June 26
Teaching Resources for Children and Adults
(Leader Help video will be posted on Wednesday)
Italicized
portions are from the Discussion Guide
Online folder link: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtJm5Z0eM0Vrk0Q4Q3sV2fLYqiM7?e=ysFtaP
Fighter Verse page: https://www.fighterverses.com/verses/1-peter-5%3A9-10-%5B11%5D
Fighter Verse 24: 1 Peter 5:9-10 [11]
Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. ¹⁰And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. [¹¹To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.]
BIG IDEA: When temptations to do wrong come, ask Jesus to help you resist.
SIMPLE PHRASE: Resist the devil.
1. Prayer
Prayer focused on last week’s Fighter Verse – 1 Peter 5:6-8
Lord God, you are mighty,
perfect, loving, and victorious.
Because you are mighty,
help me live a humble life for your glory.
Because you are perfect and
mighty, help me remember that your mighty hand will lift me up at the proper
time.
Because you care for me and
love me, help me cast my worries and anxieties upon you.
Help me be sober-minded and
watchful.
God, I know that you are so
mighty and powerful and I also know that our enemy the devil wants to destroy
me.
Thank you for the victory over sin and death I have because of you.
2. Last
Week’s Fighter Verse Review
Together say last week’s Fighter Verses
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, ⁷casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. ⁸Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Encourage people to say the passage.
- Use the poster verse
- Say it together. Make up motions.
3. Follow-up from last week’s study and action
Ask what they did to live out 1 Peter 5:6-8
Remember How Great God is…
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Play the ABC’s of God’s greatness
·
Talk about ways you and your family have seen God’s greatness
·
Read from a Children’s Story Book Bible stories about God’s
Greatness.
·
Write worries, concerns, and anxieties and throw them in a fire. Afterward, sing some songs of God’s
faithfulness.
4. Introduction Activities
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Coloring
Page |
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Stand
Strong |
For the "Stand Strong" introductory activity,
you will need rope and a piece of cloth or ribbon to mark the center of the
rope for the tug-of-war game. You will do this activity outside if the
weather permits or perhaps inside in a large room. Pair two people who are
opposite in strength. Play the game until all have had a turn. Then have the
pair that was most opposite in strength try it again and, at some point as
they try, you step in behind the weakest player and grab the end of the rope
and help that person to victory. (Make sure you can win.)
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Tell It |
For the Tell It° introductory activity, research examples
of present-day martyrs through the Voice of the Martyrs website
(persecution.org) and use past examples from Foxe's Book of Martyrs, which
can be found online. biblestudytools.com/history/foxs-book-of-martyrs/
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God’s
Gifts |
For the "God's Grace Gifts" introductory
activity, wrap a small box with a separate lid and put a tag on the lid with
these words: From the God of All Grace. Cut slips of paper so that each
member can have several. Provide pencils for each member. With younger children, have the gift box visible for all
to see and have the teacher and assistants the slips of paper can write examples
of gifts that our gracious God has given us, like Jesus dying for our sins,
giving us our families, and giving us our church. This could even be done before hand.
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5. What? (Observations – What are the facts? (from verse and immediate context)
Words used in this passage
· Resist – stand against, to act in
opposition
· Restore – to renew or reestablish
after interruption; to return
· Confirm – to make firm or certain;
fo fix more firmly
· Strengthen – to make strong or
stronger; to add strength to
· Establish – to set and fix firmly or
unalterably; to settle permanently
Share Background from the Discussion Guide, or www.preceptaustin.org, or other resources
From Discussion Guide (last week):
Peter
is most likely ministering in Rome and has written this letter to the
Christians, both Jews and Gentiles, who are scattered in the northern parts of Asia Minor. He speaks
of the ongoing persecutions that believers were experiencing and would continue
to face under the reign of Nero. He writes to encourage them to stay strong in the
faith during the difficult days ahead. He calls them to act and respond as
followers of Jesus in the midst of unjust suffering. In 1 Peter 5, Peter is addressing the elders
and the flock in their respective positions. He exhorts the elders, not from a
superior status, but "as a fellow elder," to lead the people by
example, not lording their position of leadership over them. They were to serve
God faithfully and eagerly, and teach, guide, and protect those in their care.
