week of 8/23

Unit 24  Session 4

HE TEACHES ON PRAYER

Luke 11:1-13

 

Key Concept:

Jesus teaches us how to pray because He wants to give us good gifts.

Having called twelve disciples to follow Him, Jesus trained these men in His ways. He performed miracles in their presence, taught crowds in their hearing, and explained His parables to them while leaving others pondering their meaning. Jesus even empowered His disciples and some others to cast out demons and to heal the sick as He sent them out to prepare His way. The disciples enjoyed their success in the field, but after returning to Jesus, they asked Him for one thing - to teach them how to pray.

As you examine Luke 11:1-13:

 

✞   Recognize that we should pray for God's kingdom, true needs, forgiveness, and       

    protection against temptation.

✞   Rejoice that when we ask God for good gifts of the kingdom according to His will, 

    He will gladly give them to us.

week of 8/16

Unit 24  Session 3

HE FORGIVES SIN

Luke 7:37-39, 41-50

 

Key Concept:

Jesus forgives sinners who come to Him in adoring faith.

Before Jesus entered the Pharisee's home for a meal, He had several interactions with people who showed faith, such as the centurion, and those who did not. He then raised a widow's son from death, and many recognized Jesus as a prophet, but they did not have the spiritual insight to see Him as God. After calling out the faithless generation (Luke 7:31), Jesus taught about forgiveness and love at a Pharisee's home.

As you examine Luke 7:37-39, 41-50:

 

✞   Point out that the woman abandoned all propriety to show Jesus love and reverence.

✞   Reflect upon the fact that when we are graciously forgiven, we love more.

week of 8/9

Unit 24  Session 2

HE RESURRECTS LIFE

Luke 7:11-17

 

Key Concept:

Jesus gives new life because He is compassionate and good.

Luke recorded his account of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Luke 6. After Jesus concluded His teaching, He entered Capernaum and encountered a Gentile centurion who came to Jesus to plead for the healing and life of his servant. This healing Jesus performed from a distance, praising the centurion's faith. He then traveled to a village called Nain, where He encountered a funeral procession. Jesus' compassion for the widowed mother of the deceased young man led Him to perform a miracle on her behalf.

As you examine Luke 7:11-17:

 

✞   Take comfort in the fact that Jesus has power even over death.

✞   Contemplate how Jesus' power to renew life, both spiritually and 
    physically, fits into the good news that we are to share with the world.

week of 8/2

Unit 24  Session 1

HE IS THE MESSIAH

Matthew 11:2-10, 16-19

 

Key Concept:

Jesus' actions and the fruit of His actions prove that He is the Messiah.

John the Baptist was raised up by God as the prophet promised to precede the coming of the Messiah. He was to prepare the people for the coming of the Lord by calling them to repentance and baptizing them as they confessed their sins. He fulfilled this mission as he pointed to Jesus, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world. But as John's ministry decreased, he was arrested and imprisoned for speaking out against Herod's unlawful marriage. This led to some questions about Jesus' increasing ministry: Was Jesus indeed the Messiah? So John reached out from prison for an answer.

As you examine Matthew 11:2-10, 16-19:

 

✞   Identify the evidence that proves Jesus is the promised Messiah.

✞   Analyze the foolish standards by which people reject Jesus as the Messiah.

week of 7/26

Unit 23  Session 4

LORD OF LOVE

Luke 6:20-23, 27-36

 

Key Concept:

The way of Jesus is humble, sacrificial love that is countercultural.

Jesus did amazing things. He healed the sick, made lame men walk, cleansed lepers, and cast out demons. He called ordinary, untrained, unlikely men to be His closest followers and told them He would use them to change the world. He confronted the religious leaders of the day, exposing their hypocrisy. When Jesus taught, He revealed things about the meaning of life, the hearts of men, and the nature of God that have echoed through history. Luke 6 contains the Beatitudes, some of Jesus' most wonderful, influential, and challenging teachings.

As you examine Luke6:20-23, 27-36:

 

✞   Meditate on Jesus' message that those who are persecuted are blessed.

✞   Recognize that Jesus calls us to love sacrificially, even to love our enemies.

week of 7/19

Unit 23  Session 3

LORD OF THE SABBATH

Matthew 12:1-14

 

Key Concept:

Mercy and goodness outweigh ritual and law.

People didn't know what to do with Jesus. In Matthew 11, even John the Baptist struggled with doubts about Jesus. Jesus lamented an unresponsive generation, yet to those who did accept Him, Jesus gave one of the greatest promises in Scripture: "Come to Me...and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). In Matthew 12, however, we see the religious leaders' misunderstanding of the heart of God. They mistook God's provision of the Sabbath to display God's goodness for the good itself.

As you examine Matthew 12:1-14:

 

✞   Note that the law is a means to an end, not the end itself.

✞   Recognize that Jesus heals and restores because He is merciful and good.

week of 7/12

 Unit 23  Session 2

HEALING AND CALLING

Mark 3:7-19

 

Key Concept:

When Jesus calls, His disciples obey to continue His mission.

Have you ever been in a huge crowd, feeling pressed in by people on every side? That's what Jesus experienced at many points in His public ministry. Everyone wanted in on the miracles, the healing, the blessing. Jesus felt compassion for the broken people seeking help. Yet Jesus had also come for something much bigger. In Mark 3, Jesus had begun His mission of salvation for all nations. To address the present problem of huge crowds and to look to the future after His resurrection, Jesus appointed twelve disciples and began preparing the for a lifetime of ministry.

As you examine Mark 3:7-19:

 

✞   Reflect upon the fact that crowds came to see Jesus for healing, and Jesus showed 

    compassion to them.

✞   Recognize that Jesus chose and equipped disciples to be with Him, to preach, and 

    to reveal His power.