UNIT #4 THE CORINTHIAN CHURCH UNIT DESCRIPTION This fourth unit is taken from the book of 1 Corinthians. "Paul had received information from several sources concerning the conditions existing in the church at Corinth. Some members of the household of Chloe had informed him of the factions that had developed in the church (1:11)... It is clear that, although the church was gifted (see 1:4-7), it was immature and unspiritual (3:1-4)." 1 1 Kenneth Barker, General Editor, NIV Study Bible, Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1985, p. 1732. XENOS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, 1-800-698-7884, www.xenos.org 2 nd /3 rd Grade Unit 4#1 Page 1
UNIT 4#1 THE CORINTHIAN CHURCH 2 ND /3 RD GRADE CONCEPT GOAL REAL WISDOM The wisdom of God is the only wisdom that can always be trusted. Christian students will learn that God s wisdom is far superior to the greatest wisdom of the world, and that we grow in God's wisdom when we seek His wisdom through the Bible and other people who are wise. Non-Christian students will learn that we cannot come to know God through our own wisdom, only through belief in Christ. PASSAGE: 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5; 3:19 Key Verse: " the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God." 1 Corinthians 3:19 PLANNING AHEAD Lesson Supplies Learning Activity #1: A collage of pictures of people with whom the students are familiar, 1/small group What Would You Do?, 1/student Optional Activities: Old adult t-shirts, 3/room Craft Supplies Activity Stations: Chinese finger pulls, 3/room Clipboard with lined paper & pencil, 1/room Fake microphone, 1/room Hat with PRESS sign taped to front, 1/room Road to Heaven large puzzle pieces HEAVEN sign. Teachers please note: For clarity, the shaded areas in the Planning Ahead section indicate supplies that are in and should be returned to your classroom SHARED SUPPLY bag. Items followed by an asterisk* are to be supplied by the teaching team. XENOS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, 1-800-698-7884, www.xenos.org 2 nd /3 rd Grade Unit 4#1 Page 2
BACKGROUND INFORMATION / TEACHER HELPS Wisdom is not a minor theme in the Bible. The antithesis of wisdom is not obscure either foolishness. Definitions are important here. Understand the difference between smart, intelligent, and wise. Smart refers to IQ. It is something that you are born with, and is not a virtue at all. Intelligence refers to education, and is also usually the indirect result of our birth and station in life. Even though it is the result of environment, and does require active work on the part of the individual, it is usually a value that was trained into us at a young age, and is always a matter of opportunity, geography, economics and history. It is very possible to be ignorant and yet smart. It is also unfortunately possible to be educated and yet foolish. Of course, even though intelligence is not a virtue, we would rather be intelligent than ignorant. "Wisdom on the other hand, has nothing to do with birth or circumstance. It is accessible to all, but native to none. Proverbs says that foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. Foolishness is the natural state of all people. Yet foolishness is neither excusable nor necessary. Proverbs says, The way of a fool is right in his own eyes Proverbs 12:15... He who trusts in his own heart is a fool Proverbs 28:26... The fool has said in his heart, there is not God. Psalms 14:1. 2 Paul says in effect, So you think the gospel is a form of sophia? How foolish can you get? Look at its message; it is based on the story of a crucified Messiah. Who in the name of wisdom would have dreamed that up? Only God is so wise as to be so foolish (1:18-25); Furthermore, look at its recipients. Yourselves! Who in the name of wisdom would have chosen you to be the new people of God? (1:26-31)....what God had always intended and foretold in the prophets, he has now accomplished through the crucifixion: He has brought an end to human self-sufficiency as it is evidenced through human wisdom and devices. No. Paul argues with his Corinthian friends, the gospel is not some new sophia (wisdom, or philosophy), not even a new divine sophia. For sophia allows for human judgments or evaluations of God s activity. But the gospel stands as the divine antithesis to such judgments. No mere human, in his or her right mind or otherwise, would ever have dreamed up God s scheme for redemption through a crucified Messiah. It is too preposterous, too humiliating, for God. It is altogether likely, of course, that Paul s Corinthian opponents would also have sensed the humiliation of that message, and that that is why they had moved on to higher things, far beyond the mere milk that Paul had offered them. But Paul recognizes that to move beyond the cross is not to move on at all, but is to abandon Christ altogether. Hence he here argues that the message of the cross is absolute and fundamental and as such stands over against the merely human wisdom of their present position. 