Youth Teacher: January- March 2021

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: Dec 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781681677781

Book preview

Lesson 1 for Week of January 3, 2021

PREACHING THE GOSPEL BY HELPING THOSE IN NEED

UNIFYING TOPIC:

Called to Proclaim

LESSON SECTIONS

I. Jesus’ Ministry Began (Luke 4:14–15)

II. Jesus Preached in the Synagogue (Luke 4:16–17)

III. Jesus Taught About a Prophecy (Luke 4:18–22)

KEY VERSE

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18–19, NRSV)

BIBLICAL EMPHASES

1. Luke 4:14 begins the section of Luke’s Gospel devoted to Jesus’ ministry in Galilee.

2. The phrase the year of the Lord’s favor (verse 19) is a reference to the year of Jubilee.

3. The reading from Isaiah was a powerful statement that meant one thing to Jesus and another to the synagogue-goers, as eventually Jesus is run out of town.

UNIFYING PRINCIPLE

People hear conflicting messages and proclamations all of the time. What message would provide answers to life’s deepest problems? The worshipers at Nazareth listened to Jesus’ proclamation of justice and compassion and were amazed at his gracious words.

LESSON EMPHASES

•To help youth express compassion for people who are mistreated.

•To help youth envision their own calling and be willing to follow whatever the Lord has called them to do.

Consider Your Students

SEEKERS FOR JESUS: Younger teens are learning that their life has a specific purpose that is designed by God.

TEEN SCENE: Older teens are learning that they can accomplish more when they stick to the will that God has for their lives.

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. Ask the students to recall what last week’s lesson was about. Tell the students that today’s lesson is about Jesus teaching in the synagogue about a prophecy.

STEP 2: Intro Activity — Ask the students to look up the word anointed on their devices. What does it mean to be anointed? Do they know anyone in their lives they would consider anointed? Why? Can they think of other instances in the Bible where people were anointed?

STEP 3: Today’s Word — Invite a volunteer to read the print passage for today. Why do they think Jesus chose to read this passage from Isaiah? How did the crowd react to the teaching? What does the year of the Lord’s favor mean in their own words?

STEP 4: Consider This — Read and discuss the Consider This section in the student books. Explore together how the story relates to today’s lesson. Discuss how this story can impact their interactions with parents, siblings, friends, and classmates.

STEP 5: Last Thoughts — Read the Last Thoughts section together to review the lesson. Have the students share what they learned in today’s lesson that they’ll apply to their lives going forward.

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

TEEN SCENE

STEP 1: — Begin the class with prayer. Ask them to recall last weeks lesson. Inform the students that today’s lesson is about Jesus teaching in the synagogue.

STEP 2: Intro Activity — Ask the students to define what it means to be annointed. Using their Bibles or devices, ask the students to find other examples in the Old or New Testaments of someone being anointed. Set a timer and see who can find the most examples in 3–5 minutes. Once the time is up, have the students share their findings.

STEP 3: Dissect and Digest — Ask for volunteers to read the scripture passage for today and discuss. Why did Jesus choose this passage to read? Why do you think He didn’t initially begin to teach on this until after He sat down?

STEP 4: Heart of the Matter — Read and discuss the Heart of the Matter section found in the student books. Explore together how the story relates to today’s lesson and to the students’ daily lives.

STEP 5: Activity — Allow the students to use concordances, Bibles, devices, etc. to find other prophecies in Isaiah that Jesus fulfilled. Split the students into teams of 3–4. Have the teams write down their findings and see which team can find the most in a certain time limit.

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

— Lesson Overview —

Introduction

Today’s lesson is about the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. For His first sermon, He returned to His hometown and preached in a synagogue from a text in Isaiah. During this opening message, His maiden voyage into preaching, Jesus chose a passage that revealed how it was His calling to bring compassion and justice. Our world is hungry for this kind of message today. People are rife with selfishness and corruption. Students are being exposed to violence from police brutality, injustice from the justice system, and are beginning to feel more vulnerable.

With this lesson, we can see that the anointing on Jesus’ life was to bring salvation to all people. But while on earth, He would bump up against similar circumstances that we are in the midst of today. Instead of enacting violence, He would bring justice through His message of peace. Use this lesson as an opportunity to encourage your students to take a deep look on the will God has for their lives.

I. Jesus’ Ministry Began (Luke 4:14–15)

The text today picks up after Jesus returned from being tempted in the wilderness. It’s interesting that He didn’t begin His ministry until after He had been tempted by the enemy. He could’ve started any time, but He waited until after His temptation. Jesus was victorious over the temptation and did not give in. Then, He made His way back to Galilee, full of the Holy Spirit. When beginning His ministry, Jesus started in His hometown. Explain to students that this shows that we can be missionaries right in our neighborhoods. We don’t need a passport or a trip overseas for God to use us. We just need to be willing to go where He sends, and sometimes He doesn’t send us very far. Galilee was a bustling area, not a middle-of-nowhere village. This busy scene is where Jesus wanted to begin teaching. His ministry was very focused on teaching the scriptures in an understandable way—hence the use of His many parables—because Jesus wanted everyone to know and love God the way He loved them. He was praised for His teachings, and people were amazed. But what Jesus taught in today’s lesson was about to change everything. He was going to show the people that He was more than just a prophet or a good teacher. He was going to show the people that He is the anointed Son of God brought to earth to save people from their sins, set the captives free, and fulfill the promised salvation of God.

II. Jesus Preached in the Synagogue (Luke 4:16–17)

As Jesus worked His way through Galilee, He returned to His hometown of Nazareth. This is the town where Jesus lived and grew up. He would’ve attended this very synagogue and the townspeople would’ve been His friends and neighbors. He may even have done carpentry work for them under the apprenticeship of His father, Joseph.

The text tells us that it was Jesus’ custom to attend synagogue on the Sabbath. From this, we are reaffirmed that Jesus followed the traditional practices of Jewish customs, particularly that of a rabbi. He was committed to attending these services weekly. Isn’t it interesting to think about Jesus attending church? He was being an example for us to follow, showing us the importance of being in community with one another. Encourage your students to continue to come to church and notice how their faith and devotion to God grows.

In a traditional Sabbath service, there would be a singing of a psalm, the reading of the Shema (Deut. 6:4–9;11:13–21)-- a repetition of 18 blessings, a reading of the Law, a reading from the Prophets, a sermon, and a concluding blessing. There is some indication that there were readings from the Law based on a three-year cycle. From today’s text, we can see that there may have been assigned cycles of reading from the Prophets, too. One of the readers for the day would have been handed a scroll and would have been free to choose a passage to read in Hebrew, then interpret in Aramaic. The reader would stand to read the text and sit to teach. This is what Jesus was doing in these verses, once again, following the Jewish traditions.

But Jesus was aware of what He was about to teach the people, and chose this specific passage to introduce His true being to the world. He knew that the prophecies about the Messiah in the Old Testament were about Him. If the students did not already find the passage in Isaiah that Jesus quotes, have them look up and study Isaiah 61: 1–2. Explain that this is the passage Jesus read from.

Discuss with the students why it is important to take part in church events and to discuss and have open dialogue about theology with their peers and teachers. Explain that just as we will see, the people needed clarification as to what Jesus was implying when He read these verses. Remind the students that no one knows all of the answers to the questions in the Bible.