Youth Teacher: July- September 2020

By R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation

Youth Teacher is a quarterly resource for instructors that assists with discussing issues pertaining to youth ages 12-17. Sections such as Biblical Emphases give background knowledge of the lesson. All lessons include relevant life concerns and lesson applications to help the teacher relate the Bible to the lives of young people. It is used for Seekers for Jesus and Teen Scene.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: Jun 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781681677309

Book preview

Lesson 1 for Week of July 5, 2020

WISDOM—NOT GUILTY

UNIFYING TOPIC:

Wisdom’s Vindication

LESSON SECTIONS

I. John, the Forerunner (Matthew 11:7–10)

II. John, the Great (Matthew 11:11–14)

III. New Kingdom (Matthew 11:15–19)

KEY VERSE

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds. (Matthew 11:19, NRSV)

BIBLICAL EMPHASES

1. Jesus compared John to the prophet Elijah.

2. Jesus declared John as the messenger who came before Him.

3. Jesus said His work would be misunderstood, just as John’s work was not understood.

UNIFYING PRINCIPLE

People often label unusual or unexpected behavior as eccentric, foolish, or even wrong; and the persons who act in such unusual ways are vilified. What should be our assessment when someone’s behavior is unexpected? In Matthew, Jesus says his behavior and John’s, while unusual in their day, will eventually be proven wise by their subsequent deeds.

LESSON EMPHASES

•To encourage youth to become followers of Christ, even when it is unpopular.

•To help youth commit to seeking godly wisdom to guide choices and actions.

Consider Your Students

SEEKERS FOR JESUS: Younger teens know when people think they are strange or weird.

TEEN SCENE: Older teens can grasp how fickle public opinion can be.

Materials Needed to Teach

For further reference, see today’s lesson from Boyd’s Commentary, and The New National Baptist Hymnal, 21st Century Edition.

Need more teacher helps?

Visit http://www.rhboyd.com.

Suggestions for Effective Teaching . . .

SEEKERS FOR JESUS

Step 1: — Begin class with prayer. Divide the class into groups. Review last week’s lesson by asking students to work together with their group, jotting down as many facts about the lesson as possible. For added fun, set a timer and give a small prize or privilege to the group that records the greatest number of facts.

Step 2: Intro Activity — Ask students to describe someone whose actions might initially seem strange, but who also impacts others in a positive way. (This person can be real or fictional, as many movies portray those who don’t fit in but who help others in significant ways.)

Step 3: Today’s Word — Invite a volunteer to read the print passage for today. Discuss what is happening, and compare John the Baptist with the people students described in Step 2.

Step 4: Consider This — Ask several volunteers to read the Consider This section. Discuss with the class, exploring how the story relates to today’s lesson, as well as their interactions with friends, family members, and classmates.

Step 5: Last Thoughts — Ask a volunteer to read the Last Thoughts section. Ask students to expound on how each of the following words or phrases specifically relates to the lesson: wilderness, reed, prophet, messenger, least in the kingdom, violence, Elijah.

Step 6: Closing — Gather into a circle. Close in prayer, taking prayer requests and asking God to give students the boldness to tell others about Him and live in a way that reflects Christ, in spite of any teasing they might have to endure because of their faith.

TEEN SCENE

Step 1: — Before class, print several sets of today’s Scripture verses, each one on a separate slip of paper. Begin class with prayer. Review last week’s lesson. Then take some time to introduce the topics that will be covered in the new quarter.

Step 2: Intro Activity — Using tablets or concordances, have students find one interesting fact about John the Baptist and/or his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, that is not included in this week’s Scripture passage. Afterward, allow students to share their own findings.

Step 3: Dissect and Digest — Read the lesson passage and discuss the following: What are some other creative examples Jesus might have used instead of a reed shaken by the wind? How does Isaiah 40:3 relate to this lesson? How does 1 Corinthians 1:25 relate to Matthew 11:11?

Step 4: Heart of the Matter — Ask several volunteers to read the Heart of the Matter section in the student books. Discuss how the story is relatable to today’s Scripture passage, as well as to their everyday lives.

Step 5: Activity — Play the Chronology Game: Divide the class into teams, and give each team one of the Scripture verse sets you printed before class. Set a timer, and allow groups to sort the verses into the correct order. When the timer goes off, students must immediately stop all action. The group that was fastest and most accurate wins.

Step 6: Closing — Ask students if they have any questions or prayer requests. Close in prayer.

— Lesson Overview —

Introduction

When Jesus started His earthly ministry, He spoke to His disciples and other followers about His mission. He also shed light on John the Baptist, His relative and forerunner, the one who had prepared the way for the Messiah who would save humankind from sin and death.

I. John, the Forerunner (Matthew 11:7–10)

Jesus addressed the people in regard to John. He asked them a rhetorical question: What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? (v. 7). First, notice that Jesus mentions a reed, which is frail and also sways this way and that way, depending on the direction of the wind. In fact, wind is not required, as even a soft breeze will influence a reed. In contrast, even though John the Baptist had his flaws and doubts, as does every human (see Matt. 11:2–6), he was a man of strong principles, firm in his faith and convictions. We can model our behavior after his, because as Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:14, We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.

Additionally, we can see from Jesus’ questions that He wanted to know what the people expected and how they might react when their expectations were not met. There had been much anticipation of the coming of the Messiah, so it is safe to say that they also had certain beliefs regarding the one who was to come before Him. When they saw and heard John, they might well have been shocked. No doubt, they had imagined a certain sort of person based on the prophets about whom they had learned. Though many prophets were very unique and refused to follow the rules (think Jeremiah, who hid his underclothes under a rock; Hosea, who married a prostitute; and Ezekiel, who layed down on his side for a shockingly long time), John the Baptist seemed especially uncultured and unkempt, considering the society in which he lived. He was much like Elijah of the Old Testament. You can read in 2 Kings 1 when the king asked his messengers what sort of man they had encountered in God’s prophet, they answered, A hairy man, with a leather belt around his waist, to which he answered, It is Elijah the Tishbite (vv. 7–8).

The Israelites wanted John and Jesus to appear as they had pictured. Don’t we all expect people to look and dress a certain way? Even the priest Samuel thought the king of Israel would look a certain way (see 1 Samuel 16:6–7)! Jesus knew that the Jews had expected someone dressed in soft robes (Matt. 11:8). He explained that those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces (v. 8), and John did not fit the bill.

Jesus then answered His own questions. John was indeed a prophet, regardless of how he looked or what he wore. Jesus even added that John was more than prophet. He was indeed the one who had been sent as a messenger to get the people ready for the Lord’s coming. John was the real deal. Other prophets had spoken of him! Perhaps this is why Jesus considered him to be even greater than they. Malachi 3:1 reads, Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will prepare and clear the way before Me. And the Lord [the Messiah], whom you seek, will suddenly come (AMP).

II. John, the Great (Matthew 11:11–14)

Jesus did not just sing John’s praises as His messenger (or forerunner). Jesus gave John, His own relative, one of the highest compliments recorded in the Bible. He said there had been no other born of women... (that is, no other human being) ... greater than John the Baptist (v. 11). What makes John so great? First consider what was mentioned a moment ago: other prophets spoke of him. He was also considered extraordinary by Jesus, who Himself is the most extraordinary One, because of His obedience to live out His mission, no matter the cost. The Lord, who is not constrained by the limits of time, knew that John would one day lose his life for speaking the