RADIANT LIFE TEACHER GUIDE TEENS SUNDAY SCHOOL RESOURCE SEASON 14 JANUARY-JUNE 2023
February 12, 2023
Unit 2: GO & TELL: Answering the Call to Personal Evangelism
ALSO, READ
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- RADIANT LIFE TEACHER GUIDE TEENS SUNDAY SCHOOL JANUARY-JUNE 2023 February 12 2023
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Study 3: MAKE DISCIPLES
Text: Acts 2:38-47; Philp 2:19-30; Col 1:24-29; 3:15-17
Key Verse: Matthew 28:19
Therefore go and make disciples of all natíons…. (NIV)
>>Focus
Evangelism may still feel like a fairly foreign concept to most of your students. Continue to reinforce the concept that sharing Christ with others should be a natural extension of who a believer is. Football players naturally talk about football; musicians talk about the latest piece of music they’re working on or the next concert they have, and Christians should talk about Christ, what’s going on at their church, or what the Bible says about a contemporary issue.
This study focuses on discipleship. While your teens may or may not picture themselves as teachers or mentors, they do probably feel pretty comfortable with the role of friend. Friends and teachers are probably important aspects of most of your teens’ lives. They may be a bit surprised that their friendship to a new believer could make a huge difference in that person’s life, but that is truly part of friendship. Remind them that their
examples along with their words can be powerful teaching tools.And as you prepare for this study, pray that God will strengthen you and help you to live a life above reproach, because, guaranteed, your teens are watching.
The Basic Message: Explain to students…
✓ WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?
Leading a people into a relationship with Jesus is only the first step in the Great Commission.
✓ WHY DOES IT MATTER?
If we stop teaching and helping people once they’ve acepted Christ, they won’t grow in the Lord and become lifelong disciples.
✓ HOW DO I LIVE IT?
Obey Christ’s Great Commission by investing yourself into the lives of new Christians and helping them become all God wants them to be.
>>Activity Option: Ask students to take a moment and think back over their educational experiences. Then ask for volunteers to describe their best teachers. What was it about these teachers that made them good at what they did?
>>Guide: Explain that teachers play a large part in the learning process, whether they’re teaching about math at school on evangelism in Sunday School. And remind students that behind every outstanding student, there’s probably more than one dedicated teacher.
>>Study Overview: Explain that today’s study will consider:
✓ What it means to befriend a new believer.
✓ The importance of teaching and training those who are new in the faith.
✓ That Christians are called to sacrificially invest in the lives of fellow Christians.
>>Inform and Discuss
a. Be a Friend
1. Read or have a volunteer read Acts 2:38-41. How do we know that Peter was passionate about telling people about Jesus?[Guide: Explain that Peter cared passionately about the people he was talking to. He urged them to repent and be baptized. He told them about the gift of the Holy Spirit. He warned and pleaded with them.]
2. Read or have a volunteer read Acts 2:42-47. What happened to the new believers who accepted Peter’s message? [Guide: Explain that Peter and the other believers didn’t ignore the new believers or merely celebrate their conversions. They completely included them in the life of the new church and in their personal lives, too. If they hadn’t, many of them probably wouldn’t have remained true to their commitment to follow Christ.]
3. Ask students to examine Acts 2:42-47 and then list some of the ways the people of the church befriended the new believers. [Hint: Their answers should include: they taught them about Christ, fellowshipped, shared communion and prayed with them. They shared their possessions with them, and helped meet their financial needs. They met with them at the temple and invited them to their homes for meals. They did this “with glad and sincere hearts” (V46), not grudgingly.]
4. What were some of the results of the way the church included and discipled new believers? [Hint: The church enjoyed the favour, or approval and kind treatment, of all the people. God added new believers to the church on daily basis.]
>>Guide: Explain that Peter and other members of the church treated the new believers as treasured friends. They didn’t just push for them to get saved and leave them to flounder. They forged genuine friendship with them.
b. Be a Teacher
1. Read or have a volunteer read Col 1:24-29. What responsibility does Paul say God has given him in regards to the Gentiles? [Hint: Paul says in verse 25 that he is commissioned by God to present the “Word of God in its fullness.” He also speaks of admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom.]
