NBC SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON FOR JULY 4, 2021 : TOPIC – AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
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NBC SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
Sunday, July 04, 2021
TOPIC: AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
Devotional Reading: Isaiah 56: 1-8
Background Scripture reading: Leviticus 13-14; Luke 5:12-16; 17:11-19
Lesson Scripture reading: Leviticus 13:45-46; Luke 17:11-19
Golden Text: One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. Luke 17:15
By the end of the lesson, class members should be able to:
i. Identify the various ways we can show gratitude to God people for and favor received;
ii. State some reasons the other lepers did not come back to appreciate Jesus, like the Samaritan;
iii. Cultivate a grateful heart and thanksgiving lifestyle.
Introduction
A fiction was once told of how God sent two angels to the earth to collect the prayers of thanksgiving and request of people for presentation to God. At the
end of the exercise, the angel that collected the prayer of petitions returned
several times bringing basket full of people’s request to God. Unfortunately, the other angel who was assigned to oollect people’s gratitude to God for His numerous blessings moved round the earth over and over and soarcely got half a basketful of prayers of gratitude.
Looking Confused and disappointed, the angel sighed and said, “These spirit gratitude. They do not know how to appreciate God for His blessings people lack
the of Wonderful we cannot count. The scenario narrated above quite depicts the attitude of Some Christians and their response to God’s faithfulness to them. We are in generation where people always want to benefit from generation where God without acknowledging His blessing in the past. God is the Giver of all good things and whenever He blesses us
He wants us to show appreciation to Him either with songs, our substances or through testimonies in order to encourage others. But it appears that God’s grace and goodness have
been severally taken for granted, like the other nine lepers in today’s passage who failed to show gratitude to Jesus for their healing. The focus of today’s lesson
is the importance of show gratitude to God for His goodness toward us.
THE LESSON EXPLAINED
A. The Rule of Quarantine of the Lepers. Leviticus 13:45-46
The book of Leviticus contains rules and regulations governing
Israelite’s worship. The rules all aspects of were given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai (Leviticus 1:1-2: 27:34) where the people camped for about nine months, on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land. Therefore, the minutest detail of the rules are backed by the full authority of God. Precisely, chapters 13 and 14 deal with some dreaded skin diseases like leprosy whose symptoms are Sores, boils, and inflammations (Leviticus 14:56). According to verse 13, the rule states that a leprous person should
wear torn clothes and his head lay bare. He is also expected to cover the loNer part of his face and cry, “unclean, unclean,” lest any
traveller should unconsciously come in contact with him. Furthermore, the person will remain unclean as long as the disease remains and will be excludeed from the camp
be kept away from others.
Leprosy is a disease of the skin that is said to be contagious. Affected persons are usually marginalised and ostracised, thus they are segregated from others so that they will not be contaminated. Usually, those who are affected with the disease form their own colonies away from the community.
Little wonder Jesus found them between Samaria and
Galilee, according to the acoount of Luke. They were required by Jewish law to take several precautionary measures to forewarn others of their condition and to prevent likelihood of infesting others. It should be noted that their exclusion
from the community of the healthy was to prevent the spread that may be communicated by mere touch. Nevertheless, leprosy is not very common days
these because of advancement in research and medications to the disease. But it can be likened to an unconfessed sin that brings both physical and spiritual separation between God and His people (Isaiah 59:1)
Discussion Time 1
1 Considering law’s the requirements in Leviticus 13,
how should Christians treat
lepers today?
2. How can we balancce the
necessity of obeying human
laws and ministering to the
needy (like lepers)?
B. Lepers Divine Encounter with Jesus Luke 17:1-13
The story of Jesus encounter with the ten lepers was only recorded by Luke. He had just taught about sin, faith and duty with the story of a slave to illustrate performance of duty before His encounter
with them. The scenario to
to illustrate performance of
of duty before His encounter
with them. The scenario took place on His way to Jerusalem in a middle space of the border that separates the Jews from the Samaritans. In the days of Jesus, lepers were considered as outcasts and
so were not qualified to stay in the community of healthy
people. When these ten lepers saw Jesus, they stood at a distance and cried out in a loud voice saying Jesus,
Master, have pity on us.” (v 13). In other words, they pleaded with Jesus to show them mercy, to remove the stigma, deal with the source of their problem and set them free. Obviously, these
men recognised their state
of helplessness. acknowledged the fact that they Jesus is the Healer thus they seized the opportunity to seek for His mercy to heal them. Although the Bible is not clear about the reason the lepers were together. Some
Bible commentators have
suggested that their shared
misery, despite their religious and ethnic differences, may responsible. Furthermore, the fact that have been Jesus found them on the borderland between Samaria
and Galilee is an indication
that they were a set of peo=
who were
borderland between Samaria
and Galilee is an indicoation
that they were a set of people literarily who were
marginalised because of their disease.
