C.A.C SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON. UNIT III: MAN'S RESPONSE TO GOD'S LOVE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. December 9, 2018 : LESSON ELEVEN : TOPIC - EXAMPLES OF STEPHEN AND PAUL.

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C.A.C SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON.  UNIT III: MAN'S RESPONSE TO GOD'S LOVE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.  December 9, 2018 : LESSON ELEVEN : TOPIC -  EXAMPLES OF STEPHEN AND PAUL.




C.A.C SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON.
UNIT III: MAN'S RESPONSE TO GOD'S LOVE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
December 9, 2018.

LESSON ELEVEN : EXAMPLES OF STEPHEN AND PAUL.

Because Stephen loved Jesus passionately he was ready to lay down his life for him. That is the same thing that spurred Paul on, through the thick and thin of the missionary ministry. Would you be ready to lay down your life for Christ's sake, if the need arises?


MEMORY SCRIPTURE

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8).

BRIEF COMMENT

Paul demonstrated his love for the Christian community in Philippi and the entire body of believers, through the writing of his epistle to the Philippians, where he gave the detail of what he had suffered for the sake of Christ and the gospel. He explained in chapter 3, where the memory scripture was picked, his enviable backgrounds and his wonderful qualifications that gave him the much confidence in the flesh. Paul was, by his status, a Pharisee, a Hebrew and Zealot (he was persecuting the church), and concerning the righteousness of the law, he was blameless. Yet, when he came to the knowledge of Christ, he decided to do away with all these, just as one does away with shit. He said, "but what things were gains to me, these I have counted loss for Christ" He counted all these privileges, qualifications and self further in verses, 9-11 to showcase those things that now make meanings to him. These are as follows: a) To gain Christ, b) To be found in Christ, c) He wanted Christ righteousness, not his own any longer, d) He wanted to know Christ and experience the power of Christ's resurrection, e) He desired to share in Christ's suffering, f) He wanted to enjoy resurrection like Christ. What an amazing resolution for Christ! What do these imply for all of us as believers? We must be resolute to drop all (Physical gains) and follow Christ. Every Christian should learn from Paul how to love Jesus above all else. Until that is done, we wouldn't make progress with our Christianity. May we be helped to long for Christ more than before and above all things in Jesus' name. Amen.

DAILY BIBLE READINGS

Mon.   3:     Stephen, Endowed to Speared the Gospel (Acts 6:5-8)
Tue.    4:     Stephen, A Bold Gospel Preacher (Acts 6:9-12)
Wed.   5:     Paul Became Prisoner for Christ's Sake (Phile. 1-3)
Thur.  6:      Philemon Loved God Passionately (Phile. 4-7)
Fri.     7:      Paul Loved and Encouraged Forgiveness (Phile. 8-16)
Sat.    8:      Philemon's Love for Obedience Acknowledged (Phile. 17-222

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

1.   Every true Christian must be ready to risk and even die for the course of the gospel, in response to Christ's indescribable love.
2.  What it means to love Jesus and the gospel is to wholeheartedly give our entire lives to Him and be ready to suffer and die for/with Him.

BACKGROUND SCRIPTURES: Acts 6,7

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

AIM: To show that there is no other way to show love to Christ than laying down our lives for Him and the course of the gospel.

OBJECTIVES: At the end of this lesson, the learners should:
i.   be able to discuss in detail, how Stephen put his life on the line, for the sake of the gospel, as he preached (witnessed) with all boldness;
ii.  have begun to develop sincere love for Jesus Christ to the extent that is will not be difficult to risk their lives for Him and the gospel;
iii. be able to explain how Paul showed his genuine love for God by enthusiastically and passionately going for Him to reach the unreached; and
iv. be able to begin to have undying passion and longing for God's people who are yet to be reached with the gospel and be ready to launch out whenever the Holy Spirit gives the signal for mission work.

INTRODUCTION

TEXTUAL SOURCE: ACTS 7:1-60; 2 CORINTHIANS 2:4; PHILIPPIANS 3:1FF; PHILEMON
We give God all the glory for His dealing with us in this Sunday School topic, OVERCOMING SLAVERY WITH CHRIST'S LOVE. We discussed how Apostle Peter and his team were queried for obeying Christ's commandment of preaching the gospel with all boldness to the gentiles, and how he strongly stood against enslaving God's people in any form. We also discussed how some of the early churches responded positively to the Christly agreement that the gospel should be shared with the Gentiles at no unnecessary extra cost.