3... In the cross God outsmarted his human creatures and thereby nullified their wisdom. In the same cross God also overpowered his enemies, with lavish grace and forgiveness, and thereby divested them of their strength. Thus played out before human eyes is the scandalous and contradictory wisdom of God. Had God consulted us for wisdom we could have given him a more workable plan, something that would attract the sign-seeker and the lover of wisdom. As it is, in his own wisdom he left us out of the consultation. We are thus left with the awful risk: trust God and be saved by his wise folly, or keep up our pretensions and perish. Better the former, because this weakness of God is stronger than [human] strength, it accomplishes that which all human pretensions cannot do. It brings one into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord (1:9). One can scarcely conceive of a more important more difficult passage for the church today than this one. It is difficult, for the very reason it was in Corinth. We simply cannot abide the scandal of God s doing things his way, without our help. And to do it by means of such weakness and folly! But we have often succeeded in blunting the scandal by symbol, or creed, or propositions. God will not be so easily tamed, and, freed from its shackles, the preaching of the cross alone has 2 Dennis McCallum, James 1:1ff, Dennis McCallum, June 2, 1987. 3 Gordon Fee, The First Epistle to the CORINTHIANS, 1987, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., pp. 66-68. XENOS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, 1-800-698-7884, www.xenos.org 2 nd /3 rd Grade Unit 4#1 Page 3
the power to set people free... Thus forgiven we are set free not only from our sins but to become his new people in the world. It thus achieves what the god of human expectations cannot achieve it creates disciples who will trust in him for life. Such weakness in God is scandalous to those who think of themselves as righteous and thus in no need of forgiveness; but to those who recognize themselves as in need of mercy this is the good news that sets them free to follow him. Thus this weakness is also the ultimate power, and therefore the final wisdom of God. 4 In our culture today knowledge is more highly esteemed than wisdom. We are not encouraged to take time to think about what is right or wrong or reason through what or why we believe. Most people accept without question what they see and hear on the media, from peers or "experts." Often man believes he knows so much that he doesn't need God. But man is limited in his understanding (Is. 55:8). All wisdom comes from God, not us. Only those who know Jesus are able to be wise and grow in true wisdom. As you prepare this lesson, consider your perspective on wisdom and the extent to which you seek the wisdom of God in your daily life. Pray that you will challenge the children to consider and desire the wisdom that only comes from God. Additional reading: Proverbs 3:7; Daniel 2:20-23; Romans 1:21, 22; James 1:5 4 Gordon Fee, The First Epistle to the CORINTHIANS, 1987, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., pp. 77-78. XENOS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, 1-800-698-7884, www.xenos.org 2 nd /3 rd Grade Unit 4#1 Page 4
LESSON PLAN SET UP INCORPORATION -- 15-20 MIN GOAL: What seems to make sense is not always "wise." INSTRUCTION/ INTRODUCTION -- 5 MIN Instructions: Before class hang "HEAVEN" sign on the white board or bulletin board. Activity Stations: Chinese Finger Pull Instructions: Have the students put a finger in each end of the finger pull and try to pull both out. We naturally think that we only need to pull to get them out, but the key is to push in and then take one out at a time. Wisdom Interviews Instructions: Using the clipboard and fake microphone and wearing the "press" hat, interview the students for station WOASIS, asking them to define wisdom. Record their answers with their names so you can report one or two of their answers to the class in the INTRODUCTION. Suggested questions: What do you think it means to be wise or to have wisdom? Do you know anybody who is wise? Why do you think that person is wise? Do you think someone who makes all As in school is wise? How about someone who is smart enough to win a TV quiz show? Are adults always wise? Are kids wise? Large Puzzle The Road to Heaven Instructions: Divide students into 3 groups with a teacher in each. Give each group 4 puzzle pieces (one group will get five pieces). The teacher will read the words on the piece and the students will decide whether or not it is a statement of how we get to heaven therefore, God's wisdom or man's wisdom. Separate the "heaven" pieces from the others. When all the groups are finished have a representative from each group take their "heaven" pieces to the area where the heaven sign is hanging and those three students will fit the pieces together. Discussion: We have put this road together with pieces of the puzzle that tell us how we get to heaven. What about the pieces of the road that did not fit? (They are man's wisdom.) Many people think they can go to heaven if they... (read the pieces that don't fit). But there is only one way to get to heaven. