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SUNDAY SCHOOL "Get Lifted"
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UNIT 3 • THE NEW COMMUNITY FACES GROWTH PAINS These five lessons focus on the early struggles of the Christian community. It explores four aspects of the community members—how they were equipped for ministry, how they handled conflict, their witness in the world, and the persecution they faced.
November 2, 2008 Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus challenges us to use our diverse identities and gifts to build up the Christian community. God gives every member of His church gifts that are to be used to edify or bless the body, to enhance the unity of the church and the work of Christ. In this lesson, Paul affirms the diversity of gifts and gives guidelines as to how and when the gifts are to be used.
November 9, 2008 Through writing and example, Paul admonished believers that our acceptance before God comes not by following the rules but through living faithfully to Christ. Because of division in the early church between Jewish and Gentile Christians, Paul taught that there are unifying factors that should be in the forefront of every believer's mind. These factors include the fact that Christ lives in every believer, through His Holy Spirit, and the link between Christ's death and resurrection and every believer's own death and resurrection from sin.
November 16, 2008 Paul exhorted the Philippians to follow examples of those who worked together for the common good and rejoiced together. He noted that the Christian community will have struggles and that God's church needs the peace of God to guard each and every heart and mind, in Christ Jesus.
November 23, 2008 Paul admonished Timothy to prepare others, just as Paul had prepared him for discipleship, ministry, and service. He knew that the new community will be a witness for or against Christ, depending on their conduct.
November 30, 2008 Paul boasted about his suffering. His boasts were prompted by challenges from others in the Corinthian church who thought they had it rough. Paul said their complaints were no match for the suffering he had known. Paul was a mature believer and taught the Corinthians that there were going to be many challenges to the new community that would come from within. He said that, through his own weaknesses, he found strength in the grace of God and they could, too.
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