RCCG YAYA SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER’S MANUAL
SUNDAY 17TH OF MARCH, 2024
LESSON TWENTY NINE (29)
TOPIC: NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
OPENING PRAYER: Dear Lord, let my generation glorify You through my life of active service.
BIBLE PASSAGE: Nehemiah 2:1-8 (NKJV)
[1]And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before.
[2]Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid,
[3]and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?”
[4]Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.
[5]And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”
[6]Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
[7]Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah,
[8]and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.
MEMORY VERSE: “And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favour in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” Nehemiah 2:4 (NKJV).
INTRODUCTION: National development is simply an approach that entails the process of progressive growth in a diverse and specified direction of a group of historically constituted, stable community of people. The nation and its development is a major concern to God, hence, He works through an individual or group of people as building blocks for any nation to develop. The quality of the people is indeed the quality of the nation.
LESSON AIM: To learn how believers could be part of national development.
TEACHING OBJECTIVES: Through this lesson, the students should be able to:
1. Understand the concept of national development.
2. State some principles for the making of nations.
3. Identify clear steps to national development.
TEXT REVIEW: Nehemiah 2:1-8.
Nehemiah was a great leader and committed servant who had a burden for his nation which was beyond his personal need; he was passionate about rebuilding the walls of his country. Through his burden, he was able to:
1. Prayerfully ………………………….vs 4-5.
2. Secure .………….……………………v6.
3. Additional …….……………………v7.
4. Nehemiah separated his personal need from his national need. These two are different. He also acknowledged that all his requests were granted because ………………………v8.
OUTLINES:
1. THE MAKING OF A NATION
2. STEPS TO NATION BUILDING
1. THE MAKING OF A NATION
A. God is mindful of nations and their development (Genesis 17:5-6).
B. His concern is such that He wants to make individuals become nations and at the same time influence nations even with His gospel (Matthew 28:19; Micah 4:1-2).
C. The making of a nation, therefore, entails some principles which include:
1. The principle of Indoctrination (Daniel 1:3-8): To indoctrinate simply means to introduce someone to a kind of attitude. This is a principle adopted by the Babylonian king in order to align her citizens into their thought patterns. By so doing, there is a continuation of what the nation stands and lives for (Nehemiah 8:8).
2. The Principle of rightful positioning (Daniel 6:1-3): This simply entails positioning individuals who are knowledgeable and skilful in the various sectors of nation-building (Genesis 41:39-43).
3. The Principle of collective effort (Genesis 11:1-6): This principle focuses on joint efforts of people with a common outlook – in the direction of common growth and development. Everyone contributes positively in the right direction.
4. The Principle of preservation (Genesis 41:48): This focuses on resource management and distribution.
CLASS ACTIVITY 1: Students should discuss their views on the current state of their nation.
2. STEPS TO NATION BUILDING
A. God’s build-up in the life of an individual is always beyond that individual.
B. His aim, however, is to bring nations out of the person or give him/her power over nations (Genesis 17:5; Revelation 2:26).
C. We are very instrumental in the hands of God in the development of nations. This development entails us knowing that our identity is beyond the “Me syndrome” but that of a nation, and thus we are to have a mentality that is induced with nation development (1 Peter 2:9).
There are steps individuals and groups must take to aid national development. These include:
1. Being born again: This put you at an advantage because of your oneness with God’s thoughts and ways (1 Peter 1:23).
2. Allowing the word of God indoctrinate us (Romans 12:2).
3. Partnering with the Spirit of God in the finding and fulfilment of our purpose (Nehemiah 2:3-5).
4. Learning valuable skills in line with what you have discovered as your sphere of influence (Daniel 1:3-4).
5. Being productive and getting involved in projects of national interest and recognition.
6. Being politically informed. Avoid being a political novice as politics control major decisions in every nation (Daniel 6:3).
7. Reaching out to people in our sphere with the reality of the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16).
CLASS ACTIVITY 2: Students should discuss the practical things they would do to effect positive changes in their nation.
CONCLUSION: The quality of the people indicates the quality of the Nation; therefore, building people inevitably builds the nation. Let our hands be strengthened to build.
EVALUATION: What is national development? 2. Mention two principles that the making of a nation entails.
CLOSING PRAYER: Dear Father, please give me the grace to make an impact in my generation.
ASSIGNMENT: Mention five (5) things you can do to contribute to your nation’s development (2×5=10 Marks).
*SUNDAY SCHOOL HYMN*
1. O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,
O how I love Thee well,
I am happy, it makes me glad
To rejoice at Thy birth.
2. O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,
Thy friend friendship suits me well,
Both young and will sing Thy song,
We long for Sunday School.
3. O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,
Christ was Thy first teacher,
The Holy Spirit, great teacher,
Does manifest in thee.
4. O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,
This testimony is sure,
That God, the Father Almighty,
Poured His blessing on Thee
5. O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day,
Though the sun be so bright,
Or if the clouds be black with rain,
I’ll be in Sunday School.
6. O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day
I rejoice to see Thee,
Will thou pass over me today?
Without my being blest?