Children’s Teacher: First Quarter 2019

By R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation

Children’s Teacher is a teacher’s quarterly. In addition to the exposition of the printed text, each of the thirteen lessons includes the purpose of the lesson, extensive teaching plans, lesson introduction, background of the lesson, meaningful insights, and related activities.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: Dec 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781681674643

Book preview

Lesson 1 for Week of January 6, 2019

DESIRE GOD

UNIFYING TOPIC

Hold Fast to God’s Love

LESSON SECTIONS

I. The Lord Is Faithful (2 Thessalonians 3:1–5)

II. Walking in Truth (2 John 4–11)

KEY VERSE

And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning—you must walk in it. (2 John 6, NRSV)

BIBLICAL EMPHASES

1. Paul requested prayer so that he could share God’s message and be protected from evil.

2. Paul was confident in the faithfulness of God and the obedience of the people.

3. Obedience to God requires that we love others.

UNIFYING PRINCIPLE

Effective personal relationships are often thwarted by destructive forces. What can counteract these forces? Paul and John instruct the believers to walk steadfastly in the love of God by loving one another and following God’s commandments.

LESSON EMPHASES

•The spreading of the Gospel is better accomplished through Christian community.

•We should be diligent in love for our Christian brothers and sisters.

Target Emphases

PRESCHOOLERS: These children grow to show love in many ways.

YOUNGER CHILDREN: These children understand that prayer with others is special to the Lord.

OLDER CHILDREN: These children understand that they must know what is written in the Bible so they can know what is true and what is false.

Materials Needed to Teach

For further reference, see today’s lesson from Boyd’s Commentary, New National Baptist Hymnal, 21st Century Edition, #51 (NNBH #248), and God’s Promises Bible.

Need more teacher helps?

Visit www.rhboyd.com.

Suggested Teaching Plan

GROWING WITH JESUS

MATERIALS NEEDED: crayons, music player

GETTING STARTED: Greet each student as he or she enters the classroom. Start the class with an upbeat Christian song. Encourage the students to sing along and participate. Begin the lesson with prayer.

A GREAT BEGINNING: Explain to the students that today’s lesson is about God’s love and sharing it with others. Do your best to explain the magnitude of God’s love by sharing examples: He created the world; He created each of the students; He sent His Son to die for our sins; etc. Discuss how students share love with their family members and friends.

AN IMPORTANT LESSON: Read the lesson story for today. Talk about how showing obedience to God is a way to demonstrate our love for Him. Explain that just as we follow our parents’ rules to show love and respect, we should also follow God’s rules. Ask students to list some of the rules they follow in their households. Then ask for examples of some of God’s rules (refer to the Ten Commandments for some quick answers). Encourage the students to demonstrate love to their families and friends this week. Showing love to others is another way to show love to God.

KEEPING IT GOING: Allow students time to complete the activities in the student books. Before the students are dismissed, pray together and take prayer requests. Remind the students that love is the most powerful force in the universe.

JUST FOR YOU: This week, take time to pray that your students will grow in love for one another and in love for God. Consider what habits you could practice to better demonstrate your own love for Him.

YOUNG LEARNERS

MATERIALS NEEDED: paper, crayons, writing utensils, music player

GETTING STARTED: Greet each student as he or she enters the classroom. Have an upbeat song playing in the background. Allow time for the students to sing along and get warmed up for class. After the opening song, begin the lesson with prayer.

JUMP START: Explain to the class that today’s lesson is about God’s love and sharing His love with others as a form of obedience. Showing love to others is also a way to demonstrate our own love for the Lord, since Jesus told us the greatest commandment (see Matthew 22:37–39). Ask the students to give examples of being obedient to their parents, teachers, etc. How does it make others feel when we’re obedient? How does it make us feel to please them?

THE LESSON STORY: Read the lesson story for today. Distribute the paper, crayons, and writing utensils to the students. Instruct student to write or draw a love letter to the Lord. Why do they love Him? How does it make them feel to know God loves them? Help students with spelling or have them draw if they don’t know the words. Remind students that no matter what mistakes they might make, God will always love them and forgive them. Encourage them to demonstrate this selfless love to others this week.

