STUDY 4:
READY TO LIVE THE LIFE
Texts:
1 Thessalonians 3:13; 4:1-7; 5:12-18; 2 Thessalonians 3:5,11-16
Key Verse:
May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. (2 Thessalonians 3:5 NIV).
>>Focus
An important key to making your class a place of effective learning lies in the way the lesson is applied. If students walk away from class unchallenged and unchanged, then the job isn’t finished. If this happens regularly (hearing but not applying the truth) students will become calloused to God’s Word and complacent in their attitudes and relationships with Him. But if you’ve helped students explore and discover specific ways to make the lesson meaningful to their everyday situations, your class can make a difference that lasts a lifetime.
In this study, students must come to understand that the relationship they have with Christ is strongly reflected in their personal behaviour and their relationship with others. If they choose to engage in sinful behaviour or to live in disharmony with other Christians, they reflect a poor relationship with Jesus.
Don’t be afraid to graciously confront your students concerning conflicts and misbehaviour — particularly if these things affect your class. Help them realize that presenting personal challenges and enacting disciplines are part of the discipleship process — and that you’re simply helping them identify weaknesses and spurring them to deeper relationship with Christ. And be sure to keep an eye on your own behaviour, which must always serve as a consistent example to your students of a healthy, growing relationship with Christ.
>>The Basic Message: Explain to students...
• WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?
God expects those who follow Him to live according to the standards in His Word.
• WHY DOES IT MATTER? Compromising God’s standards hurts us as individuals and negatively impacts the Church’s effort to reach the lost.
• HOW DO I LIVE IT?
Uphold God’s standards of holiness and personal responsibility in our own lives and in our conduct toward others.
>>Activity Option:
RELATIVE PURITY
Place a bar of soap and a glass of water on a table in front of the students. Ask them to discuss which of the two they think should have the higher degree of “purity.” And why they feel this should be the case. After they’ve discussed this, reveal to them the fact that some water standards for impurity are low, while soap is pure (99.44% pure). Then, discuss the following questions:
• What do you think is more important for the Christian: purity in activities that people see us perform or purity of attitudes and motives? Why?
Guide:
Encourage students to consider the importance of “why” they do what they do. In today’s culture, motives are often disregarded and almost any action is considered acceptable as it doesn’t seem to harm anyone.]
• In what ways do people let impurities get into their lives in a similar fashion as some water standards can be made low by handling?
Guide:
Challenge students to think about the little, incidental things that unknowingly get attached to our lives through our relationships, leisure activities, etc.
>>Guide:
Explain that each of us must strive for purity as we prepare to meet Christ and as we live to honour Him. Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians provide some practical instructions that, if applied, will make us ready to live a life that pleases God.
>>Study Overview:
Explain that today’s study considers:
• How God’s standards of holiness applies to our lives.
• Why it’s important to commit to appropriate personal behaviour.
• How God wants us to treat others
>>Inform and Discuss
a). God’s Standard:
Read or ask a volunteer to read 1 Thess 3:13. What do you think Paul meant by being “blameless” and “holy”? [Hint: Holiness here refers to a dedication to God and commitment to doing His will. When we focus on God as our sole desire and object of affection, He will direct our motives to be pure and holy.]
Why do you think it’s so difficult for many to live holy and blameless lives? [Hint: The world offers many enticing distractions that tempt us to turn from God, or at least to share our affections. God doesn’t tolerate shared affections. He wants all of our heart.]
What do you think “holiness” looks like in the daily life of a Christian? [Hint: A holy life looks a lot like Jesus’ life. He did everyday things in ways that reflected His priority of pleasing the Father. We live holy lives when our motives and actions reflect the way Jesus lived.]
b). The Standard in Our Own Lives:
>>Guide:
Explain that some people in the church at Thessalonica were attempting to live in a way that pleased God and their own desires as well. This is why Paul had to write specific instructions about certain behaviours that would be displeasing to God, and should therefore be avoided by those who want to please God.