Therefore, they probably formed their own separate
and unclean community
on the borderlands. However, the striking point is that they recognised Jesus as the only one who could heal them of their diseases thus they called on Him to have pity on them. Their cry can be interpreted as asking Jesus to set them free, give them relief from the present
suffering and pronounce liberty. The lesson is a reminder of two important
things: Jesus is accessible to all. He also has the power to set people free from all kinds of diseases and other
challenges of life, especially
those who will come to Him
with humility and faith.
Discussion Time 2
1. Identify some people who
are usually treated as outcasts today and discuss why.
2 Jesus encounter with the
lepers who were supposed to be outcasts was not coincidental. Discuss.
C. The Miracle of Healing and a Show of Gratitude Luke 17:14-19
The fact has been established that according to the Jewish culture, lepers were not allowed to live in
the community of healthy people for fear of infesting them (Leviticus 13:45-46).
Nevertheless, Jesus had no
reservations regarding His relationship with everyone,
even those who were
considered ceremonially
unclean. His response to the
request of the lepers in verse 14 is a confirmation. He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests” The purpose was that only the priests have the authority to certify that only the priests have the authority to certify a leper
cleansed and free to live among the people.
Miraculously, these lepers became healed (cleansed of
their diseases) on their way to see the priest. It is recorded that only one of them who was a Samaritan came back to Jesus to show gratitude.
* He showed it in three different ways. He praised God with a loud voice.
* He threw Himself to the ground, at Jesus’ feet.
* He thanked Him. Jesus questions in verse 17 confirmn the importance of
showing gratitude for any of
favour done. He asked
Samaritan. “Were not all ten
cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
Jesus said to him, “Rise and
go; your faith has made you well”(v. 19) Jesus is a miracle working God. He did not pray for the lepers neither did He lay hands on them in order to receive their hecling. He simply commanded them to follow the requirements of the law as it affects the disease of leprosy. Therefore, they were instructed to go to the priests for confirmation and perhaps receive the certificate of confirm the importance of showing gratitude for any favour done. He asked the Samaritan, “Were not all tenn cleansed? Where are the
other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Jesus said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well”(v. 19)
Jesus is a miracle working God. He did not pray for the lepers neither did He lay hands on them in order to receive their hecling. He simply commanded them to
follow the requirements of the law as it affects the disease of leprosy. Therefore, they were instructed to go to the priests for confirmation and perhaps receive the certificate of cleansing. This of course would help them to be accepted into the society to continue living their normal lives. Unfortunately, only one came back to Jesus with gratitude through praises, humility and thanksgiving.
From time to time, God shows us favour for which we must show appreciation. This can through be done songs, dancing giving substance or supporting the of our work of mission. Unlike the Samaritan leper who saw the need tO show appreciation too Jesus for his healing, some Christicns do not know how to thank God for His uncountable blessings. Insteaod, they complain about unanswered prayers and compare themselves with others.
Discussion Time 3
1. What does Jesus’ question to the leper that came to say thank you to Him teach us?
2. Let someone share the testimony of how he/she was recently healed of a particular disease and his her response to God.
Fellowship and Ministry Building Activity
From home, let eachmember write ten (10) things for which they are grateful for since the beginning of the year. Let them sing BH 491: “Now Thank We All Our God” and continue to meditate on the message of the song.
Take Home
* God can heal all manner of diseases.
* Believers should learn to always express gratitude to God and those who have helped them.
* Believers should not overlook God’s blessings.
* Christians should not be biased against anyone, tribe and faith notwithstanding.
* We should be free to call on Jesus concerning any situation.
* We should not take God’s
blessings for granted.