Here, we are in the third lesson in unit III of this series. It is a one-week lesson. It shows how Stephen preached Christ to the Jews, expounding the nitty-gritty of the gospel in a very hard way. We see how he damned the consequences of speaking such hard truth, despite knowing he was facing a ferocious and murderous Jewish people. The example of Apostle Paul is also not ignorable as he evidently loved Christ wholeheartedly and loved others fairly.

May God continue to bless us as we learn from the Holy Spirit this week, in Jesus' name.

INTRODUCTION TO EACH DIVISION
This is one week lesson, which is sub-divided into A and B

DIVISION A: STEPHEN THE MARTYR
This section discusses Stephen, the Martyr, who withstood the Jews to their faces and preached Christ to them fearlessly. Stephen witnessed the life, death and resurrection of Jesus to the Jews. He put his life on the line, and never minded the harm that could be done to him. He was eventually stoned to death. He risked his precious life for the gospel of Jesus.

DIVISION B: PAUL, THE MISSIONARY
This B part narrates how Paul the  missionary went from place to place preaching Jesus to all the people, especially the Gentiles. He put aside his much solid background, as a Hebrew, a Sanhedrin, an academic guru and teacher of the law to love Jesus Christ wholeheartedly. He was committed to reaching the unreached.

LESSON OUTLINE.
I.   EXAMPLES OF STEPHEN AND PAUL
     A.   STEPHEN, THE MARTYR
     B.   PAUL, THE MISSIONARY

LESSON EXPOSITION
I.   EXAMPLES OF STEPHEN AND PAUL (Acts 7:1-60; 2 Corinthians 2:4; Philippians 3:1ff; Philemon)
A.   STEPHEN, THE MARTYR (Acts 7:1-60)
Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep (v. 60).
i.   6:8-14: Deacon Stephen, full of faith and power, had gone about spreading the good news of Christ's kingdom. But he was facing a set of people who were closed up against Christ. Would you be ready to take the gospel to 'danger zones'?
ii.  7:1: These dangerous people had secretly induced false accusers and accusations against this gospel preacher (6:11ff), hence the query, Are these things so?
iii. vv. 2-53: Just look at how he systematically marshalled this extemporaneous sermon from Abraham's call (vv. 2-8) to exodus experiences (vv. 9-36), to how Israel rebelled against God (vv. 37-43), to the fact of God's true tabernacle (vv. 44-50), and to how Israel has always resisted the Holy Spirit (vv. 51-53). That is what the Holy Spirit does for those who love Christ passionately, to the point of dying for Him (LK. 12:11,12).
iv.  vv. 54:60: The love Stephen had for Christ overcrowded the death that stirred him in the face. He could only see the Christ he loved so dearly (vv. 55,56), and while his murderers did their job, true love of Christ made him to cry aloud, Lord, do not charge them with this sin (v. 60; cf. LK. 23:34).
v.  True love for Christ motivated Stephen into Christians martyrdom and the justification of his election into deaconry. The same made him not to charge his executioners. Rather, he asked for forgiveness for them, like Jesus, his Lord and Saviour. That sincere prayer of forgiveness gave us the Church and Apostle Paul, and opened door of salvation to many.

B.   PAUL, THE MISSIONARY (2 Cor. 2:4; Phil. 3:1ff; Philemon)
For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you (2 Cor. 2:4).
i.   Phil. 3:4-6: Paul was privileged to have a solid background, nationally, spiritually, religiously, professionally, educationally, vocationally, etc. in fact, he was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin.
ii.  vv. 7-11: Despite that it can be said that Paul had a silver spoon in his mouth, what could have made him to count all these privileges as loss (vv. 7,8)? His passionate love for Christ, and the excellence of His knowledge and power.
iii. 2 Cor. 2:4: Paul didn't only love God, but also loved God's people wholly and fairly. His dealings with them in speech and writing, are founded on Christ's abundant love (cf. 1 Cor. 16:24).
iv. The book of Philemon is a clear indication of how he fairly loved all. He expressly called Philemon a beloved friend (v. 1), as much as he called the run-away slave, Onesimus, my son (v. 10). These expressions show deep relationship between them, based on the love of Christ.
v.  The way he intervened in the rift between Philemon and Onesimus, not infringing on the right of  Philemon (vv. 8,9), and pleading for the forgiveness and restoration of the slave boy, Onesimus (vv. 10ff) could only have come from a man who truly love Christ and His people.
vi. The enthusiasm, zeal and passion with which Paul reached out for Christ, showcases his love for Jesus Christ who saved him and graciously made him an Apostle to the Gentiles. He never wanted to disappoint his Caller. Hence, he transferred the passion  and zeal with which he persecuted the church into working for Christ. That is true missionary spirit.