Guide: Explain that Paul isn’t talking about the kind of teaching that can be accomplished in a single sermon or even a weekend seminar. He wants to teach and train the new believer in such a way that he is willing to work with all his strength and all the strength that God has given him.
2. Read or have a volunteer read Col 3:15-17. Why do you think Paul made it one of his goals as a teacher to equip others to teach? [Hint: He knew he couldn’t do all the teaching that needed to be done by himself, or even with his fellow missionaries. He fully expected that as he taught and trained the believers in the churches, they would in turn teach,
warn, and correct each other.]
c. Making a Lasting Investment
1. Ask students how much is too much when it comes to giving of yourself in the nurturing and teaching of new believers. [You may want to use the following points:
(i). Is it too much when befriending new believers leaves you with less time to hang out with your old Christian friends?
(ii). Is it too much when you have to dip into your own financial resources to buy a new believer a good study Bible?
(ii). Is it too much when you have to give up one morning a week to attend your school’s Bible study club with a new kid from school that accepted Christ at your teens group outreach last month?]
>>Guide: Explain that none of these sacrifices is too great when weighed against the value of a human soul. If we live in the moment with our focus on only short-term things, then the sacrifice may seem to be too much. If we live with our heads lifted up to the One who gave His life so that we could spend eternity with Him, then our sacrifices are transformed into offerings brought joyously to our King.
2. Read or have a volunteer read Philp 2:19-24. What about Timothy set him apart from everyone else? [Hint: Paul says that Timothy takes a genuine interest in the welfare of the believers at Philippi. Apparently even the other believers were too busy looking after their own needs to care for their brothers and sisters in Christ.]
3. Read or have a volunteer read Philp 2:25-30. Are there people today who risk their lives for the work of God like Epaphroditus did? If so, give an example. [Hint: Obviously, missionaries are the first ones who come to mind when we think of those who risk their lives for the work of God. But we would be remiss if we didn’t also acknowledge the believers who are persecuted and martyred in their own lands by their fellow countrymen for serving God. These believers in countries where persecution is strong deserve great honour for their stand, and they also deserve our prayers for God’s strength, wisdom, and will to be accomplished in their lives.]
4. Is a Christian’s job over after leading someone to Christ?
>Guide: Explain that Christians who lead someone to Christ, but fail to disciple that person are guilty of spiritual negligence. We can’t imagine how Someone could give birth to a baby and then discard her or him in the alley. But is that really so different from what happens when teens come to a big Teens or youth event and give their lives to Christ, but no one follows up with them? Ask your teens to consider how many times they’ve fallen short serving God, and yet He continues to teach and correct them. How can we, who have received such grace, dare to offer less to those who are new to the faith?
>>Involve Them: Provide your students with paper and pens or pencils, and ask them to consider what they could do to help disciple another believer. Have students share their ideas out loud. Some ideas they might consider could include a one-on-one Bible study about the basics of faith, helping with children’s church, serving as a teen mentor to one of the elementary-aged students in the church, or even something as simple as volunteering to take nursery duty so a mum can attend a church function.
Next, ask them to write one or two of the suggestions they could actually do. Conclude this activity by asking them to make their commitment to discipling others a matter of prayer over the next week.
>>inspire Them: Remind students THE BASIC MESSAGE of this study (pg..), explaining WHAT the Big ldea behind the study is; WHY it matters; and HOW we can live the lesson captured in this study.
>>Ministry Activity: Lead your students in a time of group prayer in which you acknowledge and repent for failing to meet the needs of new believers.
Ask God to show you how to do your part to befriend, teach and invest yourselves in the lives of new Christians. Close by thanking God for His mercy and grace in your lives.
>Teacher Hint: Ask yourself…
1. Do your students understand the importance of including new believers in our friendships?
2. Do they see themselves as teachers?
3. Are they aware of the cost if we neglect to disciple new believers?
RADIANT LIFE TEACHER GUIDE TEENS SUNDAY SCHOOL JANUARY-JUNE 2023 February 12 2023