11/25/2007

EXTRA!
Weekly Supplemental Teaching Plans

Adult

Explore the Bible
ETB Adult EXTRA

November 25, 2007

On Mission
Gregory T. Pouncey

Matthew 27:35-37,45-50; 28:5-10,18-20

Before the Session

For teaching plans and full explanations of all the verses in today’s lessons, consult the Explore the Bible leader guide.

Make sure each learner has his or her own Explore the Bible learner guide.

Jesus Died for Us (Matt. 27:35-37,45-50)

Ask learners to read Matthew 27:35-37,45-50.

Divide learners into pairs. Distribute hymnals to each pair, asking them to look through it to find expressions of the meaning of the cross. Allow learners to share lyrics that minister to them. Lead the class in disucssing how Jesus’ death demonstrated His love for us.

Discuss the following excerpt in Mark Dever’s article from Christianity Today:

Nothing but the Blood

"I've just been told that I'm too Atonement-centered."

My sister in Christ was serious, humble, and a little confused. I said, "What do you mean 'too Atonement-centered'?" I had never heard the charge.

A Christian friend told her that she talked too much about Christ's death, which dealt with our guilt due to sin. I responded that knowing and accepting this truth was the only way to a relationship with God, and that I didn't think it was possible to be "too Atonement-centered."

Few other doctrines go to the heart of the Christian faith like the Atonement. Congregations sing at the top of their lungs: "My sin, not in part but the whole, has been nailed to the cross, so I bear it no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!" ("It Is Well with My Soul"). The priestly work of Christ separates Christianity from Judaism and Islam. Not surprisingly, the Cross has become the symbol for our faith.

Still, God's work on the Cross leaves us with plenty of questions. In fact, there have always been a few Christians who question whether we need the Atonement, including, in recent years, some evangelicals who have challenged the dominant understanding of Christ's death on the Cross as the substitute for our sins.

At stake is nothing less than the essence of Christianity. Historically understood, Christ's Atonement gives hope to Christians in their sin and in their suffering. If we have any assurance of salvation, it is because of Christ's Atonement; if any joy, it flows from Christ's work on the Cross. The Atonement protects us from our native tendency to replace religion with morality and God's grace with legalism. Apart from Christ's atoning work, we would be forever guilty, ashamed, and condemned before God. But not everyone these days sees it that way.
Source: Denver, Mark (2006, May 1). Nothing but the Blood. Retrieved November 13, 2007 from www.christianitytoday.com.

Ask:

Why are some evangelicals abandoning the centrality of the death of Christ?
Why is this movement a dangerous trend?
What does the death of Christ demonstrate about God’s love and mercy?

Jesus Was Resurrected (Matt. 28:5-10)

Read the CNN story about the death of superhero Captain America:

Shocking event for Captain America

NEW YORK (CNN) -- He fought and triumphed over Hitler, Tojo, international Communism and a host of supervillains, but he could not dodge a sniper's bullet.

Comic book hero Captain America is dead.

After close to 60 years in print, Marvel Comics has killed off Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, one of its most famous and beloved superheroes amid an already controversial story line, "Civil War," which is pitting the heroes of Marvel's universe against one another.

In the comic series, Rogers was to stand trial for defying a superhero registration law passed after a hero's tragic mistake causes a 9/11-like event.

Steve Rogers eventually surrenders to police. He is later mortally wounded as he climbs the courthouse steps.

Marvel says the comic story line was intentionally written as an allegory to current real-life issues like the Patriot Act, the War on Terror and the September 11 attacks.

"Every child knew about 9/11," says Dan Buckley, president of Marvel Comics. "If [he] could see a TV he knew what 9/11 was. The other similarities [to] things going on are just part of storytelling.

"It was a violent and strange end for an American hero.

Captain America first appeared in 1941, just as the United States entered World War II. He was a symbol of American strength and resolve in fighting the Axis powers, and later Communism.

As originally conceived by creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Rogers was a man born before the Great Depression in a very different America. He disappeared after the war and reappeared only recently in the Marvel timeline. For a superhero many thought perfect, it was perhaps a fatal flaw for "Cap," as he became known.

