10: The Law of God - Lesson Plan

Key Thought : God’s consistent law provides stability and security. God’s grace facilitates living in accordance with its provisions.

[Lesson Plan for The Law of God September 1, 2014]

1. Have a volunteer read Matthew 5:17-19.

a. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
b. What did it mean for Christ to fulfill the law? Why do some people think that fulfilling the law meant abolishing it?
c. Personal Application: How can you be a strict observer of the law and yet not trust in your own obedience for salvation? Share your thoughts.
d. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “Well, if I don’t keep the Sabbath, I’ll just be one of the least in heaven. But I’ll still be there.” How would you respond to your relative?
(Note: There are three heavens mentioned in the Bible: 1. Where the birds fly (earth) 2. Where the sun, moon, and stars are (outer space) and 3. Where God dwells – the third heaven. Least in the kingdom means least of all men on the earth.)

2. Have a volunteer read Matthew 5:27-30.

a. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
b. Why does Jesus emphasize the spiritual nature of the law here on the sermon on the mount?
c. Personal Application: How do you deal with overcoming the mental lapses with sin in your life? Can the mind be controlled? Share your thoughts.
d. Case Study: One of your neighbors states, “Is Jesus being literal here about the eye and the hand? I know some countries cut off a thief’s hand or castrate a sex offender, and some people have mutilated themselves. Why couldn’t a literal understanding work on sin?.” How would you respond to your neighbor?

3. Have a volunteer read Matthew 19:16-22.

a. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
b. Does Jesus actually want us to give up everything we own to follow Him?
c. Personal Application: How can we keep from thinking that by obeying God’s law, we earn favor with God? On the other hand, how do we keep from thinking obedience is not important and we are lax in keeping the law? Share your thoughts..
d. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Most people see the ten Commandments as negative rules, but I heard one of your church members call them promises. How are the Ten Commandments considered promises?” How would you respond to your friend?

4. Have a volunteer read John 14:15.

a. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
b. How do you respond to a person who says he is a Christian and loves God, but thinks the commandments are outdated and optional?
c. Personal Application: Why is the motive for obedience important in our Christian walk? 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.

Print/PDF/Email

(2)

Answer to question 1: MB pg 52:

“Whosoever ... shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.”—Matthew 5:19.
That is, he shall have no place therein. For he who willfully breaks one commandment, does not, in spirit and truth, keep any of them. “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10.{MB 51.2}
It is not the greatness of the act of disobedience that constitutes sin, but the fact of variance from God’s expressed will in the least particular; for this shows that there is yet communion between the soul and sin. The heart is divided in its service. There is a virtual denial of God, a rebellion against the laws of His government.{MB 51.3}
Were men free to depart from the Lord’s requirements and to set up a standard of duty for themselves, there would be a variety of standards to suit different minds and the government would be taken out of the Lord’s hands. The will of man would be made supreme, and the high and holy will of God—His purpose of love toward His creatures—would be dishonored, disrespected. {MB 51.4}
Whenever men choose their own way, they place themselves in controversy with God. They will have no place in the kingdom of heaven, for they are at war with the very principles of heaven. In disregarding the will of God, they are placing themselves on the side of Satan, the enemy of God and man. Not by one word, not by many words, but by every word that God has spoken, shall man live. We cannot disregard one word, however trifling it may seem to us, and be safe. There is not a commandment of the law that is not for the good and happiness of man, both in this life and in the life to come. In obedience to God’s law, man is surrounded as with a hedge and kept from the evil. He who breaks down this divinely erected barrier at one point has destroyed its power to protect him; for he has opened a way by which the enemy can enter to waste and ruin.{MB 52.1}
By venturing to disregard the will of God upon one point, our first parents opened the floodgates of woe upon the world. And every individual who follows their example will reap a similar result. The love of God underlies every precept of His law, and he who departs from the commandment is working his own unhappiness and ruin.{MB 52.2}

(3)

Reply ↓

Comments

10: The Law of God – Lesson Plan — 2 Comments

mary monze on September 2, 2014 at 7:38 am said:

I am glad to have discovered this net. I am a sabbath school teacher at my church but would like to do a lot of research before I present during bible study lessons.

(7)

Reply ↓
Bill Nyaega on September 5, 2014 at 7:55 am said:

Answer to question 1: MB pg 52:

“Whosoever ... shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.”—Matthew 5:19.
That is, he shall have no place therein. For he who willfully breaks one commandment, does not, in spirit and truth, keep any of them. “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10.{MB 51.2}
It is not the greatness of the act of disobedience that constitutes sin, but the fact of variance from God’s expressed will in the least particular; for this shows that there is yet communion between the soul and sin. The heart is divided in its service. There is a virtual denial of God, a rebellion against the laws of His government.{MB 51.3}
Were men free to depart from the Lord’s requirements and to set up a standard of duty for themselves, there would be a variety of standards to suit different minds and the government would be taken out of the Lord’s hands. The will of man would be made supreme, and the high and holy will of God—His purpose of love toward His creatures—would be dishonored, disrespected. {MB 51.4}
Whenever men choose their own way, they place themselves in controversy with God. They will have no place in the kingdom of heaven, for they are at war with the very principles of heaven. In disregarding the will of God, they are placing themselves on the side of Satan, the enemy of God and man. Not by one word, not by many words, but by every word that God has spoken, shall man live. We cannot disregard one word, however trifling it may seem to us, and be safe. There is not a commandment of the law that is not for the good and happiness of man, both in this life and in the life to come. In obedience to God’s law, man is surrounded as with a hedge and kept from the evil. He who breaks down this divinely erected barrier at one point has destroyed its power to protect him; for he has opened a way by which the enemy can enter to waste and ruin.{MB 52.1}
By venturing to disregard the will of God upon one point, our first parents opened the floodgates of woe upon the world. And every individual who follows their example will reap a similar result. The love of God underlies every precept of His law, and he who departs from the commandment is working his own unhappiness and ruin.{MB 52.2}

(3)

Reply ↓

Sabbath School Net

Seventh-day Adventist Bible Study Discussion

10: The Law of God – Lesson Plan