TAKING IT HOME: Allow students time to complete the activities in their books. Ask if there are any questions and answer them as best as you can. Gather students in a circle to pray before class is dismissed and remember to take prayer requests.

ENERGY TO EDUCATE: Remember to pray for your students this week. Pray they will be good examples of God’s love and will be obedient to His will continually.

ADVENTURERS WITH JESUS

MATERIALS NEEDED: writing utensils, music player, magazines, paper, glue, scissors, markers

BEFORE YOU BEGIN: Greet each student as he or she enters the classroom. Have an upbeat praise song playing as they enter. Encourage students to sing along and get warmed up for class. Once the song is finished, begin the lesson with prayer.

‘NET CHECK: Discuss and complete the activity from www.rhboyd.com. Bring copies to class for those who don’t have one. Allow time for both the ‘Net Check and Bible Quiz sections. Check and discuss the answers together.

INTRODUCTION: Discuss ways that the students are obedient to their parents or other elders. Ask: why do you think obedience is so important to God? Have the students share some examples of times when they were obedient and what happened, and also times when they were disobedient and what happened. Discuss how showing love to others—even people we don’t particularly like—is a way to show obedience to the Lord.

TODAY’S LESSON STORY: Ask for volunteers to read sections of the lesson story aloud. Have the students share ideas on how they can demonstrate love to their family, friends, classmates, and others this week. Write the suggestions on the board. Challenge them to put the ideas into action as soon as possible. Distribute the materials to the students and instruct them to create a collage that represents God’s love. They can use pictures from the magazines as well as write words or draw their own pictures. Allow the students to share their creations when finished.

LESSON REVIEW AND CLOSING: Let students complete the activities in their books and review the key verse. Ask students to share key points from the lesson in their own words. Ask if there are any questions. If so, answer them. Gather the students in a circle and close class with prayer. Remember to take prayer requests before doing so.

— Lesson Overview —

Introduction

There is an overarching theme to today’s passages. The writers of today’s passages were Paul and John. They wanted others to be cautious of falling into sin, especially as a church. Each spoke on specific ways to help Christians overcome temptation and sin: communal prayer, and love. Community is an essential part of the Christian faith. God gave us community so that together, we can expand His kingdom across the world. He also gave us community to have other Christians around us, doing life with us, and building each other up in the faith. The Christian faith is not an individualistic one; even God Himself exists as a Trinity. Since relationships are so crucial, it’s definitely an area the devil goes after to destroy, especially in regard to prayer and love. The enemy knows prayer and love in large numbers are almost impossible to defeat. When we are being tempted to sin, seek prayer with others, as Paul did. It is one way to combat an attack. Paul prayed and also asked fellow believers to join him. Instead of allowing distance, time, or other schemes to get in the way of community, Christians rallied together through prayer. John knew if the Christian community wasn’t strong in fellowship and love, the enemy would be able to infiltrate it through the deception of false witnesses.

CREATE INTEREST: Ask the participants to share what Christian community means to them.

I. The Lord Is Faithful

(2 Thessalonians 3:1–5)

Paul asked for prayer that God’s Word would freely spread among the community. When God’s Word is active in a group, it’s life-changing and powerful. Others who wanted to change or destroy the Gospel would seek to hinder the spreading of the Gospel. Paul was praying against that. Interestingly, Paul included himself as a part of the group that needed prayer by saying us. He was wise enough to realize that he too could fall into the temptation of those who came to tempt him. He wanted to be sure that the people who were in the Christian community would not heed to the teachings of those who were trying to change their doctrine. He wanted the true Word of God to penetrate every town, village, and city. His greatest desire was to see more people come to know the love of God. Paul knew the only way that this was plausible was to be sure that everyone in every church was on the same page. He emphasized the fact that not only were people who preached a false Gospel wicked, but they also were from the evil one.

Help your students understand how important it is to listen to the pastors, teachers, and adults they come into contact with every day with caution, especially those whom they do not know well. Remind them it is good to try to be consistent about the people from whom they gain Christian instruction and education. Explain that not everyone who teaches something new