"He hasn't been living in the modern world and the world does move," says Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada.

Quesada said he wanted to readers find their own meaning in Cap's end.

"There is a lot to be read in there. But I'm not one who is going to tell people, this is what you should read into it, because I could look into it and read several different types of messages," he told CNN.

The character's death came as a blow to co-creator Simon, the Associated Press reported.

"We really need him now," Simon, 93, told The AP.

Still, one has to wonder: Is Captain America really dead? Comic book characters have routinely died, only to be resurrected when necessary to storylines.

Source: Holmes, L., O'Beirne, J. and Perriera, G. (2007, March 7). Shocking event for Captain America. Retrieved November 13, 2007 from www.cnn.com.

Ask:

What causes such a buzz at the death of a superhero?
Why is resurrection a necessity in the comic-book world?
Does the longing for resurrection in the comic world compare with our approach to death in the real world?

Ask learners to read Matthew 28:5-10 and describe the emotions the women must have felt as they arrived at the grave of Christ and found it empty.

Ask:

How might they have felt when they heard from the angel?How about when they heard from Christ?
Why is the resurrection of Christ crucial to our faith?
Why should the resurrection of Christ compel us to share the gospel with others?
Why are the death and resurrection of Christ inseparable when it comes to preaching the gospel to the lost?

Jesus Expects Our Service (Matt. 28:18-20)

Read the following article excerpt from Discipleship Journal:

The Great Suggestion

HAS GOD SPOKEN? Was He serious when he gave the Great Commission to His disciples? Or was that mandate only to be interpreted as the Great Suggestion, to take it or leave it?

All four Gospel writers record Jesus Christ's emphasis on the importance and responsibility of His disciples to take the good news of salvation into all the world. This is called the Great Commission. The places of responsibility are four-fold and are clearly delineated in Acts 1:8:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Jesus saw not only the relatively small population of the world in that day, but looked forward in time to the over four billion people of today. His perfect spiritual vision saw the world's five major races, 13 geographical races, seven colors, 71 ethnolinguistic families, 7,010 distinct languages, 432 major peoples, 8,990 constituent peoples, subpeoples, and additional ethnic groups of the 1980s. Jesus Christ's deep concern for the need of missionary laborers quickened when He foresaw that 80,000 unsaved people would die daily in our era.

The lifestyle of many Western Christians today reveals the feeling that although Jesus Himself may have been serious about getting the gospel into all the world, we can treat His words as the Great Suggestion. The management and care of our material goods has replaced the burden for world-wide missions. This is partly revealed by gifts to Christian work. Ninety-six percent is spent on North American projects, while the other 4% is spent outside North America.
Source: Boardman, R. The Great Suggestion. Retrieved November 13, 2007 from www.navpress.com.

Ask:

Does your church treat the Great Commission more as a command or as a suggestion?
How do you treat the Great Commission?

Close by praying that learners will seek opportunities to involve themselves in the Great Commission.

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EXTRA! is a supplement designed to enhance and expand the effectiveness of printed curriculum provided by LifeWay Church Resources.

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Make Up Your Minds
Dana Armstrong

Matthew 7:13-29

Before the Session

For teaching plans and full explanations of all the verses in today’s lessons, consult any of the Bible Studies for Life leader guides or commentaries. Make sure each learner has his or her own learner guide.

Matthew 7:13-14

Enlist a volunteer to read Matthew 7:13-14.

Ask:

If one road leads to eternal life and the other leads to destruction, why is choosing so difficult for people?
Is it possible not to choose either? Explain your answer.
Why is the narrow road more difficult to travel? Why is the wide road easier to travel?

Matthew 7:15-23

Ask:

What are false prophets?
How are they deceptive and dangerous?
How do we identify false prophets?

Enlist a volunteer to read Matthew 7:15-23.

