C.A.C SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON.
UNIT III: MAN’S RESPONSE TO GOD’S LOVE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
November 11, 2018. LESSON NINE
JESUS TEACHES HOW TO LOVE.
Of these three, who showed the love of Christ? Of course, the stigmatized Samaritan. Don’t allow your religiosity to overcrowd your love to your neighbour (Jas. 1:27).
MEMORY SCRIPTURE
So he answered and said, ” ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbour as yourself'” (Luke 10:27).
BRIEF COMMENT
Preceding verses, show that Jewish rabbis enjoyed debating doctrines; and this lawyer (scholar of the O.T law) wanted to hear what Jesus had to say. He wasn’t seeking the truth, but wants to involve Jesus in a debate. He asked Jesus “… who is my neighbour?” He never asks question about God, or love to God. Why? He knew in respect to that, his case was hopeless. It’s no go area. So, he tried to get off on the second commandment. It was a good question asked with a bad motive, because the lawyer hoped to trap the Lord. However, Jesus responded in wisdom and the lawyer was confounded! The mere fact that he asked such a question shows that he’s guilty and faulty. How could he have fulfilled the law of neighbourly love, if he didn’t even know who his neighbour was? Imagine such!
Our utmost obligation is to obey the greatest of the commandments, which the man quoted precisely from Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18. But we cannot truly love God, or our neighbour, until we have God’s love in our hearts (Rom 5:5; 1 John 4:19). If we cannot keep the greatest of the commandments (Mark 12:28-34), how can we ever hope to please God? We must love God sincerely, heartily, and fervently; it must be an entire love. Also, we must love our neighbours as ourselves, which we shall easily do, if we, love God better than ourselves.
DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Mon. 5: We Expect the Coming of the Lord (Matt. 25:31)
Tue. 6: We All Shall Be Present (Matt. 25:32)
Wed. 7: Where Will You Be: Right or Left? (Matt. 25:33)
Thur. 8: What Loving Action Do You have? (Matt. 25:35,36)
Fri. 9: Wondered by Christ’s Record of Love (Matt. 25:37-39)
Sat. 10: Walk in Love till Eternity (Matt. 25:40)
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT
1. What matters most to Jesus is our love for God and one another.
2. It is more important to know God and our neighbours, whom by the first and second great commandments, we are obliged to love.
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURES: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; 14:1)
AIM AND OBJECTIVES
AIM: To show how seriously love is to Jesus, how He took it upon Himself to teach us about love and how we should extremely take it and put it into action unto God and to men.
OBJECTIVES: It is expected that at the end of this lesson, learners should be able to:
i. acknowledge God, the founder of love, and Jesus, the demonstrator and teacher of love, who taught us whom, how and why to love;
ii. know that without the love of God in us, we can’t please God and even man;
iii. admit that some of the end-results of love are peace, unity, etc; and
iv. give their hearts to the source of love which is God, and to know that from our hearts, love proceeds and performs.
INTRODUCTION
TEXTUAL SOURCE: MARK 12:28-31; LUKE 10:25-37; 16:19-31
What an incomparable joy in the presence of the Lord! It is amazing the way God is blessing us in different lessons under the broad theme, LOVE IN ACTION. It is believed that our lives have been enriched already by a better understanding of the actions of our Lord and Creator in love.
Last week, we vividly observed the topic, WOMEN ALSO SHOWED LOVE, under Unit II: MAN’S LOVE TOWARD MAN. The loving exploits of two Old Testament female characters, Ruth and Esther, were explored. If we say we love God, but never show it to people around us, then, we deceive ourselves. Despite that love has turned to lust this days, we still have to show God’s unadulterated love, in God’s will, to others. May God give us the grace to practically show love to everyone.
So far, we are through with the first two units of this series, MAN’S LOVE TOWARD GOD and MAN’S LOVE TOWARDS MAN, respectively. Each of these units has blessed us with four different 2-week lessons. We have understood better that love is better demonstrated than defined.
Lesson 9, the first lesson in Unit III, in this series, brings us to a discourse of Jesus Christ’s practical teachings, on how to extend the love of God to our fellow humans. Not in duplicitous and cunny manners, but in a manner that really affects us deeply. And it will make a difference in our world and in the Christendom for the Lord! It is a continuation of God’s love from Old Testament but shown in the New Testament through the teachings of the Lord Jesus.
May we be graced to effectively practise God’s love to others. Amen.
