The LifeWay question underscoring the theme of Unit 3 is “What Should a Church Be?”. Champion Forest Baptist Church, where I worship, is a local body of baptized believers who have agreed to worship Jesus Christ together, edify believers, evangelize the lost and minister to others.
These points correlate pretty well with the four LifeWay lessons in Unit 3, except their plan omits “edify believers”. A church should be a place where believers grow as disciples. At a minimum this happens through preaching, teaching and committed study of God’s Word. In other words, growth in Christian maturity is NOT automatic, and believers come together for worship, bible study, prayer, and fellowship in order to grow more Christlike.
The background passage this week is Matthew 19:1-22:46, and I think it offers a wonderful opportunity to edify the saints in godly thinking, contrary to that of adopting a worldly viewpoint.
Instead of the title: “A Place for All”, I suggest a lesson title of “Grow in Godly Thinking,” or alternatively, “Abandon Worldly Viewpoints.” I selected key verses that correspond to Jesus’ interactions with the disciples during the period marked in the background passages. These appear below with a first draft of how I would title the lesson steps.
Step 1. Matthew 19:10-15 Challenge first impressions
Step 2. Matthew 19:23-30 Be heavenly minded
Step 3. Matthew 20:1-16 Count on the Lord
Step 4. Matthew 20:20-28 Prepare for persecution
Step 5. Matthew 21:20-22 Seek godly understanding
Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind as I put my slides together, but at least I'm settled in the approach I'll take! I’ll post my slides tomorrow, Lord willing. As always, I’d like you to chime in with your suggestions. God bless!
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1 comment:
Maybe a better title is "A Place for All to Grow"? This is in keeping with the LifeWay idea of the lesson, but also with the twist I'd like to add to it.
Sorry, I've put everyone thru my machination on the lesson this week!
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