colours, if possible). Ask them to write down their favourite verse in large letters over the whole of the sheet and then cut it into eight pieces, thus making a jigsaw of the memory verse. Pass these jigsaws round the class and have the young people do each other’s ones.

5. Repeat the exercise with each piece being cut into two, thus making 16 piece jigsaws.

6. If catechism questions and answers have been learned, they could be revised in the following way, and with the use of an object, a pen, for example. Ask one catechism question and then hand the pen to a student in the class. The young person who is given the pen answers the question and then asks the next one, passing on the pen to the person who is to answer. You may have to hand the catechism round with the pen for those who are having trouble remembering. Young people are so easily embarrassed that it is better for them to have the catechism to refer to than to risk them being laughed at.

7. Metrical psalms can be revised in just the same way, with each student saying a line and handing the pen (plus open psalter) to the person who is to say the next line.

Conclusion – This is the last Bible Class of the session. Thank the young people for coming and for the privilege of being their Bible Class leader. Assure them that you will pray for them over the summer holidays.


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