The Day of the Lord – Lesson Plan
Key Thought: Peter contrasts the attitude of believers with that of scoffers who deny Creation, judgment, and new creation. He asks us to act appropriately.
1. Have a volunteer read 2 Peter 3:3,4.
a. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
b. What arguments will skeptics of Christ’s return promote?
c. Personal Application : What is your attitude toward the second coming? Why hasn’t Jesus returned yet? Share your thoughts.
d. Case Study : One of your relatives states: “I don’t believe Jesus actually comes back literally in the future. He comes to us when we die. That’s the reality we face, not a supernatural futuristic event that people have wrongly predicted many times.” How would you respond to your relative?
2. Have a volunteer read 2 Peter 3:8-10.
a. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
b. Is time viewed differently by God? If so, why? If not, why not?
c. Personal Application : Does time affect our patience? Can I be patient for awhile, but become impatient when things don’t happen in a relative space of time? Share your thoughts.
d. Case Study : One of your friends states, “The Bible says a day is as a thousand years. So God could have created the world in six thousand years. So the Creation could have been a long period of time.” How would you respond to your friend?
3. Have a volunteer read 2 Peter 3:11-13.
a. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
b. Do we care for people’s salvation and life as much as God does? How can we have that concern and turn it into action?
c. Personal Application: Why does Peter tell us we can hasten Christ’s return since God is patiently waiting for all to come to repentance? Share your thoughts.
d. Case Study: One of your neighbors states, “Is Peter using a hellfire and brimstone sermon here to try and scare believers into living Godly land holy lives? Is fear a proper motivation to get people’s attention?” How would you respond to your neighbor?
4. Have a volunteer read 2 Peter 3:14,15.
a. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
b. How can a person misapply the Scriptures that would lead to their own destruction?.
c. Personal Application : Is there the possibility that we as individuals have a tendency to twist the Scriptures to fit our own actions or ideas? Can you give an example? 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.
(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.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).
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