01: Spiritual Adultery – Teaching Plan
Key Thought: Even amid spiritual adultery and divine judgment, God’s love for His people never wavers.
[Teaching plan for Spiritual Adultery April 1, 2013]
1. Have a volunteer read Hosea 1:2,3.
A. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
B. Why does God ask the prophet not only to speak His word, but also act it out in symbolic or exemplary fashion?
C. Personal Application: How willing would you be to go get your spouse and bring them back home if they had run off with another person, and then not say anything about it to them? How does this help us understand God’s love for us? Share.
D. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “Did God actually command Hosea to find a prostitute to marry to have children out of wedlock? Isn’t that against God’s character and our understanding of Him?” How would you respond to your relative?
2. Have a volunteer read Hosea 2:10-13.
A. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
B. Why does God use the earrings and jewelry as representing lewdness and unfaithfulness among God’s people?
C. Personal Application: Do you think we could be in danger of God’s retribution on us for our spiritual adultery against God in our love for the world? Share your thoughts.
D. Case Study: One of your friends states, “We don’t bow down to statues and idols, so how could we be guilty of adultery against God today? If we used God’s gifts for our own pleasure or profit, would that be a form of idolatry?” How would you respond to your friend?
3. Have a volunteer read James 5:1-6.
A. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
B. Does this mean all rich people will become poor and punished by God?
C. Personal Application: Is the amount of money that a person has the issue, or how the person uses what they have, or the attitude of the person toward worldly things? Share.
D. Case Study: One of your neighbors states, “Is this condemning people who save money for a rainy day or retirement? That doesn’t seem right. We shouldn’t have to live day to day if we can save something.” How would you respond to your neighbor?
4. Have a volunteer read Hosea 3:1-3.
A. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
B. What does it mean when someone says that they know God? When you say you know God, what do you mean?
C. Personal Application: Is God’s love for us and/or our relationship with Him dependent on our response to His love and our willingness to be faithful to Him? Share your thoughts.
D. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.
(Note: “Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.” MH p. 149)