LESSONS DERIVED
1.   The level of your love for Christ would determine how much you are ready to risk and take the gospel to the ends of the earth.
2.  The love for the church and individual members should be every Christian's priority.

QUESTIONS
1.   How does Stephen's death show his love for Christ?
2.  If you truly love Christ, no attainment or possession matters to you that you can't abandon for the sake of Christ and His gospel. Discuss.

SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
ANSWER TO QUESTION 1
*   Stephen was a man full of faith in God.
*   When he was accused of blasphemy, he never attempted to defend himself, but the gospel.
*   The love of Christ made him to  take time to explain the Word of God to his executioners, from Abraham to Christ.
*   In the face of opposition and persecution, he still preached Christ because of love.
*   Stephen's martyrdom opens the door of salvation for others to come into Christ.
*   Unlike Abel and others who were unjustly killed in the Bible, whose blood called for vengeance, Stephen asked for mercy like Jesus'. That is sincere love for Christ.
*   He died as a martyr because of his conviction in Jesus Christ.

ANSWER TO QUESTION 2
Yes, that is true.

True love for Jesus will make us to have Him wholeheartedly and above all else.

Nothing will be too big, precious, fanciful, esteeming, endearing, serious to count as shit for loving Christ alone.

Every true Christian should be ready to relinquish and give up whatever, for the course of the gospel of Jesus.

This is the test of a true disciple.

We should follow the example of Jesus, our Master, who left everything in heaven for the sake of man's redemption.

Let us also imitate Apostle Paul who counted everything as shit (loss) to gain Christ alone (1 Cor. 11:1).

The bane of Christianity today are those believers who have not given up on their worldly pursuits for Christ's knowledge's sake. Their problems are simple, they have not developed genuine love for Jesus, their Saviour and Lord.

LIFE APPLICATION
A family in the US had only one daughter. This daughter volunteered to go to Africa when the call came for evangelisation. Her parents never favoured her decision, since she was their only daughter. Determined to go for God and her parents' refusal, she took ill, after days of serious weeping and brooding. The intervention of the Pastor into the matter made the parents to give up on her as they eventually allowed her to go. One of the arguments of the Pastor was that they could lose her, if they did not allow her to go. Stepping her foot on the shore of Africa, she became the first to die amidst the missionaries. Yes, she died, but yielding to God's call, she had sown seed. She paid the price, which every Christian must be ready to pay. To live permanently in our comfort zones or live permanently with Christ, which is more glorious? We never can tell the number of her stars and her crown in God's kingdom.

Click to read previous CAC Sunday School Manuals here 

CONCLUSION
Jesus is watching every Christian in his/her duty post. He is seeing the level of our commitment to him and the gospel. Stephen and Paul had laid examples for us Christians, to emulate. We must be ready to lay down our lives for Christ's and do all at our disposal to preach the gospel of Christ. No matter what it will cost us, we should be ready to sacrifice our lives and five up our comforts and privileges to embrace Christ alone. Remember, for those who are faithful and ready to love Jesus to the end at all cost, there is eternal crown. This is the end of lesson eleven.
C.A.C SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON. UNIT III: MAN'S RESPONSE TO GOD'S LOVE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. December 9, 2018 : LESSON ELEVEN : TOPIC - EXAMPLES OF STEPHEN AND PAUL. C.A.C SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON.  UNIT III: MAN'S RESPONSE TO GOD'S LOVE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.  December 9, 2018 : LESSON ELEVEN : TOPIC -  EXAMPLES OF STEPHEN AND PAUL. Reviewed by Muyiwa Abodunrin (Muyilight) on December 09, 2018 Rating: 5

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