INTRODUCTION TO EACH DIVISION
This lesson is divided into I and II, and each is further divided into A and B, respectively
DIVISION I: DIRECT TEACHINGS
This segment aims to Illumina Jesus — the Teacher of all teachers (Luke 10:25). He came to this world not only to die for our sins, but also taught us what we need to do to live righteously in God and peacefully with men while on earth, in order to make heaven. One of those teachings is love — the greatest commandment. He summed up all commandments by love and taught us how love could get us connected to God and man. This teaching comes directly from Jesus to us.
DIVISION II: PARABLES
Jesus was sensitive. The Word Himself (Jn. 1:1-3), knew the right word and method to use to get His message across. In this section, Jesus, at the course of His teaching, uses parable. Though, He always does. Matt. 13:34,35 says “… Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables;… that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: ” I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.” Meaning that, truths are revealed in parables. No wonder, Jesus answered that man (lawyer) with timely parable. Though he knew the thoughts and intents of his heart, he did not answer him according to the folly of what, but according to the wisdom and goodness of the question he asked.
LESSON OUTLINE
I. DIRECT TEACHINGS
A. LOVE GOD WHOLEHEARTEDLY
B. LOVE OTHERS FAIRLY
II. PARABLES
A. THE GOOD SAMARITAN
B. THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS
LESSON EXPOSITION
I. DIRECT TEACHINGS (Mark 12:28-31)
Who teaches more than the Word Himself, Jesus? He knew the right word to use to all manner of circumstances at the right time. The word that proceeded directly from His mouth cannot be doubted, distorted, and it is life and direct, even till today. His Word, now, is as powerful as His personality, then. What He says and teaches, helps people to do what is right (Matt. 7:28).
A. LOVE GOD WHOLEHEARTEDLY (vv. 28-30)
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. ‘ This is the first commandment (v. 30).
i. v. 29: In response to the question of the greatest command (v. 28), Jesus, the Great Rabbi, refers to Deut. 6:4,5.
ii. vv. 29,30: The true call is to love the true God, not just any god (idol), but the God who is One and the God who is “the One.”
iii. In v. 30,cones the universal command, disobedience to which is why hell is being populated.
iv. The heart is the seat in the center of man’s inward life —- the place of human depravity, or the realm of divine influence. Spiritual relationship and communication with God begins from within (Matt. 12:34b).
v. Your heart is the spring of life (Pro. 4:23; 23:19). We need a divinely renewed heart to love God. When we receive the new heart, it will be evident in our actions (Deut. 30:6).
vi. To love God with your heart, is not enough. It takes loving Him with your entire being.
vii. The truth is, loving God as we are commanded by Jesus does not just happen. It has to be intentional nurturing and growing that love for God in our hearts. Meaning; seeking after Him day and night.
B. LOVE OTHERS FAIRLY (v. 31)
And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these (Mk. 12:31).
i. In Jesus teachings, our relationship with fellow men, women and children, is irremovabke from our relationship with God. Love of God and our neighbours, are two facets of the same calling (cf. 1 Jn. 4:10-12).
ii. Neighbour, here, doesn’t mean people living very close to you, but all mankind, including enemies (Lk. 6:27-38), friends associates, fellow countrymen, etc. God puts no limits on love.
iii. When you love God with His love in you, then you would be able to love those around you (Matt. 7:5). This is the reflection of God’s love in you, showing you as His disciple (Jn. 13:34-35).
iv. The attributes of God’s love include forgiveness and giving. God loves us, giving us His only Son to forgive our sins. Hence, we should forgive our neighbours in love (Jn. 8:3-11), and give to the less privileged around us. This is love in action (Lk. 6:35).
v. Remember this, the love you show to others, would be shown unto you likewise… whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them… (Matt. 7:5,12).
vi. One of the primary ways we express love to ourselves, is the way we care, do no harm to ourselves, and settle our daily needs accordingly. We do this because we think of ourselves and we do it consciously. So, do it likewise to your neighbours. The commandment to love our neighbours, is directly directed to us.
LESSONS DERIVED
1. Jesus’ teaching on love firstly focus on loving God. In the absence of this, love to others is to no avail.
2. Your love for others is a spill over of your wholehearted love for God in Christ Jesus.
WORK TO DO
Our sinful hearts keep us from loving God and one another. Yet, according to 1 Timothy 1:5, “the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart”. Discuss.
Click to read previous CAC S unday School Manuals here
SUGGESTED ANSWER TO WORK TO DO
i. Love to God and man (sincere love) must come from a holy heart.
ii. The commandment was not designed to secure merely the outward expressions of love, but that which had its seat in the heart.
iii. There can be no sincere love to God and man where the dictates of heart are constantly violated, and wrong.
iv. Bad tree cannot produce good fruit. Bad and sinful heart produces lustfulness, while pure and clean heart produces pure love.
v. The end result of God’s commandment is love and it only flows out from the pure heart.