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." That is God's wisdom. Missions Prayer Instructions: Talk about and pray for Oasis Giving campaign and adopted missionary child. Mini Drama Instructions: The "reporter" who did the wisdom interviews in the Activity Station will do the INTRODUCTION. Pick one or two of the answers you were given and report that expert <<student's name>> stated that wisdom is TRANSITION 2 MIN LESSON LG Good morning/evening ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for joining us for this special edition of WOASIS news. I'm reporting today/tonight from the city of Corinth. It seems that a man named Paul was here and started some Christian churches. These churches have had a heck of a time lots of problems, you know. So this Paul wrote letters to these people to help them learn more about God and how to follow Him. The issue I am reporting on today is that of wisdom. Now I did some interviews earlier and heard some interesting thoughts about wisdom. I'd like you to hear what some of your friends had to say. I want to thank you for joining me as we have tried to discover just what is this thing called "wisdom." I hope you will learn more about it today/tonight. Until next time, this is your WISE reporter, signing off. Thank you, WISE reporter. Let's continue to find out just what is wisdom. Follow along as I read 1 Corinthians 1:20-31. The people in Corinth were very intellectual. They XENOS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, 1-800-698-7884, www.xenos.org 2 nd /3 rd Grade Unit 4#1 Page 5
GROUP 7-10 MIN TRANSITION 2 MIN LEARNING ACTIVITY #1 SM GROUP 10 MIN Rationale: to apply scripture to real life. considered those who could debate or deliver a speech with great ability and impressive words or those who were very smart to be very wise. Those supposedly "wise" people were very proud and bragged about how smart they were. According to the Bible there is the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. The truth is that the wisdom of people or the world is opposite of God's wisdom. Turn to 1 Corinthians 3 and follow along as I read verses 18 & 19. Our key verse this week is, " the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God" (1 Corinthians 3:19). So why is that? Back to chapter 1 verse 21 it says that people did not come to know God through their own wisdom, but through belief in Christ. In verse 22 Paul said that his message was always and only about Christ's death on the cross for their sins. God's wisdom says that Jesus is the only way to a relationship with God. The world's wisdom says that Christ's death on the cross is total foolishness, that we are acceptable to God by our own good works. It is a stumbling block to the Jews because they thought the Messiah would come as a rich, powerful, reigning king, not as a poor, common man. And the cross is foolishness to the Gentiles because it is totally unbelievable that a powerful, wise God would be born to a poor family in a stinky stable, live a life of poverty and die a criminal's death on a cross. In their minds, no god would stoop so low and no man should worship such a loser! But the people who are foolish, weak and lowly by the world's standards are wise by God's standard because they know that that it is only by faith in Christ that they can have a relationship with God. Ordinary people like you and me who admit that we can't do anything to be acceptable to God are considered the foolish, weak and lowly by those who want to believe they are smart enough or good enough to be acceptable to God. However, our decision to believe Christ and ask His death to count for us is eternally wise. We not only come to know God but He also gives us His wisdom that is far superior to the greatest wisdom of the world and then we go to live with Him in heaven when we die. That's why Paul says in verse 31, "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord," not himself or herself, but in the Lord who's great wisdom and mercy sent Jesus to the earth to provide a way back to Him. 1 Corinthians 3:19 says " the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God" We aren't automatically wise when we accept Christ's forgiveness. We grow in God's wisdom when we seek His wisdom through the Bible and other people who are wise. Let s get into our small groups. Instructions: Have the students look at the collage and determine who they think is wise. How do they come to their conclusions? Discuss what they think makes someone wise. The teacher in each small group should decide on 1 scenario from What Would you Do? to discuss. The students can take them home to go over with their parents. We often believe someone is wise because he is smart, famous, rich, or even religious. That is not what makes a person wise. So how does a person become wise? How do we get wisdom? A person becomes wise by knowing God, seeking God's wisdom and obeying Him. Have you ever asked God for wisdom about something? What happened? Let's look at the "What Would You Do?" handout. Let's pray now. Let's ask God to help us tell those who don't know Jesus about Him and His wisdom. If any of you have not yet asked Jesus to forgive you, you can do that as we pray. Let's also ask God to help us learn to ask Him for His wisdom and to grow in His wisdom. XENOS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, 1-800-698-7884, www.xenos.org 2 nd /3 rd Grade Unit 4#1 Page 6
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES Game: T-Shirt Tower 5 Instructions: Break into your small groups (if your group is smaller than 6, join with another group with a total of no more than 20 players). Lay a t-shirt on the floor for each group and see how many players you can get standing on the t-shirt without any touching the floor. NOTE: You can use this before the small group discussion if you need some active movement after all the sitting. Sample Road to Heaven puzzle pieces 5 Susan Butler, Non-Competitive Games, 1986 Susan Butler, Bethany House Publishers, p. 174. XENOS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP, 1-800-698-7884, www.xenos.org 2 nd /3 rd Grade Unit 4#1 Page 7