Promises to Keep STEP 1. ADULT. Focus: Lesson 6. Lesson 61

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1 Adult Teacher s Commentary Sept. Nov Promises to Keep ADULT By Douglas C. Schmidt 1 April December for use as STEP 1. Focus: We tell others how God keeps His promises. Bible Basis: Luke 24:36-53 Students will talk about how Jesus fulfilled the promises God made and how God keeps His promises. OPENING ACTIVITY: I Promise On a board or sheet of newsprint, write this statement: I promise I will.... Ask your students to finish that statement with something they have promised someone they will do, such as clean out the garage or finish the taxes. Then discuss why it is important to keep promises when we make them, just as the husband in this week s article has for the past 70 years. OPENING STORY [read it aloud to your class, or make copies and pass it around]: HUSBAND OF 70 YEARS READS DIARY TO WIFE WITH DEMENTIA In the 2004 film The Notebook, the character Noah (played by James Garner) visits his wife Allie (played by Gena Rowlands) every day to tell her the tale of how they met, were separated, and reunited. Allie, a dementia sufferer, is gripped by the tale told in flashback with Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as their younger selves and has a brief lucid moment where she realizes the story is about her and her husband. In a real-life version of that movie, Jack Potter, a 91-year-old man from Rochester, England, has been keeping vigil with Phyllis, his wife of 70 years, who now suffers from dementia. The couple was married on February 20, 1943, and had lived together in their same home for more than 50 years until it became clear the best thing for Phyllis s condition was to move her to a nearby nursing home. Since that moving day, Jack has been visiting his wife every day, reading to her from diaries he has kept since 1938, when his dad gave a diary for Christmas. Each diary is a very small pocket diary and the ones written during the war years are in a very neat hand, in pencil, says Jack.

2 April 7, 2013 / Step 1 2 Jack and Phyllis met in 1941, shortly after Jack had joined the Army. According to Jack s diary entry on that day, the chance encounter was a life-changing moment and love at first sight. Jack wrote in his diary on October 4, 1941, Very nice evening. Danced with [a] very nice girl. Hope I meet her again. Two months later, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Less than two years later, Jack and Phyllis were married. On the celebration of their 70th wedding anniversary, they received a congratulatory telegram from Queen Elizabeth herself. Susan Oates, manager of the nursing home where Phyllis resides, says, Phyllis means everything to Jack. He says there was no boss in their relationship, everything was equal. Jack knew his wife was aware that he was keeping a diary of their life together, but she didn t pay a lot of interest in his notes at the time. Now, they are a priceless treasure for the couple. When Jack visits Phyllis he either talks to her about their long life together or remembers particular holidays with the help of the diaries, said Oates. Phyllis still recognizes Jack despite the dementia. She pats his leg when he reads to her and often smiles. Phyllis is very affectionate toward Jack and reaches out her arms to hug him when he arrives and kisses his hand when he leaves, she said. In sickness and in health, Jack has stayed by his wife s side, even though her mind isn t what it used to be. But their love runs deep, and Jack is determined to keep his promises to his 93-year-old bride. [Now form small groups to discuss these questions.] How do you respond to this story? What affect does promise keeping have on you and on others? What good comes from keeping promises? Talk about a time when you experienced God keeping His promises. Let s take a look at how Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies and promises that God made to His people in the Old Testament. [Now go on to Step 2 in the Adult Teacher s Guide.]

3 April 7, 2013 / Step 1 3 News Sources: 75-years-of-diaries-to-wife-with-dementia/

4 Adult Teacher s Commentary Sept. Nov Promises to Keep ADULT April for use as STEP 4. Focus: We tell others how God keeps His promises. Bible Basis: Luke 24:36-53 PROMISES KEPT God does not renege on or weasel out of His promises. He keeps every promise He has ever made. When we sometimes wonder why God seems to be taking so long to fulfill some of His promises, we need to remind ourselves that He sees the big picture and we do not. We can trust that God will do what He will do, exactly when He will We know that from the record of Scripture and we also know that from the promises He has already kept, and continues to keep, in our lives. ACTIVITY Now form the groups from Step 1 and discuss these questions. What can you share about God s track record of promise keeping with you? Who needs to hear about how God has fulfilled His promises to you? End this week with a closing prayer, something like this: Dear Lord, we enjoy Your life in us because You have made promises that we learned about and received. We desire to fully live in the promises that You are fulfilling even today in us. We ask that You help us experience Your presence in us so fully that we can t help but speak about and act on the joy we have because of Your promises for us and for all the people we will be around throughout the coming week. We invite Your prompting for our words and actions. In Your name we pray, amen. (We are not affiliated with and do not endorse any website listed on these pages. At the time of writing, we carefully review the referenced material and non-referenced web page content. However, due to the nature of the Internet, non-cited content on the website [including popups, links, and ads] changes frequently and is beyond our control. Please review carefully before showing links in the classroom.) THE BIBLE IN THE NEWS The Bible miniseries was a success, and at least 10 other biblical-themed movies are coming or scheduled to come to a movie theater near you:

5 Play Movie Trailer Read a Sample Chapter Available in print and digital editions everywhere books are sold HomeRunTHemovie.com