VERSES: Galatians 1:1-12 MEMORY VERSE: Galatians 1:8 "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." BOOK TO REMEMBER: Beginning again with the New Testament books, for those who have not learned them, we will strive to memorize all 27 New Testament books. Write "Matthew" on a small slip of paper and hand out to the students at the end of class, instructing them to come back the next week and recite this new book they have learned. In the following weeks, we shall add another New Testament book until the students have, with effort, learned all 27 books. PRAYER: Pray that all Christians may hold fast to the God's Word and shun the teachings of false teachers. May we read daily from our Bibles, so that we will know what is truly from God and what is from a false teacher. SPECIAL SONG:Read, Read Every Day (seeFebruary 2014 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #1 on this blog. Click orange circle for the tune of the song.) VISUAL AID: Bible Map, showing Galatia; Large Activity (see below) LESSON:
As we look at this next book or letter to the church at Galatia, we see that the letter was written by the Apostle Paul. How do we know that? Because he signed the letter in the first verse of the very first chapter! (Read Galatians 1:1). We find that Paul calls himself an apostle of Jesus Christ in that same verse.
Paul was amazed that the church at Galatia had so quickly left the teachings of Christ for false teaching. Many false teachers change the pure and simple words of God to make people sin, sometimes changing only one word. That is what the devil did in Genesis 3. What word did the serpent add to God's Words in Genesis 3? That's right! Only the simple word 'not' in the statement "Ye shall not surely die" (Genesis 3:4). That is exactly what the false teachers were doing in Galatia! They were changing or perverting God's Words by adding their own thoughts or taking away God's Words to come up with something different than what God had intended.
What did Paul say about what was going on in the church at Galatia? He said something very important! He said even if the apostles or even if an angel came down from heaven and preached any other gospel than what Paul and his companions had preached to the church already to let him be accursed! This message was SO important that Paul said it twice! Let's read it for ourselves. Let's turn to Galatians 1:8, 9 and see what it says. (Read the verses). When God says something once, it is important, but if He says it twice, it is EXTREMELY important!
Paul went on to say that he was not seeking to please men because if he did, he would not be a servant of Christ. He was not a "men-pleaser," but a "Christ-pleaser." In Galatians 1:12, Paul said that men had not told him what to preach and neither had he been taught what to preach, but he had received the teaching by revelation from Jesus. Paul was an apostle and was definitely special. We do not have apostles any longer because we have the Word of God or the Bible to read and when we read, we can believe or not believe it. In the days when Paul was writing his letters to the churches, he was writing the Bible! The people had no Bible then, so the apostles who were inspired or told what to say by God would teach God's Word to the people. Now, there is no need for apostles because we have the Bible to read for ourselves.
"Older Student" Tips:
God knows everything. God knew there would be false teachers come and try to persuade Christians to go back to the Old Law which had been taken away with Jesus' death on the cross (Hebrews 9:28; 10:9, 10). He was telling the church at Galatia through Paul that they should not believe any other man's words if he was teaching something different than what Paul and the apostles had already taught the people. If anyone came up with any new thing, they were not to believe them because they were not bringing a message from God! Even if an ANGEL came down from heaven and said something different than what the apostles had taught, they were not to believe the angel either! God says what He means and means what He says. There are always grave consequences for those who do not believe and obey His Word. Everything we need today to be saved is in the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). We don't need anything else. There will not be another book, another gospel, another teaching, another prophet, another apostle, anything else sent by God. Only the Bible will judge us in the last day John 12:48). We need to read and obey.
There are three warnings written in the Bible, commanding people not to add or take away from God's Words. Read Deuteronomy 4:2, Proverbs 30:5, 6; Revelation 22:18, 19. God says what He means and means what He says.
ACTIVITY: Materials needed: 9" x 12" blue construction paper, two 5" x 5" yellow construction papers, crayons, scissors, stapler, staples, pencil.
Hand out blue paper.
Lengthwise, fold blue paper up to 3" from bottom.
Vertically, fold paper in half.
Staple the 3" strip in the middle on the folded line. (A extra long stapler works well, stapling in the middle, but if only a small stapler is available, loosely fold one side of the blue paper, so it will fit into the smaller stapler.)
Staple 3" strip on the outside edges of the paper.
Set blue paper aside.
Hand out yellow papers.
On one yellow paper, draw a "1," using most of the paper.
On the other yellow paper, draw a "2," using most of the paper.
Cut both numbers out.
On the "1," write "But, though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" and "Galatians 1:8."
On the "2," write "As we said before, so I say now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed" and "Galatians 1:9."
Set aside the yellow papers.
On the outside of the folded blue paper, write "Galatians 1:8, 9."
Open the booklet.
Above the pocket on the left side, write "If God says something ONE time, it is..."
On the left pocket, write "IMPORTANT." in red.
Above the pocket on the right side, write "But, if God says the same thing twice, then it is..."
On the right pocket, write "VERY IMPORTANT!" in red.
VERSES: 2 Corinthians 4:1-18; 11:22-33 MEMORY VERSE: 2 Corinthians 4:7 "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels..." BOOK TO REMEMBER: Review the New Testament books every week, so that the students may not only be refreshed in their learning, but may also be proud in their diligence of studying and remembering all 27 books. PRAYER: Pray that we shine the light of the gospel far and wide, so others may be saved by hearing and obeying God's Word. SPECIAL SONG: This Little Light Of Mine(see March 2014 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #3 on this blog) VISUAL AID: Large Activity (see below) LESSON POINTS:
We have learned in other lessons that we have studied that the city of Corinth was a very wicked city and that wickedness had slowly crept into the church. The church had listened to false teachers, even questioning the fact that Paul was an apostle. The false teachers who were in the church at Corinth convinced the Christians that Paul was dishonest and insincere. Because of these sinful issues that continued in the church at Corinth, Paul wrote another letter to the Corinthians.