The believers were to submit themselves to the leadership of the elders. In
verse 5, he says to both groups. “Clothe
yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the
proud but gives grace to the humble.”
6. So What? (Interpretation – what is the meaning?) More questions in the discussion guide.
Revisit the Introductory Activities
Stand Strong
- What do you think I was trying to show you about verse 9 when we played the tug-of-war game? [the devil is strong, and he is always trying to devour us, but we need to resist him; we have to fight against temptations to give in to him; etc.]
- What was I illustrating when I stepped in to help (name of the weaker child)? [we need help to resist; we need God's help to resist the devil; we need strength stronger than our own; etc.]
- According to verse 9, what will make us able to resist him? [being firm in our faith; having a strong trust in God; etc.
- Where does strong faith come from? [from God]
- Yes, let's read Ephesians 28-9. What is faith, according to these verses? [it is a gift from God; it is not something we were born with; God gave it to us; etc.]
Tell it
- Who were some of the people we talked about who had or have difficulties and are suffering?
- The rest of verse 9 tells us that everyone has struggles and temptations. in this case, Peter is talking about persecuted Christians, who have to resist the temptations from the devil. What temptations might those be? (to complain against God for their troubles; to give up; to obey the devil rather than God; to give in to fear; etc.]
- Are Christians persecuted in our country? How? lloss of jobs if they stand up for biblical principles; are taken to court for refusing to do unbiblical things; made fun of in school for speaking about faith and God; not chosen for certain positions because they go to church; etc.]
- How might God use persecution for good? (to strengthen the faith of Christians; to cause Christians to be more serious about studying the Bible, memorizing Scripture, participating in church; to show them how to have joy even in difficult times; to help their lives to be a witness to unbelievers; to help them learn to rely on God and resist the devil; etc.
God's Grace Gifts
- (Open the box and take out each slip one at a time, reading what is on the slip and asking who wrote it and why it is a gift of grace from God.)
- These and many more things are gifts from God. in verse 10, Peter is encouraging the persecuted Christians that the same God who gives all these gifts that were in our box, has four more to give. What are they? (restore; confirm; strengthen; establish)
- What do those gifts do? [make us what we are supposed to be; make our faith strong and firm; get us ready for eternity; we will make progress in our spiritual lives; we will stand secure on our strong foundation which is our faith in Jesus; etc.]
- In regard to the sufferings, Peter says, after a little while. What might that mean? [after a certain period of time; after this time of suffering; after all the different sufferings of their lives; at the end of their lives; what they are suffering may go on throughout their lives, but that is a little time compared to eternity in glory, etc.]
So What? Verse-by-Verse
- Read 1 Peter 5:9-10 [11) aloud or in unison.
- Verse-by-Verse
Resisting the Devil
- The devils plan is to devour Christians. We are told to resist him and take a firm stand against his attacks. How can we prepare ourselves to resist? (learn about the devil's ways of tempting: read about his methods in the Bible; know what our Own weaknesses are; study and take seriously the armor of God; memorize verses about how to resist temptations
- The devil can tempt us as families. How? [fight and argue; when don’t obey parents; when our schedules are so full that we have no time to have devotions or Bible discussions together; when we don’t fulfill our responsibilities as a family]
- The devil can tempt the local church. How? [wjem we don’t act like a loving family; when we complain about things without stepping up to help; when we thin that the church is all about us and what we like and don’t think of the needs and likes of others; when the leaders and people listen to the world more than God and his word.
