Theology points

We’ve all heard of the idea of “talking points”, but are you clear on what “theology points” you want to teach in the lesson, “Make Major Life Adjustments”? Essentially, what key beliefs about God, as revealed in Genesis 46 and 47, are you going to make? For example, you can make the point that God is faithful.

Senior Pastor, Kent Berghuis, of First Baptist Church in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, makes some theology points in a sermon outline for Genesis 46. For example, he asserts: “God confirms His promises.” But is that always the case in Scripture?

Have class members read the lesson focal passages, Genesis 46:1-7, 28-30, and 47:7-12 and call out what they teach about God.

Teaching points

David Self’s lesson plan for “Make Major Life Adjustments” suggests four teaching points in a time of life transition: (1) First seek God, (2) Consider everyone’s needs, (3) Plan ahead, and (4) Be humble.

I prefer these over what is suggested by the LifeWay Adult Leader Guide: (1) Apprehension, (2) Joy, and (3) Fulfillment.

Have you decided on your main teaching points for Sunday's lesson? Remember, we are not just teaching the Bible as a history book. Our desire is to see people’s lives changed by learning about God and their relationship with Him.

Turning points

Bob Deffinbaugh’s commentary on Genesis 46 and 47 is titled, “Life begins at 130”, since he sees the passage as describing turning points in Jacob’s life. Turning points can happen in different life categories, such as family (getting married), education (graduating), work (retiring), health (surgery), or spiritual (believing in Jesus Christ). Here is an example.

Perhaps you can use the idea of a life turning point to introduce your lesson. Ask class members to identify the top three or four turning points in their lives. Use this discussion as a springboard into your lesson.

Make Major Life Adjustments, Genesis 46,47

If you type “Genesis 46, 47” in a Google search box, you’ll get thousands of commentaries on Genesis 46:1-47:26, the background passage for this week’s LifeWay lesson titled, “Make Major Life Adjustments.” Filtering thru all those commentaries is impossible and not even desirable. I’m sure some of them would even take us down unwise paths.

However, I always enjoy looking at Sonshine’s study questions for the lesson to see what application angle she takes with respect to the given background passage. This week her application is to “prepare for now and eternity”.

Do you plan to apply the background passage this week in the manner described by the Lifeway Adult Leader Guide?

PPT slides for "Work Toward Reconciliation"

In case they might help you prepare, here is a link to my PPT slides for the lesson “Work Toward Reconciliation”.

Need a plan?

Well, Jeff Meyer continues to make his Genesis lesson plans available—see this link for his comments on Work Toward Reconciliation. I’m a little surprised, but I always enjoy his insights.

For a more detailed plan to teach the lesson, "Work Toward Reconciliation", see Russ Rosser's comments here (Carmel Baptist Church in Matthews, NC).

I’ll try to post my PPT slides, but it will be late Saturday (tomorrow) given all that I have on my plate :-) .

The joy of reconciliation

It looks like LifeWay’s Adult Extra will change in June (see the note at the end of this post, Work Toward Reconciliation, our lesson this week). The last part also makes it clear that reconciliation is not always possible.

I thought of the Godfather scene called “the kiss of death”, where Michael identifies his brother Fredo as the one who betrayed him. After their mother dies, Michael signals his henchman to do away with Fredo.

It's a sad scene and not very uplifting. However, it characterizes the results of a failure to reconcile. Contrast its pathos with that of the joy experienced by Joseph after he forgave his brothers of their treachery (Genesis 45). We have that to look forward to if we will reconcile broken relationships with others.