- Read of ask a volunteer to read 1 Thess 4:1-7. Why do you think Paul addressed sexual purity specifically when referring to holiness?
Hint:
The fulfilment of our sexual desires is one of the most powerful motivations we have. Fulfilling these desires only within the boundaries of marriage is, at times, one of the hardest tests of our Christian commitment.
- Why do you think sexual activities and attractions that are inappropriate are so tempting and seductive to us even when we want to please God?
Hint:
God designed us to be attracted to the opposite sex. Satan knows about our desire for closeness and intimacy, and he attempts to pervert it by offering avenues of fulfilment that are “unclean,” “criminal,” and “out of bounds” to us. He used this tactic on Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and he continues to use the same game plan to separate us from God.
- What are some practical ways to say “no” to sexual activity in a world that is so sexually saturated?
"Hint:*
One of the best ways to stay sexually pure is by avoiding situations that introduce the temptation (i.e., certain forms of media or entertainment, questionable conversations, being with someone in an isolated situation), We must also focus on our relationship with Jesus through time in the Word and prayer. Christian fellowship and accountability are also vital.
>>Guide:
Explain that sexual impurity is only one expression of a broken relationship with Jesus. Encourage students to understand that:
• They can be forgiven for violating their relationship with Jesus if they ask God.
• They need to make different choices that allow them to avoid temptation and grow deeper in their relationship with Him.
• It may be wise to find an accountability partner if they’ve been involved in sexual impurities such as pornography.
• If they are engaged in a sexual activity with a boyfriend or a girlfriend, it is necessary to end the relationship in order to break the pattern of sin and devote themselves to their relationship with Christ.
c). The Standard toward Others:
- Read or ask a volunteer to read 1 Thess 5:12-15. List the four things these verses call Christians to do.
Hint:
i. Show respect to those in authority;
ii. Treat those less fortunate appropriately;
iii. Be patient with each other; iv. Don’t retaliate against people who treated us badly.
- ,Who are the “idle” people mentioned here, and why is It important to warn them. What kind of warning would you give?
Hint:
The idle are those who aren’t growing in their relationship with God. They need to be reminded why it’s dangerous to become cold toward God. This sort of personal challenge must be done with love, grace, and humility in order to have any chance of being received effectively.]
- How will our response to these verses impact our effectiveness in teaching those around us with the gospel?
Hint:
People will recognize our fatth in Christ through our love for one another. Bickering and complaining won’t draw people to Christ. But a good relationship with others gives us a chance to show what God has done in our lives.]
- Read or have a volunteer read 2 Thess 3:11-16. Why is it more loving to confront a fellow Christian about a sinful lifestyle than it is to tolerate it and act like there’s nothing wrong?
Hint:
if he or she doesn’t make a lifestyle change, the sin will eventually bring God’s judgment. We must therefore hold each other accountable for our actions. In extreme cases, such as when a person refuses to follow God in spite of our warnings, we may even have to stop associating with him or her.
- How do you think the standard of behaviour in your teens’ department would be different if everyone in the department lived up to this command?
Hint:
lf everyone knew that they would be held accountable for their actions, they might be careful how they choose to live.
>>Note:
The best way for Christians to challenge one another is through encouragement to do good and pursue God’s purposes. When someone needs to be corrected, it should be done gracefully and in love.
>>Inspire Them:
Remind students THE BASIC MESSAGE of this study (pg 85), even as you explain WHAT the Big Idea behind the study is; WHY it matters; and HOW we can live the lesson captured in this study.
CONCLUSION:
Conclude the study by challenging students to evaluate their attitudes and actions in the light of Jesus’ standards of holiness.
Encourage them to repent of any attitude or action that is displeasing to God, and commit themselves to respond appropriately to Him, as well as those with whom they live and associate.
>>Teacher Guide:
Ask Yourself...
1. Do students understand that holiness is an active character trait?
2. Do they realize the importance of sexual purity?
3. Do they realize that their relationships with God are strongly reflected in their conduct toward others?
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