LESSON 12 relating to the nations: loving them well Communicate Jesus has called believers to be witnesses for Him to all nations through the power of the Holy Spirit. Followers of Jesus are called to love the citizens of all nations, and to share the gospel with them by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Participants take part in sharing the good news of Jesus with the nations, both locally and globally, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Background Passage: focal Passage: Memory Verse: AC TS 1-2 AC TS 1 : 4-8 AC TS 1 : 8 Jesus instructs His disciples to wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit (vv. 4-5). Jesus tells His disciples they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on them and they will be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (vv. 6-8). But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. 95
PREPARING TO TEACH For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16, KJV). Perhaps you ve inserted your name in place of world in this beloved verse and urged others to do the same. It s certainly appropriate to personalize God s love for us, but we must remember God also loves Iraq, China, Namibia, Sweden, Cuba, Brazil, and the rest of the 196 countries in this world along with their 11,473 people groups. 1 God really does love the world and calls Christ s followers to love the nations as well. Read Matthew 28:16-20 and Acts 1:4-8 and note how believers are to love the nations. Carefully study this lesson in your Venture Up Travelogue, meditating on all Scriptures, completing all bolded activities, and recording thoughts and questions in the margin. You ll notice this suggested teaching plan follows a mathematics theme. That may be a little outside your comfort zone but could be the tool that really grabs the attention of more left-brained participants. Leaders of adults always need to be willing to stretch to reach different learning styles. Pray this lesson will motivate participants to prepare their hearts and arrange their lifestyles to love the nations well by sharing the good news of the gospel. TEACHING SUGGESTIONS A MOST REDEMPTIVE RIDDLE Greet adults as they arrive. Request they look up and bookmark in their Bibles Genesis 15:1-6, Genesis 22:15-17, and Genesis 28:14. After opening the session with prayer, encourage adults to state the first word that comes to mind when they hear the word mathematics. Ask if people usually associate math with mercy and why. State the Travelogue writer labeled three Scripture passages the mathematics of mercy (p. 120). Invite three volunteers to read the bookmarked Genesis passages. Analyze the mathematics of mercy evident in those passages. Emphasize God s intention of blessing all nations through Abraham s descendants (Gen. 12:3; 22:18; 28:14). Discuss the 9 6
Travelogue (p. 120) question: How should God s chosen imagery of stars, sand, and dust impact the way we think about the work of the gospel in the world, and the advancing of the kingdom of God in our day? THE END AND MEANS OF GOD S PLAN FOR THE NATIONS Encourage adults to underline this Travelogue (p. 120) statement: All of history is shaped by God s commitment to redeem His family from every nation, tribe, people, and language. Discuss from 121 of the Travelogue: Why is it so very important to believe that the Great Commission isn t our job to complete, but God s promise in which we participate? How does this affirmation motivate us to be more active in sharing our faith, and to be less fearful about the future? LOVING STARS, SAND, AND DUST Remind adults this entire study is about healthy relationships and learning to love well. Ask: Why must we learn to love the nations well? State the Focal Passage gives insight into how believers can participate in God s history-defining, heaven-filling, all-nations-included story of redemption (Travelogue, p. 122). Invite a volunteer to read Acts 1:4-8. Declare since the writer opened this lesson speaking about the mathematics of mercy, the group is going to use math as a tool to examine this passage. FELLOWSHIP WITH JESUS FUELS AND MAINTAINS MISSION WITH JESUS Ask adults if they ever learned the acronym Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally in math class and if so, what it indicates (the order of operations). 9 7
Teacher Tip Although the goal is not to teach math, you may need to explain the mathematical order of operations so adults won t get sidetracked trying to recall elementary school math! In calculating an equation with several operations, the order is Parentheses, Exponents, Multiply or Divide, then Add or Subtract. (See http://www.mathsisfun. com/operation-order-pemdas.html.) Request adults scan Acts 1:4a, Mark 3:14, and Matthew 28:16-20 on s 122-123 of the Travelogue and identify the order of operations in sharing the gospel with the nations. Discern the difference between being with Jesus, then doing for Jesus and being with Jesus in personal communion and with Him in public mission. Explore how believers can maintain a vital and robust relationship with Jesus. Discuss from the previous section of the Travelogue (p. 122): Philemon 1:6, NIV, says: I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. How does sharing our faith lead to greater intimacy with Jesus? ONE BAPTISM BY THE SPIRIT, MANY MINISTRIES OF THE SPIRIT Read Acts 1:4b-5. Lead a discussion with questions such as: Why do you think the disciples would have needed to be commanded not to leave Jerusalem? Do you think it was hard for them to wait for the Holy Spirit? What might they have been tempted to do instead of wait? What would have been the result? What is the difference between John s baptism and the baptism of the Holy Spirit? Teacher Helps The difference between John s and the Holy Spirit s baptism has been explained with an illustration of a recipe for making pickles: in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be dipped 9 8