Paraphrase the following article about distinguishing between counterfeit and genuine money:

How to spot counterfeit money
It used to be that spotting a "good" counterfeit bill was impossible for ordinary people. If it was good enough to pass the "look and feel" test, an ultraviolet light or a magnetic ink detector would be needed to detect fraud. But for the past 10 years, the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing has been making bills that are easy to check for authenticity.
The amount of counterfeit money in the United States is low enough that most people feel safe taking money with barely a minimal check for counterfeits. Does it look and feel like money? Then it probably is. But have you ever gotten a bill and thought something -- either the bank note or the person giving it to you -- seemed a little off? Ever wished you could quickly check to see if it's good?

Well, here's how:

Look and feel. This is as far as most people go, and it's good enough most of the time. U.S. bank notes are printed on special paper that's 75% cotton and 25% linen. The linen gives it an extra stiffness. Also, red and blue fibers are imbedded in the paper. Bank notes are printed in a process called "intaglio" that leaves ink on top of the paper, giving the money a distinctive texture. The printing is also of very high quality, so the lines are sharp and clear, not broken, fuzzy or blobby.

Color-shifting ink. On bank notes bigger than $5, color-shifting ink is used to print the denomination in the lower right-hand corner. Look at the number head-on and then from an angle. On genuine notes, the color will shift from copper to green or green to black.

You can get this far pretty discreetly. You’re automatically checking for the look and feel as soon as the bill is handed to you, and you can confirm the color-shifting ink with a quick glance. Going further will require that you hold the note up to the light -- which is basically saying that you think you might have gotten counterfeit money. A lot of people hesitate to do that, but it's the next step if you want to be sure.

Watermark. All bills bigger than $2 now have a watermark. Just hold the bill up to the light to see it. For the $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills, the image matches the portrait. That's also true of the current $5 bill, but on the new $5 coming out in early 2008, the watermark will be a big numeral 5. Either way, you can use it to spot bills that have been bleached and reprinted with a higher denomination. The watermark is part of the paper and is visible from the back of the note as well.

Security thread. All bills bigger than $2 have a security thread running vertically through them. As with the watermark, you hold the bill up to the light to see it. The thread has text with the bill's denomination and an image that is unique to that denomination. Each denomination's is in a different place, so you can spot bills that have been bleached and reprinted with a higher denomination. (The threads also glow different colors under ultraviolet light, but that's not much help to ordinary folks.)

A bill is almost certainly genuine if it:

looks and feels like a U.S. bank note

has color-shifting ink in the lower right-hand corner

has a watermark that matches the portrait

has a security thread with text that matches the denomination.

What about older bills? These security features gradually were added starting in 1996, but older bills are still around. Now that it has been more than 10 years, it's time to simply refuse to accept them. Old bills still in circulation -- especially high-denomination bills -- are much more likely to be counterfeit. The innocent holder of an old bill can easily take it to the bank and get new currency, so your refusal to take it is no burden.

Source: Brewer, Philip (2007, September 20). How to spot counterfeit money. Retrieved November 13 from http://www.wisebread.com/.

Say: Like counterfeit money, false prophets look like God’s flock, yet there is a way to know if they are genuine or not. We can know them by their conduct, teachings, and by the fruit they produce.

Matthew 7:24-29

Enlist a volunteer to read Matthew 7:24-29.

Read the following information about the importance of a proper foundation:

In case you didn’t already know, house foundations are the most important part of a home. Doesn’t matter whether your home is a one bedroom cottage or a multi-bedroom sprawling abode. If the foundation has problems, the whole house has problems. Your home is the most important investment you will ever make, that’s why it’s so important to protect it.

Source: http://www.e-foundationrepairs.com

Ask:

How are the two houses in this parable alike? How are they different?
What was Jesus’ point in this parable?

Close by challenging learners to reflect on the following questions:

Are you a house built on the rock or built on sand?
What will you do to become a fruitful doer rather than a fruitless hearer of Jesus' teaching?

Close with a prayer of rededication.

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EXTRA! is a supplement designed to enhance and expand the effectiveness of printed curriculum provided by LifeWay Church Resources.