Sufferings
- How does knowing that others are going through similar trials and sufferings help Christians stand firm in faith? [we realize that the suffering is not unique to us; others are experiencing the same thing; Christians can help each other stand strong in faith; other Christians can encourage those who are suffering because they have gone and are going through some of the same situations; all Christians have the same source for strength, power, and faith: God]
- If we could understand how God is using the sufferings in our lives to strengthen our faith and make us more Christlike, we might not complain so much when sufferings come.
- There are thousands of suffering Christians around the world today, even in our own country. How can we help to encourage them to stand firm in their faith? [read prayer letters and learn about suffering Christians; send financial help to Christian organizations that provide help; go as a short-term missionary and get to know suffering people personally; send letters of encouragement to persecuted Christians; pray for them; etc.]
- Pain and suffering are not useless. God has a plan for everything that happens in our lives, both the pleasant and the painful. What might be some of the purposes for suffering? [to teach us to depend on God's strength to endure; so that we'll grow stronger in faith; so that we'll refuse to continue in sinful behaviors; so that we'll be more loving, patient, forgiving, understanding of others; so that we'll learn to be more trusting of God's goodness and plans and less negative and complaining; etc.
- What does a little while " mean? (during the time of the present persecutions; the length of time of suffering; all of life; the fact that we suffer from one thing or another all our lives is a short time compared to how long we will live in eternity; it is not a precise accounting of time; however long it takes; etc.]
- Read 2 Corinthians 4.17 for further clarifications of "a little while." Regardless of how long the suffering is, it has a divine purpose, and this can give us encouragement to stand firm in our faith because:
- God of all grace,
- What does "all' mean? [totally: 100 percent; completely; all there could possibly be; etc.
- The sovereign God is completely full of grace. What does that mean? [full of mercy, forgiveness; goodness; compassion; blessing: etc.]
God’s Calling
- In the face of suffering, Peter is encouraging the saints to trust the God of total grace with their lives. Why? [because He is the One who saved them because of all Christ did on the cross; He chose them to be with Him forever in His eternal glory," in His mercy, He forgave them, called them, and saved them; since He did all of that, He is not going to leave them to fight the good fight on their own; their suffering for a little while is so small compared to the eternal glory that awaits them; etc.]
- Peter is continuing his encouragement to resist firm in their faith because God has promised them something, what is it? [God Himself is working through the sufferings to renew and strengthen their faith; to cause them to stand firm in the Truth; to make them strong and valiant fighters against their enemy, the devil; to make them as a cement wall that does not walver; etc.]
- When will God do this? [little by little through their lifetimes of sufferings; ultimately when they join Him in eternal glory]
7. Now
What? (Application – What is God’s intended effect?)
How does this Fighter Verse
apply to all people (saved and/or unsaved) in all cultures and in all
historical time periods?
·
All people suffer.
·
Firm faith is
needed to overcome the tactics of the devil.
·
God uses
persecution for good in many ways; to strengthen faith, refocus attention of
God’s sustaining power, gospel testimony, strip off attraction of the world,
etc.
·
God’s
presence,grace, and power is available to help Christians be victorious in all
suffering.
·
At some point God
himself will restore, confirm, strengthen and establish Christians.
Here are some other verses about comfort during suffering: 1 Corinthians 1:3; John 16:20; Psalm 27:13-14; Romans 8:28; 37-38; 1 Pter 3:14; 4:12-13; Hebrews 2:10; James 1:12; Romans 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 4:8-10.
8. Insight
What are some things you learned or were reminded of in today’s lesson?
9. Action
Steps
Think of some specific things each person could
do to live out the truths learned. You can think about
activities for the Now What? question.
Remember How Great God is…
·
Watch a Torchlighters video - https://torchlighters.org/
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Research a certain missionary or country
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Check out the lesson the kids did on lament - https://tbcgrkidz.blogspot.com/2022/04/april-10.html
10. Prayer
God, help me resist the devil and stand firm in my faith, knowing that there are believers all around the world going through suffering and challenges.
Lord, God, restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish me.
Amen.
11. This Week
The following graphics will be in your classroom. There might not be graphics for each week's lessons.
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