He wrote in this second letter to the church at Corinth that, as he and his companions endured the sufferings of Christ, they enjoyed the many comforts of Christ (Second Corinthians 1:5). Christ comforted Paul in his troubles (2 Corinthians 1:4), so he could, in turn, comfort others who were in trouble.
Paul, also, wrote that the gospel was inside earthen vessels or in men, written in their hearts, and not written on tables of stone as the Old Law was written (2 Corinthians 3:2, 3). Christians were letters who could be read by all men by the things that they did and said.
Paul explained that he had always spoken boldly against things done in dishonesty and trickery, and against handling the Word of God unjustly (2 Corinthians 4:2). Everything Paul had done was done in the open and not hidden from anyone. He said if the gospel was hidden, then it was hidden to the people who were lost by the devil (2 Corinthians 4:3). The devil hid the gospel from them, so that they would not receive the wonderful light of the gospel of Christ. With Jesus there was light, but with the devil there was darkness.
Paul wrote that he and his companions did not preach about themselves, but about Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:5). Paul went on to say that he was never tired of preaching the gospel of Christ. He had led a humble life, serving Christ. He considered himself the chiefest of sinners (First Timothy 1:15). He treasured God's Word and he counted himself blessed. Anyone could look at what Paul went through to preach about Jesus and know that he was not simply preaching for money or perhaps to be better than anyone else. He believed what he was preaching and he believed in Christ. Because of his belief and his preaching, Paul suffered many things for Christ as we can read in chapter 11 of Second Corinthians (verses 23-33). There were times when Paul:
endured beatings
was in prison
was shipwrecked three times
was in the sea a night and a day
was in danger on his travels
was in danger of robbers
was in danger of his own countrymen
was in danger of the Gentiles
was in danger in the city
was in danger in the wilderness
was in danger in the ocean
was in danger of false brothers
was in toil and pain
endured sleepless nights
endured in times when he was hungry and thirsty
often had no food
was cold and had little clothing
was concerned and anxious about the congregations.of the Lord's church.
We should be like Paul; always striving to please God, showing humility, preaching with boldness, never being ashamed of the gospel of Christ, but willing to tell everyone we know about the salvation that is found in Christ. Christians want to share the good news, so that all might be saved. Let us look to what Paul went through to spread the gospel and determine that will be just as strong and steadfast
"Older Student" Tips:
Many ideas are put forth when studying about Paul's "thorn in the flesh" which was something with which Paul suffered, yet is unknown to us today (2 Corinthians 11:7). We know that Paul prayed to God three times, asking that his "thorn in the flesh" be removed, but God said no, that His grace was all that Paul needed (2 Corinthians 11:9). When God answers our prayers, sometimes He says, "no." He knows what is best for us as He did for Paul.
Paul also commanded that Christians examine themselves (Second Corinthians 13:5). Christians need to stop now and then and think about what they are doing to make sure they are following Christ and His commands.
ACTIVITY: Paul Suffered Many Things Materials needed: Ten pieces of 4" wide colorful construction paper in different lengths, beginning with 4 inches and graduating 1/2" with each paper, stapler, staples, crayons. NOTE: This can be a lengthy lesson. It is advisable for the Bible teacher to cut the papers in advance.
Hand out all ten papers and place them in order by length.
Making sure that each of the ten papers is even at the top, staple two staples to secure. This should look like a book with 1/2" of color showing at the bottom.
With staples at the top, write "Paul Suffered Many Things For Christ" on the top page.
Fold paper up.
On the back of the first page, write "Second Corinthians 11:23-33."
On the top of the second page, write "Paul endured beatings."
Fold paper up.
On the back of the second page, write "Paul was in prison,"
On the top of the third page, write "Paul was shipwrecked 3 times."
Fold paper up.
On the back of the third page, write "Paul was in the sea a night and a day."
On the top of the fourth page, write "Paul was in danger on his travels."
Fold paper up.
On the back of the fourth page, write "Paul was in danger of robbers."
On the top of the fifth page, write "Paul was in danger of his own countrymen."
Fold paper up.
On the back of the fifth page, write "Paul was in danger of the Gentiles."
On the front of the sixth page, write "Paul was in danger in the city."
Fold paper up.
On the back of the sixth page, write "Paul was in danger in the wilderness."
On the front of the seventh page, write "Paul was in danger in the ocean."
Fold paper up.
On the back of the seventh page, write "Paul was in danger of false brethren."
On the front of the eighth page, write "Paul was in toil and pain."
Fold paper up.
On the back of the eighth page, write "Paul endured sleepless nights."
On the front of the ninth page, write "Paul endured times when he was hungry and thirsty."
On the back of the ninth page, write "Paul often had no food."
On the front of the tenth page, write "Paul was cold and had little clothing."
Turn booklet over to the last page.
On the back of the tenth page, write "Paul was concerned and anxious for the congregations of the Lord's church."
When everyone is finished writing, let the students read quietly to their neighbor.
Reverse and let the listening neighbor read to his partner.