(baptô) into boiling water and then baptised (baptizô) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptising the vegetable, produces a permanent change. 2 Write 25 x 15 = x on the board. Ask if there s only one or many ways to reach the correct solution to that equation. Inquire: Is there only one way to love the nations with the gospel? Explain. Note from the Travelogue (p. 124): Though there is only one baptism, the ministries of the Spirit are quite diverse. The Spirit sovereignly gifts, fills, and empowers us for missional living and loving. Consider how using mathematical principles could be an effective tool in witnessing to some unbelievers. Ask: Can we all share the gospel using math? Why? Guide adults to consider various ways those in your group are gifted to share the gospel. KINGDOM COME, KINGDOM COMING Invite someone to read Acts 1:6-7. Explain the Jews longed for God s promised Messiah to usher in a restored kingdom of Israel. Jesus followers believed He was the Messiah, but didn t understand the scope of the kingdom He was restoring. Jesus declared the disciples didn t need to know God s timing nor the periods and events that will occur before His kingdom is established, but they needed to grasp His kingdom is far bigger than they had ever imagined. Write on the board these two equations:. Ask if adults can identify those equations. State the first is the Pythagorean Theorem that is the foundation for mapmaking and navigation. 3 The second is Einstein s theory of relativity that completely changed how humanity viewed reality, helped lead to nuclear weapons, and is also used for navigation. 4 Declare God, who created those mathematical principles, has a formula and plan for His kingdom that is far greater than our little kingdoms. His plan should completely change how we view life, determine where we go, and how we get there. Like the first 9 9
disciples, we need to broaden our geography of God s kingdom and go to the nations with our own nuclear power, not to destroy, but to change the world with the gospel. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE SPIRIT OF MISSION Emphasize Jesus will come again and God will restore Israel, but instead of being concerned with dates and specifics of that divine promise, Jesus declared His followers need to be concerned about carrying His gospel message to the nations. Read Acts 1:8a. Write Me + x = empowered missional living and loving on the board. Request adults identify the missing variable in this equation. Ask: Why is the Holy Spirit often the missing variable in the witnessing equation? Why is He essential if we re going to partner with Jesus in reaching the nations with His gospel? Remind adults that witnessing is all about addition and multiplication, not subtraction and division. Explore that concept further by discussing the bulleted points in this section on 125 of the Travelogue. TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, NOT JUST IN THE PRECINCTS OF JERUSALEM Request participants read aloud in unison all of Acts 1:8. State this lesson s Memory Verse sets the theme for the entire book of Acts; the rest of Luke s narrative tells how Jesus followers, empowered by the Holy Spirit, took the gospel from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, and to the ends of the earth as they knew it. Assert this verse should be every church s theme. Read the byline of Brentwood Baptist s Mission Journeys, Not If, Not When, But Where (http:// brentwoodbaptist.com/ministries/mission-journeys) and ask adults what that says to them. Write on the board and request the class identify this one last equation (area of a circle). Ask how Jesus commanded His disciples to enlarge their circles and areas of witness. Request adults draw four concentric circles in the margin of their Travelogue and identify in each circle their own Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and ends of earth. Ask them to, if possible, record names of unsaved people they know in each circle. Ask: Do we have to go to the ends of the earth to know people from each circle? How can we get 1 0 0
to know people from other nations? (Connect through social media, sponsor a child in a Third World country, see ideas under the Welcome heading on pp. 127-128 of the Travelogue.) Ask: How can we step out of our comfort zones and into these everbroadening circles with the gospel? A BUNCH OF HELPFUL HOW TO S Assert that although relying on the power of the Holy Spirit is essential to being Christ s witness and taking His gospel across the street and across the world, there are also numerous practical things participants can do to love the nations well. Guide the class to discuss specific ways they can Discover, Pray, Engage, and Support (and Welcome if you haven t already done so) (Travelogue, pp. 126-128). CONCLUSION Ask the group to describe what makes an effective math teacher. (Be sure to mention a person who loves math if no one else does.) Then ask adults to describe what makes an effective witness of the gospel. (Be sure loving Jesus is mentioned.) Invite volunteers to share reasons they love Jesus. Close in prayer, asking for the Holy Spirit s power to go and share that love with the nations. FOLLOW THROUGH Contact all participants, encouraging them to be present for your final session in Venture Up Travelogue. Request they consider truths that have most stood out to them from this 13-week study and record two or three in the margin on 129 of their Travelogue. Request they be prepared to share some of those outstanding truths in your next group session. 1 http://public.imb.org/globalresearch/pages/default.aspx 2 https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon. cfm?strongs=g907&t=hcsb 3 http://www.businessinsider.com/the-17-equations-that-changed-the-world- 2012-7#the-pythagorean-theorem-1 4 http://www.businessinsider.com/the-17-equations-that-changed-the-world- 2012-7#einsteins-theory-of-relativity-13 1 0 1